The History of CAD, CAE, FEA, CFD, etc.

Do you know the complete history of the CAD/CAE industry? Once upon a time, I didn't either, so I decided map it.

After seeing a wave of mergers and acquisitions in the CAD/CAE industry over the past year, it got me wondering, exactly how dynamic is this industry? This innocent question began a thorough investigation of the beginning, the rise, the consolidation, and the continued expansion of design and analysis software.

Several months of scope creep later, I present you this: A comprehensive map of the CAD/CAE industry. Here is an abridged screenshot, the interactive map with the full CAD CAE Timeline data set is on our blog.

Is this truly comprehensive? Well no, not, really. To be honest this mainly focuses on Mechanical Computer-Aided Design (MCAD), Finite Element Analysis (FEA), and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). We had to give the map limits to start, because it really does start to get messy! You see, as design software companies are trying to become a "one stop shop" for all of our design and analysis needs, they are reaching far and wide into various other disciplines such as Electronic Design Automation, multi-physics simulation, testing, consulting and training services.

Admittedly, this map is a work in progress, and we're planning to add more branches that reach into 3D Printing, Design Optimization, Computer-Aided Machining (CAM), and we're already working hard to add more data, such as founder biographies, geographic location, and company size.

One thing's for sure, this industry is amazingly complex, and it just goes to show you how much overlap and opportunity there is in product design and development. As far as we know this is the first time the CAD/CAE industry has ever been mapped like this. Thoughts and comments welcome below. Enjoy!