Let us look at the setup for the model. We have a series of periodic loads that are applied in real life over 24 hours. These loads vary in duration as well as temperature depending on the time at which the loading is applied, during that 24-hour window.

For example, the load is periodic and turns on and off at a set time of 101 seconds on, and 6 seconds off. The load is applied at the first hour at 450 degrees C. For the second hour 50 degrees C, and 650 degrees C and so on.

To create a manual time curve to define this series of events would be tedious. It is better to use the periodic application of the load and divide the overall 24 hours of real time run into multiple projects at given temperatures. We can divide the 24 hours into sections by transferring the boundary conditions as an initial condition in the subsequent run.

To apply the periodic load, go to your heat source (or given boundary condition) and choose dependency. Dependency allows the user to adjust the loading via a time, goal, or parameter dependency. In this case we will use time and add the time curve to reflect 101 seconds on and 6 seconds off. Choosing periodic repeats this cycle.

In this case the heat source is 50 degrees C for 1 hour. Doing the overall 24 hours in a set of stages per hour allows the user to vary the temperature and reuse the periodic loading. Run the first hour project to completion. Clone the project naming it per the second loading condition. Edit and adjust the heat source (or boundary condition you want to vary) and change it to the new temperature.

The next step is crucial to continue the run from the end of the first study. Edit the General Settings by right mouse button on the “Input Data” folder and choose General Settings.

Go to the “Initial and ambient conditions” section

At the pull down to the right of Parameter Definition choose “Transferred”

Browse to the previous study. And choose OK

This simple pull down allows the user to start the new subsequent study from the previous studies ending thermal, velocity, and pressure mapping. These two SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation options, Periodic loading, and Transferred Flow parameters allow a user to setup and run a long duration set of studies with varying inputs over time.

For more information reach out to your friendly CATI account manager. Check out the CATI YouTube page, and additional Simulation Blogs on the CATI blog.

Robert Warren
Simulation Specialist, Elite Application Engineer
Computer Aided Technology

First, a brief word about ideal and real gases.

Gases are a continuum of molecules that are constantly in motion, colliding with one another and the vessel they are contained in. This interaction and the resulting pressure within the contained gas is related to the amount of energy in the collection of molecules, which can be determined in one of two ways – treating them as either an ideal gas or a real gas.

Ideal Gas

As the name suggests, an ideal gas represents the behavior in a way that simplifies the calculation by considering the collisions as perfectly elastic with no intermolecular attractive forces.

The relationship between pressure (P), temperature (T) and volume (V) of the gas is characterized by the equation:

PV = nRT,

where “n” is the number of moles and “R” is the universal gas constant.

Real Gas

The calculation of real gases more accurately captures the performance of the molecular interaction by modifying the ideal gas law. There are several methods to do this. In SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation it is done by implementing the modified Redlich-Kwong equation of state. A description of this formulation can be found in the Flow Simulation help file by searching for “Real Gases”

Notice from the list of “Real Gases” below that there are multiple predefined materials that were also shown in the “Gases” category, plus multiple common refrigerants.

Let’s see the difference between the two property listings for methane. For ideal gases, the physical properties are explicitly defined. The “Table” designation indicates that the properties are temperature dependent. For real gases they are predicted through the state equation using the range of pressures and temperatures listed.

Real gas can change phase (liquid, vapor or supercritical) based on the temperature and pressure conditions. Vapor and supercritical phases are valid areas of inclusion in the Flow Simulation solution and are shown in the phase diagram below (copied from the help file.) Areas 10-12 indicate the valid areas (vapor or supercritical); if conditions fall outside these regions (areas 1-9) a warning is issued within the solver monitor window. In other words, the program can not directly represent liquid-vapor phase change, nor can it represent the gas at pressure and temperature conditions outside the min/max ranges.

During post-processing, you can check the expected phase of the material for the conditions in the simulation through a cut plot. When the plot parameter is set to “Real Gas State”, the color bar is replaced with a schematic phase diagram indicating the meaning of colors shown on the plot.

For more information on this important topic and a complete technical description of real gas behavior in SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation, please consult the help file on the subject of “real gases”. Using this set of materials in your projects, I think you’ll find an increased level of accuracy for certain problems that simulate industrial and chemical processes.

Kurt Kurtin
Sr. Product Manager, Simulation
Computer Aided Technology

“There’s a reason why there’s an eraser on a pencil.” That’s how Dan Saperstein, CATI’s senior vice president of business systems, describes the creative, iterative process of developing a product for the real world using simulation. In the early design stages, simulation allows companies greater leeway to experiment and innovate—to design with a pencil, rather than a pen.

