Engineers are considered to be logical, thoughtful and precise with everything they undertake. Perhaps this is one reason why everyone calls themselves an engineer. A housewife calls herself a “Domestic Engineer”. Doesn’t she organize, construct, manipulate, manage, contrive? All used to define an engineer, as per the Merriam-Webster dictionary. So next time you boast your engineering skills, remember that the over-friendly cookie baking lady has exactly the same skill sets.
There are certain tools any type of engineer would rely upon.
(a) legacy data
(b) testing
(c) intuition
Legacy Data works while designing a family of products. Meaning, similar shaped parts subjected to different magnitudes of load. Hopefully, the initial design was well engineered and optimized for material and life cycle expectancy.
Testing historically has proven to be expensive, time consuming, but definitive. Need to reduce design cycle time, and ability to match quality is the need of the hour. Depending on the nature of the industry you are in, testing more than a couple designs isn’t economical anymore.
Intuition to me works if you have worked in the field for a considerable time. I have known engineers who have spent 10 years designing a pressure vessel or a nozzle. They obviously understand different conditions that components are subjected to. The kind of experience only years of practice can give. Their first shot is very close, if not always on target to an optimized design.
The ability to test multiple concepts and improve existing designs, will define product success and market acceptance. Be it machine design or product design, everyone needs to tune up the design process or face competition from every corner of the globe.
SolidWorks Simulation or COSMOS are tools engineers rely upon to make sure their designs perform optimally. There are budget / time constraints at any given moment to ponder upon. If we prove to your management that technology works, and is economically viable will they work with us?
Rajat Trehan
Product Manager – Design Validation
Computer Aided Technology Inc.
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