Think Mechanical Simulations Before You Take The Prototype Plunge...

Mechanical simulations provide insight as to how a design will handle stresses applied to it in the real world. This is a good thing to know before sinking a lot of money into physical prototypes.
 
Feb. 17, 2010 - PRLog -- Product design centers around the three F's:

Form
Fit
Function

For years CAD software really could only make a major contribution to Form.  Therefore, to be sure of the other two, one would need to develop physical prototypes to be sure the parts fit well together and could perform the desired function.

Advances over the past few years have now made in CAD software is making the last two F's a whole lot easier to do in a virtual environment.  Engineers can now more quickly than ever, develop and test a product's design in a simulated environment.  They have the ability to apply stresses that a part would be exposed to in the real world and see if they fail and how they fail.  

"With the use of software such as SolidWorks Simulation Professional, our engineers can now optimize a design in real-time." says Stephen Elting, President of Elting Mechanical Enterprises, Inc.  "When dealing with complex mechanisms that have parts that are moving at high rates of speed, the mass of the part plays a big role.  To be able to quickly optimize critical components within that mechanism is a very big deal to us."

In regards to product design the cost savings can be immediate.  "Suppose you have plastic part that needs to be designed and a client wants to have a rapid prototype done to see if she likes how it looks.  Years ago, showing her a line drawing of the design was all she could get unless she paid for an airbrush rendering but, that could get expensive and time consuming.  Now, we can render the design as if it were sitting on a kitchen counter-top. We can now rotate it, change the color, size, whatever.  We work with her to get the design to look as close to what she had envisioned it to be like.  Then we sent it to the rapid prototyping shop.  That virtual prototype saved her thousands of dollars in unwanted rapid prototypes."  An added benefit to the digital renderings are lots of high resolution images that can be used in marketing the product.

So, before spending thousands of dollars in rapid prototypes, look to virtual prototyping and simulation for your next project.


About Elting Mechanical Enterprises

Elting Mechanical Enterprises is a mechanical design firm that focuses on helping local manufacturing companies save money and be more productive.  EME specializes in Machine Analysis & Design, Finite Element Analysis, Mechanical Simulations, Design For Manufacturability & Assembly (DFM & DFA), Process Documentation and Work Instructions, Manufacturing Cost Reduction, Process Improvement, Risk Assessment, FMEA, Process Improvement & Machine Reliability.

For more information, visit their website:  www.eltingmechanical.com

To contact them directly, please call 813-966-3667 or send an email to: info@eltingmechanical.com

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