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Ansys Launches Simulation-Driven Design Tool for Next-Generation Capabilities

August 09, 2020 by Ben Stepanian

Ansys, a 3D design and simulation developer has launched a new instant simulation study tool to help accelerate design iterations.

New Simulation Tools

Since the release of its Discovery Live 3D platform in 2017, Ansys has been working on its simulation tools to ease and accelerate workflows. Ansys developed this software in an effort to help team collaboration in R&D departments.

 

Airflow analysis of F1 car. Image courtesy of Ansys.
 

“At Ansys, we have a vision and a goal about making simulation pervasive. We really want to expand the use of simulation,” says Justin Hendrickson, Director of project management and lead in software development.  “One of the big questions we have asked ourselves is ‘What do we have to do to allow simulation to be used by a broader group of engineers?’ Do we need to make it easier? Do we need to make it faster? Do we need to make it more interactive?”

 

Real-Time Results

This new software is meant for any engineer in a broad range of fields. The design criteria range from structural, semiconductor, flow simulation, thermal analysis, frequency analysis, and topology optimization tools. Ansys claims that this software reduces labor costs by up to 26% and increases design iteration capabilities by up to 60%.

With a more precise and accurate design study, safety and testing costs of prototypes are reduced by 19%. In the past, simulation studies of even the simplest designs could be time-consuming and mind-boggling, Ansys’s new software is an intuitive and time-saving platform that enables real-time solutions to a simulation study. This means no more playing with tricky meshing features, complicated physics setups, and lengthy study solving. Software that recognizes and automatically suggests improvements to your design will be as common as a pair of calipers in an engineer's toolbox. 

 

Fluid flow analysis of the valve. Image courtesy of Ansys.

 

Design can be a long and iterative process especially if the design is complex and needs to meet safety standards. This type of software is meant to make more accurate analysis predictions as well as speed up the learning curve on how to use 3D design and simulation study software which evidently will increase turnaround time for a product.

 

Designing the Future

Ansys hopes that this improved Discovery Live software will make remote collaboration seamless and unproblematic in the future. Ansys is also committed to further improving and advancing its design and simulation analysis tools. “We’ve found less than one in six engineers use simulation and this is what we want to change,” Hendrickson said. Ansys hopes that simulation studies will become more common in the industry and have been piloting their software through a range of different companies within the past year.

One of the companies impressed by this software package includes Cummins, a Fortune 500 company that produces diesel engines. “Ansys Discovery Line can help us potentially move faster, learn new things and help us be more innovative,” said Bob Tickel, director of structural and dynamic analysis, Cummins. “The tool allows us to use multiple physics and the results are practically instantaneous, so we can get answers to the quick ‘what-if’ studies very quickly – helping us engage more people in simulation with the ultimate goal of moving faster, better product on time.”

 

Structural analysis of wheelchair frame. Image courtesy of Ansys.

 

With the development of new technologies and the dawn of the 4th industrial revolution, design and simulation software has rapidly advanced. Advancements in simulation software open doors for an opportunity in the design and engineering field. In the past, normal hand calculations that could take a lot of time and effort to be able to make a design were considered sound engineering practices.

Luckily, someone was able to interpret these calculations into code and be made easily accessible to anyone who is savvy with simulation software. This advancement has since then cut down design times by a fraction of what they used to be and left more time and resources available to continuously improve software and newer engineering tools.