Hyperworks CFD vs AcuConsole vs SimLab

Nazrin
Nazrin Altair Community Member
edited December 2020 in Community Q&A

Hello everyone,

 

I would like to know why Altair has 3 different per-processing software. Is there any roadmap for AcuSolve? If there are new student(s) want to utilize AcuSolve, which per-processing is future proof? As far as I know from Altair conference, AcuConsole will be replaced by HW CFD from time to time. Have a nice day

Answers

  • Adriano_Koga
    Adriano_Koga
    Altair Employee
    edited September 2020

    Correct. AcuConsole will probably be left as legacy.

    HW CFD and SimLab are the ones you might want to keep.

    SL is more focused in 3D mesh and has a more multiphysics approach, where it will be easier to couple FSI solutions for example.

    HW CFD will be a general purpose environment, with new functionalities.

    I'd say HW or SL usage will depend more on your familiarity and preference. 

     

  • Nazrin
    Nazrin Altair Community Member
    edited September 2020

    Hi /profile/97129-adriano-a-koga/?do=hovercard' data-mentionid='97129' href='<___base_url___>/profile/97129-adriano-a-koga/' rel=''>@Adriano A. Koga,

     

    Tqvm for the clarification. Not sure about anyone but i still like acuconsole GUI. Although not really colorful or rather plain, it is easy and direct especially all data about mesh/BC/etc associated with surface and volume 'manager' (under model tree). Mesh extrusion features make 2D meshing process more simple compared to classic HM desktop. Its hard to move on from AcuConsole to HW CFD  or SL (hahaha). Btw, i am posting this topic at the right forum? I did looking 'lounge like' forum but did not find any such forum. I dont want to be annoyance by posting unrelated topic at unrelated forum.

  • Adriano_Koga
    Adriano_Koga
    Altair Employee
    edited September 2020

    the best tool is the one that you feel more comfortable on using. :)/emoticons/default_smile.png' srcset='/emoticons/smile@2x.png 2x' title=':)' width='20' />

    But I believe in a few releases Altair will not improve anymore AcuConsole, and invest only in dev of HWCFD and SL.

     

    i'd say this is more related to AcuSolve maybe, so I would post it there. But anyway, it is ok to post here.

     

     

  • ydigit
    ydigit
    Altair Employee
    edited October 2020

    Hi /profile/97129-adriano-a-koga/?do=hovercard' data-mentionid='97129' href='<___base_url___>/profile/97129-adriano-a-koga/' rel=''>@Adriano A. Koga,

     

    Tqvm for the clarification. Not sure about anyone but i still like acuconsole GUI. Although not really colorful or rather plain, it is easy and direct especially all data about mesh/BC/etc associated with surface and volume 'manager' (under model tree). Mesh extrusion features make 2D meshing process more simple compared to classic HM desktop. Its hard to move on from AcuConsole to HW CFD  or SL (hahaha). Btw, i am posting this topic at the right forum? I did looking 'lounge like' forum but did not find any such forum. I dont want to be annoyance by posting unrelated topic at unrelated forum.

    If you could list all features from AcuConsole that you miss in HWCFD, it might be possible to address these issues.

    Going forward, HWCFD should be probably the default interface for most users.

    Those who need mapping or mulitphysics solutions, would be better off with SL.

     

    BTW, I would also recommend to attend the self paced HWCFD training (free and anytime)

    https://www.altair.com/training/hw2020_cfd/cfd_menu/story_html5.html

  • ydigit
    ydigit
    Altair Employee
    edited December 2020

    Hi /profile/97129-adriano-a-koga/?do=hovercard' data-mentionid='97129' href='<___base_url___>/profile/97129-adriano-a-koga/' rel=''>@Adriano A. Koga,

     

    Tqvm for the clarification. Not sure about anyone but i still like acuconsole GUI. Although not really colorful or rather plain, it is easy and direct especially all data about mesh/BC/etc associated with surface and volume 'manager' (under model tree). Mesh extrusion features make 2D meshing process more simple compared to classic HM desktop. Its hard to move on from AcuConsole to HW CFD  or SL (hahaha). Btw, i am posting this topic at the right forum? I did looking 'lounge like' forum but did not find any such forum. I dont want to be annoyance by posting unrelated topic at unrelated forum.

    Yes there are many AcuConsole fans out there, due to its simplicity and feature rich interface. Thanks for the feedback. HWCFD will get most features that AcuConsole had or its equivalent.

    It would be good to know, if you could elaborate which features make transition difficult. User feedback is definitely valuable, so this is the correct forum.

  • Nazrin_20835
    Nazrin_20835 Altair Community Member
    edited December 2020

    Yes there are many AcuConsole fans out there, due to its simplicity and feature rich interface. Thanks for the feedback. HWCFD will get most features that AcuConsole had or its equivalent.

    It would be good to know, if you could elaborate which features make transition difficult. User feedback is definitely valuable, so this is the correct forum.

    Hi @ydigit / @ydigit ,

    Thanks for the reply even though this topic already 2 months old. Below are 2 features that I would love to exist in HW CFD:

    1. Mesh extrusion (Usually for 2D case).

    2. I prefer data tree manager instead of ribbon to manage geometry surface (manage mesh, boundary conditions, etc). *This might be impossible for Altair since the ribbon trend is widely use in many new Altair preprocessing software.

    3. If possible, I really hope that HW CFD/SL can identify/calculate frontal area for geometry. It is really useful have frontal area to calculate drag and lift coefficient in AcuProbe. I post about this before in previous forum. There was a suggestion to mesh in VWT and VWT can calculate the frontal area for the geometry but it is to much work.

    That is all for me. Please keep in mind, the suggestions here is based on my limited experience using AcuConsole and does not represent other users opinion.