Simulation, Design & Process Optimisation — Karlsruhe

Engineering
Analysis
& Simulation.

Most of my work starts the same way: understanding the structure behind a problem — the load paths in a component, the dependencies in a production line, the architecture of an organisation — before a single model gets built. Simulation and structural optimisation, using Abaqus, nonlinear FEM, and explicit methods, are how that understanding becomes a verified fix — whether that means redesigning a component or optimising the process around it.

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Research Background
Nonlinear FEM & Structural Optimisation
Postgraduate research in Italy and Germany · Metal foam lightweight structures
Core Toolchain
LS-DYNA · Abaqus · ANSYS OptiSlang
Python · MATLAB · CAD
Academic Qualification
M.Sc. Mechanical Engineering (ongoing)
B.Eng. · Member, Royal Aeronautical Society · e-fellows.net Scholar
Industry Experience
Engineering at a Premium OEM
Explicit FEM in a vehicle safety development environment · LS-DYNA
Leadership
President, 70+ Member Student Consultancy
Strategic turnaround & organisational leadership · Karlsruhe
Good engineering starts with understanding the problem before the model.

Most simulation work stops where the software stops. The model runs, the results look plausible, the report gets written. But plausible isn't correct — and fast isn't thorough.

Every engagement follows the same discipline, regardless of scale: understand the reality in full, build the smallest model that answers the actual question, and validate against reality at every step — not as an afterthought, but as part of the method.

01 — Understand
Structure the problem
More time understanding the problem than solving it. A model is only as good as the physics — or the logic — behind it.
02 — Reduce
Find the core of truth
Every analysis has a root cause. The job is to isolate it and remove everything that isn't load-bearing to the answer.
03 — Validate
Close the loop
Every time — not as an extra step. Validation against reality is part of the method, not a check performed after it.
Services

What I Deliver

Engineering analysis identifies what's actually wrong, and what fixing it is worth. The services below build and verify the fix.

01
Engineering Analysis

Structuring a complex technical or operational problem before anyone builds a solution to it — mapping the underlying dependencies in a mechanical system, a production process, or an organisation, isolating the actual root cause, and assessing what fixing it is worth. The starting point for engagements where the real problem isn't yet clearly defined.

Root-Cause Analysis Dependency Mapping Process Modelling Process Optimisation Systems Thinking
By Scope
per engagement
02
Structural Optimisation

Topology optimisation, parameter variation, and sensitivity analysis for structurally critical components, using Abaqus and ANSYS OptiSlang. Lightweight potential is quantified and documented. Applicable to automotive, aerospace, and medical device contexts. This is the area of deepest methodological expertise — results delivered at research and industry standard alike.

Abaqus ANSYS OptiSlang Topology Optimisation Lightweight Design Sensitivity Analysis
€ 4,000–10,000
per project
03
FEM Validation & Nonlinear Analysis

Validation of existing finite element models, development of custom material models, nonlinear structural analysis, and MATLAB-based analytical support. Differentiated by research-level understanding of nonlinear FEM formulations — not merely software operation, but the underlying mechanics. Ideal for clients who need theoretical rigour, not just results.

Implicit FEM Nonlinear Mechanics Material Models MATLAB Model Validation
€ 3,000–8,000
per project
04
Explicit Simulation Study

Full scenario modelling, simulation, post-processing, and optimisation recommendations for explicit FEM problems using LS-DYNA. Typical applications include crash and impact analysis, drop tests, forming and stamping processes, high-velocity contact, and blast or impulse loading. Methodology follows the standards applied in premium industrial development environments. Typical duration: 2–6 weeks.

LS-DYNA Explicit FEM Crash & Impact Drop Testing Forming & Stamping Blast & Impulse
€ 6,000–15,000
per project
05 — Add-on
Python Simulation Pipelines

Automated workflows for parameter studies, Abaqus scripting, result evaluation, and report generation. Reduces manual simulation effort significantly and makes parametric studies reproducible and scalable. Can be booked as a standalone project or as an add-on to any structural optimisation or FEM study — often the natural next step once a workflow is established.

Python Abaqus Scripting Parametric Studies Workflow Automation Report Generation
€ 2,500–6,000
per project
Selected Work

Recent Engagements

Featured — Process Optimisation
Tracing a Production Bottleneck to Its Root Cause
A production line was losing meaningful, unquantified output to recurring stoppages, and no one had traced the losses back to a cause. Using fault-log data and state-based process modelling (Petri nets and Markov chains), I mapped the underlying dependencies across the line, isolated the specific design-level flaws responsible for the majority of the losses, and translated the finding into a prioritised, realistic fix. Client and operational specifics remain confidential.
~€500k
Savings Identified / yr
Petri Nets
Root-Cause Method
Prioritised
Fix Delivered
Root-Cause Analysis Petri-Net & Markov Chain Modelling Process Optimisation
Structural Optimisation
Bolt Thread Load Redistribution
FEM-based sensitivity analysis and parametric optimisation of thread geometry for a standard M20 bolted connection, where roughly half the total load concentrated on the first two threads — a known fatigue failure mode. A 200-sample Latin Hypercube study identified a geometry redistributing load uniformly across all ten threads.
77%↓
Peak Stress
~18×
Fatigue Life
~8×
Lifetime Cost
ANSYS OptiSlang FEM Sensitivity Analysis
Production Quality — Manufacturing Client
Structuring a Multi-Layered Quality Problem
A production-quality issue that looked like a single defect turned out to be three coupled problems: a material-behaviour prediction problem, a downstream sorting-logic problem, and the algorithm connecting them. Rather than solving each in isolation, all three were run through the same structuring pipeline — model the reality, formalise it mathematically, implement it as a simulation, then validate and verify the target state closes the loop. Research and conceptual architecture delivered; client and specifics remain confidential.
Problem Structuring Simulation Concept Production Quality
Technical Expertise

