Friday, June 19, 2020

What is the Difference Between Design and Drafting?


In the engineering and mostly in the architecture industry, design and drafting are staple and common words. Design involves the initial phase of the project of any architectural endeavor, whereas, the drafting phase is the process in which the ideas come alive in form of shapes and structures. This phase gives birth to drawings and models to make sure that the professionals are able to fulfill the clients requirements.
The demands of Drafting and Design Engineering San Francisco CA vary from client to client, as some may just need the interior design, whereas some would require the detailed architectural drafting that encompasses everything inside the building including its landscape drawings and blueprints. The role of the design and draft engineers is to conduct the whole process of creating designs for the purpose of remodeling the architectural entity of the client. From a building a new building to overhauling the existing architectural project, design and drafting follow a highly organized and sophisticated approach to each project.
Now let's take a look at the process of designing and the intricacies involved in its process and after that we will delve into drafting.
Designing
·      The design process is the initial phase of creating drawings that specifically caters to the requirements for the concepts to be in alignment with the expected outcome.
·      Basically , in order to please the client, various elements and methodologies are used in the design process in a standardized manner to achieve the desired result.
·      For accomplishing this complex process, the engineers and architects use a variety  of computer-aided programs to sketch the initial draft of the architectural drawings. After several meetings and discussion of the client and the engineers, the designers work on the modifications, if suggested by the client.
·      Otherwise, if the design gets approved by the client, then the process of finalizing the details of the design takes place.
·      In the highly creative process of designing, the engineering or architectural project is broken down or categorized into feasible chunks as it eases out the management process. The design undergoes various amendments and changes depending upon the requirements of the project and the client.
·      The design engineers or architects are responsible for producing drawings that adhere to the accuracy of the size and shape of the desired model.
·      There are various elements that are involved in creation of a design plan, these elements are blueprints, engineering drawings, circuit drawings, and business processes. It literally is an act of transforming a hypothetical non-physical idea into an existing architectural project.
·      Due to the involvement of a wide variety of aesthetic and functional aspects in the design process, this process is considered to be one of the most palpable aspects of an architect's work.
·      Hence, to bring full justice and quality to the design of the model, various engineers and architects collaborate together till they complete the project. These are the men behind the design & construction of buildings, bridges, flyovers,etc. Thus , in one line, designers are the people who bring ideas to life on paper.
Drafting
·      After the design gets approved from the client after possibly various modifications or amendments, the finalized details of the design are then sent to the drafting team.
·      Drafting is basically a process in which the precise representations of buildings, statues, bridges, or roads, are created by analyzing the project from various angles such as the top view, main view, and the side view of the project.
·      These representations are then used as blueprints for constructing the final draft of the architectural drawings.
·      The drafter is basically assigned with the responsibility of transforming the designs and ideas of the designers into systematic drawings. Basically, the purpose behind this idea is to work on the presentation of the designs that are in the stage of infancy and also ensure that the designs are compliant with the actual requirement or vision of the client.
·      So, the responsibility of the drafter is to create authentic and precise representation of projects for engineers.
·      Drafting and Design Engineering San Francisco CA can be implemented simply using the hand or using sophisticated programs like CAD in 2D or 3D. These computer aides programs allow that drafter to create technical drawing without any hassle and with correctness to detail.
·      Further, these architectural drawings are then used as blueprints for constructing engineering plans for various projects like building houses, machinery, appliances, pipelines, buildings, towers, huts, bridges and much more. To put it in an easier language, drafting is the art that succeeds the process of design for simplifying the minute intricacies involved in the project, so that the client can easily comprehend the vision of the architect or engineer.
·      This is why drafting is considered as the subsequent phase of the designing process as it provides the technical specifications of the project at hand.
·      Drafting is a highly exhausting process as the drafting professionals need to be skilled enough to deal with minute intricacies and details of the structu`re. In layman's language, it is the graphical representation of the construction or project which is used as a step that determines how the project shall proceed.
·      The draft engineers or drafters utilize the architects drawings to create a physical model of the construction with high accuracy or precision to ensure that the project is made in alignment of the clients needs. Therefore, creating blueprints, templates, and 3D drawings are a vital part of the good drafter’s skill -set.

