WashTech uses Solid Edge to accelerate development time by 75 percent by simulating flow and heat transfer
Founded in 2015, WashTech supplies one-piece flow washers for the North and South American aerospace and automotive markets.
Solid Edge is so versatile. Even when we open and import files from other platforms, the software never fails or crashes, and it’s incredibly fast.
Cleaning components are critical in industries like automotive, aerospace, medical or semiconductors, where contaminants such as oil films and cutting fluids can disrupt downstream manufacturing processes. Despite their importance, traditional cleaning processes are far from perfect. For example, batch and conveyor belt washers require significant investment, floor space and energy. The cycle times are also long, raising the possibility of bottlenecks.
Fortunately, WashTech found a better way. Its compact, self-contained washer systems are installed in-line with existing production processes, and each one is customized according to its application. To design and manufacture such efficient machines as quickly as possible, WashTech designers needed the right combination of computer-aided design (CAD) software tools to support the product design and development process for each machine.
They found the answer in Siemens Digital Industries Software’s Solid Edge® software. Solid Edge is part of the Siemens Xcelerator business platform of software, hardware and services.
WashTech designs, manufactures and assembles one-piece flow washers that can be used to clean brakes, steering systems, turbochargers and other industrial components in the automotive and aerospace industries. Since its founding in 2015, the Mexican company has grown from 16 to 35 employees, and it serves customers in both the North and South American markets.
Using proprietary cleaning methods, WashTech’s one-piece machines clean and dry components in only 30 seconds. They also occupy minimal space, requiring only 2 square meters of floor space. Thanks to a three-level filtration system, these washers are ideal for cleaning particles between 150 and 600 micrometers (µm) in size.
“In addition to our extremely fast cycle times, what sets us apart is the fact that we install each washer in-line with existing production processes,” explains Mathieu Fresco, director of WashTech. “This capability saves our customers from having to buy large, expensive batch washers and then rerouting their production lines to the machines, a method that can easily create bottlenecks due to the lengthy cycle times.”
In addition to improving efficiency, these one-piece washers enable companies to enhance sustainability, reducing their water and energy needs. These savings can reduce operational costs by 50 percent compared with tunnel washers.
WashTech can design and automate entire manufacturing cells around their washers. For example, one such washer, designed to clean turbochargers, can be part of a broader cell that integrates inbound conveyors, laser scanners, five-axis robotic systems, vision systems, machine tools, leak detection equipment and outbound conveyors, which feed the turbochargers onto multiple pallets.
Engineers can also install the washer between two machines in this cell – for example, a lathe and grinder – to avoid cross-contaminating the water and oil cutting fluids. They can also install the washer before the assembly line to rid the parts of any residue, cutting fluids, oil films and other contaminants, all of which can interfere with the downstream assembly process.
WashTech customizes each one-piece flow washer according to the needs of each the customer. For example, when designing a machine, WashTech engineers will take into account the available floor space, the annual production, the unique nature of the part – which dictates the number of nozzles the machine needs as well as the force of the spray – and whether the washer requires manual or robotic loading.
To streamline the design and development process for each custom washer, WashTech uses Solid Edge CAD software. Thanks to its suite of tools that encompass generative design, mechanical and electrical design, flow simulation and more, WashTech has improved its design process in many ways, from reducing machine assembly time by 50 percent to lowering testing costs by 70 percent. Using Solid Edge has allowed the company to increase the number of designs it can produce, enabling the team to spend less time and money on physical prototypes to validate their systems for each customer.
WashTech uses Simcenter™ FLOEFD™ for Solid Edge software, which supports computational fluid dynamics (CFD) for analyzing fluid flow and heat transfer. Embedded in Solid Edge, Simcenter FLOEFD features intelligent technology that makes the CFD process easier, faster and more precise. For example, Simcenter FLOEFD, which is also part of Siemens Xcelerator, uses synchronous technology and native geometry to save users from having to transfer, alter or clean models, as well as from generating added geometry to represent the fluid
domain.
Thanks to Simcenter FLOEFD, WashTech engineers can front-load the CFD process, moving their flow simulations to earlier in the design process. At the same time, they can compare and refine washer designs without having to invest in added hardware to analyze and validate their models. Further, the designers can simulate fluids with different viscosities in the same machine; whether it is solvents, water or a combination of both.
