Starting from a CAD System

The Design Study Manager and the Design Study Builder streamline the transfer of the CAD model to the Autodesk Simulation CFD model:

The Design Study Builder and the Design Study Manager are complementary, and provide different levels of automation:

• You can use the Design Study Manager to launch and update designs individually.
  • Apply settings in Autodesk Simulation CFD and add designs by cloning existing designs.
  • Return to CAD and modify the geometry.
  • Launch the Design Study Manager to update each newly cloned design.

• You can use the Design Study Builder to construct a complete design study in the CAD system.
  • Do the following to prepare the CAD model:
    • Create a separate variation for each design permutation. (Autodesk® Inventor uses "i assemblies." Solid Works uses "Configurations." Pro/Engineer uses "Instances.")
    • Place objects that will be assigned settings into CAD Entity Groups.
  • Do the following in the Design Study Builder:
    • Create a design study consisting of multiple designs. Link each design to a different CAD model variation.
    • Define settings, and associate them to the CAD Entity Groups.
  • Launch into Autodesk Simulation CFD to run the analyses.
  • Update and add designs to existing studies by cloning directly in the Design Study Builder.

To Add a Design to a Design Study

Each tool has a different workflow for adding a design to an existing design study. These workflows are summarized:

Design Study Builder	Design Study Manager
From the CAD system, add a new design to the CAD model. Select the option to launch multiple instances. In the Design Study Builder, select the design study from the list. Clone an existing design, and associate the clone with the new CAD design. Modify settings as needed. Launch into Autodesk Simulation CFD.	In Autodesk Simulation CFD, clone a design. Return to the CAD system, and add a new design to the CAD model. Select the option to launch the active model. In the Design Study Manager, select the newly cloned design from the design study. Select Update design. Launch into Autodesk Simulation CFD.

This is the key difference:

• The Design Study Manager requires that designs be cloned in Autodesk Simulation CFD prior to returning to the CAD system.
• The Design Study Builder provides tools for cloning designs. It is not necessary to clone in Autodesk Simulation CFD.