Seems like forever waiting for Inventor 2011 to be released. I have been running the BETA for literally a few months, I actually forgot that it was BETA. Quite a few tweaks to the Inventor interface and workflow, adding to an already solid – solid modeler.
The feature I found most interesting, was including a connection to Autodesk Fusion. As many know, its the modeling modeler that is offered for free on the Autodesk Labs site.
What that means to us CFD geeks is a free forming way to optimize my designs and let the simulation results drive my decisions. Check out Luke doing his thing above. Only the first steps with Fusion, stay tuned.
Most software companies tend to “surprise” us with their new release. Feels like a surprise, to us the user. In fact, I suspect its just as much a surprise to the development/release team as well. Up until about two years ago, we followed this same paradigm. We developed and released roughly annually and came out with just about 3-4, maybe 5 updates along the way. At the time, it seemed like it was working really well. We then took a step back and thought, what if we actually committed to a schedule?
The plan was an annual releases with quarterly updates. And get this, we planned to post the release dates to our user community. Seemed totally logical to me, the product manager. But, needless to say, there was quite an uncomfortable vibe in development and QA. Rightfully so, our product is immensely complex and we are tweaking and adding buckets of new functionality all the time. The pace takes a bit of getting used to. At the same time, we adopted a completely new development environment. Change is always good:)
Interestingly enough, the good people that develop ubuntu follow the same philosophy– they call it a “cadence”. Check out Mark Shuttleworth speaking about it below.
I am proud to announce that we are coming up on releasing our sixth release perfectly on time. The quality and predictability of our software has never been better. It allows us to respond to enhancement requests, fix bugs add new functionality and plan in a very efficient manner. The stress of delivering everyday is immense, but I feel that it’s what holds us all accountable. Not only accountable to the product, but accountable to the community.
I’m going to go on record to state that I’m a huge fan of “the cloud”. They are two words that seem to really send people into a bit of rage lately. People want a definition, they want clarity What is the cloud? Call it what you want, I don’t care, I know what you mean and I want it. I want it now.
I think my friend, “the cloud”, has gotten a bad rap. It definitely took a ribbing at SolidWorks World 2010, where engineers were trying to make a drinking game out of it all. My sense is that its easy to make fun of something that you either don’t quite understand or that you don’t exactly see the value. I suspect its the latter in most cases.
If you have read anything on The Virtual Engineer, you will know that I am a huge fan boy of the good ole “cloud”. What is my definition of the cloud? In very simple terms it is web-enabled, web-based, web-hosted, web-stored, web-collaborated computing. Common theme here, “the web”. We all use it, many of us depend on it and some of are are even slightly addicted to it.
upfront cfd external flow simulaiton
So, why does using the word cloud cause anxiety? I’ve been thinking about this for quite some time, because I clearly don’t get it. Am I the minority? Not sure. But, it dawned on me the other day that I have felt the pain of “the old way”. If you haven’t, I’m not sure you will appreciate the value. The old way is a collage of bloated hard drives, sorry-ass USB external drives, various copies of files, handfuls of thumb drives full of stuff. I’m tired of being a VPNing, remote desktoping, begging for more horse power, tired of ftp-ing slave to status quo. I want a new way. I want to have access to my files, wherever, from whatever- laptop, netbook, iphone. If I want to share my files, I want to be able to send a link to someone with highly encrypted password protected safety. I want to be able to, at a minimum, preview my files in a browser. How can I be the minority? Doesn’t everyone want this?
But, the above is just the tip of it. I’m a simulation driven, upfront CAE doing, design guy. I am drinking a Big Gulp size of the the Kool-Aid. But, you want to talk about pain. I’m not sure there is a better reason today for engineers to openly embrace the cloud than in the simulation community. But not just the simulation community, the “upfront cfd” simulation community. Why?
Design engineers tend to want to try numerous what-if scenarios, resulting in numerous back to back runs that ideally could run around the clock
CFD models are getting bigger and bigger and are requiring more and more power
Every design engineering department on the planet is trying to reduce cost of hardware, minimize capital investment- so paying for what you need, when you need it is a no-brainer
More and more engineers find that they are on the go, out of the office and need access to their data, models, computing power from anywhere
I think we are on the cusp of a major break through in the way we engineer. There are a ton of things that need to be figured out. Security, licensing, bandwidth, hardware etc are simply just the basics that need to be worked out. Exciting to see some of the most talented people in the world working on it.
