Simulation-Driven Design Automation for Mechanical Positioners
- Post by: Tobias Larsson
- 10th August 2026
- No Comment
Reduce early-stage positioner design time using a configuration tool.
We developed a CAD-integrated configuration tool that automatically generates optimized positioner design proposals from requirements like load and height in less than a minute. Created as a case study in Autodesk Inventor, the tool uses optimization algorithms and metamodels to accelerate early-stage engineering. It enables Yaskawa Nordic to conduct instant feasibility studies and generate rapid quotation estimates, cutting design time and providing a solid starting point for development.
Programme: MSc Mechanical Engineering
Course: MSc Thesis
Semester: June 2026
Corporate partner: Yaskawa Nordic
The Challenge
Design engineers in manufacturing industries face a costly bottleneck during the early stages of designing custom heavy machinery like positioners. Today, evaluating customer requirements and creating initial design proposals requires hours of manual CAD modeling and repetitive structural calculations. This slow process delays product quotes for potential clients and eats up valuable engineering hours before a project is even secured. Our specific design challenge was to automate the design work in this early design stage.
The Solution
We built an automated configuration tool inside Autodesk Inventor using iLogic rules, tested on a Yaskawa positioner. To bypass time-consuming CAD simulations in early design stages, we integrated a predictive metamodel. We streamlined the tool's complexity using the Morris method for parameter sensitivity analysis and gathered data via Latin Hypercube Sampling (LHS) with 500 automated simulation loops. The final tool takes user inputs like height and load, runs optimization algorithms on the metamodel, and displays a structurally optimized 3D design proposal directly in Inventor in under a minute without running new simulations.
Impact & Results
Our tool reduces early-stage engineering lead times by replacing hours of manual CAD simulations with fast metamodel predictions. Tested on a Yaskawa case study, the final metamodel achieved a 24% relative error, making it a suitable tool for early approximation. For engineering and sales teams, this enables instant feasibility studies and quick quotation estimates. It provides a solid, data-driven starting point for further development without wasting engineering hours on early concepts. Ultimately, this integration proves how metamodels can successfully automate design workflows and optimize resource allocation from day one.
Partner Feedback
"With high drive, innovation, and innovative thinking, they have developed a tool that can be practically used in our design work. I see good opportunities to use their model in the near future in projects where we will develop a new machine type for our standard assortment. The model is time-saving and can generate configurations of components for optimized design."
– Håkan Johansson, Manager Design Engineering, Yaskawa Nordic
Project Team
- Kevin Samuelsson, MSc, Mechanical Engineering, 2026
- Isak Andersson, MSc, Mechanical Engineering, 2026
Image Gallery
Sustainable Development Goals
SDG 9 — Industry, Innovation & Infrastructure, SDG 12 — Responsible Consumption & Production