In 2009, Make it your best year ever!

Usually at this time of year, I am cleaning up my office, cleaning up computers, doing a bit of reflection and getting ready for the new year. This year was certainly one for the record books in my life. So the dust seems to be settling later this year than ever before. I worked primarily in Europe and feel like I earned 5 years of experience in just 12 months. It was fascinating to visit and begin to understand how engineering organizations operate in various countries.

My biggest take-away this year is to stick to my guns, listen, learn and respect those around me and push myself to strive to be better everyday. Everyday should be better than the day before.

There is definitely a sense of uneasiness in the air on the state of world lately. I think 2009 will be an extremely tough year. The strong will survive, many will struggle and some will fail like never before.

Blame can be passed around and rightfully so. But the fact is that "it is what it is". It is an absolute requirement that everyone has to suck it up and make the best of a crappy situation and show the world what you are all about.

If you are worried, maybe a little scared? You're not alone. Acknowledge the fear and move on and do something about it.

Personally, I am feeling optimistic. More than optimistic, actually. I plan to do exactly what I know how to do. Work hard, work smart, engage with people, build relationships and help engineers overcome their design challenges.

Whatever it is that you do. Make sure you do it this year better than you ever did it before. You owe it to yourself and to everyone else!

Happy New Year, everyone!

The Ghosts of CFD: Past, Present & Future

I think we are all familiar with the story of The Christmas Carol. Good ole' Ebenezer takes a trip through the past, present and future to see the impact he has on his own destiny. Got me thinking of how it relates to where we are today in the engineering software world, specifically the CFD world.

If we take a quick look at the PAST, we see that CAD was changing the way that engineers designed products. In the 80s and into the 90s 3D CAD was considered to be on the high end of the design spectrum. It wasn't mainstream, but by only a select few industries. There was an even smaller sector of very specialized engineers that were focused on CFD. It was used primarily in the automotive and aerospace industries. There were numerous independent codes that were developed to solve a particular problem. Some of these specialized codes evolved and morphed into various portions of commercially available software. Some of which is still available today.

The typical user was a very specialized engineer, usually a PhD, that was focused on driving and in many cases customizing CFD software to solve a very specific problem. The use of USR (user sub-routines) was common. As was spending a tremendous amount of time building a mesh manually to hopefully solve a very simplified version of a particular problem. The end result was often a very anti-climactic simple vector and iso-line plots Not to mention, the computer power required to solve these models was either super expensive to buy or needed to be shared/rented.

Over the years, huge strides have been made in geometric handling, automatic mesh generation, infinite list of numerical (solver) methods and true real-life visualization. Many of the commercial vendors made improvements in making it "easier to use". But let's face it, anything was easier than what was available in the beginning.

That brings us to the PRESENT. Dare I say, that CFD is "beginning" to become mainstream in a number of industries. It is used by engineers with various backgrounds. Safe to say that you can't turn your head and identify a product, piece of equipment, or device that a CFD model was run at some point.

Many of the older, "traditional" CFD vendors are finding themselves in a difficult position. They are still serving a very specialized community of "R&D" engineers that are solving very sophisticated problems. The vendors are trying to make their software easier to use so that they can touch a wider audience. Some are remaining very general purpose, others are creating specific verticals and some are creating "CFD-lite" programs. It is very challenging for a company to have multiple products that serve vastly different markets. But the challenge drives deeper as many of the vendors do not realize that the markets are vastly different. Many feel that if the product is easier to use, then the market that is serves grows. This isn't exactly true.

Some of us, work for the new generation CFD companies that are focused on mainstream engineers that happen to have a need to optimize their designs from a fluid flow and heat transfer perspective. I'll spare you the sales pitch. But think it is only fair to acknowledge that there are a variety of challenges involved in taking something that is technically very complex, and make it simply work - all the time, for every situation, the way that "Joe Engineer" expects it to work.

The crunch that the world is finding itself into lately is only going to make things tougher on the vendors but should result in some pretty amazing products for engineers everywhere.

So, what does the FUTURE hold for the CFD market?

• The monster CAE vendors that are gobbling up company after company have their hands full to deliver quality products that serve a unique market of design engineers that need to make CFD a part of their product design process.
• Expectations of design engineers is growing everyday. Users with minimal experience expect that the CFD software will help solve their problem with minimal input (requiring automation), extremely fast (requiring sophisticated software) and help bring products to market faster (requiring design insight beyond traditional visualization).
• New-generation engineers expect instant gratification. CFD software should work like all of the other tools that engineers use. We will begin to see MCAD, CFD, Office and Web Applications looking and working alike.
• High performance computing, distributed computing, maybe even cloud computing will become a normal part of an engineers day to day.
  
• Communication and collaboration tools (including Social Media) will play a bigger part in the product development community.

Just a bit of reflection on where we've been and where we're going.

History of CAD by Jon Hirschtick

I snagged this little gem from Ben Eadie's blog, Solid Mentor. I thought it was a great video to sit back and reflect upon. Jon is a great presenter and obvious visionary. I was fortunate to attend some of the SolidWorks Worlds' in the early days. His presentations always have everyone sitting on the edge of their seats, mentally recording every word. Always fascinating to see the new guy come onto the scene, make a ruckus but then dominate.


History of CAD from Ben Eadie on Vimeo.

I am anxious to see what the future brings. I think we are on the verge of seeing some big breakthroughs on the CAE front. Some of my own predictions.