If you are leveraging upfront CAE (fea, cfd & the like) than kudos to you. You are most likely a step ahead of your competitors. I’d love to hear your candid experiences, both good and bad. There was a big push for upfront CAE about 10 years ago. CosmosWorks, Design Space and others really gave some street credit to upfront structural and some thermal simulation. Hats off to them. They did a great job waking up the engineering community and making “upfront” a reality in the minds of engineers.
Unfortunately, they took the “top down” approach. They were both respectively veterans in the CAE space that had “analyst” tools that were successful in their own right, and now they were changing their tune and exposing their technology to the design community. They found themselves in a very difficult place. They were taking what they knew and tried putting it in different terms. So, the end result was making FEA “easy to use” and making structural analysis “possible for design engineers”. But, I bet if you poll engineers and ask them how many are looking for an “easy to use FEA tool” or an FEA tool created for “design engineers”. I suspect, you will get a mixed bag. Let’s face it, most engineers are not looking for an FEA tool or a CFD tool, for that matter.
Engineers and their managers are looking for a tool that allows them to make better design decisions, reduce the number or physical prototypes, provide information whether a design passed or failed based on some failure criteria. Right? Most engineers could care less that its FEA or CFD. They expect and in many cases, demand that its easy to use. They also should not have to deal with status quo. They need tools that help them make decisions.
Where am I going with this? Don’t be fooled when looking to improve your design process. Don’t just get in line and assume that the “traditional analysis” companies or even worse, the MCAD companies, really understand how to help you make better design decisions. Each one of them is focused 100% in what they do. And what they don’t do is upfront CAE.
Traditional FEA/CFD companies are focused on working with analysts. MCAD companies are focused on 3D design. Each has a “solution” for you or so they claim. But, the reality is they are not focused on what you need.
There are very few companies that know and own the “upfront” FEA and CFD markets. Go out there, bang on google, cream rises to the top.
Don’t take my word for it. See for yourself. But, don’t believe the hype. Make sure you are making the right decision.
Informal invitation to all CFdesign users attending SolidWorks World 2010. I will be there Monday and Tuesday and would love to grab 5 mins to chat, say hello, grab a coffee and just frankly learn how we can make CFdesign better.
We have been working really hard on the 2011 release and I think you will like what you see. If you are interested, shoot me an email and we can catch up.
Even if you aren’t able to attend or meet, I’d love to grab a few minutes to listen.
Who says print is dead? It just needed an overhaul. The boys at DEVELOP3D are changing the way we all view print media. Their magazine is targeting those of us in the Computer Aided Engineering field. Fancy term for 3D MCAD, FEA, CFD, MFG geeks. Their magazine is written in a modern, no BS format- fun read.
They just announced an iphone app today. Putting their magazine- present, past and future right on my phone. It’s killer. The layout is slick, super slick. Allows me to page through, just as you’d expect. But, also gives me the ability to bookmark and share!! The sharing has so much potential. Allows me to purchase the magazine and when I am done, I can shoot it to a friend for 90 days. I can ask for it back at anytime. If my request is ignored, it will auto release it in 10days. Realizing this is the first pass on this. In the future, total control of sharing period with the ability for me to bookmark and share specific articles even if it sends a web link to the online version would be solid.
What about the future? Knowing these boys, I’m sure they are already thinking of the 2.0 version. I’d like twitter access to post above said links to an article. Reading on my iphone, see an article, I like, tweet it and send the world the link.
This all is exciting stuff with a whole new look on print media. Who says its dead?
We’ve been working hard fine tuning CFdesign 2010 to fix any issues and adding a few nuggets of goodness. This is the first of 3 scheduled Updates that will be posted quarterly. To grab it, simply click on the Downloads section of the CFdesign Customer Portal.
One of the areas we have spent some time is updating many of our CAD launchers to stay as current as absolutely possible with all of our MCAD partners. We have added support for..
SolidWorks 2010
Solid Edge ST2
UG NX7
We have also added further integrated support for Autodesk Revit Arch and MEP 2010. This is a really exciting area for us lately. Some very cool AEC applications out there and a massive push for greener, more efficient thermal comfort demands. Check out Parker, doing his thing..
