APRIL 2021AEROSPACEDEFENSEREVIEW.COM9During the early concept stages of a project, old-fashioned manual design tools are more adept at this rapid iterative design because they allow the engineer to (1) explore many options, (2) receive insightful feedback, (3) discover flaws early on, and (4) evolve the concept on the fly.1. Explore many optionsQuick sketches and crude prototypes take far less time than 3D models and detailed prototypes. Even with the advent of 3D printing, digital tools still cannot match the sheer volume of concept generation that is possible with manual tools. When you come up with a great idea, it's hard not to jump right into SolidWorks. However, even if you are a CAD wizard and a horrible artist, you should resist the temptation for now. When a project is in its infancy, it's okay for your sketches and prototypes to be child-like as well. Pride can often limit creativity. By focusing too much on a single solution, you are blinded to what is possible, inadvertently limiting your capacity for true innovation.2. Receive insightful feedbackIn the early stages of designing, prototyping should be a vehicle for gaining user empathy rather than a physical test of functionality and performance. The type of feedback you will receive from users depends on the level of fidelity of your prototype. Your goal is not to make your prototype look, feel, and function as close to the finished product as possible. Your goal is to effectively convey the apparent intrinsic value of your concept and then see if your users value it as well. A high fidelity prototype will draw narrow feedback on shallow details such as color, finish, and material. A low-fidelity prototype invites feedback on the broader merit of your concept. This frees the user to ask big questions or criticize intrinsic flaws because it doesn't seem too late to change them. 3. Discover flaws early onSolidWorks tempts you to invest too much time in a promising idea before you have validated its intrinsic value. Often, an inherent design flaw learned after months of 3D modeling, and high-cost prototyping could have been learned in just a week of rough sketching and crude prototyping. If you jump into SolidWorks too soon, you will inevitably spend time on details that are not important at this stage in development. This results in not only an investment of time and money but also an emotional investment that makes it harder to change your design. 4. Evolve your concept on the fly A rough sketch takes minutes to modify or redraw while a detailed 3D model is less malleable, often requiring hours depending on the change. Similarly, a crude mock-up can easily be modified or rebuilt, while a high-fidelity prototype takes time and money to alter. Materials used in high-fidelity prototypes are generally more difficult to modify (hard plastic, metal) than those used in low-fidelity prototypes (cardboard, foam, clay, wood).Pushing Digital Tools FurtherWhile hand sketches are still superior for early concept generation, SolidWorks is pushing the envelope of digital brainstorming with new tools such as SolidWorks Industrial Designer (SWID) and SolidWorks Conceptual Designer (SWCD). Advanced simulations in SolidWorks can save on time and cost by serving as a digital prototype for strength or performance testing. A physical prototype is still needed for testing usability. However, new advancements in technology are making progress in this arena as well; Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) simulations allow the designer and user to visualize the product in its actual environment. The Power of SolidWorks in Executing on Your ConceptWhile manual tools such as sketching and rough prototyping are great for discovering and validating an early concept, modern digital tools such as SolidWorks are far superior in executing on that concept. After the early concept generation phase, SolidWorks helps engineers work out important details and then prototype them with incredible accuracy. Later in the process, SolidWorks allows them to make quick changes to their design that automatically propagate through the entire assembly. Before the digital revolution, engineers had to re-make drawings for every affected part, taking days to implement a change that now takes seconds. Engineers excel at analysis and detailed design work such as strength calculations, material selection, or design for manufacturing. But in the early stages of a project, that same critical thinking can be a liability to innovation as we focus in on a single solution too soon. SolidWorks is a powerful tool that amplifies our strengths as engineers, but when used blindly, it can also enable us to indulge in a narrow-minded approach to design. Zack Carlins
< Page 8 | Page 10 >