Altair Accelerates Simulation-Driven Design in Latest Release of Altair Inspire

Altair, a global technology company providing solutions in product development, high-performance computing (HPC) and data analytics, introduced a new version of Altair Inspire, the company’s fully-integrated generative design and simulation solution that accelerates the creation, optimization, and study of innovative, structurally efficient parts and assemblies.

The latest release offers a more powerful and accessible working environment, enabling a simulation-driven design approach that will cut time to market, reduce development costs and optimize product performance.

Inspire now integrates Altair SimSolid for fast, accurate structural analysis of complex assemblies, as independently validated by NAFEMS. Integration with Inspire’s interactive design engineering environment sees SimSolid join two more solvers:

• Altair OptiStruct—For structural efficiency and topology optimization for the generative design of practical, viable and manufacturable geometry.
• Altair MotionSolve—multi-body systems analysis for dynamic motion simulation, including loads extraction.

Altair says Inspire is intuitive and easy to learn in just a few hours and runs on standard laptops and workstations. No additional investment in expensive GPUs is required, and users do not need CAD or other specialist skills. Design changes can be made directly on models without reverting to the original CAD system, and interactive modifications such as geometry edits, dimensional changes and part replacements can now be re-analyzed "on the fly" with SimSolid.

“It’s no longer a question of who is responsible for simulation, but when and where it features in the process,” says James Dagg, Altair chief technology officer—design and simulation solutions. “Instead of employing it purely for validation at the end of the cycle, Inspire enables users to test more alternatives at the earliest opportunity, make better design decisions, and avoid implementing costly modifications at a later stage. The integration of SimSolid further strengthens these capabilities, making it even easier to access remarkable speed, accuracy and flexibility.”  

Inspire enables simulation analysts and designers to perform "what-if" studies faster, easier and earlier, encouraging collaboration and reducing product time to market. Additional Inspire features include:

• Dynamic Motion—Easily generate dynamic motion of complex mechanisms and use these dynamic loads as loadcases for optimization.
• Topology Optimization—Leverage the topology optimization capabilities, including advanced manufacturing constraints, to create manufacturable solutions to real-world problems.
• Design for Additive Manufacturing—Employ overhang shape controls to create more self-supporting structures, then simulate the process to identify and correct potential deformation, delamination, and excessive heating issues before building a part.
• Structural Analysis—Investigate linear static and normal modes analysis on a model and visualize displacement, factor of safety, percent of yield, tension and compression, and more.
• Assembly Configuration—Create multiple assembly configurations which can be used to evaluate various design scenarios and the resulting concepts.

The latest version of Inspire is now available and SimSolid also remains available to users as a standalone solution. For more information about Inspire, click here. 

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company’s website.