Low cost solution for simulation

daniel_pers

What a low cost solution do you recommend for simulation with Onshape with my students?

brian_brady

SimSolid looks like it would be great (if running Windows, need to install client software) but you only get a 30 day free trial, then $200 per month (not low cost for students). I want to try it for my students, but am not ready to burn my 30 day trial yet.

I tried the Sim Scale and CONSELF (see the Onshape app store) and found both to be very lacking in ease of use (I am trying to be nice). I could not recommend either of them. I also gave Sim for Design a shot. You only get 15 minutes of compute time. I burned 2 minutes of compute time in about 15 seconds of real clock time for a very simple static analysis. They must have use 8 simultaneous processor cores to analyze a model that Creo Simulate completed in 3 seconds of processor time. You would not get much done in your 15 minutes.

Those are your only choices for Onshape linked simulation applications for mechanical stress/strain analysis in the app store. I am having my students use Onshape for modeling/design, but will still be using Creo Simulate for analysis work. Maybe next year SimSolid will have a student license or somebody else will enter the fray that is easy to use.

brian_brady

SimSolid looks like it would be great (if running Windows, need to install client software) but you only get a 30 day free trial, then $200 per month (not low cost for students). I want to try it for my students, but am not ready to burn my 30 day trial yet.

I tried the Sim Scale and CONSELF (see the Onshape app store) and found both to be very lacking in ease of use (I am trying to be nice). I could not recommend either of them. I also gave Sim for Design a shot. You only get 15 minutes of compute time. I burned 2 minutes of compute time in about 15 seconds of real clock time for a very simple static analysis. They must have use 8 simultaneous processor cores to analyze a model that Creo Simulate completed in 3 seconds of processor time. You would not get much done in your 15 minutes.

Those are your only choices for Onshape linked simulation applications for mechanical stress/strain analysis in the app store. I am having my students use Onshape for modeling/design, but will still be using Creo Simulate for analysis work. Maybe next year SimSolid will have a student license or somebody else will enter the fray that is easy to use.

michael3424

@brian_brady - have you ever looked at LISA or Mecway for FEA?  

brian_brady

michael3424 said:

@brian_brady - have you ever looked at LISA or Mecway for FEA?  

No I haven't. We have a Creo Simulate for our department that makes it free for our students. Unless an option is free and as easy to use (or easier) as Creo Simulate, I will likely stay with what we have. I will have to look though. 

michael3424

Mecway has a fee, but it is pretty low so far as FEA is concerned.  Lisa was free the last I heard but may not be very full featured.

brian_brady

I just looked at both, need to review them further. Mecway looks an awful lot like LISA or vice versa. Both only give you about 1000 nodes for free but have a fairly low cost for unlimited nodes if you are paying for it yourself (versus a company buying it for you). I will likely stick with Creo Simulate this semester, but will look for alternatives for next fall.

michael3424

Since you are teaching, have you considered Comsol?  It's very expensive ($20k+options) but they may have an educational program.  A co-worker used it and it seemed very powerful, especially when optioned up.

brian_brady

I have looked hard since Creo Simulate has been working well for us. The only reason I might look another direction in the near future is because I have switched to Onshape for modeling and it would be nice to find a simulation product that worked nicely with it natively but was as easy to use as Creo Simulate. 

I may take a peek at Comsol. Thanks. 

wendy_trattner

Hi there! I've dealth with this before and I'm helping a team build a solution for this exact problem - we are creating an AI powered simulation workflow that integrates with Onshape and is easy to use, fast, and WAY less expensive. And as a bonus it can help students or engineers learn about the underlying physics.

We are currently looking for Onshape users to collaborate with us and share feedback on the tool, and we can do some simulation work for your projects in exchange. If you're interested in exploring email us! hello@equivariantsystems.com