[Project 01: [7 September]

[2010]
CAE
Packages
Survey]
[Product
Design in a
CAD
Environment]
Contents
1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 3

2 Problem definition / Problem statement.............................................................................................. 3

3 Result .................................................................................................................................................... 4

3.1 Assignment Part 1 – CAE Packages Survey ................................................................................... 4

3.1.1 Pro/ENGINEER[1] .................................................................................................................... 4

3.1.2 CATIA[4] .................................................................................................................................. 6

3.1.3 Solid Works (SW)[7] .............................................................................................................. 11

3.1.4 Unigraphics NX7[10] .............................................................................................................. 13

3.1.5 Abaqus FEA (formerly ABAQUS) [11] .................................................................................... 14

3.1.6 ANSYS[12] .............................................................................................................................. 15

3.2 Part B - Create a Google Sites as your MAE477/577 Web Design Portfolio ............................... 16

4 Discussion............................................................................................................................................ 16

5 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................... 17

6 References (Websites) ........................................................................................................................ 19

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1 Introduction
This Project deals with the survey of the various CAE packages available in the Laboratory –
Furnas 1019. Our company deals with the Electromechanical systems that works on the areas
like product development using CAD, FEA, Functional Simulation of Machines and Mechanism,
Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow. We will discuss about the various CAE packages available in the
market which matches the requirements of our company. First we will introduce each of the
packages and their specialty in their field. Since our company is an engineering company that
involves in the design of all kind of electromechanical systems we require a package with
broader arena where a package serves as a multi module comparing with the cost of the
package.

There are many CAE packages available in the market, we will focus our report to the some
popular packages only to those packages that are pioneer in our field of interest and installed in
the laboratory.

The following packages are studied :

1. CATIA

2. Pro/ENGINEER

3. NX

4. SolidWorks

5. ANSYS

6. Abaqus

2 Problem definition / Problem statement

Part 1 of the assignment involves survey of the CAE packages available in the laboratory –
Furnas 1019. The assignment should enable us to judge which package is required as to execute
our projects efficiently and meets the requirement for our company. This assignment also asks
to recommend the package group of CAE package to use in the company for next 5 years. Part 2
asks to develop a web-site using google sites tool.

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3 Result
In Part 1 of the assignment I have studied all the features of the package and their usefulness in
our company’s profile. All the packages are studied using their respective web-pages. For part 2
Web Design Portfolio has been generated using Google sites.

3.1 Assignment Part 1 – CAE Packages Survey

In this section we will discuss the various modules and features available in CAE packages under
concern.

3.1.1 Pro/ENGINEER[1]
Pro/ENGINEER[2](Table extracted from Wikipedia.com)
Pro/ENGINEER, PTC's parametric,
integrated 3D CAD/CAM/CAE solution, is Developer(s) PTC
used by discrete manufacturers
for mechanical engineering, design and
Initial release 1987
manufacturing. Created by Dr. Samuel P.
Geisberg in the mid-1980s [1], this is one of
Stable release Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire 5.0 /
the most powerful CAD/CAM/CAE packages
September 16, 2009; 10 months
available in the market. It was developed by
ago[1]
Parametric Technology
Corporation (PTC).This was one of the first
Operating system Windows, Unix
CAE package which revolutionized the
industry by the parametric or variational
feature-based, associative solid modeling. Type CAD software
This package works Windows and SUN
Solaris Operating system platform[1]. License Proprietary

It has inbuilt capabilities of design

optimization techniques which helps the Website ptc.com/products/proengineer

engineers in the preliminary product design

hence reduces the overall design cycle of the product. One can also integrate Finite Element
Solvers like Ansys and Nastran with Pro/ENGINEER Mechanica Wildfire 5.0 for use in FEM
mode[1]. By providing a scalable platform and incorporating features like tolerance analysis and
simulation, Pro/ENGINEER can drastically enhance the manufacturing capabilities. These
features are really useful in CNC and Tooling Design & manufacturing sectors [2] .

