If there's one easy mistake to make when calculating the structural response of a component its to assume that at zero load there's zero stress (in fact its one of many easy mistakes, as we all know, but let's move on). Stresses locked in by the process, or processes, used in manufacturing are a fact of life, and like many facts of life we often choose to ignore them. Sometimes the stresses exist only to ruin your day, but sometimes they are there to help, and present by design, rather than being troublesome excess baggage from the day the part was made.
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