HyperWorks 12.0, with Emphasis on Composites, Optimization, and Collaboration
Altair Engineering, best known for its simulation software, is rolling out a major release of its flagship suite, HyperWorks. The comprehensive lineup covers every phase of design development and testing, from computational fluid dynamics (CFD, with AcuSolve), crash analysis (HyperCrash), sheet metal form (HyperForm), and meshing (HyperMesh), to structural analysis (OptiStruct), and more. The latest upgrade, HyperWorks 12.0, emphasizes the growing importance of composite materials, optimization, and collaboration. Continue reading
DE Writer Tony Abbey, Taking Your Simulation Questions on Thursday March 7
DE‘s contributing editor Tony Abbey, a recognized finite element analysis (FEA) trainer in NAFEM‘s classrooms and online courses, is planning to field your questions in a webinar titled “FEA for Managers & Reviewers: Ask Tony” (March 7).
So I took advantage of our editorial affiliation to toss him a question that’s been on my mind: How would you distinguish the terms “simulation” and “analysis”? Are they synonymous? Continue reading
Introducing CFD to Design Engineers: Part 1
Most designers and engineers today don’t think twice about running basic stress analysis on their CAD models. Mainstream mechanical design software programs — Autodesk Inventor, SolidWorks, Solid Edge, and PTC Creo, to name but a few — offer integrated stress analysis, often at no additional cost. What was once considered specialists’ domain is now second nature to general CAD users.
Simulation software developers are hoping, with intuitive interfaces and simplified dialog boxes, they can make general design engineers feel more comfortable performing advanced simulation tasks earlier during the design cycle. The aim is to encourage simulation-driven design — the use of digital simulation to identify the best geometry for the product, be it a camera housing or a crane. Continue reading
SolidWorks Goes After Simulation for the Masses
More than a decade ago, when stress analysis modules started showing up in mechanical design packages, users squirmed: Can we trust the software to accurately predict how steel and plastic shapes would deform under a certain weight or pressure? The inputs required are too complex. Where do I get these values? How do I make sense of the color-coded results? What does the Von Mises numbers say about my design?
But over time, the user interface for CAD-embedded linear stress analysis tools became simpler. Now, they have become so standardized that if you know how to perform stress analysis in SolidWorks, you can, with minimum training, perform the same task in Autodesk Inventor, Siemens PLM Software’s Solid Edge, or PTC Creo on first contact. Continue reading
Autodesk Launches Pay-As-You-Go Simulation
With the launch of Autodesk Simulation 360, Autodesk may have unintentionally redefined the acronym SaaS as Simulation as a Service. Debuting under the Autodesk 360 brand for cloud-related products, the new offering consists of three simulation software modules – mechanical, injection molding (Moldflow), fluid flow (CFD) — for desktop installation. But its distinct advantage is in the integration of cloud-hosted computing horsepower, delivered at the point where you need it. Continue reading
