Digital Prototyping for Golf Car Development

This paper describes how three-dimensional (3D) solid models are used throughout the product-development process. The products described in the paper are gasoline- and electric-powered golf cars. In the product development process, 3D solid models are used to design components and assemblies, create engineering drawings, and construct finite-element models. For molded and cast parts, the solid model is the mathematical basis from which tooling is fabricated. The models are also used to develop technical illustrations in manuals and product service documents. Finally, engineering models have been adapted for marketing purposes to develop illustrations for brochures and animations for the company website.