The new Simcenter 3D collaborative simulation could save engineers billions of euros

Why you need Collaborative simulation
In large engineering teams, the reference is often a model made by another team, and these models change throughout the project. This can have serious implications, as NASA discovered in 1990 when it was left wondering why its $1.5 billion telescope was sending useless images. After some investigation, they discovered that a difference in reference models meant that a flaw during manufacturing was not caught during independent verification. The result? Their 2.4-meter-wide mirror, orbiting 340 miles above Earth, was defective.
NASA is not the only organization to suffer from these gremlins. The Airbus A380, the world’s largest passenger airliner, faced similar issues. During development, CAD teams in four countries worked with different versions of CAD software. The British and French teams used one version, while the Germans and Spanish used another. As a result, their wire harnesses were too short, leading to a two-year delay and a $6.1 billion overspend.
To reduce the risk of such errors, teams need to be integrated, and models need to be associated. This ensures that every engineer can easily check they have the correct and latest version of any model and understand how models differ from each other. For some time, it has been possible to associate the mesh of the various components in an assembly with assembly FEM. However, engineers also use various loads and boundary conditions, which can change elsewhere in the workflow. Traditional workflows often focus on using simulations as a final validation tool, but this approach limits the number of iterations and hampers innovation.
Introducing Collaborative Simulation
With Simcenter 3D 2412, the new Collaborative Simulation functionality revolutionizes the engineering workflow. You can now re-use the loads and boundary conditions for each component defined in a SIM file with Collaborative SIM. This new tool not only significantly reduces the risks related to using out-of-date models, it is also a huge time saver. No longer do engineers need to recreate their SIM files when modifications are made upstream—simply load the new version, and the workflow continues seamlessly.
Collaborative Simulation enables an analysis-driven design approach, where simulation is no longer limited to the validation phase but becomes an integral part of the design process. This shift allows for more iterations and encourages innovation by embedding simulation earlier and throughout the workflow.

Key features include real-time updates and synchronization, ensuring all linked components reflect the latest changes automatically. Engineers can define and reuse simulation entities, such as boundary conditions and solver settings, across multiple models. This not only streamlines processes but also fosters collaboration between teams by providing clear, synchronized, and reusable simulation interfaces.
By transforming simulation workflows into an analysis-driven process, Collaborative Simulation helps teams innovate faster, reduce errors, and deliver projects with greater confidence. It’s a leap forward, ensuring that everyone involved in the design process has the tools to get it right the first time, potentially saving billions.
Simcenter Mechanical 2412
There are many more highlights in the Simcenter Mechanical Solutions 2412 releases, to see some of the highlights check out this blog.

Simcenter Mechanical Solutions include: Simcenter 3D, Simcenter Nastran, Simcenter E-Machine Design, Simcenter Zona, Simcenter Madymo, and Simcenter Tire.
Supporting Documents
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