- Hichem Djadoudi
Abaqus Expert Review, Licence Pricing and Alternatives - 2023
Updated: 16 hours ago
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 |
|---|---|
Company: Dassault Systèmes Simulia Corp. | 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 |
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. It architecture is based on ease of use, reliability and efficiency made for production environments. Abaqus/Explicit is very effective to handle nonlinear behaviour too.
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.
Abaqus Pricing
The pricing of Abaqus isn’t available on their website as it is unique to each user's needs. Based on the quotation received from Dassault Systèmes, it costs around $20 000 per year to lease an Abaqus licence and starts from $31 500 per year to purchase the full license but you still have an annual maintenance fee of $6 000. Demos are also 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 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.
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 Customization and Automation:
Abaqus, a leading Finite Element Analysis (FEA) software, offers comprehensive customization and automation capabilities, streamlining engineering workflows across industries. 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 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 better than Ansys?
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.
Abaqus Alternatives:
MSC Patran: Aerospace FEA software
Ansys: Feature-rich FEA software
Femap: Well-documented FEA software
Altair Hyperworks: Ultimate meshing control
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