Alex, this is not a direct answer to your question (and I am not Beth), but I see many vendors of CAE and CAD tools branching out to include more aspects of the design space. Ansys has branched out into electric and electronic analysis. A company called COMSOL has tools for multi-physics analysis and keeps adding types of physics. So, while COMSOL started out in multi-physics, Ansys (and Mentor) is talking multi-physics in their tools as well.
I think this all get back to the discussion about Mecatronics we had a bit ago. Any sufficiently complex design project will require people with many engineering skills to work together. The vendors are supporting that.
Beth, you've done a bunch of article recently about vendors added CFD and FEA into their portfolios. I'm wondering what percentage of the CAD user base has a need for these advanced capabilities, and of those, how many need deep CFD and FEA, as opposed to feature-light versions added into the basic CAD package.
Cross-selling opportunities was one reason Mentor gave for the acquisition, but they've been building out a CFD portfolio for some time and this was a way to build some robustness into that part of their simulation platform.
Nice article, Beth. If I understand this correctly, this acquisition was in part a move to sell more technology to the existing customer base. Many of Mentor customers who need electrical system tools also need fluid system tools, and both sets of software operate with similar logic.
For 3D printing to make the jump from rapid prototyping to manufacturing, engineers will need to find easier ways to move products from their CAD screens to their printers.
Gigabit and PoE are two networking technologies moving ahead in tandem as industrial users power remote Ethernet devices such as IP security cameras at 1,000 Mbps over existing CAT5 cable.
New versions of BASF's Ecovio line are both compostable and designed for either injection molding or thermoforming. These combinations are becoming more common for the single-use bioplastics used in food service and food packaging applications, but are still not widely available.
From Dell / Intel® New Paradigms in Design Work Scott Hamilton, vertical market strategist for Dell Precision workstations, 5/2/2013 5
Early in my career, I worked as a draftsman and remember the days of drawing on vellum with numbered pencils and Mylar with plastic lead. This was a fun experience in the sense that I ...
I've been using workstations for more than 10 years and love finding ways to get more performance from my system. With demanding professional applications that require more power each ...
A lasting memory from my first job as an engineer in an auto assembly plant is standing on hard concrete at six in the morning, vending-machine coffee clutched in hand, listening to ...
For industrial control applications, or even a simple assembly line, that machine can go almost 24/7 without a break. But what happens when the task is a little more complex? That’s where the “smart” machine would come in. The smart machine is one that has some simple (or complex in some cases) processing capability to be able to adapt to changing conditions. Such machines are suited for a host of applications, including automotive, aerospace, defense, medical, computers and electronics, telecommunications, consumer goods, and so on. This radio show will show what’s possible with smart machines, and what tradeoffs need to be made to implement such a solution.
To save this item to your list of favorite Design News content so you can find it later in your Profile page, click the "Save It" button next to the item.
If you found this interesting or useful, please use the links to the services below to share it with other readers. You will need a free account with each service to share an item via that service.
Tweet This
2 
