CD-adapco announced the winner of 2007 CAE Guru Competition

After an exhaustive two month search, CD-adapco today announced the winner of their "2007 CAE Guru Competition". Now in its second year, the competition was designed to highlight the best in CAE post-processing.

Stephen Ferguson, CD-adapco's Head of Marketing Communications, explains: "The quality of entries to the 2007 competition was staggering, which is a reflection both on the sophistication of our user-base and of the technological capability of our software. The ability to communicate engineering information while engaging with an increasingly non-specialist audience is a key skill for any CAE analyst. The entrants to this competition have demonstrated that, although people are becoming increasingly familiar with simulation generated imagery, a carefully generated CAE image still has the power to captivate."

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Dassault's SIMULIA Ships Abaqus 6.7 Extended Functionality. Adds multiphysics fluid/structure interaction, associativity to SolidWorks, collaborative modeling, material library tools, visualization

The release builds on SIMULIA’s promise of delivering a broader set of solutions within an open, unified simulation environment. New capabilities in Abaqus Version 6.7-EF include native technology for multiphysics fluid-structure interaction (FSI), an associative geometry interface to SolidWorks, collaborative modeling capabilities, tools for managing material libraries, and visualization capabilities for solid composites, as well as dozens of additional customer-requested enhancements.

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What's New: MD Nastran R2, 2.1

MD Nastran R2 and R2.1 bring powerful new analysis features and enhancements in the areas of contact; nonlinearity; noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH); acoustics; automotive powertrain; crash and occupant safety; high performance computing; assembly modeling; optimization; rotor dynamics; and aeroelasticity. The combined enhancements in MD Nastran R2 and R2.1 are summarized as follows:
- Contact in Linear and Nonlinear Solutions (MD Nastran introduces contact in linear and nonlinear solutions, with the ability to easily convert from linear contact in SOL 101 to nonlinear contact in SOL 400);
- Advanced Integrated Nonlinear Analysis (SOL 400 has been extensively enhanced for multistep nonlinear analysis of large strain and material behavior, with or without contact), Nonlinear Contact Modeling, Nonlinear Elements and Materials, Nonlinear Procedures, Crack and Delamination, Differential Stiffness, Relative Boundary Conditions;
- Implicit Nonlinear Analysis (SOL 600): Heat Transfer, Modeling Enhancements, Performance Improvements, Glued Contact,  Solver Options;
- Explicit Nonlinear Analysis (SOL 700): Airbags and Occupant Safety (Fluid structure interaction (FSI) is now available in SOL 700 to simulate the complex behavior of multicompartment airbags and their interaction with anthropomorphic test devices (ATDs) during crash scenarios); Time Domain Noise, Vibration, and Harshness (NVH); Prestress, Nastran Native Output, New Material and Element Formulations, Contact Features (SOL 700 now supports many new contact capabilities such as glued contact, tied nodes to surface, tied shell edge to surface, tied surface to surface, spot weld contact, single edge contact, and force transducers);
- NVH and Acoustics: Frequency Response Functions (FRFs) and FRF Based Assembly (FBA), Exterior Acoustics;
- Numerical Enhancements: Sparse Solvers,  Iterative Solvers, ACMS (Automated component modal synthesis), Other HPC Enhancements (MD Nastran R2 has been ported to the Microsoft Compute Cluster), Iterative Solver for Nonlinear Analysis, Memory Management, Sparse solver information output (MDTSTATS);
- Elements and Connectors: Connectors - a new seam weld connector element (CSEAM) is now available for assembly modeling; for spot weld elements (CWELD, CFAST), end point displacement output can now be obtained to view the relationship between the spot weld and the connecting shells, Composite Beam Using Variable Asymptotic Method (VAM);
- Optimization: Topology Optimization, Automatic External Superelement Optimization (AESO), Randomization (Prerelease);
- Rotor Dynamics and Aeroelasticity: Rotor Dynamics, Aeroelasticity, Spline Application Programming Interfaces (APIs).

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ANSYS Announces Distribution Extension with Livermore Software Technology Corporation (LSTC). Collaboration Provides Best-of-Class Software Products for Explicit Solutions from ANSYS

ANSYS, Inc. (Nasdaq: ANSS), a global innovator of simulation software and technologies designed to optimize product development processes, today announced a multi- year extension to its existing distribution agreement with Livermore Software Technology Corporation (LSTC). Headquartered in Livermore, Ca., U.S.A., LSTC develops and markets LS-DYNA^(R) software, a general-purpose transient dynamic finite element program capable of simulating complex real world problems. The long-term distribution commitment reinforces LS-DYNA technology as an integral part of the explicit simulation software suite from ANSYS, which also includes ANSYS^(R), AUTODYN^(R), an analysis tool for modeling the nonlinear dynamics of solids, fluids and gases as well as their interaction.

