Zaha Hadid Architects, a design atelier founded in 1979, has always been at the forefront of innovation, adopting theoretical guidance, systemic knowledge generation, and collaborative design. The company’s Computation and Design research group (co|de), initiated in 2007, aims to develop early-design methods that enable a directed search for physically, economically, and ergonomically feasible solutions within the vast universe of architectural possibilities provided by digital design and construction methods. For the 2015 Design Miami exhibition, the Zaha Hadid co|de team was commissioned to create a contemporary dining pavilion that combines computational design, lightweight engineering, and precision fabrication. The challenge was to create a unique dining environment, the Volu Pavilion, that was visually stunning, cost-efficient, and made use of advanced design and fabrication technologies.

In 2016, Zaha Hadid Architects and its Computation and Design research group (Zaha Hadid co|de) sought to explore the potential of 3D printing and topology optimization for their projects. They collaborated with Stratasys, a renowned 3D printing company, to conduct a study for the design and fabrication of a 3D printed chair. The challenge was to optimize and ensure the feasibility of their design. The team aimed to integrate advanced optimization techniques into their workflow, which required a software suite for computer-aided engineering. The goal was to make complex shapes feasible and drive innovation in architectural processes. The design atelier of Zaha Hadid, founded in 1979, is one of the world’s most innovative architecture studios and an early pioneer of innovative design. The Computation and Design research group (co|de) of the company investigates new design and construction methods to solve architectural problems, exploring various simulation and design techniques as well as software.

Mahindra & Mahindra, a global pioneer in the transportation business, faced a significant challenge in managing and analyzing the vast amounts of data generated by multiple IT systems. These systems, which include Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), Systems, Applications and Products (SAP) and Tool Data Management (TDM), are integral to the company's automotive, aerospace, and agribusiness operations. Each system generates specific data throughout the product life cycle, requiring collection and analysis to facilitate key decision-making. The challenge was to create a standardized decision support system that could consolidate data from these multiple sources and present the right information at the right time to the right person. The company needed a solution that could interlink all these systems for a properly functioning parent system, enabling collaboration between product and manufacturing engineering, cost and legacy systems.

The Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd. (VTT) was tasked with the optimization and design of a valve box with regard to additive manufacturing requirements. The project was part of a larger initiative to explore the feasibility of additive manufacturing in Finland. The valve block was provided by Nurmi Cylinders, a Finland-based manufacturer of hydraulic cylinder products. The goal was to showcase what a design specifically targeted for additive manufacturing had to look like in order to fully benefit from the manufacturing method. The objectives were to reduce the size and the amount of material needed for the valve block, and to optimize and improve the valve block’s internal channels to produce a better component for the customer. However, not every component or product is suitable for 3D printing, depending on its size, form and design as well as the quantity needed. A valve block is very suitable for 3D printing and has a high potential for improvement in weight, performance, and design freedom when additively manufactured.

Duratec, a Czech company known for its innovative handmade bike frames, was faced with the challenge of developing and optimizing a lightweight composite racing bike frame. The main objective was to create a world-class performance bike frame by minimizing mass while maintaining or increasing stiffness and strength. The bike frame, being the backbone of a reliable bike, had to be made with high-strength, high-modularity fibers laminated with the best resin. The challenge was further complicated by the need to comply with European standard EN 14781, which specifies performance and safety measures requirements. The Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) department at Advanced Engineering, Altair’s channel partner in the Czech Republic, had to optimize layer stacking and the number of plies necessary to meet all structural targets.

Schneider Electric, a global leader in power management and automation systems, faced a challenge when they identified a new market opportunity for their circuit breaker business in a region where they had no presence. The challenge was to adapt an existing standard design for a circuit breaker’s automatic recloser to be used under different operating conditions, including different voltage levels and types (DC rather than AC), and varying temperatures. The product variant had to meet all-new specifications and the window of opportunity was short, requiring the development of a viable product within only four months. The challenge was further compounded by the need to maintain Schneider Electric's high product standards, superior customer satisfaction, and an excellent corporate reputation for providing products that perform with high reliability.