1. I think touch screens will make a breakthrough into the CAE market in the very near-term and change the way we interact with our computers/models.
2. 3D Printing will become much more popular as performance, as well as fit and function become more and more important.
3. Social Media will change the way engineer's communicate and collaborate. Perhaps slow to adopt this type of technology, but once adopted it will grow exponentially.
4. Upfront CAE will become an integral part of the "designers" day to day.
5. Direct/hybrid modeling is here to stay. I dont think parametrics will go away, but the hybrid, push and pull (w. optional dimensions and constraints) will be the modeling approach moving forward.
   
   Agree or disagree? Bring It!
   

SpaceClaim Delivers this Xmas

Anyone that has followed this blog during the Holidays knows that I like to have a bit of fun and try and create a CFdesign Holiday-inspired model. I wanted to get this bad boy posted before XMAS. A video will be posted to You Tube shortly.

In the spirit of the season, I reached out to friends at the various CAD companies to see if anyone had a model to share. I'd happily give credit where credit was due etc. Figured it would be fun.

Well, the folks at SpaceClaim not only stepped up, but they are clearly over-achievers. I mean that in the best way possible. Check out the image below of the model they sent.

I honestly wasn't expecting much of a response at all. So, I felt obliged to deliver on my end. Here are some of the images from the model run in CFdesign....




Ok, a few take-aways on this experience...

1. The guys @ SpaceClaim are awesome to deal with. Super responsive in a genuinely interested in helping kind of way.
2. I forgot how much fun SpaceClaim is to drive. When I received the model, it was really fancy, tons of gaps, small surfaces, interferences, surface and solids. I was able to wack it up in SC in a matter of no time to get it "meshable" in CFdesign. Some of the tools in the 2009 BETA are awesome.
   
3. Spaceclaim just works. Its definitely different than CAD, but from a simulation perspective, it is a great modeler. I learned a ton by just clicking away- their UNDO is second to none.

Thanks SpaceClaim!!! Merry Christmas everyone!!!

CFdesign Gives Santa a Helping Hand

Another year, another Holiday model from CFdesign. Nothing like waiting until the last minute, to get this one out the door. Better late than never. Stay tuned, I have another awesome model to post from the boys at SpaceClaim.

Happy Holidays Everyone!!!

Evernote Premium is My New BFF

I am finally developing an actual system to store all of my "stuff". That's emails, random thoughts, to do lists, grocery lists, project organizer, attachment bucket. You name it and I put it in Evernote. I have preached this message before.

I just saw an announcement that Evernote Premium allows me to attach or embed files (MS, pdf etc) as thumbnails in my notes. This is awesome. Something I have been wanting for some time.

So the catch? Premium costs money, Basic is free. How much?

Drum roll.... Evernote Premium is $5/month, $45/annual. Not a bad deal at all.

I feel like I am doing my part by supporting a product that I have been using successfully for months. Why should it be free? It shouldn't.

Ok, now that I have plugged Evernote.. Here is my wish list.

1. I want an output button from SnagIt to Evernote. I can't seem to get the hang of the "Clipper".
   
2. I want markup capability in Evernote, similar to SnagIt. I want to be able to highlight, circle, draw arrows etc to stuff that I clip. Currently, I do all of this in SnagIt and then save to Evernote. The problem is, sometimes I want to edit them.
3. Third, creating a to-do list or numbered list of tasks needs some work. I want it to work more like Word. Currently, it is more like Notepad.

So, now that I am a paying customer..... are you listening?

Autodesk to Acquire Algor for $34M- whoa!!!

Look at Autodesk, jumping head first into spending some coin. $34M for Algor, hmm, not sure what to say about that. It looks like Autodesk is falling in line with all of the other monsters out there and just gobbling up as much technology as possible. If you look back, they acquired Plassotech a few years ago and more recently Moldflow. They have been fairly slow to incorporate these two products into Inventor. Slow is all realtive, I suppose. But, the buzz has been fairly silent.

I just returned from Autodesk University and was a bit surprised that there wasn't more buzz along the lines of simulation. Tons of hype over "Digital Prototyping", but not as specific to simulation. Not overly surprising as Plassotech has historically been a fairly small player, at least in this part of the world. But Moldflow, was always the standard in mold simulation. I was expecting more "holy cr*p, look at that cool animation" type stuff at AU.



Now we look at Algor. Fairly well known, but always tagged (perhaps unfairly) as the low-end side of the market. Someone referred to them as "Wal-mart style FEA". Not sure that is fair, but still pretty funny way of putting it. After all, Wal-mart is kicking some tale in our little economic "crisis".

The rags are reporting that Algor had revenue of $12M and sold for $34M-- ~3x, not bad. What is the motivation of Autodesk to acquire "yet another" FEA code? Well, look at ANSYS. Why did they purchase CFX and a few years later, arch enemy, Fluent? Is it the technology, install base, potential revenue, future revenue? My hunch is that it is a little of all of the above. I think Autodesk is targeting the up and coming companies. Companies that are still transitioning from 2d to 3d. Companies that still live in a 2d/3d world. These are the same companies that want an introductory step into FEA and simulation. So, perhaps Algor is a fit?

Here is my slant on all of this stuff. I think it is fascinating to see all of these monster companies (Autodesk, ANSYS, Dassault Systems) swallow up all of the market and transition themselves as an all encompassing "solution provider". The concept of "one-stop" shop is great in theory. But it is all about the execution. Can a CAD company, successfully implement, support and develop mold simulation software? Can this same company successfully integrate a CAD system, with a mold simulation tool and work seamlessly with a thermal stress module? Maybe -- no easy task though.

