UKsim is the UK Society for Modelling and Simulation, one part of the global effort on awareness and the support of the modelling and simulation industry. Aiding technicians who work to provide an end result in practice without building a multitude of prototypes and running inordinate amounts of exercises.
Confused? In layman's terms it is an organisation which supports the field of both modelling and simulation. Not so long ago these fields were separate areas of study, but such is the amalgamation of research, it is both helpful and proven to understand the mathematics and methodologies behind both applications. Hence UKsim.
Look at the majority of advances in human history and they begin with trial and error. As systems get more complicated and mathematics runs in multiple calculations and for slight of hand, we have moved from the drawing board and laboratory to computer modelling. Computers help people in various fields and industries to do things a lot quicker, no more so is this true than within development of new technologies and testing materials that either require parts testing, almost true scenario testing and finding the positives and negatives from changing chemical structure, model structure or even the weather.
We use existing templates and calculations and input these into a computer software program. We then tell it how each part works under which constraints and add variables. All of the factual data allows the computer model to be built so that it can work in a more adaptable fashion. For instance we know the pull on an object in different atmospheres as it moves from earth to outer space. We understand fuel consumption, have the information on weights and all the data from previous flights. Does the European Space Agency need to send up a million test rockets to find out which does best?
No, they turn to the UKsim community who can build a computer model from which simulations can be run to test a series of additions from which to launch a prototype from. Thus bringing down costs enormously and betting on a model with a positive outcome. The members of UKsim are not made up of one technical aspect. Many different lines of work make up the industry so the members include researchers, software vendors, end users, and consultants. You can find modelling and simulation in almost every industry these days.
You could say that the advancement of the human race and curation of new tools and new materials is all done on a computer model, followed though with a computer simulation to ascertain what procedure, strategy, design or addition will work best. Modelling and simulation tools and software can be found in simulators in aircraft, marine industries, engineering simulation in aerospace, automotive, factory and manufacturing simulation and in novel applications such as Artificial Intelligence and Graphical Interfaces.
For a lot of industries, prototype production requries the use of modelling/simulation computer software, but not always. However, it is likely to play an increasingly common role in a variety of industries, from construction to manufacturing.
During and before manufacturing, a lot of work needs to go into making sure that the product produced is of high quality. Before it begins, a product design team needs to come up with the concept as the first step, but then they need to make sure that the product meets the tastes of the intended market so that they can increase the chance of it being bought. During manufacturing, making sure that it is done efficiently is essential.
During any new product development, a number of stages needed to be run through before it is ready to be released to the world. You have the original idea, the concept, which the rest of the product is then based upon, but equally important are enhancing the design so that aesthetically pleasing and making it ergonomically friendly for use by consumers, as they can massively impact the success of any product.
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