COMSOL 6.4 - About the Design Module

The Design Module extends the geometry modeling capabilities of COMSOL Multiphysics with constraint and dimension features in 2D, a dedicated geometric kernel, the CAD kernel, features for creating and modifying geometry, import, and export of several 3D CAD formats, and functionality to repair and defeature imported geometry objects. Included geometry features are, for example, the fillet and chamfer features in 3D, and the loft feature that can generate 3D surfaces based on cross-sectional profiles, which could come from an MRI scan, or could be the faces of existing geometry objects. Further functionality such as the midsurface and thicken allows for converting a thin solid object into a surface, or the other way around.

The import capabilities cover the most common 3D CAD file formats: ACIS®, AutoCAD®, IGES, Inventor®, NX®, Parasolid®, PTC Creo Parametric™, PTC Pro/ENGINEER®, SOLIDWORKS®, and STEP. In addition, support for CATIA® V5 is available as a separate add-on. To exchange data with CAD packages, you can export your geometry to the ACIS®, IGES, Parasolid®, and STEP file formats.

Geometry Feature	ICON	Description
2D Geometry Features
Angle		Constrain the angle between two edges
Coincident		Constrain two geometric entities to coincide with each other
Concentric		Constrain circular edges and vertices to have the same center
Directed Distance		Constrain the distance between two geometric entities in a given direction
Distance		Constrain the distance between two geometric entities
Equal Distance		Constrain the distances between two pairs of geometric entities to be equal
Equal Radius		Constrain two circular edges to have the same radius
Horizontal		Constrain a straight edge to be parallel to the x-axis
Parallel		Constrain straight edges to be parallel
Perpendicular		Constrain two straight edges to be perpendicular
Position		Constrain the x- and y-coordinates of a point
Projection		Project 3D objects and entities to a work plane
Radius		Constrain the radius of a circular edge
Tangent Constraint		Constrain two edges to be tangent
Total Edge Length		Constrain the total length for a set of edges
Vertical		Constrain a straight edge to be parallel to the y-axis
x-Distance		Constrain the distance in the x direction between entities
y-Distance		Constrain the distance in the y direction between entities
3D Geometry Features
Cap Faces		Generate faces from edges to fill gaps and create solid objects, or to partition solids
Check		Check CAD objects for faults, for example tolerance issues and invalid entities
Chamfer		Create a bevel on selected edges
Convert to COMSOL		Convert to the COMSOL kernel representation
Replace Faces		Delete and replace faces
Delete Fillets		Search for and delete fillets
Delete Holes		Search for and delete holes
Delete Short Edges		Search for and delete short edges
Delete Sliver Faces		Search for and delete sliver faces
Delete Small Faces		Search for and collapse small faces
Delete Spikes		Search for and delete spikes from faces
Detach Faces		Detach faces to form a new object from them
Detect Interferences		Search for interferences, such as intersections, gaps, touches, and containments, between objects
Export		Export geometry objects to 3D CAD file formats
Fillet		Create rounds on selected edges
Import		Import geometry objects from 3D CAD file formats
Knit to Solid		Knit surface objects to form solid or surface object
Loft		Create a lofted surface from a set of profile curves
Midsurface		Generate midsurfaces for selected solid objects
Offset Faces		Offset faces of 3D objects in the normal direction
Project to Faces		Project edges to faces in 3D
Repair		Repair defects and remove small details from 3D objects
Replace Faces		Replace faces by growing surrounding faces or creating new faces
Thicken		Create a solid by offsetting selected surfaces
Transform Faces		Displace, rotate, and scale faces of 3D objects