CAE is best used as an experimental tool: models can (and should) be used to conduct repeated experiements to gain insight into the behavior of systems. As with any series of experiments, it is essential that the changes in parameters be tracked and logged systematically. 

The beginner, evidently, needs a way to manage all the data.

The process of building models itself is not a single-lane freeway with just one entrance and one exit. Instead, it’s a maze of interconnected paths that can give rise to a dizzying array of possible combinations. 

The beginner, it is clear, can benefit tremendously from a series of signposts to provide guidance.

We can go on building the list of things than a beginner needs. Or we can start presenting ways to build these aids. That’s what this book does. Built around Altair’s HyperWorks Process Manager, available to any engineer who has access to HyperMesh, this book addresses these aspects in easy-to-understand language supported with references for the interested engineer.

To make the most of this book you should be an engineering student, in your third or final year of Mechanical Engineering. You should have access to licenses of HyperWorks, to the Altair website, and to an instructor who can guide you through your chosen projects or assignments. The book can also be useful to working engineers interested in automating repetetive CAE tasks. The solved examples presented as videos with voice-over narration can be downloaded – for free. The book is available both online and from Altair India. The PDF version is free: for printed versions, contact Altair India to check the price.

Areas covered include 

• the connections between product design, creativity and processes
• motivations for process automation in CAE
• an introduction to process templates
• recommended sequences of process automation and the role of customization
• introduction to programming using scripting languages
• different ways to customize HyperWorks
• the use of Tcl and Tk to develop applications
• the use of the Process Manager as a framework
• development of Process Wizards
• structure of Process Templates
• the HWPM namespace, callbacks and API functions
• the use of Java to customize HyperWorks