Engineering

Mechanical engineering is the core competency of Product Design. Due to this concentration we tend to work on products that are somewhat more mechanically complex than the work done by firms that specialize in industrial design and do engineering as an added service. Our specialization in plastic part design, FEA stress analysis, and injection mold design results in engineered plastic products that are truly designed for production.

We are a strong follower of the trend towards performing analysis of all types earlier in the project . The output of even a rough analysis gives the engineer input on which directions will most likely yield the results he is looking to achieve BEFORE he spends time doing detailed work in a direction that may be a dead end. This early analysis is supplemented with computer based data acquisition to collect information on actual conditions and to refine potential load conditions. Solid modeling in Pro/Engineer by Parametric Technology, Inc. serves as the basis for all of the product's geometry, physical properties, and the interaction of parts within assemblies. This Pro/Engineer solid model geometry can then be used as input for our in house stress analysis performed in Cosmos/M and Cosmos DesignSTAR software. These different operations are kept moving in the right direction by project management skills developed by a combination of graduate level training, hands on experience, and a solid engineering background.

Engineering Visualization with Pro/Engineer Solid Models

We do all of the actual mechanical geometry creation work using Pro/Engineer solid modeling software. The clear visualizations that this product enables allow even non technical people to contribute useful insights to the ongoing design effort. We frequently export Pro/E models to the VRML format which allows anyone with a reasonably fast computer to review and comment on the design without the need for any special software. This technique works well for getting early input rom non technical people who may be able to contribute valuable user interface and market related insight.

Prototyping in Software

Early and ongoing functional analysis of the product as it takes form is used throughout the engineering effort to guide us to the best solution by plan, not by accident. Here Cosmos DesignSTAR is used to identify areas were material can be REMOVED to reduce stresses. This part was analyzed as part of an assembly and then the other assembly members were blanked to allow a clear view of the stresses in this forged and machined part.

Cosmos uses our Pro/Engineer part and assembly models without the need to manually create FEA models. As a result we can quickly test new design concepts under various load cases without having to spend time or money building prototypes for every design iteration.

Accurate CAD Documentation

We use Pro/ENGINEER solid modeling software which keeps our 2D documentation in sync with our latest solid models via a common database. Automatically generates *.DWG or *.DXF files for users of AutoCAD or other CAD systems. Since most of our projects end up in production the value of having an accurate and up to date documentation package at the end of the project cannot be overstated.

Product Design, Inc.
5133 Washington St., Suite 9
Downers Grove, Illinois 60515

Phone: 630.663.1642
Fax: 630.663.4552
Toll Free: 888.609.6199

Home | Product Development | Concepts | Engineering

Plastic Part Design | Injection Molds | Pro/Engineer Surfacing

FEA Stress Analysis | IGES | Gallery