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Delcam Helps Lotus Speed Automotive Inspection

BIRMINGHAM, UK - January 12, 2001 - Lotus Cars, based in Norwich, UK, is renowned world-wide for creating award-winning sports cars at the forefront of vehicle design technology. Coupled with regular acclaim for the high performance of its cars, the company has also developed a strong reputation for exceptional quality. Lotus has recently improved the efficiency of its inspection routines through the addition of Delcam's PowerINSPECT inspection software.

PowerINSPECT provides a quick and easy method for the comparison of tooling, prototype parts or production samples with CAD data. This type of inspection is becoming more important throughout the manufacturing cycle as most design data is now issued as CAD models rather than as drawings.

Inspection reports can be produced automatically, including pictorial, graphical and tabulated data, either to recognised international standards or in a customer-specified format. By giving real time results in an easy to understand format, PowerINSPECT allows problems to be identified earlier and corrected at lower cost.

The Lotus Engineering Company was originally founded by Colin Chapman in 1948 to built road cars as a means to fund his motor racing ambitions. Under his direction, Lotus recorded 79 Grand Prix wins and seven Formula 1 Constructors' World Championships. The emphasis of the business is somewhat different these days, but Lotus still upholds the great Chapman competitive spirit through Lotus Motorsport. Lotus Motorsport runs an innovative one-make race series for the dynamic Sport Elise, and provides technical support for external customers competing at all levels of national and international motor sport.

The latest new model in the Lotus range, the Exige, follows in this great tradition. Like some of the very first Lotus cars, such as the Lotus 8 and the Lotus 11, the Exige is quite literally a racing car that has been converted for road use. The new model uses the same sleek and aerodynamic bodyshell as the Sport Elise, although some changes have had to be made to make the car road-friendly.

As with the Elise, demand for the new model is high so anything is welcome that can enable faster production. The speed of inspection possible with PowerINSPECT, combined with a Faro arm, makes a significant contribution. "With PowerINSPECT, we have the ability to check a complete body side of a car within ten minutes. This includes the time taken to set up the Faro arm alongside the production line, to set the datum, and to check selected points and sections on each of the individual panels that make up the complete body side," claimed Chris Balls, Engineering Workshop Supervisor at Lotus. "This represents a huge improvement on our previous methods." The portability of the Faro arm/PowerINSPECT combination is another big advantage. "We can inspect jigs and fixtures directly with the CAD model at the production point and make any adjustment there and then," said Mr. Balls. "We also do a final verification once they are set up."

Similarly, portability is important in the manufacture of sub-assemblies for the cars. "We also use PowerINSPECT to verify the build of sub-assemblies at the point of production. For example, with a door, this would include the positions of brackets, hinge points, glass channels, door handles, etc. This is achieved by loading the different CAD files into PowerINSPECT as the door is assembled. Again, any problems are highlighted instantly, allowing solutions to be implemented much faster," stated Mr. Balls.

"Another benefit is the ability to customise reports to meet the requirements of individual engineers or projects," said Mr. Balls. PowerINSPECT reports are designed to be very easy to understand so that any engineer, not just inspection specialists, can use the results.

Overall, the Delcam software has meant increased productivity, while maintaining Lotus' high standards of precision. "PowerINSPECT, in conjunction with the Faro arms, has proved to be an invaluable time-saving tool in bringing our new models into production," concluded Mr. Balls.

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