Simulation Software Enables Significant Time-to-Market reductions through Coupled Design and Analysis (CDA)

October 8, 2003 - Huntsville, AL, CFDRC, a leading provider of advanced CFD and multiphysics software, announced today the release of a dramatically different CFD simulation package. Instead of focusing on its traditional markets of highly complex, multidisciplinary CFD applications, CFDRC has set its sights squarely at the CAD-centric design engineering environment, specifically the coupled design and analysis, referred to as the "CDA" market space. CDA has become one of the hottest growth areas as manufacturers strive to optimize their design processes and improve decision-making earlier in the product development cycle.

Accurate simulation and analysis is often needed to ensure the robustness of an early stage design. Historically, for those design challenges that involved fluid flow, heat transfer and other multiphysics, CFD analysis has been too difficult and too slow to be used within the design environment, and has therefore been used as a technology tool by analysts, usually in the R&D environment. What the design engineers have needed is a robust tool that has minimal learning curve, rapid turnaround and reliable solutions.

CFD-CADalyzer enables the design engineer to perform rapid variation (parametric) and alternative design simulations in an environment that has a very similar look and feel to leading CAD packages reducing "user intimidation" and learning curve time. More importantly, perhaps, is that CFD-CADalyzer operates directly on the native CAD model thus eliminating one of the major hurdles involved with coupling CAD and CFD analysis software - the need for complicated geometry translations. In addition, the non value-add task of creating a CFD mesh has been automated, further reducing both time and effort.

The ease of use and direct CAD associativity permits the design engineer to assess multiple design options in hours (or even minutes) within the design process, rather than wait several orders of magnitude longer for an analysis external to the process. The net reduction in product development time can be dramatic, with early examples showing the promise of savings in the order of 75%. In addition to the time-to-market advantage, the ability to assess numerous design options or variants often results in superior designs with reduced likelihood of expensive redesigns downstream in the development program.

CFDRC's market studies have also indicated that while great value can be achieved by relatively simple flow and heat transfer simulations, as the utilization of CDA increases, the need to include higher order physics will also grow. As such, CFDRC took a preemptive approach by using advanced models developed and long proven by its flagship product, CFD-ACE+™, and simplified and integrated them directly into CFD-CADalyzer. "Discussions with our customers have convinced us that total cost of ownership is a key consideration." states Michael Nieburg, Vice President of Marketing. "By providing advanced capabilities upfront, we provide assurance that they will not outgrow the software and require additional investments in the future."

"From my initial work with CFD-CADalyzer, I really like it….The ability to work with my 3D modeler and then generate a mesh with CADalyzer is outstanding." - Dr. Craig Lanning, Professional Research Assistant at the Cardiovascular Flow and Imaging Research Laboratory, The Children's Hospital, Denver, Colorado

About CFD Research Corporation

CFDRC is a technology leader in advanced multiphysics and multidisciplinary simulation software and research. The company's CFD-ACE+ and CFD-FASTRAN product lines and related services allow users to significantly reduce design time and expenses through comprehensive up-front modeling and simulation. The key industries served are Microfluidics, BioMEMS, Medical Devices, MEMS, Fuel Cells, Semiconductor, Automotive and Aerospace. CFDRC's extensive research in advancement of numerical methods, physical models, and new concepts, under contracts sponsored by government agencies and industry, guarantees to sustain its technology leadership role. The company is privately held, has over 1000 users worldwide, and is headquartered in Huntsville, AL, with branch offices in Sunnyvale, CA and Stuttgart, Germany. Worldwide representation is provided through a network of distributors. For more information, visit www.cfdrc.com or contact sales@cfdrc.com.