First, after opening ANSYS SpaceClaim, the step file can be imported through the menu File > Open or by simply dragging and dropping the file into the SCDM window. If you need access to SCDM, you can contact us at It’s worth noting, at this point, that the processes discussed throughout this article work the same for HFSS-IE, Q3D, and Maxwell designs as well. You can download a copy of this model here to follow along. So, here are a few simple steps to quickly split this SMA connector using SCDM. The better news is, SCDM offers new capabilities to directly edit or clean imported geometry. The good news is, the process described above will continue to work. However, since the release of ANSYS R18.1, the power of SpaceClaim Direct Modeler (SCDM) and the MCAD translator will be packaged together. Unless you’re lucky enough to work with the creator of the CAD, you will need to find a way to split this model into the inner and outer conductors, and the dielectric. For example, notice the outer conductor, inner conductor, and dielectric of the imported SMA below are all one solid object.

This approach can be particularly troublesome when portions of the model (or all of the model) which consist of different materials are not split into different objects. If the geometry is correct and does not require any editing, the import process is complete and analysis can begin! However, if there are any errors with the geometry, there is excessive or invalid detail, or if it’s not organized into separate bodies conducive for electromagnetic analysis, you may soon realize that the editing capability is limited to scaling, reorienting, or Boolean operations. The CAD will automatically be translated and loaded into the HFSS 3D Modeler. A dialog box will open to navigate to and directly open the model. After opening ANSYS Electronics Desktop and creating an HFSS design, from the menu bar, select Modeler > Import. Importing solid 3D Mechanical CAD (or MCAD) models into ANSYS HFSS has always been and remains to be a fairly simple process.

Ansys spaceclaim 2017 r18.0