Additionally, analysis can decrease the time and expense of testing and validating these prototypes. Of course testing should be used to validate finite element techniques. By decreasing the testing and prototyping time, one can arrive at the production date quicker. Reduce the Cost of a Product Frequently, the reason for using analysis is to reduce the cost of components. Analysis can reduce the number of components in a system by assessing combined parts and optimising linkages.
Analysis can result in lighter parts and less expensive materials.
Additionally, the potential to reduce the factor of safety may reduce the part cost. The portion of the factor of safety resulting from inadequate design verification can be reduced inversely to the confidence gained by performing the analysis. However, factors due to unknown operating conditions will not change. A primary use of analysis throughout history has been to improve a product's performance. This is accomplished, for example, by reducing weight or increasing durability.