"Where CFD is still often perceived as a complex, scientific discipline, FloWizard now brings the ability to rapidly model flows to all stages in the product design process," said Paul Bemis, Vice President of Marketing at Fluent. "With the release of FloWizard V2, and its availability on our unique Remote Simulation Facility (RSolve), we can now offer flow modeling solutions on large parallel clusters starting at only $7000 per year (US). Offering such a fully integrated solution using a 'pay as you go' delivery subscription service is yet another 'industry first' introduced by Fluent in the CAE industry."
FloWizard V2 introduces many new features, including CAD integration features that will benefit Unigraphics, SolidWorks, and Solid Edge users. Designs created using these tools can now be read directly without translation to intermediate, generic CAD file formats. New CAD and mesh file import formats are CATIA V5, NASTRAN, PATRAN, and ANSYS, ensuring compatibility with all major CAE software. Additional enhancements in FloWizard V2 are compressible flow physics, heat exchanger models, and new post-processing features including iso-surfaces, arbitrary plane cuts, and point probes, thus extending the range of problems that can be analyzed by designers. The new Web-based access to Fluent's remote simulation facility brings highly secure supercomputer performance to design engineers' desktops from anywhere in the world, freeing up their workstations for other tasks.
FloWizard is Fluent's revolutionary, general-purpose rapid flow modeling software. FloWizard's unique interface was created based on extensive usability studies at major corporations and it incorporates hundreds of years of in-house applied CFD experience from Fluent's worldwide experts. Its goal is to make the use of CFD among designers just as fast, easy and common as CAD software is today. FloWizard has been adopted in industrial corporations globally as the rapid flow modeling standard in their design departments.
By rapidly modeling fluid flows to determine a product's performance earlier in the design process, FloWizard users need fewer physical prototypes, can identify optimum designs sooner, and increase the efficiencies of their designs and engineering processes. Break-through rapid flow modeling features of FloWizard include "Guide Me" features; collaboration; automatic geometry clean up and meshing; flow volume extraction; a fully automated flow model setup and solution process; and automated post-processing, data extraction and report generation.
"Fluent has radically lowered the entry barriers to the broad based use of flow modeling with FloWizard V2," said Andre Bakker, the FloWizard Product Manager at Fluent. "It guides the user to rapidly turn a CAD model into a fluid flow analysis model. Gone are the long timeframes and considerable start-up costs associated with other companies' CFD software, thanks to FloWizard's high-level of automation and the new RSolve option."
Like all types of CAE software tools, CFD is being used earlier and more often in the product development process for design simulation, testing, and validation. Fluent is the world's largest provider of CFD software that is used for simulation, visualization, and analysis of fluid flow, heat and mass transfer, and chemical reactions - all complex processes and phenomena to deal with.
FloWizard is an automated flow modeling tool that lets non-specialists validate designs early in the product development cycle. FloWizard can be used to analyze fluid flow and heat transfer problems throughout development. Especially helpful for the non-specialist is FloWizard's user interface designed for ease of use, can be customized to meet specific needs.
One of the unique aspects of FloWizard is how it guides you through the entire flow simulation process. You begin by reading a CAD model. From there you are guided by the software that has automatic alerts for catching any suspicious inputs or questionable results and guides you on how to correct them.
FloWizard replaces complex CFD concepts and jargon with clear, logical questions. Based on these inputs, FloWizard chooses the appropriate mathematical models. The results are automatically output as HTML reports that can be brought into a spreadsheet or other data analysis software. This guidance that allows for more reliable answers, regardless of the user's flow modeling experience, is one of the things that sets FloWizard apart.
It also offers peer-to-peer collaboration. With this feature, you can connect to a shared session with others in your organization, or you can connect with third parties, or business partners. You can transfer control of the session to any participating user, who can then make changes, which are seen by all. Each user retains the capability to change the view of the geometry, look at parameters and properties, and view results.
The company claims that no matter what CAD software you use, FloWizard can handle its geometry. Automated tools help you in extracting the flow volume, simplifying the geometry by removing unwanted details, and creating the computational mesh. If you already use meshing software, FloWizard can read in complete computational meshes also. FloWizard fits into your design and engineering process.
On the service side, with FloWizard you can shift computationally-intensive tasks away from your computer to Fluent's remote simulation facility (RSolve). This service improves efficiency because it reduces turnaround time by running large calculations on a parallel computing cluster. The "pay-as-you-go" model lets you purchase CPU time to run your simulations on Fluent's parallel computers via a secure, high bandwidth communications link.
For upward compatibility, FloWizard generates files that are compatible with Fluent's flagship CFD software, FLUENT This capability lets you move back and forth between FloWizard and FLUENT as dictated by fidelity needs or the complexity of the analysis for detailed virtual prototyping.
All in all, a comprehensive means for performing CFD.
The Week's Top 5
At MCADCafé we track many things, including the stories that have attracted the most interest from our subscribers. Below are the five news items that were the most viewed during last week.Drive for Robot Autonomy Key Trend In Global Emerging Robotics Technology
Autonomy is the latest buzzword in the field of emerging robotics technologies. Researchers all over the world are directing their efforts toward incorporating greater autonomy to enable robots to make more coherent decisions independently. Besides being incapable of survival in an outdoor environment, robots cannot make decisions out of the matrix of choices available in their internal programs. Now, market participants such as iRobot work towards creating more autonomous and intelligent machines as companies move robots from indoor to outdoor environments. For example, autonomy is crucial for defense applications such as ground warfare where robotics plays a vital role. With a single robot performing multiple functions, there is also an urgent need for a standardized platform to integrate the different software modules. There are industry-wide initiatives toward standardization of software solutions. For example, software that enables developers to effortlessly assimilate different software components and hardware to create customized personal robots.
