As technology continues to develop, major changes are taking place in many industries. While many engineers and manufacturers fear for their jobs as machines become more automated and self-sufficient, job duties are simply turning into more advanced, technology-driven jobs.
In times of digitalization and smart machines, engineers are faced with new challenges and trends to take into account that are changing the way we look at the industry.
Composite Materials in Construction
Сomposite engineer definition is quite simple. A composite engineer is an engineer who is assigned various technical, manufacturing, and administrative responsibilities in companies that use or use composite materials to make their products. Composites occur naturally or are made from two or more different materials combined into one final product. Materials are expected to be realized by composites, who must oversee the production of composite materials or products, make informed choices of processes, and develop and implement programs or systems that increase the end product and business profitability. Most companies looking for composition engineers require that potential candidates have industrial enterprises in the field of mechanical or chemical engineering and need solid experience in composite disciplines that show dislike for their business. Preference is often given to those with experience in compositional compositions, design and manufacturing technologies, and materials.
Systems of external reinforcement with carbon tapes for the reconstruction of any engineering structures are gaining popularity in the world. Due to their unique characteristics, they are indispensable in the repair of dilapidated housing. And among the promising developments for new construction are carbon fiber reinforcement and fiber-reinforced concrete. It’s like aerodynamic analysis that supports aircraft projects.
Carbon fiber external reinforcement systems are designed to repair and strengthen the load-bearing structures of buildings to eliminate the consequences of concrete destruction and reinforcement corrosion as a result of long-term exposure to natural factors and aggressive environments during the operation of structures.
At the stage of construction and operation, the external reinforcement system allows solving the following tasks: eliminate design or execution errors, increase the bearing capacity of structures with an increase in design loads, and also eliminate the consequences of damage to load-bearing structures that occurred during operation.
External reinforcement systems are extremely easy to use. The technology involves gluing high-strength materials to the surface of a reinforced structure using epoxy compounds. The advantages of using the External Reinforcement System are obvious. This is primarily a reduction in time and labor costs. When reinforced with the External Reinforcement System, no additional bulky equipment is required. Work can be carried out without stopping the operation of buildings and structures.
For the new construction of residential buildings, one of the most promising products from polymer composite materials based on carbon fiber is composite carbon fiber reinforcement. The main areas of application of carbon fiber reinforcement in new construction are highly responsible structures requiring unique material properties; structures operating in highly aggressive environments; high-strength elements of complex structural schemes and solutions. Also, carbon fiber reinforcement is used in the repair and reconstruction of reinforced concrete and stone structures as external reinforcement.
The most important direction in construction is to reduce energy intensity, labor intensity, material consumption of manufacturing products and structures, improve their quality, reliability. One of the possible solutions to this problem is the use of composite materials, the advantage of which is the ability to create elements from them with parameters that best suit the nature and operating conditions of structures.
More Focus on Sustainable Production
Businesses are beginning to pay more attention to their environmental impact than ever before. To do this, companies are incorporating sustainability into their business models. Sustainability aims to reduce as much waste as possible by eliminating physical waste and minimizing energy waste. With this practice in mind, manufacturers will produce products using economically sound processes that minimize negative environmental impacts while conserving energy and natural resources.
There are a number of reasons why companies want to adopt a sustainable business model, including reducing overall costs and waste, expanding operations, increasing competitive advantage, attracting new customers, and building brand reputation. For engineers, this means that new environmentally friendly technologies will be in demand for development and implementation.
Advances in IoT
The Internet of Things, or IoT, intelligently connects devices through a network to use and share data. For engineers, IoT is changing the future of their careers with new opportunities in hardware, software, engineering, and manufacturing. The IoT is expected to result in highly skilled engineers replacing low-skilled jobs to keep pace with company advances and demands. As businesses use IoT and connectivity as a method to increase overall productivity, more engineering jobs will be created than ever before.
In the manufacturing industry, IoT eliminates the need for individual machine maintenance and programming. Instead, one single technology will control all equipment and connect the data of all operations. This is beneficial because data collection is very important for any operating company. The data can be used to analyze systems to find problem areas and eliminate any wasted time or material. This will maximize efficiency, productivity, and sustainability. The Internet of Things will continue to transform the manufacturing industry and the engineering career as it continues to evolve and become more complex.
Cucumber Testing
Cucumber testing is a popular UI testing tool that helps ensure that the user interface of a web application functions as expected. By utilizing cucumber, developers can quickly and easily define tests for their applications without having to write large amounts of code. Cucumber is also fast and reliable, making it an ideal choice for teams who want to ensure their applications are up-to-date and running smoothly. Additionally, cucumber makes it easy to share test results with stakeholders quickly, helping teams maintain tight deadlines and deliver quality products on time.
Generative Design
At the heart of the generative design is the ability to delegate to digital platforms part of the processes for creating new entities. A person (designer, engineer, or planner) sets the parameters and restrictions for the program, which automatically offers solutions.
Kaleidoscope, divination cards, throwing dice as a defining element of many games are intuitive examples of generative practices from the past. Everything changed in 1982 when Autodesk introduced the first release of AutoCAD. Since then, the generative approach has rapidly gained popularity, and today it is one of the key trends in the industry.
General Motors is successfully using a combination of generative design and 3D printing to produce car parts: the resulting seat mount is 40% lighter and 20% stronger than before.
And for Claudius Peters, new technology has been at the heart of business transformation. The company manufactures heavy equipment, including huge clinker refrigerators measuring 50×25 meters, in which cement producers cool hot crushed rock. By the way, it would be good to know the place where businesses and contractors meet each other to work on successful projects.
The introduction of Autodesk BIM 360 and Inventor software products has changed the life of the enterprise. “Engineers gathered at a computer screen and watched as generative design tools create optimized reliable components from virtually nothing, based on solid constraints,” the company recalls.
Thanks to reverse engineering of just one part, it was possible to reduce its weight by 20 kg and save about 100 euros on each of the 60 similar components that make up the giant refrigerator.
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