The Tools Used in Conceptual Design

By barb schmitz | Published: September 1, 2011 

 

When designers are provided with the right tools during the conceptual design stage of new product development, they are empowered to think broadly about a problem; visualize, explore, probe, and fully evaluate many ideas quickly; and ultimately, generate several concept designs that will lead to a better product.

These tools should be intuitive and capable of quickly creating realistic models that can be shared and evaluated by others on the design team. These tools must also be flexible, so designs—still fluid and changeable—can be iterated on and recreated quickly based on design input.

Often as a result of this laundry list of requirements—which are quite different from those of an engineer’s CAD software used for more detailed engineering design—manufacturers end up using myriad of concept design tools from multiple vendors that offer little integration with downstream applications.  As a result, these concepts models must often be recreated in engineers’ CAD program, often losing design intent in the process.

Use of Multiple Tools Multiplies Downstream Issues

In a recent study entitled, Trends in Concept Design, conducted by PTC, the majority of participants (51%) said that they capture design concepts and ideas electronically in the form of 3D data. So what software tools are being used during this exploratory phase of design? The lion’s share of participants in the PTC survey (61%) responded that they use 3D CAD modeling and surfacing tools to quickly create a multitude of potential product designs. Based on the survey results, manufacturers use many different tools during this phase of development.

The use of multiple tools from multiple vendors often complicates the process of concept design and creates problems downstream when concept models move to detailed design.  According to the PTC survey, participants who reported that they used tools from multiple software vendors during the concept phase of new product development were three to seven times more likely to have to recreate data due to incompatibility.

According to the survey respondents, companies using design tools from two vendors were three times more likely to have to recreate data later in the design cycle, compared to those using tools from a single vendor. Those using tools from five different vendors were seven times more likely to have to recreate data, than those buying tools from just one vendor.

One way to avoid these issues is to choose a suite of design tools that is capable of handling all phases of design from concept to detailed design through manufacturing. These tools offer bi-directional interoperability, reducing the risk of miscommunication and eliminating the need for engineers to reinterpret or re-create designers’ conceptual models, safeguarding design intent and facilitating the re-use of design data so mechanical engineers are not starting from scratch once concept models are approved.

Standardizing on one suite of design tools can facilitate brainstorming, manage the exploration of ideas, and aid in the development of product concepts within a single environment. By integrating all these efforts into the same software platform, product concept data is managed in a single, cross-disciplinary data repository, which enables team members to access the information in a timely, secure manner. In addition, customers—through the use of intuitive modeling tools—can collaborate and provide feedback to ensure that concepts will ultimately meet their requirements.

When conceptual design tools and MCAD tools have interoperability with each other, the fruits of designers’ labor—sketches, drawings, and 3D concept models—can be seamlessly brought into engineers’ CAD software where they can get to work further refining the model into a true 3D digital model or virtual prototype that can be ultimately designed, tested, and built.