What is ANSYS Up To?

By on September 5th, 2017 in Software

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 A new, animated version of Spaceclaim? 
A new, animated version of Spaceclaim? 

ANSYS is planning a major announcement on Thursday, but what is it about? 

ANSYS produces the well-known high-end CAD system Spaceclaim, whose direct modeling capability can be used to develop engineering 3D models easily. The company competes with a number of other CAD and engineering simulation packages, each of which introduces new features on a regular basis. 

The most recent version of Spaceclaim is ANSYS Spaceclaim 2015, released in 2014. Now, the company seems set to announce something new. They say: 

On September 7th, ANSYS will introduce a new technology
that will forever change the way products are designed.

That’s a very provocative statement indeed. So what are they up to? 

Short of waiting for the 7 September announcement, there’s not much one can say definitively. However, they have published a short video with some compelling visual features.

In the video, they list the following: 

  • What if we changed the approach to engineering simulation?
  • What if design exploration was highly interactive?
  • What if simulation results were instantaneous?

I presume the answers to these questions implies the new version of Spaceclaim, presumably labeled “ANSYS Spaceclaim 2018” would include such features. 

 Tweaking a 3D model's engineering analysis in real time in an unannounced version of Spaceclaim?
Tweaking a 3D model’s engineering analysis in real time in an unannounced version of Spaceclaim?

It seems so, given the startling animations shown in the video, which appear to allow the designer to literally tweak a design and instantly see the results. The video also shows animations of live flows. 

 Very interesting real time animations from Spaceclaim
Very interesting real time animations from Spaceclaim

I’m impressed if they can do this in real time, as many simulation packages take considerable time to process an analysis, often requiring the designer to “come back later” for the result. 

We’ll know more when ANSYS reveals the details, which they intend to do on Thursday during a public webinar. It appears that anyone can sign up for it, so if you’re interested, hit the link below. 

Via ANSYS

By Kerry Stevenson

Kerry Stevenson, aka "General Fabb" has written over 8,000 stories on 3D printing at Fabbaloo since he launched the venture in 2007, with an intention to promote and grow the incredible technology of 3D printing across the world. So far, it seems to be working!