Prior to the Smart Automotive Variantcon 2013, we.CONECT spoke with Dr.-Ing. Harald Walter, Senior Chief Engineer, Global Core Development Linkage & Suspension, TRW Automotive GmbH / Germany

1. InterviewTRW Automotive
Dr.-Ing. Harald Walter, Senior Chief Engineer, Global Core
Development Linkage & Suspension
on modular product design
Prior to the Smart Automotive Variantcon 2013, we.CONECT spoke with Dr.-Ing. Harald Walter, Senior
Chief Engineer, Global Core Development Linkage & Suspension, TRW Automotive GmbH / Germany
we.CONECT:
In your opinion - what are the main
current challenges and trends
regarding automotive variant
management?
Dr.-Ing. Harald Walter: Future global
OEM platform strategies require the use
of chassis components in a modular
system. Typical mass production
platforms combine B- and C-segment
vehicles from 800 kg to 1400 kg front
axle loads. Vehicle derivates with
different kinematics and technical
requirements (e.g. weight, stiffness) are
based on one platform.
A modular product design should provide
a simple component change to define the
technical-cost-optimum in each platform
derivate. Flexible automatic production
lines should be able to assemble
modular products without (or with less)
change of tooling.
we.CONECT:
How is your company reacting to
these challenges? What future
potential do you see?
Dr.-Ing. Harald Walter: The change of
product design solves the conflict of
standardization vs. modularity and
flexibility. Targets are to develop as
much as possible standardized
components and process steps and to
introduce as late as possible individual
components or individual steps in the
manufacturing line
we.CONECT:
What projects are you currently
working at regarding variant
management? What particularity do
they possess?
Dr.-Ing. Harald Walter: TRW Linkage &
Suspension developed ball joint and
chassis component designs regarding
the increase of load capacity of wear
sensitive components (combined B- and
C-segment). Moreover, we are working
on the modularity of material and
components to define technical-cost-
optimum in each platform derivate.
we.CONECT:
Please describe in brief the
presentation you will be holding on
the Smart Automotive Variantcon
2013:
Dr.-Ing. Harald Walter: In recent years,
the market share decreased for
conventional steel welded stabilizer links.
Reasons were the OEM strategies of
enlarged modular platforms, the change
in product requirements regarding
reduction of vehicle weight (fuel
consumption, electrical vehicles) and
global environmental conditions. Global
market and competitive situation
increased cost pressure to stabilizer link
business. The conflict could only be
solved by calling everything into question
and leaded to the new design strategy of
“Simplifying” and “Modularly
standardization”. The presentation shows
the development work from target
definition to the serial product: The new
TRW Aluminum Stabilizer Link.
we.CONECT:
What are the key challenges of your
project?
Dr.-Ing. Harald Walter: Product
requirements and competitive price level
lead to the conflict of increase in safety
level, modular kinematics, low and high
loaded platform vehicles, global
environmental conditions and long life
robustness vs. standardization, cost and
weight efficiency.
The key challenge was to solve this
conflict by a new design strategy.
we.CONECT:
What is your theory about peer
networks? What can they do?
Dr.-Ing. Harald Walter: Major
development steps, e.g. electric vehicles,
driver assistance systems, metal
substitution by composites etc., can only
be achieved by a partnership of
interested parties. Cluster development
will increase in the future.
we.CONECT:
What do you like most about your
job? What progress do you see in the
industry development?
Dr.-Ing. Harald Walter: I like to
cooperate close together with customer
and development partners, to take up
market requirements and to define
challenging tasks to a team of creative
development engineers. The
preservation of natural resources, the
reduction of energy consumption and
environmental pollution will be the main
topic for all industry developments.
we.CONECT:
What expectations do you have
regarding the Smart Automotive
Variantcon 2013? Which outcome and
benefit do you expect from the
exchange with participating
companies?
Dr.-Ing. Harald Walter: All participating
companies have got the same boundary
condition, individualization of vehicles vs.
global platform standardization, and the
same target to solve it by a smart variant
management. The first goal will be
sharing the primarily information like
picking up requirements from the market,
learning from other solutions and
presenting own smart variant
opportunities. The second benefit will be
the interface dialogue.
we.CONECT:
Which question would you like us to
ask you – and what´s your potential
answer in it?

2. Dr.-Ing. Harald Walter: Which future
challenge should be solved by
automotive variant design and
management?
One of the main challenges will be the
full recycling or reprocessing of
automotive components. Variant design
has to consider the re-usability and
recyclability by separation of all
materials, maybe by re-using of
components, to minimize the
consumption of energy and natural
resources in the automotive
manufacturing.
we.CONECT:
Thanks a lot for this interview!
Interview Partner: Nicole Steuer and Dr.-
Ing. Harald Walter.
Harald Walter received in 1997 his diploma in
Mechanical Engineering. He continued working
at the Institute of Mechatronics and System
Dynamics at the University of Duisburg as
scientific assistant for continuum mechanics. In
2003, he obtained his PhD and started working
as development engineer at TWR Automotive
GmbH. Since then, he held several positions
within the company, working in the department
of Product and Core Development. His current
position is Senior Chief Engineer, Head of
Development in Linkage & Suspension.
Smart Automotive Variantcon 2013 is a
global automotive conference that discusses
current challenges, brand new approaches and
future trends about variant management and
the simplification of complexity in the
automotive engineering sector.
Information about the event and about
we.CONECT can be found at:
http://auto-variant-management.we-
conect.com
Contact:
Dr. Klaudia Malowitz
Senior Product Manager
Phone: +49 (0)30 52 10 70 3 – 48
Fax: +49 (0)30 52 10 70 3 – 30
Email: klaudia.malowitz@we.conect.com
we.CONECT Global Leaders GmbH
Gertraudenstr. 10-12
10178 Berlin, Germany
www.we-conect.com