Griiip, an Israeli motorsport company, aimed to popularize motorsport in Israel and globally, outside the Formula 1 circuit. The company designed a new, fast, and professional race car, the G1, that combined efficiency in racing with a competitive purchase price and low running costs. However, the challenge was to create a race car that was both very strong and very light. All parts of the car needed to be optimized for loads, stress, weight, and endurance. The company also wanted to reduce the development time and the many iterations needed before getting to the final product and each component. Another challenge was to create a new and exciting viewing experience for motorsport fans.

Zodiac Seats France (ZSFR - now Safran Seats), a supplier of upscale passenger seats, aimed to improve seat comfort in airplanes. The challenge was to develop a new kind of airplane seat that would significantly increase passengers’ comfort. The development of airplane seats involves several key factors such as ergonomics, cabin layout, and eco-design. ZSFR also wanted to consider environmental issues and put eco-design and light-weighting at the forefront of its product development plans. Lighter seats help to reduce an aircraft’s fuel consumption and the seats are predominantly produced using recyclable materials. A major concern for the company was the optimization of the comfort of aircraft passengers. The airplane seat market is highly competitive and new, high-quality seats have to be brought to market as quickly as possible. To assess the ergonomic quality of a seat, the engineers needed a tool with which they could simulate all biomechanical discomfort sources for factors such as internal thighs soft tissue compression for a seated passenger.

Roth McFarlane Hand and Upper Limb Centre (HULC) in London, Ontario, faced a significant challenge in evaluating the biomechanics of bone stresses. The center, under the direction of Dr. Louis Ferreira, PhD, was using human bone specimens that were CT scanned with a high-resolution scanner. This process preserved much of the internal trabecular bone’s microstructure geometry. However, the challenge lay in the fact that many measurements from the experimental models were either prohibitive or impossible to measure directly on the specimen. This was particularly relevant in the case of patients with shoulder arthritis who were often treated surgically by replacing the diseased joint with implants. The center needed a way to simulate how different implant types influence bone stresses, which can influence the longevity of the surgical procedure.

Serapid, a company that designs systems for the transfer of heavy loads, often works with dummy geometries of parts from suppliers. These parts, which are to be installed on the platform, are essentially hollow solids. While these dummies are crucial for Serapid to properly size the platform and position the parts, they pose a challenge when simulating the complete structure. The company needs to load the structure with the weights of the installed devices, a process that can be time-consuming and complex. The weight of each part is applied in its center of gravity (COG), which is a remote load application point. This means that the COG of each part needs to be evaluated and spots on the platform where the remote load will be brought to need to be created. This process can be particularly challenging and time-consuming when many devices are installed.

Sharda Motor Industries Limited (SMIL), a market leader in the manufacturing of exhaust systems and other automobile components, was faced with the challenge of reducing product design and development cycle time, effort, and cost. The company aimed to provide innovative products to clients by using simulation, automation, and optimization technologies in the development of exhaust components and systems. The challenge was to evaluate the durability of exhaust system components within a given time frame with high accuracy. They were expected to carry out finite element analysis and explain the results for typical exhaust system components. They also had to consider durability loads such as engine vibration loading and proving ground road-loads. Other durability issues associated with exhaust system components such as the muffler-pipe system, brackets, and hanger designs were required to be analyzed.

Imperial Auto, a leading manufacturer of ‘Fluid Transmission Products (FTPs), faced a significant challenge in their product design and development processes. The company, which supplies parts to some of the world's most reputed Engine, Automotive, and Off Highway and Farm Equipment OEMs, found it crucial to be innovative in their design processes, particularly in the manufacturing of fluid transmission pipes. The company was struggling to optimize fluid flow and minimize fluid loss. They also needed a secured, predictable, and confirmed process that would generate accurate results in their innovation efforts. One of the major challenges they faced was in the design and building of an assembly component where they had to check the 'O' ring leakage that could withstand required air pressure of 3 kg/ cm2. The team had to build several prototypes to confirm the 'O' ring leakage, a process that was unreliable and time-consuming.

