GM aims to halve vehicle development time with AI and virtualization...virtually tests 300,000 battery designs

[Financial News] General Motors (GM) said it aims to cut the time required to develop vehicles to about half its current level.
On the 5th, GM said it had unveiled a vehicle development system that integrates design, engineering and production, along with plans for manufacturing innovation based on virtual validation and factory data, at the “GM Forward” event held in New York, U.S., on the 21st of last month (local time).
Vehicle development currently takes 4–5 years. GM plans to cut that time to about half using enterprise AI and virtualization technology. The plan is to connect the design, engineering and production functions through a single “digital thread” from the earliest stages of development, streamlining the process from initial sketches to mass production. With this concurrent engineering model, GM aims to drive continuous improvement and rapidly scale the adoption of new technologies.
Virtual design validation was used in the development of lithium manganese-rich (LMR) batteries. GM virtually tested more than 300,000 battery designs before building physical prototypes. The company said it completed the process from developing the first LMR battery-pack concept to approval of a formal development program in just one month. This development system is also being used for GM’s fourth-generation EV platform.
In manufacturing, digital models can be used to review production processes and equipment layouts before new equipment is installed, and to identify potential safety and worker ergonomics issues in advance. During mass production, GM’s factory intelligence platform, “PlantBrAIn,” will combine on-site data with computer models to support improvements to manufacturing processes for fourth-generation EVs and battery packs. GM said this approach increased throughput by 30% at a battery-pack assembly facility, and that it is using similar tools in stamping, casting, welding, painting and final assembly.
Fourth-generation EVs will feature a new electrical and computing architecture that allows the vehicle to check its own electrical connections while moving along the production line. The company said this could greatly reduce the separate final electrical validation procedure previously performed after assembly.
A GM representative said, “We will extend virtual design and validation from development to the production floor so that new technologies can be incorporated into products more quickly.”
[email protected] Kim Dong-chan Reporter