Case Study: Hitachi Truck Manufacturing achieves reduced weight and material costs while meeting ISO safety standards with Altair HyperWorks

Fine-Tuning 300-Ton Haulers HyperWorks at Hitachi Truck Manufacturing

Hitachi Truck Manufacturing, the Guelph, Ontario division that builds 300‑ton class rigid mining haulers, faced the challenge of reducing steel and overall material costs while meeting strict ISO 3471 ROPS and FOPS safety specifications and optimizing payload within tire‑load limits. To address this, Hitachi adopted Altair’s HyperWorks CAE suite (including HyperMesh, OptiStruct, HyperView, MotionView and MotionSolve) to replace slow, iterative FEA and prototyping workflows.

Altair implemented an integrated HyperWorks workflow—transferring geometry into HyperMesh, running OptiStruct static studies and LS‑DYNA nonlinear analyses, and using HyperView for clear results visualization—enabling rapid what‑if iterations and on‑site analysis. The outcome was validated weight savings and cab/frame designs that exceeded ISO requirements in testing, a drastic reduction in analysis turnaround (from weeks to roughly a tenth of the prior time), better use of gross machine weight to increase payload, and HyperWorks becoming an integral part of Hitachi Truck Manufacturing’s design process.

Hitachi Truck Manufacturing

Harry Tempelman

Manager, Technical Analysis