What's New

December 2023 - Happy New Year

A Happy New Year from the FEMtools team at Dynamic Design Solutions! We look forward to continue working with you in 2023.

November 2023 - Courses for 2023 Announced

Our 2023 course schedule has been released and includes 2 Technology Courses on Verification, Validations and Updating of FE Models and 3 Modal Testing and Analysis Trainings. Locations are Leuven (Belgium) and Fullerton (CA, USA).

See the current calendar and links to the information and registration pages at following web page:

Courses

October 2023 - DDS Goes Green

Dynamic Design Solutions strives to reduce its carbon footprint and therefore has installed photovoltaic solar panels on the roof of our new office building in Leuven, Belgium. The estimated production of green energy is 11520 kWh per year, which corresponds to 8 tons C02 avoided. The produced electricity is mainly used to power the ventilation system and energy-efficient heat pumps that drive the airconditioning system.

September 2022 - ISMA Conference is Back

Dynamic Design Solutions participated at the 30th ISMA Noise and Vibration Engineering Conference that was held in Leuven from September 12-14. The conference was organized as a physical event, the first since the 2018 edition.

ISMA is a bi-annual conference that provides a forum for engineers, researchers and other professionals active in the field of modelling, analysing, testing and improving the noise and vibration characteristics of mechanical systems and civil structures.

It felt good to be back and meet with friends, customers and other conference participants. FEMtools 4.3 was on display at our booth, as well as a demo setup of the new FEMtools DAQ data acquisition for modal testing add-on.

July 2022 - FEMtools 4.3.1 Maintenance Release

Dynamic Design Solutions announces the release of FEMtools 4.3.1.

FEMtools 4.3.1 is a maintenance release that provides bug corrections, several enhancements and some additions. This version also consolidates all the maintenance builds since the release of v4.3.0.2052.

The FE data interfaces and drivers are updated to support the current versions of the FE interface programs:

Support for ANSYS 2022.1
Support for MSC.Nastran 2022.1
Support for Simcenter (NX) Nastran 2022.1
Support for ABAQUS 2022
Support for SAP2000 v24

For more information about the changes in this release, see the FEMtools 4 Release Notes

The new version is available for download from the FEMtools support site for all customers who are current on Maintenance and Technical Support.

March 2022 - FEMtools 4.3 Released

FEMtools 4.3 is a major new version that brings improvements to the FEMtools Framework, data interfaces and analysis tools. This version is also the first version that is tested to be compatible with Windows 11. The FE data interfaces and drivers are updated to support the current versions of the FE interface programs (Abaqus, Ansys, Nastran and SAP2000).

For an overview of the highlights, click here.

The new version is available for download from the FEMtools support site for all customers who are current on Maintenance and Technical Support.

February 2022 - New Course Dates

Due to continuing travel uncertainty, the VVU course scheduled for March 23-25, 2022 has been postponed. The new dates for the course are April 27-29, 2022. See the current calendar and links to the information pages at following web page:

Courses

December 2021 - Information about Log4j

The FEMtools development team has been investigating the Apache Log4j vulnerability which may come with the use of the Java programming language. Log4j is a logging tool used in many Java-based applications that could allow remote unauthenticated attackers to execute code on vulnerable systems.

We hereby inform our customers that Java is not used for the development of FEMtools code and neither does, to the best of our knowledge, any of the 3rd party libraries and tools that come with the FEMtools installers, including the RLM license manager. We found no references to Log4j.

At this time, we think that there are no FEMtools components at risk but will provide further updates as we learn more.

August 2021 - Moving to a New Office

Dynamic Design Solutions has moved to a brand new headquarter. Our new address is:

Dynamic Design Solution (DDS) NV
Ambachtenlaan 14, Suite 5
B-3001 Leuven
Belgium
+32 16 40 23 00

Come and visit us next time you are in Leuven.

April 2021 - 2021 Course Schedule Update

Our 2021 course schedule has been updated and new in-person courses added at the Fullerton (Los Angeles) location. See the current calendar and links to the information pages at following web page:

Courses

March 2021 - FEMtools 4.2 Released

Dynamic Design Solutions announces the release of FEMtools 4.2, a major new version that brings improvements to the FEMtools Framework, data interfaces and analysis tools. The FE data interfaces and drivers are updated to support the current versions of the FE programs (Abaqus, Ansys, LS-Dyna, Nastran and SAP2000). The 4.2 release is of special importance to ANSYS users because it introduces new innovative ways to select properties in an ANSYS model as parameters, and to make ANSYS and FEMtools work together for sensitivity analysis and model updating.

