Designers on fast track with race cars
KIRKLEES business owners have been warned to prepare for spot checks on their staff pension schemes.
Nick Brook (pictured), who owns TaxAssist Accountants at Lockwood, said: “Spot checks are being carried out across the country by the Pensions Regulator to ensure that employers are complying with the new rules on workplace pensions.
“Local business owners need to prepare for the short-notice inspections, which will check whether they are automatically enrolling qualifying staff in a company pension scheme and contributing to their pension pot.
“Every month, the Regulator is announcing a clampdown on new towns and cities, with spot checks already carried out in London, the North West, Midlands, Yorkshire and Scotland.
“We’re advising many local businesses, which have now received notices from the Pensions Regulator giving the date from which they must comply with automatic enrolment.
“Many have planned well in advance and have fully compliant pension schemes up and running already. But for those employers who are yet to comply with the new rules, there is the prospect of a £400 fixed penalty escalating to daily fines set at a minimum of £50 per day. Those fines increase to £500 per day if they have over five employees. RACE car manufacturer Ginetta has turned to designers based in Huddersfield to help fine-tune its latest prototype.
Leeds-based Ginetta, headed by Batley-born businessman and racing driver Lawrence Tomlinson, called on the in-house designers at the 3M Buckley Innovation Centre (3M BIC) to create a 3D animation of Ginetta’s £1.3m LMP1 machine – to help the firm’s own designers visualise the car’s development and showcase it at a launch event at Silverstone Circuit to potential buyers.
Ginetta technical director Ewan Baldry said: “3D technology is an important part of our design process and marketing. To see something on a flat CAD screen has a few limitations, so being able to see something you can move around is very helpful.
“The main thing with a project such as this – from a marketing point of view – is to show credibility in the early stages to demonstrate to people the direction you are heading in. Therefore, having 3D visuals was key.”
Paul Tallon, lead consultant designer at 3M BIC, said: “With the 3M BIC’s High Performance Computer and the latest Vray rendering software, we were able to get the detail to look as real life as possible in our render.
“This was particularly important for Ginetta who was looking for a realistic render to show their clients.”
As well as the on-screen render, the design team produced the car in augmented reality (AR) – enabling people to walk around a scaled down holographic version of the car. A 3D model was also printed in nylon. Both were showcased at the launch event at Silverstone.
Ginetta said new and existing customers had shown significant interest in the LMP1 following the launch event.
The 3M BIC design team is now working on the next stage of the process – to create a serious gaming experience enabling users, particularly racing drivers, to virtually test the LMP1 car on a track and add in different scenery and weather conditions to enhance the driver experience.