In previous blog articles on 3D Experience simulation roles, we primarily discussed platform configurations, concept of personas and roles as well as simulation capacity of the platform. In this blog article contains detailed information about three primary structural simulation roles: MDS, DRD and SMU.

To begin with, lets recapitulate that simulation roles are categorized in groups based on personas of users working on such roles. In terms of complexity and functionality, offerings range from based to intermediate to advanced.

 

Engineer profile: The is the simplest and easiest to use simulation offering primarily meant for designers with low to intermediate simulation knowledge. Their primary job is product design and they perform simulations very occasionally. Roles for this profile are CAD centric and are associated with a guided workflow. Simulation tokens are embedded in the role.

Analysis engineer profile: This profile is one level above the engineer profile and is suitable for structural analysis engineers associated with product engineering. Their simulation knowledge is of intermediate level which means they understand simulation process in terms of meshing, BC, Loads, result visualization etc. but don’t have any hands-on experience of advanced simulation tools. Usually there is no guided workflow. Simulation tokens are embedded in the role.

Analyst profile: This role is for full time analysts who primarily perform intermediate to advanced level simulations. They have in depth expertise in at-least one simulation domain and often hold Masters or Doctorate level credentials. This role requires extensive knowledge of pre-processing, solver terminologies such as statics, dynamics, non-linearity, convergence schemes, as well as post processing etc. There is no guided workflow. Simulation tokens are procured separately.

 Research Specialist profile: This is a complex simulation offering primarily for experts who develop novel simulation workflows and processes. The simulation requirements often span across multiple physical domains and involves advanced Physics such as vibrations and noise. The pre-processing aspect may include complex meshing of assemblies and assemblies of meshes.

Let’s look at one role from each of first three profiles:

Stress Engineer role (MDS)

 

It’s a role from engineer profile and has a guided workflow. The snapshot shows apps available in MDS role. It performs routine strength and deflection calculations under static loading conditions. It can also compute product fatigue life for very simple loads. The CATIA and SOLIDWORKS associativity is well maintained. Local solver execution up to 4 cores is included.

Structural analysis Engineer role (DRD)

 

It’s a role from analysis engineer profile that has no guided workflow. It is used to access the structural integrity of products subjected to wide range of loading conditions. The snapshot above shows available apps in this role. It works on MSR concept available in advanced simulation tools i.e.  Model-Scenario-Results. Many advanced settings are exposed to the user. This role can perform multi step simulations. Local job execution of up to 8 cores is available.

Mechanical Analyst role (SMU)

 

It’s a role from analyst profile and it does not include a guided workflow. The snapshot above shows available apps in this role.  It uses advanced finite element techniques to simulate and validate complex engineering problems. It offers multiple advanced meshing techniques such as Octree, surface, sweep and RBM. Both single step as well as multi step scenarios are included. Supported analysis steps include static perturbation, non-linear static, frequency, buckling, implicit dynamics, explicit dynamics, steady state heat transfer, transient heat transfer etc. Most of the non-linear materials and complex engineering connections are included.

While we discussed one prominent role from each profile, the south quadrant of 3D Experience platform offers numerous simulation roles. To know more, please contact us.