24/12/2011

CAD Import

COMSOL Multiphysics 4.0 Product Line

COMSOL MULTIPHYSICS

AC/DC
MODULE

STRUCTURAL
MECHANICS MODULE

CHEMICAL
ENGINEERING
MODULE

LIVELINK FOR
SOLIDW ORKS

ACOUSTICS
MODULE

BATTERIES & FUEL

CELLS M ODULE (4.0A)

LIVELINK FOR
AUTODESK
INVENTOR

RF
MODULE

FILE IMPORT
FOR CATIA
V5

MEMS
MODULE

HEAT TRANSFER
MODULE

EARTH SCIENCE
MODULE

PLASMA
MODULE (BETA)

CFD
MODULE (BETA)

REACTION
ENGINEERING
MODULE

OPTIMIZATION
MODULE

MATERIAL
LIBRARY

LIVELINK FOR
PRO/ENGINEER

CAD IMPORT
MODULE

LIVELINK FOR
MATLAB

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Kernels or Geometry Engines

COMSOL Geometry Kernel

Parasolid

ACIS

Unigraphics NX, SolidWorks, SolidEdge,

Alibre Design, MicroStation, IronCAD

Granite

Shape Manager

Pro/Engineer
Autodesk Inventor, developed from ACIS

Catia V5
Catia V4

Faceted CAD Data

Formats: STL and VRML

Main purpose: visualization

no real CAD data

Geometrically only
approximation

No topological information
has to be calculated by COMSOL
at import

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Trimmed Surface Data

Formats: IGES and VDA-FS

Main purpose: CAD exchange

in the early days
can not represent features of
modern geometry kernels

Accurate geometric description

No topological or connectivity
information
has to be calculated by COMSOL
at import

Boundary Representation (B-rep) Data

Formats: Parasolid, SAT,

STEP, and other kernel
formats

Main purpose: modern CAD

exchange
same representation as
modern geometry kernels

Accurate geometric
description

Topological and connectivity

information

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File Import: Supported Formats

Format

Extension

Version

Parasolid

.x_t, .x_b

up to V22

SAT (ACIS)

.sat, .sab

up to R20

STEP

.step, .stp

AP203, AP214

IGES

.igs, .iges

up to 5.3

Autodesk Inventor part

.ipt

6 11, 2008 2010

Autodesk Inventor
assembly

.iam

11, 2008 2010

Pro/ENGINEER

.prt, .asm

16 to Wildfire 4.0

SolidWorks

.sldprt, .sldasm

98-2009

CATIA V5*

.CATPart, .CATProduct

R6 to R19

* Needs license for File Import for CATIA V5

LiveLink for CAD products

Available for Pro/ENGINEER , SolidWorks and Autodesk

Inventor
In addition to 3D CAD file import includes a bidirectional interface
Supported packages:
Autodesk Inventor 2010, 2011
Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire 4.0, Wildfire 5.0
SolidWorks 2009, 2010

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LiveLink for CAD Products: Functionality and

Benefits

A bidirectional interface
Associative geometry transfer
Parameter update in CAD file with automatic model regeneration
Automated parameter studies

Tools for traditional CAD import

File import of both standard and propriatery 3D CAD file formats
Interactive and automatic repair and defeaturing
COMSOL
Multiphysics

Geometry
Updated geometry

Parameters

CAD program
assembly or part

Assemblies

Continue modeling by:

Form a union

Form an assembly
with Imprints

without imprints

Greater freedom in meshing

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CAD Representations

COMSOL Multiphysics lets you choose between two different

representations of a solid CAD model:
Form Union (default setting)
Form an Assembly

A union object is a single object consisting of multiple subdomains

The geometry, mesh, and physics are automatically glued together at internal
boundary interfaces.

An assembly consists of disjoint composite geometry objects

The geometry, mesh, and physics needs to be manually joined at internal
boundary interfaces.

Pros and Cons

Composite geometry pros:

Automatic continuity in physics at material discontinuities
Automatic high accuracy solution across material interfaces
Automatic conforming mesh elements and nodes at material interfaces

Composite geometry cons:

Finer mesh more memory consuming
Meshing of large CAD models more difficult

Assembly pros:
Define (intentional) physics discontinuities at material interfaces, such as
contact resistance
Easier meshing of large CAD models
Coarser mesh quicker (but less accurate) results

Assembly cons:
Requires more manual interaction
Could require more attention to mesh density at boundaries to ensure highenough accuracy

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Importing CAD Files

Import Procedure

Choose file

Click Import

Continue with meshing and modeling

as usual

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Automatic Repair During Import

Removing short edges, small faces, sliver faces

Healing gaps
Removing self-intersections, spikes and discontinuities
Correcting invalid topology
Absolute import tolerance 10-5 m
Example: spike
C3

C3
C5

C4

C6
C1

C4
C2

Remove C5, C6
Modify C1 or C4

C1

C2

Defeaturing tools

After the import you can

interactively search for and
remove

Fillets
Small faces
Sliver faces
Spikes
Short edges

Advanced defeaturing
allows removal of selected
details

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Tips and Tricks CAD Import and Mesh

CAD design for FEA

During export of CAD files:

Avoid older file formats like IGES.
Check and set the export tolerance in the CAD software, if possible.
Import back your file into the CAD program.

During import into COMSOL Multiphysics:

For large assemblies test import and meshing of individual parts.
Use meshing as a tool for locating problem regions.

General tips:
Start with a simple geometry, add more features later.
If decomposition of the assembly fails:
Check for proper alignment of parts
Use assembly mode instead

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Hands-on Exercise

Import of 3D CAD file of engine

piston:

Compare 3D CAD models suitable for

Finite Element Analysis (FEA) versus
design.

Import of an IGES file:

Use repair functionality to create a

solid.

Hands-on Exercise

Import of 3D CAD file of engine

piston assembly:

Test available methods to prepare 3D

CAD assemblies for FEA.

10

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Hands-on Exercise

Assembly with gaps and

dimensional discrepancies
between parts:

Learn how to diagnose problem

regions by meshing.
Learn how to remove features with the
advanced defeaturing tools.

CAD Import

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