Introduction to Ansys Discovery Software for

Geometry Preparation for FEA

Module 03: Repairing Geometry

Please note:
• These training materials were developed and tested in Ansys Release 2024 R1. Although they are
expected to behave similarly in later releases, this has not been tested and is not guaranteed.
Release 2024 R1
• The screen images included with these training materials may vary from the visual appearance of a
local software session.

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Learning Outcomes

• Importing Geometry in Ansys Discovery Software

• Why we need to repair an imported geometry
• What are the common issues found in an imported geometry
• Fix Issues One-by-One Vs All-at-Once
• Discover some specialized tools for repair
• Introduction to how we can handle STL Geometry

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Overall Process
FEA Modeling
Module 4
Creating
Geometry
Module 2
Core
Skills
Module 1 Repairing
Geometry
Module 3

Ansys Discovery
Software to
Workbench
Module 5

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Importing Technology
• Ansys Discovery Software has 2 Import • Associative CAD Interface
Technologies - Additional License per Interface
• Reader - 3rd Party CAD Local Installation
- No Additional Licenses - 1-time Configuration required
- No Additional Installations - Identical to WB interface that works with
- No Additional Configurations DesignModeler
- 1 time “reading” of data - Imports Parameters, Named Selection,
Material, Attributes.
- Link to source file eliminated
- Parameters can be editing from Ansys
Discovery Software and passed to Source
CAD system to retrieve an updated model
and then replay geometry prep
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Importing Geometry (1)
• Two Import Options
Open CAD file in new session Insert a part in the same session

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 File Formats
Importing Geometry (2)

• Supported Files
- Supports import from major CAD packages
(CATIA, Creo/Pro-E, NX, SolidWorks, Inventor,
etc.)
• Separate license not required
- Neutral file formats like STEP and Parasolid are
also supported
- Additional license is required for
• Faceted Data Toolkit
• JT Exchange
• 3D PDF
• CATIA V5
• CATIA V6
• Bi-directional Attach mode with other CAD
software is supported via the “Blocks’
6 feature
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Importing Geometry (3) Ansys Discovery
Software Settings
• Import Options
- There are advanced options available under Ansys
Discovery Software Settings tab in File Menu
• Useful for optimizing the importing and exporting process
for your needs
- Several translation methods available to enable data
exchange with CAD/CAE systems
• Direct Integration/CAD Readers
• Import of generic CAD formats (IGES, ACIS etc)
- Parameters, Named Selections, and Attributes can
not be passed from CAD to Ansys Discovery Software
as Ansys Discovery Software uses reader mode for all
CAD files.
- Enclosure and Symmetry Processing is not available
- Work points (construction points) are not transferred

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Why the Need for Repair?

• Translation can:
- Return incomplete, corrupt, or disconnected geometry
• Requires repair
- Return geometry details unnecessary for CAE analysis
• Requires defeaturing

• These issues must be fixed to

- Create watertight fluid bodies
CAD Import
- Prevent meshing issues & Clean-up

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Common Issues Found in Geometry (1)
Missing Faces Free Faces Small Faces
• Many potential issues
‐ Missing faces
‐ Small faces
‐ Free faces
‐ Sharp angles
‐ Over detailed features
‐ Hard edges Small Edges Sharp Angles Hard Edges
‐ Small edges
‐ Others …

• These problems can be

fixed using several tools
available under "Repair"
menu

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Common Issues Found in Geometry (2)
• Stitch
‐ The Stitch tool combines surface
part faces that are touching at
their edges
• Tool Guides Options

Selects the location to repair

one-by-one
Select and add locations to
auto selection
Removes the location from
selection
Repair all locations at a time

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Common Issues Found in Geometry (3)
• Gaps
‐ The Gaps tool removes gaps between
faces
‐ Use the controls in the Navigate
ribbon group to view each problem
one at a time before you fix it

‐ Click “Next” or “Previous” to step

through and highlight each identified
problem
‐ Select “Zoom to Fit” if you want to
automatically zoom in on the
problem

