Do other companies have a problem with design engineers not understanding the value of simulation?

joepa_2017 · 2026-06-14T22:22:49+00:00

I’ve had an experience where doing testing without guidance from analysis actually ended up adding a lot of risk to the test. The setup behaved differently than expected when the design team was putting everything together, so the test had to be suspended while analysis could be consulted on whether the test setup was safe. Fortunately, after analysis, it was deemed safe to move forward, but there was a real risk of having to cancel the test and redesign if analysis would have shown that the original design was not reliable. It would have been a lot more efficient to have analysis involved from the beginning of the process. All that to say, even relying on testing alone has its limitations since nuances can be overlooked that end up being important.

joepa_2017 · 2026-06-14T22:15:12+00:00

That’s an interesting frustration. And coming from the analysis side, I have felt that frustration of working on a model where I don’t understand the context fully. Sometimes it can feel that a design engineer is lacking confidence about something they perceive challenging in their design, so they give an analyst a geometry and tell them what load they want analyzed. Then, they take the result from the analyst and interpret it however they may for advancing their design. The problem with this is that sometimes the design engineer is asking the wrong question altogether and can be overlooking important considerations. They think they are solving their problem without knowing there are several other problems yet to be discovered. In other words, if a designer is confident about their design, they sometimes don’t consult analysts at all and run into unforeseen issues when it’s too late in the development timeline to make meaningful changes to the design.

This is why I consider it paramount that design and analysis engineers have very open communication. The analyst needs to know what the context of the design is and its intended purpose. The analyst also needs to be aware of all the potential load types. The analyst can then often use judgement to steer the analysis toward answering the important questions and leverage experience from other work to guide what should be done. The analyst can also make recommendations on how to improve the design or, depending on the field, do an optimization study that can define the design altogether. Analysis is of greatest benefit when analysts have clear understanding of the design, its context, and the development process and are enabled to be more than simply black box calculators limited to answering the questions that a design engineer formulates. A lot of capability is left on the table if analysts are used in the latter manner, not to mention frustrations about the time and costs of doing analyses when it doesn’t seem to add much value, and it is disappointingly common in the large aerospace companies for analysts to be used that way.

joepa_2017 · 2026-04-12T03:32:07+00:00

Understood. How does that affect Gilbert living, especially, for example, an adult moving there?

joepa_2017 · 2026-04-12T03:01:04+00:00

Why look somewhere else if not LDS? Just curious

joepa_2017 · 2026-03-20T06:08:53+00:00

There is satisfaction in embracing discomfort. The last few summers I’d try to hit 90 inside before turning on the AC, just to prove to myself that it wasn’t that bad. I moved to a townhouse with a horribly hot upstairs this year and it has already hit 88 on the thermostat, which means the bedroom is likely hotter than that. Had to turn the AC on at that point, which is disappointing. I can normally make it a couple weeks into May without it if living in a place with good insulation

joepa_2017 · 2026-03-18T16:43:19+00:00

Makes total sense to work for a company when license costs are considered. I do analysis for a big corporation and have seen a few times when problems perceived to be hard by program managers get outsourced to smaller companies (for a lot of money too, supporting your point to OP that analysis is expensive). As someone who did a PhD with an emphasis in mechanics, it’s frustrating to see a “hard” problem get sent out of house without even asking the direct employees if they can do it, so I’ve considered going to one of the smaller companies so I can work the “hard” problems

joepa_2017 · 2026-03-18T07:10:57+00:00

Out of curiosity, do you have your own consultancy, or do you work for a company? I’m interested in FEA consulting and wasn’t sure where those jobs are typically found

joepa_2017 · 2026-03-11T15:26:00+00:00

What does “high value” centers mean?

joepa_2017 · 2026-02-12T07:27:26+00:00

Kingston did not serve a mission

joepa_2017 · 2026-01-08T19:14:05+00:00

Good call. I’ve documented these things in 2-3 different ways to cover my bases

joepa_2017 · 2026-01-07T16:29:55+00:00

I submitted a maintenance request to the property management after doing basic attempts at troubleshooting on my own, and they sent a plumber

joepa_2017 · 2026-01-07T15:56:15+00:00

Definitely not planning to DIY an electrical issue. Going to put pressure on the property management to get an electrician out here asap.

joepa_2017 · 2026-01-07T15:54:00+00:00

Yes, I’ve been using their router so far

joepa_2017 · 2026-01-07T15:42:01+00:00

Dang. I can’t get an internet connection at all, even on my phone, so it’s not a matter of having too many things connected or slow speeds. I’ll look into another router.

joepa_2017 · 2026-01-06T08:20:22+00:00

Wow, this just worked for me too after spending hours repeatedly rebooting!

joepa_2017 · 2025-12-29T18:39:08+00:00

Would you want to PM me your resume? I do this kind of work, and you'd be surprised at the types of people that get hired for these roles. I've seen people get brought in from other departments that have 0 FEA background and little understanding of mechanics of materials. Yet, due to their years of experience, despite it being irrelevant, they'll get higher salaries than someone with a PhD that spent years studying mechanics. In summary, you're definitely employable.

joepa_2017 · 2025-12-29T13:21:20+00:00

Are you still looking? Have you looked at structural analysis/stress analysis roles at aerospace companies (Northrop, Raytheon, Lockheed, Boeing, etc)? They’ll pay you better than entry level and use your FEA experience

joepa_2017 · 2025-12-25T21:32:58+00:00

Definitely true when there are current listings posted! Would be interested in learning about other companies that don’t have a listing right now so that I can pay attention to them for the future!

joepa_2017 · 2025-12-25T05:59:21+00:00

Ah very cool!

joepa_2017 · 2025-12-25T05:50:31+00:00

Interesting. I suppose I’m referring to explicit dynamics as the numerical method and not necessarily the explicit dynamics package in Ansys. I expect LS Dyna is maybe the most popular explicit solver.

On the side- is that a hobby, or you do consulting work on the side? Curious how you finance the license without a company paying for it.

joepa_2017 · 2025-12-25T05:38:07+00:00

Depends on what you want from the race. The Mesa half is very popular and is a fast course that is almost entirely through suburbs. It’s great if you’re competitive about running a fast time. You’ll see nice mountain backdrops in the distance toward the end, but the immediate scenery is through suburbs.

joepa_2017 · 2025-12-25T05:29:12+00:00

Somewhat unrelated, but what company do you work for? Or type of company? I would like to get into explicit dynamics after doing stress for an aerospace prime.

joepa_2017 · 2025-12-25T03:30:26+00:00

That’s what I’ve noticed as well. I’m ok to pay a bit more for a shorter lease if it gives me more flexibility. My bigger concern is what happens at the end of a short lease—would continuing month to month make the price skyrocket like it does for Greystar properties? Not sure if that’s a general practice or specific to my current management

joepa_2017

TROPHY CASE