Welcome!!!! You have made it to the 1st step of on the journey to convert a concept or idea to product. The idea probably came in an brainstorming session or popped in your mind during a conversation like how it happened with Elon Musk while doing an interview and figures there is no need for a cold gas thruster as there is a hot gas thruster (Thrusters are technical term for rocket, satellites and are used to push them off the ground or allow them to stay in a particular orientation). Anyway coming back to the point, so need a product designed for your new company or existing company or may be a modification of an existing design, whatever the case might be. We have include all that we learned throughout our journey and how we navigated different problems. Hope this helps in your journey.
10 Key benefits of using CAD in product design
Computer Aided Design (CAD) has revolutionized the product design journey. it is probably the main step now involved in bringing an idea to life and to give shape to a concept. CAD is the use of computer software to make 2 dimensional drawing or 3 dimensional models. It is mostly used by engineers and designers. If you are in engineering related field you might have used them already or if you haven't yet you might come across it. Especially for entrepreneurs, who are in a journey to develop a product this a tool that comes in handy.
1. Precision and Accuracy:
This is especially important as the idea takes form, CAD helps define exact shape, form and structure. CAD enables engineers to create highly accurate and precise designs, reducing errors and ensuring the quality of the final product.
2. Time efficiency:
CAD has accelerated the product design process, saving precious time and resources. This process used to be hand made where engineers would spend days and weeks to make a drawing on paper using ruler, drafting tools, compass, protractor and divider. The quality check and the redesigns, the time involved in this iterative process was tremendous. Now the engineers and designers have all the resources at a touch of button enabling them to create, modify and iterate designs more quickly than ever before.
3. Cost Saving:
This closely links to the time efficiency aspect. As one trades time for money, the weeks and months involved in the design and drafting needs to be compensated hourly for the engineer plus the expense related to other resources like electricity, paper, and ink.
4. Visualization and Simulation:
One of the major benefits of having CAD is the ability to see the 3 dimensional (3D) version of idea. CAD allows for the creation of realistic 3D models, aiding in the visualization, and includes simulation features for predicting product behavior and performance.
5. Collaboration and communication:
CAD has made it easier to collaborate with teams and seek expert opinion as and when needed. Now two people can check, discuss, update and iterate the design when needed and get things done at an instance. Add teams to work on complex design, share the designs.
6. Design Reusability:
One of the major advantage of CAD is that it enables the reuse of design components and templates, promoting efficiency by leveraging existing designs in new projects.
7. Rapid prototyping:
This is by far the most importnat aspect of using CAD and softwares that allows easy integration with prototyping. The possibility to covert the design into codes and transfer them to a 3-D printer is one of the most innovative invention of the modern times. With 3-D printer becoming a common house-hold entity and more and more people exploring the arena its high time that CAD should be taught at school rather than at work place or at university. We will talk more of these and how I started using 3-D printer and how I design and prototype in "Navigating the prototyping process".
8. Design documentation:
What used to be once tedious, time consuming and attention driven is done now with ease with CAD. CAD tools helps in creating Detailed documentation, essential for manufacturing, assembly and maintenance process.
9. Design analysis and optimization:
CAD allows engineers to analyze designs for structural integrity, fluid dynamics and other factors facilitating optimization based on analysis results. More on this on the blog of "How Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) optimizes product performance ".
10. Adaptability to change:
CAD designs can be easily modified and adapted to changing project requirements, providing flexibility in the design process. More on this in the upcoming blog "Innovative product design trends, shaping the industry".
NAvigating the prototyping Process: A comprehensive guide
A prototype is a draft version of a product in its 3-D form. This is supposed to showcase how a design you had on paper will look like when made into a real life product. Prototyping is a visualization of the concept. This then goes on a iterative process where a constant feedback loop is created and each time the concept is redesigned to change something, to incorporate some feature based on the response obtained from the customer. Well, customer is the king, if the product doesn't satisfy the need of a customer, he will not buy it, if he doesn't buy it , you don't have sales and if you don't have sales, you don't have revenue and without revenue there is no profit and without profit, there is no means to fuel your venture and ultimately it will shut down. So the ultimate aim is to make something that someone needs or fulfills some need for which one would be willing to pay a certain amount of money.
