What’s in Your Student Design Team Toolbox?

Ansys can help add industry-leading simulation.

Ansys simulation software helps students design prototypes of all sorts. Unlike a strictly computer-aided design (CAD)-based approach to vehicle design, modeling in a simulation environment enables students to make important connections between fluids, mechanical, optical applications, and more. When time is of the essence, our tools help students get their work done faster and more efficiently.

"Simulation allows you to assess the vehicle's performance under various conditions and scenarios, providing insights into how it will behave in the real world," says Vishal Ganore, academic project manager at Ansys. "While physical testing is an option, producing a part based on a physical prototype is both time-consuming and costly. Testing parts virtually through simulation accelerates the process, resulting in savings on both materials and time. Moreover, it provides a higher level of accuracy, instilling greater confidence when it comes to manufacturing a part. This represents a clear advantage for teams constrained by time and budget." 

Student Teams Get Free Access to Full Versions of Our Most Popular Products

Ansys offers a standard package of all of its most popular products to student design teams. They get fluids, mechanical, thermal, electromagnetics and material software with licenses ranging from eight to 25 seats, depending on the size of the team. Additional licenses can also be acquired upon request. These are full commercial versions of our software.

If you’re part of a student team, applying for free software is easy. Just submit the partnership application form on our site. Once your application is submitted, your request will be reviewed and if approved, the licenses will be sent to the email address specified on your application within five business days. To learn more, visit the student design teams section of our website explaining our entire student team partnership program.

Simulation Addresses Pain Points All Teams Share

One of the biggest reasons to add simulation to your student team’s toolbox is agility. Simulation empowers teams to quickly pivot to address common pain points our users share with us.

• Time is limited. Student team members have to attend classes, prepare for exams, and dedicate time to design their vehicle. The design process involves different phases for design, testing, and manufacturing before participating in a competition, so the time they have before a competition is constrained. To build a vehicle quickly requires simulation, as it enables rapid testing and iteration of their design in a virtual environment.
• Vehicles prototypes are bulky. The initial prototypes students produce tend to have a lot of weight on them. A bulky prototype will not run efficiently, as more weight equals less speed. To reduce and optimize overall vehicle weight, teams must test every part to make incremental adjustments. At the same time, they must consider material strength, as lighter parts can fail due to various forces at play and the impact of any design changes to that part. Simulation enables teams to iterate and test in a virtual environment to easily predict the failure of parts, whether they’re due to design change, material strain, or other factors.
• Physical testing is limited. Testing a vehicle in the final design stages before competition requires the team to run that vehicle for long distances. The goal during this stage is to gain confidence that their design will work, all of the parts are safe, and the vehicle will run as expected. Simulation enables more testing throughout the development cycle, involving more design iterations and environmental factors that cannot be considered during physical testing.  

The Right Tools Are Important. So is the Right Support.

Ansys provides all the necessary support to student teams to make sure they are successful in their competitions. First, they receive industry-leading simulation software. They also have easy access to Ansys Innovation Courses many of which are made for student teams by covering common product design applications for specific competitions. There’s also the Ansys Learning Forum where students can go to raise questions, search for answers, and offer support or share insights by connecting with other students.

Building a Reputation with Ansys

Of course, opportunities like these don’t come along often in college. Partnering with Ansys as part of a student team is a great chance to work on real-world engineering projects using industry standard tools.

Student competitions help participating students gain valuable hands-on experience by designing and building a product from the ground up using industry tools like simulation. Having skills like these in addition to the team experience is a great resume booster. Most companies recognize Ansys’ reputation for producing some of the best tools and solvers available today. They rely on Ansys simulation software and prefer to hire based on previous experience with these tools — experience that gives students a definite advantage as they begin their professional careers.

“Through our Student Team Partnership with Ansys, me and many of my teammates learned to use simulation tools at a very advanced and professional level,” says Christina Peristeri who participated on the Centaurus Racing Team. “This made us stand apart from other students and helped us take exciting roles in many big companies straight out of university.” Peristeri is now working at Oracle Red Bull Racing as a Junior CFD Tools & Methods Engineer.

Learn more about Ansys Student Team Partnership including how to apply and resources offered.