COMSOL Ups the Simulation Ante

COMSOL is getting ready for some big changes -- marked by the release of Multiphysics software version 5.0, which features product updates, three new add-on products, and the "new and revolutionary" Application Builder.

I sat down with Bernt Nilsson, the company's senior VP of marketing; and Valerio Marra, its technical marketing manager, during the recent COMSOL Conference in Boston, to chat about the new release and other exciting changes occurring within the expanding company -- specifically plans to open four new offices this year in China, Brazil, India, and possibly Moscow.

"It's all about 5.0 -- that's the future for us" said Nilsson, who expects to grow COMSOL's 100,000 current users by a factor of 10 in the next five to 10 years. "We've had this vision for a long time and now we're delivering on it."

The Application Builder

The Application Builder allows engineers to make available an easy-to-use application based on their COMSOL Multiphysics model. Included with the Windows operating system version of COMSOL Multiphysics 5.0, the Application Builder provides all the tools needed to build and run simulation apps. Any COMSOL Multiphysics model can be turned into an application with its own interface using the tools provided with the Application Builder desktop environment. Using the Form Editor, the user interface layout can be designed, while the Methods Editor is used for implementing customized commands. Based on the project at hand, engineering experts can now easily build a specialized application to share with their colleagues and customers that includes only the parameters relevant to the design of a specific device or product.

"The Application Builder is our vision for the future of simulation," said Svante Littmarck, CEO and President of the COMSOL Group, in a press release. "It brings the expertise of engineering specialists working in research and development to a greater majority of people, revolutionizing the product design process by allowing the power of multiphysics simulation to drive productivity and innovation. This is achieved by supplying those involved in the design and manufacturing process across all engineering disciplines with apps created by simulation experts."

During our visit with COMSOL at the recent conference, Marra provided a live demo of the Application Builder, using the mechanics of building a bridge as an example. "We want it to be simple and fast, and we want (engineers) to be able to get the job done," he told us.

3 New Add-on Products in the Product Suite

COMSOL Multiphysics 5.0 also brings three new add-on products to the extensive COMSOL product suite: the Ray Optics Module, the Design Module, and LiveLink for Revit. "The Ray Optics Module offers functionality that has long been anticipated by COMSOL users, and we are excited to offer the module with this release," said Bjorn Sjodin, COMSOL's VP of product management, in the press release.

For engineers working in application areas including building science, solar energy, and interferometers, the Ray Optics Module is an industry-leading simulation tool for analyzing systems in which the electromagnetic wavelength is much smaller than the smallest geometric detail in the model, the company says. "The Ray Optics Module is not like any other simulation software available for modeling ray optics," said Dan Smith, COMSOL software developer, in the press release. "For the first time, multiphysics simulations can now be integrated into the modeling of geometrical optics, a truly cutting-edge development for the simulation industry." Key features of the module include the ability to compute the trajectory of rays in graded and ungraded media, and the modeling of polychromatic, unpolarized, and partially coherent light.

The Design Module expands the available toolset of CAD functionalities in the COMSOL product suite. The module includes the following 3D CAD operations: loft, fillet, chamfer, midsurface, and thicken, in addition to CAD import and geometry repair functionality.

Additionally, COMSOL offers LiveLink for Revit, which allows COMSOL users to interface with the building information modeling software from Autodesk. With LiveLink for Revit, users can seamlessly synchronize a geometry between Autodesk Revit Architecture and COMSOL, allowing multiphysics simulations to be brought into the architectural design workflow, the company says.