BEST CAD TO FEA SOFTWARE 4

[EAengineering07]

Hello,

I posted this question in another forum but it seems there is low traffic there, so I'm reposting here.

I work as a Mechanical Engineer for a plant. We cover everything the plant needs, seeing project from conception to end.
We cover P&ID's, piping diagrams, foundations and structures. We currently use AutoCAD for everything (plans etc. 2D and 3D) and our draftsmen
use AutoCAD to detail as well. As far as FEA software, we use Risa 3D.

I am wanting to streamline the workflow and make things quicker. A lot of the time, I'm having to redraw 3D models in RISA that I or
another has drawn in AutoCAD. I know you can import a .dxf of AutoCAD into RISA 3D but I'm wondering if there's better programs to use
for all of this?

I've seen Revit mentioned as a program that interfaces well with RISA 3D, but I've also read Revit doesn't work well with CAD (am I mistaken?).

Essentially, I would like for the Draftsmen to be able to draw/design structures (beams/columns etc.) which from there I would
take the structure and be able to perform an FEA and alternatively be able to take the structure back to AutoCAD for plans/detailing.

If anyone has any suggestions or if you could just let me know what you/your company uses it would be much appreciated!

 

[OLDSOUL22]

Take a look at Robot structural analysis from Autodesk, I like it over RISA even though it's not very user-friendly and takes time to get used to, but it works well with Advanced Steel and somehow with AutoCAD too. they are all part of the Autodesk suit package and relatively cheap to get.

Depending on the type of work you do, it might be cost advantageous to swap AutoCAD with Revit. In my experience, for larger projects it saves a lot of time if you have a good degree of proficiency. Cannot attest to compatibly with RISA though.


MSc in Structural Engineering, PE

 

[JoshPlumSE]

Revit is more of a replacement for CAD. It is a BIM (Building Information Modeling) system. So, it works best with multi-discipline input. Meaning that your HVAC guys, and electrical guys enter their ducts and such, Architect puts in all of his stuff and structural puts in all of their stuff. Conflicts between disciplines are easier to detect, or can be dealt with sooner.

You then can use your 3D model to generate drawings. I can't really address Revit / RISA compatibility as that was something that never really dealt with when I worked there. Caveat: I now work for one of RISA competitors (CSI / SAP2000 / ETABS).

Regarding working with AutoCAD: If you're talking about creating 2D or 3D AutoCAD drawings, then the DXF file import or export is probably your best bet in RISA. It will mostly just be stick figures and such.

I am certainly biased, but I have spent some time working with CSiXCAD, which is a AutoCAD (or BricsCAD or ZWCAD) plug in program that my company (CSI) produces. You might want to take a look. Granted, I've mostly worked with linking it between ETABS and AutoCAD. You be the judge after evaluating it. But, I think it's better than most CAD to FEA interfaces.

https://www.csiamerica.com/products/csixcad

Now that I'm thinking about "Plug-ins", there is a 3D party program (Structural Desktop) that is an AutoCAD plugin (I believe) that spent a lot of time getting information out of RISA-3D and RISAFloor into AutoCAD. I'm assuming this product still works for the latest versions of RISA. But, you'll want to check with them. This is the closest thing to CSiXCAD that I know of for RISA.

http://www.structuraldesktop.com/

 

[bugbus]

Strand7 allows you to import geometry in dxf format and then creates elements directly from the dxf file, including auto-meshing plate and solid models.

 

[Brad805]

In the industrial world Revit is not popular. In the mechanical context it works best for commercial buildings. Plant 3D is far more common. Could you make all the families in Revit, sure, but it would take a master plan for it to be efficient.

2D CAD to FEA is not that difficult if your CAD techs are trained to create drawings how you need them. That said, sloppy drafting is a huge problem with this. Analysis software recognizes any gap or drawing errors that a tech will not. Unless the techs can produce very precise drawings it can take more time to edit the drawings for your needs instead of just creating the simple linework you need.

If you enter into the 3D CAD world you have a lot of options for mechanical. Which software you use will depend upon your goals. Some packages include analysis options in the software, and that can work well. Again, you need to train your techs how you need the model to be created. In the 3D world you find that most are creating very accurate models. That is nice to look at, but all the complex geometry will really create problems in mesh creation. Most of the time you need a configuration specific for analysis.