This last week, I attended the Council on the Future of Engineering Software (COFES)in Phoenix AZ. It’s a great event that brings together many of the leaders of the industry from the ranks of software providers, journalists, industry analysts and manufacturers. We get together a debate a lot of edge topics relevant to the technology that engineers use to design and develop products. And this year was no different.
Lots of Debates, My Central Theme
Like every year, there are some topics that are edgier than others. And I came across one in particular in three separate conversations and briefings over the course of the event. All of it was essentially based on this premise.
By the time someone starts using CAD, all the major design decisions have been made.
Now, if you’ve followed my posts in the past, you already know that I subscribe to this concept wholeheartedly. That is, at least in part, why I advocate that 2D still has a legitimate use in design for engineers (see past posts including Every Engineer’s Dirty Little Secret? The Stigma of 2D). But I think there are some other serious implications, especially for simulation.
You can read the rest of the post at the new NAFEMs Blog in the post Pre-CAD Simulation: Where True Engineering Occurs?.
