Computer-Aided Design

Simulated Reality

Pratt & Miller’s CAD department performs design and structural analysis for all the company’s projects; doing it on a computer saves a great deal of time and cost by reducing the number of actual prototypes that have to be built and tested.

The Pratt & Miller approach is to acquire the best software for the job, then develop it in-house to best suit the specifics of the project. Recently, Pratt & Miller’s design software has been applied to the Aptera 2e, a Daytona Prototype chassis, military vehicle suspensions and carbon bodies, and the new Cadillac CTS-V.R race car.

Analysis and Testing

An important resource is the FARO Technologies laser scanner, with which they can digitize complex surfaces for analysis and testing, and reverse-engineer existing components in the computer environment to make improvements. Working from a body in clay, they use laser scanning to bring it into the virtual world for aerodynamic analysis or other simulations and testing.

The team also is doing crash analyses of composite vehicles, and ballistic impact studies to verify that their simulations of an actual event – like a highspeed stone impact – are accurate replications.

“What we design usually gets built,” says Gary Latham, design manager, “and the parts get built quickly. So we get immediate feedback, and therefore learn faster and make quicker advances. Also, our designers have a lot of experience, which makes a big difference, and our racing culture certainly adds to it.”

Webinar: DOE vs. Optimization in Engineering Analysis, February 23, 2012