Simulation-driven Design

ALTAIR INSPIRE product family and ALTAIR SIMSOLID focus mainly on simulations in the conceptual phase of product design. Set of appliactions includes tools for structural analysis, topology optimization, multi-body dynamics, simulation of technological processes, and tools for mathematical, physical and system modeling.

Simulation-driven Design

Altair Inspire product family and Altair SimSolid are tools supporting the Simulation-driven Design approach. It means the product development process with regard to its physical functionality, performance, and manufacturability, which we verify at an early stage of development – from the concept design stage. In addition, Model-based Development tools connect the world of 0D and 1D modeling with 3D simulations.

Check their potential benefits for your business. Contact Advanced Engineering, the official distributor for the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Discover a wide range of uses

Altair Inspire in applications

Simulation-driven Design software tools provide flexible solutions for time-efficient modeling, analysis, and optimization in structural mechanics, multi-body simulations, manufacturing process simulations, and multi-physics. Entire tools can be effectively integrated into the design process from conceptual design through detailed design to validation.

Fast and accurate structural analysis and optimization

Altair Inspire now includes three basic solvers: OptiStruct for FEM-based structural analysis and especially optimization, the unique SimSolid solver for ultra-fast analysis of detailed-design variants based on the generalized FEM method, and last but not least MotionSolve for investigating kinematics and mechanism dynamics using the Multi-body Dynamics method.

Learn how Altair Inspire works with SimSolid solver and what the benefits are.

Manufacturing simulations

In addition to structural analyses and optimizations, Altair Inspire enables verification of manufacturability and detailed simulations of manufacturing processes. Modules for technologies, such as 3D printing, casting, plastic and PU foam injection, forming, and extrusion, are used for this purpose. All have a unified way of using principles and the same user interface as the basic Inspire.

What does Simulation-driven Design software do?

Analysis, Optimization, and Simulation-Driven Design
Inspire and SimLab sT software tools are designed for structural analysis of structures and topological and other types of product optimization. Discover the most stressed locations already in the conceptual development phase and learn how to optimize, strengthen and improve your product. If you require automated creation of a high-quality FEM mesh or solve multi-physical problems, use SimLab. For fast analysis of detail-designed CAD models in many variants benefit from SimSolid.
Manufacturing feasibility and process simulation
Verify the feasibility of your part in the early stages of development. Avoid manufacturing defects, eliminate critical points in the construction. Inspire Cast, Form, Extrude, Mold and PolyFoam products include casting, stamping, and extrusion simulations. The Inspire tool itself (now with Print3D module) will help you optimize the design for 3D printing.
Model-based Development
Develop your product as a complete virtual model whose behavior and features you will model with help of a mathematical sub-model, a physical sub-model represented as a logical diagram, a controlling model, mechanical 3D models (e.g. using multi-body dynamics), CFD or EM models. Compose and Activate help you integrate it in one. Or use Compose as integration and automation tools in pre-processing, post-processing, or signal processing.
Industrial Design
Create innovative designs not only in terms of physical properties, performance, and efficiency but also aesthetics. Take full advantage of accurate parametric, polygonal, and PolyNURBS-based modeling. Complement structural and production optimizations with shape optimizations, create photorealistic visualizations, and complete a workflow from ideological and artistic design to a physical product. Fill in the slogan “from art to part”. All with the help of Inspire Studio.

Read more about Simulation Driven Design tools on Altair.com.

We will guide you through the CAE tool evaluation

We will recommend the most suitable tool for your typical tasks, provide you with a trial license, show you the right workflows and best practices. We will evaluate it together on your examples through benchmarks or PoC projects. Contact us or use the tutorials and test the tools by yourself.

Free Trial Licenses

Simulation-driven Design Products:

STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS AND OPTIMIZATION
Tools for analysis and optimization of mechanical systems

Altair Inspire

Inspire enables designers and product engineers to create and analyze efficient mechanical structure concepts quickly and easily. It incorporates algorithms from the Altair OptiStruct solver, making topological optimizations available to the general public. An integral part of Inspire is the Motion module for multi-body dynamics analysis. A new module of Inspire is Print3D for manufacturing feasibility and AM process simulation. It enables optimize part orientation, minimize supports and run the thermo-mechanical simulation to analyze deformations and residual stresses.

A new feature in Altair Inspire is the integration of the SimSolid solver alongside the existing built-in solvers OptiStruct (FEM analysis and optimization) and MotionSolve (Multi-Body Dynamics). With SimSolid, a large number of design variants can be analyzed even in seconds and with high accuracy. And without the need to modify and simplify the geometry. Thanks to the Inspire platform you can immediately change design geometry without returning to the CAD system.

Altair SimSolid

A revolutionary simulation tool for linear and nonlinear structural analysis. It eliminates the need to simplify the geometric model and meshing, the most time-consuming and accuracy-sensitive activities of traditional FEM tools. SimSolid also achieves extremely short computational times thanks to a different computing method (not using the classical finite element method). Its typical use is in the area of conceptual design or evaluation of many variants. A very efficient tool for quick decisions and selecting the optimal design variant.

