Reliability Engineering LLC is a niche consulting firm that delivers expert mechanical repair and alteration services for industrial and manufacturing clients across North America. Led by founder Joe Dexter, a Professional mechanical engineer with over two decades of experience in maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO), the firm specializes in rapid-turnaround, high-precision engineering support. By integrating SimScale’s cloud-native FEA platform into his workflow, Joe has been able to deliver detailed simulations and verified solutions in record time—even for high-risk, time-critical projects.
In a recent engagement, Joe was approached by Elite Millwright and Rigging to support an emergency machine replacement operation. The challenge: their client required immediate removal of a heavy industrial machine, but no existing lifting equipment was suitable for the task. Specifically, they needed a 20-foot spreader bar with a 20,000-pound load capacity—and they needed it designed, fabricated, tested, and operational within five days.
Joe quickly developed a plan using his standard workflow: onsite data collection, digital twin modeling in Onshape, and simulation-based structural validation using SimScale. Joe began by modeling the proposed spreader bar geometry in Onshape and exporting the assembly into SimScale for industrial equipment simulation. Simulation goals included:
By simulating stress distribution, load paths, and deflection behavior under applied boundary conditions, Joe confirmed the design would meet all performance and safety requirements. Within a single day, he had completed the model, run the necessary simulations, and delivered a validated design package to the fabrication team.
The fabrication shop completed the build over a weekend. Load testing was conducted on the following Monday to verify its mechanical integrity. On Tuesday, the spreader bar was deployed successfully, enabling the safe removal of the heavy machine with zero delays or field issues. This case is one of many in which Joe has leveraged SimScale to compress design and verification timelines from weeks to just hours.
Joe’s broader approach to engineering goes beyond one-off component design. His specialty lies in failure prevention through system-level thinking. Each project starts with a forensic assessment of potential failure modes based on his extensive MRO experience. After building a 3D digital twin of the asset—often from field photos and manual measurements—he uses FEA in SimScale to evaluate how proposed alterations, such as cutting an access hole or relocating a mount, could influence long-term reliability and safety. While FEA constitutes about 90% of his simulation work, Joe is beginning to incorporate CFD to explore more complex system behaviors. The accessibility of SimScale has made this transition smoother, especially for a small operation without in-house IT or simulation specialists.
Every change we make could create a new failure point. Simulation helps me see the ripple effects and design those risks out,
Joe Dexter
CEO at Reliability Engineering
In another high-impact project, Joe was called in to diagnose a persistent vibration issue affecting a pulverizing machine—used to grind industrial materials into fine powders. The equipment had been mounted on elevated steel structural supports but experienced excessive resonance when running. The machine would vibrate violently, shut down automatically, or incur damage. Using his simulation workflow, Joe tackled the problem from first principles:
The result was significant. The same machine that had previously failed to run consistantly due to extreme vibration could now operate quietly and smoothly so that it was barely audible. Joe’s redesign reduced vibrational amplitude by a factor of 10, greatly increasing mechanical life expectancy.
The criteria was clear—don’t excite any natural frequencies and build a rock-solid platform. Using SimScale, I designed a custom-fit base that removed resonance entirely. There’s a rule of thumb: cut vibration in half and you can increase machine life by x8. My design cut the overall vibration by a factor of 10. That’s a 40x improvement in expected machine life. That contributes significantly to my client’s bottom line when a single day of production is worth anywhere from $350,000 to $1,000,000 and it’s a big financial win for the client.
Joe Dexter, CEO at Reliability Engineering
With SimScale, Joe has built a nimble, simulation-driven engineering practice capable of solving complex mechanical problems at speed. Whether it’s optimizing structural components, diagnosing machinery issues, or designing bespoke lifting tools, SimScale provides the computational power, flexibility, and accessibility needed to succeed. In an industry where downtime is costly and safety is critical, Joe’s blend of experience and simulation capability sets a new standard for reliability in industrial engineering.
Embedding simulation in my work flow has enabled me to solve my clients’ maintenance and reliability challenges quickly. With the software (CAD and simulation) being cloud based I can use it anywhere where there is an internet connection and I don’t need to be tied to my office. Most of my clients are 100 miles or more away from my office and being able to make design changes from anywhere has proven beneficial many times over. I have leveraged SimScale to compress design and verification timelines from weeks to just hours.
Joe Dexter, CEO at Reliability Engineering
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