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Common Issues Found in Geometry (4)
• Missing Faces
‐ This tool automatically detects and fills
missing faces of an object
‐ This can fill the missing faces all-by-one or
one-by-one
‐ Different options:
‐ Fill: set to fox missing faces by extending
neighboring faces
‐ Patch: fixing missing faces by creating a new face
through the bounding edges of neighboring faces
‐ Allow multiple faces: to dix a hole with 2 or more
missing faces

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Common Issues Found in Geometry (5)
• Split Edges
‐ The Split Edges tool detects and merges
coincident edges that do not mark the
boundaries of new faces

• Extra Edges
‐ The Extra Edges tool works like Merge Faces
but removes the edges between the faces
‐ Merging faces simplifies the model by
removing edges and makes the model more
difficult to modify
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Common Issues Found in Geometry (6)
• Merge Faces
‐ The Merge Faces tool replaces two or more
neighboring faces with a single new face that
closely fits the original faces

• Small Faces
‐ The Small Faces tool detects and removes
small and sliver faces

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Fix Issues One-by-One Vs All-at-Once
• Ansys Discovery Software allows fixing issues found at all locations at the same time
• This is useful when repairing large models
• But while fixing it may create invalid patches (surfaces) in the geometry
• It is advisable to double-check the locations fixed by automatic operations
• Check Geometry tool can be effectively used to validate the fixes

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Specialized Tools (1)

• Actual designs created have lot of features

Rounds Interference
which are unnecessary for CAE analysis
• These features can be simplified using several
Remove tools available under Prepare tab
• Specialized tools are used to remove features
- Rounds
Faces Short Edges
- Interferences
- Faces
- Short Edges

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Specialized Tools (2)
• Rounds
‐ It is similar to the Fill tool, except it
only selects rounded edges
‐ You will have a greater chance of
success if you remove only a few
rounds at a time

• Faces
‐ The Faces tool allows you to quickly
remove faces from your design. Use it
to simplify your design by removing
holes, protrusions, etc.

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Specialized Tools (3)
• Split and partially remove a round:
‐ When a chain of rounds cannot be filled in its
entirety, the rounds will be partially removed
‐ Click on the edge to split the rounded face
‐ From the Fix Options panel, change the Cap
width option to adjust the percentage of the
round face that is removed
Use “Faces” tool to remove
remaining part of fillets

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Specialized Tools (4)
• Interference
‐ The tool searches all visible bodies
for interference
‐ The interference is removed from
the body with the largest volume

• Short Edges
‐ This removes the small edges
coincident with boundary edges
‐ It connects the two vertices of the
short edge to eliminate it

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Convert STL Mesh to Geometry (1)
• STL Import Options
‐ Similar to other CAD formats, STL import can be
optimized through Ansys Discovery Software
Settings tab
• Import as:
‐ Connected mesh: Create a lightweight mesh
with full connectivity information between
facets
‐ Simple mesh: Create a lightweight mesh with
no connectivity information between facets
‐ Solid/surface body: Convert STL triangles into
full geometry
• Check the Merge faces checkbox to seamlessly merge
one or more faces

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Convert STL Mesh to Geometry (2) Merge Faces

• Converting to CAD
‐ You can convert mesh files into CAD
‐ Options are available if you right click on object in Graphics or
Structure Tree
‐ Options are available to convert by merging the faces or without
merging them

Do Not Merge Faces

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Convert STL Mesh to Geometry (3)

• Extract Curves
‐ Creates curves at the intersection of object cross-sections and planes

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Convert STL Mesh to Geometry (4)
• Skin Surfaces
‐ Helps to reverse-engineer a surface model
From faceted data
1. Single-click on the mesh where you want to start the sketch
2. Single-click to create internal edge points
3. Double-click to end the edge and create a corner
4. Continue creating edges and corners and close the shape by single-clicking on the start point
5. Hit the escape key to remove the current sketch. Click Complete to create the surface

1 2 3 4 5

Note: You can edit a sketch by dragging a corner or by adding or dragging a control point
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Convert STL Mesh to Geometry (5)
• Skin Surfaces Options

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Convert STL Mesh to Geometry (6)
• Skin Surfaces Tool Guides
The Select Boundary sketch surfaces patch boundaries on the
facets
The Select Geometry tool guide helps to choose planes or existing
patch edges to create boundary loops for surface patches

• Using box-select
‐ We can simply box-select the area where we want the sketch
‐ Control points are automatically added in areas with curvature

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Convert STL Mesh to Geometry (7)

• Periodic Surfaces
‐ Use the Select Geometry tool guide to select planes and create sections

The tool displays preview for the closest loop. If there are
multiple loops created. You can explicitly select a different
loop if the default that is chosen is not the one you want.

