PLM has emerged as the primary means by which manufacturing companies can achieve improvements in their product development processes

The Catia V5 Human Modeling Solutions will enable Toyota Motorsport GmbH designers to minimise the physiological demands placed on its drivers from heat, noise, vibration and the car's safety restraints. Using cutting-edge Catia V5 Human Modeling ergonomics tools, Toyota Motorsport GmbH engineers will simulate driver behaviour and measure key criteria such as reach, visibility, comfort, posture, biomechanics, strength and anthropometrics. This analysis will enable the team to make driver-oriented decisions about cockpit design, while respecting the overall aerodynamics of the racecar body.

To optimise cockpit ergonomics, engineers will first create a digital model of each driver using a combination of laser scanning and manual anthropometrical techniques. The resulting virtual models will be used to analyse and improve specific accommodation issues such as driver comfort and security, and accessibility and serviceability of components inside the cockpit during pit stops - without the need to involve the actual drivers.

"The cockpit is the nucleus of a racecar," says Waldemar Klemm, IT manager, Toyota Motorsport GmbH. "It is a very confined space that protects the vital elements of the car, most importantly the driver. An improved cockpit, with a comfortably and safely installed driver brings us closer to success at every race. The integration of the Catia V5 Human Modeling ergonomics tools within our PLM product development platform allows us to manage ergonomics data in an efficient and intuitive manner within the overall development process of the entire car."

"We are particularly pleased that Toyota Motorsport GmbH has decided to use the Catia V5 Human Modeling Solutions as part of their PLM deployment," says Mark Morrissey, general manager, Ergonomic Solutions, Dassault Systèmes. "Toyota Motorsport GmbH's commitment to integrate their design process, including ergonomics studies for the driver environment, is the type of user scenario we envisioned when we integrated the SAFEWORK human modelling technology into the Catia V5 architecture."

The first phase of the Catia V5 Human Modeling Solutions implementation was recently completed when 2005 F1 drivers, Ralf Schumacher and Jarno Trulli, were measured and laser-scanned at the headquarters in Cologne in order to create the digital models that will be used to simulate and optimise their comfort and performance within the TF105 racing car.

For more information contact Igal Filipovski, CDC, 011 786 3516, igal@cdcza.co.za, www.cdcza.co.za