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Abaqus Expert Review, Pricing and Alternatives - 2024

Updated: Mar 21

Abaqus Logo 2024

What’s special about Abaqus?

Abaqus is a market leader in linear and nonlinear finite element analysis. Abaqus has an integrated solver allowing to model and analyse mechanical components/assemblies as well as visualizing the results of the FEA results.

Product: Abaqus

Founding Date: 1978

IPO Status: Public

Founders: Dr. David Hibbitt, Dr. Bengt Karlsson, and Dr. Paul Sorensen

Deployment Type: On-premise (self-hosted)

Free Trial: Not available

Company HQ: Providence, Rhode Island, United States

Rating: 4.1 ⭐ | 48

 

Table of Contents:


 

What is Abaqus?


The Abaqus Unified FEA suite (Abaqus CAE, Abaqus/Standard, Abaqus/Explicit…) covers a large industrial application and is the perfect solution you need if you are looking to perform usual or sophisticated engineering problems analysis.


Abaqus CAE "Complete Abaqus Environment" is the interface that allows you to rapidly and efficiently create, modify, visualize and diagnose Abaqus analysis. The interface supports modelling (parametric modelling too), analysis, job management and post-processing results. The users can also have GUI customized and perform automation of operations through scripts. It is simple to learn for new users and highly efficient and productive for experienced users.


Abaqus Standard is an ideal solution for static and low-speed dynamic events where high-stress accuracy is required, such as crack propagation in composite aircraft fuselage or sealing pressure in stopper joints. Moreover, These analyses can be carried out both in the time and frequency domain. For pre-processing as well as post-processing Abaqus/Standard is supported in Abaqus/CAE modelling environment.


Abaqus Explicit is an FEA product that is suited for impact analysis and automotive crashworthiness, ballistic impacts as well as electronics drop testing. Its architecture is based on ease of use, reliability and efficiency made for production environments. Abaqus/Explicit is very effective to handle nonlinear behaviour too.


WorQuick Abaqus 2024 Screenshot

Pros of Abaqus

  • Feature-rich, Robust, accurate analysis, complex analysis

  • Very well documented and has plenty of tutorials online

  • Customisable with Python (Easy to use language)

  • Very accurate for dynamic and impact simulation

  • Abaqus has an integrated solver which makes it easier to analyse the bulk data. Gathering all simulation needs in one software decreases cost and complexity and increases efficiency compared to other simulation tools which use different software for various design attributes.


Cons of Abaqus

  • Abaqus is quite expensive. If you’re a small business or startup that’s budget conscious, this isn’t the product for you.

  • The GUI isn’t the most intuitive and new users may need some time to get used to it.

  • It isn’t compatible with macOS.

  • The creation of mesh is not intuitive and easy to use as you need to prepare the surface in a proper way in order to get a fine elements mesh.

  • It is great for post-processing. It's not very malleable in pre-processing.


 

Diving Deep into Abaqus's Advanced Solutions:

At WorQuick, our commitment to engineering brilliance is unmistakable. One of the cornerstones of our prowess is Abaqus, a distinguished software in the realm of Finite Element Analysis (FEA). While many are versed in Abaqus for its strengths in structural analysis, thermal modeling, and multibody dynamics, our journey goes beyond. We tap into its capabilities for acoustics, fatigue and durability analysis, as well as additive manufacturing simulations. But our involvement doesn't stop at mere utilization; we amplify its potential through tailored scripts, plugins, and machine learning integrations. Our goal is to reshape the global engineering domain with groundbreaking solutions. For enterprises eager to refine their design and analysis paradigms, our bespoke scripts and plugins pave the way for advanced automation. Ready to upgrade your engineering endeavors? Connect with us to explore how we can transform your FEA journey


 

Abaqus Pricing


The pricing for Abaqus varies depending on the user's requirements. A one-year lease of Abaqus begins at approximately $18,000. For those needing a shorter duration, a three-month lease is available starting at about $6,750. For a permanent solution, the starting price for an Abaqus license is around $31,000. Additionally, there is an annual subscription fee of approximately $7,500 for support and upgrades. Demos are available upon request.


Abaqus's Target Market


Abaqus is geared towards medium to enterprise-sized businesses, particularly in the industries of Aerospace, Transportation, Marine & Offshore, Engineering, Architecture, Manufacturing, Healthcare, Energy, Retail etc.


Abaqus Features

  • Non-linear analysis procedures (structural stress, explicit dynamics, thermal stress, heat transfer, pore fluid diffusion, and more)

  • Capability for modelling complex interactions between large assemblies of parts

  • High-performance integrated solvers that minimize simulation time

  • Advanced material modelling such as metals, composites, polymers, concrete, and fracture mechanics

  • Modern linear dynamics framework supporting high-performance eigen solvers, transient and steady-state dynamics, random response, and substructures


Abaqus Deployment Type and Implementation

Abaqus Simulation is a self-hosted (on-premise) product, which means you’ll need to download and install it on your computer and host it on your servers. You can read our Abaqus System Requirements: A Hands-On Guide - 2024


Abaqus Customer Support

Abacus supports its customers in a variety of ways. They have over 25 offices in different countries, and those offices provide support to users locally. They also offer all of their customers access to a password-protected, web-based support system that houses product documentation, help articles and FAQs on how to perform several processes, including installation and licensing, finite element modelling, scripting and customization. Receive notifications and more.


Abaqus Integrations

Abaqus’ Unified FEA Suite enables users to connect to various tools within the Dassault Systèmes ecosystem such as Catia. Users can also find various customizable extensions or plug-ins for Abaqus in the SIMULIA Community.


Abaqus Scripting, Customization and Automation

With Python scripting at its core, Abaqus automation is easily accessible to users, providing extensive documentation and examples. The Abaqus CAE environment allows for model setup, analysis, and post-processing automation by generating reusable Python scripts from recorded actions. Additionally, command line execution enables batch processing and integration with other software tools, further optimizing simulation runs. Abaqus customization supports user subroutines in Fortran or C++, GUI modifications, and third-party software integration, catering to specific user requirements. The powerful combination of Abaqus automation and customization makes it an invaluable tool for advanced users in the engineering domain. To learn more about Abaqus automation features and benefits, explore our comprehensive review on Abaqus customization and automation environments, focusing on Python scripting, Abaqus CAE, user subroutines, and more.


The company behind Abaqus

In October 2005, ABAQUS was acquired by Dassault Systemes for $413 million.


Abaqus FAQs


What is Abaqus fea used for?

Abaqus is finite element analysis software used to model and analyse the behaviour of mechanical components and assemblies under defined loads case in a defined environment in order to predict their behaviour.


Is Abaqus FEA better than Ansys FEA?

The Two software are quite similar in terms of functionality but AAbaqus has the advantage to be highly linked/compatible with Solidworks and Catia as they are products of the same company Dassault System.


Is Abaqus a CAD software?

Abaqus isn't CAD software like AutoCAD or Catia as its main function is to model and simulate mechanical behaviours. However, Abaqus support quite large functions to design basic 2D/3D models.


Is Abaqus free?

Abaqus is free for Students from recognized universities. Businesses, however, must pay to use the software.


Which programming language is used for Abaqus?

Python is the programming language used For Abaqus Scripting Interface (ASI). The ASI offers a rich helpful set of commands for FEA analysts and can be used to write scripts in order to automate daily tasks or to create a customisable advanced function to extend the functionality of the Abaqus software.

according to our past experience, with Abaqus Python Scripting you can customize and speed your workflow up to 70%.


Abaqus Alternatives


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