“Companies traditionally brought products to market through physical testing,” says Dan. “They would physically design it, build it, break it, and redesign it until it was no longer broken.” It’s a process that is both time consuming and expensive, and is also limiting in the type of tests that can be performed and the data it is possible to collect from them. With simulation, the story is different. “We’re able to bring our customer’s process to market a lot faster, allowing for better quality and better innovation. Simulation is no longer a nicety in the marketplace—it’s a necessity.”

Joe Formicola, CATI’s vice president of CAE simulation solutions, concurs. “I see simulation becoming even more of an important tool for product development. It’s becoming increasingly available because of its ease of use on the 3DEXPERIENCE Platform and the connectedness to CAD, but also because of the computational capabilities that the cloud has allowed us to have.”

If the advantages that simulation brings to an engineering firm are hard to overstate, so too are the benefits that come from working with an experienced sim team.

This was the logic CATI followed in late 2020, when they acquired Caelynx, an Ann Arbor-based team of simulation consultants specializing in the Dassault Systèmes product line of simulation software, which also includes SOLIDWORKS. By bringing on a simulation team with decades of expertise in diverse fields, CATI could better support their own customer base of SOLIDWORKS users by helping them integrate their CAD workflows to a wider range of advanced simulation tools.

However, as Joe is quick to point out, an expert simulation team is an enhancement to a company’s internal team, not a replacement. “We want our customer’s expert engineers to have expert tools. But to create these types of easy-to-use workflows that connect to CAD and are very advanced, you need people with experience who have in-depth understanding of the physics solvers, of the CAD tools, and who are used to working with customers and helping them implement these tools.”

For as impressive as all that sounds, the depth and breadth of CATI’s new simulation team can best be demonstrated by introducing the individual members. If your company needs simulation support, these are the people ready to assist you.

Meet the CATI Sim Team Leaders.

That brings me to the topic of this blog, units of measure with SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation.  The default unit system for SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation is “SI”, or the International System of Units.  You will see this listed as “SI (m-kg-s)”, meaning meter-kilogram-second, each an easily recognizable base unit of measure.  While there are six different unit systems available in SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation, we can create our own custom unit systems.  Did you know it was also possible to create a custom unit of measure?  This is true of both base units and derived units.

One method to access unit systems in SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation is via the pull-down menu “Tools… Flow Simulation… Units”, as shown in Figure 1.  This will open the Unit System dialog window on your screen.

Alternately, you can access unit systems from the SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation Engineering Database (Figure 2), from either the pull-down menus or the SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation Command Manager tab.

If you are going to create a custom unit of measure, you will want to create your own customizable unit system.  Assuming you begin the process within the Engineering Database, expand the Units section, left-click on Pre-Defined, then right-click on any of the existing unit systems and select Copy.  Left-click on the User Defined folder to make it active, then right-click and select Paste.  The ready-to-modify unit system will appear on the right-hand side of the Engineering Database window.  Double-click on the copied unit system to access Item Properties.  The next step is to click on the existing unit system name and change it to something unique (Figure 3).  With all that clicking complete, now it is time to create custom units of measure.

For the first example, I want to change the base unit of physical time from seconds to equal one Day.  In the Unit column, left-click on Second [s] to access the pull-down arrow, and then select “Custom Unit…” from the list (Figure 4).

The Custom Unit creation dialog box will open.  The steps to create the new base unit are to type in the name, then enter both equations to convert from the SI unit system to your custom unit of measure, and vice versa.  In Figure 5, the conversion from “SI” time, measured in seconds, to the custom unit, a Day, multiply by 86,400 (seconds/Day).  Both formulas must be entered into the dialog box to successfully create a custom unit of measure.  In the example shown, {Unit} is one Day, the custom unit of measure I am trying to create, while {SI} is one second, the base unit of measure.

Once you click the OK button to accept the new custom unit of measure, the “1 SI unit equals to” column will show the conversion (Figure 6).

Another simple example is to create a new base unit of measure for pressure, the Kilopascal.  Pascal, Megapascal, and twenty-three other base units are included, but not Kilopascal (Figure 7).

Following the process previously described, creating a pressure base unit of Kilopascal requires two simple equations, shown in Figure 8.

