Update Geometry - swapping SolidWorks files
 

Hi,

I need some help with a very annoying problem. I want to run a series of simulations on the same object with minor variations. So I modeled my object in SolidWorks, imported it into CFX using an IGS file and meshed it using CFX Mesh.

Now if I swap geometries - the second geometry is only one mm off in one dimension with an object length of about 3 m - CFX Mesh cannot use the mesh created previously. It just confronts me with a new instance of CFX Mesh having lost everz Region, all virtual topology, spacing adjustments, etc.

Is there any way to avoid this? I would really, really hate to do the same adjustments over and over again.

I hope there is some solution to this prob... thanks for your replies in advance.

Cheers

did you try to create some Name Selections in DesignModeller? I suspect that mesher can't find the same naming pattern it used previously.

Firstly I recommend you use parasolid to import stuff from Solidworks. It is much more accurate and robust compared to IGES.

I don't know of any way to do what you are asking. The surfaces are renumbered when the model topology changes and WB has no way to know what surfaces to apply BCs to when they are renumbered. Named selections, as suggested by sanchezz may help but if the topology changes you will still need to fix it up.

If somebody knows a way of getting around this I would like to hear it! Is there a way you can name a surface on a body in SW which WB recognises?

Hi!

I'll use parasolid in the future if that's better. Thanks for the hint.

I am really new to CFX and today I tried to do some variations of my original model. I really don't get what steps in CFX I have to redo over and over again and where I can just use the old settings with the new model.

Once I have the new (slightly different) mesh, can I at least reuse pre & post processing again? If yes, how??
I think it worked once today in prepocessing, but I have no clue how I did it and in post I had to recreate all the planes and vectors and plots again :(

Thanks for the help, guys!

The features will still exist in WB, you just will need to set it to the correct surfaces again. You don't have to start from scratch.

As long as you maintain feature names you should be able to reuse pre and post.

I might have an idea for this problem - but will this work?

So far I modeled the whole air volume in SW. What if I just imported my model (a car) into CFX and used Boolean operation to remove it from an open space volume generated in CFX? I thought that since I created the volume in CFX, the names would just stick and I could just swap the substraction geometry. Will this work?

Why don't you try it and tell us if it worked.

Nope, doesn't work :(