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Features: Jan. 28, 2002
From a SEED of an Idea to a Product
"Researchers in Rensselaer's Scientific
Computation Research Center (SCOREC) are helping to perfect
a high-tech automated design process invented by Simmetrix,
Inc. that could decrease design costs and drastically accelerate
the time to market for manufactured products such as automotive
systems, gas turbine engines, and even toilet paper, which
would be easier to make softer."
Researchers in Rensselaer's Scientific
Computation Research Center (SCOREC) have invented a
high-tech automated design process that could decrease
design costs and drastically accelerate the time to
market for manufactured products.
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Advanced simulation and computerized component
testing, called Simulation Environment for Engineering Design
(SEED), will be used as the primary means of designing a
new product. Companies will no longer need to spend millions
designing and building "real" prototypes only
to find the end result to be insufficient for their needs.
Using simulation early in the design process makes it easier
for designers to incorporate sudden changes to a product,
ensure accurate costs, and to meet strict performance requirements,
says Mark Shephard, director of SCOREC.
Researchers at SCOREC are partnering with
Simmetrix Inc., a local engineering software development
company, under a $1.9 million grant from the National Institute
of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Advanced Technology
Program. The project includes industry collaborations with
United Technologies, Visteon, John Deere, and Procter &
Gamble.
Working with Visteon, Simmetrix has created
a virtual simulation model that is now used to design the
interior air handling systems used in virtually every car
model produced by a major automotive manufacturer.
"These steps are essential to saving
time, money, and resources," said Mark Beall '99, president
and co-founder of Simmetrix. Beall, who completed his doctorate
with Shephard, was the previous assistant director of SCOREC.
Rensselaer will receive $550,000 of the
NIST funding for their efforts on the project.
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