Tetra Pak Chooses ANSYS for Product Development Simulation

Upfront Performance Prediction Enables Food Processing and Packaging Leader to Speed Up Design Time and Time to Market.

PITTSBURGH - Tetra Pak, the world leader in food processing and packaging solutions, has expanded its use of ANSYS products. The Swedish company is applying Simulation Driven Product Development(TM) using ANSYS software, which enables system analysis and leverages single-component modeling as an integrated part of the process. Technology from ANSYS enables customers to optimize designs throughout the product development process, especially in the early stages when changes can be efficiently and cost-effectively implemented.

Using a system approach allows Tetra Pak to study product behavior from a multiphysics viewpoint, enabling complex simulations of physical interactions such as fluid flow, temperature, velocity and evaporation. The company instituted the change in an effort to drive design concepts based on upfront performance predictions rather than late-stage test-and-change cycles, thus speeding up design time and time to market.

"This is allowing us to simulate entire filling machine processes even before prototyping. It has helped speed up development time significantly, in some cases saving us years of development effort," said Laurence Mott, vice president, Packaging Technology, Tetra Pak.

Mott explained that Tetra Pak's aim is to perform virtual prototyping at the concept phase, well before any physical testing is done. "We found that ANSYS provided the cutting-edge solutions that enable us to perform complex simulations in a user-friendly format," said Mott, noting that "ANSYS is a committed, long-term partner that has taken an active part in helping us to develop the working methods of simulation driven product development."

"Throughout the manufacturing industry in general, a number of trends are evident: rapid prototyping, improved and automated techniques and easy-to-use software for design of experiments, all of which bring higher accuracy and increased speed. Within the food packaging segment, Tetra Pak is pioneering and customizing the use of this leading-edge technology. By making analysis speed a crucial element in design and development, Tetra Pak has seized the opportunity to lead with its innovative solutions," said Josh Fredberg, vice president of marketing at ANSYS.