Editor's Pick: ESTECO Releases modeFRONTIER 4.5

I have a Don Quixote streak in me. I confidently charge right into projects heedless of the complications. This character flaw leads directly to the mantra that blurts out of my mouth: “nothing is ever easy.” Varying, blue descriptors often proceed “easy.” The point of it usually is that complexity lurks all around and we frequently have not taken sufficient steps to tame the complications. And this leads to chaos. This phenomenon is often apparent in engineering outfits with multidisciplinary teams working on the same end product. Multiple objectives, diverse workflows, specialized tools, and poor communications give engineering management the unenviable task of restoring order to it all somehow at the end of the pipeline.

ESTECO recently announced the availability of version 4.5 of its modeFRONTIER multidisciplinary and multi-objective optimization and design environment for coupling almost any CAE tool. It’s designed to tame complex engineering workflows.

The big picture view is that modeFRONTIER is a platform that integrates multiple CAE and design tools from more than 40 outfits ranging from Dassault to MSC to National Instruments. But it’s more than just an integrator. modeFRONTIER drives CAE simulation. It creates a workflow that lets you combine opposing objectives and execute complex chains of design optimizations. With it, you can automate and link all your design simulation processes.

Still, it’s even more than that. It has tools for investigating design options and algorithms that help you figure out the best possible solutions by combining opposing objectives. It has post-processing tools for statistical analysis, data visualization, and multi-criteria decision-making. In short, modeFRONTIER is intended to bring chaos into line.

The version 4.5 release focuses a lot on usability. For example, it has an enhanced GUI (graphical user interface) for intuitive project handling as well as a customizable drag and drop palette. It has a new Parameter Chooser that’s designed to simply the integration of third-party software first by helping find and choose input and output parameters in a model and modeFRONTIER variables, then by automatically setting up integrations.

Version 4.5 also debuts a new Run Analysis dashboard that has smart widgets that give you control over an ongoing optimization process. Also new is a multi-criteria decision-making solution -- MCDM. Also using wizards, the MCDM tool helps you make an informed final choice from among your optimal design candidates.

You can learn more about modeFRONTIER 4.5 from today’s Pick of the Week write-up. Make sure to hit the link at the end to see Beth Stackpole’s report on modeFRONTIER 4.5 in Desktop Engineering’s Virtual Desktop blog. It has a nifty video on optimizing the movements of a robotics arm. (Hint: Watch it in full-screen mode.)

Thanks, Pal. — Lockwood

Anthony J. Lockwood

Editor at Large, Desktop Engineering

Read today's pick of the week write-up.

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