This is a post on the Tri Star Site.
This article previously appeared on PTC.com
Complexity is the new normal for most engineers. From the sensors and embedded software now liberally baked into smarter products to the new materials and freeform shapes associated with light weighting efforts, engineers are faced with daily challenges that call for deeper, more thoughtful design exploration.
It wasn’t long ago when cranking out a couple of design alternatives for a gear shaft or enclosure was enough, but today, in the face of mounting product complexity, that’s no longer the case. There are so many variables entering the picture that even when a component appears to be a relatively obscure piece of the greater design, it can have major ramifications on the end product.
Beyond the actual product design, there are other new wrinkles, some related to advanced manufacturing techniques and others associated with the global nature of engineering. Therefore to thrive in the new normal, engineers need to recalibrate their processes and adopt new technologies to support more iterative design studies, helping them arrive at the optimal concept in a timely manner.
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