AMAZONE develops and produces innovative agricultural technology with a high standard of quality, enabling and supporting modern and economical arable farming methods.
Agricultural machinery is used under very harsh and extremely varying conditions. In addition to service quality and the availability of spare parts, product longevity is a key purchase criterion for farmers. When developing a new product, manufacturers not only have to be competitive regarding price, they also have to consider the durability of the product, since this aspect impacts the manufacturer’s reputation in the marketplace.
New manufacturing methods for higher longevity and economic viability
Agricultural machinery and related equipment have seen an enormous increase in efficiency during the last decade. By increasing the ground coverage with, for example, higher throughput rates, expanded cutting units, and higher tank capacities, overall productivity has been significantly enhanced. However, the equipment must still be robust enough for harsh operating conditions, and design improvements must not lead to higher prices for the final product.
A need arose for Amazone to re-design an original welded suspension component as a casting part, while improving the weight and durability properties.
solidThinking® Inspire was used to optimise the structure. They first defined the possible design space and the boundary conditions, such as loads, required stiffness and manufacturing restrictions.
The results, in the words of Amazone’s Sebastian Kluge:
“To optimize the structure, we used solidThinking Inspire.
Thanks to the load-specific structure of the casting part, durability increased by a factor of 2.5 while the weight was reduced by 8 percent.
The new version of the suspension component is already in operation and has reduced Amazone’s manufacturing costs by one-third.”
Meet Altair, the distributors of solidThinking® Inspire, at their exhibitor booth at RAPDASA 2017.