Computer-Aided Engineering (CAE)

Computer-aided engineering (often referred to as CAE) refers to the use of information technology to support engineers in tasks such as analysis, simulation, design, manufacture, planning, diagnosis and repair. Software tools that have been developed to support these activities are considered CAE tools. CAE tools are being used, for example, to analyze the robustness and performance of components and assemblies. The term encompasses simulation, validation and optimization of products and manufacturing tools. In future, CAE systems will be major providers of information to help support design teams in decision making. In regard to information networks, CAE systems are individually considered as a single node on a total information network and each node may interact with other nodes on the network. CAE systems can provide support to businesses. This is achieved by the use of reference architectures and their ability to place information views on the business process. Reference architecture is the basis from which information models such as product models and manufacturing models are developed.

CAE tools are very widely used in the automotive industry. In fact, their use has enabled the automakers to reduce the product development cost and time while improving the safety, comfort and durability of the vehicles they produce. The predictive capability of CAE tools has progressed to the point where much of the design verification is now done using computer simulations rather than physical prototype testing. Even though there have been many advances in CAE and it is widely used in the engineering field. Physical testing is still used as a final confirmation for subsystems due to the fact that CAE cannot predict all variables in complex assemblies (i.e. metal stretch and thinning).

Softwares such as Altair RADIOSS, LSTC’s LS-DYNA, Cranes CAE suite and ESI’s PAM-CRASH are used for automotive crashworthiness and occupant safety. Tools like eta/VPG, NISA, Altair HyperWorks, BETA CAE Systems’, MSC’s Patran, MSC’s ADAMS, LMS’s Virtual. Lab, SIMPACK, NEi Nastran and UGS’s Scenario and Nastran packages are used in a variety of structural and dynamic analysis tasks. Other tools like LMS’s AMESim are used to analyze functional performance of multi-disciplinary systems.