Simulation is more than Software

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Continuing education at CADFEM: Knowledge via subscription plan – anytime, anywhere

Simulation: Learning subscription from CADFEM inspires

Mechanical engineer Shahriar Kahnamooi works in development at Springer GmbH in Stuhr (Lower Saxony), where he carries out structural mechanical simulation. This includes the calculation, analysis, design and optimization of assemblies and components for component grippers in shell construction and press plants in the automotive industry. He has been using CADFEM's subscription plan for a year and is enthusiastic about it. In an interview with the editors of the CADFEM Journal, he talks about his experience of acquiring knowledge about simulation as well as his training path from school to university graduation. ​

Mr Kahnamooi, please briefly describe your professional career to date.

In my A-levels, it was anything but clear that I would ever become an engineer. Since I didn't feel like taking classes anymore, I rattled through the exams and consequently I only achieved the technical college certificate. After a voluntary social year, I began vocational training as a locksmith. It was interesting, honest and fulfilling work. However, I was disappointed by the ambience, the company and the pay. Nevertheless, I was able to complete the training with the best grade in the district.

My great interest in technology and mechanical engineering continued, so I started studying mechanical engineering at the university. I was able to complete my bachelor's thesis at Springer GmbH in 2019 with the top grade of the year. My job fulfills me very much, but I would like to learn more, which is why, starting in 2023, I would like to complete a part-time master’s degree in Simulation Based Engineering.

What experience have you gained in your university education regarding the use of simulation?

I would like to elaborate a little further. In the application-oriented module "CAE Project", FEM theory was only touched upon in the form of the simplest basics in the first lectures. In the practical implementation of the module, we had to go through a lengthy "trial and error" learning path for a linear-static FE analysis. After many failures, we were finally able to demonstrate successes; even, in the best case, somehow able to determine and understand the causes of both our failures and successes.

In a CAE project for explicit dynamic FE analysis with contact, we also went through a similar learning path as in the first CAE project, although the frustration was even greater until the solution was found. Nevertheless, we were able to fight our way through and deliver passable results.

It wasn't until my bachelor's thesis that I had more time to delve deeper into these topics autodidactically. Since I had gotten used to it, up until after graduation, and didn't know any better, I had always been of the opinion that I could somehow teach myself everything. The operative word here is "somehow", which means disproportionately time-consuming and incomplete. It was not until I acquired Ansys and attended the CADFEM training course "Structural Mechanical Simulation with Ansys Mechanical" that I understood how much easier, more efficient, more purposeful and worthwhile it can be to attend a professional training course.

What is your objective with the simulation training?

I felt that my previous education, both theoretical and practical, regarding the finite element method and software use was still very insufficient. I was missing a deeper understanding of the fundamentals, such as element formulations, meshing, nonlinearities, singularities, contacts and convergence. However, this is the basic prerequisite for being able to walk a less rocky path than before.

Why did you choose CADFEM's training program?

As I am the first simulation engineer in the company, I can't talk to anyone about the application of simulation or ask for advice. I want to do my job - which gives me a lot of pleasure, which has sparked a great interest and a lot of thirst for knowledge, which I do with passion and even see as a vocation - always in an educated, conscientious, confident and efficient manner. To this end, I can unreservedly recommend CADFEM's training program to everyone. Because the participants receive a strong foundation and are thus well equipped for their tasks. This is one of many examples that convincingly reflect the CADFEM motto "Simulation is more than software".

What do you particularly like about the CADFEM training program?

CADFEM covers practically all relevant simulation areas with its range of training courses. The trainings are offered live on site, live online or partly as eLearnings. The latter are online learning modules that can be carried out independently in the Adobe Capitivate Prime learning platform. An eLearning deals with a specific simulation topic and is divided into learning modules that can be worked through in the form of instructional videos, workshops and demonstrations.

The eLearnings are my absolute favorite. On the one hand, they are excellently structured and also vivid, with high-quality content, concise and instructive. On the other hand, I have absolute freedom over the place, time, pace and duration of the training. Above all, the latter is the special unique selling point of eLearning compared to seminars.

I can accurately control and consolidate my personal learning progress. Armed with a computer and the internet, I can learn at any time and in any place for as long and as quickly or slowly as I like.

00:35 minExcerpt from the eLearning Understanding and simulating damping of mechanical vibrations

„The CADFEM eLearnings are my absolute favorite. On the one hand, they are excellently structured and also vivid, with high-quality content, concise and instructive. On the other hand, I have absolute freedom over the place, time, pace and duration of the training.“

Shahriar Kahnamooi
Product Engineering
Structural Analysis & Simulation

My benefits through eLearning
  • I don't have to ask my employer to grant me one to four days off at a time for training, as I do for a seminar.
  • Day-to-day business does not come to a complete standstill.
  • My own comprehension is not overtaxed by hours of attendance and attention. I am not forced to continue if I can no longer absorb everything. It doesn't do me much good if after 2 p.m. only half of it stays with me.
  • If there’s something that I didn’t understand or if there’s something I want to look up that I've already covered, I can always just go back and look at the lesson again.
  • I determine the pace and pauses independently of other participants. So, I don't get into a situation where I'm already finished and have to wait a long time for others. Most of the time, however, the opposite is the case: I work intensively on a task and try things out on my own in order to get a better understanding of the topic. In a seminar, however, time is limited, so I get pulled out of the exercise and can't take away as much as I would like.
  • After each lesson, I can also try to directly apply what I have learned to my own real-life tasks and thus consolidate it.

