Transfer Discovery Data to Another Application

You can transfer Discovery data to another Ansys application. For example, if you are a designer using Discovery, you may want to export your simulation and send it to an analyst for further analysis in Mechanical, Fluent or HFSS. You can set options that affect file import and export in the File > Workbench tab of the Settings panel.

To transfer Discovery data to another Ansys application, select the Transfer menu in the ribbon of the Simulation tab, then choose a product from the list. Depending on the physics being simulated in the Discovery file, the applicable product will be launched.

  • If both structural or structural-thermal conditions exist, Mechanical will be launched with .dscodat files. This file is saved in the Discovery Projects folder (for example MechanicalExportFile.dscodat) or in Project directory (for example c:\users\username\Ansys Inc\Documents\Discovery Projects).
  • If fluid or fluid-thermal conditions exist, Fluent will be launched with .cas.h5 files. Export to Fluent is disabled for Fluid simulations that contain faceted bodies.
  • If electromagnetics conditions exist, HFSS will be launched with .aedt files.

You can also transfer your data without launching Mechanical, Fluent or HFSS. Select Save As from the File menu, and specify a file type. Select Discovery Export Files to save as .dscodat file or Fluent CAS File to save as .cas.h5 file. Select Electronics Desktop Import to save as .aedti file. You can also select Touchstone 2 Format to save as .ts file, however export to Touchstone is only allowed for electromagnetics simulations with results. If you only select Save As, the file is saved as a .dsco file.

Note: Workbench supports a smart update associativity transfer, which gives you the ability to link your Discovery model to Mechanical. Analyses, connections and physics conditions are transferred, which are then updated between Discovery and Mechanical. You can specify what data is exported in the File > Workbench tab of the Settings panel. This transfer is tightly tied with the Geometry Transfer. For more information on the smart update associativity transfer, see Discovery.
Note: Geometry with large units and physics conditions, may not be transferred when attempting to transfer Discovery projects to Mechanical, Fluent or HFSS.