Engineering analysis and design services
Instar supports Australian manufacturers, industry, and technical product companies when an engineering question is blocking an important product, manufacturing, or operational decision.
Instar provides specialist services for confident product, manufacturing, and operational decisions.
Finite element analysis or “virtual crash testing”
Typical questions include:
Will the design withstand the expected loads?
Where are stress concentrations likely to occur?
How much will the structure deflect?
Could fatigue or vibration become a problem?
The goal is to create credible evidence for decisions on product weight/cost saving, material selection, performance, or retrospective failure analysis.
Relevant capabilities include:
structural FEA, stress and strain analysis, and deflection assessment
fatigue considerations
modal and vibration analysis
nonlinear analysis
hyperelastic material modelling
CAD and mechanical engineering design
Independant design verification before manufacture
A product can look complete in CAD and still contain fundamental engineering weaknesses. An independent review can be valuable when a product has already been designed without prior input from an engineer. Before committing to tooling or production, Instar can help assess the assumptions most likely to affect performance.
The work may combine:
identifying important assumptions and technical risks and presenting them in a manner to allow all stakeholders to understand the trade-offs and consequences
first-principles engineering calculations
design review
standards review
finite element analysis
and recommendations for physical testing
A successful outcome is not always confirmation that the design should proceed unchanged. Sometimes the highest-value result is identifying an issue while it is still cheaper to fix.
New product development, design, and engineering
Many manufacturers have deep knowledge of their customers, products, production processes and market and sales opportunities. What they may not have in-house is the specialist engineering capability required to design, engineer, and launch a new product.
Instar can help translate your company knowledge and vision into a new product, via:
CAD and mechanical engineering design
identifying relevant product standards for certification
prototyping and supply chain identification
internal change management
Product design and development is typically executed through a Design Thinking and Business Model Canvas approach.
Engineering advisory & commercialisation support
Sam Evans brings direct experience as a start-up founder taking a wind turbine hardware venture from university-developed intellectual property through prototyping, external investment, tooling, manufacture and first sales (TRL 2-9). Since 2021 he has worked with more than 1,000 Australian researchers to help translate their IP into impact. He co-designed the Research to Impact Map to help universities identify commercialisation pathways.
He offers practical product commercialisation and go-to-market advice:
tooling investment, manufacturing, and physical testing strategies
supply chain identification, QA, and management
go-to-market strategies
venture creation, Business Model Canvas, Value Proposition Canvas, and Design Thinking
Get in touch to tell me about your project
It’s never too early for a quick inquiry
Let me know what you are working on, what barriers or uncertainties are you facing, or what feels unclear about upcoming product decisions.
I will review the information and let you know how I can best help.