Take ANSYS, for example, can a company founded on structural FEA simulation evolve into a CFD company powerhouse? Goose is getting fatter and fatter. Will it lay the golden egg? Time will tell.

Think back a few years ago. Our good friends at SDRC. They were a powerhouse in the world of CAD/FEA/PDM. Now? They are swallowed up inside of Siemens. Did you ever think that SDRC wouldn't be a major player in the future. Ok, arguably, they still are just with a different wrapper. My point is will we see another disruptive technology come along and make it an even playing field with a bunch of small independents fighting it out like it was in the 90s with SolidWorks and the like? Or will the monsters rule? Editors note: I loved the 90s. Personally, I hope we go back :)

How about our friends at PTC? Who is sleeping at the helm with regards to simulation? Will PTC stick it out and ride the PLM wagon? Suppose Pro/engineer was sold? Suppose PTC sold their CAD business or "retired" it and bet the farm on Windchill.

I know, I'm stretching it a bit. Some of my predictions from last year were way off. What do you want me to say? Such as life. Another famous list will come out in 2 weeks.

Are you buried in email? --- Try Xobni!!!

Longest hiatus I have taken from blogging since I started. But, I plan to come back in full swing over the next few weeks. I am noticing that my email inbox is growing out of control. I am trying to stay on top and stick to my GTD roots. Getting harder and harder everyday. Just spent a week in the UK, staying on top of email and had to clean out over 200 "strays" over the weekend.

I have Outlook folders etc but I find emails just get lost in the mix. I find them difficult to search (takes too long), they get archived, crappy tagging system etc.. I then began to use Evernote as a "catchall" file system- I use tags to organize, clips, snagit grabs, links, photos and now email.

But, I still struggle to find certain emails etc. Especially those that contain attachments and especially those that have attachments that cannot be dragged into Evernote. So, I downloaded Xobni (clever--INBOX, spelled backwards).

So, I use it as an awesome search tool within Outlook. It is fast, relevant and easy to use. Probably one of my favorite tools of 2008.

Autodesk University 2008: What's Coming!!!

I have been fortunate enough to gain access to Inventor 2010. New "ribbon" interface is really, really well done. I think like everyone, I wasn't a huge fan of the ribbon when it came out, but have grown to really love it in many different applications (Office, SnagIt, Spaceclaim, SolidWorks etc). I have downloaded Solid Edge, but need to brush up my Edge skills before I can comment on the UI.

AU attendees were privileged enough to get a peek into the future. Here is a quick list of what I could type while watching..

2d design kinematics- so you can have linkages, mechanism sketched and interacting in 2d- saves from having to have a full 3d model when working on kinematic stiff.

dynamic simulation - so you can take the reaction forces from a fully kinematic simulation and automatically go into a stress analysis.

parametric optimization - structural simulation design studies on different geom in Inventor based on a goal.

industrial design sketcher- I'm not an ID guy, but it looked very much like a pencil sketching on paper, but it was actually creating 3d sketches that can be turned into surfaces and solids, it was amazing realistic

tech pubs- really cool exploded view and tech publications a la Inventor

inventor fusion- really cool hybrid modeling that will be available in Labs very soon.

Check out Al Dean's site for the videos...


Future of Autodesk Inventor from DEVELOP3D on Vimeo.

Autodesk University 2008: Innovation occurs during the "bad" times

I sat through one of the keynotes kicked off by Buzz Kross this am. I have to admit, I agree with the messaging coming out of Autodesk. Always one to try and stay impartial - Autodesk is definitely heading down the right path.

Grossly paraphrasing, Mr. Kross, but here are a few blips that I jotted down.

"Digital Prototyping is Innovation..."

"..if you make a physical prototype, you are limiting innovation..."

"..much more design choices can be made if Digital Prototyping is used..."

This was echoed by an awesome presentation by Burt Rutan, founder of Scaled Composites. His presentation was really interesting. Paraphrasing a bit, but a big take away for me in regards to design engineering in a troubled economy.

"...breakthroughs occur when we are threatened, during the bad times, not the good times..."

He gave a reflection of the 1960w when we put a man on the moon. It was a fragile time- fear of the cold war, Cuban missile crisis, unpopular Vietnam war etc, yet INNOVATION still occurred.

So, yes, times are tough. But, there is plenty of opportunity out there to come out on top and fix what is broken. The tools are there, we as engineers need to use them smartly and get back to the basics and innovate. Lead the charge and show the world what we are all about.

Autodesk University 2008: Day One

What a day! Autodesk truly has some amazing products. I learned a ton of stuff in fields that are pretty foreign to me, (GIS, Architecture, Urban Planning etc). I also learned quite a bit about products that I use everyday.

Here are some of my take aways..

"The future is innovation led by design." This was the overwhelming message that was emphasized over and over again throughout the keynote led by Carl Bass and some of the guest speakers. Seems pretty obvious, but Autodesk is positioning themselves as a design company and are raising the bar to include some pretty amazing optimization across numerous industries.

"Experience it before its real" The CTO, Jeff Kowalski, showed some of the things being worked on in the Labs at Autodesk. It involved, high end rendering and visualization, combining 2d & 3d mapping software and optimization where the software selects the optimal design for you.

I sat in on an API course for Inventor. It has come along way. There are a ton of things that can be automated in Inventor that users should be using everyday. Levels of detail is only scratching the surface.