Creating a custom unit of measure for a derived quantity, such as volume flow rate, follows the same process.  The default SI unit of measure for volume flow rate is meters cubed per second (m^3/s).  What if I want to create a highly unique, derived unit of measure for volume flow rate, the “Sverdrup-Jiffy”, the United States version and not the British version of a Jiffy?  A Sverdrup is an oceanographic unit of measure for ocean currents, equal to 1,000,000 m^3/s of fluid movement.  A Jiffy (U.S. version) is one sixtieth of a second.  Creating this custom derived unit in SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation requires the equations shown in Figure 9.

Honestly, I don’t know that I will ever need to present volume flow rate data in the facetious Sverdrup-Jiffy (U.S.), but I know how to create that derived unit in SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation, should the need arise.  While the list of available units is quite extensive, you might encounter an opportunity to create your own unusual unit of measure for a future project.  Hopefully the instructions within this article will help you on that path.  What custom unit system with unique units of measure will you create?  I would enjoy hearing about it!  Now go make your products better with SOLIDWORKS Simulation!

Bill Reuss
Product Specialist, Simulation
Father, Golf Junkie, Coffee Connoisseur, Computer Nerd
Computer Aided Technology

A common question that we get asked is “Does SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation use multi-core processing for its analyses?”. The answer is “Yes”, but I want to take a moment to dig into this topic further and provide more detail. Today I will be sharing information from a helpful document found in the SOLIDWORKS Knowledge Base, which all of you can access through your SOLIDWORKS Customer Portal Account. The Solution ID for the article is S-034487 and the title is “Usage of multiple cores and influence on meshing and solution time”. If you search using the solution ID provided you will find it.

Quick Note: SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation added multi-core support in 2009. This support was initially only for the solver portion of the analysis. In 2014, multi-core support was added for the meshing portion of the analysis. Hyper-Threading is only supported for the solver portion of the analysis. Now I know some of you are saying “What is the difference between Hyper-Threading and Multi-Core or Multiple Cores?”. I am glad that you asked! Multi-Core (or Multiple Cores) represent actual physical cores on the CPU (each core has separate physical space on the CPU). Hyper-Threading is a method of tricking the operating system into thinking that each physical core is actually two cores. These are considered “logical cores” and they share the same resources on the physical core. By the way, Hyper-Threading is just a marketing name from Intel. AMD (Advanced Micro Devices) also has similar technology. AMD’s is called Simultaneous Multi-threading (SMT).

Below is a visual breakdown of the areas that can take advantage of Hyper-Threading and Multi-core Processing.

Now let us learn more about how the software can take advantage of these technologies.

Influence of core count on meshing time

Below is a visual that shows which parts of the meshing process utilize Multi-core (Parallel Computing) and which do not (Single-Core, Single-Threaded).

Now let us look at a chart that shows how the number of cores affects the total meshing time (see image below). A single core will provide a mesh time represented as 100% and then all the other data points will be a percentage of that time. Also, note that the chart has two different lines for the two data sets. The data set shown in blue had an initial meshing time of over 2000 seconds. The data set shown in Orange had an initial meshing time of under 500 seconds. The Y-axis unit is a percentage of time, and the X-axis represents the number of cores. The values shown are approximate.

Influence of core count on solution time

Let us now look at how multi-core processing applies to solution time. While we do see improvement by adding cores, we do eventually see diminishing returns. The end results show that once we go past 8 cores, there is very little improvement to the solve time. One should understand that as we increase core count, we also increase the computational load required to manage the parallel computations, thus the diminishing returns. One should also note that SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation is an iterative solver (not explicit). This does mean that each iteration needs to be solved before the next iteration can be solved. The chart below shows the type of expected solution time percentages with respect to core count.

Now, this does not mean that having a 12 core or more CPU could not provide a benefit. You could have a 12 core CPU then allocate 8 cores for SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation and the other 4 cores for your other applications using processor affinity.

Tip: Communication between cores on the same CPU is faster than communication between cores on two different CPUs, e.g., a single CPU with 8 cores will be faster than two quad-core CPUs.

Notes:

• The data above was obtained using SW 2017 using various models. The tests included gas + liquid + heat transfer in solids, non-Newtonian flow, and rotating regions.
• The curve for the plot above will not be identical for all models, machines, and analyses. Certain types of studies (free surface, sliding mesh) may see different returns. This is a typical trend but there will be scatter on the exact performance results. You should not expect to see the exact same curve for your own tests.
• You do have the ability to select the number of cores that you want to use for your simulation. Open the Run dialog box and then select the number of cores from the Use CPU(s) list. Please be aware that the number of available cores is based on your operating system and may be different from the number of processors or physical cores on the computer.