"Running flow simulations lets us detect and flag potential issues earlier in the design process,” Fresco says. “For example, we can see if the water is recirculating in the wrong
direction inside the chamber, or we can identify areas of particularly high or low pressure.” For applications requiring more complex automation, using Simcenter FLOEFD also allows designers to analyze the heat dispersion in electrical cabinets – for example, informing them if they need to install supplemental cooling mechanisms.
Prior to using Simcenter FLOEFD, WashTech could only test its washer designs by running physical trials with sensors and cameras, a complicated method that took up a lot of time and engineering effort. According to Fresco, designers often defaulted to a process based on educated guesses. By enabling WashTech to test and refine designs using Simcenter FLOEFD, the company reduced its time-to-market and eliminated the time-consuming, costly need
to perform physical tests along the way.
According to Fresco, manual testing required at least four hours of design time and 20 hours of welding and testing time for each iteration of the design. On the other hand, simulating flow and heat transfer with Solid Edge only requires one hour of design preparation and five hours of software calculation during the night, accelerating WashTech’s development time by 75 percent and lowering testing costs by 70 percent.
The Solid Edge synchronous technology combines direct modeling capabilities with parametric design, giving WashTech more design freedom, minimizing rebuild issues and avoiding time-consuming rework. For example, designers can upload 3D models from other software platforms without import issues and then use these models as if they were Solid Edge native files. According to Fresco, these features significantly improve collaboration with suppliers and partners. “Solid Edge is so versatile,” he adds. “Even when we open and import files from other platforms, the software never fails or crashes, and it’s incredibly fast.”
Thanks to the synchronous technology, WashTech designers can also easily modify parts in place. With integrated 2D and 3D sketching, the software allows them to begin concept designs and make changes instantly. By updating reference dimensions or pushing and pulling on geometry, for example, designers can even make late-stage changes to any model without worrying about feature failures, rebuild issues or time-consuming rework.
With Solid Edge Sheet Metal Design, designers can create sheet metal models from 2D sketches, work directly with the geometry and even edit features independently of each other. They can also create and edit a variety of sheet metal features, such as dimples, beads, flanges and more.
This feature streamlines the sheet metal product development process for WashTech designers, preventing them from oversizing components and saving material costs. “These tools are critical for us, especially since roughly 80 percent of our designs are sheet metal,” Fresco says.
WashTech designers use Solid Edge generative design and topology optimization tools to design robotic grippers and end effectors. Based on application parameters, including material, design space and permissible loads, Solid Edge automatically generates designs to reduce mass while maintaining the part’s structural integrity. These features have helped WashTech designers create lightweight robotic grippers and end effectors suitable for 3D printing.
“We can adapt the design of our washers to include robotic loading,” Fresco says. “In these cases, variables like mass, load and moment inertia are important. We want to know how much weight these grippers can carry and how fast they can move. Solid Edge generative design capabilities let us figure all that out quickly and easily.”
To help WashTech designers manage the number and complexities of electrical components, Solid Edge includes many automated functions for creating electrical wiring schematics and wire harnesses.
“It’s very time-consuming to design every wire,” Fresco says. “Before Solid Edge, we were using electrical 2D software that didn’t integrate with our mechanical designs. We ended up tailoring every single cable in terms of length, terminals and tags. This work was tedious and we couldn’t quote or predict the amount of material we needed for a project.”
Now, thanks to Solid Edge, WashTech designers can generate accurate physical layouts and schematics for cabinet panels. According to Fresco, these visual references make it easy to see where each wire starts and ends compared to hand drawings, as well as where to place each electrical component within the cabinet.
“These visual references include all the important information for installing the cabinet, like wire names, gauge colors and cable lengths,” Fresco says. “Before Solid Edge, we’d have to take pictures of the cabinet after it was already installed. If we needed to add new functionalities requiring more components, we’d have to refer to these photos to guess if we had enough space. Now we can just pull up the file in Solid Edge and we know instantly whether there’s enough space or not without traveling to the customer’s facilities.”
In addition to generating cabinet layouts, Solid Edge wiring design tools can be used to simulate and verify electrical behavior as a design is created. The software includes built-in libraries of over 10,000 industrial parts, electrical symbols and simulation models, enabling designers to stay ahead of challenges like short and open circuits, voltage drop, fusing and wire-sizing errors.
“Thanks to its synchronous technology, simulation tools and mechanical and electrical design capabilities, Solid Edge lets us rapidly design and modify our machines,” Fresco concludes. “In turn, we can get to market quickly, keeping us competitive.”
We want to know how much weight these grippers can carry and how fast they can move. Solid Edge generative design capabilities let us figure all that out quickly and easily.