3D CAD Mechanical Design

AJC Design Engineering by Andrew Coleman offers detailed Mechanical Design of new products, machines and structures using 3D CAD modeling software Solidworks. The majority of my work is within the detailed design phase. This is when each part of a product is designed in detail to allow it to be produced by a manufacturing company.

Each part is then built up into an assembly of parts just as the actual product will be. This allows the entire product to be developed and visualised. The 3D model can then be shared with the customer by several methods - during meetings, pictures sent by e-mail or a 3D CAD file that can be seen in a free viewer. This allows the solutions to be discussed and agreed together before proceeding to the next step in the process.

For parts that have to withstand a force or load, the 3D models can be used to run a FEM simulation. This allows the stress levels in the part to be checked with the loads that the part will experience during operation. It also gives the oportunity to optimize the design to remove cost.