Hyperthreading

The information that I am presenting in this article was last reviewed in 2017 and we have seen many changes and enhancements to hardware and software in that timeframe. With that being said, I have also seen differing test results when it comes to hyperthreading being turned on or off. Based on the mixed results I do not feel confident in giving a specific recommendation one way or the other. It appears to be better for some hardware sets than others. It is most likely a combination of hardware and software that makes one option better than the other. This is an area that we will revisit and update once we have more current data.

Solving Multiple Projects Simultaneously

SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation allows for up to 2 projects to be solved simultaneously. This can save time if set up properly, but it can cause slowdown if not. The total number of used processor cores should not exceed the number of physical cores on the CPU. Remember, hyperthreading makes it appear as though you have double the number of actual physical cores. So, if you want to maximize the performance for this method you will assign several of your CPUs to SOLIDWORKS and then the rest towards your other applications. If you want to guarantee that you are assigning your physical processors correctly you will want to turn off hyperthreading. This will be accomplished through your BIOS.

The method for assigning the CPUs (processors) is called Processor affinity. Open your Task Manager and go to the Details tab. Then scroll down under the Name column until you find SLDWORKS.exe. Highlight “SLDWORKS.exe” and RMB (Right Mouse Button click). Then select the option “Set affinity” from the popup menu. See the image below.

A new popup menu will appear named “Processor affinity”. You will now be able to choose which processors are assigned to the application. Boxes with the checkmark are the assigned CPUs. In this example, I set CPU 0 – CPU 5 for SOLIDWORKS. Then click “OK”. See the image below.

Now to assign the other CPUs for your other applications you will do the same process, except you will deselect SLDWORKS.exe from the list. Make sure to use the other CPUs, in this case, it would be CPU 6 – CPU 11.

One last item of note. Each physical CPU has internal cache that is shared with all of the CPU cores. This is the L3 cache. This cache is most effectively used when the process is run on the same physical CPU. If your computer has more than one physical CPU (not core) and the process is shared across these physical CPUs it will not run as efficiently. Image shown below for the basic architecture of a CPU.

I hope you have a better understanding of utilizing multi-core CPU processors with SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation. As hardware and software technologies are always in flux, we will do our best to keep this blog updated with any changes that occur in the future.

Till next time everyone!

James Reeher
Application Engineer
Computer Aided Technology

Well, the first thing to know is that you install all of these products through the SOLIDWORKS installation manager. To download the installation manager, you will need to click the SOLIDWORKS download link.

Next, run the installation manager and enter the serial number for your products.

If you have all your licenses set up to be renewed at the same time, you may have only one SOLIDWORKS serial number for all your assets. In this case, you only need to enter a serial number under the SOLIDWORKS serial number and not each individual product.

If you have separate individual seats of Composer, Plastics, Inspection, MBD, or Simulation that are not tied to your SOLIDWORKS seat, then you will have a separate serial number for each product.

Breaking Down The Additional SOLIDWORKS Add-Ins

Let’s break down each of the tools you might be working with. Then, I’ll show you the process to follow when you’re ready to install your additional SOLIDWORKS add-ins. First up, let’s dig into SOLIDWORKS Composer.

SOLIDWORKS Composer

Composer is a desktop content-creation system that enables the reuse of digital 3D data from CAD and other sources. Easy-to-use, Composer lets you quickly create assembly and disassembly procedures, technical illustrations, interactive 3D animations, training materials, marketing materials, sales tools, and more.

Composer Capabilities

Composer allows users in sales, marketing, customer service, training, support, and manufacturing to create associated 2D and 3D product deliverables directly from digital product data – without requiring CAD knowledge or CAD training.

SOLIDWORKS Composer has the following capabilities:

• Based on a lightweight, open, XML-based architecture.
• Creates 3D interactive documents such as interactive assembly and service procedures.
• Creates high-resolution raster images including BMP, JPG, PNG, and TIF files.
• Produces 2D line art as SVG and CGM files with automatic hidden line and construction line removal.
• Adds annotations, labels, dimensions, arrows, images, and cutting planes that can be used in any way and format the user wishes.
• Controls visual consistency of content using styles.
• Imports data from many 3D CAD systems and can be maintained in the file system or in any PLM system.
• Outputs industry-standard file formats, including PDF, HTML, AVI, and graphics formats like SVG and CGM.
• Document a product while it is incomplete, push updates to all deliverables quickly and the animation timeline easily.
• Uses occlusion detection to find internal, non-visible parts on a single view, all views, or
• Uses decimation to reduce the tessellation of selected parts to reduce the size of the .smg file.

