How do you avoid pitfalls when using CAD software for industrial design?

La principal consideracion al momento de Dise?ar, es que el trabajo en software es el 10% del trabajo, el 90% se reparte entre el conocimeinto, investigacion, inovacion y experimentacion para presentar una solucion, el software no es la respuesta, es el dise?ador el que aporta la solucion y lo refleja en un dise?o parametrico Hoy en dia practicamente todos los paquetes CAD son intiutivos (unos mas que otros) la trampa de los mas amigables y es pensar que el software te proporciona todos los detalles finales sin necesidad de ajuste y para tener dise?os realmente manufacturables y funcionales poner atencion al detalle ya que todos los parametros son importantes no hay que dar por sentado que la configuracion default es la que necesitamos.

In the footwear industry, it is necessary to use specific design programs. There is a space, a void, between the design, especially 3D, and the pattern, which is 2D. The 3D design will be reformed if the designer does not know technical measurements. These measures make it possible to obtain a technical product, which has to be usable as well as aesthetically attractive.

While it is very important to choose the right software for the task at hand, I don’t think it matters more then what you are able to do with said software. For example I know a lot of people in my field that are using “outdated” software, or multiple programs and move 3D models back and forth. Not really efficient or high-tech, but it gets the job done. And it might even be faster than researching and getting to know new tools and programs for every project again and again. Find a program that you are comfortable with, the rest follows.

If you are starting from scratch, 0 experience with cad /cam, you have a mountain to climb. So start off by researching every thing you might need to be able to do. Then start evaluating what different cad/cam packages will do for you. and get a feel for how the interfaces work. If you will never need to do anything more than flat machining 2.5 axis is enough. If you can machine 3 d objects from the top plane, 3 axis will work. If you need incredibly smooth curves and flowing surfaces, look long and hard at how you need to create them. Point clouds, digitizing, importing and exporting photogrametry, scans, evaluate and incorporate or eliminate. inform yourself and then don't put the fox in charge of the hen house.

You also need to take your company's existing system landscape into consideration and if the to-be CAD software is to integrate to any of it.

Yes, organization and keeping a good file structure is important for any project. When working on you CAD model you might find that iterative process could mean that you have to re-model your part again and again. And that is nothing bad. You don’t need to necessarily know how every surface flows in the beginning. Start somewhere and be open to rebuild some parts along the way. Design is always iterative.

One of the best practices an Industrial designer can do, is in the concept ideation phase when the design is maturing there should be emphasis on how the idea will go together. Communication at this stage with other disciplines such as Mechanical and Electrical engineering will not only create positive rapport within the teams but also make sure the design is relatively feasible and can be worked on seamlessly throughout the teams. It's all about strong workflow in product development.

See what the best practices are where you work. Get to know and understand the file structure and how files are stored and eventually archived. Understanding the process of making a product from your concept is invaluable. When you are done modelling, you may find that someone rebuilds your concept, uses your work as a template and creates a new set of files. The CAD model may have to come from engineering for design details and certification because the engineering team may need to sign off on the CAD model.

When it comes to industrial design and utilizing CAD software, one of the keys to success is fostering ongoing communication with other departments. Avoiding common pitfalls involves building strong connections with colleagues in engineering, manufacturing, and marketing from the initial stages of a project, rather than simply seeking validation at the end. By maintaining this collaborative approach throughout the entire design process, designers can ensure that their creative ideas align seamlessly with practical considerations and market needs, reflecting these insights in their modeling stage.

One thing I’ve found very helpful is understanding and planning out how I aim to approach 3D modeling a design before I get started. This includes things like thinking about how I want to break up surfaces and what are key features I need to build out from. By doing just these two things alone you can help save drastic amounts of time going backwards and forwards between undoing and re doing features.

Our goal is to keep current and capture our global design principles, this documentation on our Brand VDLs is critical to clearly outline established principles.

The biggest challenge I've run into is maintaining a sense of scale. Ergonomics are an essential part of design and if the perception of scale is off there will be mistakes. There are 2 ways I mitigate this problem. - Drop a common object in for reference like a coin, car, or human. This helps reset my perception. - Use a VR headset. Blender makes this as simple as possible. One click. This is great for designing and evaluating aircraft & vehicle interiors . I worked on a project in the past where the interior space of the aircraft was similar to a Chevy Aveo. Everyone assumed it was larger when discussing the placement of interaction points & evaluating the model. If you have people working off-site it is even more important.

