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Maximizing the ROI of your CAE Investment
Making the Most of Your Investment
2/25/2010
PADT, Inc.
CAE ROI 4/13/2010 2
Agenda • Introduction • Goals • People • Tools • Process • Recommendations • Thoughts
Introductions
CAE ROI 4/13/2010 4
Phoenix Analysis & Design Technologies • PADT is an Engineering Services
Company – Mechanical Engineering – 15 years of growth and happy customers – Any Industry – World Wide – Small to Large Companies
• 3 Business Areas – CAE Sales & Services – Product Development – Rapid Prototyping & Manufacturing
“We Bring Dimension to Your Ideas”
CAE ROI 4/13/2010 5
ANSYS Sales, Technical Support & Training • Sales, Support and Training for
Almost All ANSYS, Inc. Products – No Ansoft, yet… – No Offshore products
• Sales & Support in Southwest – AZ, NM, CO, UT, NV, El Paso – Sales
• Relationship based, highly technical, win-win
– Support • By engineers for Engineers • Real world, beyond bugs/install issues
• Training – Worldwide, your place or ours – Custom classes
CAE ROI 4/13/2010 6
Simulation Services • World wide reputation for quality and speed • Any industry • “Over the Wall” or highly collaborative, customer choice • Experts in complete process • Most Physics
– Stress – Heat Transfer – CFD – EMAG & Others
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CAE ROI 4/13/2010 7
Learn More about PADT • Visit www.PADTINC.com • Stop on by • Call 480 813-4884 • E-mail: [email protected]
CAE ROI 4/13/2010 8
Your Presenter: Eric Miller
• Co-Owner of PADT – Co-Manage the CAE & BusOps/Admin
departments • ANSYS user since 1986 • Heavily involved in ANSYS software
planning • Background in software development,
CAD, simulation, and process improvement
• BS in Mechanical Engineering, UC Berkeley
CAE ROI 4/13/2010 9
First: Some Definitions • CAE: Computer Aided Engineering
– Using computer software to conduct engineering calculation
– Applies to most engineering disciplines: EE, ME, MfgE, MatSci, etc…
– Simple (spreadsheet) to complex (molecular modeling)
• CAE Tools – Software written to do engineering calculations – Commercial, self written, or open source – May be a general purpose tool used for engineering
calculations
• Cost – Total cost to a company in both short and long term – Money spent, time spent, time to market, reputation,
overhead costs, etc…
CAE ROI 4/13/2010 10
Why CAE • Fast and accurate calculations • Know more about your design, early in the
development process • Two good reasons to use CAE
– Reduce costs of physical prototyping – Increase the number of design iterations
through use of virtual prototypes
CAE ROI 4/13/2010 11
Some Statistics • Industry leaders
focus on getting design right (bold) in design phase
• Industry leaders use CAE to get more information about their products
Source: Aberdeen Group Study, June 2008
CAE ROI 4/13/2010 12
Recommended Steps for Maximizing your CAE ROI
• Based on our experience with customers and our own services
• Focus on Understanding Four Aspects of CAE: – GOALS – PEOPLE – TOOLS – PROCESS
Goals Visualize how you
want to win
CAE ROI 4/13/2010 14
Goal of CAE • To answer questions about a design
– How long will it last? – How much load can it take? – How thick should it be? – Which material should we use? – How should we cool it? – How much will it cost? – At what rate will it mix? – What does the output signal look like?
• And… to do it for less cost than non-CAE methods • And… to increase the quality of the answer
– Not just what, buy why – Understand sensitivity
CAE ROI 4/13/2010 15
Key Problem: Not Having or Forgetting Goals • To get the most out of a CAE investment, your CAE goals
must be: – Clear – Consistent with business goals – Constantly reinforced
• Engineers get caught up in the details and forget the “why?” • Unclear or ignored goals can lead to:
– Too much effort or overly detailed approach – Not getting the information that is needed
CAE ROI 4/13/2010 16
Establish CAE Goals • Really think about what you want from CAE as a
company/department/group • Document and Discuss • Before, during and after projects: assess if you are meeting
those goals
• PADT’s CAE Goal – To answer questions raised in product development in the most cost
effective manner with the proper level of accuracy and detail
CAE ROI 4/13/2010 17
Establish Task Goals • It is just as important to assign specific goals to every CAE
Task – Does not need to be formal – Can just be a “double check”
• Goals should answer: – What do you want from this calculation? – How accurate does it need to be?
