altair inspire 2019 · 2020. 3. 26. · inspire now includes an additive manufacturing solution...

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Altair Inspire 2019.4 Inspire 2019.4 includes the following new features and enhancements for structures, motion, and 3D printing.

New Features: Inspire

Toolbelts

Inspire now has four toolbelts to help you quickly access the tools you need for geometry, structures, motion, and PolyNURBS. You can use the toolbelts with the default configuration of tools, or you can customize the toolbelts by adding and removing tools.

To open a toolbelt, hold down both the appropriate shortcut keys and the right mouse button to access the quick menu (the tools on the circular ring). Then drag through a tool with the right mouse button to select it. To access the full toolbelt, hold down the appropriate shortcut keys as you right-click, then left-click a tool to select it.

• Alt: Geometry toolbelt • Shift + Alt: Structures toolbelt • Ctrl + Alt: Motion toolbelt • Ctrl + Alt + Shift: PolyNURBS toolbelt


All of the toolbelts are fully customizable. Simply right-click while the toolbelt is open and select Configure Toolbelt from the context menu. You can change the position of the tools on the toolbelt by dragging and dropping them to your desired location. You can also drag and drop tools from the ribbon to add them to the toolbelt, or drag them to the trash to delete them.

Click Export to save the toolbelt as an .xml file that can be shared. Click Import to load a previously saved toolbelt.

Shortcuts Keys for Quick Analysis and the Force Explorer

You can now use function keys to quickly run a structural analysis (F8) or motion analysis (F9) using the current run settings, or to open the Force Explorer (F10). The shortcut keys behave like a toggle, so you can use them to start/stop a run or to show/hide the Force Explorer.


Download Offline Help You can now download and install an offline help package from within the product by selecting File >

Help > Download Offline Help.

Select where to download and install the help and for which language. Note that most languages are

generally not available until after the release. Enable the Always use offline help option if you prefer

to use offline rather than online help on a regular basis.

You can switch between online and offline help in the Preferences under Workspace > Help.


New Features: Structures

SimSolid Analysis You can now use SimSolid as your solver when running a structural analysis in Inspire. This gives you

the ability to edit geometry, which was not possible in the stand-alone version of SimSolid, as well as

yielding significantly faster results when running an analysis in Inspire. Linear static and normal

modes analyses are supported when using the SimSolid solver, as well as all boundary conditions and

results visualizations. SimSolid extends Inspire’s solver capacity and makes it much faster to analyze

large assemblies and complex parts.

You can choose whether to use SimSolid or OptiStruct as the solver in the Preferences under Inspire >

Run Options > Analysis solver. The parameters in the Run Analysis window change based on which

solver is selected:

Run Analysis with SimSolid Solver Run Analysis with OptiStruct Solver

Note that the SimSolid solver is currently based on SimSolid version 2019.5.

When to Use SimSolid vs. OptiStruct The SimSolid and OptiStruct solvers both have unique capabilities and are best used in different

situations. The SimSolid solver is only valid for analysis and cannot be used for optimization.


When to Use the SimSolid Solver When to Use the OptiStruct Solver

• Design analysis focus • Linear statics • Modal vibration • Rapid re-analysis of geometry changes • Complex parts • Large assemblies • Solids only

• Design optimization focus • Single parts • Small assemblies • Surface and solid models • Mesh based • Motion analysis

Changes to Contacts for SimSolid Analysis

Note that contacts are defined differently depending on which solver you use. With the OptiStruct

solver, contacts are defined between parts; with SimSolid, they are defined between faces, which

may result in a greater number of contacts. If you switch between solvers, you will need to open the

Contacts tool, click Find, and then redefine contacts using the appropriate method.

You can find and review any disconnected groups of parts using the new Disconnected Groups tool

on the Contacts icon.

Changes to Supports for SimSolid Analysis

When using the SimSolid solver, there are additional options for Fixed, Sliding, and Hinged in the

Support tool microdialog. Fixed and sliding options can be applied to holes or surfaces, while the

hinged option can only be applied to holes.


Limitations for SimSolid Analysis

Inspire users should be aware of the following limitations when running a SimSolid analysis vs. an

OptiStruct analysis:

• Run Part Analysis on the Motion ribbon is not supported

• Multiple boundary conditions (loads, supports, displacements, etc.) can’t be placed on the

same feature in the same load case

• Boundary conditions can’t be placed on imprinted points

• Supports at a point must be fixed so that there is no translation or rotation in any direction

• Joints, screws, and spot welds are not supported

• Fastener pretension and stiffness attributes are not supported

• User-defined systems are not supported

• All runs are local sequential

• There is no run history

• Remote loads do not animate with the results

• Reaction forces cannot be extracted

• Undo does not work on deleted results

Cylindrical Coordinate Systems

You can now create cylindrical coordinate systems from the Systems tool microdialog.

Displacement Component Results in Local Systems

Displacement components can now be reviewed in local systems using the Animation toolbar.