As a designer, I've found that when I align design elements in a CAD model (ie a range), it enhances collaboration with engineers. Although it's not always easy to explain the design principles, the visual impact speaks volumes. Engineers can see the purpose and intent behind the design more clearly, leading to better communication and smoother integration of design concepts into the final product. This experience has taught me the importance of not just creating visually pleasing CAD models but also effectively conveying design intent to engineers, ultimately resulting in more successful collaborations.

A parametric model as a package, has huge benefits if used as a base when generating concept sketches, or models, in most cases to enable following design principals. This parametric approach also helps with high level changes in many cases with minimal loss of time. However, in reality the top-down and bottom-up approach is both used in most products and figuring out where not to apply parametricity, so that flexibility of design remains, is a skill that needs wisdom from practice.

It is true that best practices for CAD in industrial design is important for streamlining the design process. However, with certain 3D design programs in particular parametric ones a lot of the designers time can be spent creating a "Bullet Proof" ID Master Model database. This is very important when passing the ID Master Model to the engineering team so that changes can be made with minimal impact to the Master Model and limit the amount of potential redesign by the engineers. Working through problems via sketching and mockups before beginning the CAD process is a great way to make the process more efficient.

Learning Lunches and other methods help extend and keep current best practices and ways of working. Beyond procedural documents and more official training. Best Practices evolve and people learn best when you provide an environment where the team can reach out and learn from each other.

Having a check list process is a good way to ensure you have completed all the tasks to release a design for tooling. Robust Stage Gate processes with prototype and testing processes also ensure you avoid costly downstream mistakes.

Utilizing testing and simulation, at the end of design is great. In some situations doing it earlier too may be better. It may be better to utilize it at the second stage (after system level design freeze), towards the start of the industrial design effort. For generating optimal architecture for the loads and expected motions, use Optimization-Tools-for-Designers. Examples include: Generative Design software for Topology Optimization such as 'Altair Inspire'.

Not everyone learns complex 3D CAD systems at the same pace. Often you need to create teams of designers to staff a project not only to ensure you have the skills necessary at a staffing level but also to provide a constant learning environment where young designers can work with, watch and benefit from more senior leaders.

One of the most important lessons I can teach young designers is to make the software do what you want it to do, not the other way around. CAD platforms typically have features or build tools that are easy to use, but may not achieve the intent of your design. I have seen many designers compromise their design decisions in the modeling phase based on what is easily done (or what they know) in the CAD system. It is important to learn the "harder" features within the software and learn how to achieve your intent without sacrifice. CAD is a great tool but we must remember it is a tool, not a decision maker.

Always grow and learn. CAD design software is a constantly changing landscape. There are new tools and advancements. The availability of social media tutorials has made the learning curve less intimidating. It's a marathon not a sprint.

Where possible, get your CAD peer reviewed to see how it flows and whether other's can make changes easily. Really challenge yourself too, as you'll be amazed how much time is lost working through something you've spent a long time on. You become comfortable in whatever you create, and it can often lead to inefficiencies. Remember that CAD is a tool to share ideas and convey thinking, nothing more. Just like sketching, you need to focus on the quality of the output, rather than the specific techniques. Also on that note, speed is key. Spending lots of time in CAD world does not add value to any product! What you want is parts to test, designs to feel & touch, and objects to use.

Add to any CAD system the human touch (i.o cultures, ethics, history, experiences, laterality, freedom and values) Binary is good and human are definitely much more

Within the framework of the 'Vitruvian Trinity': To move from identifying a product requirement to the final design, the availability of compute tools today, for industrial designers. are much wider than typical CAD tools for 2D Sketching and 3D modeling. Creating system-level designs in spreadsheets to size components provide an excellent start point - for ideation of several product variants, and being involved at this stage enables an industrial designer to have ownership of the intent at a crucial stage of the design-engineering efforts. Since industrial designers have relatively good three-dimensional visualization already, patient learning and application of the tools available to her/him is the starting point of avoiding pitfalls.