SOLIDWORKS Simulation 2018
A Power Guide for Beginners and Intermediate Users
The premium provider of learning products and solutions
www.cadartifex.com
SOLIDWORKS Simulation 2018: A Power Guide for Beginners and Intermediate Users
Published by
CADArtifex
www.cadartifex.com
Copyright 2017 CADArtifex
This textbook is copyrighted and CADArtifex reserves all rights. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted, transcribed, stored in a retrieval system or translated into any language, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise without the prior written permission of the Publisher.
NOTICE TO THE READER
The publisher and the author make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this work/text and specifically disclaim all warranties, including without limitation warranties of fitness for a particular purpose. Publisher does not guarantee any of the products described in the text or perform any independent analysis in connection with any of the product information contained in the text. No warranty may be created or extended by sales or promotional materials. This work is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional services. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for damages arising herefrom. Further, readers should be aware that Internet Websites listed in this work may have changed or disappeared between when this work was written and when it is read.
Examination Copies
Textbooks received as examination copies in any form such as paperback and eBook are for review only and may not be made available for the use of the student. These files may not be transferred to any other party. Resale of examination copies is prohibited.
Electronic Files
The electronic file/eBook in any form of this textbook is licensed to the original user only and may not be transferred to any other party.
Disclaimer
The author has made sincere efforts to ensure the accuracy of the material described herein, however the author makes no warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the quality, correctness, accuracy, or freedom from error of this document or the products it describes.
www.cadartifex.com
Dedication
First and foremost, I would like to thank my parents for being a great support throughout my career and while writing this book.
Heartfelt thanks goes to my wife and my sisters for their patience and support in taking this challenge, and letting me spare time for it.
I would also like to acknowledge the efforts of the employees at CADArtifex for their dedication in editing the content of this textbook.
Table of Contents
Preface
SOLIDWORKS Simulation, a product of Dassault Systemes SOLIDWORKS Corp., which is one of the biggest technology providers to engineering software solutions that lets you create, simulate, publish, and manage the data. By providing advanced analysis techniques, SOLIDWORKS Simulation helps engineers to optimize performance of products and allows them to cut prototyping cost, create better and safer products, and save time as well as the development costs.
SOLIDWORKS Simulation is a Finite Element Analysis tool which enables critical engineering decisions to be made earlier in the design process. With this software, engineers have the tools to easily study the initial design and predict the performance of the complete digital prototype. The automatic meshing tools of this software generate mesh with high-quality elements on the first pass. SOLIDWORKS Simulation makes it possible to quickly validate design concepts before resources are invested in significant design changes or new products.
SOLIDWORKS Simulation 2018: A Power Guide for Beginners and Intermediate Users textbook is designed for instructor-led courses as well as for self-paced learning. It is intended to help engineers and designers interested in learning SOLIDWORKS Simulation for performing various types of finite element analysis (FEA). This textbook is a great help for new SOLIDWORKS Simulation users and a great teaching aid in a classroom training too. This textbook consists of 10 chapters, total 392 pages covering various types of analysis: Linear Static analysis, Buckling analysis, Fatigue analysis, Frequency analysis, Drop Test analysis, and Non-linear Static analysis.
This textbook covers important concepts and methods used in finite element analysis (FEA) such as Preparing Geometry, Boundary Conditions (load and fixture), Element Types, Contacts, Connectors, Meshing, Mesh Controls, Mesh Check (Aspect Ratio check and Jacobian check), Adaptive Meshing (H-Adaptive and P-Adaptive), Iterative Methods (Newton-Raphson Scheme and Modified Newton-Raphson Scheme), Incremental Methods (Force, Displacement, or Arc Length), and so on. This textbook not only focuses on the usages of the tools of SOLIDWORKS Simulation but also on the fundamentals of Finite Element Analysis (FEA) through various real-world case studies. The case studies used in this textbook allow users to solve various real-world engineering problems by using SOLIDWORKS Simulation step-by-step. Also, the Hands-on test drives are given at the end of chapters that allow users to experience themselves the ease-of-use and powerful capabilities of SOLIDWORKS Simulation.
Every chapter begins with learning objectives related to the topics covered in that chapter. Moreover, every chapter ends with a summary which lists the topics learned in that chapter followed by questions to assess the knowledge.
Who Should Read This Textbook
This textbook is written with a wide range of SOLIDWORKS Simulation users in mind, varying from beginners to advanced users and SOLIDWORKS Simulation instructors. The easy-to-follow chapters of this textbook allow you to easily understand concepts of Finite Element Analysis (FEA), SOLIDWORKS Simulation tools, and various types of analysis through case studies.
What Is Covered in This Textbook
SOLIDWORKS Simulation 2018: A Power Guide for Beginners and Intermediate Users textbook is designed to help you learn everything you need to know to start using SOLIDWORKS Simulation 2018 with easy to understand, step-by-step case studies. This textbook covers the following:
Chapter 1 , Introduction to FEA and SOLIDWORKS Simulation , discusses introduction to SOLIDWORKS Simulation, various types of analysis, introduction to finite element analysis (FEA), and different phases of finite element analysis (FEA): Pre-processing, Solution, and Post-processing. Also, it introduces various terms and definitions used in finite element analysis (FEA). This chapter also discusses different types of elements, the application areas of FEA, system requirements for installing SOLIDWORKS Simulation, and SOLIDWORKS interface. Besides, this chapter discusses how to invoke different SOLIDWORKS documents and how to start with SOLIDWORKS Simulation.
Chapter 2 , Introduction to Analysis Tools and Static Analysis , introduces various assumptions for considering the linear static analysis problem and how to start with it in SOLIDWORKS Simulation. This chapter also introduces how to define the analysis unit and material properties for geometry. It also discusses about adding a new material and customizing the material properties. Besides, it introduces boundary conditions (fixtures and loads) and meshing geometry.
