Apr 11, 2017 2 min read

CANONSBURG – ANSYS Inc. said Tuesday it has achieved a milestone with the use of its engineering simulation software by the aerospace industry.

The Southpointe-based company said that its simulation software is enabling manufacturers to design, simulate, generate and test embedded code for more than 100 aerospace applications – from head-up cockpit displays to easier landing gear operations – more than any other engineering software company.

The company noted in a press release that embedded code is becoming more complex – increasing product complexity and risk.

“Manufacturers must meet performance targets and comply with industry regulations to ensure critical equipment meets safety standards,” the company said.

It said use of the software to simulate and test code for applications that are certified under DO-178B and DO-178C – standards that ensure that safety-critical equipment meets stringent safety criteria and is mandated by government organizations worldwide, including the Federal Aviation Administration, the European Aviation Safety Agency, the Civil Aviation Administration of China and Transport Canada.

“No other engineering simulation company comes close to this milestone,” said Eric Bantegnie, vice president of ANSYS’ systems business unit. “By our estimates, there are several thousand aircraft flying with ANSYS SCADE generated code onboard.” He said customers who use ANSYS solutions benefit by meeting international standards and speeding up the embedded code development process, ultimately reducing the cost for certification.

Certification can take up to five years when using manual code development methods, from concept phase to certification, for each specific application.

Bantegnie said ANSYS enables companies that employ ANSYS qualified embedded software tools to reach certification faster – a two-times speed-up – and reduce overall embedded software development and verification costs by 50 percent.