COSMOS is now Design Simulation

COSMOS is now Design Simulation

At the September 11th WNC SolidWorks User Group Meeting Dana Parish from Central Florida gave an excellent presentation on the Who, What, When and Why of design simulation. I left with the feeling that this is something that should be in my CAD toolbox. Dana’s presentation really focused in on how the tools can help designers and engineers alike in their endeavors to design and build products in a cost effective manner. Dana’s partner, Ramesh Lakshmipathy showed us how the software worked using real world examples. One of his example files was from Precision Gear provided by our own Phil Behm. It was a housing that Precision Gear has cast overseas. Phil said it was designed in the old days when steel was cheap and the ‘When in doubt, make it stout’ finite element analysis was the preferred method. By running the design simulation tools on the housing Ramesh was able to trim 8 lbs from the part. And he did all this in about 30 minutes. He went through the process for us and I must say that it was impressive.

Today I’m up to my eyebrows in DriveWorksXpress. We have a perfect project for this application. Look around in your kitchen at the cabinetry and picture these made from #3 brushed stainless steel. They are used in a pharmaceutical laboratory. We have made the cabinets twice before and both time I was thinking that there must be a better way. The sizes and the configuration of the cabinets change based on the wall space available and their actual use. There are single door cabinets of various sizes but they could hinge on the left or the right sides. There are double door cabinets of different sizes and there are cabinets with door and drawers and some with just drawers. It’s really confusing since some parts will be the same for multiple cabinets and some will be the same except for a single hole…You get the idea. And if I’m not confused enough the shop guys really lose their minds when the assembly starts.

I’ve watched videos, read tutorials and worked through them. I talked to Michael Jolley last night and he gave me a few pointers. So as I told my boss this morning, it’s now down to me figuring it out as I do it. I’ll keep you posted on my progress. Or not!

What ‘bout them Tarheels! Great win guys!