Aston Martin has completed a testing and evaluation project for component extraction software solutions, a key aspect of supporting their proposals for design progression.

The purpose of Path Planning or Component Extraction software is to evaluate a component’s ability to be removed, or installed, within a certain environment before a physical model has ever been manufactured, thus reducing rapid prototyping expenditure massively. It also means several design iterations can be evaluated simultaneously, with only the most service, package and cost effective solutions being progressed. An added function which UKSE have employed is the Swept Service Volume or SSV generator. This tool creates a volume of a component’s extraction path which can then be package protected for in the CAD world.

Working with Aston Martin, UKSE have rigorously tested two software packages using a set of predefined environments. The results, problems and additional information have been recorded along with a software comparison for line by line functionality evaluation by Aston Martin. The chosen solution will be rolled out company wide at Aston Martin, so they can take advantage of benefits offered by this software and design philosophy.