For an overview of the highlights, click here.

The new version will soon be available for download from the FEMtools support site for all customers who are current on Maintenance and Technical Support.

The new Ansys Parameter Browser panel in FEMtools 4.2.

February 2021 - New FEMtools Solutions Partner in Indonesia

Dynamic Design Solutions announces that it has appointed PT Testindo as a new FEMtools Solutions Partners in Indonesia.

PT Testindo Test and Measurement Solutions is trading instrumentation and engineering products in Jakarta Indonesia. The company was established in 2012 to serve the mechanical and civil engineering market in Indonesia. Customers include engineering consulting companies, research and development institutions, construction companies, and general manufacturers.

Testindo and DDS are looking forward to help their customers in Indonesia on FEA applications such as FE model validation, experimental and operational modal analysis, design optimization, digital twins and structural health monitoring.

www.testindo.com

November 2020 - Modal Analysis Webinar - Impact Testing

Navcon Engineering, FEMtools distributor for North America, will present a free webinar on impact testing with the Data Physics 900 Series Analyzer.

Also referred to as bump testing or tap testing, the method is often called out in vibration test specifications and used by field technicians to identify structural resonances. Quality Engineers use impact testing to assess product health, while Manufacturing Engineers use it to identify production defects.

In this webinar, Jim Steedman from Navcon engineering will discuss how to conduct impact hammer testing for modal testing, and how to use the results for modal parameter estimation and FE-test correlation.

For a recording of the webinar, see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3w3cRl0Mik

For more information on similar webinars, use https://www.dataphysics.com/news-and-events/seminars.html

September 2020 - Leuven is European Capital of Innovation 2020

DDS' hometown, the city of Leuven in Belgium, has been awarded the title of European Capital of Innovation 2020 by the European Commission.

The award recognises Leuven's excellent innovation concepts as well as processes and governance models creating a framework that brings ideas to life. Leuven is the sixth city to win the European Capital of Innovation award, and the third non-capital city after Barcelona and Nantes.

For more information, click here

July 2020 - ISMA 2020 Conference Goes Virtual

The 2020 Leuven Conference on Noise and Vibration Engineering will be held in September 7-9 as a fully virtual event.

ISMA is a bi-annual conference that provides a forum for engineers, researchers and other professionals active in the field of modelling, analysis, testing and improving the noise and vibration characteristics of mechanical systems and civil structures. The focus of the conference is on experimental and numerical methods, with special attention to recent applications in vehicle and civil engineering.

For more information, visit 29th International Conference on Noise and Vibration (ISMA 2020)

April 2020 - COVID-19 Message

During these unprecedented times, Dynamic Design Solutions is committed to delivering uninterrupted technical support services. Our team members are working mostly from home and can be contacted through the regular email addresses.

Information: info@ femtools.com
International Sales: sales@femtools.com
International Support: support@femtools.com

March 2020 - FEMtools 4.1.2 Maintenance Release

Dynamic Design Solutions announces the release of FEMtools 4.1.2.

FEMtools 4.1.2 is a maintenance release that provides bug corrections, several enhancements and support for recent FE software releases:

Support of Abaqus 2020
Support of Ansys 2020R1

The new version is available for download from the FEMtools support site for all customers who are current on Maintenance and Technical Support.

February 2020 - New IMAC Conference Paper

Dynamic Design Solutions participated at the 38th IMAC conference in Houston and showed FEMtools 4 at their booth in the exhibition hall (see picture below).

The paper presented by DDS at the conference on Experimental Evaluation of the Inertia Properties of Large Diesel Engines, is now available for download from Technical Papers.

January 2020 - See FEMtools at the 38th IMAC Conference in Houston

Dynamic Design Solutions will show FEMtools at the 38th International Modal Analysis Conference (IMAC 2020) that is held from February 10-13, 2020 in Houston, Texas.

IMAC is an annual conference and exposition focusing on structural dynamics, and has evolved to encompass the latest technologies supporting structural dynamics. This broad focus on structural dynamics includes topics in simulation and modeling, nonlinear dynamics, sensors, signal processing and control, spanning the full range of engineering disciplines.

The following presentation will be made by DDS staff:

Monday, February 10, 2020. Session 03, 10:00 AM, Experimental Evaluation of the Inertia Properties of Large Diesel Engines

Come and visit us at booth #104 in the exhibition area to see FEMtools 4 or to discuss your dynamics simulation, modal pretest planning, modal testing, test-analysis correlation and FE model updating needs.

