Sketching analysis design program

Researchers at Purdue University have developed a type of design program that is said to bring analysis into the sketching stage of the design process.

The program allows the designer to sketch a rough concept of the part and then analyse its characteristics while it is still only a drawing, said Karthik Ramani, a professor of mechanical engineering at Purdue.

The concept, called FEAsy (finite-element analysis made easy), represents a departure from conventional design methods, in which engineers use finite-element analysis to test designs.

‘Ordinarily, the designer creates the component and then it has to go to other engineers who use specialised analysis software to test the design,’ said Ramani. ‘So the analysis gets done after many parts and systems are already designed and it's too late to make major improvements or change design concepts at this stage.’

One major challenge is endowing the software code with the ability to distinguish the difference between lines, circles and arcs, as well as symbols such as arrows drawn by users to describe a part.