This paper was produced for the 2019 NAFEMS World Congress in Quebec Canada

Resource Abstract

Traditional 3D tolerance analysis methods are limited by their inability to account for the deformation of flexible components nor complex time-varying contact behaviour. A Finite Element Analysis approach is used to compensate for this by running thousands of simulations, parametrically varying component geometry across tolerance bands. The safety-critical system of a dose counter in an asthma inhaler in investigated. Latin hypercube sampling is used to generate efficient simulation parameters, and logistic regression is used to determine probability of failure for given parameters. These results inform significant design improvements to improve mechanism robustness and reduce manufacturing costs.