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lathropdad
02-13-2019, 08:57 AM
Does the Simulation Add In package work with the EAA version of Solidworks?

Jeffrey Meyer
02-14-2019, 11:22 AM
I seriously doubt it:(

Cory Puuri
02-19-2019, 09:35 AM
We only have access to the Express version of simulation with Standard.

lathropdad
02-19-2019, 12:05 PM
We only have access to the Express version of simulation with Standard.

How does that differ from the simulation that comes with the standard version of SW? Will it do a analysis of a solid part or a weldment?

Jeffrey Meyer
02-19-2019, 02:32 PM
You have very little control over the mesh and/or the solve and/or display of results, to the point where, IMHO, the tool is practically useless.

lathropdad
02-19-2019, 07:21 PM
You have very little control over the mesh and/or the solve and/or display of results, to the point where, IMHO, the tool is practically useless.

Thanks for the information. I was asked about simulation feature in the EAA Solid Works version. I happen to have a subscription to SW premium and I did not know what the differences were between what I have and what I could get as a EAA member. This answers my question.

Cory Puuri
02-26-2019, 02:33 PM
Here is an article that compares the two:
https://blogs.solidworks.com/tech/2017/09/solidworks-simulation-vs-simulationxpress.html

gsmoore50
04-09-2019, 01:04 PM
This post has been progressively edited. To read it in order, start at the bottom.

Last edit:

For those that are interested in the SimulationXpress capabilities (or lack thereof), the main thing I was looking for for my analysis was to be able to exploit the symmetry in the object I was trying to analyze; a flanged drum holding plastic rope for a winch to launch sailplanes that employs a number of stiffening fins. The number of fins (on the order of 18), sets the number of periodic sections for exploiting this symmetry. The rope wrapping on the drum induces high crushing pressures on the core and flanges that can collapse/potato chip the drum if the design not sufficiently strong. By using FEA, I was hoping to minimize the drum mass and angular inertia while still being sufficiently strong to withstand this pressure To exploit this symmetry in FEA, you need to employ what are called roller fixtures/constraints on the cut periodic section edges. Unfortunately, SimulationXpress only allows fixed geometry constraints. The only option I would have with SimulationXpress would be to analyze the entire drum. By exploiting the circularly periodic structure and the left-right symmetries of the drum the computations would have been on the order of a factor of 36 (18x2) smaller if I could exploit these symmetries. Not only would the analysis times be much much greater, but the amount of memory required to analyze the entire drum may not be within that available on my workstation. Unfortunately, SimulationXpress is extremely limited for doing anything more than the simplest stress analysis.


First Edit:

Ignore the below. I finally found where SimulationXpress is accessed. It is under the Evaluate tab. If there is any information regarding EAA members getting more access to the more complete Simulation tools that would be of most interest.

Initial Post:

I just downloaded the 2019 version and SimulationXpress does not seem to be available. I went to the tools-options-Xpress Products tab and all that is shown is DriveWorksXpress. I worked several years ago (at work before retirement) with the full simulation package but am rusty now. I wanted to see if the Xpress version would be capable enough for the stress analysis that I am planning to do. I can convert my object to a single part but not fully sure what amount of constraints control I will have. (I have a circularly periodic structure that I want to analyze one repetition of the periodic structure to maximize analysis speed. I could do this easily with the full Simulation package.) Any help would be most appreciated.

Cory Puuri
04-10-2019, 01:39 PM
You can order the Simulation add-in but I got a quote for about $12k if memory serves me.

gsmoore50
04-10-2019, 03:54 PM
Thanks. A bit steep. I may have a friend that can get me access to a professional version and that would certainly be worth pursuing.

gsmoore50
04-08-2020, 01:18 PM
I am using the newly available (Since Summer, 2019) Simulation tools for stress analysis. It is a godsend for my project. I would like to use the sensors feature to track stresses in key locations in the design. The Sensors tab in the FeatureManager only has a couple of mass and CG related choices available. When I selectthe probe function, where I normally would select the sensors I wanted to observe, the sensors choice is grayed out. Does anyone know why this is not available? Is this not provided in the Student Version?