Press and Crimp; Design and Operation

It works, but how?
There are lots of cases where people can make something work, but don't know how it works. The problem for them comes when something goes wrong. Then they find out if they understand it.

Here's a mechanical engineering example.
A hydraulic, press and crimp operation, developed in the lab, was replicated for a production plant, but it didn't properly compress the contents.
The engineers who built the replica were sure it was a true one. But my careful analysis with a mathematical model showed that the details of the closing sequence and the previously ignored shear forces on the elastomeric crimp ring made a big difference to what went on inside. The model was able to explain the interior behaviour, not accessible to instrumentation. The result was a small design change, but a big improvement in results.

How to get help
If you have a problem in design or operation of a plant or process that might yield to some rational, independent quantified analysis, then please contact me. I'm always ready to give a bit of help, in confidence of course, to see if mutual benefit will come from further collaboration.