Match analysis with materials: material characteristics and differences are sufficiently disparate so that those designers and engineers who are looking for tools to model parts before they're produced ought to consider those that are specific to the requirements

Automotive Design & Production,  April, 2004  by Lawrence S. Gould

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When all is said and done, concludes ESI's Rodewald, "the finite element solver is just a bunch of math for the relationship of elements and their neighboring elements. Where you give those elements life is when you apply material properties, when you apply some sort of history, and when you make sure that at some time step, something happens."

That "something" is what the vendors of material/process-specific analysis software provide.

RELATED ARTICLE: A TALE OF TWO SUITES

Moldflow offers Moldflow Plastics Advisers, an entry-level and mid-range software analysis tool for early design optimization, manufacturability checking, and mold evaluation and optimization. Moldflow's other product line, Moldflow Plastics Insight, is the company's in-depth, high-end software system for simulation and analysis of high-precision plastic parts with high tolerances or for parts requiring expensive tooling.

PAM-Stamp 26, from ESI North America [Bloomfield Hills, MI], includes three products: PAM-Diemaker, PAM-Quickstamp, and PAM-Autostamp. Starting from an imported CAD geometry, PAM-Diemaker lets users evaluate initial die design and optimize the binder surface and die addendum. PAM-Quickstamp lets designers evaluate different die geometry parameters, such as binder surface and die addendum, including swages and die walls. PAM-Autostamp is ESI's full-blown dynamic analysis tool for sheet metal stamping. PAM-Autostamp duplicates the actual shop floor stamping process, including tonnages, lubrication, punch velocity, material thickness and properties, and springback.

By Lawrence S. Gould, Contributing Editor

COPYRIGHT 2004 Gardner Publications, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group