2003 North America VPD Conference

This event brought together hundreds of engineering professionals to share their knowledge, best practices and views concerning the future of design and simulation in the automotive, aerospace, defense, rail, shipbuilding and other industrial manufacturing industries.

Agenda Overview - Click here to download the conference Agenda

Click here to view full keynote presentations.

Keynotes

Our showcase of keynote speakers provided valuable insight into how the most successful companies are preparing for the future with informative and in-depth presentations given by industry leaders and change-makers.

Monday, October 13

Frank Perna, Jr. [bio]
Chairman and CEO
MSC.Software Corporation

Linking Virtual Product Development to Financial Success Today's manufacturing and product development organizations are more challenged than ever before. Pressures to cut cost, increase productivity, better manage paper-thin resources and get reliable products to market on time with lower warranty exposure have never been greater. But with millions of engineers around the world utilizing the power of simulation software, why isn't the increasing use of simulation and virtual product development techniques an enormous revolution in every manufacturing sector around the world? Growing investments in VPD are based upon the successes being achieved and the engineering challenges being met and cost effectively communicated in product development organizations around the world. Modifying traditional processes, increased levels of inter and intra department integration, and better utilization of physical testing are all important factors of these successes. Accomplishments need to be communicated to management and the boardroom loudly, clearly, and in cold hard numbers, (e.g. Return On Investment/ROI). By better understanding and communicating the very tangible financial successes made possible with VPD, simulation analysts, designers and engineers of all types can, with the help of MSC.Software, better demonstrate VPD successes and have a much greater, positive impact on the products and organizations they drive.

Dale Karolak [bio]
Vice President of Product Development
Intier Automotive

Strategies for Embedding Virtual Product Development Practices for a Tier One Supplier Product development expectations, approaches and pressures are different for a global tier one supplier than an OEM. Tier one suppliers are faced with additional challenges such as interfacing with multiple customers and their varying standards for analysis, meeting multiple product and test requirements, interfacing with different CAD/CAE tools and working with a diffused knowledge base within their organization. While there are similarities in implementing VPD processes between most organizations, there are significant differences based on their business environment. Engineering expectations, training, processes, partnerships, collaboration and culture are key elements that must be addressed in a more complex tier one environment. At Intier Automotive, strategies have been created that embeds VPD into the product development process that simplifies the complexities of working in a multiple customer environment. These strategies address issues that drive higher quality and reliability into our products and reduce the development costs on a global basis while being responsive meeting multiple customer demands.

Kevin Fowler [bio]
Director of Process Integration, 7E7 Program, Boeing Commercial Airplanes

Taking Virtual Product Development to the Next Level for the Boeing 7E7 Dreamliner The 7E7 Dreamliner is the first all new commercial jet at Boeing since the development of the 777 in the early 90's. The 777 was developed using 3-D models allowing the design team to virtually assemble the airplane before making design releases. This process enabled the elimination of physical mockups but still relied on extensive tests of pre-production hardware to verify compliance with requirements. Virtual Product Development will be taken a major step forward on the 7E7 to dramatically reduce costs, shorten the development schedule and improve product quality. An integrated set of analysis and modeling tools are used in a concurrent product development environment to streamline the design process and verify that the product meets functional, physical, build and support requirements prior to design release.

Phil Martens [bio]
Vice President, Product Creation, North America, Ford Motor Company

Transition to Virtual Product Development at Ford Motor Company To meet the pressures of ever increasing competition in the automotive industry, Ford Motor Company is changing the way it develops new products. Ford Motor Company has a 100-year history of automotive leadership. We must now integrate our large pool of past experience with new technologies to continuously improve quality, grow market leadership and profitability. Product Development at Ford Motor Company will increasingly rely on tools and processes that allow quick accurate assessment of all dimensions of a new product before physical build. These enablers will include reuse of field-tested components, tight coupling of CAx, digital build and virtual verification driven by a disciplined product development process. This new direction in product development will significantly improve engineering efficiency, reduce time to market and increase our ability to produce more frequent introductions of high quality innovative products.

Tuesday, October 14

Bob Ryan [bio]
Executive Vice President, Product Division
MSC.Software Corporation

VPD, The Engine of Innovation Economic studies reveal that today the world gets more than half its economic growth directly due to innovation. Innovation yields productivity advances, new business methods, new technology applications and even spawns entirely new industries. And innovation is now prerequisite in successful new product development as firms face intense global competition, demanding customers, fragmented markets, increasing product complexity, compressed product cycles, price and profit pressures, strict regulatory and liability environments and skyrocketing costs of testing and physical prototyping. But successful product development companies can not leave innovation to chance. Whether delivering airplanes, automobiles, ships, machine tools, copiers, biomedical devices, golf clubs or children's toys, the strategic application of Virtual Product Development (VPD) technology and processes drives new product development innovation, spanning concept development, design, testing and production activities. This keynote will discuss the VPD technology portfolio, implementation strategies and how VPD integrates with a firm's existing product development processes, core technical knowledge and established business and technical competencies. The audience will gain an understanding of how VPD enables better product development decisions, supports the systematic exploration of innovative design alternatives and, ultimately, delivers the ability to consistently "get the product right": the right performance, safety, durability, manufacturability, maintainability, cost and time to market to meet today's challenges.

