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Automotive and transportation Daimler Trucks Premier truck manufacturer enhances durability testing with the help of Siemens PLM Software Product LMS Business challenges Fulfill durability requirements for a huge variety of product models Meet the specific product durability needs of customers in different regions Enhance durability of trucks with improved testing and validation techniques Keys to success Improve durability through Daimler Trucks uses LMS vehicles like fire engines, tippers, concrete use of simulation Tecware and services to boost mixers – and the additional choice of wheelbase and wheel drive configurations Implement full integration measurement instrumentation of test and simulation creates an enormous variety of models. procedures and data collection “We aren’t only obliged to meet these cus- Leverage data generated on Meeting diverse needs tomer demands on the global market with the proving grounds With brand names such as Mercedes-Benz, different brands and product designs,” says Freightliner, Western Star, Fuso and Dr. Christof Weber, who manages the Results BharatBenz, Daimler Trucks is one of Daimler Durability and Bench testing today’s biggest globally active developer Enhanced durability testing Competence Center in Wörth am Rhein. and manufacturer of trucks. Asia accounts “But we are also challenged by a diversity Improved measurement for 32 percent of unit sales, followed by of reliability needs; on top of this, we have instrumentation and the the North American Free Trade Agreement to meet evolving environmental standards execution of the data (NAFTA) region (27 percent), Europe (22 and control the total lifetime cost of the collection percent) and Latin America (15 percent). truck. These constraints vary from market Integrated test and The huge product variation – light, to market. With respect to durability, and simulation procedures medium and heavy trucks for local and considering all the different standards and long-distance deliveries, heavy load and Generated high-quality customer needs, defining the appropriate off-road applications, as well as special results on the test track design targets is not an easy task.” www.siemens.com/plm/lms Durability is key “For example, in Brazil, the same standard, The critical question for durability engi- unreinforced trucks will only last 900,000 neers is always the total cost of ownership km. But at the same time, we know of 30- of a truck, so the added value of durability and even 40-year-old trucks that are still in engineering is very clear. daily use. You might have to change the engine or the axles, but as a backbone, the “Durability defines the long-term percep- chassis should never break.” tion of the product, radiating reliability and robustness, and also dictates the Daimler Truck’s durability testing and residual value of a truck on the second- validation procedures are very customer- hand market,” says Weber. “Next to this, a usage oriented: “We call it application- truck needs to be absolutely safe under all specific testing,” Weber says. “It’s based conditions.” on customer usage profiles, market intelligence and expectations, and field Truck durability standards are much more measurements from all over the world. demanding than for those of a passenger Siemens PLM Software is our partner in the car, and also differ from market to market. business of retrieving all this information. We also do measurements together with “Mercedes-Benz cars are designed to with- customers in their specific applications. stand 300,000 kilometers (km) without That way we learn how a truck is used on a major repairs,” says Weber. “Long-haul day-to-day basis.” standard trucks are designed to last 1,200,000 km. Of course, harsher environ- The usage intelligence gained from these mental conditions, more overload and customer trials is linked to each cell of the more dynamic driving will shorten the life application matrix, and varied by putting a expectancy of the truck. scatter of distribution over the parameters. “ We very much appreciate the collaboration with Siemens PLM Software, especially the fully integrated service offered. It is not only about evaluating data; when needed, Siemens PLM Software can provide us with the full line of services.” Dr. Christof Weber Daimler Durability and Bench testing Competence Center Daimler Trucks “By adopting these statistical methods, we helpful tool. It lets you estimate how dif- are able to simulate more or less 100,000 ferent components will interact and how different customers for each application this will affect the truck’s overall cell,” Weber says. “With this enriched appli- durability.” cation matrix, we can define design targets for truck applications throughout the Understanding specific market world. requirements Proving grounds play a key part in the roll- “Working on durability starts with simula- out of Daimler Trucks’ application-specific tion. We try to get as much work done in testing philosophy. The 2007 state-of-the- the low-cost areas early in the develop- art proving