Today, modern technology has advanced rapidly, as our everyday appliances have become more and more complex in recent decades. However, most people don’t often think about the components that make up the items we buy and use every day. It is easy to forget the tens upon thousands of moving parts that come together to make these machines a success. Considered to be its own ecosystem, these parts work in harmony to allow us to enjoy the modern conveniences of today’s technology.
In order to fully understand how important these parts are, one can take a look at some of the most common, yet complex household items. Starting with coffee machines, this common gadget consists of about 45 different parts. Many of these parts boast names that most people have never even heard of in their lifetime. Taking it a step further, the common household dryer has about 125 parts, needing several valves, nozzles, motors, and springs to run smoothly. Finally, what may be considered the most common household luxury, the standard car requires about 30,000 parts. Although the typical user of these items seldom considers what makes up their possessions, industrial designers and engineers spend thousands of hours designing these products. This process can be tedious and trivial, bringing to light the need for a more efficient way to find, replace, and repair these important parts.
There are several different methods for collecting data on different parts that designers and engineers currently use. Because most products are a blend of components that manufacturers both make and buy, engineers need to select parts throughout the entire process. The first option to accomplish this is the DIY method, which involves the engineer redrawing the part made by the supplier. The upsides to this are that this can occur at any time, on demand, and the part will be guaranteed to be in the preferred format. However, this method is subject to user error and can be time-consuming.
The next method is to request part-specific data directly from the manufacturer. This method ensures accurate data, but falls short in selection of brands, turnaround time, and revision time. Other methods include downloading resources, either user-generated or on-demand from the manufacturer themselves. Crowd-sourced designs can be helpful as there is often a larger selection of products available. However, this content is not certified by MFG and is also unbranded. Downloading straight from the manufacturer has several pros involved, such as a quick turnaround and revision time and accurate data. However, this method is limited in the brands that are available to compare parts to.
The final method currently in use by designers and engineers is the use of a component search engine. This method combats many of the shortcomings involved with the aforementioned methods, and is accessible to designers and engineers around the world. It compiles all parts, manufacturers, and models in one place, making this a one stop shop for all things needed to keep modern technology up and running.
Most common parts have several thousand variations and models, making it a difficult task to differentiate between and determine which specific part is right for the job. Using these search engines, this task has been streamlined, holding data for hundreds of thousands of parts all in one place. Like a typical search engine, these sites allow users to filter and sort based on a number of different properties. Part number, keyword, manufacturer, sketch, and color are only some of the criteria that can be used to help narrow the search process. There are even photo upload features, allowing for users to take personal photos to aid in the search process for their needed part. In recent developments, geometric similarity and geometric comparison technology can even be helpful in finding the right part for the job.
Engineers and designers spend countless hours and precious resources and time trying to find parts to meet the needs and demands of modern day technology. Part discovery and product cost are reduced by 50% and 70% respectively, making it clear that these methods are here to stay. Annually $70,000 can be saved per engineer, showing the true impact of implementing these strategies, and the need to continue preparing engineers for the challenges of tomorrow.
Source: 3Dfindit.com