Prototyping comes in handy at an early stage of product development. It's easier to change and update design, implement new features when just a prototype is made. Infact it might take several iteration before a final product is ready. Especially for start-ups where the capital spent on each and every aspect counts and any expense saved is capital saved for use at some other aspect of startup. Prototyping helps one to refine ideas, identify challenges, and create a tangible representation of a design. Let's embark on a journey to make a prototype. Starting with,
Understand the purpose of Prototyping:
Define the primary purpose of prototyping, validating design concept , testing functionality and identifying potential improvements.
The main aim of a prototype is to see the product visually and seek response from potential user. It serves as a pathway to demonstrate the functionality of the product to potential investor.
Identify prototyping objectives:
Set clear objectives for prototyping, testing specific features, assessing user experience, or evaluating materials.
Its highly recommended to align the prototyping objective with the overall project aim. Prototype, once major features and characteristics have been finalized. Define what aspect of a product has to be validated first, is it it's usability, aesthetics, or technical feasibility.
Choosing the right prototyping material:
There are different prototyping methods such as rapid prototyping, 3D printing and physical modelling.
One of the fastest and most economical way of prototyping a physical product is to design it in paper. Give it the form that you have in your mind. Other option is use a 3D printer, many of which are readily available on amazon or get in touch with people who provide 3D printing services. It shouldn't cost more than $50 to get a fairly simple PLA material 3D printed model. Depending on complexity and finish there are plenty of 3D printers. Even Metal 3D printers are available.
Creating a prototype plan:
Create a prototype plan by defining scope, setting a timeline, and allocating resources. A well thought out plan for prototyping with a clear and concise outcome determines what you need to design and check that feature in the prototype.
Collaborative Prototyping:
Involving cross-functional teams in the prototyping process. Doing so brings diverse perspective to the table . The process always involves designers, engineers and end-users. The collaboration between different teams leads to better quality product in the end.
Material selection:
Based on product and feature select appropriate materials. consider cost, durability and manufacturing ease.
For example a smartphone case, consider we have two materials, A and B. Material A is durable and shock-absorbent material such as polycarbonate. High impact polycarbonate provides excellent protection against accidental drops. It absorbs impact energy, preventing damage to the phone. Material B is a flexible light weight material, such as silicone, which enhances the grip and ease of handling.
So the two materials offer different features, one is impact resistant and other is more about feel, comfort and flexibility. Weigh in on each aspect of material and how it impact the user experience.
Iterative prototyping:
Product design is an iterative process. It takes many iteration to arrive at a final design that satisfies the needs and fulfills the requirements. So design-prototype-feedback response-reiterate. Keep a track of what changes were made and how it impacted the product that you arrived at. At the end it will give a visual treat to see where you started and where you arrived.
Testing and Evaluation:
Testing and evaluation is mainly guiding the user or customer through a product journey and make them try the product the way you intended them to use it. Along the way gather feedback and evaluate if the customer experience is as as you expected. If not ask what they find odd, ask them to explain what they feel. the overall goal here is to make sure the prototype functions as intended, all its features and testing it properly.
Addressing challenges in prototyping:
One of the major constrains while prototyping is the budget, try to understand the cost and time aspect of prototyping and if it fits in your schedule. Other aspect is the technical limitation. Provide a clear line of contact and coordination between different sources involved in designing a product and maintain a clear communication between teams so that everyone is aligned and no feature is missed.
Documenting and communicating results:
Document the entire prototyping journey, keep it updated and make it easily accessible to everyone involved in the process. Give emphasis on major challenges faced and how they were overcome and lessons learned. This would help in future projects that follow similar pattern and similar journey.
This short guide takes you through planing and aligning prototype objective with project aim, iterating design and taking the learning from each iteration and guiding customer through a user experience that is as smooth and easy as you imagined.
CAE-topology optimization and 3D printing
Computer-Aided-Engineering (CAE) is the use of computer software to analyse the structure and get insights on the performance of a product in real life condition. There are numerous software that offer 3D modeling and stress analysis together. One of the major benefit of having a tool that could allow you to optimize designs helps you in the design of a good quality product. This is closely related to experience of a design engineer or product designer to use 3D printing and prootyping to full potential. Among the transformative tools at our disposal, the integration of CAE and topology optimization, coupled with revolutionary capabilities of 3D printing, stands out as a game changer and one that we closely utlitize for product design at Around Earth LLC. This powerful synergy not only redefines the traditional paradigm of product development but also opens new arena for innovation.
