Exporting Simulation Mesh and Results from Fusion

[mcmillr]

We have implemented a very basic capability to export the Simulation Mesh and Results from Fusion to VTU format. This format can be viewed in tools such as Paraview.

When you are in a Simulation study and you have results displayed, you can type the following command to export the active result plot:

SimResults.ExportActiveResults d:\my_sim.vtu

You can of course use any path or file name you want.

If you open this in Paraview you can press Apply and it should render the mesh and results.

If you only want the mesh data, you can use this command:

SimMeshDB.Export  0  d:\my_mesh.vtu

This should be useful for anyone who would like to implement a custom analysis or rendering that Fusion Sim cannot do. In the future we may move this from the command line to a full fledged UI.

[John_Holtz]

Hi @charlesmarvic.quito 

You did not answer either of my two questions. Before I ask even more questions, please create a screen capture of the full Fusion 360 window that shows the following items:

1. The displacement results color contour.
2. The browser window showing the study name (hopefully it has the default text that shows the study type, like "Study 1 - Static Stress"), loads and constraints.
3. The text command window showing the command that you are entering and response after you press Enter.

Thank you.

[mmilleratticus]

Hi John,

Does this mean a person can export the results to Paraview, Export from Paraview as a "printable solid" and 3D print a prediction? 

I tried the Paraview option a while back with limited results.  Unfortunately at that time the results did not include being able to 3D print the software predicted results. 

Clear skies,

Matt

Best regards,

Matt

[l.chabin]

Can I import a vtu file into a Fusion 360 Design workspace ? 

[mmilleratticus]

I'm not sure if the file can be imported.  John Holtz gave instruction on exporting VTU files into paraview.   If you can find where the file is being stored you might be able to replace it and see if it work?

https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/fusion-360/troubleshooting/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/How...

[mcmillr]

No, there is no way to import vtu data into Fusion, sorry.

[hamid.sh.]

@l.chabin @mmilleratticus @mcmillr  I have imported result of simulation (deformed body) back to Fusion's design workspace as a mesh. Check my reply to this post.

[TrippyLighting]

@hamid.sh. super cool stuff! This has only come up 2-3 times in the time I've been on this forum.

[mmilleratticus]

Printing predictions has been around for a long time in the industry.  I cannot imagine the cool things all the clever people who use Fusion 360 will cook up when they finally add this funtionality.

I was doing it in 2005 with this sofware: https://www.deform.com/

[l.chabin]

Yes, I am interested in the details to your method.

Especially, I couldn't find the commands to export only X,Y,Z disp. in separate files.

You can post in the thread https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/fusion-360-support/can-fusion-360-simulate-a-bend-when-2-components-a...

[hamid.sh.]

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@TrippyLighting wrote:

@hamid.sh. super cool stuff! This has only come up 2-3 times in the time I've been on this forum.

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@TrippyLighting Yes it is cool! I haven't been here for long, but the post under which I described the method turned my curiosity on, searched and found out about export being possible via text commands, so I wanted to see if I can get the mesh back to Fusion.

Here is a an example in which I virtually pressed an embossed aluminum sheet against a steel mold and got the deformed mesh back in design workspace (and converted it into BRep but needed some edit...):

Obviously not a good modeling practice (you know, mesh conversion...) but I can imagine cases that this will come in handy.

[DimitriNL]

Hi all,

I have been trying for some time to do the following.
I want to use the simulation visuals (i.e. the Von Mises color map) in the animation environment. Back in the days when I was working in a local Autodesk retailer, I used different software for simulation (Mechanical) which had a feature ''export to showcase'' and then I used showcase to make rendered images and animations with the stresses shown in the parts, zoom into details etc. I have exported the vtu files from fusion, but from my understanding the colormap cannot be imported. Is that correct?

Thanks all,
Dimitri

[mcmillr]

Hi Dimitri. You are correct, the color map cannot be imported back to Fusion.

Sorry I don't have a better answer for you.

[John_Holtz]

@mcmillr  I thought @DimitriNL was asking if the VTU file exported from Fusion will include the von Mises results so that he can create animations in Paraview. My understanding is whatever result is shown when you create the VTU file in Fusion (whether it is stress, displacement, etc) will be included in the VTU file; therefore, Paraview should show that result.

Both of you can correct me if my understanding is wrong. 🙂

John