Dassault Systèmes, maker of CAD 3D design software, is expanding its 3DExperience platform of design and simulation technologies to include computational fluid flow capabilities.
The company announced this week it has acquired Next Limit Dynamics, of Madrid, which produces fluid-flow simulation software used in the aerospace and defense, transportation, mobility, high-tech, energy and other industries.
Integrating Next Limit CFD capabilities with CAD software will let engineers focus on design evaluation and avoid the preparation typically required by traditional CFD approaches, said Bernard Charlès, vice chairman & CEO, Dassault Systèmes.
Through the acquisition, Dassault Systèmes will expand its 3DExperience portfolio for multiphysics simulation into CFD capabilities, Charlès said.
For nearly ten years, the CFD maker has been developing its Lattice Boltzmann simulation technology, XFlow, to extend the applicability of CFD across multiple industries for a number of applications, said David Holman, general manager, Next Limit Dynamics.
Of course, Dassault Systèmes isn’t the only 3D CAD producer to include CFD capabilities within its package to allow engineers to analyze for things like wind and air flow and even blood movement as they design. Many other CFD systems can be integrated with CAD, such as FloEFD from Mentor Graphics, which is used to consider the effects of airflow to cool electronics.
And simulation works the other way too. The CFD package can both recognize and propagate design changes. This seamless integration allows designers to carryout quick design iterations based on CFD simulation results. One example of this is the beta version of cloud-based SimulationHub CFD program, available in the Onshape CAD cloud environment from the company of the same name.
Integrated software can save time by updating and changing the model in CAD and CFD simultaneously.
“Today’s products are becoming more sophisticated, making engineering problems increasingly complex. Our disruptive method avoids the highly time-consuming preparation tasks typically required by traditional CFD approaches,” Holman said.
“This frees engineers to focus more attention on design evaluation and optimization. As an integrated part of Dassault Systèmes, our technology can better address this complexity and support the work of engineers who are using the 3DEXPERIENCE platform,” he added.
Next Limit Dynamics’s legacy customers–including NASA, Toyota, Ford, Google X, and Caterpillar–who are currently using the CFD-makers software will be folded into the combined product.
“Simulation enables innovators to push the evolution of engineered materials, additive manufacturing, the Internet of experiences and other factors that contribute to harmonizing product, nature and life,” Charlès said.
Realistic simulation – from early concept to late-stage validation–is a mandatory discipline for the successful creation of sustainable consumer experiences, he said.