We have also been spending alot of time as a company testing out windows 7. We are officially win7 certified. Pretty psyched to see Microsoft continuing to polish and refine. Personally, I have been running Vista for years without issues. It’s way better than archaic XP. This is coming from a die-hard linux fan. But, when it comes to CAE software- driving MCAD and CFdesign all day, win7 is where the party’s at..
Lots of other little goodies are in the Winter Update. You owe it to yourself to stay current, grab it install it and have some fun.
I will point out the obvious and state that 2009 was a brutal year for many. Lots of organizations doing a bit of soul searching and digging in to try and reinvent themselves. Hopefully!
Those of us in the CAE or CAD industry are no different. Even though business has been slower than normal, the expectations have never been higher. It is interesting that many organizations went quiet for many months, but they are beginning to show their faces and have some big, big plans. Let’s take a look at some of the big topics of 2009.
Direct Modeling Wars
This has been one of the bigger topics to hit the MCAD market in five years. The boys at SpaceClaim broke onto the market preaching the concept as the next thing since sliced bread. Interestingly, they took a fair amount of criticism from the “traditional” parametric fanatics. But 2009, has seen all of the major MCAD vendors jump on the push/pull bandwagon. Some have gone all in and some have integrated direct modeling on top of the parametric based system.
Autodesk has Fusion.
Siemens has Synchronous Technology
PTC has CoCreate
SpaceClaim takes it to the next level with multi-touch.
The reality is that I don’t believe we have seen even the beginning of where this technology will take the engineering community. I don’t think anyone questions that there are obvious benefits to being able to sculpt and modify geometry from anywhere. The concept is still fairly new and a bit too disruptive for mass adoption. I suspect that the next year we will see some big things in this arena.
Upfront Simulation
A topic that has been near and dear to my heart for the last 12 years. I have been a believer from the beginning. Seems so simple. Leverage your existing 3D model, simulate upfront early in the design phase repetitively, until the optimal design is obtained and then physically test it to validate. Reduces the design cycle, reduces failure in the field etc. But this concept is still slow to be adopted.
We have seen a number of big advancements in this field this year. Both Solid Edge and Inventor have embedded FEA solutions. The bigger news is that both Siemens and Autodesk have much broader plans when it comes to simulation, well beyond a simple embedded solution. They are both a number of years behind Pro/Mechanica and the boys at SolidWorks, but clearly will expose this concept to a whole pool of new engineers.
CFD is now becoming a household name. It used to be the scary term that only the geekiest of the geeks was able to discuss. But we are seeing that it is the fastest growing market in CAE. ANSYS confirmed it and transformed themselves from a hardcore structural simulation company into a CFD house with the acquisition of Fluent.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, we at CFdesign, are changing the way people interact with CFD. We continue to target design engineers and have proven time and time again that CFD can help reduce physical prototypes, save failures in the field and increase innovation. But, more importantly, it can be driven by design folks and doesn’t have to be an analyst only tool. The introduction of the multi-scenario design study environment opens the flood gates to what design engineers can do with CFD.
Goliath Acquisitions
Feels like a giant love fest that everyone is buying everyone. What used to be a fairly broad landscape of small software companies is now narrowing itself down to a few behemoths. ANSYS has established themselves as the one stop shop simulation powerhouse. So far so good with regards to their position in the market (stock price-wise), but they have a long rode ahead. Keeping the dedicated user base of each acquisition happy is no simple feat. This extends way beyond the stock price. If you are not careful, you risk pissing off your dedicated user base and are now a bloated has-been. Time will tell.
Autodesk is also making a serious move into simulation with the acquisition of Algor and Moldflow. Interesting combination to say the least– complete ends of the spectrum. But in perfect Autodesk fashion, nothing happens without a well calculated plan. From my perspective, the integration seems slow, but talking to some of the higher ups at Autodesk, they feel to be “right on track”. After speaking with some of the dedicated users at #AU2009, I’d say their assessment isn’t far off.
Dassault appears to be playing a chess game of late. They are making very slow, but allegedly strategic moves. I am referring to DS as a whole. I think the boys at SW are always raising the bar. But the bigger V6 initiative has me perplexed. Conceptually, I think I get it and think it has some potential, but I’ll be damned if I can explain exactly what it is. I’d post a You Tube video that explains it, but couldn’t find one that made sense. If you are listening DS, I’d be happy to do a review of V6, but need someone to explain it to me. I’m sure its me.
