If there is a need in your company for a large number of analyses to be performed,
enough to keep an engineer working full time, then it would be appropriate to purchase FEA software, a computer powerful enough to run analyses, and either hire or train an engineer to do the work. The cost of a suitable FEA package varies widely depending on the operating system used, and the type of analyses which are desired. The table below has links to some of the various FEA software suppliers.
The prices for the above packages range from $2,500 to more than $50,000 for the more sophisticated non-linear packages. The computers with enough power to run the software effectively, can cost in excess of $20,000. Other costs involved in having in-house FEA capabilities are the fixed costs. These typically include the moneys involved in the engineer's
training, yearly salary, benefits, and other miscellaneous overhead. These costs can easily exceed the cost of the software and computer required to perform the analyses.
An alternative to having in-house capabilities is hiring an outside consultant. There are many benefits to this. A qualified, experienced consultant will be able to perform the analysis quickly and efficiently. This reduces the cost attributed to the project design phase.
Another reason companies hire outside FEA consultants is verification of in house analyses being performed. Since humans are doing the analysis, errors may show up in the analysis. Having an outside consultant perform the analysis in tandem with the in house analyst builds confidence in the results and may catch errors which are unexpected and hard to catch. Outside consultants are also free from the interoffice politics which may influence the design
process and thereby provide an objective, not subjective, design assessment. |
