Looking for FE package ~$10000

[FEMdude]

Hi!
I'm looking for a FE package for my small engineering company (structural analyses only).

"Industry standards" ANSYS and MSC/Nastran/Patran are out of my budget so I'd need recommendations for a bit cheaper packages, please.

The program should have linear static, eigenvalue, linear buckling and possibly nonlinear static capabilities. It should also be able to handle orthotropic materials (composites & wood) and import most common geometry and FE-files (eg Autocad, iges, neutral files, etc).

Any suggestions? If you could also estimate the price level, it would be very helpful also. Thanks!

 

[Ishmael]

You may have a look on Ne/Nastran bundled with FEMAP. I use it and I'm quite satisfied with it.

THe web site is

http://www.nenastran.com

 

[GregLocock]

Nastran for Windows just meets your price if you take basic modelling, and,say, the non linear OR dynamics OR optimisation OR the better modeller module.

http://www.engineering-e.com/merchant/msc_ms/software/nastr4win/

I don't know what the current basic modeller is like, but I've used an earlier version of Nastran for Windows and like it a lot.

I am pretty sure you can come up with a cheaper system that is no more difficult to use by finding another pre and post processor, and a different, but compatible, solver. Ishmael's suggestion of FEMAP and NX is the obvious one, particularly since NfW's preprocessor is FEMAP (so far as I can tell)

http://www.eds.com/products/plm/femap/features.shtml

However the comparison chart in

http://www.eds.com/products/plm/femap/pdf/br_femap_v20.pdf

suggests that the solver is more limited than NfW's.

http://www.mayasim.com/home.asp?ContentDoc=http://www.mayasim.com/femap/femap-licensing.asp

Gets tantalisingly close to quoting a price ($4k for the base package), but as usual they really want to talk to you first. They do at least point out the the the FEMAP solver is different to the NX one.

One thing I've found with non-linear analysis is that correlation (physical) data is vital, otherwise you are better off with the back of an envelope. So if you don't have the time and money to run a validation process then you can save yourself a lot of grief and skip non linear analysis.



Cheers

Greg Locock

 

[PXC]

Check out

http://www.strand7.com

 

[ThiloT]

For your needs and budget NE/Nastran is a hard to beat package. Don't now exactly about their current pricing - just ask, they don't have such an agressive marketing as some competitors have.

 

[ramshree]

For your needs, you could still use the beginner's package from ANSYS called DesignSpace I believe. It is excellent when it comes to major CAD associativity and also pretty easy to use. The only major drawback might be that it can't handle any Material non-linearities. Just the geometric non-linearities and it is definitely in the price range that you are looking at. And if you run into some "non-linear" problems say once a year or once in 2 years, you can always "lease" their higher end packages like ANSYS/Mechanical even for like 6 months. Their sales people might not be very willing initially but they do it.

I don't know if I have answered your question, but I always prefer to be with products like ANSYS for the reason that you can always upgrade to a better product if the situation demands within the ANSYS products as opposed to changing to a new FEA package which is a whole lot of mess.
Best of luck!

Rob.

 

[FEMdude]

Thanks everyone! I'll have a closer look at the programs you suggested.

The reason I did not ask directly from the companies is that their marketing people can be real pain in the a*s for at least 2-3 years after the inquery (they keep sending junk-mail and make mid-night phone calls due to time difference)..

 

[hiyer]

FEModule,

I would suggest you take a look at COSMOS DesignStar also. It has great CAD associativity and handles Material Non-Linearities along with the functionalities you mentioned like buckling, Frequency analysis and ofcourse, Linear Static. I think this package costs under $10,000 and they offer an evaluation version also.

All the best.

hiyer

 

[CostasV]

Femdude,

I have not seen anyone introducing the JL Analyser.

http://www.autofea.com/

up to 3000 nodes = 285$
up to 10000 nodes = 1485$
unlimited nodes = 2485$

I have worked with the free version (up to 300 nodes) and it covers my (not so high) requirments.

Hope this helps,
Costas

 

[nagi]

Hey FEMdude,

For the price you want, I suggest that you look into ADINA (

http://www.adina.com).

They have a 900-node version for about $100, and they sometimes give a full version for free for a couple of months. The full price of their structural module (with nonlinearities) is close to your price range. They have interesting demo animations at

http://www.adina.com/newsgrp.shtml.

 

[Softedge]

You might also look at Algor FEA. The software comes in upgradable modules from basic linear static through non-linear static to full non-linear mechanical event simulation. Talk to Ed Simmons at Algor. He can be reached at 800 482 5467 ext3112. This company seems to be quite flexible in their offerings and also allow rentals of their software for specific projects. Depending on how much functionality you need, this software can be purchased for under $10k.

 

[pappyirl]

I work in a small structural engineering company and I believe that a program such as Robot or STAAD would be more in line with your needs. Programs such as ANSYS or ABAQUS are expennsive and have functionality that is above and beyond what is required in a normal structural engineering firm. Both Robot & STAAD have FE, static, dynamic, modal, buckling and design capability. I use the Robot package. While it has its limitations i.e. no load pattern generator for flat slab design, it is cheap < $6000 and its basic package includes all of the above analyses. Visit

http://www.robobat.com

for a trial version.

 

[JGalliera]

I would suggest looking at COSMOSDesignSTAR. It has all the functionality you are looking for and is within your budget.

 

[dji]

Why not take a look at LUSAS. It covers all your requirements and specialises in composite materials. I suggest you email sales@lusas.com if you are interested.

 

[UcfSE]

Have you looked at SAP2000 from CSI Berkley?

 

[tmschrader]

The 3000 node JL analyzer discussed above is not bad, considering the price.

The modeler is much easier to use than another low end FEA called LISA.

 

[bsvk]

I think you can try with NISA -

http://www.emrc.com

to get mode
Best regards,
Visuvanathan.B

 

[hevia]

To the FEMDude.
Nice handle. Hope you haven't made your decision yet. Hey, I've been doing business with Noran Engineering since '98. These guys offer NE/Nastran. There package is bundled with FEMAP and is very similar to MSC/nastran for windows. Cost should be substantially better. Hey, technical support is big and Noran takes care of you. Great people to work with... seriously. An experienced analyst should tell you that there is much more to learn, always. NE is a solid mature program backed by a experienced staff which is striving to improve their product based on customer needs. It will cover all the analysis issues that you addressed and much more. User friendly as well.

Noran - small company with large character.

 

[FEMdude]

I've chosen Noran engineering's NE/Nastran.
I evaluated also MSC's Nastran for windows (femap), MSC.FEA (&quot;nastran & patran for windows&quot and Algor, which were good but slightly out of my budget, and also Ansys DesignSpace which did not have all tha capabilities I needed.
Thank You everyone! Stay tuned...

 

[dji]

Why not take a look at LUSAS? The softwrae is packaged so you should be able to fix within your beuget. Check out

http://www.lusas.com