Composites design software

Siemens PLM Software (Plano, Texas) has updated its Fibersim software, which the company says can reduce design and analysis time by up to 80 percent and shorten some design-for-manufacturing processes by up to 50 percent. Fibersim 13 adds new functionality for bidirectional exchange of computer-aided engineering (CAE) and computer-aided design (CAD) data that facilitates the elimination data re-entry. The new capability integrates analysis data into the design environment, enabling automatic design updates, based on analysis results. It also provides new design-for-manufacturing processes that support optimization for parts designed to match the manufacturing definition and then trimmed to the engineering definition. Fibersim 13 also extends its integration with Siemens’ Teamcenter software to associate manufacturing datasets — such as flat patterns, laser data and automated deposition data — to the proper model revision and subsequently communicate this information to the factory floor.