ANSYS SpaceCliam Training Course: Part 2

1. Introduction

In this ANSYS SpaceClaim session, we’ll review some of the most important commands learned previously, including Move, Combine, Split, and Pull. We’ll do this by creating a 3D model of a pipe according to given dimensions. This hands-on exercise will help you understand and retain these concepts better through practical application. During the process, we’ll reinforce our modeling skills and gain a deeper understanding of how these tools work together in real-world design tasks.

2. Session Objectives

The main objective of this session is to practice and reinforce the use of core modeling commands within ANSYS SpaceClaim. We aim to improve your understanding of how to modify, combine, and manipulate 3D geometries effectively. Another goal is to enhance precision and consistency while modeling a 3D pipe structure based on defined dimensions. This practical exercise bridges the gap between learning individual tools and applying them in integrated modeling workflows.

3. Modeling Procedure

To begin, we’ll start by sketching the base profile of the pipe according to the provided dimensions. Then, using the Pull command, we’ll extrude the base sketch to create the main body of the pipe. The Combine command will be used to merge separate sections, while Split will help us divide or trim features where needed. The Move command will also be applied to adjust parts of the geometry to their correct positions. Each step will be completed carefully to ensure the model is both accurate and well-structured, following professional modeling practices.

4. Session Summary

In this session, we successfully reviewed and practiced essential commands in ANSYS SpaceClaim by modeling a 3D pipe. The hands-on approach made it easier to understand how different tools interact during the design process. This activity improved both your technical modeling skills and your familiarity with key SpaceClaim functions, preparing you for more advanced modeling tasks in future sessions. You now have practical experience combining multiple commands to create complex, dimensionally accurate geometries.

Introduction

This lesson is dedicated to the FILL Tool in SpaceClaim, an essential feature for cleaning up and finishing complex CAD models. You'll learn how to efficiently remove fillets, chamfers, holes, and extrusions by extending neighboring faces. The session covers key options like Patch Fill and Tangent to All Sides to ensure smooth transitions, as well as the use of Guide Curves for precise surface control. Step-by-step guidance helps you choose the best technique for each modeling scenario, boosting your confidence in applying the FILL Tool.

Objectives

Our main goal is to provide hands-on practice with the FILL Tool's capabilities. Through real-world examples, you'll master how to eliminate holes and extruded geometry in your designs. Clear illustrations show how fillets, chamfers, and other features can be removed from a single part using these commands.

Challenges

Working with the FILL Tool can present challenges, especially when surfaces are misaligned or have unique shapes. This session addresses common problems, explaining how to use commands like Split Face and advanced selection strategies to resolve them. You'll see practical examples that clarify what to do when the software struggles to extend faces or match complex geometry.

Summary

By the end of this lesson, you'll know how to use the FILL command to remove holes, extrusions, fillets, and chamfers with professional results. You’ll gain experience with options like Patch Fill, Tangent to All Sides, and Guide Curves, allowing you to create high-quality surfaces and prep your models for simulation or manufacturing.

Introduction

This lesson introduces the Blend Command in SpaceClaim—a key modeling tool for creating smooth or straight connections between geometric features. You’ll discover practical, step-by-step guidance through hands-on examples.

Objectives

The focus is on foundational skills. You’ll learn how to use Blend to join points, lines, surfaces, and bodies within your designs. Essential options like Ruled Segments, Periodic Blend, Select Guides, and Select Centerline are covered so you can apply the right variant for your modeling needs.

• Ruled Segments shows how to switch from smooth to straight lines.

• Periodic Blend automatically closes open shapes for seamless profiles.

• Select Guides and Centerline let you control the blend path and curvature with precision, including using multiple guides for complex shapes.

Summary

You’ll finish this session with practical knowledge for using Blend in SpaceClaim—from simple connections to controlling shape flow with guide curves. Learn how to efficiently blend between points, edges, surfaces, and solids, and utilize powerful options for advanced surface modeling and clean, high-quality geometry.

Introduction

In this lesson, you’ll master essential commands from SpaceClaim’s Design tab: Replace, Fill Pattern, and Mirror. Learning these tools will help you build more precise geometry and speed up your modeling workflow.

Replace Command

The Replace tool lets you swap out selected faces with another face or surface. SpaceClaim automatically matches edges and boundaries to keep your part watertight, maintaining smooth continuity wherever possible. This is ideal when you want to reshape a part—replacing a flat or curved surface—without starting your design from scratch. You can substitute faces from existing geometry, imported surfaces, or sketches. If the new surface doesn’t fully match the required area or intersects itself, you may need to adjust or expand the replacement to fix the issue.

Fill Pattern

Fill Pattern automates creating patterns of features by defining the desired spacing in X and Y directions. Based on these settings, SpaceClaim calculates and places the right number of instances automatically, allowing you to quickly distribute elements across your geometry.

Mirror Command

Mirror lets you make an exact reflected copy of your selected geometry across a reference plane. You can mirror sketches, faces, or entire bodies, using datum planes or standard global planes. The mirrored copy is placed opposite the original, without altering the first geometry.

Summary

By the end of this session, you’ll have hands-on experience with several key commands in the Design tab. These tools form the foundation for precise modeling in SpaceClaim, and using them effectively depends on applying concepts from prior sessions—combining knowledge for the best modeling results.