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Pro/ENGINEER Mechanica(advanced) helps in examining a product loadings under loadings like
thermal and structural hence completes the mechanical design software analysis. At the same
time Pro/ENGINEER Tolerance Analysis Extension (TAX) which is reinforced by CETOL
Technology which can be used to study the affect of tolerance accumulation after assembly and
hence evaluate dimensional impact on the product beforehand. This feature can be a boon for
the reverse-engineering area. These capabilities really shorten the product development stage.
Pro/ENGINEER Mechanism Dynamics Option (MDO) gives us the flexibility to analyze the
motion and behavior of the system in dynamic conditions. This module of Pro/Engineer reduces
the cost of manufacturing a prototype. The simulated system can be analyzed through intuitive
graphs. The BMX (Behavioral Modeling Extension ) tool helps to understand the influence of
various parameters in the design and helps to optimize the system by evaluating the impact of
changes on these metrics. Pro/ENGINEER Manikin Analysis Extension helps in studying the
ergonomics of the human interaction with machines and helps in designing the workplace by
considering the human factors and their movements. It helps to study the macro and micro
level motion study which helps to reduce the unnecessary steps by optimizing the operations
hence generating an efficient and safe workplace for mankind. Another module is the
Pro/ENGINEER Fatigue Advisor. This helps to analyze the system under fatigue and helps in
deciding the warranty costs and field failure and life of a product. Pro/E has complex tools and
is generally recommended when an assembly has very high number of parts.

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3.1.2 CATIA[4]
CATIA[3](Table extracted from Wikipedia.com)
CATIA (Computer Aided Three-dimensional
Interactive Application) is also an high Developer(s) Dassault Systemes
end CAD/CAM/CAE commercial software
equally competent with Pro/E which is
Initial release 1987
developed by the French company Dassault
Systemes. It is marketed worldwide by IBM[3] .
Stable release V6R2011
CATIA is developed using the platform of
the C++ programming language, which now is
Operating system Windows, Unix
one of the key package of the Dassault
Systemes PLM software suite. It is widely used
by the Aerospace and Automobile Type CAD software
enterprises. CATIA offers through a
multidisciplinary approach a full spectrum of License Proprietary
design capabilities and enables efficient
collaboration through the design community Website http://www.3ds.com/products/catia/
to encourage innovation across the extended
enterprise [4].
The Latest CATIA version is V6R2011.This package combines the dynamics behavior of the
structure and will be used with PLM 2.0 platform. With the combination of V6 with PLM, CATIA
becomes one of best tool in project management since it enables brainstorming in 3D outside
the engineering department.
It has a very large number of specific modules to the desired system to be analyzed. The
following CATIA feature has been taken from CATIA website- http://www.3ds.com/products/catia/

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3.1.2.1 CATIA Systems uses the PLM structure for uniquely capturing and managing the product
lifecycle. This also helps in tracing the life cycle of the product ensuring its accuracy
during the manufacturing of the product. It also helps for better quality control in
terms of design and execution. MODELICA language enables designer to create new
libraries and to re-use his components in later designs. CATIA Systems C Code
Generator helps the user to create a C based logic to have customized output from
CPU[4].The following products are available in CATIA System :

3.1.2.1.1 Dynamic behavior

a. Systems Dynamic Behavior : This approach gathers views from Requirements (R),
functional (F), Logical (L) and Physical Design(P) hence calling the system design
as RFLP

3.1.2.1.2 System engineering

a. CATIA Systems Architecture Design

b. System control and logic Modeling

c. System logic code generator

3.1.2.1.3 System Libraries

a. Dynamic system libraries

3.1.2.2 CATIA Shape provides industrial designers with strong tool to innovate shape and helps
in streamlining the contours as per needs. It loads engineers with a full suite of
surfacing, reverse engineering, and modifying and validate any complex innovative
shapes . Even the composite structure modeling and analysis is possible in this
environment.
Available Products available in this module are :

3.1.2.2.1 Aesthetical Shape: Under this feature we have distillers which provide optimized
shape and enables us to optimize the product by using virtual reality , rendering and
simulation.

