SimDesigner

CAD-Embedded Simulation

SimDesigner makes linear and nonlinear FEA, thermal analysis, and motion analysis capabilities from MSC Nastran, Marc, and Adams available within the CATIA V5 CAD environment. Many manufacturers want to bring simulation forward in their product development process to have functional performance analysis lead design, rather than simply validate design. This can be challenging in organizations that cling to an “over the wall” mentality between design and analysis engineers, as CAE engineers wait for detailed drawings to get started on even the most basic analysis, and in turn, design engineers wait for CAE to be completed. Worse yet, changes made late in the design cycle can increase costs by several orders of magnitude and significantly delay time-to-market.

Hexagon’s SimDesigner enables designers or analysts to perform analysis early by providing powerful linear FEA, nonlinear FEA, and multi-body dynamics solver technology inside of the CATIA V5 user environment. The benefits of providing easy to use analysis functionality within the familiar CAD environment include elimination of CAD translation & fixing, enabling simulation earlier in the design process, and correcting design flaws before products are ever seen by customers.

SimDesigner capabilities include:
Motion Workbench

  • Powered by Adams solver technology
  • Performs multi-body dynamic motion simulation on CAD assemblies
  • Simulates mechanisms including contact and friction
  • Automatically converts CATIA assemblies to motion simulation models
  • Support for flexible bodies to compute part deflections and stresses as a result of motion simulation
  • Seamlessly transfers load histories from Motion workbench to Structures workbench to create boundary conditions and loads on finite element models
  • Motion post-processing within the CATIA V5 application
Structures Workbench

  • Powered by MD Nastran solver technology
  • Performs linear statics, normal modes, modal analysis with differential stiffness, buckling, and modal frequency response
  • Includes nonlinear analysis capabilities for simulating large deformations, material plasticity, and nonlinear contact between components
  • Automatically apply loads extracted from the Motion Workbench as boundary conditions
  • Supports thermal-mechanical coupling when combined with the Thermal Workbench to investigate mechanical stresses caused by heat and thermal changes
  • Conduct multi-step analysis to simulate part behaviour undergoing a multi-step process
Thermal Workbench

  • Powered by MD Nastran solver technology
  • Performs steady-state and transient thermal analysis
  • Simulates heat transfer due to conduction, convection, and flux
  • Provides temperature distributions for subsequent use as boundary conditions in structural analysis
  • Automatic recognition of contact within assemblies (contributing to conduction behaviour)
Enterprise Gateways

  • Provide bidirectional access server-side simulation tools on high performance computer hardware (MD Nastran, Marc, LS-Dyna)
  • Exports ready-to-run solver input decks and imports simulation results without leaving the CATIA V5 environment
  • Schedules and monitors job submissions on remote queues

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D2S International offers consultancy services using finite element software from HEXAGON (MSC Software).

 

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