ALUNATEC APEX

Task:The position of the LED relative to the optics determines the light pattern and glare. Tolerance chains from PCB, holder, reflector and lens are calculated in spreadsheets – without a uniform method, without tilt contribution, without documented assessment.

Solution:AOTM evaluates tolerance chains in X/Y/Z against a specification limit: arithmetic, quadratic (RSS) and statistical sum with selectable Cpk, tilt contribution from angle and lever arm, OK/NOK probability via the normal distribution, contribution analysis with critical links, relationship report between groups and project comparison – with traffic light OK / WARN / NOK.

Benefits:

• Uniform method for all LED tolerance chains in the project
• Critical links visible before tolerances are tightened
• Documented assessment for design review and customer release

Task:Reflectors, lenses and light guides are created from a few parameters. If they are only defined in CAD, total internal reflection losses, missing draft angles, an insufficient luminous flux share or an exceeded installation space are noticed late. Specialised CAD extensions are tied to licences and individual CAD releases.

Solution:Optics calculates the geometry in advance from the parameters, shows the ray path, evaluates photometric and manufacturing limits in three levels (OK / WARN / NOK) and outputs the geometry as a STEP file or CATIA V5 macro – without a licence file.

Benefits:

• Early, documented design before CAD construction
• Photometric and tooling limits in one report
• Transfer geometry into CAD without rework (STEP or macro)
• Variant comparison for installation space and concept decisions

Task:Tolerances of LED, reflector, lens and holder shift the light distribution. Whether a checkpoint is still within limits is only shown by simulating many position combinations – planning and evaluating these in spreadsheets is error-prone and hard to document.

Solution:The tolerance calculator generates the variation plan (fixed steps, points on an ellipse, corners, random uniform or Gaussian), reads in the raytracer result table and evaluates each checkpoint with OK / WARN / NOK, five-number statistics, histogram and a sensitivity ranking of the influencing variables.

Benefits:

• Variation plans in minutes instead of by hand in spreadsheets
• Traceable assessment per checkpoint with statistics and sensitivity
• Identify influencing variables before tolerances are tightened
• Documentation for design review and customer coordination

Task:The rear reflector of a lamp must reach a required luminous intensity value (CIL). Material transmission, wall thickness, triple depth and the refraction correction for oblique sweep and inclination reduce the effective area – whether the design surface is sufficient often only becomes visible at the electroplated sample.

Solution:Reflex calculates the calculation method of the works standard: optical path, transmission from the material characteristic, refraction correction, loss factor, required area versus actual area with reserve and assessment OK / WARN / NOK. The contribution analysis shows whether transmission or refraction is the driver, and which measure (wall thickness, triple depth, tilt of the triple system) turns NOK into OK.

Benefits:

• Know the area requirement before the design freeze
• Measures quantified: before/after values instead of rules of thumb
• Coordination with the electroplating supplier backed by numbers
• Axis systems in the start model without manual work

Task:The adjustment system of a light module determines adjustment travel, lever lengths and the light position on the 10 m wall. With obliquely positioned adjustment axes the kinematics are three-dimensional – manual calculation or CAD measurement is laborious and hard to document. So far the knowledge has been tied up in CAD-bound individual tools.

Solution:From the coordinates of the fixed point, vertical and horizontal adjustment point and an optional LWR point, the Adjustment System calculates adjustment travel, rotation angles and the light position on the 10 m wall – spatially exact, with design rules as traffic light and output as a CAD skeleton (STEP / CATIA macro).

Benefits:

• Assess adjustment kinematics without a CAD licence – also for project management and customer reviews
• Uniform proof of adjustability against customer requirements
• Calculation method 1:1 like the proven Windows original, checked against the executed original
• Result directly as CAD skeleton – no retyping

Task:The adhesive bed permanently and tightly joins housing and cover lens. Its width must accommodate the lens foot, the adhesive bead and the tolerance compensation – and tolerances grow with lens size. Too narrow: leaks, adhesive squeeze-out, tool changes. Too wide: installation space.

Solution:The Housing Configurator calculates the minimum width per direction from the measured dimension of the lens, the width of the lens foot and the compensation gap of the size class, checks all adhesive bed parameters against fixed rules and uses the contribution analysis to show which share drives the width. Contour and sections go into CAD as STEP or CATIA macro.

Benefits:

• Adhesive bed by uniform rule, traceably documented
• Detect adhesive beds that are too narrow before the housing tool is released
• Variant comparison for installation space decisions
• Contour and sections into CAD without rework

Task:The adhesive foot of the cover lens and the adhesive bed of the housing are created in two tools and only meet at assembly. Depth, foot width, adhesive gaps, rib widths and draft angles must fit together and remain demoldable. Errors show up as leaks, adhesive squeeze-out or tool changes – late and expensive.

Solution:The Lens Configurator checks all parameters a–l against the limit values of proven design rules per lamp function, controls the tool directions, calculates the affinity factor from the tolerance and additionally compares with guide values from works standards. Contour, sections and tool directions go into CAD as STEP or CATIA macro.

Benefits:

• Uniform, documented check before tool release
• Contradictions between house rules and standard become visible instead of being overlooked
• Variant comparison for installation space and tolerance decisions
• Contour and tool directions directly into CAD

Task:Housing and Lens rules apply per cross-section. A real adhesive channel, however, follows a curved design curve whose curvature, length and position change several times in the project. Until now every change meant: re-check all cross-sections, rebuild sketches in CAD.

Solution:GlueChannel connects the Housing and Lens modules, loads the guide curve from the current CATIA project (macro export as JSON), calculates the cross-sections at stations and section boundaries along the curve and outputs surfaces and parameter set as STEP/CATScript. A fingerprint of the curve detects design changes; the old/new comparison shows changed areas and assessments.

Benefits:

• Check the adhesive channel along the real curve instead of individual cross-sections
• Detect design changes and re-run the assessment automatically
• One data set for checking (app) and design (CATIA)
• Modules individually or as master app – unlock as needed

Task:Snap hooks break during joining, do not hold after tolerance or cannot be released. The cause is usually already built into the concept: arm too short, cross-section too thick, undercut too small after tolerance or an unfavourable angle with a high friction coefficient.

Solution:SnapFit calculates according to the works standard with documented formulas and 20 materials: four designs (bending hook rectangular/trapezoidal, constant/tapered, torsion hook, ring, ball), undercut statistically from the dimension chain, forces as a band from the friction coefficient range, self-locking detected. Result with OK / WARN / NOK, minimum arm length and material comparison, STEP hook and CATIA parameter set for design.

Benefits:

• Design in minutes instead of manual calculation
• Traceable: every intermediate value with origin, status per input, documented release
• Early decision on length, taper, material and tolerance
• Hooks as STEP directly into design

Task:The basic wall thickness of an injection-moulded part is often set by experience. Too thin: filling problems with long flow paths; too thick: cycle time, mass, cost. The flow length tables and process rules are scattered across old tools and spreadsheets.

Solution:WallThickness interpolates the wall thickness from the flow length at the support points 50…500 mm per material, evaluates the actual wall thickness with OK / WARN / NOK, checks the rib rule and provides the simulation specification (injection time, holding pressure, holding time, cooling time) according to the rules of the original tools – as PDF or directly as parameters into the CATPart.

Benefits:

• Wall thickness with proof instead of experience values
• Design and filling simulation start with the same specification
• Material changes calculated in seconds
• Calculation method of the proven original tools, documented