Hypermesh- What makes it the popular preprocessor among FEA Engineers?

Finite Element Analysis or FEA is the process of understanding the effect of external forces on a physical object after reducing the object to its most basic mathematical shape. 

Meshing is the process of breaking down a physically larger object into recognisable smaller shapes in an FEA pre-processing software. An engineer decides the dimension of these shapes based on an FEA simulation's time constraints. The longer the time available for an FEA simulation, the smaller the size of the individual units.

FEA tools apply Partial Differential Equations (PDEs) to each of these units; the combination of the answers from these individual units defines the integrity of the whole object.

Engineers use FEA to study the effect of thermal expansion, stress, or crash analysis on a material. Multiple FEA software tools help engineers solve an object's structural integrity.

Three Stages of Finite Element Analysis 

FEA of an object can be divided into three major steps; pre-processing, solving, and post-processing. They can be roughly understood as meshing, solving an area, and deriving the results. 

Engineers use meshing to analyse objects for two reasons,

1. Estimating the effect of the PDE on a large object will not return accurate results
2. Analysing large objects is time-consuming. 

However, solving each cell and agglomerating the results will help generate precise values and reduce the time required to analyse the object. 

The first phase of FEA is pre-processing, in which dedicated software tools automate and help develop accurate meshes of 2D CAD designs. 

Hypermesh is the industry-leading FEA software tool that allows engineers to create meshes in an interactive environment. The Hypermesh software is part of Altair's HyperWorks suite, a collection of modelling, visualisation, and optimisation tools in the CAE domain.

Top Reasons Why FEA Engineers Prefer Hypermesh

Below are the major reasons why FEA engineers prefer Hypermesh:

1. Engineers working at all automobile companies use Hypermesh for FEA post-processing. 
2. Hyperworks suites can help engineers solve their pre-processing units and present their results in an easily understandable graphical representation.
3. Hypermesh is a user-friendly software
4. Engineers can easily automate pre-processing/meshing steps. 
5. Hypermesh allows users to create mid-surfaces, hex meshings, and tetra meshing easily. Users can also easily clean up the design geometries. 

How To Use Hypermesh

Engineers can download the software from Altair’s website. To help train the next generation of engineers, Altair allows free downloads for students who want to train in FEA using their software suite. 

After the software's installation, users can start the application from the windows menu. Hypermesh allows users to import different CAD files from different formats like SolidWorks, IGES, or STEP. Users can create meshes of CAD designs with a single click. The software helps create a mid-surface, hexa, and tetra mesh. 

Some of the CAD generated can have deformation before the meshing of objects. Hypermesh can smoothen these distortions and create a uniform mesh. Users can define parameters like jacobian, wrap ratio, and skewness. These parameters will determine the quality of the results of any meshing operation using Hypermesh.

Hypermesh saves the changelog of all the processes in a session as a .tcl file. Users can standardise and automate this process by running loop programs using the .tcl file. Engineers who can write automation scripts using the .tcl or .tk files are in high demand in the industry. 

How To Develop Industry-Relevant Skills in Hypermesh

Firms that hire FEA engineers require them to have experience in domain-specific software. The engineers should understand the requirement and translate it into actionable designs using FEA tools like Hypermesh. One way to gather expertise is to work in the industry for the requisite years. 

Another way is to train in projects that simulate real-world projects. 

Skill-Lync’s Post-Graduate Progam in Finite Element Analysis is a 26-week intensive course. In the program, students will be trained in all aspects of pre-processing, solvers, and post-processing. Students who enrol in this program will learn about geometric cleanup, 1D and 2D meshing, the use of connectors, and morphing. This FEA course is designed for students who want to start their career as an FEA modeller, CAE engineer, or analysis engineer.

There are only a few seats available for this course.

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