ACADEMIA
MSC.Software's Acquisition of the MacNeal Group Changes the Simulation Landscape
MSC.Software today announced that it has acquired the MacNeal Group (tMG). The MacNeal Group was founded by Dr. Richard MacNeal, a pioneer for the CAE market and the leading authority on finite element technology. This acquisition maximizes the natural synergies between both companies around Nastran technology and provides superior simulation technology for the on-going globalization of the engineering supply chain. 
The MacNeal Group brings to MSC.Software its unique computational Part and Assembly Analysis (PAA) methodology and enhances MD Nastran's complex systems simulation capabilities by enabling the rapid exploration of high-fidelity system design variants from parts to assemblies, resulting in faster time-to-market and lower supply chain coordination costs. Specifically, tMG's PAA methodology is an advanced computational assembly framework for managing high-fidelity simulation assemblies in much the same way that CAD assemblies are controlled across an enterprise but in a simulation context for improved accuracy and security for the behavior of the physical product components as computational "smart parts" within an overall assembly. The powerful fusion between MD Nastran's substructuring and PAA will enable SimEnterprise users to automatically update an assembly's response to design perturbations in constitutive computational parts without having to reassemble the parent system simulation model. "As manufacturing companies continue to globalize, the ability to virtually innovate and test new product designs with distributed teams and suppliers becomes more and more challenging," said Dr. Richard MacNeal, tMG founder and chairman. "tMG simulation advancements for Nastran accelerate the roll-up of virtual component parts from global suppliers into a complete and accurate virtual product for system-level simulation and optimization without exposing proprietary component part details. More importantly, tMG's PAA methodology allows the rapid and timely update of the virtual product model as suppliers iterate on their respective part designs." "PAA is a game changer for structural analysis in general and will reinforce engineering simulation as the driver for innovative and robust designs along with the need for MD Nastran," said Glenn Wienkoop, president and chief operating officer, MSC.Software. "The acquisition of tMG brings to MSC.Software not just the man considered 'the pioneer of CAE,' but a highly-skilled team of Nastran developers that solidifies our world-class solver organization leadership and allows us to quickly bring to market the benefits of tMG's advancements in computational parts management."
The MacNeal Group brings to MSC.Software its unique computational Part and Assembly Analysis (PAA) methodology and enhances MD Nastran's complex systems simulation capabilities by enabling the rapid exploration of high-fidelity system design variants from parts to assemblies, resulting in faster time-to-market and lower supply chain coordination costs. Specifically, tMG's PAA methodology is an advanced computational assembly framework for managing high-fidelity simulation assemblies in much the same way that CAD assemblies are controlled across an enterprise but in a simulation context for improved accuracy and security for the behavior of the physical product components as computational "smart parts" within an overall assembly. The powerful fusion between MD Nastran's substructuring and PAA will enable SimEnterprise users to automatically update an assembly's response to design perturbations in constitutive computational parts without having to reassemble the parent system simulation model. "As manufacturing companies continue to globalize, the ability to virtually innovate and test new product designs with distributed teams and suppliers becomes more and more challenging," said Dr. Richard MacNeal, tMG founder and chairman. "tMG simulation advancements for Nastran accelerate the roll-up of virtual component parts from global suppliers into a complete and accurate virtual product for system-level simulation and optimization without exposing proprietary component part details. More importantly, tMG's PAA methodology allows the rapid and timely update of the virtual product model as suppliers iterate on their respective part designs." "PAA is a game changer for structural analysis in general and will reinforce engineering simulation as the driver for innovative and robust designs along with the need for MD Nastran," said Glenn Wienkoop, president and chief operating officer, MSC.Software. "The acquisition of tMG brings to MSC.Software not just the man considered 'the pioneer of CAE,' but a highly-skilled team of Nastran developers that solidifies our world-class solver organization leadership and allows us to quickly bring to market the benefits of tMG's advancements in computational parts management."