Design optimisation
Figure 5
Figure 6
A series of optimisations led to a design with a factor of safety of 0.8 (failure due to Von Misses stress) occurring in one localised area, and more generally a factor of safety greater than 2.
Figure 7
tecni-form informed the customer of two options for taking the project forward:
- Carry out a more in-depth FEA (which would be outsourced) and further optimise the design in CAD until the desired FOS was achieved, but with a degree of uncertainty still remaining due to the inevitable numerical assumptions that are made in all FEA studies
- Release the current design for production and carry out extensive product testing prior to production release.
Figure 8
Figure 9
The customer decided that the second option was the most sensible route to follow.
A more general review of mouldability and functionality was then carried out as illustrated by figures 7 - 12.
Figure 10
Figure 11
It was agreed that the design needed to be optimised to improve its load-bearing as well as modified to remove the unmouldable features. This could not be undertaken by the customer due to limitations of their CAD system and it was therefore agreed that tecni-form would carry out the work.
Figure 12
Figure 13
3-D Cad files, 2-D drawings and a product rendering were supplied to the customer and a further review with them resulted in the design being accepted. As the tools were to be produced from 3-D CAD data IGES files for each of the mouldings were exported from SolidWorks and sent to the toolmaker along with a tecni-form tooling specification sheet supported by a number of CAD generated images.
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