The Digital Battle — Engineering Design Tools

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">How many engineering design tools do we really need to get the job done?  Craig Brown says fewer, Mark Pendergast says more, and with that the latest</span> <em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Digital Battle</span></em> <span style="font-weight: 400;">is underway.  Innovation is often driven by new tools, and innovation drives the need for new tools.    In this uncharacteristically amicable digital battle, Craig and Mark examine both sides of the same coin and share the drivers, challenges and benefits of utilizing the new tools that are continually appearing in today’s engineering toolbox. </span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">On today’s podcast, you will learn:</span></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Why do engineers need so many tools? </strong></p> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">People use the tools they are used to, whether they actually need them or not. </span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">There are three areas of digitization- author tools, the database behind it, and the model libraries of knowledge- that Craig argues need to be minimized. </span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Engineering products have become very specialized, and often push the frontier of the possible.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Core tools and fringe tools need to be managed differently, according to Mark. </span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Specialization requires more tools than was once the standard. </span></li> </ul> <p> </p> <p><strong>Should access to design tools be limited or uncontrolled? </strong></p> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Computer-based tools present a higher cyber threat and bring in unknown risks. </span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-le