Research in the areas of advanced mechanisms and automation includes research in direct control of distributed devices using real-time control over high speed networks. Related research involves parametric manufacturing where several design and process models can be reduced to a master model and associated variations distributed over several manufacturing steps.
Flexible automated design systems that dramatically decrease time-to-execute and reduce errors in design require the use of autonomous agent theory. This research explores the structuring of engineering design systems into autonomous agent systems and also the form of the controlling agent system, whether it is central controlling or distributed. These systems are then implemented into industry case studies.
Compliant mechanisms gain their motion from the deflection of flexible members. Advantages include reduced part count, increased performance (e.g. precision, weight, wear), and the ease of miniaturization. They present opportunities to replace large assemblies with simplified topologies capable of complex tasks. Research includes the development of advanced modeling methods, application to bio applications, and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS).
To improve fuel economy and other characteristics of transmissions, research is being conducted to develop a positively engaged continuously variable transmission not dependent on the use of friction belts but through positively engaged uniquely shaped gears.
By designing to meet particular manufacturing process requirements, product development time may be shortened and costly design changes avoided, thus reducing costs and delays getting to market. There is great demand for engineers with exceptional manufacturing skills.
Assemblies involving flexible parts create challenges in major industries, such as automotive, aerospace, and domestic products. Statistical variation analysis has been combined with FEA to simulate fixtured assembly processes and predict the assembly forces, springback and residual stresses, which are so critical to product quality and performance.
Natural process variations can accumulate and propagate in assemblies, affecting critical fit and function of the final product. By performing tolerance analysis on assemblies, a designer can predict the variation stack-up and avoid production problems and unhappy customers. Research at BYU has applied statistical methods to include kinematic adjustments which occur within an assembly due to dimensional and geometric form variations.
Dimensional variation in mechanisms affects the position accuracy over the whole range of motion. Even greater magnitude effects result in the velocity and acceleration performance. Efficient, closed form solutions are being developed for predicting variations in the performance of dynamic mechanisms, such as the steering and suspension systems of race cars and other applications.
BYU has established itself as a leader in the automation and customization of engineering software tools. Custom-built plug-ins and programmatic automation methods allow for the rapid creation of initial designs and improvement of subsequent iterations. Current research focuses specifically on enabling design optimizations for complex systems that include fluid, structural, and impact analyses and require the customization and automation of various modeling, analysis, and optimization packages.
Research has been ongoing to find ways to improve the effectiveness of engineering education to prepare students to become leaders in the practice of engineering. Current research involves investigating the effects of using a bidding process by student teams on project team success in Sr. Capstone Design courses.
Manufacturing process machines enable new materials to be created or to more effectively change the shape and/or properties of existing materials. In this effort more than 20 unique process machines have been developed at BYU, including water jet cutting machines for industrial as well as medical uses. Current research involves the creation of processes and machines to create ultrafine particles.
BYU MEMS research has a long history of developing revolutionary devices, including fully-compliant bistable mechanisms, thermal actuators and piezoresistive sensors. Current research focuses on using MEMS to store and transform energy, creating actuators capable of large displacement with integrated position sensing, and biological applications of MEMS. Many of these devices are being fabricated in an innovative high-aspect ratio technique using thick arrays of carbon nanotubes.
Engineering companies have become international and employ large globally diverse design teams to execute complex product development processes. This research focuses on graph models of these processes that include quantification of global issues such as time zone differences, government regulations, etc. The purpose is to provide models that can be used to determine the impact of global issues on product development.
Starting in the fall of 2000, GM and all of their global subsidiaries, Siemens, HP, Sun Microsystems, MSC, Altair, Autodesk, ANSYS and other PACE partners began deploying hardware and software infrastructure at BYU which they hoped would lead to a scalable and sustainable global design, analysis and manufacturing curriculum. Well over $400M in hardware and software donations has allowed BYU to emerge as a leading PACE institution among the current community of 52 universities located in 10 countries. BYU with its strong language base, and wide selection of students who have lived internationally, has been ideal to lead or participate in all previous global PACE projects. The Formula 1-type racecar, for example, was a 3-year design/analysis/manufacturing project involving over 500 students from 10 countries; the collective team spanning 16 time zones and speaking eight different languages.
It is now our challenge to find a scalable and sustainable infrastructure/curriculum that is the ideal environment for teaching and improving the global competencies of engineers. One of the greatest challenges facing engineering educators and administrators is ensuring that all engineering students are instructed in and allowed to practice the principles, characteristics and competencies of global engineering.
Engineering computer applications (CAx) are the primary design tools used in product development. However, they are currently designed for single users and are ill-suited for the collaborative challenges of the emerging global economy. In response, BYU has pioneered research into developing new multi-user architectures that will enable engineering collaboration among globally distributed product development teams. By leveraging existing research into multi-user gaming and parallel computing architectures, users are now able to design products using ν-CAx tools which allow the design file to be accessed and changed simultaneously by several users.
BYU has extensive experience in building custom API toolkit applications for design, analysis, and manufacturing methodologies. Current research focuses on developing a fully parametric proof-of-concept virtual internal combustion engine (VICE) design, modeling, and analysis tool. It incorporates multiple levels of fidelity for both modeling and analysis tasks and is being developed so that it can be utilized throughout the engine development process, from early proof-of-concept engine studies to final detailed engine analysis and design to engine testing and validation.
