File Import and Export
LiveLink™ for Solid Edge® also provides the file handling capabilities available in the CAD Import Module, including options for file import, and export. Both imported and synchronized CAD designs are handled in COMSOL Multiphysics using the Parasolid® geometry kernel that permits downstream modifications to the geometry, including Boolean geometry operations and partitioning to create additional domains for simulation, for example for fluid flow applications.
File import capabilities offer complementing functionality to the concurrent use of Solid Edge and COMSOL Multiphysics for geometry synchronization. COMSOL model geometries can be created by importing a CAD design from a range of platforms and file formats. 3D CAD file formats that are supported for import into COMSOL Multiphysics include the widely supported IGES, ACIS®, Parasolid®, and STEP, in addition to the Inventor®, SOLIDWORKS®, PTC® Creo® Parametric™, and PTC®Pro/ENGINEER® formats. Support for the CATIA® V5 file format is also available as a separate add-on module. The LiveLink™ products provide support for file export in the ACIS and Parasolid formats so you can readily share your updated designs with your colleagues.
Geometry Refinement for Precise and Efficient Simulations
When you first import a CAD file into COMSOL Multiphysics, any anomalies in the geometrical description of the design are automatically detected and corrected by the repair functionality. CAD designs also often contain many small geometrical features that are either part of the design or are inadvertently introduced during the design process. While small fillets are important for the fabrication of a part, they can ultimately make simulations less efficient and not necessarily contribute to the accuracy of the results. LiveLink™ for Solid Edge® includes tools to refine your COMSOL model geometry prior to simulation so that you can choose which details to include for simulation. Geometry defeaturing capabilities are provided with LiveLink™ for Solid Edge® that can automatically identify slivers, small edges, faces, or fillets. You can then decide whether to remove these features in Solid Edge or in COMSOL Multiphysics.
Another method you can use to prepare your CAD designs for simulation is to create a virtual geometry. Virtual geometry operations in COMSOL Multiphysics enable you to select specific features in a COMSOL model geometry that you do not want to include in your simulation studies. This technique does not modify the geometry, just hides the selected details before meshing, and it is an excellent way to exclude fine geometry details that typically require complex meshes and long computation times. An added benefit of this method is that the surface curvature of your design is preserved resulting in simulations with even greater precision when needed.
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