Dennis J. Wend [bio]
Director of the National Automotive Center (NAC)
Executive Director for Technology Transfer at the U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC)
U.S. Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command (TACOM)
Develop, Apply, and Validate Simulation Tools

Dr. Ahmed Noor [bio]
Director, Center for Advanced Engineering Environments, NASA Langley Research Center

Modeling, Simulation and Visualization Technologies - Frontiers and Beyond Virtual Product Development Systems evolved from the integration of modeling, simulation and visualization facilities with other product life-cycle software and management tools. As the trend of distributed collaboration, large-scale integration of computing resources, enterprise tools, facilities, and processes continues, fundamental paradigm shift will occur in modeling, simulation and visualization. The multimedia presentation will address the future of the three technologies and will be divided into three parts. In the first part, a brief overview is given of the evolution of virtual product development systems, along with the role of modeling, simulation and visualization in these systems. The second part lists the forces driving a change in modeling, simulation and visualization, and describes some of the future aerospace systems, as examples of complex system-of systems, along with their major characteristics and enabling technologies. In the third part, the key components and characteristics of future intelligent modeling, simulation, and visualization facilities are described, along with the innovative research, learning and design environments. These environments will incorporate a synergistic combination of intelligent tools and facilities; nontraditional methods; and advanced human-computer interfaces. They will significantly enhance productivity and stimulate creativity in global business-to-business heterogeneous environment.

Chris P. Theodore [bio]
Vice President, Advanced Product Division
Ford Motor Company
Changing at Ford GT Speed

Wednesday, October 15

Doug Peterson
Application Software Development VP
MSC.Software Corporation
Application Software Development Strategy

Reza Sadeghi
Solver Software Development VP
MSC.Software Corporation
Software Development Strategy

Presentation Sessions

Users' success stories, unique approaches, and creative solutions to challenges were presented in over 18 technical and management sessions. Listen as MSC.Software professionals present their management techniques, technical applications, and provide detailed practical information about simulation applications. Click here to view a list of presenting companies.

TECHNOLOGY TRACK Experts in the Technology Track provided detailed practical information about simulation functions in sessions highlighting applications including aerodynamics, durability, modeling, nonlinear, NVH, structural analysis, and vehicle dynamics.

MANAGEMENT TRACK Vice presidents, directors of engineering, chief engineers and CAD/CAE managers delivered presentations on how to successfully implement VPD processes and strategies.

Conference Proceedings

Professional Development Sessions

Attendees were given the opportunity to further maximize the benefits of the conference by joining the professional development opportunities.

MSC.Nastran 2004 Technical Seminar (October 15-16)
This post-conference seminar focused on the new features and functions of MSC.Nastran 2004. Taught by MSC.Nastran experts, this in-depth technical session delved into the details and used examples to illustrate the new features and latest enhancements to our flagship product. For more information on additional MSC.Nastran 2004 seminars, email: www@mscsoftware.com.

Special Interest Groups
A great opportunity to learn and contribute to, the vision and tools for process-based Virtual Product Development. Presentations focused on challenges in the engineering process, explored valuable industry examples, and examined the roadmap for VPD solutions. Special Interest Group sessions included:

• Noise Vibration and Acoustics
• Safety & Crash Worthiness
• Vehicle Dynamics
• Process Automation & Simulation Data Management
• Vehicle / Structure & Body
• Powertrain
• Loads, Durability & Fatigue
• Mechatronics, Systems & Controls
  

Mentor onDemand "Live"
Participants in MSC.Software's Mentor onDemand "Live" benefited from free professional support. A half hour private session with an MSC.Software expert during the VPD Conference is dedicated to answering particular engineering question related to MSC.Software products.

Breakfast & Learn Seminars (October 14-15)
These breakfast seminars were dedicated to bring together interested attendees to discover the latest enhancements to MSC.Software products. Breakfast and Learn sessions included:

Tuesday October 14
MSC.Marc presented by Ted Wertheimer
MSC.Nastran presented by Claus Hoff

Wednesday October 15
MSC.Patran presented by Sam Lu
MSC.ADAMS presented by Lisa Schutte

Evening Networking Opportunities
Conference attendees were invited to join the evening events offering valuable opportunities to interact with peers.

Sunday night, attendees were invited to "Start the Event in the Right Direction" at a welcome reception.

Monday night, celebrating 40 Years of Innovation while networking with colleagues, visiting exhibitions, and enjoying cocktails and hors d'oeuvres.

Tuesday night, attendees were invited to our Customer Recognition Dinner as we honored customers who have been using MSC.Software technology and services for more than 20 years. Over 40 people were recognized from the following companies:

American Axle & Manufacturing	Lockheed Martin Aeronautics
DaimlerChrysler Corporation	Nasa Glenn Research Center
Delphi Corporation	NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Embraer	NAVAIR
Ford Motor Company	Northrop Grumman
General Motors Corporation	Parker Hannifin
Harley Davidson Motor Co.	Sandia National Laboratories
John Deere Construction Equipment Co.	The Boeing Company

After dinner, a fun-filled Monte Carlo Casino with roulette, black-jack and craps tables was set up for attendees to play and with their winnings, bid on customer products and prizes!