All engineering simulation starts with geometry to represent the design, be it a solid component for a structural analysis or the air volume for a fluid or electromagnetic study. The engineer either has geometry that has been produced in a computer-aided design (CAD) system or builds the geometry from scratch. ANSYS DesignModeler software is the gateway to geometry handling for an ANSYS analysis.
CAD models are often designed for manufacturing use and not for simulation. Using CAD models results in a complex geometry that includes details not needed for simulation, such as logos and other small features. Simulating such a fully detailed model will increase solver run times. It can be more efficient to spend a short time removing these details to reduce the total run time by hours or days. ANSYS DesignModeler features that reduce model complexity include:
- Fillet removal
- Symmetry division
- Fluid domain extraction
- Small surface detection and removal
- Cavity fill
- Geometry repair
ANSYS DesignModeler software has connections to all major CAD systems, allowing seamless transfer of existing data including parameters. For example, if your CAD model has a parameter that defines the wall thickness of a part, this can be exposed in ANSYS DesignModeler. You can then adjust the parameter and update the design. Any feature removal or simplification is maintained. This results in rapid turnaround of any design changes and updates.
ANSYS DesignModeler technology also provides powerful tools for construction of geometry from the ground up. Using familiar solid modeling operations, a complex model can be produced. Built on the Parasolids kernel which means the geometry engine is robust and conforms to industry standards. 2-D sketches can be extruded into 3-D solids and then modified with Boolean operations. A construction history is recorded during the creation of the geometry, allowing the user to make changes and then update the design.
Whether importing an existing CAD model or building your own, the ANSYS DesignModeler product is fully parametric. Combine this with parametric meshing and parametric solver setup within the ANSYS Workbench platform and you can use the same geometry for multiple design variations.
» Geometry Integration and Modeling Solutions (PDF)
» What's New in ANSYS
» ANSYS Capabilities Chart (PDF)
Detail Geometry Creation
DesignModeler offers geometry creation features like extrude, revolve, sweep, chamfer functions and others to create fully parametric models. These models can be used with any ANSYS core simulation product or with products like ANSYS DesignXplorer for performing design optimization.
CAD Geometry Modification
CAD models are usually intended to accurately represent the exact intent of the the final design and often lack additional features required for simulation. DesignModeler provides these unique simulation features like splitting surfaces for applying loads, defining welds or creating regions around models that represent “air.”
CAD models may also contain much more detail than the simulation process requires or the detail may not be in the right form. DesignModeler enables tasks like CAD feature deletion, surface extraction from a solid body, suppressing parts and merging parts into one body.
Concept Model Creation
Concept models are used in a product development process prior to any detailed CAD geometry being created. These design approximations, along with simulation results, are extremely useful in making product decisions early in the design cycle when product costs can be impacted significantly. DesignModeler has tools for creating these models quickly and then, with ANSYS simulation tools, easily predicting how the proposed design will perform.
Geometry Exchange
DesignModeler can read geometry from any Workbench-supported CAD system. Those parametrically supported CAD systems will also be parametrically associative in DesignModeler. In addition to importing data, DesignModeler can also export data as Parasolid, IGES and the ANSYS ANF geometry format.
Click on link for pdfs