But by far the coolest thing I saw was Inventor Fusion Technology. In essence, it is super streamlined hybrid modeling for Inventor. I saw it as a standalone product, which personally, I think they should offer it in both varieties- standalone and inside Inventor. But coming from a Simulation perspective, it is one of the coolest, modelers I have ever seen.

No doubt, it is in direct response to Spaceclaim, Synchronous Technology from Siemens and other hybrid modeling solutions. Its pretty convincing that hybrid modeling will play a major role in the future of MCAD. From a user's perspective, the more the merrier. Meaning, each vendor will be fighting for to be the best, which should result in some awesome technology.

Happy Thanksgiving: CFD Simulation of a Turkey!!!

The older I get, the more I appreciate Thanksgiving. A great day to take a step back, spend some time with the family and be truly thankful for what we have in life.

It wouldn't be a holiday without a little CFD fun. Check out this turkey sent to me by one of the guys on our team. Thanks, Josh. This makes me laugh every time I look at it.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!!! Be safe.

Cloud Computing: Life with a Netbook...the beginning

I waited five long weeks for my new personal netbook. I've ranted in the past about my vision to have a small laptop, loaded with linux and other open source applications. I want to use the netbook primarily for browsing the web, email, and general office applications. The hard drive is very small, so the idea is that I will leverage online applications, online storage and backups. This premise obviously implies that I will be connected to the Internet most of the time.

So far, so good. The Dell mini came with Ubuntu Hardy Heron loaded. I ran into a few issues initially.

• The mini is based on lpia architecture, not the standard i386. So, downloading standard applications was a pain initially. There are workarounds available, but upgrading to Intrepid Ibex, addresses this issue.
• Dell still hasn't shipped my external DVD player, so upgrading to Intrepid required creating a Live USB. It took a bit of trial and error with the USB-Creator in Hardy. I finally got it to work and love the idea of Live USB keys to boot/install the OS. Intrepid's USB Creator is much easier to use.

Once upgraded to Intrepid, the main issue I ran into was no sound. I searched every forum I could find to try and fix the problem. The guys at DELLMINI forum, saved the day. Here is the quick fix for the sound issue on a Dell mini.


Some cool things that I am using..

ONLINE STORAGE - chose to go with Box.net; allows me to upload files from my work laptop & desktop (both Vista) & access it anywhere via the web. Also testing out Dropbox.

OFFICE APPLICATIONS - Obviously using MS Office @ works and leveraging Live Mesh & Office Live to share MS docs for work. On my netbook, I am using Open Office. Just figured out that you can open Office 2007 docs (word at least) in Open Office. This is huge for me! I am also using Google Docs quite a bit..I love the "offline" option.

BROWSER - Mozilla Firefox - across the board

IM/PHONE - Skype- working alot better on Vista lately; had to tweak the sound settings on the Linux version (Sound In = HDA Intel (hw:Intel,0); Sound Out = pulse)

MUSIC - using Rhythmbox Music Player - streaming Last.fm.

EMAIL - using Google Mail. I also have my Outlook calendar synced with my Google Calendar.

More to come on this.. Wondering if any other netbook users out there that can provide some insight, cool applications etc..

The yin yang of our careers...

We all go through peaks and valleys throughout our careers. Some of us simply look at our jobs as a necessary evil, others of us take it maybe a bit too serious. Many fall somewhere in the middle.

I truly believe that there has never been a more exciting and challenging time to work in the field of technology. The opportunities are vast and the personal satisfaction can be immense.

However, I'm a realist and understand that jobs are a bit more difficult to land, especially the dream job. But to me, it is all about paying your dues and excelling at what you do. Take pride and above all else, be accountable!!!

Whether times are tough or times are easy- engineers and the like should be constantly working toward some sort of goal; some sort of ideal job. That doesn't necessarily mean more money, doesn't necessarily mean more responsibility. Often times, it does, but not always. We should raise the bar just a bit higher than what we think is obtainable. If we fall a bit short, its OK. But that gives us a reason to wake up the next day and work just a bit harder.

The journey will not be easy. We will all hit walls, trek through valleys and eventually hit peaks of nirvana. The point is that we should be consistently pushing forward, challenging ourselves, adding value to the team and the mission. But we should always be real to ourselves. Nothing lasts forever. We should be able to identify when it is time to move on to the next stage in our careers. The days of the "gold watch" party are history. It's simply different times.

A dear friend that I have worked with over the last few years reached a pinnacle point in his career and he has decided to pursue other opportunities. I couldn't be happier for him and for us as a company. Sure, we will miss him and there will be big shoes to fill. But, to me, it is a sign of progression and an ever evolving process of growth. Both for the company and for him.

Best of luck, Jeff! Looking forward to hearing about the next leg of your journey.

It's not always about the "Product"...

Another highly scientifically monitored survey from the staff at TheVE. We posed the question, "what browser do you use"? Check out the results below....

Ok, the fact is - probably not the fairest survey as the number of readers here is in the 100s. But a descent turnout on the responses, all limited to one response per ip address. So, its as scientific as we get here at TheVE.

Personally, I am a big fan of Firefox. But, I was pretty surprised to see how overwhelmingly it was the browser of choice. I would really like to know people's answer to "why do you use FF"?

Is it because you have specific issues with IE? Maybe specific issues with Microsoft? Some people have said, well, "Firefox is safer".

