Additional Capabilities

Project Management

RACE will use project management tools and methods to control any project that you outsource to us. Several members of the group have extensive experience with this discipline so we can do this for you with minimal effort.

If you would like some help in training your development staff in how to perform project management, contact us and we can help. If you would like us to just project manage one of your projects for you, we can do that too, but we would only do that as part of a training program for one of your staff and that staff member has to be a participant in the project being managed. Having the proper software tools is necessary to project management, but having regular contact with the project development team is absolutely essential to successful project management. We want the effort to succeed.

Finite Element Analysis

Finite element analysis (FEA) software has improved very significantly in power and ease of use over the past 40 years from the early beginnings at NASA. In the past we've used NASTRAN™, ICES™ Strudl™, and more recently Algor™ and the simulation tools now built in or available as an extra cost option to SolidWorks. Now it is possible to numerically solve problems that were formerly only possible to be addressed by approximations or by experiment. Just in the field of solid mechanics. it is now possible to analyze complex systems for stresses, fatigue lives, buckling and dynamic response to external forcing functions. Mold flow analysis can be done as soon as the product design is set so that mold injection points can be designed for best mold filling. Fluid flows through systems can be handled, as can heat flows and acoustic effects. It's a wonderful time for engineers to be practicing their trade!

The built in FEA tools such as SolidWorks™ has are particularly powerful because they eliminate the need to build the same geometry model twice. This saves a lot of analyst time and money and it helps to minimize errors. Having modeling tools built in to the 3D design tools provides easy access to FEA analysis tools and this is a good thing, except that it means that a lot of people with little or no training in solid mechanics can now perform simulation analyses. Drafters can be trained in how to use these capabilities, and we can help you do that if that is your desire. Then you might tend to relax that the simpler design problems will be handled properly. However, this is a fairly risky position to be in, so we would like to provide you with a backup position as discussed below.

The new FEA programs will probably do an analysis correctly (when there are reasons to doubt that this is true, an experienced FEA analyst will check this and make sure) if the problem is posed to it correctly. But there is no assurance that it will be posed correctly if the user is totally inexperienced in FEA theory and practice. Engineers have been known to use FEA programs incorrectly and they should know better, so why should we expect drafters to use them correctly?

If your business will face legal liabilities if your products fail, then you should want to outsource your more complex analyses to RACE or to one of our business partners. When in doubt about the complexity of a particular problem, contact us for a free evaluation. We want you to succeed and we will advise you correctly in this.

Newsletter Development

As experienced engineers know, becoming successful in engineering requires the ability to write and to verbally present ideas. So it's not too surprising that we have the capability to help you if you need technical writing done, or if you would like help with newsletter creation or production. This shows a small newsletter which we did. This newsletter was printed and bulk mailed to folks who don't have access to a PC, and the PDF file was emailed to all of the more PC literate members of the group. We could produce and deliver your newsletter too, or just help you get started doing that. We have the tools like Microsoft Publisher™, PDF writers and graphics software, to do this efficiently and professionally. If you have tried this, you will realize that there is considerable work and knowledge involved, so a little help is a good thing. If you would like our help, contact us.

Freelance Writing

If you need to have advertising copy, user's manuals, general interest articles or almost any kind of documentation done in a very professional manner, contact the following excellent freelance writer.

Math & Science Tutoring

The members of RACE have extensive backgrounds in mathematics, science and engineering, so it isn't surprising that we have members who would like to help eager students master these disciplines. If you have high school or colleges classes in these disciplines and you would like some help, contact us. You will be pleasantly surprised with our rates and with our help.

Website Design

If you would like help in getting your website up and running, contact us. As you can see from this website, we prefer serious, straight-forward presentations instead of aggravating advertising animations. You can also check out the following websites which we created and maintain:

Click here to visit the RACE-created website for the Century Squares Square Dance Club.

Click here to visit the RACE-created website for the Dollars and Sense Investment Club.

Click here to visit the RACE-created website for the Cranky Engineer.

Click here to visit the RACE-created website for the Rochester area chapter of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers.