VIRTUAL PROTOTYPING TO ACCELERATE THE INDUSTRY'S "ZERO WASTE" TRAJECTORY

The International Earth Day, celebrated on April 22, questions our collective dependency on exhaustible resources, as well as the growing scarcity of raw materials. This reliance is observed through the over productive dynamics of certain sectors and the unprecedented accumulation of waste. This year, the International Earth Day is held in a particularly volatile health and geopolitical context that reveals the extreme dependence of many sectors on raw materials that have become essential.

These challenges remind us of the need to accelerate the development of an industry that is less dependent on physical constraints and therefore has a smaller environmental footprint.

THE INDUSTRY OF THE FUTURE WILL BE MORE DIGITAL AND THEREFORE MORE VIRTUOUS

ESI Group, a pioneer in virtual prototyping, has been helping companies reduce their dependency on physical testing for product evaluation, design, and testing for over half a century.

ESI Group's cutting-edge technology, such as its “Virtual Prototyping Solution (VPS)” and its predictive physics modeling, enable significant savings in raw materials and an unprecedented reduction in waste. These key factors allow industry to move forward in the "zero waste" trajectory of their industrial processes. ESI Group’s solutions enable them to work on the optimization of products before their manufacture, by perfecting production systems or by proving the manufacturability and consistency of processes. Similarly, by limiting the use of raw materials, digital technology can drastically reduce manufacturers' dependence on importing rare and expensive materials.

ESI Group thus supports its partners in developing more virtuous and less energy-consuming industries, whether in the automotive (Renault, Volkswagen, Seat), aeronautics (SAFRAN) or energy (EDF and Veolia) sectors.

A COMMITTED REVOLUTION

ESI Group's methodologies, cutting-edge simulation solutions, and expertise, developed since 1973, are already helping industrial players develop economic models that are more respectful of our resources and the environment.

For example:

• Renault relied on ESI Group’s expertise in physics of materials and virtual prototyping to virtualize the concept stage of its Clio 5 until the crash-test certification. The use of computer-aided engineering allowed Renault to immediately succeed all physical tests the first time, with no additional testing required.    
• ESI Group also contributed to the 100% digital and virtual development of Volkswagen's Nivus in Brazil. The use of virtual prototyping enabled a twofold reduction in the initial development schedule, which was shortened to ten months, and in prototype production costs by 65%.
• Gestamp relied on ESI Group's technology that significantly reduces the carbon footprint of vehicles by lightening their weight using the Proper Generalized Decomposition Method (PGD). The Spanish company was able to reduce the weight of its vehicle thanks to the technology designed by ESI Group.

"In the past, virtual prototyping was an option. Today, it has become strategic and essential to produce in a cleaner way by reducing the ecological footprint. It has become more profitable by reducing delays and raw material costs, and more autonomous by reducing dependence on raw material imports. More than ever, thanks to advances in predictive physics, manufacturers are entering the era of positive impact production. ESI Group is at their side to support them."