Generative design of a car transmission system

• Main Authors: Srinivasan, Naveen Raj, Vaishnavi, Chamala, Rai, Kishok, Vasan, Riya, Jebaseelan, Davidson
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Subjects: Design engineering; Design optimization; Energy consumption; Gearboxes; Gears; Industry 4.0; Iterative methods; Lightweight; Manufacturability; Manufacturing; Powertrain; Software
• ISSN: 0094-243X; 1551-7616
• DOI: 10.1063/5.0148659

The study focuses on optimizing the automobile power train in the commercial 4-wheelers sector, in order to obtain lightweight gears, which can be manufactured additively, without compromising on their structural properties. In general, heavy rotating masses such as gear wheels and shafts have a significant impact on fuel consumption. Current technology shows meager potential in lightweight gears mainly due to their manufacturability. With the advent of additive manufacturing, this problem can be tackled. A basic 5-gear transmission system gearbox adhering to the above was modeled using the CAD software SolidWorks, whose components have been illustrated so as to get an idea of what the system has to do, and thereby determine what all it needs to contain to do the same. Then, the model was exported to Fusion360, where the optimizing process called Generative Design had been applied. Generative Design is a paradigm of improved engineering design, transforming the engineering design and manufacturing process as it is today, with the advent of Industry 4.0. This is an AI-powered iterative computerized designing process wherein the requirements of the user and the operating environment of the model have to be adumbrated, upon which the software provides the user with a number of possible outcomes that would best solve the problem as described. Therefore, the operational environment of the gears had to be analyzed and the forces experienced by each one during its performance were calculated so as to feed into the software. The geometry of the design had to be demarcated into regions that were essential, and other regions that could be optimized by the program to provide better results. The final outcomes obtained were scrutinized and have been displayed at the end, giving the reader an impression of how a shape-optimized version of the usual common transmission system would appear.