This eBook highlights the role of simulation and testing in streamlining product development and manufacturing processes. In each section, you will explore the ROI of these efforts by comparing the most progressive and least progressive companies against critical business parameters.
Many SMBs are now using model-based system engineering (MBSE). This top-down approach to product development integrates product definition, requirement analysis, use case analysis, and functional analysis.
Companies also employ 1D system simulation and generative design to create and validate novel system architectures that would be nearly impossible to fathom through traditional design methods.
Modern products contain incredibly complex systems. SMBs have historically hired outside contractors and companies that operate in silos to perform simulation and testing. Yet, simulation and testing have synergies. Engineers can take digital insights from simulation to augment physical tests. Test data can also be fed into a digital twin to improve the simulation model. Judiciously combining simulation and testing allows companies to accelerate the development of complex systems.
The benefits of combining simulation and testing apply to both hardware and software components. The sensor data from the physical hardware can be used as inputs in simulation to improve the models. From the software side of things, technologies like software in the loop (SIL), model in the loop (MIL), and hardware in the loop (HIL) can test products under real-life scenarios. The ROI of DX Study supports the benefits of hybrid simulation and testing approaches: The most progressive organizations were able to leverage these approaches to reduce the number of product-level prototypes and tests.
Simulation early in the design cycle helps eliminate infeasible designs. It also facilitates the exploration of more innovative design options that engineers would otherwise not consider. Traditionally, many design engineers in SMBs avoided simulations because they lacked the confidence and expertise to set up and run them. But there are many benefits for design engineers who use simulation early in the design process, including cost and time savings, easier innovation, and improved product quality. For this reason, it is important for design engineers to gain confidence in using simulation early in the design cycle.