SIMULATION
Accessible simulation empowers mechanical design
The story of simulation is shifting from exclusivity to empowerment. For small and mediumsized companies, this is a strategic advantage as accessible simulation transforms uncertainty into understanding, and isolated knowledge into shared capability.
By Viktor Martinewski, Dr. Q & Alex Schewalje, WILO SE
About the author Viktor Martinewski is a Co-Founder and Managing Director at Dr. Q GmbH, a startup advancing AI-driven finite element simulation technologies. Before founding Dr. Q, he led a mechanical development department and previously conducted doctoral research in applied mechanics and numerical simulation. Contact Viktor at viktor @ askdrq. com or www. askdrq. com
Alex Schewalje has been working in simulation for over 20 years, applying his expertise to multiphysics contexts. As head of a department at WILO SE, he leads a team focused on the development and automation of engineering tools used worldwide. Contact: info @ wilo. com www. wilo. de
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new pump or valve design takes shape. The geometry looks solid and the design feels right. But when the first prototype faces the burst pressure test, unexpected weaknesses can still occur. Even with simulation as a routine part of development, finding the remaining optimisation potential becomes increasingly challenging.
The challenge every engineer knows
Designers continually balance material and cost savings with robust, reliable designs. The key lies in the speed of simulation: when engineers can perform evaluations directly and instantly during the design phase, costs and development time are significantly reduced. This allows for a much broader exploration of design variants than ever before- driving innovation and efficiency in product development. For many small and medium-sized enterprises, this scenario is all too familiar. While simulation has long promised to replace trial and error with data-driven certainty, its practical use has often remained out of reach for everyday design work.
Simulation – a tool that remained exclusive
Finite Element Analysis( FEA) has become one of the most powerful instruments in modern product development. Whether evaluating strength, safety, or service life, simulation delivers objective, datadriven insights into how components perform under real conditions. Yet in practice, FEA remains a specialist’ s domain. Traditional software is complex and demands expert knowledge in meshing, boundary conditions, and solver configuration. Engineers without years of experience often find the learning curve too steep. As a result, simulation is often outsourced to external service providers- adding time, cost, and distance between design and insight. Especially in safety-critical applications such as pumps, valves, or pressure vessels, this delay can be costly. For SMEs, it creates a paradox: simulation is recognised as essential but rarely integrated into everyday development. Many teams still build, test, and hope instead of verifying designs digitally.
The critical case: burst pressure in practice
Burst pressure testing is a key step in validating pressure-loaded components. For pump and valve housings, or any part subject to internal pressure, such tests are often legally required. A failed test is not only expensive- due to destroyed prototypes and delayed schedules- it can also
The simulation software rapidly gives engineers clear design insights: where the housing might fail, where to reinforce it, and how to reduce material without compromising safety.
mean redesigning moulds and tooling, which is especially painful for cast components. By simulating pressure behaviour in advance, potential weaknesses can be detected and corrected early. FEA allows engineers to visualise stress distributions, identify thin-wall risks, and optimise geometries before manufacturing a single part. Studies show that virtual testing can reduce physical prototypes by up to 50 % and cut development costs by 30-40 %. However, conventional tools make this process difficult. Complex internal geometries, changing wall thicknesses, and detailed surface transitions challenge traditional FEA workflows. Setting up such a model can take days and often requires expertise that SMEs cannot maintain internally.
Simulation becomes a dialogue
Recent advances in artificial intelligence and cloud computing are fundamentally changing this landscape. Software like Dr. Q rethinks FEA entirely. Instead of demanding expert knowledge, it acts as an intelligent assistant guiding users through the process in natural language. An engineer can simply say:“ I want to determine the burst pressure of my pump housing,” or“ Show me where the highest stress occurs at 40 bar.” The system interprets the intent, identifies relevant surfaces, defines the pressure zones automatically, and generates a mesh ready for simulation. The computation runs in the cloud, enabling high performance without local hardware. Within 30 minutes, a designer can go from CAD model to validated results, a process that previously took days or weeks. The effect is transformative: instead of replacing engineering judgment, simulation becomes part
38 Valve World December 2025 www. valve-world. net