• Need to be detailed and kind of pedantic – Think: writing specs – Two months down the road, will a new engineer on the project have a
clear idea of what the goals are
• Usually requires multiple goals – Assign priorities, required/need/want, or simply rank
CAE ROI 4/13/2010 18
Example Task Goals • Determine cooling hole size and distribution to obtain
required wafer cool down in between 45 and 60 seconds • Report LCF and HCF life based upon customer supplied
loading specification • Modify antenna design to minimize material costs and meet
signal strength requirements in ES 123.31 • Determine min, max and average percent enobarnotopital to
provide a between 95% and 99% probanotinaium yield
• A good rule: If the goal is longer than a sentence, break up the problem
People
Bring the best team
CAE ROI 4/13/2010 20
One Person can Make a Difference • CAE superstar companies have one or more key users
– They push the technology and apply it properly – Make smart tool decisions – Mentor, train and serve as an example for other users
• May come from different roles: – Power user, Manager, or Process/Methods team member
• Common characteristics – Balance between theory and practical – Creative, willing to experiment and try different ways – Fast thinker – Obsessed with efficiency – Learns things quickly with minimal input – Good at programming/scripting – Involved in real world applications – Strong computer skills
CAE ROI 4/13/2010 21
Growing the Key CAE User • Identify key user or proto-key user • Encourage them to be a key • Try and keep them on a technical career ladder • Obtain funding for them to do process improvement, training,
and/or mentoring • Keep them involved in real world jobs • Allow them to work with other groups/departments/divisions • Let them share/present their work when possible • Reward real world impact of their efforts • Involve them in strategic CAE decision making • Encourage older key users to grow younger key users
CAE ROI 4/13/2010 22
Bad Users – By Nature • A certain percentage of users are going to be bad
– CAE is not something that everyone can do, maybe less than half of engineers are wired for
• Identify people who can’t do CAE and don’t make them • Signs of a “bad user”
– Too theoretical or too practical – Not good at remembering steps/processes – Not focused on speed – Not computer experts – Not good at switching tasks – Not a creative and independent problem solver
• Gets “stuck” a lot
CAE ROI 4/13/2010 23
Bad Users – By Nurture • Decisions and policies can make bad users as well
– Not paying for training – Spreading a user too thin – Insufficient computer horsepower, memory, or storage – Infrequent use – No resource to help, encourage, answer questions, or bounce ideas
off of – Unreasonable schedules – Unreasonable expectations – Punish users who deliver bad news
CAE ROI 4/13/2010 24
Mainstream Users • Your productivity comes from your mainstream users
– Since they make up most or all, remember to focus on them
• Keys to maximizing their efficiency – Give them the proper tools, hardware and software – Have them learn their tools – Give them time to learn, time/funds for training, a resource for
mentoring – Give them clear goals for CAE in general and for each project – Encourage cooperation and sharing – Don’t blame the messenger
Tools
Show up with the right equipment
CAE ROI 4/13/2010 26
CAE Tools • The CAE Tools themselves are critical • Pick the right tool for both short and long term needs
– Remember, you biggest investment is not the software, but the cost of learning the software
– Breadth and depth of capability are important – What is used in your industry and/or other areas of your company
• Suite of tools from Excel to CFD may be required – Overkill is better than stretching a tool
• If you have key users, let them help you decide • Re-evaluate every five years or so
CAE ROI 4/13/2010 27
Hardware Tools • Computers are essential to CAE • Lots of non-CAE pressure to have the wrong hardware
– Operating system religion – IT standardization – IT lack of understanding of CAE needs
• Two types of CAE hardware needs – Compute focused: FEA, CFD, Circuit Simulation, Chemical – Productivity focused: Simple calcs, but integrated into design process
CAE ROI 4/13/2010 28
Compute Focused Hardware • Solving large problems that take horsepower
– Expensive and more work to maintain
• Too small can cost big money and time – Most common cause of delay in simulation is trying to fit a job on a
computer • Crashes, re-building smaller, long iteration cycle
• Set priorities when picking hardware – Capacity – Overall speed, not just CPU speed – Access
CAE ROI 4/13/2010 29
Compute Focused Hardware • Use Tiered approach
– Good desktops -> shared department server -> corporate cluster – Fast hard drives on solver for solving -> USB drives or big but slow
file server for storage
• Suggestions: – Convince IT that you can’t use a “standard build” – Count core needs correctly – Buy bigger than you think you need – Focus on capacity first, than speed