What is the Composer Player/Player Pro

Composer Player includes:

• A standalone executable (.exe) file that does not require any installation or advanced operating system permissions.
• ActiveX control that you must register during the installation (advanced operating system permissions are required for the installation only).
  • Note: The Composer Player ActiveX plug-in requires Internet Explorer.

With a Composer Player Pro license, you get all the capabilities of the free Composer Player and the following additional premium features:

• The ability to save content that has been edited in the Player. (Saving content also requires the Save Right Manager right.)
• An advanced ActiveX API that enables enhanced integration and interaction in custom applications.

Composer Player and Composer Player Pro are the same executable file. A Composer Player Pro license is required to enable Pro features.

What is Composer Sync

Sync and Enterprise Sync batch convert 3D CAD files and other 3D formats into Composer formats. Sync and Enterprise Sync automatically incorporate design changes in geometry, metadata, and product structure directly into Composer content.

Both Sync and Enterprise Sync let you configure and perform conversions from the graphical user interface. Enterprise Sync also includes:

• A command-line interface that lets you integrate with other software, such as product lifecycle management (PLM) systems. For details about the command-line interface, see the Composer Programming Guide.
• The ability to run scheduled batch conversions.

SOLIDWORKS Plastics

SOLIDWORKS Plastics is a powerful injection molding simulation tool that helps you optimize the design and manufacturability of your plastic parts and injection molds. It is fully integrated with the SOLIDWORKS application.

SOLIDWORKS Plastics simulates the injection molding manufacturing process where melted plastic material (in the form of small pellets) flows under high pressure through a heated barrel and into a mold cavity. Once the plastic material cools down, it solidifies into the shape of the mold contour and conforms to the geometry of the desired part.

Plastics is not a standalone application, so you will need to install SOLIDWORKS as well. If your Plastics has the same serial number as SOLIDWORKS you will not need to fill in the SOLIDWORKS Plastics serial number.

SOLIDWORKS Inspection

SOLIDWORKS Inspection software automates the creation of ballooned inspection drawings and inspection sheets for First Article Inspection (FAI) and in-process inspections. Save time and virtually eliminate errors by speeding up this repetitive manual process.

SOLIDWORKS® Inspection helps you leverage your existing 2D legacy data, regardless of whether files are SOLIDWORKS, PDFs, or TIFFs.

Inspection can be installed as an add-in inside of SOLIDWORKS or as a standalone application. If you are installing it as an add-in you will need to install SOLIDWORKS as well. If your Inspection has the same serial number as SOLIDWORKS you do not need to fill in the SOLIDWORKS Inspection serial number.

SOLIDWORKS MBD (Model Based Definition)

SOLIDWORKS MBD (Model Based Definition) is an integrated drawingless manufacturing solution for SOLIDWORKS. MBD helps define, organize, and publish 3D Product Manufacturing Information (PMI) including 3D model data in industry-standard file formats. It guides the manufacturing process directly in 3D, which helps streamline production, cut cycle time, reduce errors, and support industry standards.

SOLIDWORKS MBD (Model Based Definition) lets you create models without the need for drawings giving you an integrated manufacturing solution for the SOLIDWORKS software. You can use SOLIDWORKS technologies such as annotation views, dynamic viewing of annotation planes, and 3D views to organize 3D PMI in a structured, easy-to-locate fashion.

Besides the native SOLIDWORKS file formats, SOLIDWORKS MBD creates output files such as 3D PDFs and eDrawings.

The SOLIDWORKS MBD add-in:

• Operates within the SOLIDWORKS environment with its own Command Manager.
• SOLIDWORKS MBD CommandManager for parts

SOLIDWORKS MBD Command Manager for assemblies

Like SOLIDWORKS Plastics, MBD is not a standalone application, so you will need to install SOLIDWORKS as well. As well, if your MBD has the same serial number as SOLIDWORKS you won’t need to fill in the SOLIDWORKS MBD serial number.

SOLIDWORKS Simulation

SOLIDWORKS® Simulation is a design analysis system fully integrated with SOLIDWORKS. This provides simulation solutions for linear and nonlinear static, frequency, buckling, thermal, fatigue, pressure vessel, drop test, linear and nonlinear dynamic, and optimization analyses.

