The FiberSIM 2010 Mesh Map allows efficient and more accurate data exchange between design and analysis. Quicker and more frequent iterations result in products of the highest durability and lowest weight possible.
A developer of industry-specific engineering software and services has released FiberSIM 2010, the latest version of its engineering software for designing and manufacturing innovative, durable, and lightweight composite structures. Many features of the new software were inspired by the adoption of composites in a growing number of industries. As a result, Sinomatech Wind Power Blade Co. and Bombardier Aerospace tale advantage of innovations in composite materials and their manufacturing.
The software has capabilities to optimize designs and increase productivity throughout the composites design and manufacturing lifecycle – including rapidly adapting to design changes, predicting manufacturability issues, and improving communication between internal departments and the supply chain. FiberSIM can be used individually or as part of VISTAGY’s AeroSuite, software that lets aircraft designers and manufacturers engineer optimized parts and assemblies in less time at lower cost from preliminary design to quality. AeroSuite also includes SyncroFIT software for designing and manufacturing complex assemblies and large aerostructures, the Quality Planning Environment for developing plans to assess aerostructure quality, and Custom Consulting Services to assist manufacturers in implementing optimized processes for developing composite aerostructures.
The software provides:
- Advanced features for preserving composite design intent, which capture the critical inputs that drive the composite-part design at early stages of development and automate the creation of the detailed composite part definition to increase productivity, ensure adherence to design rules, and adapt to changes during the iterative design process. The Rules-Driven, Structure-Based Design capability lets users capture design intent and standards to ensure the production of optimized and manufacturable composite structures by leveraging basic layout geometry and design rules. In addition, Volume Fill Composite Ply Development capability maintains the intent of engineers designing thick laminates by automating the creation of ply shapes to fill the area between the upper and lower surfaces, which dictate the part shape. This provides the most efficient way available in the market today, says the developer, for turbine/rotor blades and other thick laminates.
- Enhanced ability to design for manufacture of advanced materials and processes, including new Multi-Layer Material Simulation that provides insight into the drapeability of non-crimp fabrics and other advanced materials, as well as the corresponding manufacturing processes, such as forming. This reduces need for physical prototypes that result in costly scrap while increasing confidence that the as-built part will meet specifications.
- An improved connection between design and analysis for more efficient transfer of composite design requirements. Tightly coupling the interface between design and analysis promotes design optimization by allowing for quicker and more frequent iterations, delivering products of the highest durability and lowest weight possible. FiberSIM 2010 introduces new FEA Interfaces with ANSYS Composite PrepPost , MSC Patran, NX Laminate Composites, BETA CAE Systems ANSA, and a generic BDF data format that maps all laminate properties to the mesh. This continues the developer’s open strategy to let users choose best-in-class software for their product and development process.
- The industry’s first standardized 3D model-based representation of the composite part definition. FiberSIM’s Advanced 3D CAD Integration represents the composite part in the native CAD model format, conveying the basic elements of the composite part in a standard format and improving the communication of composite design data throughout the enterprise and extended supply chain.
- New ways to validae that the as-built part represents the as-designed/analyzed part, ensuring adherence to design specifications. One challenge in using composites is that it creates a blind part so once assembled and cured, it is nearly impossible to inspect its critical characteristics. The software introduces new functions for validating parts, including importing machine paths from fiber placement NC Software and an interface to drive automated ply verification (APV) inspection equipment. These capabilities ensure that at each step—from analysis, design, manufacturing, and quality—a part meets the original engineering specifications and avoids costly manufacturing errors.
- An improved user experience through a redesigned interface tailored to specific use cases, puts key functions at users’ fingertips. With a shortage of skilled composite design engineers and aggressive program timelines, the intuitive software lets new composite engineers ramp up quickly.
Vistagy Inc.
vistagy.com
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