Case Study: Kanto Auto Works achieves 20% weight reduction and improved rigidity and heat resistance with Altair OptiStruct

Topology Optimization Used to Make Lighter Plastic Parts

Kanto Auto Works, a core member of the Toyota Group responsible for developing vehicle bodies, needed to make large plastic parts lighter while maintaining rigidity and heat resistance. Traditional CAE and physical testing left reinforcement decisions dependent on individual engineers’ experience, so Kanto Auto Works adopted Altair’s OptiStruct topology-optimization tool (from the HyperWorks suite) to provide objective, design-stage insight into where parts really needed strengthening.

Using Altair’s OptiStruct, Kanto Auto Works ran topology-optimization studies to visualize load- and heat-sensitive areas, then redesigned panels with targeted thickening and thinning and validated the changes experimentally. Altair’s solution enabled lighter, thinner components with maintained performance—resulting in improved rigidity and thermal resistance and a measurable 20% weight reduction on the evaluated parts—work Kanto Auto Works is extending to bumpers and other large plastic components.

Kanto Auto Works

Ayumi Sugiyama

Manager