{"id":23121,"date":"2021-07-27T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-07-27T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/products\/fusion-360\/blog\/?p=23121"},"modified":"2021-07-30T09:48:40","modified_gmt":"2021-07-30T16:48:40","slug":"simulation-software-benefits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/products\/fusion-360\/blog\/simulation-software-benefits\/","title":{"rendered":"What&#8217;s Stopping the Widespread Adoption of Simulation Software?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em>Simulation is one of the most important steps of bringing a functional machine to life, so why isn&#8217;t simulation software used more often in industry? In this blog post, we explore the benefits of simulation software.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/products\/fusion-360\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Tech-Center-San-Francisco-Fusion-360-08_with_mask-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"engineer-using-simulation-software\" class=\"wp-image-23122\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/products\/fusion-360\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Tech-Center-San-Francisco-Fusion-360-08_with_mask-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/products\/fusion-360\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Tech-Center-San-Francisco-Fusion-360-08_with_mask-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/products\/fusion-360\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Tech-Center-San-Francisco-Fusion-360-08_with_mask-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/products\/fusion-360\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Tech-Center-San-Francisco-Fusion-360-08_with_mask-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/products\/fusion-360\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Tech-Center-San-Francisco-Fusion-360-08_with_mask.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Conducting mathematical&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/products\/fusion-360\/blog\/simulation-software-design-process\/\">simulation<\/a>&nbsp;of engineering problems is one of the least common of all activities performed in the engineering departments of mid-sized companies. Sure, there are exceptions to this rule, but for the most part,&nbsp;simulations in machine design are done only &#8220;in the real,&#8221; resulting in long development times, failed prototypes, and product returns. It&#8217;s one thing to return a pair of shoes that don&#8217;t fit but quite another to have to retrofit a paper-processing machine. If simulation software is so profitable, why is it barely used in the industry?&nbsp;Let&#8217;s unpack a few reasons why simulation software is necessary in today&#8217;s engineering landscape.<\/p>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"simulation-software-is-affordable\">Simulation Software is Affordable<\/h2>\n\n\n<p>Companies like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Autodesk<\/a> hear the same justifications time and again from companies that aren&#8217;t tkaing advantage of silumation software; it&#8217;s too expensive, it&#8217;s too complicated, and the methods are too unreliable to be used in the competitive arena of machine design. Objectively, none of these things are true. Today, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/products\/fusion-360\/overview\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Fusion 360<\/a> features a full suite of&nbsp;simulation&nbsp;tools for an affordable price. While Fusion 360 is a remarkably cost-effective solution, even its competitors offer reasonable prices when compared to the packages of the 2010s. <\/p>\n\n\n<?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"360 LIVE: Simulation Basics\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/jcUF92XDenQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen style=\"aspect-ratio:500 \/ 281;width:100%;height:auto;\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"its-thorough\">It&#8217;s Thorough<\/h2>\n\n\n<p>In the last 20 years, the simulation interfaces notorious for their unattractive optics have been polished to the degree one expects of a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/products\/fusion-360\/blog\/fusion-360-certifications\/\">CAD system<\/a>. As for accuracy, no one who has flown in a commercial airliner since the days of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/technology\/Boeing-707\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Boeing 707<\/a> can claim the process doesn&#8217;t work. When used properly, the results are better than <a href=\"https:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/products\/fusion-360\/blog\/3-types-of-industrial-design-prototyping\/\">prototypes<\/a>, and there is no shortage of engineers young and (by now) old with experience using these tools.<\/p>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"it-has-history\">It Has History<\/h2>\n\n\n<p>Consider this: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/solutions\/finite-element-analysis\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">finite element&nbsp;simulation<\/a>&nbsp;is the oldest computer technology in existence! Surprised? Some know that the first modern computer was the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.computerhistory.org\/revolution\/birth-of-the-computer\/4\/78\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ENIAC<\/a>. Others say <a href=\"https:\/\/www.perl.com\/pub\/2000\/10\/begperl1.html\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">PERL<\/a>. Much is made of the enormous size of these machines and their need for constant maintenance, but what we rarely discuss is their use case (hint: it wasn&#8217;t for running <a href=\"http:\/\/www.tradewars.com\/default.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">TradeWars<\/a>). Engineers used those early computers nearly exclusively for finite element calculation problems, the oldest kind of computing there is. A company that felt the need to buy such a machine could expect to pay millions for it, though. Of course, such an expensive machine could not be run by a neophyte, which brings us to our next point.<\/p>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"its-accessible\">It&#8217;s Accessible<\/h2>\n\n\n<p>Due to poor interfaces and high cost, people appointed to run calculations usually had a title like Dr. or Professor. Though the cost of a machine capable of such calculations has since declined, our association of the method with uncommon numerical skill has remained. At this point, though, this barrier to entry is just perceived. Today, anyone who has a laptop and an understanding of engineering can use\u00a0simulation\u00a0to help reduce development time. Like poker, learning the game doesn&#8217;t take long, but mastery takes a lifetime. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/products\/fusion-360\/overview\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Fusion 360<\/a> gives you many options to begin your\u00a0simulation\u00a0journey all from within the design and manufacturing tool you already use. What are you waiting for? Get started today. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/products\/fusion-360\/free-trial\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/products\/fusion-360\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Download-Free-Trial-CTA-Button.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-21940\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/autode.sk\/3ua8lnt\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"320\" src=\"https:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/products\/fusion-360\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/referral-blog-1024x320.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-22233\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/products\/fusion-360\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/referral-blog-1024x320.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/products\/fusion-360\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/referral-blog-300x94.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/products\/fusion-360\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/referral-blog-768x240.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/products\/fusion-360\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/referral-blog.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Simulation is one of the most important steps in the machine design process. Let&#8217;s explore its use cases and how to access it in Fusion 360.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3226,"featured_media":23122,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[236],"tags":[89],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-23121","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mechanical-engineering","tag-simulation","dhig-theme--light"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Exploring Simulation Software Benefits - Fusion Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In this blog post, we explore the benefits of simulation software and why we believe it&#039;s a key step in the machine design process.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/products\/fusion-360\/blog\/simulation-software-benefits\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Exploring Simulation Software Benefits - 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Its never easy to build relationships and convince others to change their thinking, but I've done it by making sure projects are delivered on time and with a positive ROI - and a lot of patience. My extensive experience with CAD, data management and simulation software forms a basis upon which my nearly two-decades of consultative advisement builds. I have seen hundreds of clients'\u200b engineering and production processes and I know that even the best have opportunities to save time and money, improve quality and customer satisfaction, and become more competitive. I've helped companies all over Europe and the world exceed their goals, with less effort than they had imagined, and I've built dynamic sales channels and business relationships that will continue long after my time as a business partner has ended.","url":"https:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/products\/fusion-360\/blog\/author\/mickeywakefield\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/products\/fusion-360\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23121","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/products\/fusion-360\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/products\/fusion-360\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/products\/fusion-360\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3226"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/products\/fusion-360\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23121"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/products\/fusion-360\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23121\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/products\/fusion-360\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23122"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/products\/fusion-360\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23121"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/products\/fusion-360\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23121"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/products\/fusion-360\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23121"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/products\/fusion-360\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=23121"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}