Best software to learn?
Best software to learn?
(OP)
Hello. I am wondering if there is one software that is best to learn over others? Or is it really relevant? What I mean is would future employees be that bothered about not knowing a specific software, and more interested in the fact you understand finite element analysis and the underlying principles?
Thanks
Thanks





RE: Best software to learn?
However, some employers just look for keywords and translate their presence (often incorrectly) into the assumption that you have a solid background. Since that is the way it sometimes is, you should research the field you are looking for employment in and find out what software they use. In the aircraft industry, NASTRAN and ABAQUS are popular and so is PATRAN. However, for some industries, those software packages may not be used at all. There is no one size fits all answer to the "best" software for getting a job. The same could be said about CAD packages.
Brian
www.espcomposites.com
RE: Best software to learn?
http://www.amazon.com/Computational-Geometry-Surfa...
(the authors also have a separate webpage with more information:
http://members.ozemail.com.au/~comecau/quad_shell.... )
Hope this helps.
RE: Best software to learn?
Obviously, you should still have a strong understanding of what the basic math is supposed to be doing, so that you'll recognize what pitfalls you might encounter.
TTFN
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RE: Best software to learn?
another day in paradise, or is paradise one day closer ?
RE: Best software to learn?
To me this sounds like a variation of the "best software"-question. And it is hopeless to give a valid reply without a lot more information.
But regardless of what software you use, don't let it become a "black box". The software and the computer can handle a huge a amount of data at high speed. But you need to tell it how to handle the numbers.
Like "rb1957" said: What is tha standard in your field". That is usually a valid starting point.
And never ask the wonderful question," I have this problem, what software can solve it?"
Or am I being negative?
Thomas
RE: Best software to learn?
If you read the link I created above, it is written for web developers, but it is true in every field. My advice is to find a free/cheap/open source FEA program and try to run an analysis. A real one. Check it with any sort of experimental data/ hand calculations that you can. Are you in the ballpark? Post specific questions on forums like these. Do your own research online, read books, take a training course.
Regardless of field, I always recommend starting simple and cheap. You need to learn the basics before you worry about fine details and advanced topics. It's like people in golf with a terrible swing who don't practice fidgeting with driver weighting systems. It's not going to make that much difference. 1. You have no repetition in your swing 2. You don't know what a good swing feels like yet. Give Tiger Woods a pair of clubs from Target and me the top-of-the-line, guaranteed he will still destroy me.
You're in the same position. You don't know what you don't know. It's time to get started, only then will learning start and truth be revealed.
P.S. I recommend doing some sort of real project. That's the best way to learn. Document it too.
RE: Best software to learn?
Depending on your interest, skill, stage in professional life, resources available (time/money/supervisor's blessings, etc.), you may fall somewhere in the spectrum ranging from a designer who wants to be able to communicate with an FE analyst, to a card carrying FE analyst, all the way to a developer. Designers are the closest to products (i.e., real world) and developers are the furthest (i.e., general abstract world); developers have the strongest hold on what is inside the 'black box' and the designers the least.
Think about these things, where you want to be in a given time-frame with your resource constraints you are operating under, and then consider the suggestions made above.
It is likely that you may not want to be a developer (otherwise, chances are, you would not be asking these questions). So, if you have resources, then register for an excellent FE course or two at a top school so you are 'forced' to write a mini-solver or an element. But that assumes you want to be an FE analyst. If you'd rather just be familiar with the basics, then self-reading from a resource like solidmechanics.org and watching Klaus Jurgen Bathe's videos on YouTube will be more than sufficient.
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RE: Best software to learn?
RE: Best software to learn?
In aerospace for example, if you are hell bent on knowing about software, Patran is a big dog for pre-post, and nastran is a very big dog for the solver.
Maybe that is a good start. Other than that you need to get really good at free body diagrams, and classical hand calculations in aerospace, which will help you avoid costly mistakes people relying heavily on software alone may make.
