信息时代的机械工程.docVIP

Mechanical Engineering in the Information Age In the 1980s,engineers thought that massive would be needed to speed up product development. As it turn out, less research is actually needed because shortened product development cycles encourage engineers to use available technology. Developing a revolutionary technology for use in a new product is risky and prone to failure. Taking short steps is a safer and usually more successful approach to product development. Shorter product development cycles are also beneficial in an engineering world in which both capital and labor are global. People who can design and manufacture various products can be found anywhere in the world, but containing a new idea is hard. Geographic distance is no longer a barrier to others finding out about your development six months into the process. If you’ve got a short development cycle, the situation is not catastrophic as long as you maintain your lead. But if you’re in the midst ofa six-year development process and a competitor gets wind of your working, the project could be in more serious trouble. The idea that engineers need to create a new design to slove every problem is quickly becoming obsolete. The first step in the the modern design process is to browse te Internet or ar other information systems to see if someone else has already designed a transmission, or a heat exchanger that is close to what you need. Through these information systems analysis, you may discover that someone already has manufacturing drawing, numerical control tapes, and everything else required to manufacture your product. Engineers can then focus their professional competence on unsolved problems. In tackling such problems, the availability of workstation and access to the information highway dramatically enhanced the capability of the engineering team and its productivity. These information age tools can give the team access to massive database of material properties, standards, technologies, and successf