Teraport

The evidence

The same part. Two project timelines. One clear result.

A pneumatic control housing for a dual-clutch transmission – developed once the classic way, and once with veo as a quality gate in the design phase. The comparison is a reconstructed project study based on a real production project.

The project comparison

From design to series production – side by side

Classic flow – without veo

  1. Design Q1/2025
  2. Request for quotation The geometry goes out to suppliers unchecked.
  3. Simulation I problem found Material accumulation and wall thickness at a first critical location.
  4. Change I ↩ loop back Back to the design phase – weeks later than necessary.
  5. Simulation II
  6. Prototype tool with 6 sliders cost driver
  7. Simulation III problem found Wall thickness at a second location.
  8. Change II ↩ loop back This time part and tool have to change.
  9. Series tool
  10. Start of production not until Q3/2026

Outcome: part weight 4,344 g – and tool failure caused by a mold wall that was too thin.

With veo as a quality gate

  1. Design Q1/2025
  2. veo quality gate I Material accumulations, wall thickness and thin mold wall detected immediately – in minutes, not months.
  3. Change I Right in the design phase – no loop back needed.
  4. veo quality gate II Weight reduced, slider concept optimised.
  5. Change II
  6. Request for quotation The geometry is already castable.
  7. Simulation I – the only one Focused exclusively on process parameters.
  8. Prototype tool with only 4 sliders
  9. Series tool
  10. Start of production already Q2/2026

Outcome: part weight 4,195 g, no tool damage – earlier start of production and less material.

−66%

simulation effort. One simulation loop instead of three

−33%

moving parts. Four sliders in the tool instead of six

−149 g

less part weight thanks to early optimization

−3 months

development time. Start of production one quarter earlier

The math

Why frontloading pays off

By identifying critical areas early in the design process, you save time and resources by avoiding unnecessary cycles of simulations and geometry changes. This proactive approach not only streamlines the design phase but also improves the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of the whole process.

Rule of ten

With every process phase a defect survives undetected, its correction cost multiplies by ten. A fix in the design phase takes minutes – the same fix on the series tool costs a multiple in time and money.

Material is money

Sample calculation: at an aluminium price of €3/kg, 100 g less material saves around €300,000 across one million parts. The 149 g from the project comparison work out in the same order of magnitude at comparable volumes.

Free up simulation capacity

Every avoided simulation loop saves weeks of lead time and specialist capacity. The remaining simulation concentrates on what geometry checking cannot do: process parameters.

The origins

Co-developed with Knorr-Bremse

veo’s roots lie in a joint development with Knorr-Bremse Commercial Vehicle Systems and the publication that came out of it: „Robuste, verkürzte Prozesskette durch DfX-Workbenches: Praxisbeispiel Gussgerechtheit“ (“a robust, shortened process chain through DfX workbenches – castability as the practical example”). A market analysis by Knorr-Bremse concluded that the available software solutions did not adequately support the product developer. The tool was therefore built on five key principles:

  • All checks bundled in one interface
  • Only a geometry description required – no CAD system, no interface maintenance
  • Usable without a specialist department or external expert know-how
  • Computation times of seconds to minutes for immediate feedback
  • Meaningful 3D visualisation of every result
The earlier the developer gets reliable feedback on castability, the earlier they can act – instead of reacting later, when the casting tool has already been built.
Maxima analysis: material accumulations shown as coloured spheres inside a transparent CAD model

Run the numbers on your own part.

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