RESEARCH NEWS
STILFOLD collaborates with Volvo Cars
STILFOLD has initiated collaboration with Volvo Cars through FFI ’ s ( Strategic Vehicle Research and Innovation ) Accelerate Swedish partnership programme . Together , they will explore STILFOLD ’ s technology to advance sustainable vehicle production and design methods .
STILFOLD ’ s origami-inspired design and manufacturing technology leverages curvefolding to enhance the strength and durability of components , while simplifying the manufacturing process .
“ In several industrial cases , the technology has shown reductions in energy consumption and material usage , lowering costs and minimising environmental impact ,” it explained .
The initiative with Volvo Cars focuses on adapting STILFOLD ’ s technology to develop a new concept for an existing car component , replacing traditional multi-part methods with a lightweight and sustainably produced structure . The long-term goal is to meet the automotive industry ’ s need for sustainable and cost-efficient production while reducing environmental impact .
“ We are honoured to collaborate with Volvo Cars , a global leader in automotive innovation , on a project that highlights the transformative potential of STILFOLD ’ s technology ,” commented Jonas Nyvang , CEO of STILFOLD .
“ The project underscores and validates the ability of STILFOLD ’ s technology to reduce energy consumption , material usage and emissions while improving the strength and durability of components . Through rigorous testing , validation and a final demonstrator , STILFOLD and Volvo Cars will showcase how innovative engineering , combined with STILFOLD ’ s patented origami technology , can drive sustainable advancements in the automotive industry ,” STILFOLD told ISMR .
STILFOLD is a Swedish design and technology company with patented origamiinspired curve-folding technology . Its method enables the production of complex metal components from flat materials , reducing material waste , energy consumption and the need for heavy tooling . n
STILFOLD curve folding technology .
Speeding up 3D data pre-processing
Generating 3D mesh digital models is a crucial part of engineering projects , to enable the accurate analysis of structures . But the manual process of creating a grid of interconnecting points is a tedious task and can take up to 90 % of an engineer ’ s time . It isn ’ t a task that is suitable for the current trend of exascale computing .
Now , a new technology has emerged from Cranfield University research , creating an automated process that reduces the task from around eight hours , in some cases , to just a few minutes . By eliminating the manual workload , the technology is designed to streamline workflows , maximise productivity and significantly expand the possibilities for innovative engineering solutions .
The new spin-out company , Voxshell , specialises in computer-aided engineering ( CAE ) and its software can enable faster , smarter and more efficient product creation through a new meshing algorithm for highperformance computing . It has applications in additive manufacturing and in industries such as aerospace , automotive and the energy sector .
“ The new automated process that we have created has huge benefits
for engineers who have had to tackle this task manually ,” commented Dr . Liang Yang , founder and CEO of Voxshell as well as a lecturer in marine renewable energy systems at Cranfield University . “ It ’ s a technology that I first started developing four years ago for computational fluid dynamics projects . I soon realised that it had a commercial application for industry and we are now also exploring healthcare applications . The efficiencies that the software creates are quite remarkable ; we aim to mesh every part within five minutes on a desktop .”
The company has just released ChopMesh , its fully automated meshing solution , with a free trial online and a standalone Windows version available for download . The software has a UK patent
Dr . Liang Yang , founder and CEO of Voxshell . secured and international patent pending , and has already attracted over £ 150,000 of funding and support .
Voxshell joined the UK ’ s Science and Technology Facilities Council ( STFC ) business support programme , Digital BIC , earlier this year . The programme aims to help earlystage technology businesses succeed in global markets . The company also has support from the Healthcare Technologies Capability Connector ( HTCC ) partnership which is a joint initiative from Imperial College London , Cranfield University and the University of Hertfordshire . The HTCC boosts commercialisation activity through joint expertise and infrastructure to support spin-out companies .
Cranfield University ’ s entrepreneurial support , particularly specialist expertise from the School of Management , has also supported the development of the spin-out company . Cranfield was recently recognised for its best practice in supporting spin-outs by Research England . n
www . voxshell . com
18 | ismr . net | ISMR December 2024 / January 2025