SolidWorks Simulation Tech Tip: Avoiding Analysis Paralysis

By Jonathan Culm, Applications Specialist at CAD MicroSolutions There might be times when you are asked to run a simulation study to determine specific outcomes but aren’t sure what type of study will work best. Did you know that SolidWorks has a built in “Study Advisor” which will ask questions about what results you are looking for! The challenge with the Advisor is it only asks certain questions that might not always lead you to the correct study for your specific scenario. To keep you from staring at the new study screen trying to pick the right tool for the job, I thought I would give a little summary on the different studies available, and what you might use them for.

Study	Results
Static	Stress
	Strain
	Displacement
	Factor of Safety
Thermal	Temperature
	Thermal Flux
Frequency	Natural Frequency
	Modal Shapes
Buckling	Buckling Load Factor - factor of safety specific to buckling
Drop Test	Stress	With time
	Strain
	Displacement
Fatigue	Cycles to failure
Pressure Vessel	General Primary Member Stress Intensity
Design Study	Results with varied dimensions
Submodeling	Any part of a larger study in finer detail
Nonlinear	Stress	For Nonlinear materials
	Strain
	Displacement
	Factor of Safety
Linear Dynamic	Stress	With time based on: Modal Time History, Harmonic, Random Vibration, and Spectrum Analysis
	Strain
	Displacement
	Factor of Safety