Introduction
This document provides a summary of all new features, product enhancements, limitations, and bug fixes in the 2026 R1 release of the Ansys Sherlock™ electronics reliability prediction software.
You can now import and convert thermal signal data into a Thermal Event of a given Life Phase. The Life Cycle Viewer and the Report feature have been updated to include charts and tables which visualize the imported thermal signal data. See Import Thermal Signal (Rainflow Cycle Counting) in Sherlock User's Guide. Currently, the 4D chart feature is not supported on Linux
For Sherlock release 2026 R1, the following issue has been resolved: When exporting a blocked CDB model from the Sherlock application with solder balls modeled as shells and beams, the solder balls were missing from the exported CDB file. The CDB export feature now works correctly.
The DFMEA feature will be sunset in the next release, 2027 R1, of the Sherlock application.
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The color-coded scoring system has changed for the following analysis modules: Solder Joint Fatigue, PTH Fatigue, Semiconductor Wearout, Harmonic Vibe, and Random Vibe:
The numeric score has been removed from the analysis results.
The color-coding system used in the results is now based on the probability of failure ratio which you can configure in .
Caution: Because the color-coding system used in the results is now based on probability of failure, the color applied to components may differ from earlier versions of the Sherlock application.
The overall numeric score has been removed from the Results Summary and reports. The numeric score per analysis module has also been removed from reports.
See the chapter Color-Coded Scoring System in the Sherlock User's Guide for a complete explanation of the new scoring system.
Leaded Model:
The Lead Height property no longer applies to parts with stub leads.
A new package property called Package Compliance Factor is now used in the combined stiffness calculation for all leads. See Package Compliance Factor in the Sherlock User's Guide. To enable editing the Package Compliance Factor field in the Part Editor, go to Settings > Advanced > Part List > Package Compliance Factor in the Sherlock application.
The combined stiffness calculation has been updated for lead layouts that are quad, rectangular, or circular.
A shear spring model is now used for calculating the stiffness of stub leads.
In the Package Data Base, the data for stub lead packages has been updated for the following types: SON, USON, SOD, OTHER, SOT, TO, and SM.
BTC/IMS Packages:
The Sherlock application now detects the IMS routing pattern from top and bottom copper layers for BTC packages. This is used to guess the Design Factor part property. Detection happens automatically when component layers are updated or a top or bottom copper layer is processed. See BTC Packages in the Sherlock User's Guide.
The detection of BTC package type based on the ECAD package name has been enhanced.
BGA and CGAs
The BGA and CGA solder models have been updated: The reduced shear modulus is adjusted to account for the distance to neutral point (DNP). Also, the corner overmold material is adjusted to account for the DNP.
The detailed BGA package model option is no longer beta. It is now a standard feature and can be enabled in Settings > Meshing. See Detailed Package Modeling (Thermal Mech Life Prediction for BGAs) in Sherlock User's Guide.
CC and LCCCs
Previously, the chip component (CC) and leadless chip carrier component (LCCC) models were producing identical results because they used the same critical length formulation. To improve model accuracy and better reflect physical behavior, the Sherlock application now uses a revised shear stress formulation and an updated definition of critical length.
The Sherlock Part Library
The Sherlock 2026 R1 Part Library update contains 2,236,857 parts.
The option to use contact elements in place of constraint equations for FEA models is no longer beta. It is now a now a standard feature which you can enable in Settings > FEA.
You can now calculate Time-to-Fail results at any PoF (probability of failure) for the following analyses: PTH, Component Failure Mechanism, Harmonic Vibe, Random Vibe, Mechanical Shock, ICT Analysis, Solder Fatigue, and Thermal Mech. The probability percentage value can be adjusted in the Advanced Settings dialog. In the Sherlock User's Guide, see the entry Life Metric At (%) under Advanced Settings > General.
An improved Stackup Calculator has been added. For new and imported stackups, you can enable this feature in the Advanced Settings dialog. When enabled, new calculations are used for the CTExy and the Exy for conductive layers and the CTExy for the stackup.
Solder Fatigue analyses for BGAs and CGAs are now executed successfully even if a part's Ball Modeling property is set to NONE.
The secant modulus for eutectic SnPb solder has been recalibrated using Anand's viscoplastic model, replacing the previous material representation to improve accuracy under thermomechanical loading.
Solder materials SAC 302 and SenjuM758 have been added.
