Too often, finite element analysis looks like a magic tool requiring little or no experience to generate in-depth, complex, and highly refined results. This line of thinking will have disastrous results.
A recent conversation with another engineering analyst regarding design work done in China. Design for assembly and design for manufacturing was not addressed. Cheap design work resulted in a design that cannot be economically built, wasting the entire effort.
Cheap Analysis is Out There. Run From it!
The same company planned to go to analysts in Africa, who had very little experience with FEA. The company built no hardware at this point. Company trying to save money on low hourly rates from abroad in hopes of reducing development costs, but ended up with an inefficient design.
Were prototypes manufactured to the presented design, it would likely not meet requirements. This was an engine-related product and thermal analysis, stress and vibration analyses are needed, among other tasks. It is even possible the company would proceed with creating factory tooling without prototype testing!
Finite element analysis is an excellent tool for reducing development cycles necessary to arrive at a manufacture-able product , but it will not eliminate the need for prototype construction and testing.
Managerial Bullying
I had another experience with another company. They wanted to save money on their finite element analysis by sending the task to India. Upon review of this analysis, a company employee stated that the analysis was of poor quality and needed to be redone. This man’s supervisor insisted the employee change the evaluation and accept the analysis as is. The employee refused and ended up leaving the company.
What if the employee had done as instructed? A poor analysis will lead to a poor design. One would hope that prototype testing would expose the problems prior to setting up manufacturing. The effort involved to construct and test a prototype with the foreknowledge that it would not perform could be avoided. I am all in favor of reducing development costs, but in instances such as this, cutting corners in the analysis phase is penny -wise and pound-foolish.
Inexperienced Analyst
Yet another instance of this was a company that hired a college graduate to perform structural finite element analysis. Upon completion the company built a prototype that failed under test. An experienced analyst reviewed the analysis files and found it to be riddled with errors that an experienced analyst would not make. But, what the heck, the analysis was cheap!
FEA is Not a Magic Tool
Too often, finite element analysis looks like a magic tool requiring little or no experience to generate good results. This line of thinking can be a disaster if not caught early.
Norman T. Neher, P.E.
Analytical Engineering Services, Inc.
Elko New Market, MN
www.aesmn.org