Volkswagen introduces generatively designed wheels and steering wheel, with plans for extensive future adoption to drive performance enhancement

August 07, 2019 | Case Study

Lightweighting has long been one of the key approaches for automotive companies to improve vehicle performance and fuel efficiency. However, many advanced, high-strength, lightweight material options, such as carbon fiber, are too expensive for widespread mainstream use. Instead, companies have been improving their part designs to enable them to continue using steel and aluminum while maintaining strength but reducing weight. Now, Volkswagen announced that it has used Autodesk's Fusion 360 generative design software to design wheels and a steering wheel with reduced weight and increased strength for the VW Microbus. The company has said that within 10 years to 15 years, it may be using this kind of software to design the entire vehicle.