Tools in the cloud

29. 11. 2013 / Industry Arctur is collaborating in EU promoted projects to give small and medium-sized companies access to high-tech software. High-tech software for engineers is expensive. Small and medium-sized enterprises, however, do not need it on a regular basis. In the EU project CloudFlow, researchers are developing special software solutions for small and medium-sized enterprises. In the process, all options come directly from the cloud.

Arctur is collaborating in EU promoted projects to give small and medium-sized companies access to high-tech software.High-tech software for engineers is expensive. Small and medium-sized enterprises, however, do not need it on a regular basis. In the EU project CloudFlow, researchers are developing special software solutions for small and medium-sized enterprises. In the process, all options come directly from the cloud.

The engineer’s most important tool is the computer. Be it a bridge, car or lawn mower, nowadays each product is designed on the computer and its suitability is tested in computer simulations even prior to the first prototype. At least in theory, this is actually the case. In practice, mainly small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) must do without the many options offered by the engineering software available on the market. “Small engineering offices only have a demand for some special solutions a few times per year”, explains Professor André Stork of Fraunhofer IGD. “Orders requiring such high-tech solutions are therefore either passed on to experts or not accepted.”

 It is the mission of the eleven partner institutions from seven countries of the EU project CloudFlow to improve this situation. They are coordinated by Stork and his team. The idea is to use the Cloud technology to open up new possibilities for the work of the SME. Expensive special software is no longer installed on the engineers’ computers but will function via the internet on the CloudFlow platform. Engineering technologies (such as CAD, CAM or CAE) by various providers will be made available there in the years to come. On the open platform, products may be designed and simulated. The available servers are providing very high performance computing to solve complex problems (High Performance Computing; HPC). “We would like to invite providers and users of engineering software all over Europe to participate in CloudFlow with open calls for tender“, explains Stork.

 

Stellba Hydro GmbH & Co KG (re-engineering and manufacture of hydropower turbines) is testing the Cloud-based solutions for their practicability as an end user. In the future, the company would like to use Cloud technologies in engineering, simulation, data administration and production quality control. CloudFlow offers an opportunity to help shape them and gain experience.

 

Already participating in the project:

HPC-Provider

Arctur (www.arctur.si) - Provider of HPC and Cloud infrastructure

Research institutions:

Fraunhofer IGD (www.igd.fraunhofer.de) and Fraunhofer IIS (www.iis.fraunhofer.de) SINTEF (www.sintef.no)  DFKI (www.dfki.de)  University of Nottingham (www.nottingham.ac.uk)

Software provider (SME):

Missler Software (www.topsolid.com) - CAD/CAM software provider  NUMECA International (www.numeca.com) - CFD software provider  Jotne (www.epmtech.jotne.com) - PLM software provider  ITI GmbH (www.iti.de) -  System-simulation software provider  CARSA (www.carsa.es) - Provider of business models and IT security

End user

Stellba Hydro (www.stellba-hydro.de) active in the hydropower turbine business (maintenance, service, manufacture)

For further information: www.eu-cloudflow.eu