JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #131 - Novembre/December 2019 - 32

FEATURE
lightweighting

Roding Automobile GmbH uses
advanced lightweight design software

Laurence Dupiczak,
Marketing officer
Siemens PLM Software

R

oding Automobile GmbH is a
technology company and the
manufacturer of the Roding
Roadster, an exclusive carbon lightweight sportscar launched in 2008.
Since its inception, the company has
focused on the development and manufacturing of lightweight structures
made of carbon fibre-reinforced composite materials, serving clients in the
automotive, industrial machinery, and
aerospace industries.
The potential of alternative
materials
Up until a few years ago, steel was the
material of choice across most manufacturing industries, especially in the
automotive sector. Designers had this
material firmly fixed in their materials
databases. But the need for higher energy efficiency has led to an increased
demand for lighter-weight vehicles and
alternative materials to manufacture
them. Aluminium and magnesium, as
well as a range of innovative plastics

32

The efficient development of fibre-reinforced plastics products
for lightweight components to meet government emission and
fuel economy regulations can be made easier by using Fibersim
software. A high-level of expertise in fibre-reinforced plastics
processing and a system-level assessment of costs are also
necessary. This is how Roding Automobile GmbH developed a
world-leading lightweight street-legal sportscar and expanded
the range of lightweighting design services beyond the automotive industry.

including fibre-reinforced composites,
are thus becoming more and more
common in the repertoire of many
designers. The advanced functionality
of state-of-the-art 3D computer-aided
design (CAD) systems makes precise
calculations and detailed design of
these materials possible. As a result,
fibre-reinforced materials such as
carbon-reinforced plastics (CFRP) and
glass-reinforced plastics (GFRP) are
gaining ground as a high-performance,
lightweight alternative to metallic
materials.
The FRP processing challenge
Roding Automobile (Roding) ranks
among the trailblazers in the processing
of fibre- reinforced plastics. As a leading
German-based manufacturer of lightweight, high-performance vehicles, the
company has a high-level of expertise
in the development and manufacture
of FRP products. For Georg Käsmeier,
CEO and founding member of the
company, the early definition of part
design and material selection in the 3D
computer-aided design (CAD) system
is key. He believes that in mass production, basically only materials defined in
the designers' 3D CAD systems can be
used cost-efficiently. Fibre-reinforced

jec composites magazine / N°131 November - December 2019

plastics pose a particular challenge
here. The flat textile-like mats must be
draped and preformed correctly, and
only then, while taking account of the
fibre architecture, is a usable part feasible. Now, a calculation of the material
properties based on the designed fibre
architecture to determine strain and
deformation is interesting. These complex processes can only be mastered
with the right know-how and software
tools.
For mastering the complexity of designing, analyzing and manufacturing
FRP products, Roding relies on the
Fibersim™ software portfolio for
composites engineering, from product
lifecycle management (PLM) specialist
Siemens PLM Software. The company
opted for Fibersim as the key link
between 3D CAD, performance calculation and production. The software
is seamlessly integrated in the existing
design and production processes, in
addition to being easy to operate. As
the software developer, Siemens PLM
Software is a capable partner for ongoing development.
From niche to mainstream
In 2007, four young engineers from the
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #131 - Novembre/December 2019

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