Date: Tue, 26 Oct 1993 21:19 GMT From: ajcarr%ccvax.ucd.ie@Forsythe.Stanford.EDU (Dr Alun J. Carr) Subject: [*] Summary of responses to FEA query --========================_15565458==_ Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Well, I finally got around to hacking a mail file that was corrupted by Pegasus Mail some time ago (twice!). It contained all the responses to replies I got to the following query which I put out around April time: > Does anybody out there know if there are any finite element analysis > packages available for the Mac (preferably 3D)? Please let me have the > manufacturers name and if possible (in order of preference) e-mail address, > fax number (not toll-free, as we can't use them from Europe), snail-mail > address and/or phone number. The attached file contains a summary of the responses. [Note to Moderators: please place in reports directory] Many thanks to the following people who reponded: Stephen Kawalko Ernie Potenziani Mark Lankton Christos Giogas Guido Paccagnella and most especially, for help above and beyond the call of duty: Bob Norton I hope this is of some help. Alun A. J. Carr, Mech. Eng. Dept., UCD, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland. Internet: ajcarr@ccvax.ucd.ie --========================_15565458==_ Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: binary Well, I finally got around to hacking a mail file that was corrupted by Pegasus Mail some time ago (twice!). It contained all the responses to replies I got to the following query which I put out around April time: > Does anybody out there know if there are any finite element analysis > packages available for the Mac (preferably 3D)? Please let me have the > manufacturers name and if possible (in order of preference) e-mail address, > fax number (not toll-free, as we can't use them from Europe), snail-mail > address and/or phone number. The attached file contains a summary of the responses. [Note to Moderators: please place in reports directory] Many thanks to the following people who reponded: Stephen Kawalko Ernie Potenziani Mark Lankton Christos Giogas Guido Paccagnella and most especially, for help above and beyond the call of duty: Bob Norton I hope this is of some help. Alun A. J. Carr, Mech. Eng. Dept., UCD, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland. Internet: ajcarr@ccvax.ucd.ie ====== Cut Here =========================================================== Date: Wed, 7 Apr 1993 10:54:36 CDT From: Stephen Kawalko Subject: Re: FEA software for the Mac > Does anybody out there know if there are any finite element analysis > packages available for the Mac (preferably 3D)? Please let me have the > manufacturers name and if possible (in order of preference) e-mail address, > fax number (not toll-free, as we can't use them from Europe), snail-mail > address and/or phone number. I have a brochure from MacNeal-Schendler which lists all of their finite element software packages. It lists a package named MSC/pal 2 which is a finite element package which runs on a Mac. It can analyze both 2D and 3D models with up to 2000 grid points (12,000 degrees or freedom). Corporate Address: The MacNeal-Schwendler Corp. 815 Colorado Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90041-1777 Phone: (213) 258-9911 Fax: (213) 259-3838 European Address: MacNeal-Schwendler GmbH Innsbrucker Ring 15 Postfach 801240 D-8000 Munchen 80 Germany Phone: (089) 4319870 Fax: (089) 4361716 > Please let there be at least *one* package out there, otherwise the > smart-arse PC types are going to turn around and thumb their noses (they > have LUSAS, ANSYS and heaven only knows what else to play with), and a > colleague of mine is going to have to use his Centris 650 as a dumb terminal > into an overloaded VAX. Well there is at least one finite element package for the Mac. It may not fit in your budget but it does exist. I am still astonished when people tell me that engineers don't use Macs and then proceed to tell about all the software which supposedly doesn't exist for Macs. Be kind, it is not that they lack intelligence but rather they lack the correct information. :-) Stephen Kawalko (u40857@uicvm.cc.uic.edu) Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science University of Illinois at Chicago ====== Date: 07 Apr 1993 07:59:28 -0500 (EST) From: Ernie Potenziani Subject: FEA software for the Mac (Q) Alun, I too have been searching for FEA (electromagnetic) software for the Mac, but without any luck. Right now, I'm using MacNeal-Schwendler's software (they make NASTRAN and EMAS) on a VAX and running MacX on my MacIntosh (just as an X terminal). I've mentioned my need to numerous vendors at trade show exhibits, but most seem to concentrate on what they perceive as more numerous platforms (Suns, HPs, DEC VAXs). About the closest I've seen (in a magazine advertisement) was some structural engineering software on a Mac (it MAY have been PATRAN) but as it didn't have electromagnetic capabilities, I didn't pay much attention to the advertisement. Sorry. Please let me know if you find anything and I guess all Mac users can do is to keep asking. If enough vendors get inquiries, maybe some will react. Sincerely, __________________________________________ Ernie Potenziani, D.Eng.Sc. US Army Research Laboratory Electronics & Power Sources Directorate AMSRL-EP-EC-H, Myer Center Fort Monmouth, NJ USA 07703-5601 Internet: potenziani@monmouth-ETDL1.army.mil Phone:Commercial(908)544-3628 DSN:995-3628 FAX:(908)544-2899 Compuserve:72447,165 ====== Date: Tue, 6 Apr 1993 08:49:07 -0600 From: lankton%zodiac.colorado.edu@spot.Colorado.EDU Subject: FEA software Alun, We use COSMOS/M for finite element analysis on the Mac, and we are pretty happy with it. (We switched from NASTRAN on a VAX, which really was a pain to work with....) We obtain it from a local distributor, but it is produced by: Structural Research and Analysis Corporation 2951 28th Street Santa Monica, CA 90405 (USA) tel: 310-452-2158 fax: 310-399-6421 Good luck! Mark Lankton (lankton@orion.colorado.edu) Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics University of Colorado ====== Date: Mon, 12 Apr 1993 7:55:54 -0700 (PDT) From: NORTON@JPL354.JPL.NASA.GOV