A new Sherlock native extension—an app accessible from within the Ansys Mechanical application—integrates some of the Sherlock pre-processing capabilities directly into Mechanical. This enables you to perform select Sherlock functions without leaving the Mechanical environment. See the Sherlock User's Guide, The Sherlock Native App in Ansys Mechanical.
The following enhancements were added to support the new app:
The Sherlock application now has the ability to hide the GUI at startup.
New APIs have been added to toggle specific parts of the GUI.
Additional notifications have been added to the gRPC bi-directional streaming between the Workbench and Sherlock applications. Sherlock notifies Workbench when:
A Modeling Region is added or deleted.
The Edit Properties dialog is used to change any properties of a Mechanical Part, Modeling Region, Potting Region, Cutout, or Mount Point.
A Mechanical Part, Modeling Region, Potting Region, Cutout, or Mount Point is moved, rotated, scaled, copied or merged.
A new CCA is created from a Modeling Region.
When importing FEA results from the Ansys Mechanical application, you can now import pre-stressed static structural analysis results with large deflection enabled. See Analysis Properties: Imported Data Source in the Sherlock User's Guide.
Added a materials XML used when exporting isometric materials of an FEA model or a Trace Reinforcement model to Workbench. Previously, the data was exported by using a Workbench API in the WBJN files.
You can now export orthotropic PCB properties when exporting WBJN files. See Set PCB Modeling Settings in the Sherlock User's Guide.
The Thermal Mech Analysis Properties dialog now cleanly displays a large number of Thermal Events.
A Recently Used Files selector has been added to the Import Stackup dialog.
In the Parts List Validation Properties window, there are no longer preset selections under AVL Options.
The Sherlock Project Tree now supports informational images. When you add an image file to a project, the Sherlock application now associates it as an info image by default.
Performance has been improved when importing GDSII files.
The beta option Polygon Merge Performance has been integrated into the base program. This improves performance when polygons are merged during Trace Model Generation.
The GUI is now more responsive when analysis results are cleared as a result of Life Events being changed.
Logo images have been updated for reports.
When importing an IPC-2581 archive, a warning appears if the archive does not implement the FULL or USERDEF function mode as noted in the IPC-2581 Import Tutorial in the Sherlock User's Guide.
The Use Part Body Weight option is no longer an Advanced Setting. It is now a Part Property. To use the part body weight to compute material density, you must enable Use Part Body Weight for each part in the Part Editor.
When laminates not found in the Sherlock Laminate Library are imported into a stackup, the laminates are displayed as errors in the stackup. This serves as a reminder to update the stackup or to add the laminates to the Library.
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When API calls are executed that are analogous to actions performed in the Parts Editor and Layer Viewer, the Workbench application now receives notifications via the gRPC bi-directional stream. The actions and notifications match those that occur when the Sherlock GUI is used.
getTestPointProperties(): Returns the properties for a specified set of test points.
importCopperFiles(): Imports copper layer files to a Sherlock project.
getICTFixturesProperties(): Returns the properties for a specific set of ICT Fixture IDs.
updateTestPoints(): Updates the properties of one or more test points in a CCA.
importThermalSignal(): Enables the importing of thermal signal data.
updateICTFixtures(): Updates the properties of one or more test points in a CCA.
importPartsToAVL(): Import any supported file type containing parts to be added to the AVL (Approved Vendor List).
saveHarmonicProfile(): Saves a Harmonic profile to a .csv or .dat file.
saveRandomVibeProfile(): Saves a Random Vibe profile to a .csv or .dat file.
saveShockPulseProfile(): Saves a Shock Pulse profile a .csv or .dat file.
saveThermalProfile(): Saves a Thermal profile a .csv or .dat file.
updateLifeCycle(): Updates the Life Cycle of a project. It also allows you to save unsaved results files as the GUI does. It overwrites existing results files with the same name.
updateLifePhase(): Makes changes to a specific Life Phase. It also enables you to save unsaved results files if an archive file name is included.
updateMountPoints(): Updates mount point properties.
deleteEvent(): Deletes a Life Cycle Event.
deletePhase(): Deletes a Life Cycle Phase.
importThermalSignal(): Updated rainflow cycle binning so it uses separate binning parameters for range, mean, and dwell.
getStackupProps(): Updated to allow values to be retrieved based on the use of the improved Stackup model, thanks to the new improveStackupModelEnabled parameter
exportFEAModel(): Updated to allow the material elasticity type to be specified when exporting WBJN files.
