Most people seem to think that faster is better.
Americans enjoy fast food, instant messaging, and even (believe it or not) new quick-cooking slow cookers. While not everything is better faster, we recognize that manufacturers could potentially save money if they were able to collapse the amount of time spent in the pre-production phase.
A considerable increase in the demand for the use of finite element analysis in product design is predicted for the coming years. It’s no wonder, considering that the benefits of using finite element analysis (FEA) include:
If you are relatively new to the manufacturing or construction field, the term finite element analysis may seem both unfamiliar and intimidating. However, we assure you that it’s one concept well worth looking into on a number of levels. For one, it has the potential to save lives, decrease accidents and prevent public relations nightmares. Allow us to explain using metal stage supports as examples.
When your product represents a structural component of your customer’s purchase it sure better be structurally sound. Who can afford a costly recall or, even worse, be responsible for a personal accident? To help ensure against part failure American Hydroformers employs exacting Finite Element Analysis (FEA) procedures.
It does not matter where you look, you will always find information on how various companies and organizations have used an engineering simulation as part of their strategy when it comes to development. One of the best examples of engineering simulation is FEA or Finite Element Analysis.
According to a tech engineering firm known as Frame, CAD Windows apps, like FEA (Finite Element Analysis), can now be moved to the cloud, which will bring a hug change in how CAD operates.
From an article that outlines the subject:
The value of CAD systems for electronic envisioning of designs has been one of the most important drivers of what some call the post-industrial age.
CAD revolutionized the design industry, allowing fewer people than ever to render 2D and 3D objects. Significantly cutting down manpower.
CAD, as the article points out, is apart of the larger Digital Product Development (DPD), which is situated inside the Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) set of processes, which includes Finite Element Analysis (FEA) among others. It is, for the sake of design argument, the home base for how all design and planning begins.
CAD isn’t, as is probably no surprise, a set of systems that has made it to the cloud. Because of render computational speeds and a specialized set of codecs that need to be speedy in how they operate, CAD is relegated to localization. But Frame aims to change that.
As Frame’s website says: Frame is like Box, except instead of them delivering your documents via the cloud, they deliver your apps.
Apps that can be ran from an internal infrastructure, or from a cloud-based one, depending on your preferences.
But why CAD?
Because CAD needs it. According to Frame engineers, CAD is among the most demanding of all design programs, often requiring the most intense graphics, and a need for preserving and storing the highest quality of images.
It also boasts a compatibility with other Windows software, the key ability to host PDM or cloud storage, and a greater than stellar graphical performance.
All in all, having apps stored locally or in the cloud is a huge advancement for business and potential savings alike.
Those who are interested in taking it for a spin can sign up for a BETA at Frame’s website.
For more information on how we can help you, please don’t hesitate to contact us any time.
Finite Element Analysis (FEA) is an engineering simulation discipline that has its roots in the aerospace industry, during the 1950’s. Since that time the discipline has ‘come into its own,’ spurred by the progress of computer hardware and software technologies, coupled with aggressive competition between software companies specializing in FEA products.
While FEA applies to many engineering fields, it is most often understood in terms of structural analyses for mechanical engineers. A typical question addressed by FEA analysts would be, “Will a part fail under such-and-such loading (forces and restraining) conditions?”
Our company is a little different in that the questions we address by our FEA simulations. Our simulations answer questions like, “what are the prestresses caused by the manufacturing process?” Or, “Will the prestresses of the manufacturing process cause failure in the client’s part under the conditions specified by the client?” And finally, there is always the iterative process of changing a manufacturing process within the virtual world of a given finite element analysis, to perfect the process.
One might ask, “Why not just do actual experiments?” We would of course arrange to do such tests for our clients. However, the problem with the more established ‘Make and Break,’ approach compared to FEA is additional (1) timing and (2) expenses loaded onto a given project. These factors make it prohibitive for project engineers to rely exclusively on laboratory testing. FEA usage cuts down on the time in the design phase of a project, a phase which affects all others in the product development process.
As an added benefit – when FEA analyses can be standardized (as we have with our hydroforming simulations), significant time and cost savings can be achieved that would not be possible using the old ‘Make and Break’ product testing methodology.
For further information about how our Finite Element Analysis capabilities may achieve cost savings and enhanced structural performance for your products, please contact us.
The use of FEA or Finite Element Analysis further advances the hydroforming industry by eliminating the impediments of inefficiency and expense.
Finite Element Analysis is a method using numerical techniques of calculus variations to solve boundary value problems. This process uses computer model designs to connect elemental equations over sub domains to approximate the values over larger regions. The models are then stressed and analyzed to decipher the correct procedure in manufacturing the product.
Not only does FEA allow for new designs to be created without the prospect of a test failure, but it can also enhance the design of pre-existing products.
With the use of the FEA method, the hydroforming industry can further advance production by expediting procedures with fewer miscalculations. The finite element designs optimize the control process of parameter by selecting the correct calculation to prevent excessive thinning or premature wrinkling. Overall, the process minimizes error function and produces a stable solution. This allows for larger tube expansion in the dual hydroforming process.
With greater sensitivity analysis, the FEA method facilitates the precise design of both die shapes and die geometrics. By controlling the parameters through mathematical calculations, the overall forming procedures become more accurate. The hydroforming process is complex in itself and numerous factors have to be calculated accurately to construct a working product. Determining a forming window can be experimental through trial and error which is both less effective and more expensive.
Shabbir Memom writes,“In order to have a successful hydroforming process, it is imperative to optimize the process parameters such as loading path and feed rate along with friction and keep it within the range of forming window.”
He goes on to discus that without facilitating the finite element analysis methods, some hydroforming designs would be impossible.
For more information on the advancement of FEA methods within the hydroforming industry, please feel free to contact us.
