Case Study
Managed Development Environment Delivers Best Formula One Car
Honda Racing F1 Team
Honda Racing F1 Team's new development process smoothed UK-Japan collaboration and accelerated vehicle development to allow time for extensive testing
A UK-Japan collaboration
The Honda Racing F1 Team, owned by Honda Motor Co, was founded in 1997. Since then it has steadily progressed to achieve a well deserved place alongside the Formula One elite, rising to 2nd place in the Constructors Championship in 2004. The team is driven to continue building on its success by winning races and ensuring it remains one of the top three Formula One constructors.
But creating a competitive Formula One racing car is a highly pressurized task. The design and development group at the Honda F1 Racing Team Operations Centre in Brackley has less than five months during the off-season to develop its car for the next year. The new model has to comply with any new regulations that are introduced by the Formula One authorities, and incorporate the latest advances in technology and race design, as well as include adjustments based on vital lessons learned from the way the previous car performed. The task is always to build a faster, better performing and safer car.
David France, head of IT, Honda F1 Racing Team, who with his department is responsible for the crucial IT that supports the team, summarizes the challenges this way: “With such a short space of time to develop the new car, everyone involved needs to work with the greatest possible speed and accuracy throughout the design, test and build phases. The process requires teams of designers and engineers in the UK and Japan to be able to share ideas and designs and work together effectively.”
Managed development environment enhances collaboration
The Honda F1 Racing Team used Siemens’ NX digital product development system and Teamcenter product knowledge management and collaboration solution throughout the development of the new Honda RA106 car for the 2006 Formula One race season. The software was used at every stage of the development cycle, from creating initial design concepts, supporting the rigorous testing routines and manufacturing processes, through to live track-to-factory web collaboration that facilitates fine adjustments to the car based on its racing event performance. “Using NX software our design team was able to start working up initial designs and then to gradually progress towards creating a complete 3D model of the new car, down to every nut and bolt, including over 3,500 in-house designed parts,” explains Matt Harris, technical computing manager, Honda F1 Racing Team.
Throughout the process, the different teams of designers responsible for the mechanical systems, body and wings, electronics and hydraulics of the car – and Honda’s designers who create the engine in Japan – were able to use Teamcenter to reference each change to the geometric model and ensure that their designs accommodated it. “Take the rear suspension designers, for example,” says Harris. “Using the Siemens software they were able to view the gearbox designers’ 3D design to assess precisely how the suspension should fit with the gearbox housing.”
Teamcenter’s visualization technology enabled multiple parties to view the latest up-to-date 3D designs of the car and its parts in standard JT format, and share feedback as these designs were modified and refined. As the design progressed, animation sequences created with NX allowed the designers to visualize how the car’s different interlocking and moving parts would operate together. By animating the turning circle of the steering wheel, for example, the designs could ensure that the steering system and front suspension assembly did not interfere with each other.
Rigorous testing supported by NX
The requirements for precision and safety mean there are painstaking testing routines built into virtually every element of building a Formula One car. Siemens software played a central part in supporting this. Initial wind-tunnel testing that assessed the aerodynamic efficiency of the new design utilized design data from NX in two ways. First, the data for the 3D model was employed in computer simulations using computational fluid dynamics (CFD), which simulated the flow of air over and around the car. Second, the NX data was used to drive a laser machine tool to create a 50 percent scale model of the car made of carbon composites. This resulting model was tested in a real wind tunnel testing facility at Brackley.
During the stress testing phase, the Honda F1 Racing Team used computer simulations from the NX design data to model and analyze the effect of impacts and stresses on different parts of the car’s body. For example, the nose cone and roof of a Formula One car needs to withstand specified stress levels in order to comply with strict safety regulations.
The NX digital data was used in computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) to drive computer controlled machine tools at Honda F1 Racing Team’s Brackley site. The NX data was also exported to Honda F1 Racing Team’s external suppliers for manufacturing specific parts. Another important testing routine was carried out by the inspections department. This involved passing a touch sensitive probe over the newly manufactured parts to assess their dimensions for accuracy against the 3D designs. “Inspections testing ensures every single part is the correct dimension and everything fits together snugly. If a part is only a fraction of a centimeter out, it could have a huge impact on the performance of the car,” explains Harris.
At race and test events, Siemens’ product lifecycle management (PLM) solutions enabled race engineers to view an expanded 3D representation of the car and discuss up-to-the-minute refinements to suit specific conditions or race tracks. The engineers are able to modify their digital designs, update the CAM programs and machine new parts if required.
A race against time
“Each year we are in a race against time to design and develop the car for the next Formula One season,” says Harris. “The technical challenges in order to build a faster, better performing, safer car that keeps in line with any changes to the F1 authorities’ stringent regulations are immense. NX and Teamcenter together have given us the design power, accuracy and collaboration ability, as well as huge savings in time in order to meet these challenges.”
“We are very happy with the pre-season performance of the RA106,” adds Geoffry Willis, technical director, Honda F1 RacingTeam. “It is a development of last year’s car, building on the lesson’s learned during a difficult 2005. So far it has performed exactly as predicted and shows that with the use of Siemens’ PLM solutions, Honda remains at the forefront of F1 technology.”
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Challenges:
- Design and build a new Formula One car in the brief, five-month off-season
- Teams of designers and engineers in the UK and Japan must collaborate effectively in the intensive design, test and build process
Keys To Success:
- Use NX software digital product development system and Teamcenter® software digital lifecycle management solution throughout new car development
Results:
- Siemens PLM Software technology supported the development of the Honda 007, hailed as "without doubt the best car the team has ever built"
- The car was designed and developed within short offseason, affording plenty of time for valuable testing and modification
Industry:
- Automotive & Transportation
Client's Primary Business:
The Honda F1 Racing Team specializes in Formula 1 auto racing.
Solutions/Services:
- NX
- NX Design (CAD)
- NX Digital Lifecycle Simulation (CAE)
- Teamcenter
Client Location:
Brackley, Northamptonshire
United Kingdom
"The technical challenges in order to build a faster, better performing, safer car are immense. NX and Teamcenter together have given us the design power, accuracy and collaboration ability, as well as huge savings in time, in order to meet these challenges."
Matt Harris
Technical Computing Manager
Honda Racing F1 Team
"Using NX software our design team was able to start working up initial designs and then to gradually progress towards creating a complete 3D model of the new car, down to every nut and bolt, including over 3,500 in-house designed parts."
Matt Harris
Technical Computing Manager
Honda Racing F1 Team