CIMdata PLM Industry Summary Online Archive
19 August 2008
Implementation Investments
Impress Group Standardizes Simulation on MSC.Software's MD Nastran and SimXpert
MSC.Software announced that the Impress Group, global market leaders in the consumer metal packaging industry, have extended their investment in MSC.Software's enterprise simulation technology and will standardize their simulation efforts on the company's SimEnterprise solutions, MD Nastran and SimXpert.
Designers at Impress will use the new simulation technology to accurately predict the in-service performance of their packaging products, optimize the structural mass and improve the industrialization processes of their manufacturing. By introducing simulation at an earlier stage in the process, Impress will be able to simulate more accurately and efficiently. They expect to realize increased levels of design innovation and a 30% efficiency gain in engineering productivity.
With 59 production facilities across Europe, North America, Africa and Asia-Pacific Impress is a global leader in the manufacture of metal container packaging for food and other consumables. Impress first selected MSC.Software in April 2005, creating a nonlinear solution capability based on MSC.Software's Engineering Products, mainly the Marc solver, accessed via the flexible MSC Masterkey licensing system. MSC.Software's heritage in Aerospace design was an influential factor in the selection, with Impress' Vice-President of Strategic Development, Richard Moore recently commenting that "space rockets and metal cans have a surprising number of similar design complexities."
In order to extend their competitive advantage, and specifically to bring the simulation earlier into the design phase of their products, Impress subsequently conducted a full Economic Value Assessment (EVA) of their growing technology and business requirements, and a Proof of Value (POV) study of a number of available solutions. The conclusion was the extension of the existing MSC MasterKey environment in order to additionally include MSC.Software's latest multidisplinary (MD) solution technologies, most notably MD Nastran and SimXpert.
"MSC.Software's simulation technology enables us to pursue ambitious design projects, and create new packaging designs in a completely virtual environment. New ideas can quickly be developed and modified, with the virtual prototypes being verified for performance and manufacturability, delivering significant savings in both the time and cost of traditional physical prototyping," said Richard Moore, Impress Vice-President of Strategic Development. "MSC.Software plays a key role in the Impress design process, helping us to create innovative products while reducing metal consumption at source, a strategy fully in line with the Company's pursuit of technologies which enable sustainable development."
SimXpert is MSC.Software's next-generation CAE solution that enables manufacturers to accelerate the speed and accuracy of simulation, increase design productivity, and bring better products to market faster. Designed exclusively for dedicated analysts, SimXpert is built around MSC.Software's multidiscipline (MD) core solutions, effectively combining all of the most common FE solutions into a single, common data model framework. The SimXpert interface comprises interchangeable workspaces (including Structures, Motion, Thermal, and Explicit) each designed to efficiently guide the analyst through the set-up, solution, and results interpretation for the chosen application. Of particular interest to designers at Impress, the SimTemplate Studio also allows SimXpert users to capture, share, and reuse all stages of the simulation process, thereby mobilizing the inherent design intellect, and promoting consistency and best-practice throughout the organization.
"Thanks to the swiftness and expertise of MSC.Software's Professional Services team, we have already implemented MD Nastran and SimXpert," said Philippe Niec, Impress Numerical Simulation Leader "The new functionality has brought immediate results and return on our investment."
"The use of advanced simulation at Impress demonstrates both the growing adoption and the benefits of MSC.Software's enterprise simulation solutions outside of mainstream aerospace and automotive applications", said Amir Mobayen, Executive Vice President for Worldwide Sales and Services, MSC.Software. "We were pleased to recognize Impress with MSC.Software's award for outstanding manufacturing innovation at our Virtual Product Development Conference in Frankfurt last year and we are confident that our companies will continue their relationship and enjoy maximum, mutual benefit."
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