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SOUTHPOINTE, Pa. -- ANSYS Inc., a global innovator of simulation software and technologies designed to optimize product development processes, announced the release of AI*Environment(TM), a robust pre- and post-processing tool to support complex and advanced simulation problems faced by engineering analysts. By applying the company's ICEM CFD Engineering technology to the structural modeling problem, AI*Environment is designed to provide a direct path from CAD to analysis and reduce time and efforts required in preparing data for large simulations. As a FEA-centric pre- and post-processing tool, AI*Environment works with several geometry sources, including a parametric link to leading CAD systems. AI*Environment provides extensive geometry repair tools that are useful in preparation for meshing, as well as comprehensive healing, world-class meshing and mesh editing capabilities. This powerful combination of tools leads to a software product that significantly reduces the time for simulation compared to traditional pre-processing tools used by analysts. "With our proven track record as the #1 preprocessor for CFD modeling, we know how to rise to a challenge," said Devendra Rajwade, general manager of the Environment Business Unit at ANSYS Inc. "We see similar needs in the structural analysis environment. Combining our strengths in automation, high- quality meshing, and robust geometry handling and an easy-to-use interface, we have created a tool that will appeal strongly to any engineer while doing everyday FEA analysis to advanced multidisciplinary simulation." "Automotive and aerospace customers deal with some of the most interesting - but also some of the largest and most complicated - engineering simulation problems known to man," said Steve Pilz, product manager for ANSYS Inc. "AI*Environment extends the well proven meshing methodology - top-down and geometry independent meshing - used extensively by designers/analysts for CFD simulation to FEA simulations. With the flexibility and robustness provided by AI*Environment, the engineering analysts will be able to produce results for complex simulations in a fraction of the time and play a leading role in product's development cycle." AI*Environment boasts key engineering advantages such as robust geometry handling with parametric link to commercial CAD packages, extensive geometry repair/feature suppression tools, mid-plane extractions/extension, powerful mesh editing, multiple solver support, batch meshing, advanced boundary conditions and reliable large model post-processing, on both Unix and Windows operating systems. Additionally, patch independent meshing methodology enables users to capture the geometric detail based on a tolerance or minimum element edge length setting. AI*Environment patch independent meshers can rapidly compress previously unsolvable problems down to produce same-day solutions, keeping the product development schedule intact.