Upfront CFD may seem like a Foreign Langauage to Some

I have been in Paris for the last few days. Getting around pretty well, but definitely feel out of place. I consider myself fairly worldly, but always find it a little bit more difficult finding my bearings in France compared to other European countries. Combination of the culture, the food and my inability to read and speak French :)

I began thinking of the countless meetings where I met with Product Design Engineers and discussed the concept of Upfront CFD. Some meetings go extremely well, everyone gets it. We are all on the same page; big Upfront love fest.

But there are others, where this is a sense of uncomfortable hesitation; sometimes fear. There are some engineers that are just not comfortable with change. Tough to change their ways, but its possible. There are others that "see" the value but have no idea even how to start. Similar to me staring at a menu in France. I "see" the value, food looks and smells fantastic, I am just not sure where to begin. So, I tend to stick with what I know and seek guidance from the waiter to get me where I want to be.

May seem like an odd comparison; perhaps the jet lag is getting to me. But I find that there are a number of engineers that want to get going with Upfront CFD. They clearly fit the target audience. They are product development guys that are driving CAD everyday and are spending a tremendous amounts of time and money on prototyping. They just need to be guided along. This is where I spend a good portion of my workday and I love it.

I thrive on listening to the challenges that product development guys face everyday. I love to bridge the gap between their problems and an Upfront CFD solution. Let's face it, CFD terminology can be scary. Most engineers do not want to make a career out of driving CFD software. They simply want to perform fluid flow and thermal simulations in a non-threatening environment. They want things put in their terms, not CFD jargon.

When looking for an Upfront solution, ensure that the vendor you are working with understands your problem and can "translate" it into a solution.