• Spend the money on extra RAM and disk space – Consider departmental servers if you have occasional needs – Refresh every 2-3 years
• An extra $2000 in computer hardware may save $10,000 in reduced cost and weeks in schedule
CAE ROI 4/13/2010 30
Productivity Focused Hardware • Doing calculations and simple simulations
– Don’t need big capacity or speed
• Key to productivity is ability to integrate CAE with – Other software tools – Design process
• Hardware needs to be more flexible and meet other needs – Good multitasking – CAE needs may not be most important
• Make sure there is enough speed and capacity
CAE ROI 4/13/2010 31
Utility Software: Geometry • Many CAE users need access to MCAD, ECAD or some sort
of geometry creation or modification tool • May also need translation tools • Geometry to CAE connection should be strong and
seamless – A difficult path results can be a major productivity sync
• CAE users should have geometry tool skills – Waiting for a “geometry” person to do something costs
• Recommendations – Give CAE users access to geometry tools and train them – Spend the money on translators/connections if they help
CAE ROI 4/13/2010 32
Utility Software: Data Management • If you have PLM, have an integration plan for CAE
– Minimal: pulling geometry – Maximum: storing and linking CAE information
• No PLM: Develop some tools for data management – Process for naming, storing and archiving CAE data – Look at CAE data management tools
• Key to success in Data Management is not software – Good process that is strictly enforced
CAE ROI 4/13/2010 33
Utility Software: General • MS Office
– Significant time can be wasted getting data into slides, reports or spreadsheets
– Have up-to-date copies – Train your users – Don’t try and make other tools work
• Waste time translating/fixing
• Text editors – If scripting or massaging data files – Textpad is too basic – Small investment in a niche or high end text editor can have big
payback
CAE ROI 4/13/2010 34
Utility Software: General • CAE Add-ons
– Enhance or replace capabilities that come with CAE tools – Meshers, Visualization, Post Processors, Queue Managers, etc… – Before you buy, make sure what you have doesn’t already do what
you need – Evaluate these more often, swapping as needed
• Other tools you should consider having: – A good image editor – Virtual Meeting tools (WebEx, iLinc, go2meeting) – Linux shell on windows or Virtual Windows on Linux – Geometry repair tool
Process
Implement a winning game plan
CAE ROI 4/13/2010 36
Execution is Everything • CAE requires focus and staying on task
– Achieving goals with the minimum of effort
• CAE offers up many paths – Tools, level of complexity, formulas, assumptions, etc…
• Establishing standard processes can make a huge difference – Less reinventing of the wheel – Stay on task – Capture and use productivity gains – Help new and occasional users
• Most important benefit of Processes: – Repeatability
CAE ROI 4/13/2010 37
Flexible but Enforced • Common source of failure is one-size-fits-all standard
processes – Not flexible enough to deal with changing situations – Leads to wrong analysis or people “go rogue”
• Good approach: – Standardize steps in detail – Give guidelines for overall process
• Management must enforce usage of processes while allowing creativity
• An important way to enforce processes is to have a strong documentation process that is enforced
CAE ROI 4/13/2010 38
Process = Anyone Can do It? • Many companies have tried:
– Get an expert – Have them document the process – Give software, hardware and process to low-cost employees – “Chug and Plug”
• We have seen some success with this – Strong part families – Same analysis over and over again – Key user oversees and checks work
• We have seen mostly failure – Job security fear – Parts and analysis are not as regular as thought – Low cost employee can not or is not allowed to be creative
CAE ROI 4/13/2010 39
Access to Processes • A key to success with standard
processes is access • Buried in a PLM system or in a
complex database: Bad • Easily available and printable on an
internal website: Good • Each process should have a clearly
identified contact for questions and recommendations
Recommendations
Simple Steps for Winning
CAE ROI 4/13/2010 41
Change the Way you Think about CAE • CAE is a tool • Think: GOALS, PEOPLE, TOOLS, PROCESS • Defocus on details of how CAE is used • Focus on the areas you can change
– People is the best, but maybe you don’t have access – Everyone can set and follow goals – easiest
• Get your organization thinking about CAE as a tool – Users – Project Engineers – Management
CAE ROI 4/13/2010 42
Build a Relationship with IT • CAE can be compute intensive and is often “non standard” • Fighting with IT can kill efficient CAE • Work with them
– If you have users that are capable, try for a degree of autonomy – But don’t go around IT!
