EM Simulation Tool Puts ‘Optimal Design’ Within Reach, 2 in a Series

By DE Editors

  Vector Fields’ Opera v12 can handle the range from low-cost 2D entry packages to full 3D modeler for designing motors,  generators, and more.

  This latest electromagnetic (EM) simulation tool, Opera v12, adds high-level model parameterization and scripting capabilities to simplify what-if investigations and speed up virtual prototyping of EM equipment.

  Opera offers generic 2D and 3D finite element analysis (FEA) solvers for static and time-varying EM fields, as well as application-specific solvers for design work involving rotating machinery,  superconducting magnets, particle beams, dielectric insulation, and magnetization/demagnetization processes.

  Opera v12 provides users with integrated design-simulate-optimize tools to create design models, simulate EM behavior (and optionally related physics including temperature and mechanical stress),  postprocess results, and iterate the concept to reach the optimal solution.

  Component or system models can be imported from CAD programs, or generated using a built-in geometric modeler built around the industry-standard ACIS geometry engine. To enhance design process efficiency,  models can be parameterized using variables. Users can change parameter values in a model and view effects, or macros can be built to automate complicated design tasks.

  Three generic solvers can simulate EM behavior depending on the application, for modeling static, and low-frequency or high-  frequency time-varying fields. These come in both 2D or 3D versions, with application-specific variants also available.

  For more demanding applications, optimization of designs can now be performed automatically using a new tool called Optimizer,  which is an advanced auto-optimization tool designed specifically to work with finite element methods and to support competing goals.

  Opera v12 is available in around 20 variants,  starting from around $8,500, with discounts given to educational and research establishments.

  For further details on Opera v12, please go to vectorfields.com.

More Information

Vector Fields
Aurora, IL
vectorfields.com