How do you decide which design is best? What steps can you take to ensure that a product will be cutting edge without sacrificing profits or product reliability? Nowadays, companies run many simulations in order to design products more efficiently. The simulations provide simple, accurate design analysis which in turn leads to better products, faster. Simulation tools give designers a safety net for catching errors, improving product performance and cutting costs.
Introducing simulation as early as possible in the design process and implementing a simulation-driven design process is not only important, it’s essential. For companies, this can mean the difference between a successful product and one of the most innovative and profitable products in its category.
Why use simulation as early as possible?
Simulation is no longer restricted to the later stages of production, like design validation and verification. Introducing simulation earlier in the design process opens up the possibility of making a lot more changes, which can drive the overall design instead of limiting it to the back end of the process.
By only using simulation tools near the end of the process, you are effectively limiting the impact simulations can have. At a later stage, many opportunities are no longer possible because decisions that have already been made are locked into the design. Even if the outcome of using a simulation tool is only to establish the general direction, it’s still better than waiting until it is too late to make any changes.
How to integrate simulation into the design process
There are many ways of integrating simulation at the beginning rather than the end of the design process. When the simulation was first introduced, designers would give their specifications to another professional with the right training, who would then transfer the design to a virtual environment. By training designers as well as other professionals who influence the design, like analysts, to use the simulation tools themselves, the simulation environment can be used faster, which makes for a more flexible design process.
In recent years, there has been a lot of changes and some evolution in the way that simulations are embedded into other tools. These changes are making it easier than ever before for designers with CAD training to use simulation tools, helping them use the virtual environment effectively alongside their CAD tool.
These technologies are always advancing, so there are many possibilities of how simulation tools could be used in the future. Many think cloud computing will be introduced into simulation tools, enabling access to additional processors and memory when needed. Another possibility is increased mobility with simulation tools, which would enable greater collaboration. Clearly, for anyone currently enrolled at a CAD School or pursuing Online CAD courses, this is a field with tremendous potential and opportunities, both in the present and for the future.
