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New Standard in MCAD, MCAE Interoperability

29 September 1998

Unigraphics and MacNeal-Schwendler Corp. Announce New Standard in MCAD, MCAE Interoperability; Weeks Eliminated in the Design, Analysis and Redesign Process

    LOS ANGELES--Sept. 29, 1998--Unigraphics Solutions (UG) and The MacNeal-Schwendler Corp. (MSC) Tuesday announced a new standard of interoperability between MSC/PATRAN Version 8 and Unigraphics that enables rapid bidirectional communication between the design and the analysis model.
    This results in cycle-time reductions of up to weeks by eliminating the manual updating of models sent back and forth between programs in the design, analysis and redesign process.
    Adding to the quality and reliability benefits from the recent incorporation of Parasolid as the modeling kernel, MSC/PATRAN now operates directly on Unigraphics features created in the design model.
    For example, rather than treating a hole or fillet in a model as a collection of solid faces that must be recreated manually for a parametric study, MSC/PATRAN allows a user to select the feature (hole, fillet, etc.) directly and simply change the feature's parameters.
    Any changes made to the features not only cause the geometry to be updated, but all relevant mechanical computer-aided engineering (MCAE) information, such as mesh control parameters, mesh size and loads, are automatically reapplied to the modified geometry. This eliminates most or all the analysis time required for a redesign.
    According to Dave Williams, UG's CAE development manager: "MSC is our first MCAE partner to embed our Parasolid modeling kernel and use the UG/OPEN toolkit for parametric interoperability. With the release of Version 8 of MSC/PATRAN, our customers now have a fully scalable MCAE solution combined with tight Unigraphics integration."
    In addition to any changes performed on the Unigraphics model within MSC/PATRAN, parametric modifications made to a UG master model that are re-imported into MSC/PATRAN are also supported with CAE update. A key aspect of this process is the way MSC/PATRAN updates the geometry to match the modified CAD model while preserving the suppression state of the analysis model.
    Frequently, an engineer will suppress many of the features that are irrelevant for analysis, which would otherwise cause the creation of an excessively large analysis model.
    "For many years," explained Bruce Tierney, MSC/PATRAN product manager, "manufacturers around the world have been seeking a tighter link between MCAD and MCAE as a means to dramatically reduce time to market, and increase quality. MSC/PATRAN Version 8 delivers on this goal by linking best-of-class design with best-of-class analysis."
    Tierney described the completion of the bidirection loop: "Once an engineer has an optimum analysis model, MSC/PATRAN can send a Unigraphics part file containing the current CAE state back to the design engineer for review. The engineer can use UG's history tool to review the changes made by the analysis."
    Version 8 also includes support for Unigraphics assembly access. A component preview option for faster import of only the required assembly components is available. Additionally, Unigraphics attributes can be imported for customer-specific applications such as spot-weld modeling locations and techniques.
    MacNeal-Schwendler is the world's leading supplier of mechanical computer-aided engineering (MCAE) solutions. MSC provides software, services and strategies by partnering with customers to increase the performance of their structural designs.
    MSC's solutions have played a key role in the design of virtually every major automobile, aircraft and space vehicle developed in the past decade. MSC solutions are provided by offices throughout North America, Europe, Latin America and Asia-Pacific. For more information, visit the MSC Web site at: www.macsch.com.

    Note to Editors: NASTRAN is a registered trademark of NASA. MSC, MSC/, MSC/DYTRAN, PATRAN, MSC/PATRAN, MSC/MVISION and ARIES are registered trademarks of The MacNeal-Schwendler Corp. MSC/NASTRAN, MSC/FATIGUE and MSC/FEA are trademarks of The MacNeal-Schwendler Corp. All other trademarks are the property of their registered owners.