Analyzing decision-making in automotive design towards life cycle engineering for hybrid lightweight components

Abstract

Lightweight design is a major trend in automotive large-scale production. The introduction of innovative materials and combinations, e.g. through hybrid components, is driven by ambitious emission targets addressing the vehicles use phase. Various design options as well as potential tradeoffs to other life cycle phases demand sophisticated decision support. The presented research addresses current design processes of OEM and engineering service providers on a component level. Structured workshops serve as a method towards identifying, characterizing and generalizing decision points, preparatory activities and interfaces alongside product development. The obtained results build the foundations for the development of IT supported engineering tools.