Added validation for the side property in the updateMountPoints() API. If an invalid side is inputted, the request fails now.
The addCCA() API no longer waits thirty seconds to return. It now returns once the CCA has been successfully added.
Stackup service:
ListLaminateThicknessUnits()
Lifecycle service:
ListFreqUnits()
ListTempUnits()
ListAmplUnits()
ListShockLoadUnits()
Corrected a mesh generation issue where mount hole meshes could sometimes overlap the PCB mesh instead of merging with the PCB mesh when very small mesh sizes were used.
Exported blocked CDB files using Shells and Beam elements for BGA's now correctly define the beam element type in the CDB file.
When running an analysis with leaded parts that do not have die properties, the Sherlock console no longer displays a warning about missing die properties.
Corrected the color display for component footprints in the Layer Viewer so the color of component analysis results appear as expected when overlaid on the components.
When importing ODB++ files, a parsing error is no longer displayed when user-defined attributes are encountered.
When importing a stackup, the Sherlock application might not properly associate or clear errors, resulting in future imported stackups failing. This has been corrected.
In some cases, when importing a stackup or editing a stackup layer, stackup rows appeared to be missing or duplicated until the project was reopened. This has been corrected.
When a stackup contained errors and the errors were cleared, the stackup would no longer display the error tab if errors were subsequently introduced, such as after an import. This error has been corrected.
User-defined stackup properties are no longer reset when a CSV stackup is imported.
Corrected an issue where IPC-2581 cutouts were getting converted with the wrong measurement units, causing them to not be rendered improperly in the Layer Viewer.
When trace models are generated from IPC-2851 archives, line paths are now properly filled.
Corrected an issue where an imported Random Vibration analysis using nodal lead forces would fail to run to completion when there was a missing PSD file.
When exporting part material density values using part body weight, part corner shape is no longer taken into account when computing density.
Corrected an issue with the exporting of trace reinforcement models that could cause the length of vias to be incorrect.
In the Package Editor tabs, the application no longer allows you to save blank unit fields for Package, Die, Pad, Ball, or Flag.
The Solder Editor was not validating CC Calibration Factor values which permitted the field to be blank. This prevented the exported solder from being reimported into the Sherlock application. The blank field also prevented the getSolderInfo() API from returning solders. This bug has been fixed.
When packages were exported, the exported Lead Height was set to 0 for packages that relied on Guessed Lead Height values. This has been corrected.
Fixed a bug causing illegible text on the Analysis Errors tab for the Japanese font.
When editing conductor layers in a stackup, you can now change the Conductor Thickness units when multiple layers with different Thickness values are selected.
When importing a stackup CSV file, the Sherlock application no longer recomputes the layer material property values based on matching Sherlock material and Laminate Library properties.
Updated the spacing around the Help field dialog to prevent trimming of font glyphs.
When importing laminates, the Manufacturer, Grade, or Material are no longer forced to upper-case.
After changing the name of a Laminate, you no longer have to restart the Sherlock application for it to appear in the Stackup Laminate Chooser field in the Stackup Editor.
Corrected issues with importing ODB++ compressed files disguised as GZip files.
Resolved a bug which resulted in a series of number formatting exception errors issue when importing an IPC-2581 archive.
Updated solder Senju M705 CC Calibration.
Corrected an issue where the order of the connected points in the Material Temperature Calculator was based on the X values (temperature) rather than the order they were calculated. Also, a limit of 300 points was added.
In the Strain Map analysis, the Maximum Strain might not be selected under a component footprint in the following situation: The component strain is one of the image pixels at the maximum X or Y location of the component, and the component did not fully cover the pixel. This has been corrected.
A formula error for the IMS solder model has been corrected. The strain energy calibration at max temp referenced hot-dwell effective package stiffness instead of cold-dwell effective stiffness.
The following corrections have been made to the shells and beams CDB export feature:
The error "Object doesn't support this property or method" no longer occurs when exporting to the Workbench application.
Corrected the problem of contacts not being created for one-element components.
When exporting layer models, PCB surface Named Selections are now assigned correctly.
Previously, the Sherlock application was not correctly parsing Gerber aperture definitions larger than three digits, resulting in copper layers improperly drawn. This issue has been corrected.
Corrected the tutorial file Assembly Tutorial.zip so the imported Parts List contains the correct refDes data values.