Forklift Manufacturer Streamlines Design Process with Altair’s HyperWorks Suite
Technology Category
- Analytics & Modeling - Digital Twin / Simulation
Applicable Industries
- Equipment & Machinery
- Specialty Vehicles
Applicable Functions
- Product Research & Development
- Warehouse & Inventory Management
Use Cases
- Time Sensitive Networking
- Virtual Prototyping & Product Testing
Services
- Testing & Certification
About The Customer
NACCO Materials Handling Group (NMHG) is a globally recognized company that designs, engineers, and manufactures materials handling equipment for virtually every type of market. Their products, sold under the brand names Yale® and Hyster®, are used by businesses around the world that require forklift trucks, container handlers, and electric warehouse vehicles. NMHG is one of the world’s largest producers of lift trucks. The company operates a Counterbalanced Development Center in Fairview, Oregon, where it develops a wide range of counterbalanced sit-down forklift trucks. This center also serves as one of the global centers of excellence for computer simulations used by the company’s network of development centers around the world.
The Challenge
NACCO Materials Handling Group (NMHG), a leading producer of lift trucks, was facing a significant challenge in their product development process. The company had been using finite-element analysis (FEA) for 25 years, but this required the construction of several iterations of physical prototypes to test their designs. This process was not only costly but also time-consuming, leading to delays in bringing products to market. The company was in dire need of a solution that could reduce the time to market without compromising on the quality of their products. The ultimate goal was to virtually design, test, and evaluate each product before any physical prototypes were made, thereby saving costs and gaining a competitive advantage.
The Solution
NMHG adopted Altair’s HyperWorks suite of simulation tools to address their challenges. The suite was chosen after a thorough comparison with ten other products from vendors across the globe. HyperWorks allowed NMHG to reduce the amount of physical prototyping needed for products, thereby cutting both costs and time to market. The suite also provided NMHG with new capabilities. For instance, OptiStruct enabled engineers to optimize a design based on fatigue, an approach that held great potential for the company. Altair’s RADIOSS opened the field to a broad range of simulations, previously run with an implicit code. The company also used MotionView and MotionSolve for multi-body dynamics analysis. The suite's pre-processing capabilities were found to be extremely simple and powerful with HyperMesh.
Operational Impact
Quantitative Benefit
Case Study missing?
Start adding your own!
Register with your work email and create a new case study profile for your business.
Related Case Studies.
Case Study
Smart Water Filtration Systems
Before working with Ayla Networks, Ozner was already using cloud connectivity to identify and solve water-filtration system malfunctions as well as to monitor filter cartridges for replacements.But, in June 2015, Ozner executives talked with Ayla about how the company might further improve its water systems with IoT technology. They liked what they heard from Ayla, but the executives needed to be sure that Ayla’s Agile IoT Platform provided the security and reliability Ozner required.
Case Study
IoT enabled Fleet Management with MindSphere
In view of growing competition, Gämmerler had a strong need to remain competitive via process optimization, reliability and gentle handling of printed products, even at highest press speeds. In addition, a digitalization initiative also included developing a key differentiation via data-driven services offers.
Case Study
Predictive Maintenance for Industrial Chillers
For global leaders in the industrial chiller manufacturing, reliability of the entire production process is of the utmost importance. Chillers are refrigeration systems that produce ice water to provide cooling for a process or industrial application. One of those leaders sought a way to respond to asset performance issues, even before they occur. The intelligence to guarantee maximum reliability of cooling devices is embedded (pre-alarming). A pre-alarming phase means that the cooling device still works, but symptoms may appear, telling manufacturers that a failure is likely to occur in the near future. Chillers who are not internet connected at that moment, provide little insight in this pre-alarming phase.
Case Study
Premium Appliance Producer Innovates with Internet of Everything
Sub-Zero faced the largest product launch in the company’s history:It wanted to launch 60 new products as scheduled while simultaneously opening a new “greenfield” production facility, yet still adhering to stringent quality requirements and manage issues from new supply-chain partners. A the same time, it wanted to increase staff productivity time and collaboration while reducing travel and costs.
Case Study
Integration of PLC with IoT for Bosch Rexroth
The application arises from the need to monitor and anticipate the problems of one or more machines managed by a PLC. These problems, often resulting from the accumulation over time of small discrepancies, require, when they occur, ex post technical operations maintenance.
Case Study
Robot Saves Money and Time for US Custom Molding Company
Injection Technology (Itech) is a custom molder for a variety of clients that require precision plastic parts for such products as electric meter covers, dental appliance cases and spools. With 95 employees operating 23 molding machines in a 30,000 square foot plant, Itech wanted to reduce man hours and increase efficiency.
