Software investment pays off
Coinciding with the company’s move to new purpose-built premises, A&J has made a significant investment in upgrading its engineering design software systems – a move which is now providing great benefits for both the business and its customers.

The latest 3D modelling software not only provides almost instant rendering of 3D images from standard 2D design drawings, it then allows components to be ‘assembled’ in an interactive 3D virtual environment – an excellent facility that allows complex systems to be checked for component interference and access before even cutting the first piece of metal for actual fabrication.

“The 3D rendering also allows us to show our clients a realistic image of the product or system that we are about to fabricate. We can animate these presentations to demonstrate assembly procedures or provide cutaway sections to show component relationships,” comments engineering manager John Hirst. “

The flexibility of this software and the ease with which it allows us to create the different sections and views and relate these to the traditional 2D drawings just makes the whole process of moving from design to fabrication so much smoother both internally and for our clients as well.”

In addition to upgrading the design and drawing software, A&J has also invested in new FEA (Finite Element Analysis) software which accurately models the predicted mechanical stresses within a fabrication. Managing director Shaun Daniels explains the benefits offered by the new software;

“FEA modelling is very effective in allowing us to see exactly what is happening in critical areas of a fabrication design under a variety of differing conditions. For products such as economisers, there are huge differences in temperature within the operating cycle which cause movement and stress. FEA allows us to run computer modelled simulations to ensure that our designs will provide optimal performance under all conditions.

FEA and 3D computer modelling now give us the ability to demonstrate the performance and safety of our designs to customers well before the manufacturing phase of a project begins. This level of design capability is fast becoming a requirement if you wish to do business at the top level in many industrial markets and our investment over the last year means that A&J is well placed and has a strong competitive advantage in the markets it serves.”