Ergonomics in computer-aided design

Ergonomics is a key concept in the world of CAD: ergonomic software allows the engineer or technician to be assisted by tools and a practical computer system around a project. Ergonomics also includes the rendering of the project on which the engineer has been able to work via the computer: we are increasingly seeking to produce parts that are adapted to human needs. In this article, we propose to explore these two technical aspects of ergonomics.

CAD software at the service of designed products ergonomics

Ergonomic products design

CAD has driven the development of products and parts designed in recent years, focusing in particular on economic and human factors. Find out more in this first part about the importance of manufacturing ergonomic products and the impact it can have on your company

The benefits of designing ergonomic parts

The manufacture of ergonomic parts has a positive impact as much for the products users, such as a technician, as for the designers who work on the modelling of their design. If you are a user, here ad’ergonomiere the different aspects that it can affect :

• Health : The modelling of an ergonomic product largely take into account its user's health by adapting the version/model to the human body. Optimising these technical aspects can improve the life expectancy of the technician who will be responsible for the electronic or mechanical maintenance of a part's engineering systems.
   
• Comfort : The purpose of an ergonomic product is to make its use comfortable. To achieve this, studies are carried out to observe their use in real-life situations, offering a better quality of life at work
   
• Greater technician productivity : well-being at work leads to a better productivity and quality of work.
   
• Easy-to-use systems
   
• Lower costs : By reducing the risk of work-related accidents, illness and pain due to uncomfortable use for the technician or engineer, you minimise your company's unforeseen expenses.
   
• Better organisation : This will have a direct impact on the work performances and management within your company. Project developments that take ergonomics into account enable designers to meet safety requirements, rules and security standards of any industry. It provides customers with the confidence to use their product more reliably, more pleasantly and more effectively.

 

Ergonomic techniques and analysis

Ergonomics and final design are interrelated. Once the ergonomic analysis and the design studies have been approved, the engineer moves on to manufacturing the product. Here are some of the techniques and analyses used by the teams to optimise the ergonomics of computer-aided 3D design:

• Models : the modelling of prototypes on CAD software makes it possible to visualise the product before it is manufactured, making it easier to detect and modify ergonomic problems. On the one hand, these systems make it possible to be assisted during the design stage, and on the other, to optimise the time spent thanks to better cooperation between the design and manufacturing teams.
• Plans : plans are used to determine the spatial arrangement of the elements of a complete installation in a workspace.
• Virtual dummies : These digital representations of human models help to improve the design of computer software by providing information on human movements, interactions, accessibility, posture, comfort, handling, etc. These dummies are pre-established in CAD software and are widely used, particularly in the automotive industry.

Optimised ergonomics with Siemens NX

Siemens NX takes these human factors into account to achieve design and engineering goals faster. The software allows you to manage safer workstations, design products that are easy to maintain, comfortably operate human-sized vehicles and systems, and immersive design using virtual reality for human simulatio

Challenges and future of ergonomics in CAD

The design and manufacture of ergonomic parts presents a number of challenges: The engineer responsible for the ergonomic analysis and study of a product must have received training in CAD ergonomics. The data is complex, although CAD makes it easier to understand. Virtual reality and artificial intelligence represent a new approach to ergonomic analysis in industrial design. Take a look below at how computer-aided design can be made all the more effective thanks to an optimised software interface.

Ergonomics of CAD software

Designing with ergonomic software

CAD software contains a very large number of modelling tools and functions, which is why it is important that it is organised in such a way as to enable the engineer in the workplace to design in good conditions. The ergonomics of the computer system interface is an important point to consider when you invest in a CAD software. The focus here is limited to the groupware engineer, who works with other teams by means of CAD and PLM tools. Proper management of a product's development is achieved firstly through the cooperation between teams made possible by the centralisation of data through groupware, and secondly through software that must be ergonomic to optimise the time spent on the computer.

 

The importance of working with ergonomic CAD software

Having an ergonomic user interface is a strong point for your company:

• Fast reuse and loading : reduce loading times, retrieve the information you need without having to load an entire model.
   
• Productivity and ease of use : the software's practicality and the use of universal functions and shortcuts make it easy to get to grips with. Access to intuitive commands enables rapid project development and fluid engineering.
   
• Adaptive design : computer-based design in the form of intelligent 2D sketches, freeing the technician from parametric constraints.
   
• Surface functions : coloured highlighting of surfaces to be retained, rounding of surfaces and corners, smoothing of edges.
   

Siemens NX : Artificial intelligence-assisted design

Siemens introduced intelligent design to its Xcelerator portfolio with its new version of NX software. By making their software ergonomic, the engineering and design system has been optimised with the following new features:

• Machine learning.
• Sophisticated simulation functions.
• Use of Artificial Intelligence.
• Information guides to help with the design and modelling of 3D drawings.

Here are some new tools and functions that contribute to the ergonomic design of NX CAD software:

• NX Topology Optimizer : simplification of engineering through automatic design based on functional requirements, facilitating rapid design changes and maximising the re-use of engineering data.
• Design Space Explorer : for an engineering assisted by the analysis of the design space and the generative engineering tool. The tool automatically optimises a design according to the objectives and constraints parameters entered by the designer.
• NX Voice Command Assist : for quick voice searches.
• Selection Prediction et Select Similar: assisted by AI, the engineer has access to tools for identifying and recognising shapes and similarities in geometric parts.

To find out more, you can also read more here about how Xcelerator Share contributes to the rapid development of your projects in a model of cooperation between different teams.