I want to discuss CAE today. CAE is considered as a technology to support engineers in tasks such as analysis, simulation, design, manufacture, planning, diagnosis, and repair. CAE considered as a mainstream technology applied for design and manufacturing. In my view, CAE is one of the major sources of engineering information in the organization.
CAE coverage includes:
- Stress analyzes
- FEA
- CDF
- Kinematics
- Event simulations
- Process simulations
However, the topic I want to discuss today is an intersection of CAE and PLM. To be more specific about what system supposed to manage CAE related data? In my view, this topic is heavily missed in most of PDM and PLM systems. Most of them are completely focused on CAD models, drawings and, lately Bill of Materials. At the same time, CAE, as a massive producer of engineering information about a product is not covered. What I found that high-end CAD systems have a more dedication to this topic, but still not enough, in my view.
What are the aspects of CAE that need to be covered by PLM as a data management platform:
- Keep references on results of calculations and analyze. It will allow to have all relevant product records in one place.
- To support variation of product data in case of work on alternative designs, configurations, etc.
- Keep the historical record of analyzes for audit, regulatory and solving customer’s critical situations.
I found these capabilities undervalued and will be interested to hear about your experience and opinion.
Best, Oleg
