The External Study Importer is an ACT App. It assists the designer-to-analyst workflow by enabling you to import files from simulation applications such as Discovery, Autodesk Fusion, and PTC Creo Ansys Simulation into Mechanical for further analysis. Imported files can include a full definition of geometry, materials, loads, and constraints from the source simulation.
Note: The External Study Importer is not supported on Linux operating systems.
This section examines how to:
Create a/an:
Import the following simulations into Mechanical:
Create a Discovery Simulation Data File
To transfer a Discovery file to another application, you need to transfer the Discovery file using the following steps:
From the Transfer menu in the ribbon of the Simulation tab, choose a product from the list.
In the dialog box, type a name for the Discovery file in the File name field and click Save.
Create an Autodesk Fusion Simulation Data File
Perform these steps from within Autodesk Fusion to create a Fusion Simulation file:
Open the Simulation workspace for a Generative Design outcome.
Select Send Study to Ansys from the Solve group in the ribbon.
If Mechanical 2020 R1 is installed, this will automatically populate a Workbench project with the study and launch Mechanical.
If Mechanical 2020 R1 is not installed, you can save a Fusion Simulation (.sdz) file, which you can later import via the External Study Importer.
Enable the External Study Importer
The External Study Importer is provided as an ACT App that is installed by default with Workbench.
To load the External Study Importer:
From the Project tab in Workbench, click ACT Start Page to open the ACT Home page.
Click Manage Extensions.
On the Extension Manager page, click ExternalStudyImporter and select Load extension from the context menu.
If you want the External Study Importer to be loaded automatically for future Workbench sessions, click ExternalStudyImporter and select Load as default from the context menu.
Return to the ACT Home page and click Launch Wizards.
On the Wizards page, click Execute wizard to launch the External Study Importer.
Import a Discovery Simulation into Mechanical
After creating a Discovery Simulation Data file, you can import it into Mechanical. You can import it into a new project or an existing project.
To import a Discovery simulation into a new project in Mechanical: in Windows File Explorer, double-click a .dscodat file to launch Workbench and import the simulation into a new project.
To import a Discovery simulation into an existing project in Mechanical:
On the Wizards page (which you can access as described above), click Execute wizard to launch the External Study Importer Wizard.
Ensure Study Type is set to Discovery Simulation.
In File To Import, browse to the Discovery Simulation Data file you want to add to the project and click .
In the External Study Importer Wizard, click .
The import process creates a fully-populated Simulation System on the Workbench Project Schematic page, which you can subsequently open in Mechanical.
In the External Study Importer Wizard, click .
Note: Because of the way that Discovery manages the scoping of the Default Convection load in certain instances, you could see differences between your model in Discovery compared to Mechanical when the load is transferred between the results of the two applications.
Import an Autodesk Fusion Simulation into Mechanical
You can import an Autodesk Fusion Generative Design simulation into Mechanical via a Fusion Simulation file (.sdz). In release 2020 R1, the External Study Importer supports Autodesk Fusion Simulation files that have been created from Fusion Generative Design outcomes. You can import the .sdz file into a new project or an existing project.
To import an Autodesk Fusion Generative Design simulation into a new project in Mechanical: in Windows File Explorer, double-click a .sdz file to launch Workbench and import the simulation into a new project.
To import an Autodesk Fusion simulation into an existing project in Mechanical:
On the Wizards page (which you can access as described above), click Execute wizard to launch the External Study Importer Wizard.
Ensure Study Type is set to Fusion Simulation.
In File To Import, browse to the Fusion Simulation Data file you want to add to the project and click Open.
In the External Study Importer Wizard, click Import.
The import process creates a fully-populated Simulation System for each load case in the Fusion simulation, which you can subsequently open in Mechanical.
In the External Study Importer Wizard, click Finish.
Import a PTC Creo Ansys Simulation into Mechanical
As described below, you can open a PTC Creo Ansys Simulation Data (.casdat) file as a new Mechanical system or you can open it in an active Mechanical system.
- Create a New System
Navigate to the file folder that contains the file and double-click the file. This 1) opens Workbench and places a new system in the Project Schematic and 2) opens the system Mechanical.
- Import File into Existing System
As described above, open the ACT Start Page, select the Launch Wizards option, and select the External Study option to launch the External Study Importer wizard.
Set the Study Type field to .
Use the Browse option to specify your file in File To Import field.
Select the Import button. The import process creates a fully-populated simulation system in the Workbench Project Schematic.
Select the Finish option.
Open the new system in Mechanical.