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| In today's fast-paced marketplace, TIME is a very important resource which must be used in the most effective manner which results in an advantage for your company.
Studies have shown that about 70% of your product's cost is fixed during the product conceptualization/design phase. This phase must be well managed so that the product
design and manufacturing process are optimized.
The old "cut and try" cycle of building prototypes, testing the prototypes, studying the test results, making design modifications, and repeating the cycle rarely produced
the optimized design because of TIME The number of design iterations must be reduced so that TIME, money, and valuable resources are not wasted, but are used to bring better products to the customer in a TIMELY manner. How can TIMELY ENGINEERING ASSOCIATES help? Well, there are many tools and techniques which can reduce the number of design iterations necessary to produce a product which meets the requirements of the customer. These techniques have been greatly enhanced by the availability of high speed computers. FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS This technique is used to simulate the response of a component or product to the application of external force. In solid mechanics, the stresses, deformations, strains, and temperatures which result form the applied loads can be calculated and graphically displayed in many forms, such as contour plots and deflected shaped plots. In fluid mechanics, flow paths, pressure profiles, and velocities can be predicted. If this design tool is properly applied, the number of prototypes needed for testing can be dramatically reduced. MATH MODELING Mathematical models of the product performance can be derived using finite element analysis, statistical analysis, a combination of these two, or from first principles. In some cases, these models, or equations, can then be used to quickly get a rough approximation to the answer. These "ballpark" results can then be refined by performing a more detailed analysis such as a finite element analysis. In other cases, these models may give the full answer and there is no need to perform a more in-depth analysis. STATISTICS This analysis tool can be used to reduce the tremendous amount of test data generated during the design and validation phases to a manageable and meaningful set of data which can be more easily understood. Some of the statistical techniques include regression analysis, distributions, analysis of variance, significance tests, and design of experiments (or Taguchi Analysis). Design of experiments (DOE) may be used in conjunction with finite element analysis to reduce the number of lab tests needed in the design or validation phases. Iterations of different variables can also be studied and the most significant variable can be found. The classical engineering method was to change only one variable at a time. This is TIME consuming and does not give information about interactions. With the information about the variables, robust designs can be generated which result in CUSTOMER SATISFACTION. TRAINING TIMELY ENGINEERING ASSOCIATES can provide training in many areas, including the areas previously noted. The training can be customized to the particular needs of the client. The training can be on a continuing basis with follow-up sessions to determine if additional needs exist. Some of the topics in which training from Timely Engineering Associates is available are:
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limitations. The product was produced and design changes were made on an ongoing basis. This costs TIME and money. The most
cost effective product is one which needs a minimal number of design changes once the product is released to manufacturing: THE OPTIMIZED DESIGN.