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COMSOL Multiphysics® 5.6 Release Highlights

CAD Import Module Updates

For users of the CAD Import Module, COMSOL Multiphysics® version 5.6 brings two new defeaturing and repair tools, as well as new tutorial models. Read more about these features below.

Detect Interferences

The Detect Interferences tool, added to the Defeaturing and Repair menu, can detect interference between objects. This tool supports solid and surface objects as input and detects intersections, touches, gaps, and containments. You can see this feature demonstrated in the Creating a Fluid Domain Inside a Solid Structure tutorial model.

The COMSOL Multiphysics version 5.6 UI showing the Geometry ribbon tab, the Detect Interferences tool, and a model geometry in the Graphics window.
Several intersections, touches, and gaps are detected in this imported CAD assembly, including information about the objects and faces involved in the interferences. Gaps are listed together with the gap distance, and the Zoom to Selection button makes it easy to find the location of the interfering faces on the geometry.

Check Feature

The new Check feature, added to the Defeaturing and Repair menu, can be used to detect faults in CAD objects. Add a Check node to a geometry sequence, such as after a Delete Faces operation, to confirm that no problems remain after replacing a faulty face.

No faults remain in this geometry after replacing the faulty face using the Delete Faces operation.

Support for New and Updated CAD File Format Versions

The CAD file import and export functionality has been extended to support new versions for the following file formats:

Read from File
  • AutoCAD® (.dwg, .dxf): 2021
  • PTC Creo Parametric™ (.prt, .asm): 7.0
  • Inventor® (.ipt, .iam): 2021
  • NX™ (.prt): 1899
  • Parasolid® (.xt, .xb, .xmttxt, .xmtbin): 33.0
Write to File
  • Parasolid® (.xt, .xb, .xmttxt, .xmtbin): 33.0

New and Updated Tutorial Models

COMSOL Multiphysics® version 5.6 brings new and updated tutorial models to the CAD Import Module.

Creating a Fluid Domain Inside a Solid Structure

The COMSOL Multiphysics version 5.6 UI showing the Geometry ribbon tab, the Cap Faces settings, and an exhaust manifold model geometry in the Graphics window.
This tutorial involves the geometry for an exhaust manifold and demonstrates how to create an extra domain for flow analysis after importing and defeaturing a CAD assembly.

Application Library Title:
exhaust_manifold_create_fluid_domain
Download from the Application Gallery

Tutorial Series: Defeaturing an Imported 3D CAD Geometry

The COMSOL Multiphysics version 5.6 UI showing the Geometry ribbon tab, the Remove Details settings, and a wheel rim model geometry in the Graphics window.
This tutorial series demonstrates three different approaches to remove small geometric entities from an imported 3D CAD geometry of a wheel rim: the Repair operation, the defeaturing tools, and the Remove Details operation.

Application Library Title:
wheel_rim_repair, wheel_rim_defeature_,_wheel_rim_remove_details
Download from the Application Gallery

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