Running small Abaqus models online

[ParabolicTet]

Here's an interesting site that lets you run simple Abaqus models in Calculix online. See:

http://www.feacluster.com/web_calculix.php

Or to run any verification model:

http://www.feacluster.com/CalculiX/ccx_2.13/doc/ccx/node403.php

Are any companies using Calculix? Seems it can do 80% of what most people use Abaqus for ( nonlinear, contact, etc ). Or is it primarily the domain of the hobbyist and students?

 

[IceBreakerSours]

It is the latter. For "large" companies, a major constraint is the amount of time available to solve a job. For a wide class of problems, CalculiX is just as good as Abaqus but it isn't convenient to work with in a large group of modelers with a varied level of skill and background. Codes like Abaqus are general purpose which makes them appealing to use in a commercial setting. Also, such general purpose codes dedicate resources to tackle industry or customer-specific challenges. Finally, there are people you can talk to if you run in to a hurdle and the clock is ticking.

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[ParabolicTet]

It is interesting how time is more important than money in engineering firms. I always thought Abaqus licenses were very expensive. I am guessing the reason is they have hundreds ( thousands?) of PhD's developing it. If most customers only use a small subset of Abaqus features, then why pay for all that complexity?

It is kind of amazing how CalculIX is written mostly by one person. This guy must be a genius! It would take me my whole life to maybe code one of its features

 

[Mustaine3]

Do you really think, that Calculix is as powerful as Abaqus?

Calculix might be good for specific types of simulation, but that's it. Even in those domains Abaqus is usually more powerful. And then there are a lot of other domains, where Abaqus can be used and Calculix not.

Also don't underestimate the money that an hour of an Simulation engineer costs and how that sums up through a year. With Abaqus you not only have more and better solver functionality, but also a useful Pre-/Postprocessor, a proper documentation and hotline support.

Additionally you can also think about the point, that for a small additional fee, Abaqus comes together with Isight, Tosca and fe-safe. And optimization and fatigue analysis are quite important in an competitive market these days.

But I agree that you don't need Abaqus, if you occasionally do just basic analysis.