PITTSBURGH, June 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- From
energy-efficient jet engines to personalized medical devices,
companies can quickly and easily design and manufacture
cutting-edge, safe and reliable products thanks to a new
collaboration between ANSYS (NASDAQ: ANSS) and the University of
Pittsburgh. The partnership will further education and research to
solve some of the industry's toughest additive manufacturing
problems.
Advances in additive manufacturing technologies are drastically
changing the industrial manufacturing landscape. Forward-thinking
companies are rapidly adopting new emerging technologies to gain
significant competitive advantages to produce complex and
customized products that were not possible to build before the
advent of additive manufacturing. While additive manufacturing
holds incredible promise there are still significant hurdles to
overcome before it can broadly replace existing manufacturing
methods.
Printing metal is particularly challenging because it involves
the use of a laser. While the laser optimizes the density of the
metal for the particular application, it can also melt the metal in
unexpected ways, causing the product to fail. And the rapid heating
and cooling causes stresses that can deform the end product. ANSYS
and Pitt are working together to
simulate those deformations before printing to ensure the product
not only has the desired shape, but also performs as expected.
As part of the partnership, the university is opening a
1,200-square-foot additive manufacturing lab in the Swanson School
of Engineering. The ANSYS Additive Manufacturing Research
Laboratory is equipped with some of the most advanced additive
manufacturing devices that utilize metals, alloys, polymers and
other materials to laser print components for nearly every
industry.
The partnership will also support faculty and students
conducting collaborative research with ANSYS and other industry
partners, including those in the biomedical, aerospace and defense
industries. Lab workers will have access to the ANSYS portfolio,
enabling them to explore, simulate and analyze solutions for stress
and fatigue on critical components that go into products such as
airplanes, cars and medical devices.
"Collaboration with industry leaders such as ANSYS provides us
with the important insight into real-world challenges that
companies face in product development and other areas," said
Mark Redfern, Pitt's vice provost for research. "These
relationships guide our approach to educating our students and
conducting research to ensure that the work we do is cutting edge
and relevant to society. Our current additive manufacturing
research will be greatly enhanced by our strengthened partnership
with ANSYS."
Additive manufacturing allows for precise control in creating a
component at the micro- and nano-scale level, new processes and
software are required to help engineers develop parts that are
designed to perform a desired function under a set of conditions.
Simulation-driven product development changes the process by
virtually exploring the properties of a number of design options
early on, before committing to specific material and design
choices. The benefit of physics-based computational tools is that
they can test millions of permutations of designs, materials, flows
and shapes to find the optimal design before the engineer needs to
build a single physical prototype. Not only will this new approach
unleash the next wave of innovative physical products, but it is a
necessity to make designs more energy-efficient and
sustainable.
ANSYS and Pitt's collaborative work
in this area was initiated with funding from the federal government
via America Makes (the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation
Institute). Pitt's research includes
the development of new tools to optimize the interior construction
of a manufactured part at the microscopic level and thereby
improving strength and structural integrity, lowering weight,
reducing costs and improving sustainable production methods.
"The industry is changing, and companies can no longer innovate
if they continue to do business as they have in the past," said
Jim Cashman, president and CEO of
ANSYS. "By partnering with Pitt, we're
pushing the frontiers to develop advanced tools for our customers
in this new era of additive manufacturing. Together we are solving
some of the toughest challenges for engineers building the products
of tomorrow."
Since 2014, additive manufacturing researchers at the Swanson
School have attracted more than $6
million in grants from America Makes, the National Energy
Technology Laboratory, the National Science Foundation, and
Research for Advanced Manufacturing in Pennsylvania. The partnership with ANSYS will
enable faculty to not only benefit their research, but to help
ANSYS improve its own engineering simulation software. This
partnership will enable these two organizations to address key
challenges that are currently blocking additive manufacturing from
realizing its full potential.
"Pittsburgh has a long history
rooted in traditional manufacturing, and so it's appropriate that
Pitt and ANSYS help to establish the
region's expertise in additive manufacturing, noted Albert To,
associate professor of mechanical engineering and materials science
and one of Pitt's additive
manufacturing researchers. "Optimizing the tools that researchers
and engineers around the country will use to improve additive
manufacturing will be a game-changer."
About ANSYS, Inc.
ANSYS is the global leader in
engineering simulation. We bring clarity and insight to our
customer's most complex design challenges through the
broadest portfolio of fast, accurate and reliable simulation tools.
Our technology enables organizations in all
industries to imagine high-quality, innovative and
sustainable product designs that have an accelerated time to
market. Founded in 1970, ANSYS employs almost
3000 professionals, more than 700 of them with PhDs in
engineering fields such as finite element analysis, computational
fluid dynamics, electronics and electromagnetics, embedded
software, system simulation and design optimization. Headquartered
south of Pittsburgh, U.S.A., ANSYS has more than 75 strategic
sales and development locations throughout the world with
a network of channel partners in 40+ countries. Visit www.ansys.com
for more information.
ANSYS also has a strong presence on the major social channels.
To join the simulation conversation, please visit:
www.ansys.com/Social@ANSYS
ANSYS and any and all ANSYS, Inc. brand, product, service and
feature names, logos and slogans are registered trademarks or
trademarks of ANSYS, Inc. or its subsidiaries in the United States or other
countries. All other brand, product, service and
feature names or trademarks are the property of their respective
owners.
About the Swanson School of Engineering
The
University of Pittsburgh's Swanson
School of Engineering is one of the oldest engineering programs in
the United States and is
consistently ranked among the top 25 public engineering programs
nationally. The Swanson School has excelled in basic and applied
research during the past decade and is on the forefront of 21st
century technology including sustainability, energy systems,
bioengineering, micro- and nanosystems, computational modeling, and
advanced materials development. Approximately 120 faculty members
serve more than 3,700 undergraduate and graduate students and PhD
candidates in six departments: Bioengineering, Chemical and
Petroleum Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering,
Electrical and Computer Engineering, Industrial Engineering, and
Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science.
ANSS-C
Contact
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Media
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Amy
Pietzak
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724.820.4367
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amy.pietzak@ansys.com
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Investors
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Annette Arribas,
CTP
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724.820.3700
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annette.arribas@ansys.com
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SOURCE ANSYS, Inc.