SYSWELD is a Finite    Element software that simulates all usual welding processes like spot-, laser-,    MIG-, and TIG-welding
   Simulation is the best approach to master design, manufacturing process and    in-service problems at the earliest product stage possible.

Resulting from more than 20 years of development, SYSWELD is the leading tool for the simulation of heat treatment, welding and welding assembly processes, taking into account all aspects of material behavior, design and process.

Cost-effective, SYSWELD benefits from a hands-on and user-friendly set of tools. It enables engineers with limited knowledge in FEM technology to control and optimize heat treatment, welding and welding assembly processes. Compared to a trial-and-error approach, SYSWELD is the key solution to reduce cost and lead time. Therefore it generates a drastic minimization of physical prototypes, leading to a high return on investment.

• SYSWELD/GEOMESH CAD DATA IMPORT/EXPORT

  SYSWELD/GEOMESH provides graphical modeling capabilities for manipulating FE meshes. Native CAD data is imported, automatically cleaned and prepared for FEM analysis.

• MESHING CAPABILITIES AND GROUP CONCEPT

  SYSWELD/GEOMESH provides engineers with powerful algorithms for the generation of FE models. Patch independent surface meshes and fully automatic volume meshing (hexahedrons, tetrahedrons) is available for welding and heat treatment analysis.

  The group concept allows simple and complete interfacing to any existing meshing tool, and so the definition phase of the numerical problem is extremely short and simple.

• COMPREHENSIVE MATERIAL DATABASE

  SYSWELD features a comprehensive material database. The thermal, mechanical and metallurgical material properties are quite complex and depend on temperature and phases. Included are major steels, aluminum alloys and gray iron.

• SYSWELD ADVISORS : WORKING THE ENGINEERING WAY

  The advisor technology radically reduces the time needed to set up computations for heat treatment, welding and welding assembly simulations. SYSWELD offers a fully intuitive process-driven methodology to set up simulations through three types of advisor:

  Heat treatment advisor,
  Welding advisor,
  Assembly advisor.

• AUTOMATIC SOLVER

  The SYSWELD solver provides an automatic solution for welding and heat treatment problems, covering all related complex mathematics and material physics. Depending on temperature, phases and proportion of chemical elements, thermal and mechanical properties are computed including phase transformations enthalpy, melting and solidification of material, large strains, plasticity and transformation plasticity.

• GRAPHICAL USER INTERFACE: EFFICIENCY, FLEXIBILITY

  The interface comprises engineering tools to adjust all necessary process parameters and a straightforward and simple workflow, as part of the heat treatment, welding and assembly advisors.

• MULTI-PHYSICS POST-PROCESSOR

  The multi-physics post-processing capabilities provide instantaneous process information for the evolution of:

  • Temperature field
  • Heating and cooling rates
  • Metallurgical structure of the material
  • Distortions
  • Stresses
  • Yield stress of the modified material
  • Plastic strains
  • Results analysis
    
• SYSWELD provides a variety of techniques for reviewing process results including
  • Contour plots
  • Iso - lines and Iso - surfaces
  • Vector- Display
  • X-Y diagrams
  • Symbol plots
  • Numerical representation
  • Cutting planes
  • Animations
    

Distortions due to non-symmetric quenching of a large ring made from 100Cr6 Heat Treatment

Transient welding of a motorcycle rim - evolution of the temperature field. Welding

Welding assembly of a typical automotive part. Courtesy : General Motors Welding Assembly

SYSWELD, the Driving force for Heat Treatment Simulation Technology

SYSWELD enables the coupled modeling of complex physical phenomena such as electromagnetism, heat transfer, diffusion and precipitations of chemical elements, phase transformations and mechanics.

SYSWELD performs simulations taking into account all physical phenomena involved in the heat treatment process. It provides extended databases for materials ¨C phases and temperature dependent - and quenching media. The numerical methods implemented are highly optimized for the computation of heat treatment processes.


