Simulation and driving simulator company VI-grade has completed the installation and commissioning of one of its DiM250 Dynamic Driving Simulators at Ford’s headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan. Ford has purchased and installed a complete turnkey solution from VI-grade based on the DiM250 simulator equipped with the whole VI-DriveSim software suite and active technology (belts, seat, brake and shakers).
“We are extremely pleased to announce the adoption of our Dynamic Driving Simulator at such a global and prestigious company as Ford,” said Guido Bairati, managing director, VI-grade. “This success builds on our long-standing collaboration with Ford Motor Company, which has already virtually connected its different engineering sites around the globe through the implementation of several, smaller size Desktop, Compact, Compact NVH and Static simulators from VI-grade, thus leveraging their full power across NVH and ride and handling disciplines.”
To reproduce vehicle movements and acceleration, the DiM solution takes a different path to driving simulation and is based on a design using nine actuators. The resulting configuration with its 9° of freedom enables going beyond the basic six-actuator design of a simple hexapod or similar, thus providing a larger workspace while maintaining high stiffness. VI-grade says this results in a system suitable for low as well as high frequencies, both of which occur in automotive chassis design. For this reason, DiM enables users to investigate vehicle dynamics as well as ride and comfort on the same driving simulator.