Tools & Rates

Primary Capabilities
LS-DYNA
Explicit FEM for high-velocity and transient problems: crash, impact, drop tests, forming, stamping, and blast loading. Applied commercially in a vehicle safety development environment at OEM level.
Abaqus + Python
Implicit FEM for quasi-static and dynamic structural problems. Python scripting for automated, reproducible simulation pipelines.
Nonlinear FEM
Self-derived and validated nonlinear finite element formulations from postgraduate research. Theoretical understanding beyond standard tool use.
Supporting Tools
ANSYS OptiSlang
Stochastic analysis, robustness evaluation, and parametric optimisation. Paired with Abaqus for end-to-end optimisation workflows.
MATLAB
Numerical modelling, signal processing, and analytical derivations. Basis for current work on optimal control of mechanical systems.
Indicative Rates
Structural Optimisation (Abaqus)
€ 85–110 /h
Nonlinear FEM & Validation
€ 90–115 /h
Explicit Simulation (LS-DYNA)
€ 95–120 /h
Python Automation & Pipelines
€ 75–95 /h
CAD / Design Support
€ 55–70 /h
Simon P. Scheid
About
Simon P. Scheid
Simulation & Structural Analysis Engineer
M.Sc. Mechanical Engineering (ongoing) · B.Eng. · Karlsruhe, Germany

What connects my work is less a single tool and more a habit: treat every problem — a bolted joint, a production line, a 70-person organisation — as something to be structured before it's solved.

I started Scheid Engineering Services to make high-quality simulation work directly accessible to the companies that need it — with the methods and standards of large development environments, and without the overhead that usually comes with them.

Alongside SES, I lead a 70+ member student consultancy as President — diagnosing a structural decline in the organisation's core consulting business and building the strategic and operational systems needed to reverse it.

My background spans three distinct areas of finite element simulation: explicit FEM applied commercially in a vehicle safety development environment, implicit structural optimisation developed through applied research at KIT, and analytically derived nonlinear FEM formulations from a DAAD-funded research stay in Italy. That combination — industrial practice, applied research, and theoretical rigour — rarely exists in a single profile.

I hold a B.Eng. in Mechanical Engineering from a dual study programme combining academic education with four years of applied industrial engineering. I am currently completing an M.Sc. at KIT, with soon a thesis on optimal control of underactuated discrete systems.

Member, Royal Aeronautical Society · Member, VDI · e-fellows.net Scholar.

DE — Germany
Applied Research
M.Sc. Mechanical Engineering · Structural optimisation · Metal foam lightweight
IT — Italy
Postgraduate Research
Nonlinear FEM formulation & experimental validation · Erasmus exchange
UK — England
Engineering Studies
Automotive engineering programme · Industry-adjacent context
2025 –
Research Assistant, Institute of Engineering Mechanics
Automated simulation routines · Python & Abaqus · Material characterisation & validation
2024 –
Scheid Engineering Services
Founder & Independent Simulation Engineer
2024 –
M.Sc. Mechanical Engineering — KIT
Focus: Theoretical Mechanical Engineering · Structural optimisation · Optimal control (thesis)
2024–25
Vehicle Safety Engineering, Premium Automotive OEM
Structural validation & occupant protection · Numerical validation of complex systems · LS-DYNA
2024
Postgraduate Research Exchange, Italy
Nonlinear FEM formulation & algorithmic validation · DAAD stipend
2023
Visiting Student, England
Mechanical Engineering · Automotive-adjacent academic environment
2019–24
B.Eng. Mechanical Engineering — Dual Study Programme
Focus: Design & Development · Industrial engineering training · International project experience · Thesis identified ~€500k p.a. in savings potential for an automated production line, using Petri-net and Markov-chain failure modelling
2026 –
Student Consulting Organisation — President
Elected chairman of a ~70-member consultancy · Leading a structural turnaround of the core consulting business, acquisition strategy, organisational restructuring
2025–26
Student Consulting Organisation — Deputy Chairman
Strategic management · AI strategy lead · ~70 members
Contact

Start a Project

The clearest starting point is a brief technical description of the problem — geometry, boundary conditions, loads, and what you need to understand from the simulation. A short conversation is usually enough to scope a project and agree on a timeline.

I typically respond within one business day. For time-sensitive requests, a phone call is faster.

Based in Karlsruhe, Germany. Available for remote and on-site engagements across the DACH region.

Email
contact@scheid-engineering.de
Phone
+49 156 79 647 032
Based
Karlsruhe, Germany
Available
Remote & On-site, DACH Region