Going from initial brainstorms to finished design isn’t a straight line for engineering projects. The design cycle is inherently iterative, and more complexity in the design only leads to more complexity in the process. The more complex the design process, the more chances there are for the project timeline to get longer and longer. So when you’re responsible for hitting the mark on deadlines, schedules, and budgets—you want to take advantage of every single efficiency that will keep your design cycles moving along as fast as possible.
While 2D drawings and documents haven’t disappeared completely yet, the move toward model-based methods of working is picking up serious steam. And just like the shift from drafting tables to CAD programs, this evolution is impacting the skills that are essential for mechanical engineers. So in September 2021, CoLab Software’s Mark Morreale and Action Engineering’s Jennifer Herron sat down for a live chat about skill development for the model-based world.
If your team is still (or once again) trying to phase out paper-based work, you might be trying to figure out how to help everyone get on board with a new digital process. This post offers suggestions for guiding your team through a process change, like going paperless or adopting a new digital tool, so you can get the buy-in you need to get everyone aligned on the same page.
CAD is just one piece of the puzzle when it comes to creating physical products. While you may already understand that the Bill of Materials (BOM) plays an important role in product development, it’s worth taking time to consider where this critical item fits within your existing processes. After all, even with flawless design data, if your BOM isn’t right—your product won’t be, either.
Even when it’s exciting, change can be hard. It can be even harder when you’re also leading others through a big change. But like anything, getting yourself informed and prepared makes things go much more smoothly. This post offers guidance on how to get everyone on board and successfully lead your team through a big change.
SharePoint has been around for a couple of decades now. As the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic drove higher usage for Microsoft Teams, SharePoint grew along with it. With over 200 million monthly active users, plenty of teams are using the platform to store and share files across different industries. But how well does SharePoint fit into engineering design processes?
Whether you've been doing design review for days or decades, you've probably put lots of thought into the designs you’re reviewing—but how much time have you spent thinking about the review process itself? This post overviews how and why design reviews happen, different ways to look at design reviews, common review types, and how these types are distinct from each other.
One of the hardest battles in managing complex design projects is how to keep the admin from overshadowing the design work. This post highlights some key reasons to create processes that allow critical project information to get documented (without adding excessive administrative burden to your team).
From Model-Based Definition (MBD) to the full-on Model-Based Enterprise (MBE), the engineering world has been steadily heading in this direction for years. The technology is starting to catch up to the vision, and we’re seeing industry leaders gaining the organizational capacity to make big shifts to the way their product development happens.
This post looks at the evolution of collaboration in mechanical design and engineering—from the changes that have already taken place in recent decades to insights on what’s next in the coming years.
