Federal-Mogul Introduces New Optical Feasibility Modeling
2 March 1999
Federal-Mogul Introduces New Optical Feasibility Modeling
SOUTHFIELD, Mich., March 1 -- Federal-Mogul Corporation's
, Lighting Products group today announced that early this spring it
will implement a major enhancement to the company's optical feasibility
system, a computerized modeling system that gauges how well headlamps, signal
lamps and reflex reflectors will perform prior to production.
Called Optical Design Feasibility Workshop, the computer program instantly
calculates how a headlamp will perform optically. "It provides a fast, visual
method of determining if a successful optical design can be developed using a
specific lamp concept," said Ron Woodward, section supervisor, Optical and
Advanced Engineering at Federal-Mogul's Lighting Products in Hampton,
Virginia. "We use a sketching tool to draw the desired lamp design, select
parameters (lens angle, lamp type, light source, focal length, reflector
coating, etc.) and the program instantly calculates whether the lamp concept
chosen will produce enough lumens (a quantitative light measurement) to
perform the desired lighting function."
Traditionally, feasibility calculations were done manually. This made it
difficult to provide analysis for multiple lamp concepts. "We now take a
concept drawing, put it in our system and provide performance estimates
quickly," said Woodward. "If we encounter a performance problem, we quickly
try various design scenarios by modifying lamp geometry, focal point or light
source. This allows us to present constructive recommendations to our
customers to meet their performance objectives.
"We've recently added a night drive simulation to gauge headlamp
performance," said Woodward. "It provides a computer simulation of how the
headlamps would perform in various night driving situations. This allows us
to instantly respond to our customer's questions about headlamp performance
and helps them better understand the trade-off between optical performance and
styling objectives. This information is provided up front, so required
changes have little impact on cost or timing of the program."
Federal-Mogul Lighting Products includes well-known brand names such as
Wagner and Blazer lighting products, Zanxx sockets and connectors and Signal-
Stat lighting and safety products.
Headquartered in Southfield, Michigan, Federal-Mogul is an automotive
parts manufacturer providing innovative solutions and systems to global
customers in the automotive, light truck, heavy-duty, railroad, farm and
industrial markets. The company was founded in 1899. Visit the company's web
site at http://www.federal-mogul.com for more information. Federal-Mogul's
press releases are available by fax through Company News On-Call, call
800-758-5804, ext. 306225.