2009 was a year of rapid change for the computer-aided engineering (CAE) industry. Developers rushed to meet the demands of an evolving economy and a new status quo in the global manufacturing marketplace.
The result was that the CAE field was shaken up in several ways, which include the acquisitions of two of the most recognized vendors in the industry, Algor and MSC, by larger organizations.
Gartner Analyst Marc Halpern explained that these acquisitions may represent a significant trend in the CAE industry. MSC’s acquisition, in particular demonstrates a growing awareness of the value of CAE, he said.
Halpern continued explaining how the CAE marketplace is changing to meet a growing awareness that the technology can be applied in new ways. What was once the exclusive purview of analysts and mathematicians is making its way into the designer’s office and even the executive boardrooms.
“It’s not that CAE is changing into something new, there will always be a place for the specialist, but what is happening is the infusion of CAD, visualization software, gaming technology and CAE are all influencing each other,” Halpern elaborated.
For now, this means CAE vendors are making a push to bring the technology into the hands of designers to help reduce errors early in the model creation phase and free analysts to focus on much more technically daunting tasks.
Further down the line, this trend might mean that individuals working in marketing and administration might make use of the technology.
“Corporate executives could use this technology to present the experience of riding in a car or how the vibrations will sound as it moves,” he said. “An engineer could possibly digitally create these environments instead of presenting them as data.”
Halpern continued explaining the ultimate result of these trends is to create digital prototypes that could be seen, heard and touched.
There is a danger to this trend he warned, if CAE becomes a buzz term applied without concern for practicality or efficiency it could do more harm than good. “It might be easy for companies to take this trend and use it as an excuse to simulate or analyze every bolt and fastener,” he said. “But that isn’t going to help anyone meet their goals.”
Source: Siemens Community
