Example: An exercise bike that can support 250 lb. Does the engineer find a large enough weight that deforms the bike, then take a fraction of that as the amount it can support?
In: Engineering
These days the easiest way is FEA (finite element analysis). You take a CAD model of the structure, add constraints and loads and run a simulation to see how it responds. Typically you add a factor of safety of 3-5 maybe. So if I run an analysis and determine a structure will deform at 900 lbs load I would rate it for 300 pounds, that’s a factor of safety of 3. You can also do vibration analysis, corrosion, etc.
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