Which CAD Software is Most Widely Used in Aerospace Engineering?

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SUMMARY

The most widely used CAD software in aerospace engineering includes CATIA, SolidWorks, and CREO for modeling, while ANSYS and ABAQUS are preferred for finite element analysis (FEA). CATIA is recognized for its comprehensive CAD/CAM/CAE solutions, making it a staple in the industry. SolidWorks is commonly utilized for 3D modeling, although it is not ideal for FEA tasks. ANSYS is recommended for intense analysis, and NASTRAN is noted for its long-standing presence in structural analysis and solving partial differential equations (PDEs).

PREREQUISITES
  • Familiarity with CAD software such as CATIA, SolidWorks, and CREO
  • Understanding of finite element analysis (FEA) principles
  • Knowledge of ANSYS and ABAQUS for advanced modeling and analysis
  • Basic concepts of structural analysis and PDEs as applied in NASTRAN
NEXT STEPS
  • Explore advanced features of CATIA for CAD/CAM/CAE solutions
  • Learn about SolidWorks modeling techniques for efficient 3D design
  • Investigate ANSYS for performing complex finite element analysis
  • Study NASTRAN applications in structural analysis and PDE solving
USEFUL FOR

Aerospace engineers, CAD designers, and analysts seeking to enhance their skills in modeling and analysis software relevant to aerospace applications.

Monsterboy
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What are the CAD and analysis softwares most widely used by Aerospace engineers?
 
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CATIA provides enough CAD/CAM/CAE solutions,I'm a aerospace graduate and have been using it for my projects, i'd also like to suggest SOLID WORKS & CREO for faster modelling solutions, if you want to do intense analysis of a model ANSYS is recommended.
 
We use SolidWorks in my department. CATIA seems to be common in industry. (At least for parametric modeling...)

The structures people here like ABAQUS for FEA. For certain cases custom code is also used. I'm not a structures person.
 
What about NX CAD ,NASTRAN?
 
Never heard of NX CAD.

NASTRAN has been around for ages. It is a general purpose FE program. Can be used for structural analysis, but it can also tackle other field problems by solving PDEs using a finite element procedure.
 
From what I've seen SolidWorks is common for the construction of 3d models, but it isn't great for actual FEM. For FEM work, a lot of the people I know use Ansys.
 
It ultimately depends on the actual, concrete modeling problem that you are trying to solve.
 

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