Design

Steel Dynamics Engineering division is a specialist in all aspects of the engineering design process, including product development.

3D CAD (Computer-Aided Design), FEA (Finite Element Analysis) and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) are both crucial tools in engineering and product design.

Steel Dynamics employs 3D CAD to create three-dimensional models of physical objects. These models can be manipulated and viewed from different angles, allowing our designers to visualize and refine their designs with the manufacturing teams, before they are actually built. This optimisation, fuels our 'right-first-time' culture.

Our 3D CAD models are also exchanged with stakeholders including clients and suppliers alike, enabling multi-disciplinary engineers from multiple locations to collaboratively resolve issues and optimise designs.  

3D CAD models are exported to our supply chain to facilitate casting design and pattern manufacturing, thereby reducing product lead times and costs.

FEA is a computational technique used to analyse the behaviour of structures or components under various conditions. We use FEA to break down a complex structure into smaller, simpler elements, and then applies mathematical equations to simulate how these elements will respond to loads, forces, and other physical effects.

FEA helps the stakeholders and engineers understand how a design will perform in real-world conditions, allowing them to optimize designs for strength, durability, and performance. Examples of some of the FEA work we undertake are shown in the gallery below.

Like FEA, CFD is again a high-level design tool that allows our engineers understand the behaviour of our products in dynamic, fluid applications.

As such, CFD is a branch of fluid mechanics that uses numerical methods and algorithms to solve and analyse problems that involve fluid flows.

CFD allows engineers and scientists to simulate the behaviour of fluids, such as liquids and gases, in various environments and under different conditions.

In CFD, the fluid flow is divided into a grid or mesh of small elements, and mathematical equations that govern fluid motion, such as the Navier-Stokes equations, are applied to each element. These equations are then solved iteratively using computational algorithms to simulate how the fluid flows and interacts with solid surfaces or other fluids.

CFD is extensively used by Steel Dynamics when creating cast products, such as signature ventilation columns, in order to understand and refine the molten metal pour properties.

Together, 3D CAD, FEA and CFD form a powerful combination for product development. CAD enables the creation of detailed designs, while FEA and CFD allows engineers to analyse and optimize those designs for performance and reliability. By using these tools together, Steel Dynamics engineers can iterate quickly, explore multiple design options, and ultimately develop better products in less time.