My motivation to use FF? Two reasons: I am always interested in trying out "the other guy" and I have a deep interest in supporting any Open Source project. But the bottom line, Firefox is slick, does what I need it to do and in general, it is a very good experience.


BUT- it doesn't come without its flaws. I tend to upgrade fairly regularly and noticed that FF crashes (on Vista), probably daily. Definitely annoying, but they have an option to "restart previous" option. So, it remembers where I was. What is more interesting is that in many many years of using IE, I seem to recall, at most, a handful of crashes.

So why would I choose to use a product that is more unstable? Simple - I am a fan. I believe in what they are all about. I am more willing to tolerate imperfections.

Morale of the post- its not always about the product. It is about the people, the organization, the ideas and the philosophy from where the product originates. Surely not always the case, but companies that are focused on building a community or "tribe", are often successful in spite of the products they develop.

Cloud Computing: Live Mesh

I am completely obsessed with working in a virtual environment. There is no better extension of this obsession than cloud computing. I will intermittently post snippets of various "cloud" tools that I use to work and live. There are fanatics out there that "need" a clear line and definition on what cloud computing really is and what it isn't. I'm not into formal definitions.

In general, working in the "clouds" to me is leveraging the web for communication, file storage, file sharing, computing (running calculations), sharing information, obtaining information and relaying information.

I literally use a ton of various applications to do all of the above. But let's talk about how I keep my files in synch just for my own use. So I have a few computers that I use for work. Some are desktops, some are laptops. Some I use all the time, some I use only to do "computations". But I have found that there are certain files that I want to have accessible on all machines all the time. Sure, I can copy and paste and "share" drives etc. But suppose I am on the road? Suppose I only have my phone with me and need to snag a file and send it to someone?

For this type of stuff, I have been using Microsoft's Live Mesh. I want even begin to try and explain whether it is a platform, application, client-server..whatever. I'll just try and show you how it works and leave the marketing stuff to MS.

A bit redundant as I posted some of this last week, but I wanted to include some screenshots for clarity. In a nutshell, you create an account on the Live Mesh website. If you do nothing else, you can consider Live Mesh like any other online storage folder system. It gives you 5GB/month for free. But Mesh is way more than that.

You can then begin to "add" devices to your "Mesh". You can then choose what folders on each of the devices you want to keep in "synch" and also allows simple drag and drop between devices and your online "Live Desktop" etc. So, for example, if I am working on some documents (any type) on my laptop in a hotel and I want to be able to access these files later either via a web browser or my desktop at home (maybe my personal pc) OR my phone. I save these files to a folder that has been "flagged" as a Live Mesh folder. In Vista, the folders turn a cool ice blue color, indicating they are Mesh folders.

When not using my Live Desktop via a browser, I have the above widget to manage my Mesh settings etc.

There are a few other cool things. For example, I can also "Remote Desktop" from one machine to the other via Mesh. I have found performance is so-so for now. GOTOMYPC is way faster, which probably means less secure?? I mentioned mobile phone support above, personally I use the mobile web site to access my Live Desktop as opposed to installing the actual application on my phone. Other guys on our team have had issues with the application.

Some really cool things coming out of Microsoft in the days to come. It's easy to become cynical and poke fun, but from where I am sitting, the stuff coming will help me tremendously in my work life. Interested to hear people's experience with Mesh, both good and bad?!?

Can Upfront CFD help you see clearer?

I was out shopping this weekend and saw adds for a "HUGE, Ski Equipment Sale!" How quickly the time flies.. Already into yet, another season. Really cool model one of our brand new guys just worked on. I am constantly amazed at the types of problems we are fortunate enough to work on everyday. Obviously, the title of the post is a bit of a metaphor. In this particular case, we were able to show a leading goggle manufacturer how to improve their product. But the same rings true for many industries. Competition is tight, everyone is trying to be leaner. But, don't lose sight of the fact that there are smarter ways of doing things. You just need to look.

Upfront CFD has come along way. Tons of more places to go and challenges to overcome. But most importantly as companies tighten up, they will strive to work smarter and more efficiently now than ever before. Check out this post from one of my favorite blogs, Seth Godin's Blog. Couldn't agree more!!!

Don't Assume Others Will Do It - VOTE!!!

No speech required. No excuses. You know how important it is, get out there and do your part. Don't assume its over or its in the bag - every vote counts!!!

What does Upfront CFD have to do with Halloween?

Well, probably more than you thought. Little bit of fun here. I modeled a pumpkin in SolidWorks, brought it into CFdesign and ran a flow and thermal simulation to predict the air flow behavior due to the candle burning.

Obviously, this post is mostly in fun. But it does point out a few things.

1. Pumpkins are fairly complex geometry, modeling the "seams" etc. Many meshers would require extra care in capturing that level of detail.
2. No need to model a "flame" when you are simply interested in flow effects, how to "vent" an enclosure with an extremely high temperature.
   
3. There are more and more ways that Upfront CFD can be used to improve even the simplest of designs.

Happy Halloween, everyone! Be Safe!

Microsoft is Earning Some Street Credit with Cloud Computing Initiative

I never really had a strong opinion one way or the other on Microsoft. There are others that have really strong opinions. MS is often the butt of a joke and often the scapegoat of many digs. Apple has been making fun of them via commercials for the last few months/years. Microsoft has recently countered with their own campaign and, as expected, received even more criticism. I have to admit, I thought the commercials weren't that bad. Even the Seinfeld/Gates version. Maybe its me, but I thought they made their point.