Distortions of a crankshaft after quenching
Courtesy : Ford

Heat treatment is an indispensible step in the manufacturing of metallic products, especially in the automotive industry and in aerospace engineering. Critical success factors in the heat treatment market focus on safe processes, minimizing part distortions and improving duratbility.

Engineers involved in heat treatment are looking for :

• Process feasibility,
• A minimum amount of distortions,
• A high resistance of contacting surfaces against wear,
• A specific microstructure fitting to the in-service purpose,
• A dedicated distribution of residual stresses.

Compressive stresses on the rolling surface of a train wheel

SYSWELD ANSWERS ENGINEERS¡¯ QUESTIONS

Specific technical capabilities are provided for the Finite Element modeling of the heat treated structure. The requested high quality in computed results requires a refined layered mesh from the surface through a few millimeters of thickness of the part. For 2 dimensional structures, a guided layered mesh generator is available. For 3 dimensional structures, a fully automatic layered hexahedral mesh generator is accessible for solid parts of any complexity. As a result, SYSWELD drastically reduces the time to mesh parts while offering high quality Finite Element models.

From the start of the software to the start of the computation it usually takes 30 minutes or less, including Finite Element modeling. Even 3D computations of distortions and residual stresses are performed in less then one day. As a consequence, answers are provided more efficiently to the basic questions from heat treaters and designers :

• Is the selected heat treatment process feasible ?
• Is the selected steel feasible ?
• Is the selected quenching media suitable ?
• Is the process window safe against process tolerances ?
• Is the part hard where it should be hard ?
• Is there any crack risk occurring during the process ?
• Are the obtained distortions acceptable ?
• Are the residual compressive stresses high enough and well positioned ?

The heat treatment product solution is especially suited for heat treatment job shops, which need to ensure the feasibility of a heat treatment process within one day.

SYSWELD SIMULATES ALL MAJOR HEAT TREATMENT PROCESSES

SYSWELD computes and optimizes all basic steps of the heat treatment process :

• Austenitization for surface hardening
• Austenitization for through hardening
• Quenching, austempering, martempering and tempering

SYSWELD simulates the following processes :

HEAT TREATMENT APPLICATIONS

• Minimization of cost, weight and distortions
• Prevention from cracks, fatigue failure and inadequate hardness
• Maximization of product safety at the most earliest stage
• Optimization of product design and manufacturing process
• Understanding of heating, cooling, transformation and mechanical characteristics
• Understanding and visualization of the physical effects leading to hardness, distortions and residual stresses.
  • Heating characteristics
  • Cooling characteristics
  • Transformation characteristics
  • Mechanical characteristics
• Controlling of product and process regarding
  • Shape of the part
  • Heating process and heating medium
  • Cooling process and cooling medium
  • Tempering process
  • Enriched carbon content
• Engineering driven sensitivity analysis

Welding

SYSWELD , the Complete Solution for Handling Virtual Welding

SYSWELD is a powerftul tool that guides engineers to find out the optimum process parameters with respect to distortions, residual stresses and plastic strains.
SYSWELD optimizes product design by simulating the welding of aluminum frame parts on BMW 5 series rear axle.


Low distorsions due to a specific part clamping

Key success factors in the welding industry focus on eliminating as much as possible the distortions of structural assemblies and component repair, as well as addressing durability problems related to welding processes. Engineers involved in welding try to find the optimum between distortions, residual stresses and plastic strains by fully optimizing the process type and the process parameters, bringing understanding of their influence of the part shape and the resultant material behavior.

SYSWELD guides engineers to :

• Evaluate residual distortions
  Assembling a structure requires sequential continuous and/or spot welding joints. Therefore, defining the welding sequence and the places where the parts will be welded is crucial for the correct completion of the welding assembly process. Simulation allows prediction and minimization of distortions which generate an increase of the overall product quality as well as drastic cost saving.
  
