Steffen Clement

Lightweight design optimization of a Bow Riser in Olympic Archery applying evolutionary computing

Recurve bows that are used in competitions like the Olympic Games are high-technology products. Good risers are lightweight but retain a high stiffness. The aim of this study was to design a riser with a stiffness comparable to that of the lightest riser currently used by the archers of the German National Archery Team, but with a considerably reduced weight. We computed the loads that are applied to a riser of a drawn recurve bow (the RADIAN model used by the German team) and created a 3-D solid CAD model of a riser with 24 variable parameters. We used evolutionary computing to optimize the 24 parameters of the model according to these criteria. We selected the most optimal riser out of the 1650 CAD models generated, manufactured it, and had it tested by three archers of the German National Archery Team. The mass of our manufactured riser is 871g, which is 243g or 22% less mass than the RADIAN riser.

Autogenetic Design Theory: An Approach to Optimise Both the Design Process and the Product

The paper presents a new approach aiming at modeling and supporting the design activity as the substantial activity within the product development process. The Autogenetic Design Theory facilitates the integration of intuition, creativity and artificial intelligence into the conventional design process. To this end, a phase-like allocation of the design process is assumed as the essential structure and an evolutionary algorithm is integrated as the core facilitating purposeful searching and combining. Hence, the flow of the design process can be influenced as all requirements can be included and, on the other hand, intuition and creativity are ensured through the evolutionary algorithm. The example of the shift fork, which was described in the paper, shows how ADT can support variant design. Next steps will include the application of the ADT to the other types of design. The optimisation of the shift fork was the first step towards a computer-based implementation of the ADT.Copyright

Prototypeinsatz evolutionärer Algorithmen in der Motorenentwicklung bei Volkswagen

Wie entsteht ein neues Produkt oder eine neuartige Losung? Immer schnellere Fahrzeugmodellwechsel verlangen einen immer besseren Produktentstehungsprozess. In einem gemeinsamen Forschungsprojekt zwischen Volkswagen und der Universitat Magdeburg wurde hierzu ein Verfahren zur Anpassungskonstruktion entwickelt, welches auf der autogenetischen Konstruktionstheorie (AKT) aufsetzt. Der Lehrstuhl fur Maschinenbauinformatik hat hierfur den Prototypen eines Programmsystems entwickelt, mit dem bereits verschiedene Aufgabenstellungen aus der Motorenentwicklung bearbeitet worden sind.

FE-Berechnung mit Pro/MECHANICA

Die Finite-Elemente-Methode (FE-Methode) wird routinemasig fur Berechnungsaufgaben bspw. im Maschinen-, Apparate- und Fahrzeugbau eingesetzt. Sie gilt als das wohl am weitesten verbreitete numerische Berechnungsverfahren [KLE-07].

Lösungen der Kontrollfragen

(1) Features ermoglichen die einfache Konstruktion komplexer Geometrien. Features verknupfen die CAD-Geometrie mit zusatzlichen Attributen wie Fertigungshinweisen oder Materialeigenschaften. (2) Beim Erzeugen einer Rotationsskizze ist zusatzlich eine Mittellinie anzugeben, welche der Rotationsbewegung als Achse dient.