Subject: FEA on the Macintosh Mostly bad news, I'm afraid. There are a number of factors that have kept FEA programs off the Mac: o Most FEA program come out of the mainframe environment, which means that they are batch oriented, not interactive, and thus don't require, or take advantage of, the Macintosh GUI. o The amazing price wars have driven down the price of the DOS hardware, at least in the US, do an incredible level. While Apple has countered with aggresive price moves, they still are well behind the Intel hardware in price/performance. o Apple still hasn't managed to break through the 10-15% market penetration. In the aerospace field our primary FEA program is NASTRAN. Originally this was developed by contractors for NASA; one of the contractors, The MacNeal-Schwendler Corp (MSC), started marketing a propietary version which now has the biggest piece of the NASTRAN pie. Other vendors can supply their own propietary version, and the "public" version is available through COSMIC, which distributes NASA developed software. MSC does market a version of MSC/NASTRAN which runs on Intel hardware using a version of the Unix operating system. No Macintosh version is available. MSC used to market another FEA program called PAL which was available for both DOS and Macintosh platforms. I don't believe that they have marketed this for a couple of years now, but I believe that it can still be purchased, although I don't believe that it is supported. A company called Structural Research and Analysis Corp at 1661 Lincoln Blvd, Suite 100, Santa Monica, CA 90404, telephone (310) 452-2158 has marketed their FEA for a number of years on several platforms, including the Macintosh. Their primary presence is on DOS platforms, so I don't know how well they support the Macintosh. Their program is called COSMOS/M, and was originally developed from the SAP program (from the University of California at Berekely, Ed Wilson). That's about all I know about Macintosh FEA programs. I've personally tried to break through this problem by porting the COSMIC version of NASTRAN to the Macintosh (using the Unix environment sold by Apple, A/UX). This has been a rather frustrating experience, largely due to the Fortran compilers available for the Macintosh under A/UX> I am optimistic that the current bleak situation will change with the introduction of the PowerPC hardware early next year. This has the potential of getting Apple past the 10-15% market penetration problem. Users will be able to run existing Macintosh applications on both Apple and IBM brand hardware. The following operating systems will be available on the PowerPC: native Macintosh, Macintosh under Unix (similar to the existing A/UX), OS/2 (with DOS and Windows), Sun's Unix called Solaris, and probably Windows NT. The key issue for me will be a good Fortran compiler -- we'll see! Best wishes and good luck, Bob Norton ====== Date: Wed, 7 Apr 93 0:50:37 EDT From: Christos Giogas Subject: FEA on mac Hi Alun. The only program that I have heard of (by no means does this mean that there aren't any others) that can do finite element analysis is AutoCAD for the Mac. As you may know, it is a standard CAD program on the DOS platform. If my memory serves me correctly MacUser reviewed it about one and a half years ago (late summer of '91). For FEA, you need the second part with AutoCAD called AME. MacUsers '93 buying guide (page 185) list: AutoCAD $3500 AME $495 This may be way out of your price range but hear is the address: AutoDesk, Inc. 2320 Marinship Way Sausalito, CA 94965 Tel # (415) 332-2344 After giving you this address, I found that MacUser reviewed AutoCAD in the Oct '92 issue. BTW, if you get any other information on other FEA, would you be so kind as to send me the names and addresses or post it on the net. Hope this helps, Chris Giogas cg27@cunixb.cc.columbia.edu ====== Date: Tue, 13 Apr 93 19:23:23 AST From: "Guido Paccagnella (Hosp.Perez Carreno" Subject: FEA software on Mac Hi, I tryed to send to ollamh.ucd.ie but got a not sent message and also tried to send to Info-Mac, but I haven't seen it. So here it goes again. < Does anybody out there know if there are any finite element analysis < packages available for the Mac (preferably 3D)? Please let me have the < manufacturers name and if possible (in order of preference) e-mail address, < fax number (not toll-free, as we can't use them from Europe), snail-mail < address and/or phone number. * The March issue of Mechanical Engineering announces LapCAD which is the first I have seen in some time (for Macs and not for Windows, UNIX, etc.). As far ad the ad goes, the package seems to be what you are looking for. * For other Mac applications, the only one besides the above, is Cosmos/M which I ordered a demo version long time ago. I never liked that demo because, in a few words, is an IBM application ported to a Mac; It is very cumbersome and difficult even to follow their demo. The use of menus is extremely limited. The drawing of a simple element is done by "telling" each point's coordinate ( much like Auto Cad and Versa Cad). You really get the feeling you're working on an IBM instead of a Mac. The only relief would have been to import 3D dxf files into Cosmos Shell in order to analyze. But since MiniCad does not dominate dxf (at least up to vers. 3.xx) and Auto Cad is out of the question, that's as far as I got with Cosmos. And I don't think they have rewritten their code to make it a 7-savvy application. ( It wasn't even 6-savvy back then. ) Addresses: LapCAD Engineering, 7710 Balboa Ave., Suite 226, San Diego, CA 92111. (800) 343-3641; (619)467-1947 Voice/Message/Fax. $195-$995. Cosmos (Structural Research & Analysis Corp.) 2951 28 Th. St., Suite 100, Santa Monica, CA 90405. (310) 452-2158; (310) 339-6421 Fax. Free 50 node demo vers. FEA only $1550. So, to summarize, heavy work needs to be done in this area. I am personally planning on (somehow, and someday) writing my own code for Design Optimization. I have the tools but I need a little more experience in the programming area.... Guido Paccagnella guidop@dino.conicit.ve ====== End of report ====================================================== --========================_15565458==_--