Analysis and simulation are at the heart of a successful project. Components exist to perform specific tasks in the system to which they are joined. The environment, the forces the component will see, and the net shape are all part of a tradeoff between features and cost. Exploring these relationships early in the design process allows time to optimize the casting shape, and generate the greatest overall part economy.       Our design process begins with the apparent functional requirements, defining the forces at work on the casting, and then builds a solid model in PROE or IDEAS to work from. We then perform FEA analysis to evaluate the initial design concept. Using ANSYS and SDRC to analyze the structure, we feed the results back to the customer and the designers for improvement. We typically run a flow simulation at this phase to look at the casting process behavior and identify any flow problems that can be addressed in the design. This will be performed in Novacast or Flow3D. We will continue to suggest improvements backed by analysis results until the design freeze moment halts the process or we feel the casting is fully optimized. This includes aspects of the design like least overall-cost casting weight, flatness, twist and bow predictions, bundled functionality, and minimized machining features.