3.1.2.2.2 Conceptual Shape

a. Imagine and Shape

b. Industrial Design

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 c. Rendering

3.1.2.2.3 Mechanical surfaces

a. Body in White Modeling

b. Generative Shape Optimizer

c. Mechanical Surface Design

d. Realistic Shape Optimizer

e. Reverse Engineering

3.1.2.3 CATIA Mechanical enable the engineer to model any 3D parts and assembly varying
from the simplest to the most advanced. PLM integration helps in making the design
process more flawless and efficient. The available products under this module are:

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3.1.2.3.1 3D Master

a. 3D Tolerancing and Annotation

b. Drafting and Annotation

3.1.2.3.2 Composite

a. Composites Engineering

b. Composites Manufacturing Preparation

3.1.2.3.3 Fastener & Tooling

a. Body in White Fastening

b. Jigs and Tooling Design

3.1.2.3.4 Mechanic

a. 3D Design

b. Aerospace Sheetmetal Pack

c. Cast and Forged Part design

d. Fabricated Part Design

e. Mechanical Design

f. Mechanism Simulation

g. Plastic Part Design

h. Systems Conceptual Mechanical Design

3.1.2.3.5 Structure

a. Structure Functional Design

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3.1.2.4 CATIA Equipment provides an combines the electronic, electrical and fluid systems.
Rules and standards are followed automatically during the design process to maintain
compliance to the code with product specification. Again integration of this module
with PLM provides full traceability and configuration management providing quality
assurance and other documentation for manufacturing. Such an integrated
environment improves design quality, drastically reduces time needed for
modifications, and minimizes errors. The available products in this environment are:

3.1.2.4.1 Electrical Systems

a. 3D Wire Harness Design

b. Electro-Mechanical Circuit Board

c. Systems Logical Electrical Design

d. Wire Harness Documentation and Formboard

3.1.2.4.2 Fluidic Systems

a. Generative Piping & Tubing

b. Piping and Tubing Design

3.1.2.4.3 Preliminary Layout

a. Systems Logical 3D Architecture

Knowledge, advance FEM and structural analysis features in CATIA completes it as a single and
complete CAE package. The 3D Reuse , Prototyping , knowledge advisor and expert, Optimizer
makes it a more versatile tool for the use in large organizations.

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3.1.3 Solid Works (SW)[7]
SolidWorks(Table extracted from Wikipedia.com)
Solid works is a 3D package extensively
used in the medium and small scale
industries. It is generally popular for Developer(s) Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks
modeling but now as its newer versions Corp.
are launching, large number of analysis
modules are being added to it. Stable release SolidWorks 2011[7]
Animation and lifelike image is one of
the best feature. Defeature tool help in
Operating system Microsoft Windows
communication with the client or others
in which one can hide their proprietary
detail. Type 3D computer graphics

Enhanced beam analysis tool helps in

License Proprietary
analysis of parts rather than whole
assembly to simulate real world
conditions. Other good feature is the Website www.SolidWorks.com
HVAC and cooling module in which one
can simulate the air and heat transfer without leaving the SW environment.

SW automatically assign weld number to the weldments hence reduces chances of forgetting to
assign weld reference number in a welded structure. This helps in easy management and in
estimation of welding consumables quantity.

3DVIA Composer™ Interactive Storyboarding helps to reduce communication time and train the
employee by providing previous and next step of design on the same screen. Its PDM
integration helps to manage the parts and helps in efficient procurement and quality assurance.
Through PDM, all other departments like marketing , welding, estimation, fabrication, Quality
Assurance get to know the product requirement and hence helps in reducing the product
manufacturing cycle.

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A recent quotation (for a single user) as on 7th Sept 2010 which I have is obtained through e-mail
shows the various costs of SolidWorks tools

Design License Subscription

1 SolidWorks Premium $7995 $1995
1 SolidWorks Professional $5490 $1495
1 SolidWorks Standard $3995 $1295
Design Validation
1 SolidWorks Simulation Premium $10995 $3575
1 SolidWorks Simulation Professional $6995 $2275
1 SolidWorks Flow Simulation $13995 $3919
Data Management
1 SolidWorks Enterprise PDM CAD Editor $1795 $495
1 SolidWorks Enterprise PDM Contributor $1295 $395
1 SolidWorks Enterprise PDM Viewer $2995 $995
Publishing
1 3DVIA Composer $6800 $1700
Sustainable Design
1 SolidWorks Sustainability $2995 $995
Total Price (USD$) $65345 $19134

