Computer-aided engineering (CAE) is the broad usage of computer software to aid in engineering analysis tasks. It includes finite element analysis (FEA), computational fluid dynamics (CFD), multibody dynamics (MBD), durability and optimization. It is included with computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) in the collective abbreviation "CAx".
NASTRAN is a finite element analysis (FEA) program that was originally developed for NASA in the late 1960s under United States government funding for the aerospace industry. The MacNeal-Schwendler Corporation (MSC) was one of the principal and original developers of the publicly available NASTRAN code. NASTRAN source code is integrated in a number of different software packages, which are distributed by a range of companies.
SDRC is a leading company specializing in MCAE and PLM software.
Engineering Animation, Inc., or EAI, was a services and software company based in Ames, Iowa, United States. It remained headquartered there from its incorporation in 1990 until it was acquired in 2000 by Unigraphics Solutions, Inc., now a subsidiary of the German technology multinational Siemens AG. During its existence, EAI produced animations to support litigants in court, wrote and sold animation and visualization software, and developed a number of multimedia medical and computer game titles. Part of EAI's business now exists in a spin-off company, Demonstratives.
JT is an openly-published ISO-standardized 3D CAD data exchange format used for product visualization, collaboration, digital mockups, and other purposes. It was developed by Siemens.
Tecnomatix Technologies, Ltd. is a provider of Manufacturing Process Management and Product lifecycle management software to the electronics, automotive, aerospace and heavy equipment industries, currently owned by Siemens AG. Tecnomatix's eMPower is a suite of end-to-end Manufacturing Process Management solutions for the collaborative development and optimization of manufacturing processes across the extended enterprise and supply chain.
The Jack human simulation system was developed at the Center for Human Modeling and Simulation at the University of Pennsylvania in the 1980s & 1990s under the direction of Professor Norman Badler. Conceived as an ergonomic assessment and virtual human prototyping system for NASA space shuttle development, it soon gathered funding from the U.S. Navy and U.S. Army for dismounted soldier simulation, from the U.S. Air Force for maintenance simulation, and from various other government and corporate users for their own applications. In 1996 the software was spun off into a privately held company and is now sold as an ergonomic human simulation toolkit by Siemens. The research and development of the Jack system have led to such standards as H-anim and MPEG4 Body Animation Parameters.
Solid Edge is a 3D CAD, parametric feature and synchronous technology solid modeling software. It runs on Microsoft Windows and provides solid modeling, assembly modelling and 2D orthographic view functionality for mechanical designers. Through third party applications it has links to many other Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) technologies.
Femap is an engineering analysis program sold by Siemens Digital Industries Software that is used to build finite element models of complex engineering problems ("pre-processing") and view solution results ("post-processing"). It runs on Microsoft Windows and provides CAD import, modeling and meshing tools to create a finite element model, as well as postprocessing functionality that allows mechanical engineers to interpret analysis results. The finite element method allows engineers to virtually model components, assemblies, or systems to determine behavior under a given set of boundary conditions, and is typically used in the design process to reduce costly prototyping and testing, evaluate differing designs and materials, and for structural optimization to reduce weight.
Plant Simulation is a computer application developed by Siemens Digital Industries Software for modeling, simulating, analyzing, visualizing and optimizing production systems and processes, the flow of materials and logistic operations. Using Tecnomatix Plant Simulation, users can optimize material flow, resource utilization and logistics for all levels of plant planning from global production facilities, through local plants, to specific lines. Within the Plant Design und Optimization Solution the software portfolio, to which Plant Simulation belongs, is — together with the products of the Digital Factory and of Digital Manufacturing — part of the Product Lifecycle Management Software (PLM). The application allows comparing complex production alternatives, including the immanent process logic, by means of computer simulations. Plant Simulation is used by individual production planners as well as by multi-national enterprises, primarily to strategically plan layout, control logic and dimensions of large, complex production investments. It is one of the major products that dominate that market space.
CD-adapco was a multinational computer software company that authored and distributed applications used for computer-aided engineering, best known for its computational fluid dynamics (CFD) products. In 2016 the company was acquired by Siemens Digital Industries Software.
NX, formerly known as "unigraphics", is an advanced high-end CAD/CAM/CAE, which has been owned since 2007 by Siemens Digital Industries Software. In 2000, Unigraphics purchased SDRC I-DEAS and began an effort to integrate aspects of both software packages into a single product which became Unigraphics NX or NX.
UGS was a computer software company headquartered in Plano, Texas, specializing in 3D & 2D Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) software. Its operations were amalgamated into the Siemens Digital Industries Software business unit of Siemens Industry Automation division, when Siemens completed the US $3.5 billion acquisition of UGS on May 7, 2007.
Creo is a family of Computer-aided design (CAD) apps supporting product design for discrete manufacturers and is developed by PTC. The suite consists of apps, each delivering a distinct set of capabilities for a user role within product development.
VISTAGY, Inc. is a business segment within the Siemens Digital Industries Software business unit and is located in Waltham, Massachusetts, USA. On December 6, 2011 Siemens closed its acquisition of VISTAGY. VISTAGY is a provider of engineering software and services focused on the specific requirements of vertical industries, including aerospace, automotive, marine, and wind energy. The company has sales and support offices throughout North and South America, Asia, and Europe. VISTAGY was founded by Steve Luby in 1991. He serves as the unit's president and CEO.
Siemens Digital Industries Software is an American computer software company specializing in 3D & 2D Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) software. The company is a business unit of Siemens, operates under the legal name of Siemens Industry Software Inc, and is headquartered in Plano, Texas.
Shape Data Limited is a computer software company in Cambridge, England that specialises in developing programs for engineering and manufacturing professionals.
Simcenter STAR-CCM+ is a commercial Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) based simulation software developed by Siemens Digital Industries Software. Simcenter STAR-CCM+ allows the modeling and analysis of a range of engineering problems involving fluid flow, heat transfer, stress, particulate flow, electromagnetics and related phenomena.