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Convert STL Mesh to Geometry (8)
• Periodic Surfaces
‐ Periodic surfaces can also be conical

Create a periodic edge on the section Click on the apex of the cone to preview the surface

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Quick Workshop 03.1
• Open a new Ansys Discovery Software project and import the stl file QuickWorkshop03.1
• Go to the Facets tab and click on the Smooth button
• The aim is to add more triangles to hole
• Double click on the surfaces at the top pf the hole
- Hold the control key down, double click on the surfaces inside the hole
- Hold the control key down and double click on the surfaces at the bottom of the hole

• In the details of ‘Smooth’ choose Add Facets

• Click three times on the green tick mark
• Check the triangles distribution around the hole
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Handling STL Geometry (1)
• Issues with STL data
‐ Intersections
‐ Non-manifold/ Over Intersection Non-manifold Holes Sharps
connected
‐ Holes/Gaps
‐ Sharp Features

• There are various tools

available under Facets'
menu to fix the issues
related to STL data

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Handling STL Geometry (2)
• Check Facets
‐ Use the Check Facets tool to
list problems with the Mesh
such as
• Intersection
• Non-manifold connection
• Multiple faces
• Holes

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Handling STL Geometry (3)
• Auto Fix
- Use the Auto Fix tool to automatically search for, and fix, any mesh defects
- The Auto Fix tool performs the following sequence:
1. Fix self-intersections
2. Close holes
3. Recheck for self-intersections
4. Fix self-intersections
5. Remove void shells
• Auto Fix uses straight faces to
fill the holes irrespective of the
shape of the geometry

• It is advised to double-check
the problems fixed by Auto Fix

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Handling STL Geometry (4)
• Intersections
- Use the Intersections tool
to highlight & fix the areas
of self-intersection
- The model is also made
transparent if any
intersections are found

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Handling STL Geometry (5) Use “Faces” tool to remove
remaining part of fillets

• Holes
- You can find and fix holes using the Holes tool
- It works like other Find-and-Fix tools in the Repair tab

• Options- Find/Fix

Patch

Cap

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Handling STL Geometry (6)
• Fix Sharps
- Meshes may contain sharp spikes that need to be
flattened
• Option- Find/Fix
‐ This applies to the angle between normal of
facets that share an edge

‐ This applies to the angle between normal of any

two facets that share a vertex
‐ Convexity options specify which type of sharps to
look for

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Handling STL Geometry (7)
• Over-connected/Non-manifold
- The multiple connected faces are highlighted
- If the problems are not fixed by the tools, then delete all the
faces in local area and use fill holes option to
recreate the patch

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Handling STL Geometry (8)
• Shrinkwrap

‐ Some faceted models contain gaps that will cause problems for 3D
Printing. For example, assemblies have multiple parts fastened
together but there are small gaps between the component parts.
The Shrinkwrap tool allows you to create a single, faceted model
by closing gaps that can be sent to a 3D printer The foot model used in this example has small
gaps between the bones of the foot
• Options Panel
‐ Gap size: Maximum distance between meshes that will be
considered a gap
‐ Keep original bodies: When checked ON, the original faceted
bodies will NOT be
‐ removed after the Shrinkwrap is created
‐ Preserve features: When checked ON, you need to set an Angle
threshold
‐ Angle Threshold: Angle, in degrees, that determines the
smoothness of the shrinkwrap
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Summary
• Ansys Discovery Software has a large number of repair tools to edit, and repair imported
CAD
• In the repair tab, there are tools to solidify non watertight geometries in addition to
fixing edges and faces
• Other tools are availble in the Prepare tab to detect and repair the interference, to
remove the rounds and faces and to detect bad faces and edges
• In the Facets tab, the ‘Reverse Engineering’ group allows you to import an STL file and
repair it in various ways
• STL mesh can be cleaned up using the Cleanup goup in the Facets tab

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 Workshop 3.1 Repairing Geometry

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