Importing an Autodesk Fusion Simulation Project

You can import an Autodesk Fusion Simulation project into Ansys Discovery. The import includes all geometry and simulation settings from Autodesk Fusion Simulation studies. When a Fusion design study is imported, Discovery creates a new simulation for each load case, including all loads, constraints, and materials for the load case. The design can then be further simulated and modified from within Discovery.

You can either import a Fusion Simulation data file (*.sdz) into Discovery or launch the import directly from Fusion. Both methods require a separately installed Discovery Addin, which can be downloaded and installed from the Ansys Discovery Downloads page on the Customer Portal. For information on how to export SDZ files or directly launch Ansys Discovery from Fusion, refer to the following Autodesk Help pages:

To import an SDZ file into Discovery, select File > Import > Import Autodesk Simulation File and choose the SDZ file.

The following sections list supported and unsupported features and concerns when an Autodesk Fusion simulation is imported into Discovery.

Supported Study and Constraint Types

Discovery supports the import of the following study types from Fusion Simulation:
  • Generative Design
  • Linear Stress
  • Modal
  • Thermal
  • Thermal Stress

Discovery will import almost all Geometry, Loads, Constraints, and Materials from the Fusion Simulation Study. Unsupported features are listed below.

Unsupported Study Types

The following study types are not supported during the import from Fusion Simulation:
  • Buckling
  • Nonlinear
  • Explicit
  • Shape Optimization
Note: Ansys Mechanical does support these simulation study types and can be used instead.

Additional Limitations

The following are known limitations that result from simulation capability differences between Discovery and Fusion Simulation:
  • Hydrostatic pressure loads are not currently supported in Discovery. These are created as 0 pressure loads with a warning.
  • Angular Global Acceleration and Angular Velocity loads are not currently supported in Discovery. These are ignored with a warning.
  • Edge-based contact is not currently supported in Discovery. Edge contact locations are ignored with a warning.
  • Thermal Radiation loads are not currently supported in Discovery. These are ignored with a warning.
  • Bolt Connector pre-stress and idealization are handled significantly different in Discovery and Fusion. Bolt Connector objects are created in Discovery, but the location is approximate and will not produce valid simulation results. You must recreate explicit bolt geometry or delete the bolt objects to proceed with simulation. Appropriate warning messages are given.
  • Discovery only supports isotropic, constant property material definitions. Any temperature dependent, non-linear or hyper-elastic material definitions are ignored. Warning messages are given.