What is Upfront CFD?

Upfront means to place at the beginning.
CFdesign is Upfront CFD. Built from the ground up for non-specialist engineers, the software enables trade-off studies at the beginning -- during the conceptual design phase -- of the project.

Flow and thermal simulation tools are integrated within the familiar MCAD process. Native 3D model associativity makes it an excellent solution for undergrad engineering students who want hands-on experience with a full spectrum of design and analysis solutions before graduation.

CFD should be a tool not a career
Expensive. Time-consuming. Difficult. Frustrating. Impossible. These are words we often hear from students and faculty when describing their experience with traditional, finite volume, grid-based CFD applications.

CFdesign makes CFD an engineering tool instead of a career. The software features behind-the-scenes, intelligent algorithms to automate the set-up, meshing, and solution process so that engineering students can fully concentrate on exercising their emerging knowledge of fluid and thermal dynamics within the context of real world product development.

The CFdesign Academic Instruction Program provides a budget-friendly simulation platform where rigorous design studies can be completed as a complement to existing courses without actually becoming a course.

Continuously improved since 1992, CFdesign is the only fluid flow and heat transfer solution built on a comprehensive and scalable architecture that empowers engineering students to independently address even the most challenging projects.

Technical Overview

Fluid Flow Capabilities

Heat Transfer Capabilities

Electronics Design Capabilities

Motion Capabilities

Company Information

The Blue Ridge Numerics Story In 1992, Ed Williams and Dr. Rita Schnipke founded Blue Ridge Numerics with a clean piece of paper, a start-up budget and a lot of passion. From day one the mission was clear: deliver fluid flow and heat transfer simulation tools that re both affordable and practical for mainstream product development groups. Today, Blue Ridge Numerics is the Upfront CFD market leader. Our CFdesign® Upfront CFD software turns a standard MCAD workstation into a fully interactive flow bench, wind tunnel, and thermal test rig. Native MCAD models become zero-cost prototypes for small, medium, and large companies. Most important, CFdesign opens a window to product performance not possible with physical tests. Our customers report an average 65% reduction in project expense while gaining competitive advantage with knowledge that leads to improved quality and innovation. Our rapidly growing global customer list includes leaders in aerospace, appliances, automotive, electronics, food & drug, HVAC, material processing, medical, military & defense, plumbing, and power generation. Blue Ridge Numerics is the fastest growing CFD company in the world and consistently listed among America’s fastest growing companies. The CFdesign Academic Instruction Program was developed around the needs and requirements expressed by faculty involved primarily with the education of undergraduate mechanical, thermal, and mechatronic design engineers. The program provides engineering students with the access to CFdesign for effective, hands-on instruction of fluid flow and heat transfer topics within the existing mechanical design courses and MCAD labs.