• Always try and warn and plan with IT – Surprising them with big demands can kill you
• Understand what they do – Show them respect and understanding -> they will bend over
backwards for you
• Try to build a personal relationship • Help them when they need help
CAE ROI 4/13/2010 43
Build a Relationship with your Tech Support • Internal and External Technical Support Providers • Don’t get confrontational, no matter how frustrated you are
– OK to be honest about bad stuff, but don’t get nasty
• Respect and appreciation • Support is hard business with few thanks
– A little kindness goes a long way
• Provide feedback and input to support – Try to be more than just a user, be a leader for tool maker
• Take time to build a personal relationship • When you need extra special help, your relationship will
come through for you • Pay the maintenance fees
CAE ROI 4/13/2010 44
Don’t let your Organization Get Religious • When you start having FAITH in a tool or process, step back
– Organization will start making bad decisions
• Remind users they are engineers doing calculations – Not ‘TurboCAE Jockey”
• Open-minded approach encourages: – Good feedback to your tool providers – Better use of the tools you have – Ability to make intelligent decisions on when to switch or upgrade – Healthy questioning of the software and its methods – Sharing of information and ideas in the orginization
CAE ROI 4/13/2010 45
Keep up to Date/Don’t Tool Hop • You should always make sure you have good up-to-date
tools • Keep your eye on expanded capability within your vendors
offering – It is always easier to upgrade than to switch
• Watch competing tools and check them out every 3-5 years • Don’t switch unless it makes long term business sense
– Look at total cost: Training, legacy issues, software, hardware, etc…
Closing Thoughts
CAE ROI 4/13/2010 47
CAE is a Powerful Tool • Needs to be applied correctly • Focus on making it part of what you do
– The Rule, not the Exception
• Look at the big pictures of costs and return – Costs include a lot more than just the software cost – Return is hard to calculate, but can be huge
• Don’t abuse or misapply the tool
CAE ROI 4/13/2010 48
Summary of PADT’s Approach • Set good overall and project GOALS • Focus on getting the most from your PEOPLE • Get the right TOOLS in place and know how to use them • Establish and enforce a flexible PROCESS wherever it
makes sense
CAE ROI 4/13/2010 49
Next Steps • Think of your organization in terms of what was discussed • Talk with mangers and key users
– Identify key areas where you can see improvements – Try to get a guess at true cost and return
• Work to get the rest of the organization to understand CAE • Start treating CAE as a strategic asset • Drive your designs with simulation
CAE ROI 4/13/2010 50
Upcoming Webinars
• Technical Series – New, Interesting & Underused
Elements in ANSYS MAPDL April 22, 2010
– ANSYS Explicit Dynamics Tools May 27, 2010
• Product Series – Optimization with ANSYS
DesignXplorer May 4, 2010
– Detailed Fatigue Calculations with nCode and ANSYS June 8, 2010