Faster Structural Analysis

SimSolid enables engineers to quickly simulate and assess how their designs will perform across various real-world conditions, all without the need for time-consuming geometry simplification or meshing. This revolutionary approach streamlines the design validation process, making it possible to analyze large and complex assemblies directly from CAD.

Below, you’ll find examples showcasing SimSolid in action, applied to a variety of challenging engineering scenarios:

• Design study of a complex heat exchanger.
• Analysis of a drone frame.
• Meshless structural analysis for AEC.
• Wind energy company maximizing sustainability through simulation.
• Design development of mechanical equipment.
• Rear bumper analysis of a pickup truck.

What makes SimSolid different from traditional FEA tools?  

Implementation of analysis in the design process means that analysis results are used to make design decisions. It is, therefore, important that analysis tools provide results with predictable accuracy. Analysis results validation is a complex problem because all numerical methods are approximate and there can be many sources of errors including the major ones: modeling errors and approximation errors.

SimSolid eliminates major sources of errors associated with conventional FEA. It also introduces a new approach to adaptive solution refinement based on exact measures of error on the surface of a structure.

Outperforming Competitors with Accurate Results Up to 25X Faster

The meshless approach eliminates time-consuming meshing, enabling faster simulations, particularly for complex assemblies. Unlike traditional tools, which often require geometry simplification, SimSolid handles complex assemblies directly without loss of accuracy. 

All the traditional complexities of geometry simplification and meshing are not present in SimSolid. The true geometry is processed directly. Assemblies can have parts with different scales (big/small or thick/thin). Connections between parts are more straightforward to apply. The time required to set up the simulation model is dramatically shorter and the reduction in the required process steps means there is much less possibility of user error.

Adaptive refinement is always activated during the solution process. Simple controls are available to increase the relative number of equations or to adjust the number of adaptive solution passes performed. This can be done on both a global (all parts) or part local basis. The degree of solution completeness can be easily managed by the user at a high level without the need to create and closely manage complex meshing patterns.

Are there any limitations of SimSolid?
SimSolid does not currently offer advanced multiphysics or detailed modeling to the extent that Altair HyperWorks, ANSYS, Abaqus, or COMSOL do. 

It is less suited for detailed simulations involving complex physics, such as fluid-structure interaction, thermal-electromagnetic coupling, or high-strain-rate phenomena. 

The SimSolid technology approximates the solution domain using complicated polynomial and non-polynomial functions. It
is an alternative to conventional FEA, where the approximations are built from primitive interpolation polynomials confined
to finite elements of generic shapes like brick, tetrahedral, and wedge.

Classes of applicable functions are significantly extended to accommodate solution-specific functions that, a priori, meet certain solution features, such as incompressibility conditions, equilibrium equations, and asymptotic analyses around special geometric features.

The accommodation of smart basis functions was made possible due to breakthrough extensions to the mathematical theory of external approximations, which decouples the basis functions from the underlying geometric shapes. The final functions are built on the fly from generic sets during the solution sequence. Generic sets are always complete, and their approximation properties are preserved in all transformations.

This property of the basis functions enables the development of adaptivity strategies that can refine the generic sets in local regions as required to increase solution accuracy. In SimSolid, an extension of the fundamental concepts of numerical methods consists of the redefinition of the basic ideas of degrees of freedom (DOF). SimSolid does not use the pointwise DOF inherent in traditional FEA. The SimSolid DOF are functionals with geometric support in the form of volumes, areas, line clouds, and point clouds. This provides the ability to handle geometric imperfections as well as assembly contact imperfections, like gaps, penetrations, and ragged contact areas.

SimSolid provides integration to the SolidWorks, Fusion 360 and Onshape CAD systems as well as direct file access to all popular CAD formats. For SolidWorks, Onshape and Fusion 360, any part material properties in the CAD system will be automatically imported and applied.

SimSolid also provides the ability to import 3D solids parts and assemblies from CAD files directly without requiring assistance from the CAD application. Table 1 lists the file formats that are supported in SimSolid.

SimSolid comes in different flavors and we offer different licensing models in order to suit your organizations specific needs and usage patterns for simulation software.

As part of the onboarding process, training and support are provided to ensure your team can use SimSolid effectively from day one. This includes instructor-led training sessions, eLearning, access to user guides, and ongoing support to help you get the most out of the software.

Contact us for detailed pricing information.