QUICK LINK TO COSMOSDesignStar 2007 Press Release at SOLIDWORKS:     Press Release

 

SolidWorks Corporations' April 3, 2007 Press Release for the launch of COSMOSDesignSTAR 2007 features Grantec Engineering Consultants Inc. as a notable user of the COSMOSDesignSTAR Finite Element Analysis software. The Press Release is reproduced below.

 

 

SolidWorks COSMOSDesignSTAR 2007 software opens the door to

greater innovation and higher product quality

 

Automation of time-consuming analysis tasks and support for popular CAD programs

gives designers and engineers a safety net for experimenting with new product designs

 

CONCORD, Mass., April 3, 2007 — SolidWorks Corporation today released COSMOSDesignSTAR^™ 2007 analysis software, which encourages designers of all experience and skill levels to innovate aggressively by giving them easy-to-use analysis tools to help them catch and correct errors throughout the design process. COSMOSDesignSTAR’s associative analysis enables designers to integrate CAD models created using Autodesk Inventor^®, Solid Edge^® and SolidWorks^® into COSMOSDesignSTAR without re-importing the data every time the design is modified.

 

COSMOSDesignSTAR 2007 software is the latest SolidWorks investment in promoting innovative product design through easy-to-use analysis products. COSMOSDesignSTAR 2007 makes analysis easy enough for anyone in the design process to use, yet sophisticated enough to produce accurate, dependable results. It is part of SolidWorks’ strategy to enable designers to focus on product innovation rather than learning technology tools.

 

COSMOSDesignSTAR 2007 automates and simplifies laborious analysis tasks such as analyzing circular patterns, pinpointing stresses on a surface, simulating welded spots and large displacements on bolts. It also includes new usability features, such as automatic solver selection that helps less experienced users choose the right solver for a specific task. These features encourage designers to analyze their work throughout the design process. This constant analysis drastically reduces the number and severity of late-stage errors, which cause the majority of cost and time overruns. Designers eager to innovate can experiment with many designs and look for flaws early in order to develop better products.

 

Richard Grant, founder and president of Nova Scotia-based Grantec Engineering Consultants, Inc., has used COSMOSDesignSTAR and other COSMOS analysis solutions since 1990 on projects such as analyzing the structural integrity of the Canadian Navy’s Maritime Coastal Defence Vessel. Grant tested and purchased COSMOSDesignSTAR 2007 because it combines ease of use, high performance, a rich feature set, and integration with most of the major CAD software, including SolidWorks, in a single cost-effective product.

 

“Value and versatility are a winning combination, and COSMOSDesignSTAR 2007 has it,” Grant said. “It has the robustness and feature set for demanding analysis, yet it’s intuitive enough for a new user to learn without a drawn-out learning curve. COSMOSDesignSTAR 2007 enables us to handle complex geometries faster and more cost-effectively than we could with other analysis products.”

 

Laborious tasks made automatic

 

COSMOSDesignSTAR 2007 contains more than 50 new design and ease-of-use features to make the software easier for users of all ability levels. Many of them are unique to COSMOSDesignSTAR 2007 or are only found in much more complicated and expensive applications.

 

Two of the more significant upgrades in COSMOSDesignSTAR 2007 are associative analysis, which eliminates redundant re-importing of design data from different applications, and adaptive meshing. Adaptive meshing automatically refines the analytical mesh users create on their designs in response to stress results. This yields more accurate results.

 

Among the key new design features are virtual sensors, cyclical symmetry, bolt connector and spot weld simulation, and “envelope plots” that create simple one-step processes for identifying peak stress at any location in a model for the entire load or time cycle. They are all automated to make them simpler and less time consuming, often reducing a once-laborious process to a single step.

 

Virtual sensors enable designers to pinpoint a specific area on a 3D model the same way they would use physical sensors on a prototype. The sensors provide detailed feedback on a potential problem area, such as a joint that deflects too much under stress. Cyclical symmetry enables designers to analyze a circular object, like a turbine blade, all at once rather than one blade at a time. The spot weld feature enables designers to simulate a weld between a shell and a solid in one step. With the bolt connector feature, unique to COSMOSDesignSTAR 2007, they can simulate real life problems affecting assemblies with bolts subject to large displacements. The envelope plot feature reduces to one step the complex task of determining the maximum and minimum results of tests such as thermal, drop, and non-linear analysis.

 

Among the new usability features are automatic solver selection, a restart option for nonlinear analysis, and remote mass analysis. The automatic solver selection uses a model’s size, the type of analysis and analytical mesh to determine which specific solver to use for the most accurate results. This helps less experienced designers avoid errors. The restart option helps to stop a nonlinear analysis, adjust its parameters, and then start it again from that point instead of from the beginning. Remote mass analysis simplifies the process of creating an analysis mesh. For a designer working on a chassis, for example, the remote mass analysis feature simulates the mass of parts such as motors and actuators that the chassis will have to hold. The simulation saves the designer the time and effort of creating an analysis mesh for the parts he/she is not designing.

 

“Concern about making costly errors restricts innovation. Analysis sharply reduces errors, but complexity has prevented designers from using analysis applications in the past. It’s a simple equation: simple, accurate analysis aids innovation,” said Ramesh Ramalingam, SolidWorks manager of product management, analysis products. “Through software like COSMOSDesignSTAR 2007, SolidWorks is steadily eroding one of the most stubborn barriers to innovation.”

 

About SolidWorks Corporation
SolidWorks Corporation, a Dassault Systèmes S.A. (Nasdaq: DASTY, Euronext Paris: #13065, DSY.PA) company, develops and markets software for design, analysis, and product data management. It is the leading supplier of 3D CAD technology, giving teams intuitive, high-performing software that helps them design better products. For the latest news, information, or an online demonstration, visit the company’s Web site (www.solidworks.com) or call 1-800-693-9000 (outside of North America, call +1-978-371-5000).