For years, simulation had been mainly used by analysts or large companies in the transportation or aerospace industries. But a software called Simulia, powered by Dassault Systèmes' 3DEXPERIENCE platform, is working to bring a new paradigm that allows smaller companies to take advantage of simulation early in the design phase.
"We've been working with SolidWorks to develop what we call the ModSim solution," Simulia R&D Product Management Director Delphine Genouvrier said. "'Mod' for modeling, 'Sim' for simulation. That term is very important because we don't want to do any more design on one side and simulation on the other side. We want the user who is designing the product to transform, to innovate the product."
During Dassault's 3DEXPERIENCE World conference in February, the company emphasized that all users, from small to large companies, could benefit from the value of simulation.
Dassault showcased two firms at the conference that use the Simulia solution. One of the customers was Resemin, a large Peruvian manufacturer that produces underground mining drill rigs. The other was Practical Engineering Solutions (PES), an American consulting agency.
By bolstering the company’s SOLIDWORKS installation with 3DEXPERIENCE Works roles, PES has cost-effectively capitalized on new business opportunities, such as development of the stern-mounted A-frame on a large ship.Dassault Systèmes
"What is interesting with PES, it's a smaller company," Genouvrier said. "They were already focused on the oil and gas industry, and then they faced some decrease of business just being focused on one industry, so they wanted to widen up and to find new business opportunities. Now using our solution, they're able to answer to more needs, to more consulting services."
Tyler Cook, P.E., an operations manager at PES, said the company set a goal in 2022 to increase its revenue from 2021 by 15%. By the end of 2022, the company managed a 30% revenue increase.
"Nearly 15% of our revenue in 2022 was directly tied to projects that were executed in the 3DEXPERIENCE platform, most of which we would not have taken on without the [Simulia] solver."
Cook admitted learning how to set up a finite element method (FEM) simulation proved difficult. Figuring out where to mesh parts and how to combine the individual meshed parts in an assembly of meshes before starting the solver took a few tries to get right. Once PES attained the proper FEM setup, Cook said the company saved significant time.
PES executed more projects that required analysis power with 3DEXPERIENCE Works simulation solutions including a scissor lift rated for 30,000 pounds.Dassault Systèmes
While PES has been using the ModSim approach since the company's inception, Genouvrier gave an example of a company called France Joint that had never used simulation before.
"[France Joint] had a need to simulate seals," Genouvrier said. "But seals are very complex in their physical behavior because you need to understand how it's going to get in contact with the global enclosure. Because of the democratization that we've been working on, that user that never used simulation is now a super user and said, 'I'm transferring myself from a designer to an engineer because I can access this tool.’"
The Simulia team is also working with machine learning and AI to advance its services. Genouvrier mentioned one unnamed user's desire to invent a new material because they wanted to challenge the physical behavior of a solution. According to Genouvrier, the machine learning under Simulia’s hood could help the user create various material scenarios.
Additionally, Simulia is developing AI for the automation aspect. It is not in production yet, but Genouvrier said automating as many tasks as possible would help deliver Simulia's promise of democratization in simulation, to extend simulation capabilities beyond power users and empower the average user to use the tools.
"Our communities always challenge us on making the enduring process faster, easier and more automated," Genouvrier said. "You could imagine at one point, you will not see any more simulation. You can imagine that you will design your product, and in the background, we'll have simulations running, providing feedback to the designers saying, 'This idea of design is not the right one; this one might be better.'"
