Product engineering
A 3-axis gimbal for serial production
Parts designed for injection moulding, checked with FEA before tooling is committed.
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I'm designing a new product
Strength and Performance Analysis
Before the product is made, we need to know how it will behave. We use FEA and CFD when they are really needed, so that the analysis leads to a specific design decision.
The engineering question first
Analysis when it adds value, not simulation for its own sake.
A colourful result is easy to produce. The hard part is knowing which question the analysis has to answer, which loads and conditions are realistic, and what the result means for the design.
Many questions are settled with a hand calculation or a test. We say so, and we use FEA or CFD only where they lead to a better decision: a thinner wall, a reinforcement in the right place, a different layout.
Typical questions
- Is this part strong and stiff enough, and where are its limits?
- Can material be removed without losing performance?
- Which components are affected by a higher load?
- Where are the major pressure losses in the system?
- How does air move through a space or around a structure?
FEA · Finite element analysis
How a part or assembly really behaves under load.
Finite element analysis of plastic and metal parts and assemblies. Depending on the question it covers:
- Stress and strain
- Displacement and stiffness
- Contact between parts
- Large deformations, where supported
- Buckling
- Natural frequencies
- Reaction forces
- Drop test
The purpose is not simply to calculate a stress value. It is to understand how the component behaves, where its limits may be, and which design decisions are worth investigating.
FEA
Static / linear analysis
Stress, deformation and stiffness under steady loads, to compare designs and find the critical areas.
Read more FEANon-linear analysis
Contact, large deformations and plasticity: snap-fits, clamped joints, rubber parts.
Read more FEADynamic / transient analysis
Natural frequencies, vibration and impact, such as a drop test.
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CFD · Computational fluid dynamics
What air, gases and liquids actually do.
CFD is useful when the flow is not adequately described by a single average velocity, pressure or flow rate. Depending on the application it covers:
- Velocity and pressure fields
- Pressure losses
- Flow distribution
- Recirculation and stagnant zones
- Air and gas flow in spaces
- Flow around parts
- Aerodynamic forces
- The effect of a geometry change
How we work
From the question to a decision you can act on.
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Define the question
What decision the analysis supports, and whether FEA or CFD is the right tool or a calculation will do.
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Realistic inputs
Geometry, materials, loads, supports and operating conditions, with every assumption written down.
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Build and check the model
Mesh, convergence, sensitivity to the key assumptions and comparison with hand calculations.
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Interpret for manufacturing and use
What the results mean for wall thickness, ribs, material, layout and cost, not just colours on a model.
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Report and recommend
Findings, limits and a clear recommendation, including physical tests where they are needed.
What you receive
- A concise report: question, assumptions, results, limits
- Annotated result images that explain what matters
- Comparison of design alternatives, when requested
- Concrete design recommendations
What we do not do
- Formal certification: an analysis is an engineering assessment under stated assumptions
- Laboratory testing in-house; where tests are needed, we specify them and work with a suitable laboratory
- Analysis without a clear engineering question
Open-source tools, no licence costs
Commercial FEA and CFD packages cost thousands of euros a year per seat, and that cost ends up in every study. We work with mature open-source solvers (CalculiX for FEA, OpenFOAM for CFD), so you pay for engineering time, not for licences. Where a question genuinely needs a commercial package, we say so before the work starts.
This offering is not approved or endorsed by OpenCFD Limited, producer and distributor of the OpenFOAM software via www.openfoam.com, and owner of the OPENFOAM® and OpenCFD® trade marks. Other product names are trademarks of their respective owners.
A responsible approach
Results that are useful, transparent and properly qualified.
Every model requires decisions about:
- What should be included, and what can be simplified
- Which loads and operating conditions are realistic
- Which material properties are relevant
- Which boundary conditions represent the real application
- Which physical phenomena matter
- How the results should be interpreted
These decisions often matter more than the ability to produce a sophisticated-looking model, and they are where 35 years of industrial experience count.
Depending on the project, our work includes:
- Clearly defining the engineering question
- Documenting assumptions and input data
- Checking mesh quality and numerical behaviour
- Investigating sensitivity to important assumptions
- Comparing with hand calculations or known behaviour
- Stating limitations and uncertainties
- Distinguishing an engineering assessment from formal certification
- Recommending physical tests or measurements when needed
A simulation result should never be presented as more certain than the model and the input data justify.
Related projects
Real projects.
CFD · Mechanical design
A hydroponic laboratory in a container
The airflow corrected with CFD before construction.
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Do you have an engineering question? Let's discuss it.
Tell us what you need to decide and what you already know: geometry, materials, loads, operating conditions. We will tell you plainly whether a calculation, an analysis, a test or a combination is worth doing.
Complimentary first site visit & analysis
Custom proposal, regardless of project scale
Strict confidentiality & NDA protection