Autodesk Takes Aim at CAE with Algor Acquisition

New addition rounds out the Inventor digital prototyping solution with new multiphysics simulation capabilities

Beth Stackpole, Contributing Editor -- Design News, December 18, 2008

Joining the ranks of design tool vendors beefing up their simulation product portfolios, Autodesk Inc. this week signed a definitive agreement to acquire Algor Inc., adding the well-regarded suite of analysis tools to its Inventor Digital Prototyping solution.

The deal, approximated at $34 million, arms the Inventor platform with advanced multiphysics, fluid flow and mechanical event simulation capabilities-advanced functions that were lacking in Autodesk's existing Inventor Simulation Suite, which is integrated as part of the CAD tool. "We wanted more Finite Element Analysis (FEA) capabilities and wanted to get into the realm of multiphysics and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)," says Amy Bunszel, Autodesk's director of CAD/CAE product management. "Simulation is such an important part of digital prototyping-we were interested in having more resources in this area so we can continue to help drive innovation ... and help customers answer more questions about their design and digital prototypes."

Engineering and manufacturing customers are increasing their demand for simulation and testing tools that can help reduce reliance on building costly physical prototypes. The trend is prompting Autodesk-along with its CAD tool competitors-to build out more robust simulation capabilities, either as part of their primary offerings or as integrated, but standalone product lines.  With these new tools at their ready, development teams are able to move specialized simulation and analysis work further upfront in the design process, in turn, improving their ability to test options as they go along and identify problems earlier on in the process.

It's imperative for companies like Autodesk to respond to this growing demand to keep their design tools competitive, analysts say. Specifically, Autodesk needed to ramp up the simulation capabilities of Inventor to realize the full promise of its digital prototyping story, according to Ken Versprille, partner and PLM research director at Collaborative Product Development Associates, LLC, a PLM research and consulting firm. "The full promise of digital prototyping depends on the ability to go beyond just the 3D model shape definition of a product," Versprille says. "All aspects of a product must be represented in the virtual world. The ability to analyze and simulate a product design under conditions such as heat, stress, etc. available using a tool such as Algor is critical to making that happen."

The Algor acquisition will add significant new capabilities for virtual testing, enabling engineers and designers to predict the impact of simultaneous real world conditions like heat and pressure on product designs. "Multiphysics has always been of interest in that it IS, in effect, reality," Versprille says. "In the real world, a product does not undergo pressure stress separately from other environmental influences such as heat. However, analyzing multiphysics and understanding relationships between physical influences is extremely challenging."

Algor was the right fit for Autodesk because it's aligned with the company's vision to make simulation tools accessible to a wide range of problems, not just targeted at esoteric designs needs like crash tests, which are usually run by specialists, Bunszel explains. Algor's direct sales group was also leveraging technology such as Webcasts, TV studio training seminars and demonstrations, which Autodesk views as an important channel support model for promoting simulation to a broader base of users.

Autodesk plans to integrate the Algor products and employee base (around 75 employees) into its Manufacturing Solutions business unit. It will also continue to sell the Algor products as a separate offering, promoting its open approach for working with other CAD tools. Over time, some of the Algor functionality will find its way into future Inventor versions.

Says Bunszel: "We will remain CAD neutral and have a standalone Algor business as well as bring the technology into deeply integrated [Inventor] workflows as the applications, market and users demonstrate that they have a need."