Altair Activate Applications

Altair Activate® Applications

Activate can be applied to model and simulate a broad range of products as a system-of-systems to discover better designs, faster. Products in every industry are becoming increasingly complex and electrified, as well as smarter and more connected.

Multi-disciplinary system-level simulation capabilities help develop smart, complex mechatronic systems holistically while enabling more streamlined product development teamwork and workflows. Activate breaks down silos between mechanical subsystems, electrical subsystems, control subsystems, electronic subsystems, software, hardware-in-the-loop, data analytics, and more.

Learn More About Activate

Digital Twins

Leverage Activate as the core of Altair's open, flexible digital twin platform to easily combine high-fidelity models with reduced-order models (ROMs) built using 3D+1D+0D techniques (i.e., using CAD geometry + block diagrams + equations).

Read: Leveraging Digital Twins to Increase the Effectiveness of the MBD Approach White Paper

Integrated Multi-disciplinary Systems

Integrate models for mechanical, electrical, and controller subsystems (including sensors and actuators) to simulate your mechatronic product holistically as a system-of-systems. Exchange models and/or co-simulate with other CAE tools either from Altair (such as Altair MotionSolve® and Altair Flux®) or from third parties through the Functional Mockup Interface (FMI) open standard.

Read: Schneider Electric Customer Story

Electric Vehicle (EV) Systems

Simulate electric powertrains for various types of vehicles combining mechanical plant models with motors, batteries, and controllers together with realistic drive cycles. Then, optimize the overall performance of your electric vehicles (optionally, in combination with Altair HyperStudy®).

Read: Porsche and Altair Technical Paper

1D Thermal-Fluid Dynamic Systems

Model thermal-fluid system dynamics using 1D modeling &and simulation (rather than using only 3D CFD) to yield nearly-as-accurate results significantly faster – to enable more design exploration and optimized performance in less time.

Read: Altran Customer Story

Hydraulic Systems

Create detailed hydraulic circuits and actuation systems as part of multi-disciplinary system simulations – particularly for heavy machinery and agricultural equipment, in combination with multi-body systems and granular material systems.

Watch: Heavy Equipment Simulations

Model-based Systems Engineering (MBSE)

Connect product-level system simulations to your product's functional requirements (e.g., coming from SysML via ModelCenter MBSE) so that your system model serves as the Authoritative Source of Truth (AST) for virtual product development activity.

Watch: NAVAIR Customer Story

Featured Resources

Improving Speed and Precision of a CNC Milling Machine with Holistic System Simulation

The presentation outlines a solution strategy for how a digital twin of a milling machine is solving mechatronic challenges. To improve cycle times, accuracy, and addressing vibration problems a holistic system simulation serves as the basis for optimization. The efficient modeling of the real system behavior with flexibilities, contacts, gaps, friction, nonlinearities in the drives (incl. saturation effects of motors), power electronics in combination with the control system is the basis for efficient controller design and optimization of the control parameters. The dynamic interaction of multiple system components combining 3D finite elements analysis multi-body dynamics and control system helps avoiding Tracking-, drag-, positioning errors rebound, and accumulation effects.

Use Cases

Improve Performance of Mechatronics Systems

Complex devices such as surgical robots, autoinjector etc go through several validation and verification phases that can increase product development time. The interconnected devices also pose a challenge for model exchange and collaboration. This webinar presents Altair’s model-based development (MBD) platform to drive fast development for smart connected systems. Explore more by combining mechanical models with electrical models leveraging multi-disciplinary simulation.

Webinars

Human Plus Machine: How Sarcos is Revolutionizing the Future of Work with Industrial Robotics

With the prospect of increasing labor shortages among a wide variety of industries, combined with the significant costs of occupational injuries and the ever-increasing pressure to increase productivity, leading robotics company, Sarcos is in a unique position to deploy industrial robotics designed to increase productivity while eliminating injuries, by augmenting rather than replacing human workers. Chris Beaufait, COO of Sarcos, discusses the current robotics landscape, why automation is not the right solution to the problems industries are facing, how Sarcos and its product lineup - including the full body, fully powered Guardian XO exoskeleton - will play a critical role in defining the workforce of tomorrow, and his vision for the robotics industry over the next five to 10 years.

ATC Presentations

Achieving Aerospace Design Confidence with Model-based Systems Engineering

Reducing aircraft design and development time is critical for all aircraft manufacturers, from urban air mobility and electric aircraft startups to military to commercial OEMs. In order to fully understand and optimize the complex systems of systems required in modern aircraft, aerospace engineers leverage a simulation method called Model-based Systems Engineering (MBSE). MBSE allows the evaluation of various types of vehicle systems to determine which best meet the mission requirements.

Technical Papers