• Minimize residual stresses
  Simulating the welding process aims to control the process in a way that minimizes the stress gradient and tensile surface stresses. As a result, lifetime of a part increases as fewer cracks appear after load cycles. Compressive stresses can also be detected on the surface of the component, therefore improving part quality and avoiding corrosion risks due to tensile stresses.
  
  
  Space Frame Welding
  Courtesy : Audi
  
• Study the sensitivity of geometry, material and process parameters
  Used in the design phases, SYSWELD decreases costly design errors. At each step of the development cycle, the cost of corrections gradually increases. SYSWELD helps to optimize part geometry, materials and process parameters during the early stages of a new design cycle avoiding expensive engineering changes that could occur later.
  
• Optimize the welding process
  SYSWELD allows user-defined weld sequencing and control of the weld manufacturing parameters such as velocity, energy input and many others.
  
  
  Heavy industry - Multilayer welding
  Courtesy : Institut de Soudure
  

SYSWELD answers engineering's questions

Empowered by the Advisor technology, an automatic solver, and a multi-physics post-processor, SYSWELD takes into account multiple factors such as :

• Process parameters,
• Part geometry,
• Thermal, metallurgical and mechanical material behavior.

SYSWELD features a comprehensive material database that covers the major steels and aluminium alloys in the market.

SYSWELD simulates all major welding processes

• Continuous welding
  • Laser,
  • MIG,
  • E l e c t ron-beam,
  • . . .

  "The challenge in the nuclear industry is to increase the life span of components. Welding repairs are categorized using SYSWELD on many different kinds of defects. "

• - Resistance and Spot welding

  "Spot welding is very common in the automobile industry. With the coupling between electromagnetism, heat transfer, metallurgy and mechanics, this process is accurately simulated with SYSWELD . "

Shipbuiding industry Welded assemblies
Courtesy of Vitkovize

SWELDING APPLICATIONS

• Minimization of production cost, structural weight and distortions
• Maximization of product safety at the earliest possible stage
• Optimization of product design and manufacturing process
• Minimization of distortions and dimensional variations
• Mastering of assembly problems
• Supervising of level and distribution of residual stresses
• Avoidance of cold cracks
• Understanding and visualization of the physical effects leading to distortions and residual stresses.
• Engineering driven sensitivity analysis regarding
  • Welding process parameters
  • Welding process
  • Process stability (gap)
  • Welding sequence
  • Number and length of welding joints
  • Position of welding joints
  • Clamping conditions
  • Material properties
  • Material behavior
  • Metallurgical transformation behavior of the material
  • Design of the part
• Early positioning in the product cycle enables to
  • Study distortion influencing parameters as ¡¤ Material ¡¤ Process ¡¤ Design
  • Take preventive measures for low-distortion welding construction ¡́ Avoid over-dimensioning
  • Have the
    • Best welding process
    • Best type of welding joint
    • Best sequence and welding direction
    • Best design dimensions for cost and weight
  • Take the safest choice
  • Minimize post-design costs by avoiding failure or repair at a late stage of the product cycle.
  • Understand the physics leading to distortions, residual stresses and failure during in-service behavior
  • Derive or improve design rules from sensitivity analysis
  • Understand the differences between adjustment specimen and real parts
  • Improve established production processes

Welding Assembly

SYSWELD masters joining Technology
Space frame welding
Courtesy of Audi

Car manufacturers are under high pressure to decrease weight, costs, time-to-market and increase quality by optimizing heat treatment and welding processes at the earliest stage in the design process.

A car component is manufactured from different parts which are stamped, cast, bent, then welded and connected together to fit the welding assembly requirement.

SYSWELD is the ideal simulation tool for improving the welding and welding assembly processes, ensuring better part quality.

It provides realistic input data for subsequent structural behavior, durability and crash analyses. It is a unique engineering solution tool, which can lead to unsurpassed productivity gain.


Welding assembly of a typical automotive part.
Courtesy : General Motors