20 million grains in motion: simulation for optimised rice processing

CADFEM is one of the pioneers in the application of numerical simulation and digital engineering. We are one of the largest European providers of computer-aided engineering, a long-standing sales and technology partner of the leading software manufacturer ANSYS, Inc. and one of just 5 Ansys Apex Channel Partners worldwide with 130 ANSYS specialists. Simulation makes a lot possible today. But because software alone does not guarantee simulation success, we offer everything that matters from one source: software and IT solutions. Consulting, support, engineering. Know-how transfer. Our Ansys Rocky software enables precise predictions of particle behaviour by analysing media flows and energy absorption rates. Wherever large quantities of particles and bodies, regardless of their size, shape, material and adhesive force, are set in motion in pouring, mixing, separating, slipping or flow processes, Rocky can help to understand and specifically improve processes.

Sustainability currently only plays a central role in product development for around a quarter of companies. This is the result of a survey of participants at the Blueprint Talk on the topic of green engineering on 12 November. The fact that sustainability is not yet more important is also due to the challenges associated with it. Blueprint moderator Sarah Yvonne Elsser’s panellists largely agreed on this. Bernd Vojanec from drive manufacturer Wittenstein emphasised that sustainability is made up of many facets. ‘These include the reparability of a product, a longer service life and an optimised design, which in turn can lead to compromises in terms of reparability.’ Experts and participants agreed that another facet is energy consumption during production. Sustainability in product development is also a challenge because it requires expertise and rethinking, said Therese Seiringer from Thyssenkrupp Automotive Technology. ‘Where processes have been established for years, you have to retrain and build up knowledge internally, and that also means high investment costs.’ Sustainability is also a very complex issue: ‘When we talk about sustainability, there are always social aspects