Here’s a summary and deeper look at SMARTDO, the multidisciplinary/multiphysics design-optimization software from FEA-Opt Technology — what it is, how it works, its features, strengths & limitations, and how it compares with alternatives. If you like, I can also get licensing/pricing info relevant to India.

What is

SmartDO is a software platform for automatic design optimization, especially in CAE-based / physics-driven engineering workflows.

Developed by FEA-Opt Technology (Taiwan).

It supports optimization of designs that involve multiple disciplines (structure, thermal, fluids, multiphysics coupling, etc.) and aims for relatively “push-button” automation, reducing manual work in the optimization workflow. 

Key Features & Capabilities

Here are what SmartDO offers, based on the latest sources:

Optimization methods

Supports a combination of methods: Gradient-based nonlinear programming; Genetic Algorithms (Robust GA); plus hybrid/combined approaches.

Direct Global Search

Its “Direct Global Search” strategy seeks global optima, trying to reduce dependence on manual tweaking (like parametric study or sensitivity studies) by automatically handling things like escaping local minima.

GUI + Scripting

Has both a GUI (“SmartLink”, “one-page setup”) and scripting capability (Tcl/Tk, and increasingly Python) for customizing workflows.

Multi-objective optimization

Supports synchronous / advancing Pareto optimal methods so that multiple objective functions can be improved simultaneously.

Robustness & error detection

Features like S.A.F.E.D (Secured Adaptive Function for Error Detection) help deal with failures of CAD/CAE evaluations, non-convergence, etc., automatically.

Large number of design variables/constraints

Claims to handle large-scale problems: successful use with 200+ design variables and 100+ constraints. It can start from infeasible design points and drive toward feasibility.

Integration with CAD/CAE tools

SmartLink allows linking with commercial CAE tools (ANSYS, etc.), also with open-source tools (FreeCAD, CalculiX, etc.) via its “OpenXim” platform.

Automation & push-button workflows

After setup, optimizations can be triggered with minimal manual intervention. Emphasis is on “push-button automatic design optimization”.

Applications / Use Cases

https://rgees.in/SMARTDO---Application-Case

Strengths

• Very capable of automating many tedious parts of design optimization (setups, linking with CAE, avoiding manual sensitivity studies).

• Supports large, complex problems with many variables/constraints.

• Robustness: handles infeasible starting designs, CAE failures, numerical noise, etc.

• Flexibility via scripting / open interfaces.

• Multi-objective support.

• Integration with both commercial and open source tools, especially with recent versions.

  
  

  Latest / New Features

  Some of the latest enhancements in SmartDO include:

  • OpenXim: more integration with open-source CAD/CAE tools (FreeCAD, PrePoMax, CalculiX) so users are not locked to commercial toolchains. 

  • Improved multi-objective optimization: “synchronous advancing Pareto optimal” method to better improve all objectives together, rather than sacrificing one for another. 

  • More universal connections / external program linking features.

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  Use-Case Suitability & Considerations

  If you're considering using SmartDO, here are things to check:

  1. CA Example Support: What CAE tools you use now (ANSYS, Abaqus, OpenFOAM, etc.), and whether SmartLink supports them out-of-the-box. If not, whether writing custom links (via scripting) is feasible.

  2. Compute Resources: Do you have sufficient HPC or multi-core / cluster resources? Because optimization (especially with many variables/physics) can require many CAE runs.

  3. Model Quality: The better the CAE model (mesh, boundary conditions, etc.), the more reliable the results will be. Also, setting good constraints/objectives is crucial.

  4. Licensing & Cost: Proprietary tools often have recurring licensing or support costs; need to estimate TCO.

  5. Team Skillset: If you or your team are comfortable with scripting, handling multiphysics, etc., you can leverage more of the tool; otherwise, you may use it more in its GUI mode.