Powered by fast and accurate solvers, SOLIDWORKS Simulation enables you to solve large problems intuitively while you design. SOLIDWORKS Simulation comes in three bundles: SOLIDWORKS Simulation Standard, SOLIDWORKS Simulation Professional, and SOLIDWORKS Simulation Premium to meet your analysis needs.

SOLIDWORKS Simulation shortens time to market by saving time and effort in searching for the optimum design.

Simulation is the same story that we’ve seen before. It is not a standalone application, so you will need to install SOLIDWORKS as well. You may have a separate serial number for SOLIDWORKS Simulation, in which case, you’ll enter that separately from CAD.

SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation

Flow Simulation is a software fully integrated with SOLIDWORKS for computing fluid (gas or liquid) flows inside and outside SOLIDWORKS models, as well as heat transfer to (from, between, in) these models due to convection, radiation, and conduction with a proved computational fluid dynamics (CFD) technology.

The outstanding feature of Flow Simulation is its intuitively clear and comfortable interface including a preprocessor for specifying data for the calculation (with Engineering Database on substances properties), a co-processor for monitoring and controlling the calculation, a postprocessor for viewing the obtained results, giving you more time to study the results and varying the calculations.

Designed by engineers for engineers, Flow Simulation is widely used in many industries and for various applications, where design optimization and performance analysis are extremely important, such as valves and regulators, hydraulic and pneumatic components, heat exchangers, automotive parts, electronics, and many others.

Once again, Flow Simulation is not a standalone application, so follow the same rules we’ve discussed previously.

SOLIDWORKS Motion

SOLIDWORKS Motion works inside the SOLIDWORKS window and uses existing assembly information to build motion simulation studies. By combining physics-based motion with assembly information, you can use SOLIDWORKS Motion for a broad span of industry applications like estimating peak motor torque, understanding robotics performance during operation, optimizing or minimizing the force imbalances in rotating systems, etc.

The Motion serial number could be separate from SOLIDWORKS but it is the same installation. As we’ve said for several previous applications, SOLIDWORKS Motion is not a separate tool.

How To Install Your Additional SOLIDWORKS Add-Ins

The installation process is pretty straightforward. First, launch the installation manager that you downloaded earlier. Once you get to the serial number screen, enter any serial numbers for additional products.

Now, SOLIDWORKS will validate the serial number. This can take a few seconds.

Next, you have the option if you want to upgrade a previous version of SOLIDWORKS or start fresh. You can have multiple versions installed, it just takes up more disk space.

On the Summary page, SOLIDWORKS displays all of the products that it’s adding to your installation. If the list doesn’t contain every additional SOLIDWORKS add-in you want to install, select Change under the Products header and add them from the list.

Finally, click the Install Now button.

As for the SOLIDWORKS Customer Experience Improvement Program, it is voluntary. That said, we strongly encourage participation. Participating will not slow down your system! SOLIDWORKS automatically creates the performance log files in the background whether you participate or not. So please make sure to opt in!! This program helps SOLIDWORKS improve product quality and determine product usage trends.

We hope this series has given you insight into how to successfully install SOLIDWORKS 2023.  Please check back to the CATI Blog as the Dedicated Support Team will continue posting new series of articles every month that go further into the details of many of the SOLIDWORKS tools.

Blaze Johnson
Support Engineer
Computer Aided Technology,LLC.

As I mentioned in the previous blog, several different types of goals can be created; Global, Point, Surface, Volume and Equation. Their use can help achieve an accurate and efficient solution.

Parametric Optimization Studies:

The parametric study functionality is a great feature in SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation. Access its interface by right-clicking on a project name. Then, select the mode you would like to use.

Parametric study modes:

The last two modes permit automated optimization of geometry or flow conditions to achieve a specific objective. I will now demonstrate the use of Goal Optimization to determine the optimum fin height of the heat sink shown below (currently at 2.5 inches) to ensure that a maximum allowable temperature is not exceeded. Two components (not included in the analysis) contact the inside surface of the heat sink with 10 Watt and 5 Watt heat generation rates. The one that contacts the sink on the rectangular face has a maximum allowable temperature of 75 degrees C.

A plot of surface temperature shows that for the original 2.5-inch fin height the allowable has been exceeded.

This is where the Goal Optimization routine can be used to determine how much taller the fins need to be.

• First, set up a surface goal to monitor the maximum temperature of the face of interest.

