In Brookings, South Dakota, a town of about 19,000 people, big things are happening; things that touch millions of people in nearly 100 countries, from Liechtenstein to China to Brunei.

Brookings is the home of Daktronics, one of the world’s largest suppliers of electronic scoreboards, computer-programmable displays, digital billboards, and large-screen video displays and control systems.

Out of its 500,000 square-foot manufacturing and office facilities come the displays that show sports fans scores and video replays, advertise new offerings for all types of businesses, tout the stars appearing in Vegas nightspots, and help drivers navigate highway systems. In the case of the new Grand Lisboa Hotel and Casino 

in Macau, China, a Daktronics display is a spectacular calling card that heralds the excitement to be found inside (visit YouTube and type in “grand lisboa” to see a video of the display).

Daktronics products require integration of complex multiple displays showing real-time information, graphics, animation, and video. They have to be built to withstand all types of weather, to dissipate heat generated by light-emitting diodes (LEDs), and look good even when directly opposite an unforgiving sun.

The tool that helps Daktronics analyze these complex factors early in the design process is CFdesign upfront CFD software from Blue Ridge Numerics (Charlottesville, VA ). Over the course of three years, CFdesign software has become an integral part of Daktronics’ product development workflow, giving the company a picture of how designs will perform before major commitments of time and resources are made.

“We use CFdesign in order to thoroughly understand complex electronics cooling situations and make comparisons among different designs before we start to build,” says Shannon Mutschelknaus, thermal product development engineer at Daktronics.

A typical project at Daktronics starts with a Pro/ENGINEER model of the display. Native geometry

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