The first step of the modeling process is to open the model to analyze. This model can be in several formats. It can be a solid part or assembly created by one of the supported CAD solid model packages, a universal CAD solid model format, or a model drawn in the FEA Editor environment. It can be a model from a non-Autodesk Simulation FEA package. For details on how to open files from each of these formats, see Introduction Opening Models.
After the model is opened, create the mesh that represents the geometry of the model for the analysis.(Note: This step is only necessary for CAD solid models that were imported into Autodesk Simulation. Models drawn in the user interface or imported from another FEA package are already meshed.). The meshing process is performed in the FEA Editor environment. For details on the meshing process see Meshing Overview.
Once the mesh is created, define the element parameters, loads and constraints, material properties and analysis parameters in the FEA Editor environment. For details on these steps, see Linear Setting Up and Performing the Analysis.
After the analysis runs successfully, view the results of the analysis. All the result options for each analysis type are explained in detail in the Results section.