Explicit dynamics analyses deal with extreme short-time durations (events that typically occur in less than a second), as well as high deformations, large strains, fractures or complete material failure. Explicit solutions involve applications in impact, blast, drop testing, bird strike, metal forming, crashworthiness and other high-speed phenomena. The explicit solutions from ANSYS provide mission-critical analysis for the defense, space, automotive, power and manufacturing industries.

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Kubotek USA and ALGOR Expand Partnership for Co-Distributed CAD-FEA Solution

Kubotek USA, Inc. and ALGOR, Inc. jointly announced the expansion of their existing partnership with a new co-distribution agreement. ALGOR will distribute KeyCreator with its latest finite element analysis (FEA) software, ALGOR V21; and Kubotek USA will distribute ALGOR DesignCheck with KeyCreator 7.0. This complementary CAD and FEA software comes with a six-month license, providing thousands of ALGOR and Kubotek USA customers with a complete design-and-analysis solution.

KeyCreator provides translation, model repair, de-featuring, sectioning and general editing of 3D models from numerous popular CAD formats including ACIS, AutoCAD, Autodesk Inventor, IGES, Parasolid, SolidWorks and STEP. KeyCreator features Kubotek's new FaceLogic technology, which speeds selection and editing of design features in non-native solid models.

ALGOR DesignCheck allows users to verify individual parts with a first-pass stress analysis to virtually test the behavior of product designs, speed up time to market and make better, safer products at a lower cost. Powered by ALGOR's InCAD technology, ALGOR DesignCheck is fully associative with each updated model from Kubotek's KeyCreator and REALyze products.

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ALGOR Announces v21

ALGOR, Inc., a leading provider of design, analysis and simulation software, announced that its latest, major finite element analysis (FEA) software release, ALGOR V21, significantly upgrades the entire spectrum of FEA: modeling, solution and results evaluation and presentation. V21 provides ALGOR users with increased power, flexibility and ease-of-use for simulating engineering analyses of their product designs.

New and improved features include a behind-the-scenes representation of the CAD model (called the "virtual CAD" modeling layer) and meshing algorithms for better mesh matching and automatic contact in complex assemblies; calculation of mass transfer due to diffusion in 3-D transient analysis; full 3D display of 2D axisymmetric and planar model results (using rotation or thickness values); and enhanced reporting capabilities including a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) dialog.

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ANSYS, Inc. Named to Software Magazine's 25th Annual Software 500. Magazine Ranks ANSYS as one of the World's Largest Software Companies

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Today's Criteria for Choosing Design and Analysis Software

Over the past decade, the differences between competitive computer-aided engineering (CAE) software applications have narrowed significantly. Today, all leading analysis software packages work closely with computer-aided design (CAD), sport a Windows-style user interface and, for the most common analysis needs (linear static stress, linear dynamics, and heat transfer), provide technical capabilities that are practically identical to the competition. While there are certainly still some differences in capabilities, only a small percentage of users really care about those specialized features.

Finite element analysis (FEA) is a mature, proven software tool and, today more than ever, there are fewer differences to distinguish between competitive packages. Hence, it’s important for you to choose the vendor that will be the best overall partner for your company’s design and analysis needs now and in the future.

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Autodesk to Acquire Robobat for $42.5M. French company specialized in structural CAD and CAE, will join Autodesk's AEC division

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Microsoft adds FEA/CFD/CAE firms - Altair Engineering Inc., ANSYS Inc., CD-adapco and Livermore Software Technology Corp. - to partner ecosystem

Four engineering software firms - Altair Engineering Inc., ANSYS Inc., CD-adapco and Livermore Software Technology Corp. - have recently converted their engineering software to run on Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003, Microsoft Corp. reported Nov 14, 2007 at the Society of Petroleum Engineers Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition.

Engineering High-Performance Computing (HPC) solutions for small to midsize companies and departments has traditionally been cost prohibitive. However, Windows Compute Cluster Server clusters - which are built to integrate seamlessly with the firm's existing Windows-based environment - are easy and cost effective to deploy and integrate with existing infrastructures, easy to manage and use, and fast and accurate.

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