What Are The Top Emerging Trends In Engineering Design Technology?

Engineering design is improving and evolving faster than ever before as a result of rapid advances in technology. Design engineers can now develop versatile designs that make products easier to use – and usher in the future.

If you’re a product design engineer, you’re responsible for creating and developing new products. You are researching and developing ideas and processes for those new products, improving the performance and design of existing products, and overseeing the production and packaging of final products. So, there’s a lot on your plate.

On top of all of this, how companies develop a product is also constantly changing. It can be hard to keep up. Here is an overview of four of the latest trends in engineering design technology that are worth watching. 

Trends In Engineering Design Technology

1. Advanced Robotics
2. Digital Twins Technology
3. Generative Design Technology
4. 3D Printing

Now let's take a closer look at each one. 

Advanced Robotics In Engineering Design Technology

Many people worldwide joke that robots will take over because of how advanced they have become. Indeed, the internet contains many videos of robots doing impressive things, including complex tasks such as dancing. 

Robots today are almost life-like, thanks to factors such as versatile engineering design and artificial intelligence. They are not taking over, but they are playing increasingly significant roles in many industries. 

An increasing number of industries now use robots, including several industries that were not expected to associate with this type of technology. For example, many restaurants are using robots for roles such as cooking and serving their guests in an effort to fill employment gaps from the growing labor shortage. More relevant to the industrial sector, robots are helping keep supply chains running in many manufacturing industries. Bottom line; robots are quickly becoming a core aspect of humanity's future. 

Digital Twins Technology 

The last thing you want to happen as a product design engineer is for your design to fail. Companies such as car manufacturers have had to issue worldwide product recalls and incurred huge losses as a result. Fortunately, you can greatly minimize, or entirely eliminate, the risk of your product designs failing by using digital twins technology. 

Digital twins technology allows design engineers to design virtual replicas of products in a virtual world. The technology mimics conditions in the real world, essentially allowing design engineers to test the products before expending resources to produce them. This technology is now easier and more affordable, thanks to the Internet of Things (IoT). 

Generative Design Technology Drives Versatility

Generative design technology is one of the drivers behind new versatile product designs, such as the life-like robots discussed above. This technology uses artificial intelligence (AI) to develop new designs that most product design engineers wouldn't otherwise imagine. 

The design engineer feeds the program with design parameters and then the AI-powered algorithm generates all possible design solutions. The engineer then tests the varying solutions to select the most feasible one. 

Generating design technology is helping break barriers in manufacturing. For example, it is credited with developing the design for the Airbus A320's interior partition – this technology helped reduce the partition's weight by 45%, making the airplanes safer and more economical. Generative design technology is often used in combination with digital twin technology. 

3D Printing Revolutionizes Design Engineering

3D printing has been revolutionary for design engineering and many other industries. 3D printers can work around complex product designs; making it easier, faster, and cheaper to develop innovative products. Design engineers simply feed the design parameters into the printer to make a rapid prototype. 

3D printing has a wide range of uses and applications for design engineering. The greatest benefit is flexibility in design execution, as explained above. Another noteworthy benefit is that the products designed through 3D printing technology are lightweight and strong; ensuring durable construction. 

Quality Construction: A Never-Changing Constant 

As mentioned, the last thing any product design engineer wants is for their products to fail. These and other technologies in design engineering help make products better, but the products' overall quality ultimately depends on the quality and durability of the materials used. For example, sub-standard bolts and nuts disintegrate fast, compromising the product's integrity. 

Big Bolt is the leading manufacturer of high-quality fasteners, including rods, bolts, nuts, and washers. These fasteners last longer than the most durable materials. Visit our website to explore our inventory of fasteners and capabilities. 

We can help improve all types of designs. Our staff of full-time quality employees and certified inspectors ensure your fasteners meet your requirements. Our computer-aided tensile testing machines and four automatic Rockwell hardness testers help ensure top quality.

Project management is a team effort. Let us help you with your next design engineering project.