CAD and FEA User Interface Evolution

Editor’s Note: Tony Abbey develops and teaches both live and on-line FEA classes. He also provides FEA mentoring and consultancy. Contact [email protected] for details.

Because of its long-established roots and legacy, a typical FEA interface is usually unique in its layout and workflow. Of the five or six major FEA programs I’ve used, there is virtually no commonality. The fundamental tasks are clearly present, defined by:

• geometry creation and manipulation;
• material and physical property definition;
• loads and boundary condition specification;
• meshing;
• analysis setup and launch; and
• post-processing.

However, the route through the user interface to achieve those tasks is often convoluted. There is a steep learning curve required to become proficient with a particular FEA user interface. The idiosyncrasies of each FEA solver are also tightly linked to this learning curve. A new user has two objectives: to learn how to drive the user interface and to learn the subtleties of the underlying FEA program. In my personal experience, it takes around six months of active work in a particular product to become fluent and proficient. The products are so different that mastery of one does not speed up the learning process for the next one! It is also difficult to remain current on more than one product at a time.

The traditional FEA interface is based around FEA data creation. Any geometry manipulation is secondary to the primary objective of creating a mesh. This means that the emphasis is on mesh manipulation, using any geometry as a basic starting point.

CAD-embedded User Interface

The CAD-embedded FEA interface typically inherits menu structure and workflow from the main CAD program. This has the advantage for the user in that the main FEA tasks indicated previously are usually well laid out in a familiar environment. On the face of it, the route through these tasks to create a finite element analysis looks straightforward. However, there are quite a few variations on workflow between the different products, so it is not always easy to transfer experience from one to another.

However, the learning curve with the embedded CAD products is much shorter than the traditional FEA interfaces.

Pros and Cons of Approaches

I know many engineers who are advocates of one or the other traditional FEA tools. Mastering the idiosyncrasies of a particular tool is seen as a badge of merit. This experience is often hard won. But it can put an analyst in the position where the full power of the FEA solver can be accessed. The term “power user” is a good description of someone who has made this level of commitment.

Power users are frustrated when attempting to use the CAD-embedded products, as they do not allow access to more advanced aspects of the FEA solver. In some cases this limitation prevents an analyst from being able to carry out the FEA work required to sufficient depth or demonstrated levels of accuracy.

On the other hand, many users will be happy using the basic FEA technology. For them, the ease-of-use of the CAD-embedded product will be far more attractive.

A Crossroads?

We are likely reaching a crossroads now. The CAD-embedded FEA products must extend their depth if they wish to be taken seriously by the analyst community. On the other hand, the traditional FEA products must improve their user interface and workflow to avoid the major learning curve burden.

The traditional FEA interface is starting to undergo a makeover in many products, and it will be interesting to see if these will be able to eclipse the advantages of the embedded CAD environment. However, the products we see are a result of harsh market realities. Progress will be dictated by the market. Do the CAD companies want to cater to the relatively small number of advanced FEA users? Do the traditional FEA companies want to embrace more of the casual FEA users?

Tony Abbey works as training manager for NAFEMS, responsible for developing and implementing training classes, including a range of e-learning classes. Check out the courses available: nafems.org/e-learning.