Table of Contents
What is a Mechanical Design?
A mechanical design is a blend of measurements, dimensions, materials and aesthetics. An optimum mechanical design aids in the creation of a successful mechanical part, assembly or a product. Out of all the stages of a mechanical product lifecycle the mechanical design dominates, since absence of it may lead to manufacture of erroneous parts and machines where modifications at that stage involves incurring high costs, manpower and time.
Mechanical Design in the Automotive industry:
The automobile industry has one of the most complicated production lifecycle and for a smooth manufacturing process a mechanical design plays the foremost role. Mechanical Designs for automobiles are prepared if there is a need to create a new vehicle design, replace an existing part or assembly or modify an existing design.
For all of these requirements, the first step a designer takes is to thoroughly study the need of the automobile, derive a concept as and when required. The mechanical engineers and designers carry out various measurements, tests and analysis, develop a spec which would contain all the details necessary to create the design and model, estimate the cost, material, and focus on aesthetics etc.
Below are a few reasons of why one should opt for utilizing Mechanical Design Services before manufacturing automobile parts and assemblies:
1. Improved design quality:
A mechanical design ensures that there are no deformities, defects and deviation in the motor vehicle body, parts and accessories. The material use, their strength to withstand various physical forces, the design compatibility etc. have been improving ever since the advent of a mechanical design.
2. Reduced turnaround time:
A design enables concurrent engineering in which multi-functional teams like production and development, work simultaneously which ensures a reduced lead time while still improving cost and quality.
3. Detailed analysis for better functioning:
During the design phase various analysis such as FMEA which encompasses the analysis of production process, determines the end user perspectives, needs and usage of the vehicle, the possible failures that could occur etc. are carried out. Other analysis like the Finite Element Analysis is also carried out where the model of the vehicle is divided into numerous small parts and each part is individually used for analysis.
4. Dimensions and material:
The 3D designed models include the dimensions of the parts, drafts, fillets, holes, threads, weldments, joints etc. Also, the weight of the components, the material to be used which it feasible for the manufacturer.
5. Testing for safety:
Once the models are created, various tests are carried out to check the main parts of the car, the assembled prototypes, then smaller parts like engines, brakes, etc. The studies like stress, crash impact, displacements, deformed model visualizations, vibrations and noise, strength of the material etc. are carried out beforehand for a smooth functioning. Failure and Defects found at this stage are rectified in the modeling phase itself. This drastically reduces the scope of any error creeping up during the manufacturing phase.
6. Cost- effective:
A design helps in eradicating the defect that would otherwise have caused a huge loss of material, money and time during manufacturing.
7. Ease of manufacturing:
CAD Drawings and models with accurate dimensions and other information helps the manufacturer to initiate the process of manufacturing with ease. Having pre-tested and analyzed CAD drawings and models ensure a defect free smooth functioning of the manufacturing process.
8. Aesthetics and Rendering:
The designing of an automotive part, an assembly or the entire vehicle involves taking into consideration the most important factor that is the aesthetics which is how the vehicle will be perceived by the end user. A designer keeps in mind all these factors and creates exceptionally aesthetic models and rendered models for the customer.
Conclusion:
It takes an aesthetically pleasing model and a defect free design for creating the vehicles and parts that an end user would like and use in his day to day life. Design forms the base of the automobile development process. An accurate and good quality design can reduce the cost of manufacturing the automobile, it can reduce the TAT, the manpower involved, the wastage, can be environment friendly, and aid in the manufacturing of high quality automobiles efficiently and with ease.