Some product development and manufacturing organizations view finite element analysis (FEA) technology as an afterthought and consider using FEA software only after product failures. Many designers and engineers have the misperception that FEA packages and simulation tools in general are too difficult to use, requiring a Ph.D.-level education, taking up too much time, and adding little benefit except for finding out why something broke after the fact. Similarly, some business, engineering, and product development managers have the opinion that FEA and simulation solutions are not absolutely necessary for a best-in-class product development process. They believe that FEA is more of a luxury than a mandatory, valuable pillar of product development.
These views are extremely short sighted and misconceived, with today’s simulation tools enable designers and engineers to do a better job-and grow professionally-and allow manufacturing organizations to achieve the innovation, agility, productivity, flexibility, and increased profit margins that fuel and sustain business growth. As product development and manufacturing organizations become more integrated and automated, FEA and simulation tools are becoming an increasingly critical, must-have technology for companies that seek to introduce innovative, high-quality, issue-free products faster and at lower cost than the competition. Just consider the outcomes generally associated with not deploying simulation tools in an increasingly agile, flexible, and competitive marketplace: wasting time and incurring the costs of physical prototyping cycles, coming to market late and losing ground to competitors, experiencing poor product performance and field failures, or suffering high rates of product returns and warranty claims.
Not only have FEA and simulation tools become increasingly necessary for helping manufacturers attain their product development objectives, they have also become much easier to use. They will undoubtedly help designers and engineers do a better job developing products by providing greater insight into design behavior and product performance.
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