Siemens PLM Award of Excellence

The McMaster Engineering EcoCAR3 Team was proud to take home the Siemens PLM Award of Excellence in the final year of the EcoCAR3 Competition

The McMaster Engineering EcoCAR3 Team was proud to represent Canadian automotive innovation during year four of the EcoCAR3 competition. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, General Motors, and managed by Argonne National Laboratory, EcoCAR3 challenged sixteen North American university teams to redesign a 2016 Chevrolet Camaro to create a performance hybrid.

To dispel the myth that power has to sacrifice efficiency, the McMaster team utilized a highly advanced P1 and P2 hybrid architecture in their E/28 Chevrolet Camaro. Siemens PLM software was vital to the mechanical design of the vehicle. The team was able to simulate numerous structural and thermal systems and develop a packaging strategy prior to implementing components into the vehicle.

“Our team took full advantage of the powerful tools enabled by Siemens software in order to maintain our high standards in the design and fabrication of vehicle components. Advanced modeling techniques, simulation, and PLM software were all important components in how our team approached the engineering challenges within the EcoCAR3 competition.”

-Matt Leyland, Mechanical Team Lead

Convergent modelling with Siemens NX 11 was one of the many tools used to design the E/28 powertrain. The geometry of our engine was created using a red point 3D scan, as well as a coordinate measurement machine used to precisely identify the position of various mating facets. Being able to combine facets, surface, and solids into one model allowed auxiliary components to be placed accurately and with appropriate clearance around the engine. Several critical components were designed with mating facets to the engine.

A finite element analysis was also done on our motor shafts using NX Nastran to ensure the validity of our design. For the simulations multiple tools were used to optimize the process such as the mesh control features. By increasing mesh density in points of interest rather than the entire part, we obtain the desired result without excessive simulation run times. Simcenter tools also allows the mesh elements to easily update after making changes to the solid body, saving hours during design revisions.

The McMaster Engineering EcoCAR3 team was excited to take home the first-place Siemens PLM Award of Excellence in both year 3 and the final year competition for its extensive use of Siemens PLM tools.

“Siemens has enabled students the opportunity to develop a variety of skills prior to entry into the workplace. The mechanical team was praised for its workflows comparable to industry professionals, and our integration of Teamcenter, NX and Mentor software in preparing our team members for success beyond their time with the team.”

-Federico Duperly, Engineering Manager

Advanced vehicle technology competitions (AVTCs) are furthering the future of sustainable energy while allowing students to gain hands-on, relevant industry experience during their formative years in school. On behalf of the McMaster Engineering EcoCAR3 Team, we are thankful to all of our sponsors, supporters, and mentors that have allowed us to remain competitive in this elite technology competition.