Our solutions for CAE offer analysts the ability to automatically and interactively repair, heal and transform CAD geometries prior to analysis. ITI comprehensive data exchange solutions ensure that solid or surface models are robustly translated effectively into target systems. Our data exchange technology offers a full range of import and export functionality for pre-processing CAD data from native and neutral formats. For more details on CADfix for Geometric Data Exchange including a complete list of supported geometry formats, please see the CADfix Product Page. For an understanding of scenarios where CADfix for Geometric Data Exchange is most useful, please the CADfix Solution Page.

Accelerating the CAD to CAE Process

CAE analysts have more extensive requirements to ensure that the geometric data is ideally suited for their specialist applications and these requirements go beyond the basic data exchange process. The CAE user is constantly faced with CAD model issues that cause meshing failures and have a significant negative impact on analysis lead times including:

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  Geometry features such as overly complex, badly defined and corrupt geometry
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  CAD model features such as fillets, small holes, short edges, small faces and other modeling artifacts that are valid in CAD but severely impact and constrain
• meshability

ITI TranscenData's out-of-the-box solutions can be customized for different CAD sources and CAE packages. Our software enables analysts preparing CAD data for finite element analysis to perform a myriad of functions, including:

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  Collapsing of short edges and sliver faces
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  Hole and protrusion removal
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  Joining of faces and edges
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  Fillet and round removal
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  Feature detection and removal
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  Surface and solid splitting tools
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  Surface and solids meshing

CADfix supports custom exports, both geometry and mesh, for multiple CAE systems, including:

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  ANSYS
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  NASTRAN
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  ABAQUS
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  CD-Adapco
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  Grip-Pro
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  FEMSYS

Master Model driven FEA, CFD, EM Solutions

With ever shortening product design cycles, the emphasis on simulation tools to provide timely results to drive the design is greater then ever. This pressure dictates FEA, CFD and EM analysis being driven off the master model CAD data. CAD provides the geometry but a great deal of analysis time is still spent working with the geometry to prepare it for analysis.

Some possible reason for lack of interoperability between CAD and CAE include:

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  Unstitched solids
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  Invalid geometry representation or math forms
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  Surface normal inconsistency
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  Complex un-needed features
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  Sliver faces, tiny edges, small diameter holes

These and many more are possible reasons for a large delay in establishing a suitable mesh, applying boundary conditions and getting results.

CADfix for Geometric Exchange is uniquely positioned in the CAD to CAE data flow with it's ability to read and write multiple geometric formats, repair and heal poor quality geometry and de-feature and simplify complex geometric definition. In the end, CAE analysts are starting with much more robust geometric definitions for their analytical needs.

Summary

This "CAD Data Reuse for CAE" solution focused on the ability of CADfix to provide superior CAD geometry conditioning and preparation for downstream CAE analysts. The focal point with this solution is the geometry, and enhancements made to this geometry. The goal is to create CAD models robust enough for CAE analysts to use the tool of their choice for CAE Pre-Post processing.