Rating Solidworks Simulation

[repars]

Hello

I'm new to the forum, and I have a few questions for you. I've been using ANSYS (WB and Classic) at my current job, and I'm thinking of doing some work on the side. Some of my suppliers have requested that I run some analysis for some of there other projects. I've priced out ANSYS and found it to be a touch expensive for my tastes. I was wondering if I could get some opinions on Soildworks Simulation Premium. After reading though the forums it seems as thought it may not be quite as stable and quick as Soildworks describes in their brochure. It appears that people have trouble with meshing and long run times. If you have minute, could you let me know your experiences, specifically if you could rate SW Sim on the following topics from (0 BAD) to (10 GREAT).


Stability (Does SW Sim ever crash or hang up?)
Meshing (Do you often run into models you have difficulty meshing or can't mesh?)
Non-Linear material Capabilities (Does the SW Sim solve non-linear problems in a reasonable amount of time, and can it manage extreme plastic deformation, see movie if you have question as to extreme plastic deformation.)
Dynamic Analysis Capabilities (Do the results from SW Sim match vibration testing accelerations, displacements, etc ?)
Customer Service (When you have problems does SW take care of you?)
Non-Linear Contact Capabilities (Does the SW Smm solve non-linear problems in a reasonable amount of time?)

Thanks Again I really appreciate you taking the time.

JP

 

[kellnerp]

You might look at Noran Engineering. They have a couple of products for PCs, one of which works with SolidWorks. Being a widely accepted form of Nastran using SW for pre and post may give you a better "gut" feel. Simulation can be slow, but most of all you have to concern yourself with second guessing what is going on inside the box.

I have Cosmos/M and Designstar. Although Cosmos/M comes imbedded in the new "Simulation" brand of products, the export function in CosmosWorks has been dumbed down to the point that it is nearly useless.

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