Why is the subscription model particularly attractive for you?

The first training I attended at CADFEM was "Structural Mechanical Simulation with Ansys Mechanical". It was very informative, and I would recommend it to every beginner as a compulsory training. Towards the end of this training, more in-depth training courses were recommended, covering relevant topics such as meshing, non-linearity and contact. This made my ears prick up because I was well aware of their usefulness. Even during my initial support enquiries, these trainings were sometimes recommended to me by CADFEM staff, because I certainly often asked questions and described problems that I probably would not have had if I had already attended a training course.

Of course, out of personal and also professional interest, I very much wished to be able to participate in these and many other courses. Fortunately, some time later I learned from CADFEM that a learning subscription was now also available. This was a gift for me, because with a one-off flat rate I could now book all CADFEM classroom courses and eLearnings for a year, which I had wanted to attend all along. Access to the Ansys Learning Hub is also included and should not be neglected.

How often and how much time do you use CADFEM's training courses?

For me, consistency is the magic word here: learning a section via eLearning for one hour every day in a week without any pressure is much more efficient and sustainable for me than attending a seminar for six to eight hours in one day. That's why I try to spend at least one additional hour every day outside of working hours on the topic of further education, free of any constraints. Although I currently prefer to take advantage of CADFEM's continuing education program, I do not limit myself exclusively to it.

Further sources of information for the simulation
  • Ansys Help
  • Learning Hub and Ansys Learning Forum
  • Literature, e.g. Praxisbuch FEM mit ANSYS Workbench [C. Gebhardt], Nichtlineare FEM [W. Rust], Betriebsfestigkeit mit FEM [S. Einbock, F. Mailänder], of which all authors are associated with CADFEM.
  • Ansys Webinar and Event Recordings such as Ansys Updates, Level Up with Ansys Mechanical, Simulation World Conference
  • Podcast „All Things Ansys“
  • CADFEM Journal
  • CADFEM Ansys Simulation Conference
  • CADFEM Newsletter
  • YouTube

What advantages do you have in your professional practice as a result of the training?

With the expansion of my knowledge and experience horizon through further education, I can complete the tasks assigned to me more conscientiously, purposefully and efficiently. With the understanding of theory and mastery of the tools, I can, for example, make the right decisions more quickly in modelling, recognize and avoid possible stumbling blocks in advance, and act more confidently when errors and problems occur. This reduces the potential for frustration enormously, which makes work fun and leads to plausible results.

What benefits does the company that employs you derive from this training?

By gaining new skills, I can identify and exploit new simulation potential in the company, which brings back the usual benefits of simulation: Fewer physical prototypes and tests, accelerated time-to-market and generally better products, for example lighter, stiffer, stronger and cheaper. At the moment, for example, I can think of the topic "fatigue strength with FEM", which I would very much like to familiarize myself with. Our products would certainly benefit immensely from this.

What other wishes do you have with regard to the further education program?

My general wish would be to transfer all existing trainings to eLearnings. I suspect that this will happen on an ongoing basis anyway, so I want to be more specific. I would particularly like to see an eLearning focusing on fatigue strength, durability analysis and FKM that covers theory and application in equal depth.

Furthermore, I would find it brilliant if the cooperation partners of the part-time master's program "Simulation Based Engineering" could bring themselves to allow online participation throughout in the future. That would save a lot of time, costs and effort, which would make the program even more attractive for myself and my employer, and would probably also increase the number of students.

What do you recommend to other engineers working in product development regarding the use of simulation?

I often think to myself how lucky I am to belong to this generation. Access to such compact and customized knowledge, which is available everywhere and at any time, has probably never been as easy as it is today. Against this background, I can advise every simulation engineer to make full use of CADFEM's extensive range of training courses and the Ansys Learning Hub.

eLearning recommendation for structural mechanics
  • Structural mechanical analysis with Ansys Mechanical
  • Practical mesh generation with Ansys Mechanical
  • Nonlinear structural mechanics with Ansys Mechanical
  • Contact modelling with Ansys Mechanical

Optional:

  • 110 % Ansys Workbench - Efficient use of Ansys Mechanical  
  • Topology optimisation with Ansys Mechanical

I make this recommendation for both beginners and advanced students. I will probably never forget how, after my colloquium, my professor suggested to me as a criticism and appeal that I should concern myself more with the fundamentals. And that he was still reaping the benefits of the fundamentals he had acquired decades ago. The fundamentals must not only be built up, but also consolidated and continuously cultivated, he explained. I still take that very much to heart today.

Thank you Mr. Kahnamooi for your interesting information about your training and your further training requirements. We wish you continued success and enjoyment in your further training and in mastering your simulation tasks.

00:44 minExtract from the eLearning APDL Scripting in Ansys Mechanical

„The CADFEM seminar flat rate was a gift for me, because with a one-time flat rate I could finally book all the CADFEM trainings and eLearnings I had wanted to attend this entire time. By gaining new skills, I can identify and exploit new simulation potential in the company.“

Shahriar Kahnamooi
Product Engineering
Structural Analysis & Simulation

Springer Group
Shahriar Kahnamooi
Product Engineering
Structural Analysis & Simulation
shahriar.kahnamooi@springer.group
www.springer.group/de/

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Dr.-Ing. Markus Kellermeyer

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