This is Engineering Paper, and here’s the latest news in design and simulation software.
Simulation developer Nullspace has launched the latest release of its electromagnetic simulation suite. The company says it will significantly speed up RF simulation times and simplify CAD cleanup with new AI tools.
Nullspace EM, a solver for RF product design, now offers Fast Adaptive Frequency Sweeps (FAFS), a feature that will automatically determine frequency sample points from a given range. Nullspace says that FAFS, along with the company’s proprietary matrix compression algorithm, can provide “100x simulation speed-ups for applications such as wideband antenna on-body analysis, phased array performance, and other real-world RF system applications.”
Nullspace Prep, the company’s CAD and meshing pre-processor, now uses AI to automatically clean up CAD files. It will remove features that slow down simulation without impacting RF performance, a process that otherwise requires tedious back-and-forth between mechanical designers and RF engineers, according to Nullspace.
Finally, the new release adds a Passive Circuit Loads feature to Nullspace EM that will allow engineers to add electrically small impedance loads to models. Nullspace says this will allow users to simulate a wider variety of large-scale phased arrays.
“Engineers can now analyze antenna terminations and tunable lumped circuit loads when designing advanced applications such as tunable leaky wave antennas and meta-surfaces,” Nullspace’s announcement reads. “This feature allows for rapid optimization of impedance matching and analysis of system-level performance to improve accuracy and speed.”
Additive defense update
Engineering.com senior editor of additive manufacturing, Ian Wright, rounds up the latest 3D printing news every now and again. The latest one goes over recent developments in AM for defense.
“If you’re looking for signs of continued expansion in additive manufacturing (AM), the defense industry is always a safe bet. The usefulness of 3D printing technology in aerospace is well known, but beyond drones and fighter jets, applications on land and at sea are emerging rapidly as well,” Wright writes.
Read Additive defense update: 6K Additive, TEKNA, and Velo3D for more info.
Quick hits
- Siemens has acquired Aster Technologies, a French developer of printed circuit board assembly test verification and engineering software. The acquisition will see Aster’s design for test tools integrated into Siemens’ Xpedition and Valor software portfolios, according to Siemens.
- Synopsys CEO Sassine Ghazi posted a 2026 letter to stakeholders in which he says, not for the first time, that Synopsys is “re-engineering engineering” thanks to AI. Among other accomplishments, Ghazi highlighted Synopsys’ $35 billion acquisition of Ansys in 2025. Also, Synopsys turns 40 this year—congrats.
- 3D scanning companies Faro and Creaform, both business units of Ametek, have merged into a new entity called Faro Creaform. That entity will only include Faro’s 3D measurement business segment. Ametek announced that Faro’s reality capture business segment will now be known as Faro Insight.
One last link
Are you worried about space debris imprisoning you, plus the rest of humanity, on planet Earth? Read about a new solution in Defending against Kessler Syndrome with Space Armor, another piece from Engineering.com senior editor Ian Wright.
Got news, tips, comments, or complaints? Send them my way: malba@wtwhmedia.com.