MSC's MD Nastran? 1

[sshah1]

Hi,
If you have had the chance to explore MSC Software's MD Nastran, please share your experience with the software.

1. Is there much of a difference in performance between MD and the stand alone version of Nastran in the look and feel of the program?
2. While we are looking to update, do you think that another package is worth taking the time to learn (NEI, NX, along with a mix of FEA products)?

Thank you very much,
SS

 

[JakeLiv]

as far as I know, MD nastran is a standalone improved nastran, not a gui...

something like nastran 2006....

or I might be wrong..

there should also come out patran MD.

 

[hansm2]

We just purchased our 3rd license of NEi Nastran and I highly recommend it. MD Nastran is just MSC Nastran with some new packaging. It is also very expensive and you will end up with a lot of features you do not need. You can probably get NEi Nastran for less than your MSC maintenance. NX Nastran is very close to the MSC 2001 release. They do not have a native advanced nonlinear solution but you can get Adina as an add-on. I am not sure how well they are integrated.

 

[JakeLiv]

can you tell me the price of nei nastran? and what it includes?

I know each retailer has it's own pricelist, but I asume they don't really differ.

 

[ThomasH]

A little information om MD Nastran (MD stands for Multi Discipline).

What MSC has done is renaming a package and added some features. You have MSC.Nastran (statics, implicit dynamics, basic nonlinear and temperature).
First Marc was added, SOL600, with more advanced nonlinear capabilities. That was a few years ago.
Now LS-Dyna has been added, SOL700, with explicit dynamics.
Some other capabilities have also been added and in that process the name was changed.

And there will be (if there isn't already) a MD Patran.

MSC says that they have the broadest range of analysis capabilities on the market. And it's all in one package with similar bulk data etc. So if you need the full range it might be a good choice but my guess is that it might also be pricey.

I did a evaluation on the three Nastran's (MSC, NEi and NX) a while back. I've worked with MSC.Nastran for Windows and the MSC/UGS collaboration ended so something had to be done.

Without going into detail, I ended up with NEiNastran.

Good Luck

Thomas

 

[sshah1]

Thanks a lot guys. ThomasH, you mentioned you went with NEi, I'd love to hear the details!

 

[GenesisFEM]

I have been in the FEA industry for 18 years and have had experience with COSMOS, MECHANICA and a variety of Nastran's. The MD Nastran starts at $100,000.00. That does not include Patran. MSC has taken the classic Nastran and dropped in MARC and LS DYNA (3rd party). No different if you were looking to add these components seperatly they just put it all in one area for a very large price. The consideration is how it works with Patran. Even with their MD Patran, which can't be more capabable considering that it is going away. How well will it work with all 3 solvers. It really depends what you are looking to accomplish. My experience with NEiNastran has been very good. They have a very strong Nastran solution, with the capability of Nonlinear and impact analysis umongst other things. The price and the personnel is the other impressive attribute to this company.

 

[ThomasH]

sshah1:

Since you ask for details you'll get then .

Like I mentioned I've worked with N4W for a while (since it came on the market actually) and been happy with it. But now UGS pulled Femap so N4W no longer exists as a product. MSC wanted to replace it with MSC.FEA or a stand-alone nodelocked MSC.Nastran with similar capabilities. For the second alternative that means a pre/post processor other than MSC's.

So I took a look at Patran (MSC.FEA). It does what Femap does. There are differences, some good and some bad but the main difference is the interface. But if I should learn a new software like Patran I want to end up with something better than what I have and I couldn't see that happening. Even if Patran is better than Femap I don't think it's much better. There was also the concern of my application programs written for Femap, they would have to be rewritten. Finally, since my time has a value for somebody, this could be a very expensive solution.

So my conclusion was Femap. Next question was the solver. If Patran have been the alternative MSC.Nastran would have been the obvious choice but now it wasn't. The Nastran package MSC offered as replacement didn't have all the capabilities I need and it is nodelocked. Since I need flexibility, I like the dongles.

First of all I concider all three (MSC, NX and NEi) as good solutions.

MSC is good but to buy a stand-alone version was not in the budget so that was gone.

NX Nastran is in many respects the same as MSC.Nastran version 2001. In many cases it worked fine for me but I had some problems with large models. Plus, version 2001 was a step back since I now have MSC version 2004. There is also the lock between Femap and solver as with N4W. I'm was used to it but could not see any "step forward" with this alternative.

NEiNastran is a bit different. It is very much like the stand-alone MSC version in how you can work with it. Norans editor is unique, first I didn't like it at all, now i do. My initial impression was that NEi was very slow and I had the idea that it was because of the editor. Now I would say thar sometimes it i slow but in other cases it is very fast and that probably has very little to do with the editor.
As for fuctionality it's very capable and one big plus is that if I miss something Noran seems very open to suggestions. All things considered I have no regrets so far.

A bit longer then planned but I hope it helps.

Good Luck

THomas

 

[JakeLiv]

Thanks for the info.
We went the other way - MSC.FEA.
I know it lacks some of the nonlinear parts, but I have access to the full nastran and marc, so it's not a real problem.

Th emain issue is that I really like having control over my BDF files, and msc fea doesn't give me that power.. everything has it's price

I'm trying neinastran (with femap as preprocessor) at home (the 300 node version).

The main reason was that I have 4-5 years experience with MSC software (patran) and this is the best solution for me..

 

[sshah1]

Hey guys, thanks a lot for your responses, but just to get a better feel for where you guys are using these CAE products, do you mind giving me some insight as to what company you work at or even just whether its a big, medium or small company with the field the company is associated with?