India’s population and commerce are steady growing. But that exciting growth is also leading to demand for even more energy — and much of it from fossil fuels — which means even more pollution.
Currently, India produces the third highest emissions in the world, next to only China and the United States. But while U.S. and European regulations are becoming more stringent, Indian standards have remained several years behind.
But it’s not all bad news. Greaves Cotton Limited, one of India’s largest lightweight diesel manufacturers, wants to help clear the air.
Greaves manufactures fuel efficient, lightweight diesel/gasoline engines, ideal for 3-wheelers and small 4-wheeled commercial vehicles. And some of their clients include Tata, Piaggio, Atul, TVS, and Mahindra.
How can they help? They won a 10-year contract from Tata Motors to supply small diesel engines for Tata’s new half-ton truck. As commercial vehicles enter a boom period, similar contracts from players such as Piaggio point to the business potential for Greaves.
These engines, with high power-to-weight ratios, can also be found in portable agricultural pump sets, small boats, construction equipment, and a host of other applications. Greaves’ products are ubiquitous; the company has produced well over three million engines.
As Greaves brings its engines up to international standards, however, it still has to worry about maintaining performance.
To keep design frugal and costs low, they invested in a state-of-the-art Technology Center committed to research, development, and extensive testing and education.
They’ve also invested in PTC solutions, including PTC Creo, PTC Mathcad, and PTC Windchill. That’s because while innovation and good design matter — so does getting to market in a timely and efficient way.
With PTC Creo and the PTC Creo Advanced Assembly Extension (AAX), Greaves engineers are creating smaller, more efficient engines in a fraction of the time as before.
“PTC Creo has changed the entire design process and business strategy completely,” says a company representative. “With the combined application of PTC Creo for 3D design and PTC Creo AAX for top down design, we have improved time to market.”
How does PTC Creo AAX help the team develop designs faster? By using PTC Creo AAX, the company can start with a skeleton model of one of its engines. Then engineers can work concurrently on developing the engine — without worrying about interfering with other’s work.
The extension includes dedicated tools for data-sharing, assembly configuration and assembly process planning, too, so PTC Creo AAX delivers an optimized environment for assembly design.
Meanwhile, PTC Mathcad lets the team solve, analyze, document, and share engineering calculations.
And PTC Windchill is used across all four business units — Gasoline/Diesel Engines, Diesel Gensets, Automotive Engines, Agro Equipment and Construction Equipment — to streamline and optimize Greaves’ product development processes.
For Greaves, modern software for new ideas makes sense. Using PTC Solutions, the company’s engineering is as productive as their mission of becoming a cleaner country.
Interested in learning more about PTC Creo and its 3D CAD capabilities? NxRev offers a variety of seminars, tutorials, and customer service to help users get the most out of PTC Creo Simulate, Parametric, Direct, AAX, and the rest of the PTC Creo Suite. Give us a call at 408-986-0200, to find out more.