Finite Element Analysis (FEA)/Finite Element Method (FEM)
As part of the product design cycle, finite element analysis is an invaluable tool to predicting how your design will react to real-world dynamic forces such as heat or vibration, allowing us to optimise your designs and remove points of failure.
Finite Element Analysis (FEA) makes use of the mathematical method Finite Element Model (FEM). This is the methodology for predicting how complex geometries and irregular shapes will behave under different conditions. FEM allows us to divide these complex and irregular geometries into smaller, regular geometries whose behaviour is known. This is used to create a FEM mesh, where a matrix equation describes how these simpler elements interact, allowing the more-complex model as a whole to be evaluated for stress, strain and displacement that occur in the object when selected forces are applied.
In that way we have modelled for customers anything from stress on a vehicle’s wishbone suspension to the acoustic performance of a classical violin. Topological optimisation lets us show customers how to optimise removal of material from an object leading to more lightweight and cost-effective designs – all without creating a single real-word model. In fact, performing calculations on a real-world model could never provide the sophisticated insights we give customers using finite element analysis.
Understanding how materials and systems behave through hyper-accurate and sophisticated models lets us test these systems in isolation, or as part of the “finished product” before any real world construction begins.
Benefits of Finite Element Analysis
Understanding how your item will behave under real-world forces using real-world models is expensive and inaccurate. Our FEA process solves real-world behaviour for complex geometries quickly and far more accurately. Quickly iterate over different versions, applying insights from previous runs to improve performance without ever building a single prototype.
We have helped musicians build an acoustically perfect violin without even having to make a single cut in a piece of wood. This eliminates the need for sacrificing expensive materials to more accurately represent how a model will perform in the real world using specific materials. We can model this performance virtually!
Calculations performed by hand on a physical model could never compete with the rich insights delivered by computer modelling stresses; this is particularly true as the model increases in complexity.
We use FEA to provide clients with a far more complete insights into how their model will behave under a much wider set of conditions.
Our engineers can precisely model any point inside or outside the simulation, letting your focus on the areas that matter. This lets the team course correct issues with materials or methods that might lead to suboptimal performance or critical failure at the design phase, rather than prototyping with real models.
Boundary conditions reveal useful insights as real-world conditions vary. See how your digital prototype responds to thermal effects from heat or temperature fluctuations, point forces or distributed forces.