INTECH DMLS, a leader in the field of metal-based DMLS 3D printing in India, was faced with the challenge of reducing the weight of a camera holder to be placed on a satellite. The company needed to get the weight right the first time, eliminating the need for prototype iterations. This was a unique challenge as the company did not have the luxury of making errors and iterating. The team had to focus on product design optimization, analysis, mechanical integrity, heat transfer, and other criteria while developing Bionic, Dynamic, and Cellular structures and carrying out lightweight analysis for their products. The camera holder had to be lightweight but still withstand a predefined load and assist in the smooth functioning of the satellite. The customer also wanted the holder to be of a specific weight - not too light nor too heavy - and stiff enough to withstand dynamic load.

Pranav Vikas (India) Private Limited (PVL), a leading heat-exchanger manufacturer in India, faced several challenges in their manufacturing process. The rapidly changing vehicle market and customer requirements necessitated the use of lightweight materials for components to maintain compact product sizes. This required thorough testing and implementation of every new material for product optimization, pushing the team to innovate and develop new manufacturing processes and engineering techniques. Additionally, PVL had to address warranty issues in existing products. Two distinct challenges were faced in recent projects: an oil cooler failure on the Pad-Plate joint for a model that had been in operation for five years, and the need for a design overhaul of the inlet/outlet pipes of a heat exchanger product that required weight reduction without causing warranty failure issues.

Pragati Engineering, a leading press tool design and manufacturing company in India, faced a significant challenge in their product development process. The company was struggling with the formation of cracks and wrinkles in one of their products during the manufacturing process. The traditional method of trial and error that the team used was unable to predict these occurrences. This method forced the team to manually correct the dies and rebuild new tools, leading to unplanned iterations and physical die tryouts. This not only substantially increased the product development time and cost but also impacted delivery schedules. Furthermore, product quality and output accuracy were compromised due to this traditional method.

Andron Handling Ltd., a UK-based company specializing in the design of bespoke mechanical equipment, was developing a custom handler for a major automotive supplier. The handler was designed to transfer wheel sets from a conveyor system to delivery pallets within tight space constraints. A pneumatic clamping system was used to grip up to four wheels at a time, allowing rotation of the wheels while clamped. The challenge was to assess the strength of the welded fabrication and vertical clamping arms for both lifting and clamping loads. In previous analyses of this type, Andron would have removed the wheels from the model and applied reaction forces at the bottom of each of the clamp arms. However, for this project, they needed a different approach that would not have been possible with previous FEA toolsets.

Integrated Design and Engineering Solutions (IDES), a Melbourne-based engineering product development and systems integration company, was tasked with a challenging assignment by the Australian Defence Organization (ADO). The project, known as LAND 121 Phase 3A, involved the procurement of around 2,200 Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon light trucks for the Australian Army. One of the variants of these vehicles was intended to be used as a surveillance and reconnaissance (S&R) vehicle. The IDES team was required to design a module for this vehicle that would provide adequate protection for the rear observer in the event of a vehicle rollover. The team decided to build a vehicle rollover protection structure (ROPS) in the form of a tubular roll cage structure. However, the traditional method of developing such a structure, which involves iterative physical testing, was deemed too time, effort, and cost-intensive for the project's tight timeline.

Fallbrook Technologies Inc., a technology development company, was facing a challenge in improving oil flow within their patented NuVinci® transmission system. The transmission system is a crucial part of their product line, which includes urban mobility vehicles, cars and trucks, industrial equipment, and more. The oil flow within the system directly affects the transmission’s efficiency, durability, power, capacity, and cost. However, physically evaluating the design of such a complex transmission system was practically unfeasible. The company needed a cost-effective, efficient, and robust method to provide internal lubrication and predict the effectiveness of a design scenario. They also required an effective solver/software to guide the design process in the innovation process.

