Taking simulation from design into manufacturing

Dr Deepak S. Gupta

Computer-aided engineering methods are routine in developing polymer composite products, but far less common in developing the processes that make them. This keynote shows how rigorous 3-D dynamic modelling, validation and optimisation were applied to injected pultrusion, a continuous process for producing prismatic composite parts in high volume.

Starting from bench-scale university research, the CFD models beat a 15% accuracy target on experimental validation, then went to work at a major manufacturer to intensify production of pultruded window parts. The results were substantial: die fabrication time cut by 75% and cost by 66% inside a year. The talk also covers the human side of the change, from winning plant-floor buy-in and building capability to moving CAE methods from academic research into accepted industrial practice.

Dr Deepak S. Gupta is an executive leader and founder with more than two decades of R&D leadership across the US and Canada. His recent roles include Associate Vice President of Research and Innovation at Kwantlen Polytechnic University and Chief Learning Officer at the Quantum Algorithms Institute, both in Metro Vancouver. He holds a bachelor's degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, and master's and doctoral degrees from Washington University in Saint Louis, all in chemical engineering.