Automotive Engineering - How does aesthetica work?

Tolerance analysis with accurate visualization

Controlling variation in the critical dimensions of the vehicle structure is key to achieving acceptable quality from an aesthetic standpoint.

You need to account for the way in which different materials behave under manufacturing and assembly conditions. For example, the assembling of metal and plastic, each with different manufacturing processes and different tolerance parameters, has a major effect on the end result – such that what is actually made often doesn’t match the initial concept.

In automotive terms, gap and flush control during assembly is critical to Perceived Quality on the exterior where the flexible plastic bumper, pressed steel wing, headlamp assembly and a hinged, pressed steel bonnet all come together – and on the interior, fit and finish of assemblies like dashboard, A-pillars and in-car entertainment.

aesthetica allows you to identify issues around misalignments, flushness, tapers and see-through by running simulations of tolerancing conditions.

You will be able to see the worst possible deformation that could be achieved within the design criteria and discover the key contributors to problem areas – ie exactly what you’re going to get in terms of shifts away from the ideal model.

aesthetica provides a wealth of tools to vary the input parameters (materials, constraints and tolerances) and see the effects in a high quality inspection environment – taking each component and defining assembly constraints and seeing how it may vary in terms of flexing and twisting.

The information can be output, stored and shared as high-quality digital assets (such as 3D visualization, images, animations and sections) as well as more full custom reports containing text and images.

Icona aesthetica V3 Brochure 2008.pdf