In order to explore the full potential of Generative Design we have conducted a study on a 245G LC John Deere excavator arm without any restriction in terms of preservedgeometry, desired weight, standardization and structural limitations.
Our aim was to light-weight the part while maintain the same structural integrity in terms ofresistance, lifting-power, working feasibility and Factor of Safety, by comparison with theoriginal design
Our focus was oriented towards the reduction of CO2 emissions and environmental impactcalculated for the excavator’s lifetime by adopting our generative design solution.
In this case study our primary focus was to emphasise the advantages offeredby generative design in reducing the fuel consumption and the negative environmental impactof CO2 emissions.
Given the aim of our analysis, instead of following a heavy-engineeredapproach, we chose to give full freedom to the potential offered by the generative design AIalgorithm; a meticulous and market-oriented procedure would have taken considerably longertime and resources, while a standardization process would also have been required.
We have avoided taking structural constraints and preserved geometry into consideration while maintaining a feasible structural integrity and Factor of Safety.
In order to define the average fuel consumption of the excavator we have considered BHP of 200 W units. The diesel fuel price taken into account is up to the 23.09.2019, which corresponds to 16.06 NOK/L. The average life time (LT) has been calculated as 1166.5 hours/year in a 12 years lifespan.
• The final topology optimised design shows a 13.3% reduction in mass by comparison with the original arm design: this product is about 90Kg lighter, the consumption of fuel is reduced by 2520L/LT and the overall reduction of CO2 emissions is 40594 Kg.
• The generative design shows a 56.2% reduction in mass by comparison with the original arm design: this product is about 380Kg lighter, the consumption of fuel is reduced by 4759L/LT and the overall reduction of CO2 emissions is 74889 Kg.
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