Watch: "Modern CAE Environment for the Automotive Industry"

Let me tell you right off the bat that you do not have to be in the automotive industry to get a lot out of the on-demand webinar waiting for you at the other end of today’s Check It Out link. Yes, the demos you’ll see, the handful of case studies you learn about, and some of lingo used are automotive-centric. No big deal. The key points hit all the big issues challenging design, engineering, and manufacturing outfits seeking to optimize their products and processes. And, obviously, if you are in the business, “Modern CAE Environment for the Automotive Industry” is something you really should watch.

OK, now, this on-demand webinar takes a look at what Siemens PLM Software believes is a movement away from specialized CAE (computer-aided engineering) tool environments toward a group simulation environment in which simulation-driven design and simulation data management are integrated. Four major trends drive this evolution: the need for earlier and faster simulations, simulations of more complex phenomena, simulations of larger models and whole systems, and the need to manage astonishing amounts of data and then deliver it in a way that is meaningful to designers, engineers, and analysts.

The presenter first dwells on each of these issues and then gets to the nub: a lack of cohesion in many engineering processes today. Silos of expertise are a big issue here. You have fragmented processes where multiple complex physics operations occur alone: someone is doing roof crash analysis here, environmental systems there, heat down the hall, acoustics at a third party, and so forth wherever. Files, while perhaps stored on a central server, are often localized. Collaboration means the Monday meeting and hand-offs, and hand-offs, as you know, are fraught with data translation and file preparation issues, not to mention delays.

The presenter then introduces NX CAE, Siemens’ multi-discipline CAE environment for advanced analysts, workgroups, and designers. NX CAE integrates analysis modeling with simulation solutions for structural, thermal, flow, motion, engineering optimization, multiphysics, simulation data management, and simulation-driven design into a single environment. He then maps NX CAE to the trends and the challenges in engineering simulation.

Well, more than merely “maps.” See, everything from CAD to meshing to optimization and data transfers to data management are hit upon. The presenter ties everything to demonstrations of NX CAE’s integrated functionality as well as Teamcenter data management. As he does this, he shows how an individual tool, say motion analysis, feeds from, feeds into, and enhances a simulation-driven design process. Of note, Siemens’ Synchronous Technology is explained by showing how it can reduce the time required for creating idealized CAE geometry, giving you faster time to optimization. Every so often, a real-world example is offered to buttress a main point.

The upshot here is that Siemens really did a good job with this 57-minute presentation, which was originally sponsored by Intel and hosted by Globalspec. Although the topic is vast, the presentation is in-depth—yet it moves quickly, holds your attention, and covers complicated issues in remarkably understandable detail. The hands-on demos, and there are a lot of them, should interest any engineer no matter her or his bailiwick. Hit the link over there, register, and see for yourself.

Thanks, Pal.  – Lockwood

Anthony J. Lockwood

Editor at Large, Desktop Engineering

Watch: “Modern CAE Environment for the Automotive Industry”