Aerospace Stress Analysis and FEA Courses
http://www.stressebook.com
Stressing Stresslessly!
RE: Best software to learn?
One possible option is to look at job advertisements and see if a possible future employer has any preference regarding software. I have never seen anything like "Experience in ABAQUS/Nastran/Ansys/? is required", only things like "Experience in ABAQUS/Nastran/Ansys/? is valuable".
If you want to learn a software on your own time I think that may be a problem even if I like the initiative. You can probabry find something like a "Student Version" or "Evaluation Version" for free or at a low cost. But the full version is usually to expensive to buy without having the ambition to use i tprofessionally.
Good Luck
Thomas
RE: Best software to learn?
Aerospace Stress Analysis and FEA Courses
http://www.stressebook.com
Stressing Stresslessly!
RE: Best software to learn?
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Are you new to this forum? If so, please read these FAQs:
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RE: Best software to learn?
Aerospace Stress Analysis and FEA Courses
http://www.stressebook.com
Stressing Stresslessly!
RE: Best software to learn?
Last time I got the offer for a new job they wanted my knowledge in analysis and FEM, not in a specific GUI. Where I work we have a few different softwares. I only use one but there are a few options.
Best Regards
Thomas
RE: Best software to learn?
Could you - or anyone else, for that matter - recommend some free FEA programs that could be used for validation? If there is a list someone already with some reviews that would be great to 'sticky' in this sub-forum.
RE: Best software to learn?
I have a couple ideas for you. Cheap is relative while free and open source are pretty cut and clear. For cheap I would recommend SOLIDWORKS Simulation. It is in the thousands of dollars but it isn't in the tens of thousands of dollars like the big boys of Abaqus, LS-Dyna, ANSYS.
Depending on your CAD software, there are different recommendations. If you have SOLIDWORKS, their Simulation product is the easiest to get started I have seen anywhere. I do work for a company that sells it though, so I'm warning you I'm biased. Bias aside, it removes a lot of the details (or options) that you aren't likely to understand until you have some experience with FEA anyway making it a good tool to start with. If your company has a budget for stuff like this, I recommend investigating it with your local SOLIDWORKS Reseller.
A couple other options are SOLIDEDGE with FEMAP. There is a 45 day trial available for both if you register on the website. Though to use it for projects it's going to be expensive when it comes time to purchase. Abaqus has a node limited version as well I believe.
Besides those, you can find many options at FEAcompare.com
RE: Best software to learn?
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RE: Best software to learn?
Brian
www.espcomposites.com
RE: Best software to learn?
RE: Best software to learn?
$50 : LISA (that's what I use at home)
Incidentally I agree with someone above, you will probably not get a job in an FEA group if you have merely mastered any of the bundled packages in a CAD suite.
Cheers
Greg Locock
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RE: Best software to learn?
This version exactly like the commercial code except for a limit in node count. It does include the manual and tutorial which has always been a major advantage of Abaqus. This way you are learning on a commercial code with fully transferable skills.
I hope this helps!
Rob
Rob Stupplebeen
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RE: Best software to learn?
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RE: Best software to learn?
I think that for a student to find academic licenses may not be a big problem. But going back to the original question, "Best software to learn"?
That is singular if I understand it correct and I would say it requires some specific information. Some software's are huge in one industry and more or less non-existent in another. Also, are we discussing solvers or pre-post software? I use Femap with Nastran and it would probably be easier to change the Nastran part than the Femap part.
Like I already mentioned, for a new engineer, I think that knowledge in the methods rather than in a specific GUI would be valuable. For a more experienced engineer a company would probably expect knowledge in one or more of the commonly used codes for the particular industry.
My impression is that the OP is at the beginning of a career rather than a more experienced user. So I don't thing he/she should be to hung up on the name of the software but rather on how it works. Of course, if the ambition is to work at company X or a specific industry it is a good idea to find out what software they use.
Good Luck
Thomas