Mechanical Technology October 2015

⎪ Computer-aided engineering ⎪

to reductions in cost, development time, material consumption, and product weight, says Smith. “The program’s optimisation capabilities are sought after in multiple industries including aerospace, automo- tive, heavy equipment, architecture, and consumer products,” he adds. Altair is focused on the development and broad application of simulation technology to synthesise and optimise designs, processes, and decisions for improved business performance. Privately held with more than 2 300 employees, Altair is headquartered in Troy, Michigan, USA, and operates more than 40 offices throughout 22 countries. Today, Altair serves more than 5 000 corporate clients across broad industry segments. The solidThinking set of tools is aimed at structural analysis and op- timisation, as a precursor to full-scale CAD (pre-CAD). “Inspire’s power is in early design exploration and puts high level analysis tools in the hands of designers so that CAD users can focus on the detailing without worrying quite Inspire masks the complexity sur- rounding simulation and optimisation and makes it accessible to a less simu- lation-savvy audience. For example, the software treats tasks like creating mesh- es and boundary conditions in a way that’s friendly to non-experts so they can immediately dive in. Through its intuitive user interface, Inspire performs such tasks with the click of a button, opening up a world of optimisation possibilities for design engineers without any hand- holding or direction from time strapped simulation experts. In addition to its intuitive user interface, Inspire delivers simulation and optimisation capabilities that meet the needs of design engineers. It can depict stress distribution, displace- ment, or deformation characteristics like traditional CAE tools, plus Inspire helps design engineers determine the optimal load path and where materials can be tibody dynamics technology, combined with advanced optimisation algorithms, OptiStruct lets engineers analyse and optimise structures and mechanisms for their strength, durability and noise and vi- bration harshness (NVH) characteristics. While OptiStruct has the muscle to tackle the most complex design problems in great detail, Altair’s solidThinking Inspire unleashes the power of simulation and optimisation for concept designers during early idea validation.

The combination OptiStruct and Inspire puts simulation and optimisation within reach of mainstream designers.

so much about the structural or functional engineering side,” Smith exclaims. “Any company looking at lightweighting in prod- uct design has three basic options: using advanced materials; changing the topology/ geometry; or redesigning the entire product,” he adds. “solidThinking Inspire focuses on the topology/geometry optimisation option removed to improve the design. In a continuous engineering workflow, design engineers work with Inspire to come up with concepts that meet basic performance requirements, while CAE experts pick up where they leave off, leveraging OptiStruct’s more advanced functionality to further refine designs. Polaris, a snowmobile manufacturer, is driving efficiencies and design improve- ments throughout its engineering work- flow thanks to the use of OptiStruct and Inspire. On a specific chassis project with pretty rigorous weight reduction goals, Inspire was tapped during the concept stage to quickly identify the basic shape and engineering, while OptiStruct was brought in to refine the shape for manu- facturability and stress requirements.

Inspire and OptiStruct were also paired to help evaluate the weight reduction poten- tial of using aluminium as a substitute for steel in several subassembly structures. Not only did OptiStruct and Inspire help Polaris engineers substantially re- duce the weight of the structures, it also greatly reduced the number of design iterations – from 10 to 12 cycles down to 5 or 6. Simulation and optimisation work best as an integrated team that is put to use continually throughout the design workflow. By democratising the practices so they are within reach of mainstream designers, not just simulation experts, companies can achieve dramatic engi- neering efficiency that will steer them on a course to greater innovation. q

and, with Inspire 2015, users can do this faster and more easily and accurately than ever before,” he concludes. Earlier this year, solidThinking an- nounced the signing of channel partnership agreements with productONE, Rapid3D and Access CAD/CAM to introduce the South African market to solidThinking Inspire. q

With solidThinking Inspire 2015, Smith says users can do topology/geometry optimisation faster and more easily and accurately than ever before.

Mechanical Technology — October 2015

23