Anchor Light is an advanced mechanical engineering consultancy led by Dustin Olender, a veteran in the field of simulation with over 20 years of experience in FEA, CFD, and structural modeling. Specializing in high-performance components for ocean technology, environmental monitoring, and filtration systems, the company offers critical simulation expertise to clients who often lack in-house resources. Using SimScale, Anchor Light has accelerated design iteration, enhanced reliability, and significantly reduced prototyping cycles for components exposed to high pressures and complex flow conditions.
Dustin Olender is the Chief Product Development Engineer at Anchor Light. Dustin holds a PhD in Mechanical Engineering, and has years of experience in high-tech manufacturing and research environments. He’s actively consulting for SMEs undertaking new technology development, providing design and/or business consulting. Dustin’s journey began in forestry and force sensor design but expanded into oceanographic instrumentation, where deep-sea conditions require robust engineering solutions. Today, Anchor Light services a wide range of clients who demand fast, reliable, and cost-effective simulation support—particularly where prototype testing is expensive or logistically challenging.
While water filtration projects highlight real-world design iteration under regulatory constraints, Anchor Light’s core clientele lies in ocean technology—specifically instrumentation deployed at depths of 1,000 to 6,000 meters, where pressures exceed 9000 psi. These include:
Many of these devices are not human-rated, but reliability is paramount due to the operational complexity and cost of deep-sea deployments. Simulation is used extensively to:
Dustin frequently employs SimScale’s multi-purpose solver for multiphase and convective simulations, and uses passive scalar tracking to model contaminant transport (e.g., CO, pressure gases). In some cases, he simulates dynamic deformation in FEA to study pressure-induced shape changes. A recent example of this is a high pressure filtration device.
One notable project involved a client manufacturing a water filtration unit subject to NSF (National Sanitation Foundation) standards, specifically a rigorous 100,000-cycle pressure test to ensure drinking water safety compliance. During testing, the unit failed—developing a leak. Preliminary speculation pointed to a cracked internal plastic component known as the top lid. However, with minimal diagnostic feedback from the testing lab and no clear visual evidence, the root cause remained uncertain.
Anchor Light deployed SimScale’s FEA tools to simulate the structural behavior of the component under cyclic loading. The results showed that cracking was unlikely—a key insight that redirected the investigation. However, the o-ring embedded within the top lid showed abrasion, likely caused by oscillatory motion during the pressure cycles.
Simulation allowed us to confirm that deformation levels were high enough to cause the o-ring to slide and abrade. That insight wasn’t visible in the physical test and helped narrow the focus
Dustin Olender
Founder & Director at Anchor Light
Through SimScale, Dustin explored multiple design optimizations including replacing four threaded rods with six for improved load distribution and reshaping the top plate to mirror the bottom plate’s more stable profile. These changes, validated through quick-turnaround simulations using SimScale’s linear FEA solvers, led to significant reductions in deformation and eliminated o-ring wear. The revised design passed the NSF test with no further leakage issues.
A key strength of our approach is the integration between CAD and simulation. With all designs created in Onshape, the SimScale import process is frictionless—geometry is transferred directly, enabling rapid meshing and simulation setup. This smooth pipeline allows for real-time collaboration with our clients, a high-volume simulation throughput and fast iteration cycles on component design. SimScale’s ease of use, speed, and cloud-based access lets us move from CAD to validated results in minutes. For FEA work, that’s a huge productivity win.
Dustin Olender
Founder & Director at Anchor Light
Anchor Light fills a critical gap for SMEs and startups that often lack specialized simulation engineers. By offering simulation-as-a-service, Dustin can shorten product development timelines, reduce reliance on over-prototyping, and provide hard data to support engineering decisions.
From filtration units subjected to 100,000-cycle tests to instrumentation operating miles under the ocean’s surface, Anchor Light demonstrates how cloud-native simulation via SimScale can reduce development risk, improve product reliability, and accelerate innovation across pressure-intensive environments.
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