Feb 11, 2015 -- Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) has become more of a mainstream design testing tool for most manufacturing organizations. The possibility to quickly assess the design prior to actual prototype reduces much of the design time, making it highly advantageous for organizations eyeing for faster product development.

It is very much possible to find a team of CFD analysts in many organizations, playing with the fluid flow parameters to evaluate the product designs. However, research suggests that there is also a major chunk of organizations that still prefer conventional design assessment techniques.

There are many reasons that these organizations consider for not choosing this advanced testing method for their products. However, research survey also shows that in order to compete with world-class manufacturers, simulation is a must, which suffices the importance of simulation technique in product design process.

When to Outsource CFD Projects

There’s an entire new trend of outsourcing the CFD projects taking place, allowing companies to offshore their design assessment process at half the cost. But then again, there are intellectual property and quality concerns that restrict many organizations from outsourcing their work.

It is evident that computational simulations are the future of design assessment, and as a manufacturer it is important to decide on revamping the design process accordingly. However, deciding whether to invest in the technology or outsource the projects to external agencies is the biggest question that remains. B

uilding an infrastructure in-house requires investment in terms of setup costs, which shall include purchasing high performance workstations, software license fees, and hiring or providing training to develop the skills needed.

Outsourcing on the other hand is a low cost option, allowing small and mid scale manufacturers to compete in producing quality products, without additional investment. However, there is a parallel risk of loosing control over the product design process, especially when the product is new to the market. Below are some of the key considerations that an organization should make before choosing to outsource CFD projects.

Lack Of Capability In Terms Of Infrastructure, Software And Skills

If your organization lacks the required infrastructure, or the budget is too short to incorporate simulation driven design process, outsourcing is the right option for you. There are high quality service providers that offer low-cost solutions. But you also need to make sure in choosing the one that is legitimate. Try to figure out their past experience and customer feedback to sort out the best.

Focusing On Core Business Activities

If the goal of your organization is to focus more on core business activities such as research and development, outsourcing will help fulfill the goal effectively. In fact, many organizations prefer to outsource simulation related activities to offshore partners to reduce overhead costs. This helps in reducing the product cost effectively and stand ahead in the tough market competition.

Reducing Product Development Costs

Outsourcing as explained is a low-cost solution, and is a best choice when reducing product development cost is of a paramount importance. This is especially required for products that are mature in the market and the only possible way to survive in the market is to reduce the cost. Since establishing an entire new department for simulation will be impractical in such cases, it is better to rely on quality offshore service providers.

Partnering To Get Advice from Domain Experts

The biggest advantage of outsourcing is it helps in identifying global talent pool. There are wide number of domain experts that provide CFD solutions in their respective domains more effectively. As an organization, partnering with these high quality service providers can help in improvising the product design and generate innovative ideas to produce low cost and quality products for the market.

Lack Of Capability To Handle Big Projects

Your organization might have an infrastructure to handle regular design projects, but might not be capable enough to solve rare complex geometries that might be encountered. Outsourcing providers on the other hand are usually equipped with state-of-the-art infrastructure capabilities to handle large domain problems quickly.

About Author:

Mehul Patel specializes in handling CFD projects for Automobile, Aerospace, Oil and Gas and building HVAC sectors. He works as a CFD consultant with Hi-Tech CFD for the past 5 years and has successfully executed numerous CFD projects of high complexities.