Fluent Newsletter Summer 2005

CUSTOMIZED SOLUTIONSHow CAEfits into thePLM WorldSPDM solutions manage task level to system level activities, and are enabled by a setof highly integrated processes, methods, and datathat they are available to a wider group of companies for evaluating moredesigns more thoroughly at a much earlier stage in the design process as well ascapture the knowledge and codify the process of CAE usage. Such an approachcan deliver substantial improvements in product design and performance whilereducing product development lead time and costs.SPDM solutions can consist of either full design systems that integrate the entireproduct development process or custom interfaces that streamline one or moreanalysis steps involved in the design process. The SPDM continuum is such thata solution can vary from a vertical application (a glass-lined mixing tank analysis,for example) to a full-blown design system managing both the process and thedata generated by simulations from multiple disciplines (underhood thermalmanagement, for example). The focus or content of a solution can primarily beconcerned with process or with data, or with any combination of the two. Thearticles on the pages that follow provide examples of different application solutionswithin the SPDM continuum.Data mining techniques can be incorporated to allow both the detailed analysisof multiple simulation results and comparison with experimental results. SPDMsolutions naturally integrate with broader product lifecycle management (PLM)systems already in place.SPDM solutions can offer many advantages including: a secure web-based systemthat protects intellectual capital, a design environment that permits datamining and prevents reinventing the wheel, an embedded design process thatassures consistency and the use of best practices, and integrated high-end CAEanalyses that can be performed by non-experts. Essentially SPDM is a systematicapproach and infrastructure for managing the process and data related to CAEsimulation in a VPD environment.DEFINED BROADLY, Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) is an information-drivenapproach to all aspects of a product’s life, from design tomanufacture to deployment and maintenance, eventually ending when theproduct is removed from service and disposed. Imagine all of these stepsenabled by a set of highly integrated processes, methods, and tools.PLM systems are really an outgrowth of product document management,or PDM systems, and are geared more toward CAD data than simulationdata. In fact the volumes of data generated from transient 3D simulationscreate a real problem for most PLM systems.Simulation Process and Data Management, or SPDM, is the application ofinformation technology, especially in the areas of archiving and data mining,to both the engineering design and analysis processes and the datagenerated with today’s CAE tools.The benefits are data mining, knowledge capture, protection of intellectualcapital, and integration of simulation and virtual product developmentwith the PLM environment. SPDM is essentially the glue that binds CAEtools to PLM systems. ManufacturingEngineeringProduct Test& ValidationLAUNCHManufacturingProductionSales &DistributionOwner’sExperienceAs a systems integrator that specializes in the area of CAE process and data managementand has strong relationships with all major CAE vendors, Enductiveplays a central role as an implementer of SPDM solutions. Engineering solutionsfrom Enductive increase the payback of CAE by providing the ability to extractmore value from the results and integrate simulation within the entire designenvironment. ProductEngineeringConceptEngineeringRequirementsand PlanningDisposal& RecyclingMaintenance& RepairA diagram illustrating the many stages of Product Lifecycle Management;CAE plays its most important role in the product engineering step of the cycle6 Fluent News · Summer 2005