Introduction

The Shell Tool in SpaceClaim is a versatile feature for hollowing out solid models with a precise, user-defined wall thickness. It’s ideal for designing lighter, cost-effective parts and crafting thin-walled geometries, commonly needed in plastics and lightweight components.

Objectives

This lesson walks you through practical Shell command workflows. You’ll learn how to create fully enclosed hollow bodies with a set wall thickness. We’ll also demonstrate face-based shelling, where you selectively remove certain faces while hollowing out the rest—useful for adding openings to your design. Plus, you’ll see how the More Shell option automatically applies your set wall thickness to any new features you add after the initial shelling, keeping everything consistent.

Summary

After this session, you'll be able to efficiently use the Shell tool to hollow models, create lightweight parts, and build thin-wall geometries. You’ll understand how to open up selected faces and apply a uniform offset, and use advanced options like More Shell for clean, consistent results on future modifications. These skills will help you prepare models for more efficient manufacturing and successful simulation workflows.

1. Introduction

The Offset Tool in SpaceClaim is a powerful tool used for precise and controlled geometric modifications. It allows users to copy or shift faces, surfaces, or curves at a specified distance from their original position. This tool enables resizing or thickening of complex geometries without the need for redesign. The Offset Tool is commonly used to create uniform clearances, adjust tolerances, or prepare models for analysis and manufacturing. Overall, it provides accuracy, control, and flexibility in model editing.

Offset Tool2. Objectives

In this session of the SpaceClaim course, we will present examples to teach you the various applications of this command. Features such as coupling two faces together, moving two faces simultaneously with the Pull command, and also displacing a body using this command will be taught to the students.

Offset Tool3. Summary

Ultimately, after completing this session, students will add a new skill to the skills they have learned in the Design environment. Learning this session and integrating it with the skills acquired in previous sessions will significantly advance your design capability, preparing you to create much more complex geometries.

Introduction

The Enclosure Tool in SpaceClaim is critical for CFD modeling, making it easy to build fluid domains around your parts. With just a few clicks, you can create box, cylinder, or sphere enclosures with precise clearances, quickly defining the region where flow simulation will occur. The enclosure acts as the fluid, while the original object remains solid, establishing boundaries for heat and momentum exchange.

Objectives

This lesson guides you through practical usage of SpaceClaim’s Enclosure Tool. You’ll learn how to generate different enclosure shapes for varied CFD needs, and understand options such as Create Share Topology—for seamless solid/fluid interfaces—Default Cushion, and Symmetric Dimension for fast, accurate geometry setup. Hands-on examples make it clear when to use each shape and setting for the most reliable simulation results.

Summary

By the end of this session, you’ll know how to use SpaceClaim’s Enclosure Tool to prepare models for CFD, choose between box and cylinder forms, and apply smart options for domain setup. You’ll be able to guarantee clean boundaries and robust, conformal interfaces between parts and flow regions to ensure accuracy in your simulations.

Introduction

The Assembly workspace in SpaceClaim allows you to build complex models from individual parts, rather than designing everything as one integrated body. This flexible, modular approach is especially valuable for CFD engineers, making it easier to organize, connect, and modify different components within a project.

Objectives

This session demonstrates three essential Assembly tools: Orient, Tangent, and Align. You’ll learn to set directions for faces and edges, create precise tangential contact between parts—such as wheels and surfaces or cylinders and curved walls—and position components relative to each other using geometric constraints. Each feature is illustrated with hands-on examples for clarity and practical skill-building.

Key Tools

• Orient: Matches the orientation of selected elements without changing their location.

• Tangent: Ensures surfaces touch smoothly with no angle between them.

• Align: Positions axes or faces in correct geometric relationships for a coherent structure.

You’ll also explore temporary moves, anchors, and how to use the Structure tree to troubleshoot and manage constraints.

Summary

By the end of this lesson, you’ll be able to assemble multi-part models more efficiently, apply critical constraints, and resolve common issues with conflicting or failed connections. These reliable techniques help you build integrated assemblies ready for simulation and further design work.

This session explores the tools in the Measure tab of SpaceClaim, which are essential for accurately evaluating model geometry. Key features include Measure, Mass Properties, Interference, Curvature, Grid, and Dihedral, all used to check the volume, mass, detect interferences, and assess surface quality. The goal is to prepare a clean, reliable geometry suitable for meshing and CFD analysis using these capabilities.

The session covers Mass Properties to calculate global attributes like volume, surface area, mass, center of gravity, and moments of inertia for selected bodies. The Measure tool reads geometric info such as distances, angles, edge lengths, areas, and perimeters, helping verify if geometry and physical properties are correctly defined pre-meshing.

Interference tools assist in identifying overlapping bodies in assemblies: Curves show intersection edges, and Volumes highlight overlapping parts, useful for cleaning up assemblies and ensuring valid geometry before simulation.

Quality tools like Normal (surface orientation), Curvature (radius and smoothness), Grid (surface parameterization quality), and Dihedral (angles between adjacent faces) help verify mesh readiness by spotlighting potential problems like flipped surfaces, sharp edges, or complex surfaces.

Overall, these Measure tab features facilitate comprehensive geometry validation, enabling error detection and quality assessment that support successful CFD or other simulations.