It's like taking a continuous curve and breaking it into pieces. Otherwise, the form is too complex to analyze.

These are all problems in which a shape needs to be modified. In the case of solder, you are talking about what shape a droplet should take - the boundaries of the droplet are constantly modified until the optimal shape is found.

These are all problems in which a shape needs to be modified. In the case of solder, you are talking about what shape a droplet should take — the boundaries of the droplet are constantly modified until the optimal shape is found.

These are all problems in which a shape needs to be modified. In the case of solder, you are talking about what shape a droplet should take - the boundaries of the droplet are constantly modified until the optimal shape is found.

That is a big and complex code. If you take problems like finding the optimal shape for common automotive and aircraft structures, you have to somehow find the shape that has the least weight but at the same time won't break. We call that process shape optimization or topology optimization. These shapes have holes in them for bolting them in place or to reduce their weight. You have to decide whether to have one hole or two holes or 10 holes in a part, exactly where to put those holes and how to shape the holes.

The overall philosophy behind the design approach can be extended to enable one to understand the impact of changes in suppliers' components on the performance of a complex system without revealing details of the components or the system. This will enable suppliers to retain their proprietary design knowledge without revealing each other's intellectual property. Such strategies are critical as products are increasingly designed and produced in a globally distributed manner.