Project Arro for Simulation Mechanical/CFD/Moldflow is an Invitation Only Technology Preview. This not our normal public technology preview because the simulation team is interested in working exclusively with existing Autodesk Simulation users. Project Arro is designed to enable Autodesk Simulation Mechanical, Autodesk Simulation CFD, and Autodesk Simulation Moldflow users to rapidly simplify and prepare CAD for simulation. Project Arro reads in native CAD geometry and neutral files, allows you to modify them with many built in direct modeling tools, and then writes out simulation-ready CAD files that can be more easily and efficiently meshed.

The project gets its name from the capabilities being previewed:

• A = Analyze geometry

  • Check model integrity (slivers, problematic edges, overlapping faces, interferences, etc)
  • Detect and categorize features (holes, fillets, chamfers, embossed or raised features, etc)

• R = Repair problems

  • Option to "auto-heal" identified issues based on a given tolerance or criteria
  • Split faces or stitch surfaces

• R = Remove unnecessary features

  • Rapid selection and defeaturing without affecting source CAD
  • Associative simplifications (future)

• O = Optimize designs

  • Directly edit geometry with simple push/pull/modify commands to explore ‘what if’ scenarios
  • Create alternatives that can be quickly and easily simulated using associative updates

The other day the team supplied me with a new build to post to the Autodesk Labs project. Senior Software Quality Assurance Engineer, Hugh Henderson, also shared what was in the new build:

Two new import preferences:

Remove Features command enhancements (formerly Remove Details). The added “Remove” button allows multiple removal actions without closing and reopening the dialog. The new “Feature” filter allows for more control over what gets removed. The Select button now shows how many features are manually included or excluded from the automatic selection.

Remove Faces command enhancements (formerly Remove Feature from Selection). Added Remove button and count of selected faces.

Improved Stitch command. A slider is added to adjust the Tolerance value. Added information of how many free edges are found, and how many will be stitched according to the tolerance value.

Repair workspace browser enhancements. Model components are now grouped into “Solids”, “Unstitched Surfaces”, and “Stitched Surfaces” for easier visibility control and finding bodies that still need work.

Marking menu is added to the Repair workspace:

Auto Fix and Find and Fix commands now report if fixing errors introduces new errors:

Select by Size now detects body size instead of component size:

Isolate Errors context menu command isolates the geometry with errors:

Make Surfaces Transparent toggle makes it easier to find and work on internal geometries:

Thanks Hugh.

If you are an Autodesk Simulation user and wish to join this project, please email the team at labs.arro@autodesk.com.

The "straight up an narrow" is alive in the lab.