Case Study: Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems reduces satellite mass by 5 to 10 percent with Hexagon MSC Apex

Tyvak engineers use MSC Apex to reduce satellite mass by 5 to 10 percent

Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems, a company specializing in nanosatellites, faced the challenge of reducing satellite mass to lower launch costs while ensuring structural reliability. Their existing simulation process was time-consuming, limiting the number of design iterations they could perform. They required a new CAE tool, provided by vendor Hexagon, that could integrate seamlessly with their existing MSC Nastran solver to expedite virtual prototyping.

Hexagon's solution was the implementation of MSC Apex for finite element modeling. This software's geometry editing and meshing capabilities allowed Tyvak engineers to build and modify models much faster, enabling many more design iterations in the same timeframe. As a result, Tyvak achieved significant productivity gains and was able to reduce the mass of its satellite components and systems by 5 to 10 percent within just a few rounds of iteration.

Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems

Amir Damansouz

Senior Structural Analyst