SW also uses the parametric modeling feature hence competes with the Pro/E , Solid Edge and
Inventor. Still Pro/E is preferred if the assembly is too large. SW also have the feature of Re-use
and tolerance stack-up analysis like Pro/E. CATIA is also the product of same company as solid
works. One major difference is that it works on PDM platform whereas CATIA is far ahead and
works on PLM platform. At the same time, Pro/E uses Windchill as an ERP(PLM) for data
management. SW differs from CATIA with the sophistication of work involved like non-linear
finite element analysis, acoustic simulation, noise and vibration analysis, fatigue and unsteady
heat transfer analysis. In comparison to high end softwares like CATIA or Pro/E, Solid Works has
fewer functions and makes them easy to use.

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3.1.4 Unigraphics NX7[10]
NX (Unigraphics) (Table extracted from Wikipedia.com)
This is also one of the thriving CAE
package under the shadow of PLM. It
also concentrates in the field of Developer(s) Siemens PLM Software
Aerospace and Electromechanical
systems. Product capabilities (taken Initial release 1973
from NX website given in references
)include:
Stable release NX 7.5 / May 20, 2010; 3 months
1. Industrial design & styling ago
2. Package Design
3. Mechanical Design
Development status active
4. Electromechanical Systems
Design
5. Mechanical Simulation Operating system Windows XP or later
6. Electromechanical Simulation (x86/x64), Unix-like
7. Tooling & Fixture Design
8. Machining
9. Engineering Process Available in multi-language
Management
10. Inspection Programming
Type CAD/CAM/CAE/PLM
With more or less similar modules
like Pro/E and CATIA, this package is
gaining the market day by day. The License proprietary
consumers of the CAE package was
owned by Siemens i.e.,I-DEAS Website
(Integrated Design and Engineering
Analysis Software) is now migrated in the NX so as to integrate with PLM tool.

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3.1.5 Abaqus FEA (formerly ABAQUS) [11]
SIMULIA Abaqus FEA(Table extracted from Wikipedia.com)

It is also one of the high end tool used for

computer aided engineering. It is used
extensively in the aerospace , automobile Original author(s) Dassault Systemes
and industrial products industries. It has
wonderful capabilities of performing non- Developer(s) ABAQUS Inc.,[11]
linear analysis. It also provides multiphysics
abilities where multiple fields can be jointly
Stable release 6.10 / May 24, 2010; 3 months
studied under a same roof.
ago[11]
Abaqus FEA uses latest high-performance
parallel computing environments, which Development status Actively developed
enables us to include details in our models
which previously excluded due to limitations
Operating system Microsoft Windows
in the computing. This allows us to minimize
assumptions hence providing more accurate Linux
solutions and at the same time it reduces the AIX
turnaround time for results. In Abacus we HP-UX
can import the models from CATIA V5,
SolidWorks, and Pro/ENGINEER enable us to Platform Intel x86-32 bit
conduct FEA more fast and more accurately. Intel Itanium
It is definitely one of the best FEA packages Intel x86-64 bit
with high end computing. IBM POWER [3]

Type Computer-aided
engineering, Finite Element
Analysis

License Proprietary commercial software

Website www.simulia.com

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3.1.6 ANSYS[12]
ANSYS, Inc.(Table extracted from Wikipedia.com)

It is also one of the most advanced

simulation software developed to
provide solution in the area of product
development through finite element
analysis. This FEA package is one of the Type Public (NASDAQ: ANSS)
oldest FEA packages capturing almost all
engineering sectors. The latest Industry Computer software
workbench is ANSYS 12. It has the
following features adhered (taken from Founded Canonsburg, Pennsylvania(1970)
www.ansys.com) :

a. ANSYS Workbench Headquarters Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, USA

b. Geometry and Meshing

Key people Peter J. Smith, Chairman
c. Multiphysics James E. Cashman, III, President &
CEO
d. Structural Mechanics

e. High-Performance Computing Products ANSYS Multiphysics

f. Fluid Dynamics ANSYS CFX
ANSYS FLUENT
g. Simulation Process & Data ANSYS Workbench
Management
HFSS
h. Explicit Dynamics (See complete listing.)

