Professional Design Demands A Professional Workstation

A BMW may be a top-of-the-line ride for most, but its sleek design and superior handling are table stakes for the professional race car driver, who requires a whole other level of performance to get the job done.

It’s the same story with engineering workstations. While processor improvements and inexpensive memory have given rise to a new category of low-cost workstations, not every model is created equal when it comes to serving professional engineers. Beyond the need for speed, professionals tasked with designing and building products require a workstation platform that is workload-optimized and specifically calibrated for high-level processing, robust graphics, and precision accuracy. While squeezing faster performance out of a CAD tool can improve an engineer’s productivity, the real gains in innovation and accelerated time-to-market cycles come with new workflows that foster simulation-led design.

Just like a race car depends on components other than the engine to rev up performance, a professional workstation requires more than a state-of-the art processor to drive such advanced design workflows. Along with a processor that supports accelerated I/O performance for large data models, optimized cache utilization, and a data flow architecture for enhanced throughput, a properly balanced system should also draw from ample memory (nearly 2X the size of the largest model), solid state drives (SSDs), and robust-enough graphics capabilities to ensure the optimal productivity boosts from the new workflows.

Simulation-Based Design = Big Results

With this proper mix of components, a professional-grade workstation can be the springboard for an engineer to move past efficient 3D modeling work to simulation-led design and photorealistic imaging. By leveraging simulation studies throughout the development cycle, engineers are empowered to engage in the experimentation that promotes innovation as compared to late-stage simulation, which is keyed to final design validation and the need to reduce costs.

Those steering a course to simulation-led design are enjoying significant results. According to a study by Aberdeen Research, the top 20% best–in-class companies pursuing a robust design approach that includes widespread use of simulation are more likely to meet product launch dates, reduce development cycles, and hit product revenue, cost and quality targets.

Dyson, a respected innovator in consumer goods, is a case in point. By adopting a simulation-led design approach, Dyson engineers investigated 200 iterations of a fan design before settling on a final version, which is 10 times the number possible with physical prototyping. As a result of the new simulation workflows, Dyson engineers honed in on an optimal design, which ensured the fan performed 2.5 times as well as the original concept.

Litens Automotive Group, a tier one automotive supplier manufacturing power transmission systems and components, is another prime example. The company harnessed professional-grade workstations to facilitate simulation-based design—a move that helped it reduce prototyping iterations, save millions of dollars, and accelerate product development cycles.

Both examples underscore a clear ROI for a professional-grade workstation. With the average professional workstation priced around $3,000, the investment amortized over a three-year period translates into approximately $20 a week to realize as much as a 3X increase in engineering productivity.

Such numbers build a pretty compelling business case for a professional-grade workstation. With a minimal investment, engineering teams can shift simulation-based design into high gear, outpacing their competition and crossing the finish line to enhanced productivity and innovation.

Configure your ideal workstation.

Professional Workstation Building Blocks

Making the Case