Algor Releases New Inertial Load Transfer Extender for Mechanical Event Simulation.

PITTSBURGH--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 6, 1999--

Algor, Inc., a leading maker of mechanical engineering software, today announced the release of its new Inertial Load Transfer Extender. This Extender adds to Algor's line of Mechanical Event Simulation (MES) products to provide faster, more accurate stress results from the inertial loading created during a dynamic event. The new capability lets engineers simulate dynamic behavior, calculate inertial loads at each node and perform a linear or nonlinear static stress analysis using just one finite element model to determine stresses.

"Algor provides mechanical engineers with a superior solution for determining stresses due to inertial loading," said Michael L. Bussler, president of Algor, Inc. "Other FEA producers provide motion load transfer solutions that require separate kinematic and FEA software packages. These solutions do not account for inertial loading due to the movement of mass since mass properties cannot be defined in most kinematic software. In addition, these motion load transfer solutions require engineers to build separate kinematic and FEA models."

"Algor's inertial load transfer process uses just one software package, MES," continued Bussler. "MES allows for mass properties definition and handles full-body elastic motion, changing stiffness values and surface-to-surface contact for the accurate analysis of entire mechanical systems. Furthermore, the software automatically generates a properly-oriented finite element model for the static stress analysis so engineers need to build only one model."

To perform inertial load transfer, engineers build an FEA model of the mechanism comprised largely of kinematic elements. Included with the Inertial Load Transfer Extender, these elements reduce analysis run times by determining forces, but not stresses. Then the MES software is used to automatically simulate motion, including the full movement of mass, and flexing for the model as well as calculate the dynamic loading at each node. Engineers view the MES results to pinpoint the moment of interest using Algor's built-in What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get visualization tools or the Monitor utility, which plots displacement, velocity, acceleration and reaction force versus time during the analysis. Then the engineer uses the inertial load transfer interface in Superdraw III to select the groups and desired time-step to be included in the linear or nonlinear static stress analysis. The software will automatically create a static stress analysis model, maintaining the orientation of the geometry for the selected time-step, and then transfer the inertial loads at each node. Engineers can filter the forces and moments to be transferred by magnitude to eliminate inconsequential loads from the new analysis.

Engineers can purchase the Inertial Load Transfer Extender, which can be added to any Accupak family of core products for MES, by contacting an Algor representative at [phone]. Algor's MES software is available for Windows 95/98 and NT workstations.

Algor has been a leader in the engineering software industry since introducing FEA for PCs in 1984 and interfacing with CAD systems in 1985. The company recently celebrated 20 years of providing innovative, affordable and easy-to-use software products that have enabled 20,000 engineers in 60 countries to create safe, efficient, cost-effective designs. Algor also offers superior educational support and customer service that has been expanded to include the use of state-of-the-art Internet audio/video technology for live educational Web Courses and free public Webcasts that include step-by-step Algor software instruction.

Algor's most recent invention, FEA-based Accupak/VE Mechanical Event Simulation software with linear and nonlinear material models, replaces physical prototype testing with virtual prototype testing because it realistically simulates motion and flexing in mechanical events, eliminates the need to input dynamic loads and computes and shows resulting stresses on the computer model at each instant in time. Algor's new kinematic finite element technology now makes it practical to perform Mechanical Event Simulations with Accupak/VE on CAD solid models or assemblies. Algor offers a range of other FEA capabilities including linear stress, vibration and natural frequencies, heat transfer, electrostatics, fluid flow, piping design and composite materials. Algor's software interchanges data with products from ANSYS, Inc. (Nasdaq:ANSS), Autodesk, Inc. (Nasdaq:ADSK), CADKEY Corporation, MSC.Software Corporation (NYSE:MNS), Parametric Technology Corporation (Nasdaq:PMTC), Structural Dynamics Research Corporation (Nasdaq:SDRC), Unigraphics Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:UGS), SolidWorks Corporation, a Dassault Systemes S.A. (Nasdaq:DASTY) company and others.

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