CAE and Topology Optimization: Unveiling the Design Frontier
CAE is the cornerstone in the product design process, enabling engineers to simulate and analyze the performance of their design in a virtual environment. Topology optimization is a new frontier in design whch surpasses the conventional design methodologies, algorithamically, exploring various configuration to provide the best design with the least material and max strength. Imagine a bridge that holds the same weight but uses 30 % less steel in its structure, or a building that has optimized pillars and bars for suppot allowing saving precious resources. Aircraft industry which relies heavily on the use of conventional method of manufacturing, this new integration of CAE and topology optimization is going to revolutionize the design process and Around earth is at the forefront of this change.
3D Printing and Topology optimization
While CAE and topology optimization excel in the virtual realm, 3D printing allows us to explore the new innovative design which would otherwise would not be possible to manufacture using traditional methods. Traditional methods often impose constriants on design complexity and customization. 3D printing, on the other hand liberates designers from these limitations, allowing creation of intricate structures and geometries that were deemed impractical or impossible.
From healthcare to aerospace, 3D printing has reshaped industries by enabling the production of bespoke, high-performance components with unparalleled efficiency.
The obvious benefits:
1.Optimized performance
2.Rapid Prototyping
3.Customization at scale
4.Resource efficiency
In conclusion the marriage of CAE-topology optimization and 3D printing is a testament to the ever expanding frontier of innovation in the product design. As industries continue to embrace these transformative technologies, the products of tomorrow will not only be lighter, stronger and more efficient but also reflect the limitless creativity of those who dare to dream beyond convention.
Why you need CAE or Finite Element ANalysis(FEA)
If you are into product design or engineering you might have come across numerical simulation and Finite Element Analysis (FEA). What is it? and why is it important?
Computer-Aided-Engineering (CAE) is the use of computer softwares to assess the robustness of a product. The computer software like ANSYS or Hypermesh are among many that are utilized by structural engineers and design engineers to understand how a product/ strucutre reacts in real life condition. What this software does is basically break down a structure into smaller chunks and assess individual chunks referred to as element. Each chunk/ element is composed of area enclosing a volume. The area is made of lines, could be rectangular or triangular. The lines join at points called nodes. Well I explained all this to come to the main point which is "node". The bottom line is- the larger the number of nodes the longer it will take to assess a structure.
The CAE software makes a numerical model of the design, and then an engineer assigns the boundary conditions which is basically where and how the forces will be acting, what state the body will be at, what temperature it will have, what material makes the product and so forth. Once all these is set the software analyses the structure on how it would react to the real life condition, where the stress will be accumulated and so forth.
Safety:
One of the major outcome of using CAE and FEA is to understand the provide an idea of safety to its user. An experience structural engineer with the help of FEA/CAE software can help one to make good product design and it's something that we focus here at Around Earth.
Quality:
When you have a sound understanding of the stress acting on a product,due to the day to day activity it performs, you have room to explore and enhance the design of the product to provide to customer an optimum design that satisfies needs. When that need is satisfied, quality is achieved.
Cost :
One of the major resources that is closely linked to manufacturing is cost. Very important in defining project scope along with deadline and deliverables. Imagine spending thousands of dollars on a product design, then another few thousands on manufacturing and finally you come to know there is a flaw in the design and because of which the product doesn't last as much as you expect it to. Considering numerical simulation and modelling at each step of a design process minimized huge capital lost.
Time to market:
One of the advantage of coupling CAE with topology optimization and 3D printing is the time to market. With increasing feedback and need to improve product, the iterative design process is now faster than ever. Even the rocket thrusters are now manufactured using 3D printing.
In conclusion, CAD-CAE-Pototyping-CAD-CAE-Prototyping--- is a repetitive process and takes numerous iteration to arrive at a version which is the current version. Take Iphone 15 for example, so many iterations came before and numerous more will come after.The industries like automobile and aerospace are often looking for reducing material, cost, time and most importantly they want the product out yesterday.