Hussmann India, a provider of tailored food safety solutions, was facing a significant challenge in maintaining the highest performance and quality standards for their refrigerated display cases and refrigeration systems. The company had to conduct extensive analyses of their product designs to identify and rectify even the smallest of design errors early in the design cycle. The highly competitive and price-sensitive nature of the refrigeration industry necessitated the compression of design and development cycle times, while ensuring cost efficiency and uncompromised quality. Hussmann India was also under pressure to ensure that there would be no rise in temperature in the refrigerator due to infiltration, which would directly affect the total efficiency of the refrigerator display case. Another challenge was the cost and time spent on the experimental testing of the refrigerator.

Dynamic Systems Analysis Ltd. (DSA) has been providing custom software solutions for the ocean engineering industry for over a decade. Their software, ProteusDS and ShipMo3D, are used to test virtual prototypes of vessels and equipment operating in ocean conditions. The challenge was to understand the dynamic effects of ocean current, wind, and waves on the Seaflex mooring system, a product of Seaflex AB. This system is custom made for each location based on the expected forces and conditions. The Seaflex system is used in a variety of applications including marinas, wave attenuators, navigational buoys, residential pontoons/docks, floating helicopter platforms, seaplane terminals, floating fish farms, floating solar energy parks, floating houses, wave energy converters, and more. The challenge was to estimate the effect of current, wind, and waves on the mooring and to predict the exact response of the mooring installation a priori to satisfy insurers or engineers.

Zaha Hadid Architects, an international architectural design firm based in London, UK, was faced with the challenge of creating a design proposal for the Museum of the 20th Century that would complement the iconic Neue Nationalgalerie. The Neue Nationalgalerie, designed by Mies van der Rohe in 1968, introduced radical new concepts and refined structural detailing. The challenge for Zaha Hadid Architects was to reinvent a similarly radical approach by applying new advances in technology to generate structural and architectural expression. The firm's Computation and Design research group (co|de) was tasked with developing early-design methods that would enable a directed search for physically, economically, and ergonomically feasible solutions within a vast universe of architectural possibilities enabled by digital design and construction methods.

The shipping and logistics industries are responsible for facilitating over 90% of global trade, utilizing an estimated 35 million containers worldwide. However, global trade deficits result in 1 in 5 containers being shipped empty, leading to losses of over $30 billion annually. CEC Systems’ COLLAPSECON® provides an innovative solution to this problem, with a collapsible container design that improves operational efficiency and reduces environmental impact. However, the COLLAPSECON® design faced challenges due to over-engineering to meet industry ISO standards and pass manufacture testing. The units were nearly three times heavier than a standard container, due to the addition of moving parts and unique structural components. The complex geometries used in the design were also incompatible with traditional manufacturing methods, potentially leading to increased manufacturing costs. To optimise the COLLAPSECON® C-400 design for mass production and operational use, CEC Systems partnered with The Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology (SIMTech).

SUNGJIN FO-MA Inc., a global company specializing in cold forging, faced a significant challenge in the prediction of precision forging processes with springback. Precision forging is a process where tight tolerances are a must, and the phenomenon of springback has a significant influence on the final shape of the product. Conventional forging processes are followed by cutting or trimming to achieve the final shape of the desired product. However, in precision forging, the springback phenomenon has to be considered during process design. The company was particularly concerned with the forging process of the intermediate yoke, a critical steering component, where the springback phenomenon is predominant in the region between the two ears.

The importance of practical education for industrial engineering has been gaining recognition globally. Aichi University Technology (AUT) in Japan has been implementing many effective educational programs for students to acquire practical skills and knowledge. Among these, robot designing is one of the most effective for engineering design. As part of this initiative, AUT participated in a demonstration test competition aiming for future Mars exploration - A Rocket Launch for International Student Satellites (ARLISS). The challenge was to design an autonomous robot that could be launched from a rocket, land safely, and then autonomously travel to a specified target. The design process involved the use of computer-aided tools (CAD, CAM, CAE) and the evaluation of the stress in the robot’s structure.

