Editor’s Pick: CAE Software’s Weld Fatigue Prediction Improved

By Anthony J. Lockwood

Dear Desktop Engineering Reader:

Now, Michigan-based HBM nCode is an interesting outfit. Once called nCode International, it was renamed after it was acquired by the test and measurement specialist HBM GmbH, a German subsidiary of the British precision instrumentation and control manufacturer Spectris. Anyway, HBM nCode’s expertise is in services and products for durability engineering,  signal processing, data acquisition, data management, and operational monitoring and prognostics. Its markets are creators of big stuff—aerospace,  automotive, defense, energy, transport, and the like. So, with a pedigree running from DA through CAE, news that the company announced version 7 of its nCode DesignLife fatigue analysis software caught my eye.

The lowdown on nCode DesignLife is that it provides a bevy of fatigue and durability analysis capabilities—stress-life, strain-life,  multi-axial, and weld analysis. One more, virtual shaker table, the company says is unique in that it includes the ability to predict fatigue analysis in the frequency domain. The software is optimized for large model sizes and realistic loads, and it works with results from FEA apps like Abaqus, ANSYS,  LS-Dyna, and RADIOSS. It has post-processing features, a materials library, and optional modules for targeted specialties.

The deal with nCode DesignLife 7 is that it reportedly now provides a number of methods for calculating effective structural stresses at each weld location. The company says these methods are mostly enhancements for seam welds and that these calculations “more accurately reflect observed fatigue failure locations” by avoiding “hot spots” caused by discontinuities and approximations in the FE models.

Safety factor enhancements for performing better calculations when manufacturing thin sheet components are also a part of version 7. These let you account for plastic strain introduced during manufacturing processes. DesignLife also comes with something called GlyphWorks Fundamentals. Based on nCode GlyphWorks data processing system for engineering test data analysis,  GlyphWorks Fundamentals gives you basic data manipulation, analysis, and visualization functionality.

Lots more details on nCode DesignLife 7 are available in today’s Pick of the Week write-up. Make sure to hit the link at the end of the article to go to the nCode DesignLife page. On the top right look for the video. It’s a great example of what nCode DesignLife 7 could mean for you.

Thanks, pal.—Lockwood

Anthony J. Lockwood
Editor at Large, Desktop Engineering

Read today’s Pick of the Week write-up.

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