PTC, the Product Development Company, has announced that in an extensive benchmark process Aston Martin Racing has selected and implemented Creo Elements/Pro for the 3D CAD design of its racing vehicles and Windchill for product lifecycle management (PLM) in its race car division.
According to Aston Martin, it is the only manufacturer that produces a car to compete in every category of the FIA GT Championship sports car racing series. Models range from modified standard vehicles in the GT4, GT3 and GT2 classes - including the high-performance V12 - to the 6.0 litre 600 BHP DBR9 in the GT1 class and the Le Mans prototype LMP1 Aston Martin.
Aston Martin Racing has moved away from its previous third-party chassis strategy to develop its next generation LMP1 from scratch. This new racing vehicle is now being designed and engineered from the ground up using Creo Elements/Pro and Windchill to manage the development process. In addition to the designers, the purchasing department uses Windchill for its request for quotation process, enabling collaboration with suppliers.
"The PTC solutions have far greater capabilities than our previous toolset," said Ian Ludgate, Chief Designer at Aston Martin Racing. "Although we are still very early in our learning of the system, we've already seen significant benefits in simple things like mechanism design, which is built into the Creo Elements/Pro toolset and subsequently distributed by Windchill."
"We implemented Creo Elements/Pro to optimize our design process and Windchill to streamline and manage our processes," said Steve Baker, PLM Specialist at Aston Martin Racing. "To achieve ultimate efficiency, we needed a single, comprehensive PLM system that supports the entire design from early-stage product development to manufacturing. With Windchill, our data will be complete and in one location, which means we will save time by accessing the right data quickly."
"Aston Martin Racing's adoption of Windchill is another example of how PTC's technology is helping high performance automotive companies improve product development processes," said Paul Haimes, vice president, technical sales PTC. "Joining PTC automotive customers Hyundai Motor Company, Kia Motors Corporation, Volvo AB, Continental AG, and Schaeffler, Aston Martin Racing recognises the importance of an open and modular PLM architecture, to design complex products in a heterogeneous environment, while minimising cost, improving quality and shortening time to market."
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