Today, the SimSolid solver is also available within the Altair Inspire tool or as a web application with its linear analysis features.

Featured resources: Datasheet | eBook | Webinar | Webinar – fatigue | Videos

Read more on altair.com…

SYSTEM MODELING
Using 0D, 1D with 3D simulations enables to model and optimize the complete mechanical system including the control subsystem

Altair Compose

A numerical computing environment that allows users to easily create mathematical models, perform computations, mass data processing, and data visualization. All with script development and debugging support. Compose includes mathematical functions in the field of algebra, matrix calculus, differential equations, signal data processing etc. Further extensions are possible through Python libraries. Thanks to CAE integration, Professional Edition helps to automate pre- and post-processing tasks.

Featured resources: Presentation – Model-Based Development | Webinar | eBooks Math, Scripting, Data Analytics and Visualization; Modeling of Elasto-plastic Materials; System Dynamics and Control

Read more on altair.com…

Altair Twin Activate

A tool for model-based development approach in product development. It allows engineers to design control, simulate the behavior of hybrid systems, and optimize it. The model is described in the form of 1D models represented by block diagrams and is coupled to 3D FEA models as needed.

An important innovation is the romAI module, which enables simplification of complex systems (Reduced Order Modeling) using machine learning and artificial intelligence technologies.

Featured resources: Presentation – Model-Based Development | eBook Basics of System Modeling and Control Systems | Activate applications

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Altair Embed

A tool for embedded systems development that automatically generates code for target hardware based on block diagram models. You can verify your designs with Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL). Embed, together with Compose and Activate, is part of the Model-Based Development solution.

Featured resources: Embed applications

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INDUSTRIAL DESIGN AND GEOMETRY MODELING
Tools for industrial design, final styling, and smoothing surfaces after structural optimization

Altair Inspire Studio

Altair Inspire Studio is a brand-new software solution designed for industrial designers, designers, architects, and other creative professionals to create, evaluate and visualize design ideas and designs faster than ever.
Inspire Studio is a 3D hybrid (surface and solid) modeling and rendering solution for both Windows and Mac OS X. Create designs with sketches, polygons, PolyNURBS surfaces, solids, and take advantage of professional photorealistic visualizations and animations. It is also available as a standalone Inspire Render product.

Featured resources: Web page Industrial Design | Brochure Industrial Design | Datasheet | Webinar | Training videos

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MANUFACTURING SIMULATIONS
Tools for checking manufacturability in the design phase of product development and also for detailed manufacturing process simulation

Altair Inspire Cast

Complete casting simulation in five simple steps and a user-friendly and intuitive environment. A suitable tool for both occasional designers and experienced technologists. Already in the early stages of design, users can visualize potential defects and eliminate them with timely design modifications.

Featured resources: Datasheet | eBook | Training webinar | Videos | Manufacturing applications

Read more on altair.com…

Altair Inspire Form

Complete forming simulation environment. The right tool for designers and engineers to optimize the design of dies, simulate the forming process, and reduce material costs. In the “Feasibility” module, you can check the feasibility very quickly, and in the “Tryout” module, you use the incremental solver to simulate multi-stage pressing with spring-back calculation.

Featured resources: Manufacturing applications

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Altair Inspire Extrude Metal

Tool for simulating extrusion of metal parts. A suitable tool for both occasional designers and experienced technologists. With Altair Inspire Extrude Metal, you can easily, quickly, and accurately perform your desired simulations.

Featured resources: Manufacturing applications

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Altair Inspire Extrude Polymer

A tool for companies manufacturing plastic parts by extrusion technology to meet the requirements for accuracy, surface quality, and mechanical properties of the product, while reducing production costs. Monitor material flow, internal mold temperature, identify and eliminate potential manufacturing defects.

Featured resources: Manufacturing applications

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Altair Inspire Mold

Inspire Mold provides a modern integrated approach to design for manufacturing of injection molded components, enabling improved products, reduced scrap, and tooling rework costs.

Featured resources: Webinar | eGuide: Injection Molding | Manufacturing applications

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Altair Inspire PolyFoam

A modern integrated approach to design for manufacturing of polyurethane foam products delivering cost-effective and better products fast.

Featured resources: Manufacturing applications

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Altair License System

Licenses of Altair software tools are provided via tokens called Altair Units (successor to HyperWorks Units and solidThinking Units). It is a patented highly flexible, scalable, and cost-effective license model.

Altair Units

License units are concurrent and sharable by different users in different locations within the entire license region (in our case the whole EMEA), there is a leveling system (when using other tools and solvers it does not increase the consumption of units) and you can choose from several application packages to optimize cost (role-based packages for a mechanical engineer, a concept engineer, a CAE engineer or a specialist in mechatronics or multi-physical applications).