Leading Northwest Aerospace Supplier Chooses NX
QPM Aerospace Inc., a northwest aerospace supplier located in Monroe, WA, has chosen and completed the implementation of NX from UGS Corp. as their standard tool for CNC programming. "We chose NX as our standard CAD/CAM tool for its ability to automate a variety of our machining processes as well as provide us the flexibility to program both simple and complex (5 axis & mill-turn) parts," says Bill Manwiller, engineer/programming lead for QPM.
Aerospace Employment Growth Continues
Statistics compiled by AIA's Aerospace Research Center in June after the first two quarters of this year showed total aerospace employment at 618,400. This compares to 607,300 in December 2004. AIA President and CEO John Douglass said the trend is not unexpected after last year's job rebound, adding that it underscores the industry's important place in the national economy. Aerospace employment had been falling steadily since the early 1990s as a result of the end of the Cold War and other factors. It hit a 50-year low of 579,700 in February of 2004, but then immediately started a sustained rebound, adding 27,400 jobs by the end of the year. The employment statistics, which come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, include workers in aircraft, missiles, space vehicles, propulsion, and parts, as well as search, detection, and navigation instruments. The aerospace and defense industry is the leading net exporter of manufactured goods, with a positive foreign trade balance of $31 billion last year.
ENGINEERING.com Announces Purchase of Intellectual Property Rights to Alventive Software
ENGINEERING.com Inc. announced that it has purchased Alventive engineering collaboration software and related intellectual property from BlueSky Solutions, LLC. The Alventive software allows engineers to share project plans, documents, drawings and changes with other project participants whether they are across the hall or around the world. The Alventive software represents the core of ENGINEERING.com's hosted Collaboration Suite software offering.
CAD Systems Unlimited Releases New Version Of Slick! ViewPlus
CAD Systems Unlimited Inc. has released an updated version of Slick! ViewPlus. The new version adds viewing and batch printing support to Autodesk DWF files. The update is free to existing licensed Slick! ViewPlus users. A free evaluation copy is available from http://www10.mcadcafe.com/link/display_detail.php?link_id=12890. Slick! ViewPlus is priced at $99 per end-user license. Volume pricing is available.
Jeffrey Rowe is the editor and publisher of MCADCafé and MCAD Weekly Review. He can be reached here or 408.850.9230.
This Week
Lead Story Product and Company News- MatrixOne Positioned As PLM Mindshare Leader In New PLM Industry Market Report
- Mathsoft and National Instruments Provide Advanced Joint Calculation And Measurement Solutions
- Autodesk Reports Record Revenues
- Offer Made For INCAT International plc by Tata Technologies Inc.
- GEMU Chooses SolidWorks 3D Mechanical Design Software For Valve Design And Manufacturing
- Real-time Part Inspection Using 3D Scanners Becomes Possible With rapidformXO Verifier LiveInspect
- Market-Leading Manufacturer Of Gun Scopes Completes The Implementation Of NX For Machining Tooling And Prototypes
- NPO Saturn Selects LMS Test.Lab For Dynamic Testing Of Jet Engines
- UGS Partner Program Adds 43 Members In First Half Of 2005
- The MathWorks To Deliver Technical Presentations At 2005 American Institute Of Aeronautics And Astronautics Forum
- Cadig Releases AutoTable 3.2 For AutoCAD
- Ansoft Announces Optimetrics v4
- Aras Achieves Microsoft .NET Connected Status -- First Comprehensive Enterprise PLM Solution Based Entirely On .NET
- Actify Expands 2D & 3D Importer Offering
- Stratasys and Joe Gibbs Racing Partnership Leads To Recent NASCAR Winning Streak
- Clemson University Selects think3 For Teaching 3D Packaging Design
- Agile Customers Win Start Magazine's Technology & Business Awards
- Missler Software present at Emo
- Cimatron Ltd. Reports Q2 2005 Results
- 3DCADTips.com Tops 10,000 Resources And Adds 3D Models
- Altair Engineering And Scali Partner To Deliver Infrastructure And Workload Management Tool
- Successful Strategies For Competing In A Low-Cost Manufacturing World
- Aerospace Orders, Shipments, Backlog Show Increases
- Akrion Ships GAMA System To Leading MEMS Manufacturer
- Luke Air Force Base Installs Night Vision Goggle Simulation System Powered By SGI
- INSEQ Executes Manufacturing Agreement With Ovation Products
- Visteon To Expand Manufacturing Operations In Slovakia With Focused Factory For Kia
- Adept Technology To Webcast Its Q4 Fiscal 2005 Earnings
- Transbotics Secures Upgrade Order For Existing Automotive Laser Guided Vehicle System
- National Center For Defense Manufacturing And Machining Awarded $24.3M Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity Contract
- ImageID To Feature Visidot AIDC Technology As An Alternative To RFID For Automotive Industry
- American Standard Goes Live On Workbrain For Manufacturing
- 2005 Collaborative Technology Conference Builds On Successful Inaugural Event
- Cooper-Standard Automotive Announces Record Q2 Sales
- TRW Plans To Close Sterling Heights, Michigan Manufacturing Facility
- Surface Technology Systems Wins Order From Bosch For New Pegasus Deep Reactive Ion Etch (DRIE) System