Working with a prestigious automotive OEM client, UK Service Evolution SERP Engineers have recently implemented processes and methods to facilitate integrating service CAD geometry into Product Data Management (PDM)-driven product-development processes.

Service Swept Volumes (SSVs) are a geometrical representation of the withdrawal path required when a component is removed for service. SSVs are used to protect priority components to ensure that they are easily removed and replaced without an unnecessary level of disassembly (e.g. to allow the alternator to be removed without breaking the A/C or PAS system).

Integrated into PDM, SSVs and other Service CAD Geometry items can alert both component and package engineers to service requirements that are not immediately obvious from observing components modelled in their nominal positions. As such, they act as both visual reminders and as data items that can support automated processes such as batch clash-detection.

UKSE methods divide SSVs into two key areas: volumes for serviceable components that have withdrawal paths constrained by the engine architecture (for example Ignition Coils, Fuel Injectors, Cam Covers, Accessory Belt Tensioners), and volumes for serviceable components that have withdrawal paths constrained by the vehicle package environment (for example: Starter Motor and Alternator). SSV data is not limited extraction path data. For example, geometric representation of hand and tool access is also created and published to programme specific digital bucks as required.