In an ever changing environment, all industries demand a strategic lever to affect business breakthroughs - Innovation. It is the need of the hour, given how quickly the markets can get saturated. Another simple reason to innovate is for the pure joy of reaching into the future and taking your performance a notch higher. A very essential yet often underappreciated aspect of thriving innovation is Research and Development. Not just a catalyst for new ideas or products, R&D contributes to maximizing current productivity, quality, efficiency and a higher market share. It is as important as the production and marketing departments for long-term profits.
Having recognised these diverse needs and potential gains, ELGi invested in a modern R&D centre back in 2011. Based in Bangalore, it comprises of a competitive team and state-of-the-art technology that facilitates new perspectives and creative confidence. This exciting venture began with the objective of using simulation as the key element to design new machines.
The centre is equipped with high-performance compute servers that have seen more than 260 projects to date. Among our highly qualified technocrats, the CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) and FEA (Finite Element Analysis) engineers work with simulation softwares such as ABAQUS and STAR-CCM. These regulate computer simulations of real-life behavior of basic as well as complex components to correlate predictions, including the determination of products’ reactions to real-world forces, vibration, heat and other physical effects. It’s a pleasure to witness what today’s technology can accomplish. One noteworthy example of the centre’s seminal work is the development of centrifugal air compressors - turbomachines that receive a pressure rise by adding kinetic energy or velocity to a continuous flow of fluid through the rotor or impeller.
CFD is used to study the performance of these compressors from early stages of design, FEA aids structural simulation to optimise system integrity and life calculations. Dynamics issues are addressed using Campbell and SAFE diagrams. This foolproof simulation process, among several others, helps in acquiring ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers) and CE (European Conformity) certifications for ELGi products.
ELGi’s innovative spirit has resulted in building in-house machines to reduce the manufacturing cost of compressor rotors which form a major part of the air end used in screw air compressors. The Bangalore R&D centre plays a pivotal role in addressing technological challenges at ATS ELGi, the wholly owned subsidiary company of ELGi in the garage equipment business. Simulation has improved performances of lifts, paint booths, car wash and crash recovery systems, all thanks to highly reliable results ensuring better product design. Potential failure modes are identified and solutions determined.
Hence innovation forms the very crux of ELGi’s operations, with R&D bringing it all to life. It is not just about introducing a new product but seeing it through to completion. With this wealth of experience under its belt, the Bangalore R&D centre is poised for bigger challenges in the years to come.
Sources:
http://www.air-compressor-guide.com/learn/compressor-types/rotary-screw-compressor/screw-air-compressor-element
http://smallbusiness.chron.com/advantages-innovation-companies-30771.html