Stories for Engineers by GSC

On Episode 4 of The GSC Podcast, Brandon, the host, talks to Dale Rice, a fellow Technical Account Specialist at GSC. Between Dale and Brandon together, they've visited and had conversations with 800-1,000 companies over the last 2 years. Having that number of conversations starts to provide insight about healthy engineering ecosystems and unhealthy ones. On this episode, we discuss an analogy of how the reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone National Park can be similar to an engineering department. What makes a healthy engineering ecosystem, and how small changes can have ripple effects throughout a department or organization. If you're interested in seeing the video that is referenced at the beginning of the episode visit the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSBL7Gk_9QUFor a really good guide to follow to create best practices, the company Basecamp has shared theirs. It's a really good starting point worth checking out:https://basecamp.com/guides/how-we-communicateIf you want to talk to someone about items related to your ecosystem, feel free to reach out at brandon.donnelly@gsc-3d.com

Episode of 3 of The GSC Podcast is an interview with Joe Messenger, the engineering manager at FCA Packaging.FCA Packaging is a manufacturer of custom packaging for shipping non-commodity type items. Think turbine blades, diesel engines, generators, and other large, industrial type applications. In the interview, Joe and I talk about FCA Packaging adopting simulation tools for structural analysis. We then move into how Joe established a best practices document for his team to use when approaching simulation and why that is important. Finally, we talk more generally about process improvement. The conversations are generally applicable to any engineering department. And well-worth the 45 minute listen. Note: In this podcast episode, you'll hear structural analysis, simulation, FEA, finite element analysis. All of them are referencing SOLIDWORKS Simulation and its ability to calculate displacements and stresses under loading. You may hear some terminology that isn't quite accurate, such as yield stress for wood, however, this is how the software displays it, so it's worded that way. If you have any questions about terminology, or other general questions as it relates to the episode, reach out at Brandon.donnelly@gsc-3d.comIf after listening to the episode you have usage for some additional packaging, please stop by the FCA Packaging websites shown below:FCAPackaging.comCollapsiblepackaging.comA couple other items Joe mentions that may be worth checking out:TrelloJotFormZapier

Large companies have teams of analysts who leverage the large scale of the company to squeeze out big dollars from small changes. The recycling of data is one of those things that big companies are making use of, that small companies generally aren't doing as thorough of a job with. On this episode of the GSC podcast, I share a story of the 10 generations of Honda Civics, how their design was inspired by the changes in the design tool technology and the sharing of data, and I leave you with 3 different ideas on how to reuse the data you've created while designing your product.Listen to this podcast and figure out how to extract maximum value from your data. If you have questions following the episode, please reach out:e: brandon.donnelly@gsc-3d.com || p: (630) 834-2233 x4101P.S. If you're interested in looking at the 10 generations of Honda Civics, please download the document at following link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1AfclvqPrlouq7GuUxYuyG7yuVThOxW4-/view?usp=sharing

Marketing and product design aren't separate skills anymore. Engineers need to think like marketers and vice versa.Tesla spends zero in advertising dollars vs. major automotive makers who spend $1-$4 billion. Yet, Tesla is still selling hundreds of thousands of vehicles. How are they getting so much bang, for zero bucks?The secret lies in making remarkable products.On this episode, I talk toilet paper history, Tesla, courage, and 3D Printing. Tying it all back to marketing. By listening to this episode, you'll gain some perspective on the technological shifts that have only happened within the last decade, and get a more concrete idea to make it work for you. Go ahead, put those headphones in while you walk, or sync your phone with bluetooth while you commute. It'll be worth the 13 minutes. For more information after listening to the episode:I've recently started documenting things that stand out as a remarkable product to jog creativity of ways to be different. I'm compiling them in photos on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brandon_m_donnelly/ There is a lot of food because it's such a common commodity that anyone in the food business needs to stand out, and because people shop for food more than any other item, so it's more likely to come across unique foods. You'll also see a digital painting, some laser cut wood art, a unique aesthetic on a toolbox and more as it grows.https://www.reuters.com/article/us-toyota-china-dentsu-exclusive/exclusive-toyota-pressed-to-innovate-is-cutting-marketing-costs-to-fuel-research-idUSKBN1JG3JH is the link to Toyota cutting their marketing budget to invest in product. Here is a link to learn about a couple different kinds of 3D Printers. The HP line is better for high quantities and Markforged is better for strong parts. https://www.gsc-3d.com/additive-manufacturing/To give yourself a sense of the return on this kind of investment, I've built a spreadsheet of some things to think through, you can view it here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WrNr9H1dYigu6NJejFZtXrR-Mm-OIBfj/view?usp=sharingThe guide to testing this business model is available at the following link: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1WTVIU8XXqY11CPufBOkiiVK-U0Nl3ORM If you want to chat about the information presented, you can reach Brandon Donnelly at brandon.donnelly@gsc-3d.com or call him at (630) 834-2233 x4101.You'll also see about 1 episode a month, and we'll continue to polish our sounds, add guests, discuss even beter topics! Please subscribe.