‘ANSYS aims to make India among its biggest markets in Asia.’

Rafiq Somani, Ansys' country manager - India, ASEAN & ANZ, on the growing role of simulation in the auto sector and making India into a growth engine for the company. An interview by Shobha Mathur.  

What are the latest trends, best practices and applications in engineering simulation in the auto sector?
In recent years, the automotive sector has seen an explosion of technological enhancements owing to emergence of the Internet of Things (IoT) and intelligent devices. Smart cars, a result of interconnected devices, have taken the auto industry to the next level of innovation. Technology progression in automotive has majorly contributed towards the improvement of fuel efficiency, by modeling the engine cycle via engineering simulation.

Apart from this, the auto industry is on a re-invention mode to equip itself against uncertainties frequently arising in the fast-changing business environment. Frequent car recalls across the globe by major industry players is just one example of hurdles faced by this industry.

To tackle this issue, global automotive players today are advancing their hold on aerodynamics, electric powertrains, internal combustion engine (ICE) powertrains, and electronics along with mechatronics of vehicles. Companies can achieve this through the deployment of solutions such as structural, electromagnetic, fluid dynamics and multi-physics simulation technologies, which work towards addressing such concerns.

Can you detail the growing role of simulation on R&D and product development in the auto space in India?
Today’s automotive players face stiff competition in the market. To succeed, companies are relying heavily on R&D effort that serves as a blueprint towards successful product performance.  Ansys empowers its customers in the auto sector by reducing product prototypes, enabling the customer to get the product faster to the market. Implementing simulation helps explore multiple variations of the product while saving time and cost.

Ansys’ three development centres in India, which are located in Bangalore, Noida and Pune, form the second largest hub (after the US) of the company. With over 200 employees focusing on various crucial activities, the team works hand in glove with the development centre based out of the US. While the Bangalore office focuses more on embedded software, the Noida facility is dedicated towards the electromagnetic vertical and the Pune capacity handles the testing, validation and application engineering.

How can companies adopting simulation early in the design cycle add significant gains on time and cost savings, as well as increase their competitive edge?
There is a constant demand for pioneering products in the challenging and competitive environment that industries today exist in. Monetary constrains and customer requirements add pressure to the stiff business environment, leaving companies no scope for error. Innovative manufacturing processes provide a wide range of benefits by producing better products while minimizing costs and generating more time to market the products.

Implementation of engineering simulation in the initial stages of product development increases scope of error detection, recognizes product limitations and optimizes system performance, when the price of iterations is still nominal. This can expand the size and scope of design. When the product design is approved at an early stage, the company has more time in hand to market the same.

There is a growing trend for reducing product or size of a device. How is Ansys providing the end-to- end solution for it?
Faced with growing fuel costs and environmental concerns, vehicle manufacturers must re-engineer all vehicle systems — from aerodynamics, engine and transmission to vehicle body, passenger comfort systems and electrical and electronic systems.

Automakers must continually identify value-added high-tech functionalities that capture consumer imagination. Automotive products must perform reliably the first time, and every time. So engineers leverage the power of engineering simulation to address these and other challenges in a fast, cost-effective, risk-free manner. Ansys solutions enable automotive engineering teams to develop groundbreaking end-to-end designs while delivering a high level of product reliability and integrity.

Going forward, what will be the company’s strategy and roadmap for India?We have significant plans in India in the future for Ansys. We are aiming to make the country among Asia’s biggest markets for Ansys. Thanks to the automotive industry customer base, we have established here, we hope India will turn into another growth engine for the company. We have an aggressive approach to expand our presence and are working towards supporting OEMs and suppliers to create top-notch product inventions on an international scale.