Designing the Vehicles of the Future

Ali Shabbir of General Motors is imagining cars that never crash, never get stuck in traffic, and produce zero emissions. How to get there? Generative design.

Cars that never crash, never get stuck in traffic, and produce zero emissions? It sounds like science fiction, but it’s what General Motor’s zero-zero-zero goal is all about. To achieve it, GM needs to create cars that are lighter, smarter, and more connected, and that in turn requires embracing the latest technologies for design, including generative design and additive manufacturing. Ali Shabbir of GM explains how they’ve partnered with Autodesk to get it done and showcases the first product of the partnership: a seat belt bracket that combines 8 different components into one—and is 40% lighter and 20% stronger than the original assembly.

About the speaker

Ali Shabbir is a product application engineer and global innovation lead in additive design and manufacturing for General Motors. He leads a project portfolio focused on the industrialization of additive manufacturing applications on GM products, to enable the vehicles of the future. He holds a master’s degree from MIT.

Related learning

Would you like to dive deeper into generative design? Check out these related AU sessions.

Generative Design Product Briefing

This AU Las Vegas product briefing is a great way to get familiar with generative design. Discover what generative design is and is not with Doug Kenik and 2 co-speakers. They cover the latest in generative design technology, the future direction of the technology, and how to use it to automate manufacturing.

Autodesk Generative Design Capabilities for Machinery Industries

Fresh from AU London 2019, this industry talk features Harv Saund and Alessandro Gasso as they help you increase product performance on machinery components. As part of Fusion 360 software, Autodesk Generative Design is the new design space tool for engineers capitalizing on the power of cloud and AI—and they are here to break it down for you.

Generative Design and General Motors: The Future of Automotive Vehicle Structures

Autodesk and GM have begun collaborating on the future of design to create important new vehicles. Generative design is the key. In this AU Las Vegas industry talk, Andy Harris and Mike Grau explore generative design for additive manufacturing and walk through a seamless additive manufacturing workflow.