Limitless Export Formats with Fidelity Pointwise CAE Plugins

Fidelity Pointwise generates two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) grids that are crucial for most of the computer-aided engineering (CAE) analysis process. Grids are exported to an analysis software to simulate a design; therefore, the grid and boundary condition details must be formatted for the simulation software to read.

Each computer-aided engineering (CAE) program has its unique file format. While some programs might use cell faces as their primary data type, others like to use cell volumes or nodes. Few put all their data into a single file, and others want separate files for nodes, faces, cells, and boundary conditions. Fidelity Pointwise currently exports 47 different CAE file formats and a variety of neutral file formats. Those 47 CAE formats are not the only ones; there are plenty of other formats out there!

Need for CAE Plugins

CAE plugins allow the addition of an exporter to Fidelity Pointwise for writing grid and boundary condition information to create user-specific formats. The complete CAE exporter is placed in Fidelity Pointwise's plugin folder, which automatically loads when Fidelity Pointwise starts up. The CAE software name appears as a selection in the CAE Select Solver panel (as shown in Figure 1). The available boundary condition types appear in the CAE, Set Boundary Conditions panel. When the grid is exported using the File, Export, CAE menu, it writes in the native format defined by the selected plugin.

Figure 1. CAE menu provides options and tools for exporting your grid.

Plugins are useful if a proprietary file format is not supposed to be shared with the general public. Share the plugins only with the users who are allowed to access them. Plugins are also useful for developers with their own CAE program and format to write their native files using Fidelity Pointwise.

Create a CAE Plugin

Developing a plugin is not for everyone. It requires some programming skills and a development environment on your computer. The overview of the plugin development process is elaborated in the Fidelity Pointwise User Manual. If Fidelity Pointwise is already installed, the user manual is accessed through the Help > User Manual menu. This manual provides an overview of the plugin development process, information about where to download the Pointwise CAE Plugin SDK (Software Development Kit), and the process through an example plugin setup.

To create a CAE plugin, refer to the Another Fine Mesh blogs below:

• Create a CAE Plugin - Part I
• Create a CAE Plugin - Part II

Interoperability

One of the best things about Fidelity Pointwise is that it fits well into any company's analysis process. Pointwise reads and writes a variety of geometry and grid formats, so you can import files from other design and analysis tools and export them to any other software to be used for the next step in the process. Fidelity Pointwise CAE plugins are an important part of this versatility since supporting a limitless number of CAE export formats is easier. It's just another way in which Fidelity Pointwise works better for all your design and analysis needs.

If you want to generate meshes using Fidelity Pointwise and export them to a CFD solver using Fidelity Pointwise CAE Plugins, request a demo today!

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Watch the video below to learn how to export your grid to supported non-native formats: