Simulation Quick Tip - Mesh all Solid Bodies with Solid Mesh

Starting with SolidWorks Simulation 2021, an option was added to the Simulation that when enabled can mesh all Solid, Sheet Metal, and Weldment Bodies with a Solid Mesh when creating a new Study. This can be useful for users who wish to have all bodies be Solid when creating a new study so that they do not have to be manually changed later.

Default Behavior

The image below is an example where there are three bodies, a Solid body from a Boss Extrude, a Sheet Metal body from Sheet Metal features, and a Weldment Body.

By default, the Solid body is treated as a Solid Mesh, the Sheet Metal body is treated as a Shell Mesh, and the Weldment body is treated as a Beam Mesh. 

Enable Mesh all Solid Bodies with Solid Mesh

With the Simulation Add-in turned on, left-click on the Simulation dropdown tab at the top of SolidWorks and select "Options...".

In the window that pops up, go to Default Options>Mesh to check on "Mesh all solid bodies with solid mesh" and hit "OK".

Behavior with the Option Enabled

With this option enabled, any newly created study for the same part file above has all three bodies treated as a Solid Mesh. 

One thing to note is that meshing all solid bodies with solid elements saves you time in preparing the model for meshing but can increase the overall solution time.

For further technical support, please contact Hawk Ridge Systems at 877.266.4469 for the U.S. or 866.587.6803 for Canada and support@hawkridgesys.com.