Finite Element Analysis (FEA)

Finite Element Analysis (FEA)

Finite element analysis (FEA) is the modeling of products and systems in a virtual environment, for the purpose of finding and solving potential (or existing) structural or performance issues. FEA is the practical application of the finite element method (FEM), which is used by engineers and scientists to mathematically model and numerically solve complex structural, fluid and multiphysics problems. FEA software can be utilized in a wide range of industries, but is most commonly used in the aeronautical, biomechanical and automotive industries.
A Finite Element Analysis in San Francisco CA comprises a system of points, called “nodes”, which form the shape of the design. Connected to these nodes are the finite elements themselves which form the finite element mesh and contain the material and structural properties of the model, defining how it will react to certain conditions. The density of the finite element mesh may vary throughout the material, depending on the anticipated change in stress levels of a particular area. Regions that experience high changes in stress usually require a higher mesh density than those that experience little or no stress variation. Points of interest may include fracture points of previously tested material, fillets, corners, complex detail and high-stress areas.

Creating Finite Element Models
By using beams and shells instead of solid elements, a representative model can be created using fewer nodes without compromising accuracy. Each modeling scheme requires a different range of properties to be defined, such as section areas, plate thickness, moments of inertia, bending stiffness, torsional constant and transverse shear.

Simulating real-world working environments

To simulate the effects of real-world working environments in FEA, various load types can be applied to the FE model, including nodal (forces, moments, displacements, velocities, accelerations, temperature and heat flux), elemental (distributed loading, pressure, temperature and heat flux), as well as acceleration body loads (gravity).
Types of Finite Element Analysis in San Francisco CA include linear statistics, nonlinear statics and dynamics, normal modes, dynamic response, buckling and heat transfer. Typical results calculated by the solver include nodal displacements, velocities and accelerations, as well as elemental forces, strains and stresses.

Benefits of FEA

FEA can be used in new product design, or to refine an existing product, to ensure that the design will be able to perform to specifications prior to manufacturing. With FEA you can:
·      Predict and improve product performance and reliability

·      Reduce physical prototyping and testing

·      Evaluate different designs and materials

·      Optimize designs and reduce material usage




Tuesday, June 16, 2020

Why is Prototyping Important? 



The journey of building a product involves various steps to reach the level where it can be pushed to production for the mass audience. Each product has a certain target audience and solves their pain points in some way. To evaluate, whether the product really solves its user’s problems, an almost working model called a prototype is created and tested with the prospective users and stakeholders. 
So, for understanding the exact need and expectation of your target audience you first need to create a mock up, get it approved from stakeholders, collect feedback, consult your collaborators, make changes and then iterate the process until you have clear visualization of what you need to build as the final product. 
It is easier to collect feedback and make changes to your product at any early stage than when the product is near ready. Thus, it saves effort, cost and helps you steer the product in the right direction. 
What is Prototyping?
A prototyping is a sample or mock up of the final product that we want to achieve. A Prototype design service in San Francisco CA is a quick model explaining the actual plans for the final product. 

It could be something as simple as hand-drawn sketches, integrated together to demonstrate the product to a fully functional product, which the stakeholders and users can feel and use. In a nutshell prototype is an early iteration of the product, demonstrating its core functionality.
Importance of Prototyping
Btter understanding of the design intent:
Prototyping not only presents a strong visualization of the design to understand the look and feel of the final product but it also helps the term to comprehend better why they are designing , what they are designing and for whom they are designing.
Early Feedback:
One of the most important aspects of the product building process is to gather feedback. With prototyping you can collect reviews at every stage of developing the product.
Test what is working for the audience and what is not. Define goals with your team members, the management terms, external stakeholders, SMEs etc, and come to the best collective decision.
Early changes save time and cost:
Changes towards the end would mean not just radical restructuring but also more speculation and rework. With a preliminary model  ready it is always possible to make the desired changes early, because by that point no investment or effort has gone into creating the full product. Thus, early changes help you achieve your goals faster.
Validation before development:
Prototype design services in San Francisco CA allows having multiple discussions between iteration before getting into final development. This iterative process makes it easier for you to have surety in what you are building is actually what is needed.