History

When powerful workstations came onto the market in the mid-1980s, simulations were no longer reserved for mainframes from IBM and Control Data. Thus began the unstoppable triumphal march of the Finite Element Method.

„On a late summer evening of 1984, I stood on the edge of the fairground. The visitors pushed past me unnoticed. My attention was only focused on the rides. I wanted a ride, but the lack of coins in my wallet caused a break. Instead I noticed how the beams and cantilevers deformed under the dynamic loads and I followed this spectacle tensely. I expected the disaster, but luckily it didn't happen. The question „How can the engineer know that his construction won't just fall apart?“ fascinated me for the first time.“

At the beginning of the 1990s, when simulation slowly became widespread in the research and development departments, there was generally still a great deal of scepticism about numerical methods. Everything that could not be measured was mostly questioned. In addition to the financial expenditure for hardware and software, only the large, financially strong companies from the aerospace and automotive industries were able to afford to invest in the training of young engineers as simulation experts.

„When I first came into contact with numerical simulation in 1994, I was immediately electrified. Nothing I had seen or heard at that time as a student was anything like that, nothing had fascinated me as much. From that moment on I knew exactly what I wanted to do, my goal was set and nothing could stop me.“

But the pioneering spirit should pay off. After only a few years, simulation became an integral part of development, and even more so, without the reliable findings in the early product development phase, the development times that are becoming shorter and shorter today would not be feasible.

„Literally asleep, it fell like scales from my eyes. I suddenly knew where the mistake was that had been bothering me for days. I still had almost 48 hours before the decisive presentation to the customer. I said to myself, now a little luck and on Monday I will present the results of an engine calculation with a newly programmed sealing element, realistic representation for the first time. What was new then has long since become the state of the art.“

It was precisely this initial scepticism that helped the numerical methods to grow up. The simulation experts have repeatedly been asked to prove that their methods lead to the right conclusions. This mistrust was for many calculation engineers the decisive incentive for ever new innovations.
In the last 25 years, the advent of simulation marked the beginning of a trend that was to fundamentally change the art of engineering.

„I was fortunate to have been part of this movement almost from the beginning. For more than 20 years I have dedicated myself to the fascination of numerical simulation. Accordingly, I can offer you well-founded cross-sector and interdisciplinary knowledge as a tailor-made simulation service.“

Stefan Obermaier
Managing director and founder AdSimuTec GmbH