Contributed by Jody Muelaner Cable carriers are hollow chains which guide and protect cables and hoses during motion. They are typically installed on-site with the cables and hoses fitted through manifolds and junction boxes, and fixing plates, brackets and guide or support structures installed. Although it can make sense to carry out this work in-situ, […]

Contributed by Jody Muelaner Good cable management is vital to the accurate and reliable operation of an industrial robot. Cables that catch and snag will affect the accuracy of a robot. Over time they will result in unplanned maintenance and excessive downtime. Robotic cell integrators have identified cable issues as the most significant cause of […]

FEA boundaries can usually be obtained using simple fixed constraints. But, this can result in singularities that produce erroneous results. To determine whether results show a real stress concentration or a singularity, an accurate solution can usually be obtained by either using elastic supports or modeling contact between components. Dr. Jody Muelaner, PhD CEng MIMechE […]

A general-purpose parametric SolidWorks model has been created to enable rapid evaluation of novel bicycle concepts. It can be used for ergonomics, checking clearances, aerodynamics, kinematic and degrees of freedom studies, and product visualization. Dr. Jody Muelaner, PhD CEng MIMechE For this study in ergonomics, a set of anthropometric models from 3D Human Model were […]

Another use for geometric constraints and 3D sketches Dr. Jody Muelaner, PhD CEng MIMechE I recently wrote about some of the less well-known uses for sketches in parametric CAD software such as SolidWorks. The geometric constraint solvers that the sketch function is based on does some really clever optimization to solve very complex geometry problems […]

Choosing an element type for a structural Finite Element Analysis Dr. Jody Muelaner, Ph.D. CEng MIMechE When performing structural Finite Element Analysis (FEA), it is often advised that thin-walled parts should only be meshed using solid elements if it is possible to use at least three elements through the thickness. When this is not practical, […]

The categories for this year’s LEAP Awards (Leadership in Engineering Achievement Program) are roughly divided across four of our flagship publications’ brands: Design World, Fastener Engineering, Fluid Power World and EE World. These 12 categories represent products and components across the engineering spectrum. Additive Manufacturing Connectivity Embedded Computing Hydraulics Industrial Automation Mechanical (includes Fastening) Motion Control…

Correctly defining boundary conditions is of vital importance when using finite element analysis (FEA). As with any simulation or calculation, if the input is rubbish, the output will also be rubbish. For structural analysis, the important boundary conditions are the fixtures preventing movement of the structure and the external forces acting on it. Dr. Jody […]

Use the power of geometric constraints within parametric CAD software to turbocharge development of synthesizing mechanisms. Dr.  Jody Muelaner, PhD CEng MIMechE,  Muelaner Engineering Ltd Many CAD programs provide tools for analyzing and refining mechanisms. However, these assume that you already have an initial design. Classic graphical methods of synthesizing mechanisms provide methods of determining […]

Implicit modelling is enormously powerful and offers huge potential for engineering design. It is currently ready to apply in specific modelling tasks involving complex geometry. It is not yet clear whether it will be possible to fully implement it within the familiar parametric design environment, with constraint-based sketches used to define geometry. If not, it […]