Project Falcon

[#1]

Hello All,

Enjoying FALCON, but I have a problem getting it to send the flow lines in the direction I want relative to my model. I can see how its possible to change the flow line direction relative to the XY plane but how do you rotate the FALCON working plane relative to the model as I want to test flow in at least two planes?  

I tried resetting the 'Front' view but this didnt work...

Any ideas? anyone?

Thanks

Steve

[#2]

Hey SteveL, thanks for the question.

The planar results are only available in fixed orientations relative to the geometry (ie. XY, YZ, XZ planes) but you can rotate the geometry in your CAD system if you need to have a custom angle. Sometimes it is easiest to create a new top-level assembly as a vehicle for customizing the orientation of whatever it is you are modeling relative to the coordinate system.

I appreciate that it would be nice to be able to do this without having to re-orient the geometry itself, but just curious how often you might use this feature?

[#3]

Thanks for the quick reply,

I need to check out angluar cross flows as well as the head on flow characteristics of my assemblies (to mimic being at angle to the air flow) so being able to move the direction of the flow to any angle would be handy (for me anyhow).

I use a simplified part (another great labs development!) to produce a single part with holes filled in to make the model simpler, but the trouble with rotating the solids is the the boundary patches and other surfaces dont revolve with the part and are forced to visible when running Falcon.

Doing it as new part would solve the problem and would also mean I could preserve the angle state in several different files, so I think you've got the best solution. 

Thanks for the suggestion.

Cheers

Steve L~

[#4]

@hartogj The question is not about the planar result planes, but the wind direction itself. This is something I think many users would want. (Have a quick look through the forum and you'll see more people asking about this) It wouldn't be as needed though if the default plane for the compass was xz instead of xy as I believe most people would want the wind to blow from the front or side of their model, not from under/above? 

[#5]

You're right - we have seen a lot of feedback on this topic. The ideal compass alignment it really depends on the application. In road vehicle and building design, placing the compass in a horizontal plane seems valuable. For aerospace, many are using it vertically. Something for the team to consider going forward. Thanks for the input!

[#6]

There is no need to change the direction of flow at all if the model orientation is adjustable. That is how it works in a real wind tunnel and there is no penalty for doing the same way in software. Only two things need orientation controls, the model and the camera.

[#7]

hello

much appriciate if autodesk gives users freedom to select from where the air flow will be starting. currently i have to design keeping in mind how a design would fit in the flow simulation or autodesk could put a design alignment add in during flow simulation to adjust it in the flow as desired.

for some reason Falcon has slowed my laptop and overall working of inventor, Autodesk team should also take a look at it too. 

[#8]

Thanks for continued feedback on this. To recap, the model can be re-oriented in Falcon standalone under "orientation." For the CAD embedded versions inside applications like Inventor, the model orientation is controlled within the CAD system. For these apps, we are looking at ways of changing the wind tunnel orientation as an alternative to the CAD controls.