• Within the “Input Variables” tab select the dimension icon and pick the 2.5-inch dimension from the graphics area. The dimension name will be added to the parameter column as the input variable.
• Double-click “Range” under the “Variable Type” column and give it an acceptable range for the design, say 2.5 < 3.5 inches.

• Finally, switch to the “Criteria” tab, pick the “Add Goal” icon (the flag) and select the goal that was previously defined for the maximum temperature on the rectangular face. The target value is set to 75 degrees C, with a tolerance of 0.25 degrees C.

The optimization routine is started using the “Run” icon on the “Scenario” tab. In this example, the solution converged to the optimum fin height of 2.78 inches after four iterations. (Notice how the absolute value of the discrepancy decreases with each successive design point until it is below the criteria of 0.25 degrees C.)

I hope you agree that the use of goals in your SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation projects can help achieve an efficient and accurate solution. Parametric optimization is a powerful feature that should be used whenever you need to make important design decisions. Note that a thorough tutorial on the subject is available from within the program and accessed as shown below. Thanks for reading!

Kurt Kurtin
Sr. Product Manager, Simulation
Computer Aided Technology

New in SOLIDWORKS 2022, with an assembly opened in LDR mode you can now select an open mode (resolved, lightweight, or large design review) when opening a subassembly.

The mode is selectable from a drop-down list on the open icon when right-clicking on a subassembly.

This is a very useful method to directly select an open mode for a subassembly while in LDR mode of the top-level assembly without having to use File – Open and browse for the file to access the mode options.

One thing to note is that if the higher-level assembly is opened Resolved or Lightweight, the subassembly mode options are not available. I think this would be a great enhancement for a future release to be able to select the subassembly open mode regardless of how the higher-level assembly was opened.

I hope this part of the What’s New series gives you a better understanding of the new features and functions of SOLIDWORKS 2022. Please check back to the CATI Blog as the CATI Application Engineers will continue to break down many of the new items in SOLIDWORKS 2022. All these articles will be stored in the category of “SOLIDWORKS What’s New.”

Brian Morris
Senior Application Engineer
Computer Aided Technology

DESIGN INNOVATION MONTH 2021 – Webinars, Virtual Showroom, Contests
Design Innovation Month is CATI’s massive “What’s New in 2022” event for SOLIDWORKS, 3DEXPERIENCE, and 3D printing & 3D scanning technology.  That’s six weeks of live and on-demand webinars, demonstrations, in-depth blog posts, and prizes!  Best of all, it’s free of charge!  Check the DI Month Hub for all the details and to sign up for your next event. 

For this example, we will see how the BOM tables can be displayed for this fixture table design.

Here is closeup of the Cut List portion of the Feature Manager of this Fixture Table part file.

One of the new enhancements is how the Bill Of Materials items are shown with icons that are consistent with this Cut List that we see in the part file’s Feature Manager Tree. Here is a comparison of the Bill Of Materials display from 2021, to our newly enhanced SOLIDWORKS 2022.

This little icon enhancement in SOLIDWORKS 2022 makes it easy to identify if the item is a weldment or sheetmetal body.

Oftentimes, we have weldments as part of our larger assemblies. SOLIDWORKS 2022 includes additional enhancements for our Bill Of Materials display in this situation. We can select a new option, “Dissolve Part Level Rows” in our BOM options. This will automatically remove the rows of our tables that contain parts that are comprised of Weldments or Sheetmetal components.

Here is the “Dissolve Part Level Rows” setting in action. If the SOLIDWORKS Assembly contains part files comprised of either Weldments or Sheetmetal bodies, this information can be displayed in indented items. These highlighted components, in this Bill Of Materials, are either sheetmetal or weldments.

With the “Dissolve Part Level Rows” setting enabled in SOLIDWORKS 2022,these part name/number rows are hidden.

This functionality gives us additional flexibility for listing the required items to build or manufacture our design. This saves us additional steps of hiding items and allows us to easily display a table that is more of a hybrid of a Bill Of Materials and a Cut-List table.

I hope this part of the What’s New series gives you a better understanding of the new features and functions of SOLIDWORKS 2022. Please check back to the CATI Blog as the CATI Application Engineers will continue to break down many of the new items in SOLIDWORKS 2022. All these articles will be stored in the category of “SOLIDWORKS What’s New.”

