Solidworks Simulation Pros & Cons
Solidworks Simulation Pros & Cons
(OP)
I am pushing to have a few seats of Solidworks Simulation Professional purchased for my engineering group. I would like to hear your experience with the software. What problems have you run into? Would you reccomend it to a new user? I have used Solidworks for years so the user interface should not be an issue. I have been to a 1/2 day introductory training session on Simulation and it looked great from the surface. I just don't want to push for a few seats only to find out it doesn't meet my expectations.
Your experiences or reccomendations would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks
bduff, PE
Your experiences or reccomendations would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks
bduff, PE






RE: Solidworks Simulation Pros & Cons
RE: Solidworks Simulation Pros & Cons
Chris, CSWA
SolidWorks 14
ctopher's home
SolidWorks Legion
RE: Solidworks Simulation Pros & Cons
RE: Solidworks Simulation Pros & Cons
Jeff Mirisola, CSWE
My Blog
RE: Solidworks Simulation Pros & Cons
I have had pretty good luck with it. I have used it for analysis crushing of product and screw torque breaking a plastic tab. It has been about 4 years since I used the drop test module last but I would not trust the software to tell you if something is going to come apart. It use to not handle large displacements so a drastic change in geometry, either part crumbling or a part breaking off will crash the software.
If you plan on doing any thermal simulation the Simulation Professional will require you to run multiple iterations to get an accurate value. You have to keep changing the bulk temperature and rerunning the simulation until your temperatures converge. Flowsimulation does that all for you and the simulations are easier to set up and the meshing is much easier because it is a finite volume analysis instead of a finite element analysis.
Other than that I have done some buckling and some other static stress analysis with it with good results over the years.
I would definitely advise to get a network license that way you can share the simulation software will more team members. We have one license we share between 4 users. We have to flowsimulations we share as well and it is definitely less expensive than all of us having access to the software. It is also faster that we each can run our own simulations instead of having 1 dedicated person who only runs simulations all day.
RE: Solidworks Simulation Pros & Cons
Craig Pretty
RE: Solidworks Simulation Pros & Cons
RE: Solidworks Simulation Pros & Cons
After a few situations with an 8 hour analysis reducing the users workload to shuffling papers as even email was too slow to use effectively we needed a better method. Running overnight is also a solution, but can be an issue if errors in simulation are encountered as days can be lost quickly.
I guess it all comes down to complexity of simulation, other tasks running and existing hardware capability.
Craig Pretty
RE: Solidworks Simulation Pros & Cons
On the down side, the simulation software is expensive. Your analysis will have to save money and/or add value to your stuff sufficient to cover the cost of the software.
Are you going to use the software enough to get good at it.
Are you qualified to do this analysis without the software. This is a professional issue. I have had a number of people tell me they need FEA so that they can do structural analysis. The FEA is going to provide these people, and their co-workers and managers, a warm, fuzzy feeling of confidence they should not have. Even if you are qualified, are you ready and able to restrict access to the software to all but other qualified people.
An alternate strategy is to subcontract the work to an analyst, who does this stuff full time.
I am not telling you to not do this. I am just asking questions.
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JHG
RE: Solidworks Simulation Pros & Cons
Cheers,
Wayne.
RE: Solidworks Simulation Pros & Cons
Prabu Siliwangi,
'Create-Future' Engineering