Integration of CAD and FEA for Design of Fabricated Structures

Integration of product design and computer aided analysis is practical in todays engineering environment thru a CAD graphics data base. Finite element analysis (FEA) can be used to improve design engineering productivity, efficiency, and quality. Finite element models which are required to perform the analysis, can be constructed from the same geomety that defines the product on a CAD system. These features will be discussed in detail as they apply to fabricated structures.