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48 Ansys Advantage Issue 2 | 2020 O PT I C A L A N A LY S I S / L I G H T P E R F O R M A N C E analysis," adds Yoshiaki Nakaya, assistant manager in Mazda's Exterior Components Development group. "Mazda is still backing model-based development, but we recommend proceeding with development after understanding the mechanism [principle or basis] of part design — even if it is conducted by the supplier," says Inoue. "I prepared a document and explained to people within our organization that this tool teaches us technologies and leads to efficient development. I successfully convinced them." Before the implementation of SPEOS, Mazda prototyped a principle model concept multiple times before beginning a detailed design after a development direction was set. Then, Mazda engineers made another prototype and finally created the actual vehicle model using the final design data. Consequently, Mazda spent a lot of money on repeated prototyping. It cost a few to 10 million yen (about $95,000) to create each molding die of a lamp, for example. With SPEOS, the company successfully reduced the number of prototypes it needed. On average, Mazda is able to remove two or three prototypes from its production process because SPEOS allows engineers to find and correct issues in the design. "For example, a light leak that ends up illuminating outside the area you want to illuminate is difficult to find in computer-aided design (CAD) data, and even an experienced engineer sometimes overlooks it," says Nakaya. "In an Ansys SPEOS simulation, however, we can check such an error from different angles. There is now almost no leak, resulting in less rework." QUANTIFY HUMAN SENSES FOR AN OPTIMAL USER EXPERIENCE The Mazda Vehicle Testing & Research Department carries out both experiments and research, while the Craftsmanship Development AN INNOVATIVE HISTORY Mazda Motor Corporation was founded as Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd. in 1920. In 1927, it was renamed Toyo Kogyo Co., Ltd. and prototyped a two-cycle 250 cc engine in 1929. The company soon became a three-wheel truck manufacturer, producing three-wheel trucks from the pre–World War II period to the postwar era. Toyo Kogyo unveiled its successful R360 Coupe, a four-seater minicar in November 1960, and the Mazda Cosmo equipped with a rotary combustion engine in 1967. They also launched the Mazda 626 (Mazda6 at present) and Savanna in the 1970s and the Eunos Roadster (Mazda MX-5 at present) in 1989 aer changing the company name to Mazda Motor Corporation in 1984. Mazda then added popular cars such as Mazda 121 (Mazda2 at present) and Mazda 323 (known as the Mazda Protegé in the U.S.A. and now as Mazda3) to its lineup of vehicles. The company started a restructuring plan in 2013 for highly efficient development and production, proactively introducing computer-aided engineering. Group studies the human body, senses, recognition and expressions to account for details such as the visibility and texture of display equipment. Asami Yonezawa, senior specialist in Mazda's Craftsmanship Development group, oversaw antiglare development when SPEOS was introduced. Her group chose SPEOS because of a sun glare problem. Sunlight reflected off the silver plating around the center louver in some models, which caused glare while driving. Fixing the problem required the shape of the plated parts to be changed, resulting in about 10 million yen in additional costs to modify the mold. The same symptom was also found in other models, so the group had to take some measures even before modifying the mold. Veteran engineers reshaped the plated parts based on their experience, so there was no quantified data to show how much light is dazzling to the human eye. Even specialists who evaluated the glare, such as Yonezawa, only visually checked but could not quantify it. The company wanted a way to measure the glare.

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