Axiscades Engineering Technologies is a technology solutions company that offers engineering solutions and value-added services. It brings its expertise to industries across the board, where in automotive forms a big chunk. Sharadhi Babu talks to Sarada Vishnubhatla about Axiscades’ capabilities to deliver innovative, sustainable and safer products worldwide.
Axiscades Engineering Technologies, a leading end-to-end engineering solutions and technology company, is all about working towards the development of the market holistically and believes that a ‘new future’ can be delivered with a strong combination of technology, skills and competency of people. In the current context, the ‘new future’ is reeling under the challenge posed by COVID 19 pandemic. And the officials at Axiscades suggest that automakers must strategize their operations to improve their resilience.
Sharadhi Babu, CEO & Executive Director, Axiscades, has a word of advice to offer to the industry: “Even though the pandemic has created a certain amount of uncertainty in predicting the trajectory of recovery of the automotive sector like all other industries, a few practical steps if taken can manage the crisis for every company. The OEMs must come up with concrete steps to work around the disruptions. They must holistically react to the crisis and align their thoughts along the 3 ‘R’s – Respond, Reset and Renew.”
Talking about Axiscades’ world renowned engineering capabilities, he says: “We have a strong pedigree in product design and manufacturing engineering solutions. We offer AR, VR, AI and ML capabilities that enable our customers to embrace Industry 4.0 seamlessly.”
Value-added services
Axiscades is a niche provider of engineering and value-added services to the entire automotive sector and off-highway vehicles.
He shares: “Each segment has its own demands, driven by its own technology, automotive is no different. Axiscades has been a preferred strategic partner to global OEMs over two decades and understands the unique demands of this space very well”.
Axiscades provides manufacturing engineering as a service but manufacturing today is not plain old machining. The company offers a gamut of services – from the designing of the layout of the plant and the production floor, sequencing placement of the machines and activity, preparing work instructions and executing them, and formulating 3-D work instructions so that the personnel can get full understanding with no chance for errors. It is these value-added services by Axiscades which makes the company stand out.
Sharadhi agrees: “The entire plan is validated through virtual simulation – including the assembly line – and subsequently, we make a prototype then perform batch limited serial production and only then get into full production. We also validate the process itself and design certain tools, jigs, fixtures and produce them. We supply our customers these tools which help in the post production process. We also maintain the complete documentation of the platform and then provide updates and do the same after sales – be it the repair scheme, or analysing the data garnered post sales to see what can be further optimized in the design and in the production stages.”
Axiscades does complete product optimization and offers design for manufacturability as a service and also weight optimization. It provides benchmarking standards and visualises how the subsequent roadmap of the entire product should ideally be, to take production to the next level. Cost savings and achieving speed, adopting Industry 4.0, and its feasibility, process automation in manufacturing, optimizing and computing the time value, and optimizing the raw material and the quality of the finished goods are a few more value-added services that the company has expertise in offering.
Across auto segments
Axiscades possesses strong domain knowledge in the auto sector comprising the latest technology and complete design aspects of different systems. It follows the entire lifecycle of activities in end-to-end production. One-third of the company revenue comes from automotive and automotive heavy engineering and industrial products. And each segment has a different application. Its domain knowledge – in BIW/CIW, chassis, powertrain, interiors, plastics, localisation, prototyping, SCM, body control and display electronics, advanced driver assistance, telematics and infotainment, active and passive safety systems besides after-market solutions – is impressive.
Sharadhi shares: “We support the production processes – from complete environmental qualification tests to vibration, safety, fuel compliance, emissions – all the tests are ensured to meet the design goals.”
Axiscades works with passenger and commercial vehicles – be it cars, buses, or trucks – from 1.5 to 25 tonnes, special purpose equipment such as the excavators and mining ones and also earth movers. It is also heavily involved in working for many defence platforms and applications.
He elaborates: “We work on a turnkey model, where we deliver projects and also prototyping. We take the responsibility for limited civil production, and then some tools production too. Otherwise, the entire design and manufacturing engineering is delivered as a service. It is a combination of R&D and technology practice. We work on ruggedizing vehicles for defence application. We have the capability to turn a vehicle into a mobile command centre that is equipped with latest technologies. And the task can be completed at a considerable pace too.”
When it comes to buses, Axiscades has been working with bus OEMs for almost 2 decades now.
He shares: “We work on the design of a bus on various releases and configurations, use our niche skills pertaining to the chassis, body-in-white and multiple body dynamics, then transmission, suspension, and braking too. We work on certain engine components – be it power generation, cylinder, engine castings and high-end metallic parts. In all this, we deliver a great amount of value-added services.”
The electromechanical need of EV technology knowhow is becoming crucial and much effort is going into knowing how with minimum battery power maximum torque can be achieved.
Sharadhi elaborates: “We assist OEMs getting into new concepts such as EVs and right now we are doing all the configuration and reconfiguration for an OEM because we have the knowhow. The EV concept has every angle of engineering and science being applied to see how we can come up with the best results. The entire vehicle is being digitally designed to actually suit the battery. The chassis and the transmission systems are being re-designed, the weight that an EV can accommodate is being studied and apart from all this, it needs to clear all vehicle tests too. And, this is where Axiscades is redesigning the EVs. The need of the hour, though, is to do quick prototyping and then immediately seize the opportunity and become the early bird to catch the maximum share of the EV market.”
Unprecedented COVID crisis – Automotive sector aftermath
Today automotive sector is facing compounded challenges. Generally, the industry follows a wave pattern – going from big production phases to having lull periods. Case in point is the ongoing Covid-19 situation – giving economies a huge heartache.
Sharadhi addresses it: “Automotive companies are staring at a US$2 billion loss in revenue and 7.5 lakh units in production as the factories and dealers have shut down. Though, revival is slowly happening, the disruption has wreaked havoc in the world economy and this sector also has borne its brunt. The supply chains were the first to get disrupted during COVID. Almost 2/3rds of auto production in China was directly affected due to industrial shutdown. This majorly affected their suppliers too. Further, the massive shortage of Chinese parts adversely affected global auto production as well. But gradually we are witnessing improvement in the situation in China.”
Sales dip, global political uncertainty, and weakened demand besides a probably 2nd wave of virus hitting China again are a few more factors that are making it difficult to predict the course of recovery globally and in India too.
But Axiscades believes in identifying the pattern and visualizing how well the pattern can be put to good use. Sharadhi feels that the industry must keep busy in the continued lull by working towards newer technology of Industry 4.0, and optimization – in terms of cost, time and on certain technical parameters – and predict what the future roadmap will be and how long it can sustain and to be on track, and also predict when a complete design overhaul is necessary.
India-specific approach
Even prior to the pandemic situation, the world was gradually turning to India to make it a base for manufacturing. India is blessed with skill, knowledge and manpower.
He agrees: “Indian professionals are strong in design, manufacturing and engineering skills. We are able to quickly imbibe, then indoctrinate and grow in an engineering intense environment whereas the manufacturing intensive domain has its own requirements of capex and labour. It has to be highly optimized on scale and then provide certain advantages which no one else can offer. Today, India hosts almost every global brand.”
The automotive industry is already undergoing a huge phase of transformation, what with latest technological trends coming up, besides green initiatives and such.
As the officials at Axiscades believe that the ‘future will not be one big revolution but an incremental evolution’, the company is ready to deliver on its promise of engineering expertise for a smarter and sustainable future.