Apple jumps into the Game
Tons and tons of buzz about who supports the Apple platform. Initially, I thought it was a bunch of hype, but seems like everyone is getting into the game. Macs were everywhere at #AU2009, lots of buzz at PLM World and I’m anxious to see the reaction at #SWW2010.
I have to admit, I am skeptical. I think Apple puts out some nice products and they are really riding the wave pretty well. But the engineering community is a whole different breed, they tend to be slow to become fanboys. Sure, there are exceptions, but the price of the hardware for Apple may be its downfall in mass adoption in engineering companies. I predict that we will see slow (perhaps steady) adoption by the early adopter/power user types, that’s about it for now.
Cloudy Forecast
Seems like everyone is gearing up for the “cloud”. It is on everyone’s radar, but few have jumped into the deep end. As I reported from #AU2009, Carl Bass was as direct as any exec I have seen on where it plays into the big picture.
Seems logical that we will see this as one of the faster growing trends in CAE. The big question will be where will it stick. Data management and collaboration seem like no-brainers. But, being on the simulation side of the house, I suspect computing power will be the biggest bang for the buck. The challenge here is user experience. Everyone will agree that running on a cluster in the cloud is faster, but the implementation of it sucks right now. Bandwidth is finally becoming reliable, but thinking of having “power” in the sky isn’t part of the mainstream workflow. I think this will change big time in the near future.
Mobile Engineering
No doubt the iphone has changed the way people think of mobile computing. It seemed like the thing to do in 2009, to rush out and create an iphone app for your product. Dassault did it. Autodesk did it.
Initially, I thought it was fad over function. But, I think it will play more and more of a role in our engineering lives. Probably not in the form that it exists today, but the fact is people are attached to their phones more now than ever. They will no doubt be a natural extension in the CAE space.
The potential is endless. Obviously, the sketching tools and accessing drawings will be a standard. But interacting with simulation will be critical. Models will only be getting larger and the more the computing is being pushed to the cloud, the more the need to monitor, interact and publish the raw data will grow.
Social Media is here to stay
Yes, even engineers are tweeting and blogging and even facebooking. Seems very non-engineering of us to be so social. But, I am convinced that the adoption of the tools will continue to grow. Maybe, not the tools as we see them today, but there isn’t a more diverse, opinionated, knowledge craving group than engineers.
PTC went so far to coin the phrase, “Social Product Development“. I know there are quite a number of eyes rolling, but I don’t think they are far off the mark. Conceptually, that is, implementation will be key.
As many of you know, I am a big fan of twitter, facebook, linkedin, flickr and you tube (see side bar for links). It is more than a fad for me, its part of my personal and professional life. The key is simply being plugged in and connected with those around me. The challenge is wading through the bullshit when it comes to social media. Many are overwhelmed, don’t know where to start and couldn’t be bothered. What do I say to them? Take the time, expand your comfort zone and see what is out there. You might be surprised that there are tools out there that can actually help you stay current and communicate with a world that you would otherwise not know exists. Check out Jeff’s @lifeupfront’s take on it.
Conclusion
This is only a small slice of what happened in 2009. The exciting part is that many of these topics are fairly new in our world. CAE has been on the steady climb over the last few years with performance and user experience. These topics are still growing leaps and bounds, but they are now just expected. The real game changers are the ones that are thinking outside the box, beyond our comfort zones. Personally, I am perfectly ok with that.
In classic CFdesign tradition, here is a quick fun video that Luke put together for the holiday season. Pretty cool little mobile that is simulating candles burning, heating up the air which in turn, makes the air rise and turns the mobile itself. So in other words, “candle powered mobile. Have some fun with it. Happy Holidays!!
Not a video person, here are some images that should knock the scrooge out of you.
A mechanical engineer that is obsessed with technology. I am the Product Manager for CFdesign and work in a virtual office in Philadelphia, PA USA. Outside of technology, I am an avid Liverpool FC supporter and a massive phan of the band PHISH.
My sense is that its easy to make fun of something that you either don’t quite understand or that you don’t exactly see the value. I suspect its the latter in most cases.
RSS
A mechanical engineer that is obsessed with technology. I am the Product Manager for CFdesign and work in a virtual office in Philadelphia, PA USA. Outside of technology, I am an avid Liverpool FC supporter and a massive phan of the band PHISH.