Recently, I installed Vista on my 32bit laptop and more recently, on my 64bit desktop. As expected, I struggled to get started as Vista seems to have more rules and gotchas than XP etc. But once you get the hang of it, I really like the interface and the workflow. So, more and more, I am digging Microsoft.

This week is the big Professional Developers Conference where MS rolls out all of their new plans for the future. Click on the logo to see streaming and recorded video sessions. Man, all kinds of really cool things are coming. As expected (by me at least), MS is thinking in the clouds. They are rolling out a variety of really cool cloud computing offerings. My favorite one right now is Microsoft Live Mesh. Think of it as an online synchronization, storage service.


So, I created a Live Mesh account online. I then "added" my devices (laptop and desktop, both with Vista) to my account. Apparently, windows mobile and Mac devices are coming soon. Mesh provides 5GB of storage space online. Surprise, surprise it didn't seem to like Firefox. I can create folders in my Mesh account and choose to have them sync with each or all of my devices. In other words, I can work on a file of any kind on my laptop, save it to the designated "sync" folder and as long as I am signed into Mesh, it will automatically sync it to the folder online, as well as my other devices selected. If I am not connected, it will synch the next time I'm online. Mesh also provides Remote Desktop capabilities. So, I can use it as a conduit to access files between computers and other devices. Performance for Remote Desktop is fairly slow at this point. But Mesh is in its early phases and I expect performance to improve with time.

For a guy that works on a variety of projects both in the home office, while at our corporate office or simply while traveling, Mesh is an awesome tool to enable working in a Virtual environment out here in the clouds.

Upfront CAE should drive innovation, not validation

Anyone that has used, seen or even heard of Upfront CAE will admit that it has come along way in the last 5-10 years. The software developers try to make it as easy as possible. They strive to make the UI slick and modern, guide you through the process and provide you sound answers to your questions. They even provide answers to questions, you probably didn't think about.

But I think many of us get focused on "the number" - pressure drop, max temperature, Cv, whatever. I think we all should take a minute, step back and try interpreting what design decisions to make, based on the information provided.

There is so much information that can be provided, but we as engineers have to think of the various techniques and pick "our favorites". For example, there are a variety of ways to determine the pressure drop in a system (cut planes, summary files, bulk data, probing) - which should I use? Very simple, the one the fits your process. But ask yourself, ok, that is the value. But what is causing that value, where are the recirculation regions, where is the largest gradient -- do all of these occur where I expect them to occur? If not, why? Sometimes there will be large gradients in a gap, for example, not much you can do about that. But often gradients are happening in other regions of the model - those you can fix.

Same applies to all of the CAE problems out there. Keep pushing yourself to ask, why, and what if, and how can I improve my design. The information is there, we just need to know how to use it.

Go Phillies!!

Ok, I won't even pretend to claim to be a huge fan of baseball, nor have I really followed the Phillies this year. However, I am definitely jumping on the bandwagon and will follow them as they are now headed to the World Series. Plus, I scored tickets to one of the home games. Not bad for a bandwagon-er. ;-)

It is really awesome to see some positive news coming out of the good ol' City of Brotherly Love. Horns were blasting all night. Watching the news last night, I thought 'this can't be good'. 1000s of people in the streets going insane. So far so good. We do tend to get a bad rap. Maybe its justified? Oh well, deal with it.

Reconnecting with Music -- check it out LIVE

I'm not sure about you, but my life seems to be surrounded by music. I am by no means a music guy - can't play an instrument, can't sing etc.. There are people that are way more into it. But, I am a huge fan. I usually have an ipod or headphones connected to itunes, online radio, pandora as well as a list of others. When I am in the car or not in my office - I am streaming XM. Even after all of that, I still get bored and want more. Here are some of my favorites..

Live Music

PHISH
Counting Crows
Grateful Dead

Internet Radio

WXPN - Philly - awesome NPR station based out of U of Penn
Y-Rock - old school alternative rock station- internet only
Pandora - customizable Internet radio;really cool

Satellite Radio

XM

I have been on a big kick lately of listening to live music. My wife and I just saw Counting Crows at the Borgata casino in August. Awesome show in a really small setting. Hard to commit to going to shows live, but there are alternatives. There are a host of ways to grab some live music - either via itunes, amazon, band websites, my space - whatever. Go out there and see what's playing, the selection is endless.

What would life be like with a netbook?

I am about to jump on the netbook train. If you are not familiar with the term netbook, check out the previous link to give you the low down. The easiest way to think about it; it's a small laptop that is designed to be mostly used to access the Internet. Lightweight, small hard drive , 9-10" screen, no CD-ROM etc. So, many people are probably thinking that it is a laptop to simply browse the web? Well, not exactly.

It is true that most of the interaction you have with the netbook will be via the Internet. But it goes beyond simple web browsers. It is a new way of thinking about computers. It is leveraging "software as a service" (SaaS). In general, the hard drives are very small, so most of the application and data is hosted "online". So, the need to be connected most of the time is a fundamental requirement. Probably not exactly feasible today, but with the adoption of 3G networks, it will be only a matter of time before we are connected all the time. Plus many applications like Google Docs allow you to mark files "offline".

I think when looking at a netbook, you have to keep it all in perspective. Being a CAD/CFD guy, I know that netbooks are not designed to drive these types of tools.

So here is a quick list of the essentials....

