NX NASTRAN, NEI NASTRAN

[Dan Poon]

Just from what I've read online about the two software tools, NEI NASTRAN was specifically developed to be run on PC's. It seems that NX NASTRAN also can run on PCs. Some literature stated that NEI NASTRAN is more advanced, and better tool, with extra capabilities. Are these claims true?

Would It be correct to assume that NX Nastran is mostly for corporate, enterprise , whereas NEI Nastran is more widely used and available, such as academia, and even private use?

 

[ThomasH]

Hello,
Actually I think you have some outdated information.
NEi Nastran, or more accurate, NEi Software was acquired in 2014 by Autodesk and NEi Nastran became Autodesk Nastran. Today, as far as I know, you can't buy Autodesk Nastran because it is only sold as part of Autodesks products like Nastran-in-Cad. But is was originally developed to run on PC's.

Today I would say the major players are MSC.Nastran and NX Nastran. To be more accurate, NX Nastran has been renamed to Simcenter Nastran but it is the same solver.

Back in the sixties NASA wanted a single simulation system for their structural analysis's. NASA STRuctural ANalysis, aka NASTRAN, when it was first released to NASA, MSC.Software (MacNeal-Schwendler Corporation) started to market and develop their own version. The software har evolved over many version and MSC acquired several of them. In 2002 there was an agreement between FTC (Federal Trade Commission) and MSC that MSC should release a copy to UGS Corporation to eliminate MSC's "monopoly" on Nastran. UGS could now develop a competing version. UCS was aquired by Siemens in 2007, and that is a short background to NX Nastran.

Both MSC.Nastran and NX Nastran run on PC's and some other computer setups (I don't know the details). Both of them are very capable, as was NEiNastran. I used NEiNastran before Autodesk got involved. After that the development seemed to slow down, I actually still have an NEINastran license. Now I use NX Nastran and I have used MSC in the past. As for "better" or more advanced, it depends on the exact application.

That was an attempt to a short summary.

Thomas