ground in Wörth am Rhein is ment process by means of simulation and part of the Development and Test Center limiting the amount of field tests as much at the Mercedes-Benz Wörth plant, the as possible. Simulation accuracy is assured largest commercial vehicle plant by conducting specific tests and constant worldwide. feedback loops between test and simula- tion. Of course, this approach necessitates The new 550,000 square-meter proving the full integration of simulation and test ground is designed to recreate a relevant procedures.” set of road and terrain conditions from around the world. The outside test lanes Testing all variants would be far too costly include grades of up to 26 degrees. These and time consuming; therefore, a specific lanes are used for function testing, such as vehicle combination is selected to repre- brake tests. The inside area features a full sent an entire platform range. Only this variety of rough-terrain tracks, with 14 dif- one vehicle will undergo a rig test or a ferent types of road surfaces covering the complete road test. entire spectrum of world road conditions, from highway to dirt road. Test drivers are “If you are able to map the mutual influ- assisted by a global positioning system ences for different systems in a truck, you (GPS) that helps them to perform repeated automatically know how many variants test routines consistently while adhering you need to test,” says Weber. “The truck to the engineers’ instructions. selection is based on targeted simulation and long-term engineering experiences. The design of experiments (DOE) is a very “Working on durability starts with simulation. We try to get as much work done in the low- cost areas early in the develop- ment process by means of simulation and limiting the amount of field tests as much as possible. Simulation accu- racy is assured by conducting specific tests and constant feedback loops between test and simulation. Of course, this approach necessitates the full integration of simulation and test procedures.” Dr. Christof Weber Daimler Durability and Bench Testing Competence Center Daimler Trucks “By cleverly combining customer profiles Daimler recently inaugurated its new with specific track characteristics, we’re state-of-the-art production facility in able to design a durability test track pro- Oragadam, India. The site also houses an gram profile that accurately represents a integrated research and development cen- specific market requirement,” says Weber. ter and test track. The facility will produce “It’s basically a very simple idea, yet it light to heavy BharatBenz trucks from the requires a complex manipulation of data, third quarter of 2012. The Indian test which you have to translate into a test pro- facility is spread across approximately gram, telling the test driver exactly how 19 hectares and has two different tracks. many times and at what speed he has to drive different circuit sections, represent- The three-lane outer track has a total ing, for instance, the application profile of length of 1.55 km and is specially designed a Brazilian customer.” for testing the power train and driving noise. The two-lane inner track is 1.16 km For the test driver, it is not so easy to keep long and includes a variety of poor road all these parameters in mind while driving; features specific to India. The track also therefore, every test vehicle at the Wörth offers special testing opportunities, includ- test track is controlled with a GPS. This ing a water trough, a dusty road and poor allows the test engineer to remotely check road surfaces. Facilities for testing on if the driver performs according to the grades and steering will be added in the brief. A cockpit display informs the driver near future. about his actual and target speed, and possible tolerances. The driver can also be warned through acoustical feedback. Solutions/Services LMS Tecware www.siemens.com/plm/ lms-tecware LMS Engineering www.siemens.com/plm/ lms-engineering Customer’s primary business Daimler Trucks develops and produces vehicles in a global network under the brands of Mercedes-Benz, Freightliner, Western Star, Fuso and Forging a strong collaboration “Measurement campaigns on proving BharatBenz. It the biggest ground and in the field are also performed globally active manufacturer The Durability and Bench Testing depart- together with the LMS Engineering teams of trucks above six metric tons ment of Daimler Trucks and Siemens PLM and a Daimler test engineer. The LMS gross vehicle weight, and Software work together very intensively. TecWare software tool has become an has 27 production facilities integral part of our everyday operation. around the world. “At first we called them to support us,” Generating high-quality test results is www.daimler.com/company/ Weber says. “But this has developed into a critical. business-units/daimler-trucks strategic partnership: Siemens PLM Software equips our test vehicles with state-of the art sensors and measurement “We very much appreciate the collabora- Customer location equipment.

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