Designing for Manufacturing, Fit for Purpose

I find it interesting how 3D Printing is all the rage now, even though it’s been around for decades.  Obviously the price of 3D printing has been reduced substantially, which has created much more mainstream demand.  3D printing is a great way to test a product, and it’s pretty fun.  In the same way 3D printing has moved to the mainstream for hardware, we are starting to see Simulation tools more commonly used for software. Simulation tools have also been around for decades, but previously you would need a PhD to run the tests.  Today it’s amazing to see how much virtual testing can happen within SOLIDWORKS.

Peter Rucinski and Stephen Endersby (Product Managers at SOLIDWORKS) recently presented a 22-minute webinar (which you can register to view in this recording), where they took a “snap fit” part and tested it for 1-manufacturing and 2-for use (fit for purpose).  It’s amazing to see how quickly you can test a part for both manufacturability and real world use within your design software.  If you design parts that require rigorous quality checks to determine if they can be economically manufactured with acceptable quality and function under all types of working conditions, then you understand that designs  released to manufacture that are not fit for purpose will only result in added expenses and delays.  This recorded webinar can give you more insight into how simple this process can be.  Click here to register for access.