Next step for improvement

[VladimirMEngineer]

Hi fellow engineers,

Here is my dilemma. I do product design related to automotive industry. It's basically sheet metal, welded profiles, welded sheet metal and standard bars and tubing...

I was thinking that it would be good to expand on that with maybe FEA to be able to better optimize design and check weather what I designed will hold under real word use, which often includes dynamic load, aka. products under load additionally suffering from being driven around in a commercial van which in turn puts more stress on welded joints or bolted connections.

Other than that, I feel it would be useful to always know approximately how much what I design would cost so that I can compare two solutions on that criteria also. Not sure how that could be implemented best. I use SolidWorks for design.

What do you guys think? Is there any other area of engineering that I should also consider to expand to? What would you choose as a next step in improving your engineering work. The stuff I work with doesn't require tight tolerances, thermodynamics or machining parts. It's mostly sheet metal cutting and bending, welding and fastening with nuts and bolts.

Regards,
Vladimir

 

[oldinspector]

Sounds a lot like mechanical engineering, ductwork, hvac for homes and commercial buildings.

 

[VladimirMEngineer]

Mechanical engineering it is, but not HVAC. It's metal shelving,vehicle partitions, cone holders, oddball custom projects like steel rack frames for storage, steel/wood workbenches... Most are installed permanently in a commercial vans. The equipment is usually reliable as it is often over-dimensioned, very rarely something breaks. However, I would like to improve myself with the next step, what ever it may be, to be a better designer. And since that will certainly involve a significant time and effort investment, I would like to be sure that I'm expanding in the good direction.

The idea here is to see what other mechanical engineers, based on their career experience think would give the best value. Weather that's FEA or something else. I'll definitely browse this forum more to see what other engineers talk about.

 

[IRstuff]

Seems to me that you've set yourself in a niche that doesn't seem to require an increased skillset; are you planning on changing fields?

The only benefit I see for your existing job is to try and shave costs by reducing the amount of overdesign, which should minimize the fabrication cost of the hardware you provide, both in material and labor. If you can remove fasteners or lightweight the shelving, etc., or if you can simplify the welding to minimize labor cost...

TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert!

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[CWB1]

I would look into learning and using FEA, its a rather indispensable analysis tool for MEs.

 

[VladimirMEngineer]

@CWB1, do you have any tips on how to start from the ground up to learn FEA efficiently and correctly? On the work, I use SolidWorks (no license for Simulation unfortunately though) and I have installed Code Aster with Salome GUI. If necessary, I could potentially get access to any required software for learning purposes.

But, the main question is how to learn it properly so that I can be confident that the analyses I will be doing are good and reflect future product use correctly. My basic understanding is that there is a lot of nuances regarding generation of proper mesh and selecting proper elements to use.

If you had to learn it all over again, what your process would be?

 

[IRstuff]

learn it properly

That's a bit of an oxymoron; the most anyone can do is to show you how to run the software and where to find examples to check your results. Beyond that, you need to rely on the space between your ears.

TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKorP55Aqvg

faq731-376 forum1529 Entire Forum list

http://www.eng-tips.com/forumlist.cfm

 

[VladimirMEngineer]

I agree in principle. It is a high bar to set. However, I am only looking for some general tips, not for a step by step hand holding. I can use the grey and white mass between the ears

 

[CWB1]

Hopefully the link below works, its a FAQ with a big list of FEA books. Ultimately its like anything else in engineering, you can either read and attempt to teach yourself, or take a course. The various software companies offer courses specific to their products as do independent consultants, or you can do as I did and take a college course on it.

[link ]

https://www.eng-tips.com/faqs.cfm?fid=2021

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[scheah]

Hi Vladimir,

There are many FEA codes out there but if you're starting out, I would suggest looking at commercial codes (such as Nastran) that is used by your desired company. Try contacting the sales people for a student version. For example, you could download Ansys student and use it (with limited model size). There is an accompanying introduction course on EdX that I cannot vouch for but you can't beat the price.

There are many books out there on FEA ranging from highly theoretical to button pushing. I would recommend getting a book on understanding the assumptions made and how to interpret results. A book I refer to often is by Cook.


Best of luck,
Jason