Employees ~1,600 (2010)

Website www.ansys.com

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3.2 Part B - Create a Google Sites as your MAE477/577 Web Design Portfolio
The link to the website is--- https://sites.google.com/site/mandeepsinghcaddesign/

4 Discussion
Further to our study future analysis on the usage of the CAE packages ,we can also incorporate the
reviews of the customer , blogs and discussion forums. Before deciding the efficiency of usage of any
CAE package it can be helpful if one reads the experiences of the users that are found in the various
customers reviews,blogs and discussion forums. I think it can also be an good way to judge the efficiency
of any CAE package since the people comments comes from their hands on experiences. Listed below
are the Jobs result( from the website www.monster.com) as on date 7th September 2010

a. ANSYS : 151 openings

b. Pro/E : >1000 openings

c. CATIA: >1000 openings

d. SolidWorks: 851 openings

e. Abaqus: 2 openings

f. NX: 38 openings

We can see that the jobs required in CATIA and Pro/E are comparatively very high than other CAE tools.

One more fact I have noticed is on the Facebook , the number of people joined the community are listed
below (just for information):

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 a. Pro/E : 550 members

b. CATIA: 1091 members

c. SolidWorks: 2430 members

d. Abaqus: 123 members

e. NX: 16 members

f. Ansys: 441 members

5 Conclusion

Our study concludes that CATIA , PRO/E and NX are high end tools which are focused in CAE in
terms of electromechanical field. These CAE packages can model, mechanize and simulate the
product in a single environment. SolidWorks focuses more on the modeling part and is a
medium level of CAE packages. There are many varieties of CAE software in the market. From
the above study we can conclude that each CAE package has its own area of focus. For example,
CATIA application are inclined more towards aero and auto mobile industries whereas Solid
works concentrate on the modeling and assembly part hence more inclined towards welded
structures. Abacus and ANSYS are more inclined towards finite element analysis and are used
for high computing areas. Hence the User interface for solid modeling for ANSYS or ABAQUS is
not better than other CAE packages discussed. At the same time none of the ERP packages like
Pro/E or CATIA are competitive with the ANSYS or ABACUS in terms of Analysis.

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 CATIA Pro/E NX SolidWorks ANSYS ABAQUS
Product Design with CAD for complex large
Assembly 5 5 5 4 1 1
Finite Element Analysis 3 3 3 1 5 5
Functional Simulation of Machines and
Mechanism 5 5 5 4 1 1
Heat Transfer 3 3 3 3 5 5
Fluid flow 3 3 3 3 5 5
Total 19 19 19 15 17 17

Rating 1 Poor
2 average
3 good
4 better
5 Best
Above rating is my opinion on how I feel to rate the software package after going through the
literature on these packages. It shows the relative feature comparison with respect to the
features required by our job. These kinds of table needs to be developed using more number of
people for survey.

For the 5 year usage, I will prefer CATIA over any other package since it has many feature that
provide complete manufacturing solutions in a single environment. Also there is considerable
demand of this package in the market. For the FEA specifically the packages like ANSYS or
ABAQUS are used and I will prefer both of them for FEA since both are high end solver for FEA
where a complex geometry can be analyzed.

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6 References (Websites)
1. Pro/E website - http://www.ptc.com/products/proengineer/

2 Wikipedia Explanation to Pro/E - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pro_E

3 Wikipedia Explanation to Catia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catia

4 Catia product features - http://www.3ds.com/products/catia/portfolio/catia-v6

5 CATIA V6R2011 - FACT SHEET (http://www.3ds.com/products/catia/portfolio/catia-v6)

6 Solid Works – http://www.solidworks.com

7 Solid Works launch of new versionhttp://www.solidworkslaunch.com/

8 Whitepaper from Solid-Works http://www.cv3ds.com/products/solidworks-white-papers.html

9 Wikipedia link to NX http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NX_(Unigraphics)

10 NX website http://www.plm.automation.siemens.com/en_us/products/nx/index.shtml

11 Abaqus website http://www.simulia.com/products/abaqus_fea.html

12 Ansys Website www.ansys.com .

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