Case Study: Kiekert dramatically reduces child safety latch design time with MSC Software Adams

Adams Dramatically Reduces Time to Design Child Safety Latch

Kiekert, a global automotive locking systems company, needed a faster way to design side door latches with child safety locks. Its earlier build-and-test approach relied on manual kinematics analysis and handbook formulas, often required multiple prototype iterations, and could take six to eighteen months to complete. Kiekert selected MSC Software’s Adams multibody simulation software to improve early design validation.

Using MSC Software’s Adams, Kiekert built virtual prototypes of the child safety lock mechanism, including flexible body modeling for the plastic levers and simulation of temperature, crash loading, and manufacturing variation. The company used the software to size the electric motor and refine the design before prototyping, and the process cut the design time to about three weeks. Kiekert also reported that its simulation approach could reduce the time to bring a new latch to market to less than 18 months.

Kiekert

Stelian Borlodan

Project Engineer Simulation and FEA