Operating System Ubuntu Linux
Office Applications OpenOffice & Google Docs
Voip & IMs Skype
Web Browsing Firefox
Email & Calendar Gmail
Online File Storage box.net
Work CRM System Salesforce.com

What's missing? Well, making the move to Linux always has it's drawbacks (netbooks are available with Windows). Here is a quick rundown of applications I need to replace - itunes, Snagit, Evernote..

Ok, so the big question, why spend $500 on a netbook??? For me, there are a handful of reasons.

1. Portable device to travel with to reduce having to drag out my M6300.
2. Inexpensive way to reacquaint with Ubuntu Linux.
3. An easy way to experiment with an SaaS lifestyle.
4. Expose my kids to computers & Linux at a very early age.
5. A lightweight option to use when I'm in "web mode"

I am looking forward to reporting my findings. I expect some bumps in the road, but really excited to see the market that this product is trying to serve. I love seeing the videos out there showing how easily kids are picking up Linux. The idea of a Linux 'remix' has some huge potential moving forward. Remix is just a fancy word for customized UI of Ubuntu Linux.

When you are the "Big Dog", you must consistently deliver!

Everyone, big and small, strives to be the best at what they do. Right? Only a select few ever reach the status of the "standard", "best of the best" or the "Big Dog" in their market. Look at Microsoft, Apple, Google etc.. I think we can all agree that they dominate in their own right.

But look at what happens when you become so big that you are are constantly criticized for not delivering -- Microsoft. They are still doing well for themselves, but becoming more and more vulnerable. Not to mention, losing market share. Google is new and young enough that they are doing great, but things can quickly change if they slip, even once. Take Chrome, for example, people jumped all over some of the inefficiencies. Personally, I like it, but will stick with Firefox for now.

Now, let's take a look at Apple. I have always been a fan. In fact, I just returned from the Apple Store with my 6th ipod. (I recently dropped my shuffle in the ocean). In general, I have always been happy with my ipods. I use them constantly and some have stopped working over time or I just wanted an upgrade.

But let's take itunes. Where to start.. For an application that updates itself more than any other application I have ever seen, it leaves ALOT to be desired. Sure it is functional, but for the core product of their music business, I expect way more. Some people argue, 'well, it is free'. Totally bogus excuse as it is the front-end of the money making machine for Apple.

I am sure that many of the issues that I have are operator error, but.. I don't care. I have GB's of music that I purchased on itunes as well as the above mentioned box of ipods. I have purchased countless songs on itunes that I already had on CDs simply because it was easier. So, I consider myself a good consumer for Apple and have the right to rant about itunes.

Here is a quick list of the things that irritate me...

1. User interface is becoming old and outdated - medium irritation
   
2. Play list management is clunky - minor irritation
3. Randomly, it creates duplicate songs in my library - huge irritation
   
4. Switching my library from one computer to another is a nightmare - HUGE irritation
   
5. No way to access previously purchased songs - online backup -- medium irritation
6. Loses path to external drive; resets to default -- huge irritation

I am sure that there are simple fixes to the above, but to me, I don't have the time or the patience when it comes to this sort of stuff. I expect it to be as close to perfect as possible and want you to continue to WOW me every time. If you don't, I will then begin to look for the next big thing. Major expectations on my part, I know. But that's what you should expect when you are the "Big Dog".

This relates to all markets. As a member of a fairly small company, we live and breathe thinking we are the standard. We work each day "earning" your business. Are we perfect? Absolutely, not. But we strive everyday to exceed your expectations. My point here is not to brag, but simply state the facts. I think everyone should work each day as if they were the standard and strive for perfection. In the software world, there will be bugs and imperfections. But the harder we push ourselves to deliver the entire package each day will result in happy customers.

The idea here is that someday you might be the next 'Big Dog'. The catch is that it doesn't get any easier. The bigger you get, the higher the expectations.

Sick of FTP's, shared and external drives -- cloud computing is alive and well with box.net

I have 3 and counting external drives that I have countless amount of data stored for the infamous, "just in case" situation. So, we are talking about ~500GB of data. Some of it is necessary for immediate access and some of it, would be awesome to share with others.

I have easy access to an ftp site and it works, for the most part. It doesn't have a very slick interface and it is a real drag to "share" and "collaborate" with others. People constantly struggle accessing ftp sites.

I started cruising around looking for an alternative. A friend sent me a link to dropbox.com. Looked interesting, but fell short on some of the features I needed. I then found box.net. Here is a breakdown of the comparisons.

Not to mention, it will quickly become a staple for those that are entering the "netbook" way of life. I think what I love most about box.net, is that they have really seem to have thought of quite a few things - such as emailing docs via Google Mail & Outlook, working in conjunction with efax, blogger, zoho, twitter, facebook etc.. So, from a user's experience, I love that it is a multi-dimensional product. They even scored a deal with Autodesk to upload and translate certain CAD data.

Here is their CEO giving some of the details...

But, the biggest announcement is that they are partnering with Dell and are being bundled as a part of the new Dell mini 9. I love where all of this is going. I am going to see if I can score a Dell mini 9 with Ubuntu fully loaded and begin living and computing via the clouds.

How do "You" prefer to receive Technical Support?

For anyone that visited this blog for the last few weeks, noticed the option to vote on "how do you prefer to receive technical support". I should have been a bit more specific on what type of product etc, but I was really interested to see how people would respond. Initially, I was a bit bummed at the number of responses, but a fellow blogger mentioned that if you get a 2% response rate that is about average. I am proud to say, I received a response of ~6%.

