FINITE ELEMENT PACKAGES

[johnboy]

Please can anyone tell me about Finite element packages and how I could get experience using such packages.
What is shareware and how does it work??

 

[BandH]

There are a number of FEA packages available today - ANSYS is probably the best know (depending on what type of work you are doing) - but more and more "add-on" FEA packages, such as DesignSpace and Cosmos Works, are being produced. DesignSpace and Cosmos usually work in tandem with CAD software such as SolidWorks, Pro/E etc.

The only way to get experience is to get a demostration copy of DesignSPace or Cosmos (usually 30 day demo period) and see what it can do.

Feel free to contact me if you require further information.

Regards,

Brian Hurley
brihurley@eircom.net

 

Depending on what type of problem you want to model, you will find simple FEA programs in BASIC (source code). I started using this tool with a PC program in BASIC, which I had to modify to admit more nodes (bigger Rigidity Matrix), and after that because my PC had 8 Kb of RAM only, to solve the damned matrix (Gauss-Jordan method), in a floppy disc.
So, if you want to know what you are doing I will recommend a similar approach in your learning process,