Criteria to Scale, Grow and reach the next stage.
This may hit the spot for business owners in any industry and hold so much value as many industry leaders be it Amazon, Apple, Airbus, Boeing, Berkshire Hathaway, Microsoft, Meta and numerous other are constantly following it, perfecting it and implementing it in their life which transcends into the work and finally to the work culture. The criteria to scale, grow and reach the next level connects the previous article about safety, quality, time and cost.
Continuous growth-"Reiterate":
What's interesting about growth is without change, that too a positive change there cannot be growth. In industry terms it is called "continuous improvement" and it needs to be implemented at individual level. Most companies offer employees a career development path which clearly outline the areas of improvement and efforts to undertake. Similarly for a company to grow, the only criteria at the end of a quarter, annual year, is the revenue generated.
Attention:
How does one arrive at a higher revenue than previous year, lets take apple for example, a new product each year, continued sales, retained customer, acquiring new ones, selling more products than last year. More sales is the driving point. Generating sales requires work, keep people aware, grab their attention, drive them through a path that satisfies their interest and connect with them. Grabbing attention and keeping one interested in what you have to present is the whole deal. You do it and offer what what you present with quality, satisfy their needs at a price they are willing to pay in return for the time and money they spent.
I have recently done this experiment where I started of with a commercially of the shelf component, readily available in any hardware store and underwent a process that I described above. Its an L bracket, used in household for making shelf. To make it more profitable for the manufacturer/owner, I started to understand how I can keep the functionality same, retain the customer, get new once and make profit from the sales. The best option was to keep an existing design, reiterate it, ensure quality and safety, save time and cost. What began as an iterative process lead to a final product that uses 40% less material than the original one. So COST to make the L bracket is brought down by reducing the material used for making 1 unit by 40%, which translates to 3 units of new design as compared to 2.2 units. More product, less cost, less time. Thanks to the power of engineering coupled with 3D modelling and numerical simulation CAE.
VAlue Addition
For a start-up, an entrepreneur and a business owner a term that hold so much meaning is "Value". Everyone be it the end customer in B2C or the client in a B2B constantly asks is what am I getting out of it? What value is the product or service adding? As a business owner at Around Earth I explore this concept and came up with the following on how I add value to the clients when providing engineering services like product design, 3-D modeling in Computer-Aided-Design(CAD), structural analysis using Computer-Aided-Engineering (CAE) and Prototyping. Some of these value are tangible and some are intangible. it draws value also from the "10 Benefits of using CAD". Consider the following when weighing in on the value addition.
Optimized Design Process: The process for product design and production is long and requires many iterations on design. A streamlined the design process, reducing the time and resources required for product development. This efficiency can lead to quicker time-to-market and cost savings.
High-Quality Designs: The designs produced are of high quality, which are a byproduct of a streamlined design process which reduces waste and time to market subsequently saving cost. This includes considering factors such as functionality, manufacturability, and sustainability, leading to better end products.
Cost Savings: Through careful design and analysis, we identify potential issues early in the process, preventing costly errors and redesigns later on. As mentioned in quality, it doesn't have to be more cost for better quality. This can result in significant cost savings for your clients.
Improved Product Performance: CAE (Computer-Aided Engineering) allows to simulate and analyze product performance under various conditions. These testing are very important from a consumer aspect and also provides a narrative to the customer on a product usage journey. This helps in optimizing designs for better functionality and reliability.
Prototyping Efficiency: With our guidance, the prototyping phase can be more efficient and effective. By utilizing CAD models and simulations, we saving both time resources and money which are the main drivers of a project and contribute to project scope. Modifying any one of them can lead to a different end product.
Risk Mitigation: Identify and address potential risks during the design phase, reducing the likelihood of issues arising during manufacturing or in the final product. But not all the problems can be determined in the design phase and some turn up later once customer starts using product and either dislikes or want an addition, in either case thinking upfront helps mitigate most of the problems. This contributes to a smoother development process.
Customization and Innovation: CAD-CAE-Product design can lead to innovative solutions tailored to your client's specific needs. This customization can provide a competitive advantage in the market. In a highly competitive market a feature more or a benefit makes the difference between sale or abandoned cart. This is closely related to the streamlined design process.
