Finite Element Analysis Software “Democratizing” Simulation
Finite element software traces its lineage back to the 1960s, when the US government developed the original NASA Structural Analysis System (NASTRAN) code for CAE simula-
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tion before releasing it into the public domain, noted Meintjes, who spent 30 years at GM in product engineering develop- ment. At CIMdata’s recent PLM Road Map event in Plymouth, MI, in October, Meintjes cited this “democratization” trend in CAE moving simulation to the masses, with software developers making FEA systems easier to use and more widely available in CAD-embedded versions. “They’re getting faster, better, and easier to use, so you can spread it around to more users,” Meintjes said. “In other words, you can embed it in the tools that people are using. The software is vastly better than it used to be. People discount that or don’t appreciate that, but the software is really very capable.” Automating and simplifying simula-
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tion processes has broadened the tools’ use, noted Jeff Brennan, chief market- ing offi cer, Altair Engineering Inc. (Troy, MI), who spoke on a simulation panel at CIMdata’s conference. Altair recently added Basic FEA, a user profi le that exists on top of its HyperWorks soft- ware. “We’re investing a lot in new user experiences, both on the direct model- ing side but also on integrated tools like topology optimization,” Brennan said. “Our next-generation interface is made quite simple, showing topology results that are then pushed into CAD.”
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Automation improvements also have made FEA meshing easier. With Siemens PLM Software’s Femap and NX Nastran, users can clean up geometry in the model within Femap before NX Nastran creates the FEA simulation, noted Al Robertson, product market- ing manager, Siemens PLM Software (Plano, TX). “These programs work with each other, with Femap being the pre-processor and postprocessor, and Nastran is the actual solver.”