Design Workflows
Common design tasks — the right tools, in the order you use them
Not sure which tools chain together? Each workflow below walks a typical mechanical design from start to finish. Carry a result from one step into the next — save each calc and bundle them into one calculation package.
Gear drive design
Size the mesh, then carry the forces through the shaft, bearings and coupling.
- 1Cylindrical GearsRate the mesh (ISO 6336) and get the tangential force Fₜ.
- 2Shaft AnalysisApply Fₜ as the shaft load → deflection, fatigue, critical speed.
- 3Bearing AnalysisUse the shaft reactions to pick bearings and check L10 life.
- 4Shaft CouplingsSelect a coupling for the transmitted torque + misalignment.
- 5Thermal AnalysisCheck heat balance / expansion at the operating speed.
Rotating assembly & critical speed
From shaft geometry to whirl, resonance and balancing.
- 1Shaft AnalysisStiffness, stress and first critical (whirl) speed.
- 2Bearing AnalysisSupport stiffness + life under the rotor loads.
- 3Rotor DynamicsCritical speeds + Campbell diagram for the assembly.
- 4Vibration AnalysisForced response, isolation and resonance margins.
- 5Flywheel & InertiaInertia / energy storage and burst-speed check.
Bolted steel structure
Section selection through joint and weld verification under fatigue.
- 1Steel SectionsSection properties + EC3 unity checks.
- 2Beam DeflectionBending, shear and deflection of the member.
- 3Column BucklingEuler / Johnson stability of compression members.
- 4Bolted JointsVDI 2230 preload, torque and fatigue safety.
- 5Weld DesignFillet/butt weld strength under combined load.
- 6Fatigue AnalysisLife under the cyclic loading (S-N / Goodman).
Pressure piping system
Flow, standard pipe selection, stress and the equipment it serves.
- 1Pipe FlowPressure drop + velocity (Darcy–Weisbach).
- 2DN / Piping StandardsPick the standard pipe OD / wall / schedule.
- 3Pipe StressWall thickness + thermal-expansion stress (B31.3).
- 4Pressure VesselsMAWP / wall thickness for the vessel (ASME VIII).
- 5Pump & Fan SelectionMatch the duty point to the system head.
Hydraulic power unit
Actuator force through accumulator, pump and line sizing.
Motor-driven conveyor
Belt sizing through the drive train to the motor.
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