Sulekh C. Jain

CAE FOR THE MANUFACTURING ENGINEER: THE ROLE OF PROCESS SIMULATION IN CONCURRENT ENGINEERING

Abstract As America refocuses its attention on the factory, design and manufacturing engineers must work together closely to design the appropriate products, and matching production process in a team effort. By building off the designers CAE tools that predict product performance, the manufacturing engineer is today able to simulate the proposed production process. Process simulations for the following manufacturing processes are available or being developed: ▪Forging, ▪Machining, ▪Injection Molding, ▪Die Casting, ▪Investment Casting, ▪Metal Forming, ▪Heat Treating, ▪Assembly Tolerancing By utilizing the same 3-D solid model and finite element modeling tools used by the designer, coupled to powerful analysis simulation tools to predict the transient nonlinear heat transfer and plastic material flow found in many manufacturing processes, the manufacturing engineer is able to explore alternative processing plans, evaluate trade-offs and even influence the design to produce superior products. Process simula...

Mechanical issues in laser and abrasive water jet cutting

In forging and other metal-working industries, lasers and abrasive water jets are being applied to cut a variety of metal products to improve productivity and reduce costs. As described in the following, both the processes have their unique cutting capabilities and characteristics. Before selecting one, however, users must be aware of how each technique influences the end product as well as its performance (e.g., high-cycle fatigue life). For this article, we examined the mechanics of these two cutting processes by studying their effects on Ti-6Al-4Vand A286 steel.

Trends in aerospace forgings in the 1990s

In the 1990s, forgings require computer-aided design and manufacturing, process modeling, cleaner forging materials, better control of forging and related processes, and closer cooperation between supplier and customer. Forgers will have to employ more sophisticated forging and sensing and control equipment to better meet the demands of close tolerances and increasingly difficult-to-forge materials. Customers will continue to place higher emphasis on quality that remains consistently high. This article examines trends in aerospace forgings that will affect forgers, equipment and materials suppliers in the 1990s. Most of these trends are virtually certain to occur; indeed, some have already begun. What is less certain is the degree to which these trends will occur, and the rapidity of their occurrence.