Enhanced Collaboration: Our proficiency in CAD tools facilitates effective collaboration among various stakeholders, including designers, engineers, and manufacturers. This ensures that everyone is on the same page throughout the product development lifecycle.
Adaptability to Change: In the dynamic field of product design, our expertise allows your clients to adapt to changes in requirements, technology, or market conditions more effectively, ensuring their products stay competitive.
Knowledge Transfer: Our consultation also involves sharing your expertise with the client's team, empowering them with new skills and knowledge. This knowledge transfer can have long-term benefits for the client's internal capabilities.
Overall, your expertise in CAD-CAE-Product design and prototyping provides tangible and intangible benefits, contributing to the success and competitiveness of your clients in their respective industries.
If you are also seeking value addition and have a pain point that needs to be addressed, Or just want to streamline the process of production drop in a " Free Discovery Call" - https://www.aroundearth.net/products#h.zhe6k3g49vjq
Discovery calls are our means of understanding your problems and pain points and then deciding if we are a best fit for you and if so how can we proceed to resolve them and finally add value.
Fatigue failure of aircraft rotating components
What is fatigue
Fatigue failure in aerospace-automotive industry is a prominent cause of failure. It is the failure caused by weakening of the structure subjected to repeated loading or cyclic loading. Fatigue life is defined as the number of loading (stress) cycles a components sustains before failure. Gas turbine-Engine components undergo high temperature variation, body forces, extraneous load of gas flow in addition to creep corrosion and erosion. Disks are subjected to either high-or low-cycle fatigue. High-cycle fatigue results from a large number of loading cycles at relatively low stress levels. Low-cycle fatigue results from a low number of loading cycles at relatively high stress levels.
Why is it important
The conditions in which engine components operate can cause crack initiation and propagation through a component at highly stressed locations. The cracks, if undetected, would eventually result in the component failing to perform as required. Engineers run extensive test on #CAE Computer-Aided-Engineering software to find the stress acting on the components during operation and then use it to find the fatigue life of the component. #FEA Finite- Element-Analysis allows the study of stress in rotor disks and find out the life of the rotor disks. Use of #FEM in calculations makes it possible to take into account both structural and loading peculiarities and statistical scatter of material properties. Software such as #ANSYS are primarily used to assess the static stress of the rotor disk taking into account the non linear behavior of the material. The results from FEM software are used in collaboration with other software NASALIFE, NASGROW for determining the life a component under cyclic thermo-mechanical loading.
Report from Aircraft engine failure
From a study of accidents due aircraft engine failure performed by National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), it was found that out of 41 cases investigated 18 were accounted due to primary cause, 17 due to secondary and 8 due to unknown cause of failure. Taking the 41 cases as baseline, it was found that 45% of failure occurred due to compressor disk failure and 36% occurred due to turbine disk failure.
Of the 41 cases, 44% accounted for primary failure, 41% secondary failure and 15% due to unknown cause.
Primary failure were further categorized into 1. Processing discrepancies such as machining, forging, material contamination and plating; 2. fatigue-unknown cause ; 3. fatigue corrosion; and 4. initial design problem. 17% of primary disk failure occurred because of machining problems, using defective tools during machining operation, improper rounding of disk slot edges. Forging defects such as inclusions or material porosity, processing discrepancies involving top half of the forging billet, excessive lead leading to material contamination failure. Fatigue cracking attributed to plating defects, fatigue from unknown origin leading to disk integration, fatigue corrosion. An insufficient radius of aft side of a turbine disk caused the failure of a turbo shaft engine. This accounts for initial design problem.
Secondary disk failure were attributed to improper assembly or improperly sized component. Most notable type of secondary disk failure was caused by failure of engine components. Typically, these failure were caused by blade tang galling, bearing disintegration, third stage turbine nozzle guide vane retention lug discrepancies, bearing supports, blades, pressure tubes located within the water methanol flow meters.
Conclusion
Although there are various reasons for failure of a component, one that can be studied and rectified is fatigue related failure. Use of #CAD and #CAE software allows engineers to extensively study component operation and estimate its life. The engine failure could be minimized and avoided paying close attention to rotor components, performing regular checks.
