Bridging machining simulation and fatigue analysis

New integrated approach helps manufacturers boost machining productivity.

Global, march 2025

In today’s highly competitive manufacturing environment, companies face increasing pressure to improve machining productivity while ensuring the long-term reliability of critical mechanical components.

This combined solution allows engineers to rapidly evaluate multiple machining strategies

MISUTECH and HBK developed an interface between MISUTECH’s MISULAB® machining simulation software and HBK’s nCode DesignLife fatigue analysis solution. (...) This combined solution allows engineers to rapidly evaluate multiple machining strategies, assess the fatigue impact of new cutting tools or process changes, and optimise machining parameters - all without the need for extensive physical machining trials or long-duration fatigue testing.

French software developer, MISUTECH, has addressed this challenge by integrating advanced machining simulation with fatigue life assessment - provided by Hottinger Brüel & Kjær (HBK) - to enable more informed and reliable engineering decisions.

Machining processes subject materials to extreme plastic deformation and significant temperature increases within milliseconds, profoundly altering surface integrity. These effects - including residual stresses, microstructural changes, and strain hardening - can significantly influence fatigue life. While well understood in principle, such machining-induced effects have historically been difficult to integrate into fatigue life calculations, limiting manufacturers’ ability to optimise machining parameters without increasing the risk of premature component failure.

To overcome these difficulties, MISUTECH and HBK developed an interface between MISUTECH’s MISULAB® machining simulation software and HBK’s nCode DesignLife fatigue analysis solution. MISULAB® predicts the effects of machining on surface integrity, including three-dimensional residual stress fields generated during machining. These residual stress fields are seamlessly transferred into nCode DesignLife alongside mechanical loading conditions, enabling fatigue analysis that accounts for both manufacturing and in-service stresses.

This combined solution allows engineers to rapidly evaluate multiple machining strategies, assess the fatigue impact of new cutting tools or process changes, and optimise machining parameters - all without the need for extensive physical machining trials or long-duration fatigue testing.

By incorporating machining-induced material states directly into fatigue assessments, manufacturers can simultaneously optimise machining costs and component strength. In one demonstrated application involving an aerospace power transmission shaft, optimised machining conditions that avoided harmful residual stresses resulted in dramatically improved fatigue performance compared to conventional turning conditions.

MISULAB software from Misutech is developed in partnership with major aerospace contractors and CETIM.

Read the case study here

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Hottinger Brüel & Kjær (HBK)’s testing and measurement solutions give engineers around the world the accurate, up-to-date data they need to bring higher-quality products to market faster.

HBK empower the innovators by providing exceptional sensing and insights to help create solutions for a cleaner, healthier and more productive world.

For more information, please visit www.hbkworld.com

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