Pressure Mapping

It is now possible to apply a non-uniform distributed pressure using an option in the Pressure tool’s microdialog.


Selecting the Non-Uniform Pressure option opens the Pressure Mapping table, where you can enter the position and magnitude of your pressure data. You can also import this data in .csv format.

Click the Contour button on the table to visualize the contours.


Additional Changes and Enhancements for Structures

• Model Configuration: The Model Configuration toolbar (F5) has been enhanced so that you can update configurations on the fly, as well as rename and delete configurations.

• Remote Job Submission: Now you will only be asked to verify your credentials the first time you log in to the remote job server.

New Features: Motion

Plot Manager for Motion

A new Plot Manager is now available, which makes it easy for you to manually browse and plot motion results data, create cross plots (i.e., data vs. data), define pages in different layouts, and save the plots you've defined as a template for reuse.

The Plot Manager can be opened by clicking the Display the Plot Manager icon on the motion animation toolbar.

Analytical Motion Contacts for Box Primitives

If motion contact sets contain parts that are detected as box primitives, the solution between the box and other analytical shapes (sphere, cylinder, and frustum) will now be analytical rather than mesh-


based. Using geometric primitives in these cases generally improves the efficiency of the solution. The following table shows when an analytical vs. mesh-based solution is used:

When using the analytical method, each of the contacting geometries is represented by an analytical expression, whereas with the mesh method both geometries are tessellated. Semi indicates that one of the geometries is represented analytically, while the other is tessellated.

Force Computation Option for Motion Contacts

Motion contacts now have a Force Computed At option available from the guide bar options menu, microdialog, table, and property editor. The new Nodes option can be used to obtain more accurate contact normals for mesh-based contacts in certain applications, such as a sliding contact between a flat region on one part and a curved region on another. You may also find that it works more robustly in sharp corner/edge type situations or where large part penetrations may have been seen in the past with the Element Center option.

Motion contacts guide bar Motion contacts microdialog

Plots of Jerk and Angular Jerk Jerk and Angular Jerk plot components are now available in the plot context menu for actuator and motor, respectively. They can be used to measure the derivative of acceleration during transient motion analysis.


Export Data at Output Steps Only

When exporting CSV files from a model that includes motion contacts, there is now an additional option in the context menu that allows you to export only the output steps.


Write a .h3d Output File from MotionSolve

You now have the option to select Generate Animation File in the Advanced section of the Run Motion Analysis window. When enabled, MotionSolve will write a run.h3d file to the run history folder at the end of a successful motion analysis. This file can be used to play back the animation in HyperWorks (via HyperView) or using the stand-alone HyperView Player. The Exclude contact data setting is useful for reducing the overall size of the H3D file when your model has motion contacts, while the default setting (None) prevents the .h3d file from being written for motion analysis.

Additional Changes and Enhancements for Motion

• Interactive Callout Plots: Motion callout plots have been enhanced to be more interactive. They now have behaviors similar to pop-out plots where you can drag the vertical time slider, zoom and pan the plot, interrogate values by hovering over a curve, and hide curves by clicking on the legend.

• Improved Counter and Tour Mode: The counter and tour mode for the Joints tool have been enhanced so that the features work intelligently depending on whether you are creating or editing a joint. For example, the counter in the ribbon now shows either the number of joints to be created or a count of existing joints currently visible in the model. Likewise, the joints tour mode now lets you step through either the detected features or through existing joints by clicking on the next and previous arrows. This improvement has also been implemented for other motion tools that have a guide bar and counter.

• MDL Export Improvements: The graphics associated with parts in rigid groups are now consolidated under a GraphicSystem. With this change of hierarchy, models having large numbers of parts become easier to manage. Additionally, we have made changes that reduce the overall number of points and markers that are created for parts.


New Features: Print3D

Inspire now includes an additive manufacturing solution that was released in version 2019.3.1. Using the tools on the Print3D tab, you can prepare a part for printing, orient it to the print bed, generate print supports, and export a file containing the prepared part and supports for 3D printing. You can also run a simulation of the 3D printing process and analyze the print part for displacement, von Mises stress, temperature, nodal temperature, and plastic strain.

The following enhancements have been added for the Inspire Print3D 2019.4 release:

• The new Min Undercut tool orients the part to minimize the supports needed for 3D printing. It analyzes possible orientations and selects the one that minimizes the total area of the undercut surfaces.

Resolved Issues for Print3D

The following issues were resolved in the Inspire Print3D 2019.4 release:

• Fixed an issue where rotating or orienting a part in order to prepare it for 3D printing caused the part to be in the wrong orientation with respect to the assembly. Now assemblies used in Structures and Motion will not be impacted by operations required to set up parts for 3D printing, and you can switch seamlessly between Print3D and the other tabs on the ribbon.

altair inspire 2019 · 2020. 3. 26. · inspire now includes an additive manufacturing solution...

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