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Overview VEXTEC has cracked the genetic code of materials. And just like the genetic code for living creatures, this code is resident in every material’s microstructure, and it determines how that material behaves. In fact, cracking this “microstructural DNA” is the key to understanding how different materials behave within a product, and more importantly, predicting how the product is going to behave. We call the capability Virtual Life Management™. Why is it significant? Because by understanding how materials behave at the microstructural level, VEXTEC can simulate the life expectancy of any part in a complex product system. Put enough of those parts together and we can simulate the life of an engine, a vehicle, or an entire product fleet. That information has profound financial implications for every aspect of your business from product design to warranty, and everything in between. Just as doctors are using genetic information to direct remarkable new treatment regimens for previously incurable diseases, so too, will you finally be able to make informed decisions about how to make, spend and save money in every area of your business. Virtual Life Management is now possible for several reasons. First, computing power has accelerated in performance and decreased in price to the point where complex simulations of this type are not only economical, but practical as well. Second, physical testing simply takes too long and costs too much, and in the end, only presents a handful of data points at best.”What if” scenarios cannot possibly be explored without repeated testing under alternative conditions. Third, and most importantly, VEXTEC’s patented application of its breakthrough work in material science now makes it possible to derive very quickly a whole universe of complete, accurate life cycle predictions of everything from a single part to an entire fleet. Without such information, today’s manufacturers continue to operate at the mercy of the inherent variability of their systems. While these include sophisticated manufacturing techniques, and advanced metallurgy, they still provide no more insight about the future performance of their output than the village blacksmith could provide about his, a hundred and fifty years ago. In other words, they are essentially blind—blind to the performance of their parts, blind to the potential problems those parts could cause, and blind to the real costs of critical parts until it’s too late. If a run of parts is bad or the materials are defective in the field, it’s not the manufacturer that finds out about it first. It’s the customer. Repair work, replacement, warranty charges, dissatisfied customers, perhaps even a mass recall with the attendant damage to the company’s brand image are just some of the financial consequences these companies face every day.
But it doesn’t have to be that way. Imagine being able to accurately predict the useful life of a single part, or an entire engine, vehicle, or even a whole fleet—before they’re ever built! Imagine being able to create maintenance schedules and warranty programs without guessing how much they’re going to cost. Imagine building more reliable products, and getting a reputation for such products. How much would that reputation be worth? Those are just a few of the many, many benefits Virtual Life Management has to offer.
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