Altair Engineering, Inc., a leading global provider of technology and services that empowers client innovation and decision-making, announced today that the UK based product development consultancy, Vectayn, has standardised much of its finite element analysis (FEA) activities on the HyperWorks suite of virtual simulation tools. Vectayn will use HyperWorks and especially HyperMesh, the advanced FEA meshing solution of the software suite, as the default model creation tool for all new automotive, aerospace, and military projects. As long time users of HyperWorks, this decision is driven by the need to improve design development productivity and increase flexibility whilst minimising software costs.

As a major analysis consultancy primarily supporting automotive OEMs and suppliers, it is vital that Vectayn deploys the best simulation tools available to exceed the expectations of their global brand clients. HyperWorks' pre-processing tool, HyperMesh, has been at the centre of Vectayn's design process for many years, providing unique functionality to drive their analysis process.

"I've been in the industry for a long time and I've not yet seen a meshing tool that can equal HyperMesh by a very long margin," said Matthew Spoor, technical director at Vectayn. "Many providers claim lots of things about their meshing tools but as a package, I can't find anything comparable. HyperMesh's midsurfacing capabilities make the development and simulation of complex structures such as vehicle interior plastics much less time consuming allowing us to improve the results and service we supply to our clients."

In addition to the technical advantages the CAE suite offers, Vectayn has also found considerable cost benefits by joining the HyperWorks Partner Alliance (HWPA). Through Altair's HWPA programme, Vectayn has access to a growing number of third party simulation packages, including nCode's DesignLife, their preferred fatigue analysis solution. The additional products in the HWPA can be accessed through Vestayn's existing HyperWorks licenses, which has allowed the company to reduce their overall software spend. (www.hyperworksalliance.com)

"As a consultancy working with many different clients and in many different industries, we have a requirement to use a variety of extra simulation packages but on an irregular basis," continued Mr. Spoor. "By utilising our existing licenses, we can now access more analysis tools without having to increase our overall software spend. This allows us to be more flexible to our clients and enables us to offer additional services through the software we already have available".

Vectayn has recently expanded its use of the HyperWorks suite by integrating optimisation with OptiStruct and data analysis with HyperGraph into their design process. Furthermore, with an increasing number of automotive OEMs moving their crash and impact analysis to HyperWork's 'RADIOSS' solver, Vectayn have followed to match design capabilities and provide a more integrated service for their major clients.

"Last but not least we are also very pleased with the technical support from the HyperWorks team. They are highly knowledgeable and always very responsive. This makes a huge difference to our engineers' productivity as we don't need to wait around for answers," he adds.

"We are very pleased to see Vectayn standardising part of their design processes on the HyperWorks suite," said David Mason, Managing Director, Altair UK. "Our tools and unique licensing system offer consultancies the flexibility they need to compete in an increasingly competitive market. By maintaining our open architecture philosophy and our determination to supply excellent return on investment across all our products and services, I expect to see more consultancy companies in the UK turning to HyperWorks.