Automated Design of Packaging Cushions for Withstanding Drop Tests

Abstract

A method is described to automate the design of foam packaging cushions to ensure that the packaged product does not fail when subjected to dropping. This methodology includes CAD instructions to automatically create packaging shapes and an iterative search for optimal cushion thickness using Finite-Element Analysis (FEA) simulations. The FEA is correlated to real drop-test data and the foam material is modeled in its interaction with the product. While the entire process takes over 2 hours, the result can save engineers significant time to find packaging solutions and can produce solutions that are smaller than conventionally over-designed packaging solutions. The paper presents the detailed steps of the methodology and shows results for two example products.