Amazone, a producer of innovative agricultural technology, was faced with the challenge of redesigning a welded suspension component as a casting part, while improving its weight and durability properties. The component in question was a part of the trailed compact disc harrow, Catros-2TS, used for soil tillage. The original component was a complex welded part weighing 245 kg, with 16.5 m of weld seams needed to join the single parts. This made the production process time-consuming and costly. The challenge was not only to optimize the manufacturing process but also to increase the longevity of the component, as product longevity is a key purchase criterion for farmers. The equipment must be robust enough for harsh operating conditions, and design improvements must not lead to higher prices for the final product.

The Bioengineering Department at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, was faced with the challenge of developing a complete understanding of injury mechanisms for mild traumatic brain injury or concussions. The goal was to prevent or mitigate injury occurrence. Traumatic brain injuries constitute a significant portion of injury resulting from vehicle crash and sports collisions. The department aimed to develop strategies to prevent and mitigate these injuries, which can reduce the heavy emotional, economic, and social price of these injuries for future products. The department had previously developed head injury protection standards based on tolerance curves derived from animal concussion test acceleration results and cadaveric skull fractures. However, these standards could not account for the complex motion of the brain within a deformable skull, neglecting the contribution of angular head acceleration to injury causation and the directional sensitivity of the head.

Subros Limited, a leading manufacturer of thermal products for automotive applications in India, faced significant challenges in meeting product delivery deadlines with agreed quality benchmarks. As a major supplier of AC units to various automotive segments, Subros had to continually upgrade their products to match the evolving designs of vehicles. The pressure of product development timelines was immense, as the launch time of vehicles was crucial for manufacturers. Subros initially used a CAE software tool for simulation to save time in the product development cycle. However, the software was not user-friendly, took a long time to simulate, and was prone to human errors, leading to further delays in product development and delivery. The team needed a robust, quick, reliable, and user-friendly simulation software product to overcome these issues.

Mando Softtech India, a leading manufacturer of automotive component systems, faced significant challenges in maintaining the high performance and quality standards of their products. The company needed to conduct in-depth analysis of their product designs to identify and rectify even the smallest design errors early in the design cycle. The automotive industry being highly competitive and price sensitive, it was crucial for Mando India to compress their design and development cycle time and develop products with utmost cost efficiency without compromising on quality. The company had invested heavily in setting up the right infrastructure in-house with advanced product design, analysis, and simulation tools. However, they faced complex problems such as conducting accurate Hexameshing, generating 2D Meshing and 3D Meshing, and conducting Thermal simulation for ECU casing development. They were also struggling with Tetra and Volume tetra meshing and needed a reliable tool for structural and non-linear analysis.

Swift Engineering, Inc., a product development company with over 30 years of experience in designing, developing, and building high-performance advanced composite vehicles, unmanned systems, and automated robotics, faced a challenge with their Swift020 Unmanned Aerial System (UAS). The challenge was to define the specification for the maximum weight of the maintenance tooling used on the Swift020 UAS. The concern arose from the fact that the flight surfaces of the UAS were minimum gauge, and heavy tools dropped on the structure could cause irreparable damage, downtime, and expensive component replacement. The objective was to determine the maximum maintenance tool weight that, if dropped from a nominal height of 0.762 meters, would not cause permanent damage to any part of the Swift020 UAS.

U-Shin, a global automotive parts manufacturer, faced a challenge in die-casting simulation, result analysis, and design optimization for an automotive dead lock pin. The company specializes in automotive system appliances and mechatronics, producing a wide range of products including lock sets, electronic steering column locks, climate control panels, door latches, keyless entry, door handles, switches, power closure systems, and rear access modules. Many of these parts are manufactured with zamak, a zinc-based alloy. U-Shin's zamak foundry, one of the largest in Europe, produces approximately 10 tons of zamak per day. The company faced the challenge of optimizing over 100 tools per year, a process that is crucial for reducing time and cost, and for providing reliable solutions to customers in the automotive industry.