CFD Flex Notes

Installing Autodesk® CFD Flex

Autodesk® CFD Flex is packaged as a separate installer from Autodesk® CFD.

Licensing Autodesk® CFD Flex

Instead of the Autodesk License Manager, CFD Flex relies on your Autodesk® ID. When installing, you will not be prompted for licensing information.

When you start CFD Flex, you will be prompted to log into your Autodesk® account.

Note: You must have an Autodesk® account to use CFD Flex. You can confirm your login through http://accounts.autodesk.com/.

To sign into your Autodesk® Account

1. When you start CFD Flex, a prompt asks you to sign into your Autodesk® account if you are not already signed in.
   Note: If you do not have an Autodesk ID, click Need an Autodesk ID? on the Autodesk - Sign In dialog
2. In the Autodesk - Sign In dialog box, enter either the Autodesk ID or the e-mail address you used when you registered your account.
3. Enter your Password.
4. Click Sign In.

You are successfully signed in when your login name (or e-mail address) replaces the word "Sign In" on the Sign-In button:

Product Name and Installation Folders

The product name, as it appears in the user interface, is Autodesk® CFD Flex. Throughout most of the documentation, however, when we refer to "Autodesk® CFD" we are also referring to Autodesk® CFD Flex.

Folder Information:

• The default installation folder for CFD Flex is C:\Program Files\Autodesk\CFD Flex 2016.
• By default, the tutorials are located in C:\Users\Public\Public Documents\Autodesk\CFD Flex 2016\Tutorials\ .
• Log files, user preference files, rules, templates, and flags are located in C:\Users\<account name>\AppData\Local\Autodesk\CFD Flex 2016

The user interface, workflows, and processes are the same between the two products with a few exceptions described below.

CAD Launchers

The "Mechanica" launch method is not available when launching from PTC Creo or Pro/Engineer. This means that when launching into CFD Flex, you must use the Granite method. Additionally, the UGNX CAD launcher is not available in CFD Flex. To launch a UGNX model into CFD Flex, open the UGNX file directly.

Solving with Autodesk® CFD Flex

The fundamental difference between the desktop and Flex versions is where simulations are run and the associated licensing model. For the desktop version, all simulations are run on local or remote computers on a local network, and a traditional software licensing system meters usage. For CFD Flex, simulations are run either on the cloud, and Autodesk® meters usage through Cloud Credits or using Local Solve on a local machine.

Note: Local remote computing and HPC computing are not available for CFD Flex.

Monitoring your CFD Flex Jobs

The Simulation Job Manager provides real-time status information about your CFD Flex jobs. There are two ways to open the Simulation Job Manager:

• From the Windows® Start menu, click All Programs > Autodesk > Autodesk Simulation Job Manager > Simulation Job Manager.
• Alternatively, click the Simulation Job Manager icon in the Windows® Notification Area.

For more information about the Simulation Job Manager, click here.

Note: The Simulation Job Manager replaces the Job Monitor used in the desktop version as the tool for monitoring simulation status.

Runtime Limitations

Your Autodesk® CFD cloud analysis has a run limit of 3 days. If the 3-day limit is reached before the maximum number of iterations, your results are automatically downloaded. At this time, you can choose to resubmit your analysis by resuming from the last iteration. Confirm that the last saved iteration is shown in the Continue From line in the Solve dialog before resuming.

Note: Resuming the analysis from the last iteration is equivalent to submitting a new job in the cloud.