Upfront CFD for Consumer Products: A Wake-Up Call

The more I do an unofficial market analysis, the more I think the potential for Upfront CFD is endless. There are all of the obvious applications for fluid flow and thermal simulation, but I find that often engineers do not even realize that they are having issues.

I was at an event a few years ago manning our booth. People were stopping by to see what all of the buzz was about. I gave him my 30 second pitch to what we do. I then said, "so do you have any flow or thermal issues?" He gave me the standard shrug and said, "no, not really. I don't see any application for us." Forever being stubborn, I said, "what does your company make?". "Vacuum cleaners!", he responded proudly. It was a defining moment for me. It is not in his mind-set to identify with "flow & thermal issues". It is my job to ask, "what are your design challenges?" Once I asked this question, the flood gates opened and they are now a great customer.

I tell people that the applications for Upfront CFD are endless. I woke up this morning and within a few minutes, I identified 15 applications. My mobile phone alarm buzzed early this am. As I rolled out of bed, I heard the roar of a public transportation bus (valves, hvac, hoses, radiators, electronics, hydraulics) outside my window. I walked into the bathroom, turned on the faucet, looked in the mirror and saw the washer and dryer in the corner, debated about a shower and went downstairs. I clicked on my XM radio player, walked into the kitchen for some coffee and noticed the refrigerator, coffee pot, blender, oven, microwave etc. Strapped on my shoes and ipod to walk the dogs as I heard the heater kick on. Oh yeah, I forgot to check my email on the laptop. Point is begin to think about devices and products and and ask yourself is there a fluid flowing in or around it or does it need to heat up or cool down? If so, you can probably optimize the design using Upfront CFD.

The above images are only a small percentage of the 1000s of applications out there in the world. CFD has been around for along time, but has really been used predominantly by specialists. Often people in the Consumer Product world, thought CFD was too complicated or was over-kill for their needs. Times have changed -- go see for yourself.