Engineering Methods and their Fields of Application
Methodical approach - different methods in engineering
An engineering software always uses different solution methods and creative working methods in all complementary development areas. At the beginning of the project, a holistic analysis of the situation and a systematic review of the problem is carried out - what are the actual main problems? This approach has proven successful in various industries over the past years.
Individual, simple and adaptable
Successful companies react quickly to new requirements and conditions. They also adapt the methods of engineering, quality analysis and product development individually to the current situation. With software-based methods for engineering, users can separately supplement existing standard methods with calculations, additional data and estimates.
Communication is an important aspect when working via the Internet. Users share their knowledge with others and use the feedback to supplement the integrated knowledge management.
Guidelines and methods for engineering
An engineering software supports continuous verification methods. Techniques such as FMEA, risk management and functional safety identify weaknesses in the early development process, which can be eliminated even more easily and cost-effectively in this phase. Together with a continuous review, they take a further step: Detecting potential malfunctions early and avoiding errors!
Excel data is made available for global assessment and process control. Users can use these forms for different methods in engineering. The data is immediately, globally and securely available for searching, networking and managing the development process. They are automatically and professionally transferred from one worksheet to another. The data flow is guaranteed and is no longer dependent on manual intervention.
Important artifacts, such as development results generated by Excel as well as many other specialized tools, receive a secure and accessible development environment. Direct editing, version control and release are guaranteed. The content and metadata of these documents can be found immediately using the full text index. Everything is easy and intuitive to use.
Engineering methods in use
The following are some examples of engineering methods.
- Differentiation of functionalities
- Solution search for individual functions
- Independent solutions for functions
- Realization
- Tool Technology
- Validation
- Plant engineering
- Qualification of the components
- Process Development
- Qualification of the processes
- Release
Methodological toolbox in the product development process
Quality methods in product design - Once the requirements are defined, developers must first develop a high-quality or conceptual product architecture.
Different quality methods for engineering are based either on web applications or on stationary software that provides custom forms for implementing engineering methods and analyses for companies. The software uses all management and master data as well as system elements and their data already created in other modules. Important aspects of quality methods within the software: collecting additional information, implementing working methods and performing calculations.
When defining the methods for engineering, the user determines what structure the format should have, what relationships exist between the data and what data types are used. For example, analysis data comes from FMEA or is method-specific information that is used in combination.
Quality methods help to identify and design the upper and lower levels of product development. These also refer to the subsystems, modules / assemblies. Subsequently, they refer to the components that are necessary for this product to fulfill and achieve the desired functions and requirements.
Engineers should now consider the materials that make up these modules. It is necessary to consult with potential suppliers of raw materials and components to understand the properties of their substances and components.
Developers need to perform analyses, use modeling tools, create and test engineering prototypes to determine if the resulting project will meet the requirements. Design of experiments can be used to optimize the design parameters of products and processes. Based on this feedback, they should make adjustments to the project. This process of quality methods in the product development process is very iterative. Based on the product design a production process should be developed and suppliers should be selected.
Essentially, the FMEA product examines the functionality of the entire system and the interaction of the individual components. In addition, the properties and characteristics of components are checked for their suitability to perform their functions.
In contrast, the FMEA process examines the entire process as well as the interaction of sub-processes holistically, taking into account the various process variables. The properties and characteristics of processes and their procedures are taken into account with regard to their suitability for fulfilling the requirements in the processes.
Advantages of a software to support the work with engineering methods
A software simplifies and delivers quality methods in a modular method format. The methods and quality standards are comprehensive. Accordingly, a large amount of data must be collected and evaluated. With the appropriate software for quality methods in the product development process, errors can be avoided. The involved employees go through the process and the results are presented. This makes the process of product development more efficient and at the same time ensures that the desired and required product quality is achieved.
Outlook on the product development process
In recent years, the requirements of the industry have increased enormously: Production needs to be further automated and accelerated, while at the same time process and product quality must be improved. The following legal requirements apply in parallel. Since the traceability of products and their components is respected, the visualization and documentation of production processes plays an increasingly important role - all under harsh industrial conditions and in clean rooms. Therefore, quality assurance can play a key role in the business, as "hard facts" such as experience in development and production must correspond to the "soft facts" such as design and image. Engineering methods are suitable for companies for quality assurance and cost savings. An engineering software supports the work with different methods in product design, quality analysis, as a tool in modeling and is extremely helpful for controlling the processes.
NOTE: The behavior and procedures described in the text are examples of corresponding software and do not describe a specific product of PLATO AG.