Greg Buter
Application Engineer Manager
Computer Aided Technology

DESIGN INNOVATION MONTH 2021 – Webinars, Virtual Showroom, Contests
Design Innovation Month is CATI’s massive “What’s New in 2022” event for SOLIDWORKS, 3DEXPERIENCE, and 3D printing & 3D scanning technology.  That’s six weeks of live and on-demand webinars, demonstrations, in-depth blog posts, and prizes!  Best of all, it’s free of charge!  Check the DI Month Hub for all the details and to sign up for your next event. 

Change 1: Equation Goal Plot Update

SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation has had a handy feature called equation goals, which allow the user to utilize input goals or mathematical functions to create advanced goals that are not included in the predefined goal parameters. This feature is something I utilize all the time to create drag coefficients! In prior versions the equation goal always had to be created before the flow simulation analysis was solved. However, in SOLIDWORKS 2022 the equation goal can now be created after the analysis has been run.

SOLIDWORKS 2022 Equation Goal Change

The process to create an equation goal after an analysis has been run is to first right click on goals and select equation goal. I then type in whatever equation goal I want, and then name my equation goal as “Post Results”. After doing this is I go to goal plots in the post processor, and I see the new equation goal I have created: “Post Results”. All of this was done without having to re-solve the flow simulation project!

Change 2: Transient Explorer Flux Plot

The flux plot is a very useful thermal plot that can illustrate what heat fluxes are across a model, presented in a nice flow chart. In SOLIDWORKS 2022, this feature has been updated to allow for easier functionality; transient thermal flux plots can now be adjusted utilizing the transient explorer. Through use of the transient explorer, users can adjust the transient explorer slider bar and see what specific heat fluxes are at any specific time. For further reference on the transient explorer check out this blog.

SOLIDWORKS 2022 Transient Explorer Flux Plot Capability

Change 3: Crop Surface Parameter Plot

SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation has a handy post processing tool called the Surface Parameter plot. This plot allows users to display specific fluid parameters by clicking on a specified surface or plane. In previous versions of SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation, the surface selected could not be adjusted dimensionally. However, with SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation 2022, users can now crop specified surface or planar selections to obtain a specific parameter. The first step to do this, is to open the surface parameter dialogue and specify the face you wish to monitor; in this case I am clicking on the interior surface of this pipe, which has water flowing through it. I want to look at the pressure on the wall, so I select the pressure parameter.

SOLIDWORKS 2022 Surface Parameter Selection

Upon selecting the interior cylinder face, I now have the option in SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation 2022 to crop this region to not include the entire surface. The crop feature allows users to either type in specific coordinate values, or adjust the crop region by clicking on the arrows in the graphical interface. In our case, I want to select about half of the face and adjust my crop region to reflect this. After finalizing the crop region feature, I can click show, and the surface parameter pressure value will reflect this cropped region.

SOLIDWORKS 2022 Surface Parameter Results

Change 4: Copy Probes

The last change I am going to detail is the change to the probe interface. Probes in SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation allow users to identify individual fluid parameter values by mouse click. For instance, in the study I have run below, I have probed the velocity at three distinct points.

SOLIDWORKS 2022 Probed Velocity Points

In prior versions of SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation if you created probes, they would only apply to the study you created. However, in SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation 2022, if you clone a study, existing probes will be brought to the new study. All you have to do is clone the study, rerun it and then display probes and the existing probes from your first study will be available. In my case, I ran another study where I changed the boundary conditions, and I wanted to see the effect on velocity on my probed points. Not having to create the probes again saves time and makes iterating even easier with SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation.

SOLIDWORKS 2022 Cloned Study Probed Velocity Points

I hope this part of the What’s New series gives you a better understanding of the new features and functions of SOLIDWORKS 2022. Please check back to the CATI Blog as the CATI Application Engineers will continue to break down many of the new items in SOLIDWORKS 2022. All these articles will be stored in the category of “SOLIDWORKS What’s New.”

Drew Buchanan
Sr. Application Engineer Specialist, Simulation
Computer Aided Technology

What is Design Innovation Month?

DESIGN INNOVATION MONTH 2021 – Live Events, Webinars, Virtual Showroom, Contests
Design Innovation Month is CATI’s massive “What’s New in 2022” event for SOLIDWORKS, 3DEXPERIENCE, and 3D printing & 3D scanning technology.  That’s six weeks of in-person events, live and on-demand webinars, demonstrations, in-depth blog posts, and prizes!  Best of all, it’s free of charge!  Check the DI Month Hub for all the details and to sign up for your nearest live event.