Not surprising, the answers are a bit spread out. In my experience, individuals all learn differently and all like to search for help differently. I think it is the responsibility of the various vendors to know their user base and ensure that they provide support in a format that is catered to their users and not simply what is best for the vendor.

Interestingly, you see the two extremes are the most popular. That is some folks prefer to call and talk to their support engineers and the other extreme, some prefer to learn via video. Click the image below to enlarge.


Not to stereotype, but I find that support preference is partially governed by the generation of the engineers you ask. I think we are simply comfortable with what we know or how we were taught. Meaning, in the past, support was only available via phone and user manuals, then email became popular, and now videos and user forums seem to be popular. We have engineers that obviously span all of these options. But I think all will agree with the following, "We want the correct solution to our problem, in the fastest amount of time with the least amount of effort." Each person has their own tolerance and limits of these factors.

An interesting option, that I intentionally left it out, is "chatting" with support folks. Personally, I love it - used it today to talk to Dell and to my wireless provider. What do I like about chat?

1. Allows me to receive support and answer the phone, respond to emails etc while I am trying various suggestions provided by support
2. I don't have to sit on the phone and wait for them to look through the database, pull up my records, place me on hold while he checks on some things.
3. Plus, as with Dell, they email you the chat so I now have a written record of what to try when and if I ever have that problem again.

Personally, I love it. Can you receive "chat" support for CFD or for CAD? For some things, yes. Some things, no. If it is something real quick that you want to go back and forth with support, it can work. If the problem is a bit more sophisticated, you may need another medium. The point is, you should have the option that solves the problem the way you want to solve it.

PHISH is back!!!

Completely non-CFD, non-CAE, non-CAD related post. In fact, no technical content whatsoever.

But sometimes, it is just nice to take a step back and post something on the personal side. One of my favorite bands of all time have been on hiatus (break-up) for the last 4 years. They are scheduled to play three shows in Hampton, VA in March.

I have seen them in the past and hope to see them again when additional shows are announced.I have a few GB of live digital phish shows, that is what is loaded on my ipod and what I am playing in the office.

Something to think about when your flight is delayed...

Totally random post. But, wow, check out this video below. It shows flights across the world in a 24hr period. Amazing! Next time you are pissed that your flight is delayed, think of what is going on in the big picture.

Aviation is amazing! Easy to get frustrated when things get delayed etc. Always good to keep things in perspective. Thanks, Jonah, for the link.

What exactly is Upfront CFD & CFdesign?

I am constantly asked, "What do you do?". It then spirals into...

"I work for a really cool software company."

"Wow, who?" (said w. enthusiasm)

"Well, a relatively small company that develops design software for engineers" (said w. enthusiasm)

"Oh, sounds interesting." (said politely)

"Yea, it's awesome, we help engineers create really innovative designs, by reducing the number of physical prototypes, we turn their computers into a virtual prototyping environments. It allows engineers to turn their computers into a virtual flow bench, wind tunnel or thermal test rig!! Allows them to really understand how to improve their product performance by seeing how they work in 3D."

"yea, wow, hmmm...I am going to grab another beer, you want anything!"

I am fortunate enough to work with a bunch of guys that are super excited about what we do. We all spin it a bit different, but in the end, we are all saying the same thing. Here's a classic...

Check out the video above, really solid explanation of what Upfront CFD truly is.

Choosing a CFD Services Provider

Pretty much every engineer will have to seek outside help from a consultant at one point in their career. There are a variety of fantastic service providers out there. But the question always comes out, how to pick someone that is reputable, reliable and affordable? Word of mouth and recommendations tend to be a reliable way to choose the correct vendor. But suppose the help you need is a niche problem or something you have never encountered before - can be quite stressful as you feel as though you are taking a gamble.

I was out this morning early walking my dogs on the trails near my home. Two ladies were jogging by and I overheard the conversation.

"My presentation went over very well. I am really glad I put the time into preparing.... I was able to score four consulting projects out of the deal. I'm not exactly sure who will do them, but that isn't my problem."

Sound familiar? Happens all the time. You often hear the old IBM approach the "Blue is there for you". Implying that due to shear size, they are able to address your needs. But suppose you are new the problem and need that extra bit of attention to help you understand the results of the service provided. The more important question, I feel, is does the vendor have the bandwidth, do they have the expertise, but most importantly - "can they explain to me the solution to the problem in a way that I understand?"

Not completely a shameless plug here, just highlighting what I have found to be valuable to our customers. In the world of CFD, you tend to have two extremes when looking at services. You have those that rely heavily on high end, very complicated problems (requiring a complicated software solution) and those that tend to be focused on design (MCAD VAR) but dabble a bit in engineering services. So perhaps your problem is so complicated that you need a specialist with an extremely complex solution or your problems are super simple that a CAD guy can help. I am sure there are problems out there that fit these categories.

However, I have found that majority of problems out there fall into the middle of the two extremes. Often, the problems require a decent understanding of the physics, but are heavily weighted on the impact of the design. In other words, many of the engineers that I speak to need someone that truly understands fluid flow and heat transfer, but also is savvy enough to know from a design perspective, what design changes to make and why.

Regardless of where your problems fall, make sure that you dig in and trust your gut feel. When talking to a services provider, do you get a good feeling from this guy? Can he provide references for similar problems? Does he speak "my language" or just using fancy terms to impress? Remember, it's your companies money and your reputation at stake.