Making Finite Element Analysis Available to Designers at the Concept Stage

Abstract

Too often in the past, ‘computer aided design’ has really meant ‘computer aided draughting’. It has been assumed implicitly that the creative input has been made, and subsequent efforts are concentrated on streamlining and on making downstream processes more efficient. This has been the traditional development path of CADCAM applications, but it underrates the vital importance of a sound design concept in the first place since it is true to say that all the fundamental costs etc. of a product are built in at the design stage. More sophisticated tools are required for the designer working at the concept stage to help ensure the quality of his scheme and to avoid potential problems downstream during detailing etc. This paper will make these points and describe and illustrate a basic system created at the University of Ulster to allow designers to use finite element analysis effectively in certain situations without the degree of skill normally required of an analyst.