For mechanical engineers, the question is no longer whether to embrace automation but instead how to make it work hardest for them. Here, Brad Freeman, MEP Solutions Specialist at Trimble explores some of the digital tools available to help engineers design faster, eliminate manual errors and improve efficiency.
Ask any mechanical engineer where the majority of their time goes and the response will often be all too familiar, with a significant portion of a working week likely taken up by repetitive and manual tasks, cross-referencing calculations, updating drawings and correcting clashes. Combine this with tighter project timelines, increasingly complex building systems and a persistent squeeze on margins and it’s clear that working smarter has become an imperative. For many engineering firms, this begins with automation.
Digital tools and platforms are increasingly offering intelligent features and functionalities that allow mechanical engineers to design better and work smarter. Tasks that once consumed hours of manual effort – from pipework routing and equipment selection to calculations and drawing production – can now be completed in a fraction of the time, with greater consistency and fewer errors. These productivity gains free up time for engineers to spend on the more complex or creative design work, as well as improving consistency and quality.
With buildings and their service systems increasing in complexity, traditional CAD drafting in isolation increasingly falls short. Designing and considering complex interfaces between pipework, ductwork, beams and steel pillars can be incredibly challenging on a 2D plan. Combine this with frequent client changes, contractor-driven requests and time-consuming redesigns and it’s no surprise that rework continues to be a costly and ever-present problem, with avoidable errors reported to cost around £5 billion per year in the UK. The closer a project gets to site, the more costly and time-consuming drawing errors can be to rectify, making it critical that any mistakes or clashes are caught early.
This is precisely where design automation can deliver real, quantifiable value. With intelligent, parametric components that automatically adjust when changes are made to the wider scheme design, such as those found within Trimble’s Stabicad for CAD modelling, drawing errors can be a thing of the past. Automatic clash detection further supports early-stage problem solving, flagging issues such as pipes clashing with beams, making it easier for teams to fix them before they become costly problems further down the road.
Moving from clash detection to connection design and this too can present its own set of challenges – as well as its opportunity for automation. The Nodesolver tool (available within all Stabicad products) delivers rapid, accurate solutions to complex connection nodes. During drawing and clash detection, various options for connecting pipes and ductwork are automatically shown, with one-click routing and connections, saving the designer valuable time.
Tools like these can represent a meaningful shift in how mechanical engineers approach their work, helping them to reduce error, improve productivity and deliver greater quality out on site. It’s not just an efficiency gain; it’s a competitive advantage.
To learn more about Stabicad for CAD modelling, click here.