November 2019 - 2020 Technology and Hands-on Course Schedule

Continuing our successful series of technology and hands-on courses, our 2020 course schedule has been released. Click here to see our full 2020 course schedule.

First upcoming course will be the Technology Course on Verification, Validation and Model Updating that will take place on March 11-13, 2020 in Leuven, Belgium. The same course will be presented on November 16-18, 2020 in Fullerton, CA.

This technology course is intended for anyone interested in learning the state-of-the-art in finite element model verification, validation and updating. Participants typically have a background in CAE, simulation quality assurance, structural dynamics, modal testing, or noise and vibration troubleshooting. The methods shown can be applied to a wide range of industrial applications.

The Modal Testing and Analysis Training is a 4-day intensive hands-on course presented by Navcon Engineering, FEMtools Solutions Partner for North America. In this course attendees will be able to plan, setup and conduct a modal test from start to finish. Modal theory is presented from the experimentalist's point of view. It is intended for those engineers and technicians who conduct modal and/or operational deflection shape tests, do occassional analytical simulations (FEM), or are responsible for overseeing modal related projects.

During all courses, FEMtools will be used for hands-on exercises. Attending a course is therefore also a good opportunity for users and evaluators to learn more about FEMtools.

For more information on the upcoming technology course and registration click here.
For the full 2020 course schedule, click here.

Attention: our 2019 courses were all fully booked so do not delay your registration in case you wish to attend one of our scheduled courses!

October 2019 - FEMtools 4.1.1 Maintenance Release

Dynamic Design Solutions announces the release of FEMtools 4.1.1.

FEMtools 4.1.1 is a maintenance release that provides bug corrections, several enhancements and a number of new additions. For an overview, see the FEMtools web page with the following link.

The new version is available for download from the FEMtools support site for all customers who are current on Maintenance and Technical Support.

June 2019 - FEMtools 4.1 Released

Dynamic Design Solutions announces the release of FEMtools 4.1, a major new version that brings improvements to the FEMtools Framework and pretest analysis tools. FE-test correlation, sensitivity analysis and model updating now support strain responses. The FE data interfaces and drivers are updated to support the current versions of the Abaqus, Ansys and Nastran FE programs.

For an overview of the highlights, click here.

The new version is available immediately for download from the FEMtools support site for all customers who are current on Maintenance and Technical Support.

Strain-based updating of a weld seam.

May 2019 - See FEMtools at the 8th IOMAC Conference in Copenhagen

Dynamic Design Solutions will show FEMtools at the 8th International Operational Modal Analysis Conference (IOMAC) that is held from May 13 - 15, 2019 in Copenhagen, Denmark.

IOMAC is a conference on the subject of Operational Modal Analysis (OMA) that wants to be the natural meeting place for everybody in the field - the scientist, the applicant, the vendor and the student, and also those who would like to get introduced to the field.

FEMtools 4 will be demonstrated in the exhibition hall with a focus on FEMtools MPE for modal parameter extraction and applications of OMA in FE-test correlation and FE model updating.

April 2019 - Interfacing with Ansys 19

Dynamic Design Solutions announces that due to a file format change of the CDB-files produced by Ansys 19.x releases, an updated version of the Ansys interface module for FEMtools 4.0.1 is required. Customers can obtain the update in one of the following ways:

Download and install the FEMtools 4.0.1 build 1885 or later from the FEMtools Support Site.
Download and install a patch for FEMtools 4.0.1.1880. The update patch can be applied using the automatic Check for Updates function or it can be downloaded from the FEMtools Support Site.

Customers with current support and maintenance can find more information on the newest builds and patches in the FEMtools Support site. A login name and password is required to access the support pages. If you have a current Maintenance and Support contract and did not yet receive a login name and password, then register here.

For more information on this subject, contact FEMtools Support.

January 2019 - See FEMtools at the 37th IMAC Conference in Orlando

Dynamic Design Solutions will show FEMtools at the 37th International Modal Analysis Conference (IMAC 2019) that is held from January 28 - 31, 2019 in Orlando, Florida.

The following presentations will be made by DDS staff:

Tuesday, January 29, 2019. Session 32, 02:35 PM, Modal Analysis in the Age of Digital Twins
Wednesday, January 30, 2019, Session 60, 03:00 PM, From Test Planning to FE Model Updating (1 hour tutorial)

Presentation on Digital Twins during IMAC 2019.

See also the News Archives and Tech Tips.