Body Engineering R&D can be divided into two stages: design and development
Body design played a very prominent role in HAITEC's engineering R&D process. The body panels (including the body and doors), exterior styling and interior furnishing (including accessories and seats) were all the purview of body engineering & design. The characteristics of this task included prominence, need for continuous communication and attention to detail.
Body Design Process
The main parts of the body engineering design process included engineering feasibility study during the concept stage, QCD (quality cost delivery) analysis of different solutions, engineering cross-section analysis, structural review, blueprint review and publication, 3D model design review and publication, engineering feedback correction and 2D drawing review and publication. Parts, systems and vehicle were produced and assembled for testing and design verification to meet the defined targets. Lateral communication was also conducted with engineering units and the client to ensure that it satisfies the requirements of the end consumer and also the target of high quality.
Body Part Design
A. Body and door part design
strength, safety, pedestrian safety and smoothness of mechanical action were all taken into account during the design process. The current body and door parts were all designed in-house by HAITEC with engineering analysis and verification used to ensure that high quality standards are maintained.
B. Exterior styling design
Design focus was on the light system with an emphasis on balancing the needs of aesthetic, and detailing and light distribution regulations. Another key area was the bumper design that needed to meet pedestrian protection standards and provide low-speed impact resistance.
C. Interior and seats
Great attention to detail was needed to provide the drivers and passengers with a comfortable space. Passive restraints safety for passengers had to meet five-star standards as well.
HAITEC's core design technology is based on its in-house database and CATIA digital tool. The database contained all design verification results and experiences during the body design R&D process (including the group's R&D expertise from the past thirty years). The CATIA tool provided a virtual space to support body design tasks such as human-factor analysis, cross-sectional analysis, engineering requirements and spatial layout planning.
Body development mainly involved the localization of prototyping and volume production engineering activities for body parts (including paneling, rubber/plastics and specialist components) to facilitate the future introduction of new models.
Tasks included quality, cost and schedule management for body components as well as the introduction of new materials and techniques. Apart from the development of injection-molding molds for interior parts (see Fig. 1), quality improvements were also needed for surface treatment technologies such as curved surface printing, coating, framing and electro-plating. Computer modeling were also used for analyzing the mold flow of panel forming and large plastic components as well as electro-mechanical integration during the design and initial development phase.
Figure 1: Mock-up of interior fittings
During the prototyping stage, various techniques and technologies were tested in order to develop parts that meet quality requirements, reduce costs and shorten the time needed for developing new vehicle designs. Prototyping experience was accumulated by experimenting with new techniques for each model.
During the volume production stage, the focus was on part quality and verifying suppliers' volume production capability. Production management techniques were also applied to produce a high quality product.