畅享户外风光，探索小众秘境，同时无需舍弃舒适生活 —— 这便是房车生活的精髓，在社交媒体上更以 #vanlife 标签广为流传。 对一些人而言，这是一种休闲方式；对另一些人来说，则是受极简主义与移动办公趋势驱动的全新生活方式。
Hymer 为各类需求设计并制造露营车与房车。针对全新旗舰车型 Venture S 露营房车，Hymer 采用了 Siemens Xcelerator 系列软件，包括 Solid Edge 和 NX。
在内饰方面，Hymer Venture S 树立了房车细分领域的全新标准：内置可用于办公与线上会议的工作台、宽敞的雨林式淋浴间、巧妙设计的储物空间（可收纳锅碗瓢盆、鞋子、外套等各类物品），以及可伸缩投影仪，能将喜爱的影片投射在下拉幕布上。
Venture S 的外观同样令人惊艳：配备露台式尾门，以及可调节温度、高效节能的车身结构，有效降低车辆表面温度。
凭借太阳能电池板，以及内饰中毛毡、竹材等可持续材料的运用，Venture S 紧贴时代潮流，并在多个维度上满足了消费者对房车灵活性的期待。
在计算机辅助设计 (CAD) 方面，Hymer 欧洲所有地区的工程师均使用 Solid Edge 软件。“Solid Edge 的用户界面友好，易于上手；新同事只需极少培训即可熟练使用。”Hymer 工业化研发负责人 Stefan Ziegler 表示。
这款 3D CAD 软件具备构建车辆完整数字孪生所需的全部功能。对于在极其有限的空间内完成气体、供水、排污等各类管路布设这类复杂任务，其价值尤为突出。在此环节，团队使用了 Solid Edge XpresRoute 3D 功能。在后续生产制造阶段，3D 模型可帮助生产人员更清晰地了解管路安装位置，提升装配效率。
设计工程师通过嵌入在 Solid Edge 中的有限元分析 (FEM) 功能，验证设计的结构完整性。这类日常基础验证操作简便，并且能快速提供初步的结构数据参考。
更深入的应力分析则交由 Erwin Hymer 集团内部的汽车轻量化专业部门 —— 技术团队 (TTT) 负责。该团队使用 Simcenter 3D 软件进行有限元分析。
这套两阶段验证流程在产品设计早期就能形成有效认知，从而减少所需物理样机的数量。
Simcenter 的能力不止于此。作为模块化软件解决方案，它具备覆盖各类工程与设计任务的功能模块。Erwin Hymer 集团轻量化设计与新材料部门负责人 Ria Kaiser 目前正在研究利用 Simcenter FLOEFD 对不同部件的空气动力学外形进行测试。
“一大优势在于，我们的工程师无需重新适应全新的操作界面，” 她表示，“这将学习成本降至最低，让他们能更快产出成果。”
Hymer uses Siemens software also to build and evaluate prototypes of their vehicles in virtual reality (VR). To do so, the camper van experts import the digital twin created with Solid Edge and build digital mockups of the entire vehicle or a part of it. Virtual prototyping helps Hymer reduce physical mockups and prototypes significantly.
"Our products like Venture S have become so complex that traditional 2D models just aren't enough. The 3D models made possible with Siemens software are vital for detecting and resolving issues in our designs before they become costly problems," says Stefan Ziegler. An essential tool to create the most realistic 3D models possible is NX, which is particularly adept at defining complex surfaces.
Examples here include ergonomic design verification using VR gear to reveal if the solutions are practical, and augmented reality (AR) to check the correctness of data as early as the prototype construction stage.
In the future, AR capabilities can be also used to support maintenance or improve customer usability. In a recent Hackathon with Technical University of Munich (TUM), students developed a first app prototype with the help of the Siemens low code platform Mendix to create an interactive user manual that could also benefit from AR features.
With the help of VR technologies, not only can onsite staff in production better visualize technical instructions but customers' or vendors' interiors can be experienced vividly, even when geographically dispersed.
"A digital prototype also brings decisive advantages for marketing," says Frank Heinrichsen, head of Marketing at Hymer GmbH & Co. KG.
The detailed digital twin of the Venture S allowed the marketing team at Hymer to create communications materials complete with photos and videos – even before the first physical prototype was built.
Similarly, Hymer also used the digital twin to initiate training for its production and retail operations – again, without a physical vehicle.
After the design for Venture S was set, Hymer's engineers used RapidAuthor for Teamcenter to create all documentation for manufacturing. In particular, the system creates electronic instructions for the shopfloor staff at the company’s assembly lines in Bad Waldsee, Germany.
"Workers are enthusiastic about the dynamic assembly notifications being used in the 3D models," says Stefan Ziegler. "They particularly like the ability to turn models to better see things that are often hidden in the drawings."
Having a single master digital twin is also particularly helpful when a product comes in different configurations as Hymer camper vans and motorhomes often do. That’s why the basic design prototype contains all possible variations, the so-called 150% model.
When a customer places an order, the respective configuration can be selected with just a few clicks. Hymer engineers have also recently started enriching their models with product and manufacturing information (PMI).
"Using PMI has turned deriving individual variants into configuration," Stefan Ziegler confirms. "It has reduced the time required significantly."
Using the digital twin created in Solid Edge as the single source of truth for all these purposes enables all data to be both ubiquitous and associative. This has allowed Hymer to eliminate distributed information silos and some notorious sources of error associated with data separation.
Additionally, after modifications, everyone involved can immediately resume work on the basis of valid, up-to-date information. The Venture S defines a completely new category of vehicle. With the Venture S camper van,
Hymer is showing how the company imagines and defines mobile travel, van life and flexible working today. From solar panels, over sun deck, expandable shower, removable lamps, cloud-enabled heating control and a foldable desk, users are gaining the benefits of the digital strategy that had brought the Venture S to life.
June 2023
Contact: Susann Kunz
Editorial team: Industry Stories
Located in Bad Waldsee, Germany, Hymer GmbH & Co KG, is a recreational vehicle pioneer, producing its first caravan trailer in 1957 and the first German motorhome in 1961.
Part of the Erwin Hymer Group, Hymer also designs and manufactures trailers under the Eriba brand. The Erwin Hymer Group belongs to the Thor Industries family of companies, uniting a majority of European and North American RV manufacturers.