Case Study: Claudius Peters achieves lighter, lower-cost parts with Autodesk generative design

Heavy-equipment manufacturer brings generative design down to earth

Claudius Peters, a 113‑year‑old German manufacturer of heavy bulk‑materials processing equipment, needed to modernize product development to reduce material, energy and manufacturing costs while staying competitive. Working with Autodesk—and adopting tools such as Fusion 360 (generative design), Inventor and BIM 360—the company tested generative design to rethink parts for its ETA clinker cooler.

Autodesk’s generative design in Fusion 360 produced radically different, much lighter options (initially 30–40% lighter) that CP validated with FEM and then adapted for conventional fabrication using Inventor and new laser‑cut/weld workflows. The redesigned transport part is about 20 kg (44 lb) lighter, saves roughly €100 per part (≈60 parts per cooler), is faster and cheaper to produce, lowers shipping and energy costs, and is being rolled out as a standard Autodesk‑enabled process across Claudius Peters’ product development.

Claudius Peters

Thomas Nagel

Operations Director