The landscape of product development is continually changing. The integration of simulation tools with cloud-based platforms and technologies such as artificial intelligence is redefining the way engineers and designers approach innovation. By unifying modeling and simulation(MODSIM), manufacturers can keep pace with increasing consumer demands for quality, customization, and sustainability, and set new levels of efficiency and creativity.

Simulation has become a strategic imperative. It empowers companies across all industries to minimize costs, enhance product quality, foster innovation, and champion sustainable practices, all while accelerating time to market.

What is MODSIM?

For innovation to thrive, and for companies to transform, the people, their knowledge, contributions, ideas, and know-how have to come together at the right time with the right tools. Connecting modeling with simulation (MODSIM) makes it possible to virtually model complex shapes and simulate their performance and behavior seamlessly. The MODSIM approach, exemplified by tools like SOLIDWORKS and 3DEXPERIENCE Works Simulation, enables organizations to iterate faster, collaborate seamlessly, and optimize designs to achieve superior outcomes.

simulation test on computer screen

Advantages of MODSIM

• Experience all aspects of design earlier. When simulation is done early in product development, it can improve insight into performance and validate requirements.

• Explore more design alternatives. Companies can bring new and innovative products to market more quickly if they can iterate more design alternatives faster.

• Accelerate collaborative innovation. Full collaboration between all stakeholders, including those defining product requirements, designing the product, and validating performance on a platform is the next step in an engineering revolution.

MODSIM is more than simulation-driven design. MODSIM enables simulation to drive the entire product development process from beginning to end, from requirements to architecture, from validation to certification, and from product development to program management, including design exploration, processes, automation, change management, and collaboration. MODSIM bridges the gaps between engineering disciplines enabling truly integrated multiphysics simulations.

The Simulation portfolio covers the entire spectrum of the physical behavior of design –structural, fluid, electromagnetics, acoustics, and multibody systems. MODSIM enablessimulations that consider the interactions of these different physical aspects rather thantreating them as independent of each other, revealing their true behavior accurately.

“We kind of live and die by MODSIM. Concurrent engineering, besides just being a wise choice, we literally wouldn't survive if we didn't do it that way ... and you won't remain competitive.”

-Joseph Lacey, Sr. Principal Mechanical Engineer, GE Healthcare

Why is MODSIM Important?

In the traditional approach, product design and simulation are performed by different departments with different schedules and priorities. This often results in simulation analysis occurring in the later stages of design. Having the insight of simulations as early as possible in development provides engineers the benefit of making the right design choices, avoiding late issues and, ultimately improving quality while reducing costs.

simulation analysis of car hood

• Increase Design Confidence: by embedding simulation within the design process, engineers can accurately predict product behavior thereby reducing uncertainty.

• Reduces Cost: MODSIM shifts costs to an earlier phase in product development and lowers costs by avoiding late-stage failures. The principal cost-saving factor for MODSIM is reduced design cycle time with less (or no) prototyping.

• Reduce Time: reuse models, physical test data, and accrued knowledge to accelerate and streamline the development process.

• Powerful Collaboration: real-time collaboration enables team members across the globe to harness each other’s knowledge and expertise to realize solutions more rapidly and reduce rework.

• Single Source of Data: Designers and Engineers work on the same model thus avoiding translation and version control issues between CAD and CAE.

• Future Ready: real-time idea-sharing between designers and simulation engineers in all stages of design puts valuable knowledge in the hands of designers, accelerates innovation, and reduces time-to-market.

Who Benefits from MODSIM?

The concept behind MODSIM on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform is simple but has far-ranging consequences – to unify Modeling and Simulation tasks within the same environment along with knowledge capture, automation, and a single source of data. MODSIM provides a holistic approach, a better way to product design.

simulation models reviewed on screen - SOLIDWORKS

MODSIM for Engineers

MODSIM ensures that the underlying model is always updated. This is just one of the many advantages of MODSIM that immensely helps those responsible for design and simulation. You will reduce the time it takes to finalize a design and ensure that you get it right the first time. You need to reduce prototyping to cut both time and costs. And you would like to create and iterate effortlessly to achieve the perfect design.

MODSIM for Teams

The engineering team leaders manage cross-disciplinary teams. Using MODSIM you can now remove silos between departments, get real-time updates, and gain complete visibility to the required data to make informed decisions to deliver innovative products on time. The MODSIM approach brings your multidisciplinary team of experts, non-experts, and managers together to help realize the value of looking at the design process as a whole.

MODSIM for Leaders

Business leaders understand that time to market is crucial to be successful. MODSIM enablesyou to access real-time data, provides visibility to achieve growth targets, and helps react tomarket changes faster. You know your teams are going to execute the design process efficiently and on time, while also delivering product innovation with less prototyping and cost.