Icepro 5.0, the MCAD-to-Icepak interface, has
several new features that simplify and quicken the extraction of the
Icepak thermal model from a generic CAD model. Icepro 5.0 is built
on Granite® from PTC and can read CAD models in the native ProEngineer®
format and also supports STEP, SAT, and IGES file formats generated
by any CAD software. New features such as geometry clean-up and direct
export of CAD geometry allow the user to create a model suitable for
thermal simulation. Icepro 5.0 offers more flexibility and control
to the user, which enables easier conversion of complex CAD models into
thermal models that can be efficiently solved in ANSYS Icepak.
Icepro 5.0: CAD to Analysis in Minimum Time
The new Icepro 5.0 offers the fastest route from CAD model to thermal
analysis with ANSYS Icepak, or EMI/EMC analysis with Icewave. New features
and enhancements in Icepro 5.0 allow for greater geometric fidelity
than the previous version, while at the same time providing options to eliminate
features that may not significantly alter analysis results.
The graphic user interface (GUI) has been completely redesigned for greater
clarity and better management of CAD and Icepak data.
Two new clean up tools have been added to eliminate small and insignificant
features. The new model roll-back based Feature Suppression tool is applicable
to Pro/ENGINEER parts. The Remove Surface tool is available for all supported
file formats. Both of the above tools can be applied at the part level, even
though the imported file may be an assembly file.
CAD clean up: Small protrusion and cut features have been removed from this cellular phone cover.
While ANSYS Icepak 4.3 allows direct representation of CAD geometries,
Icepro 5.0 contains tools that offer the cleanest and most efficient ways
of transferring CAD geometries directly to ANSYS Icepak 4.3. The new Level
3 simplification, exports CAD parts as volumetric Icepak CAD blocks. The CAD
Surface Export tool is helpful in exporting shelled CAD parts as 3D ANSYS
Icepak CAD plates. Thus, Icepro exports the complete range of CAD geometries
supported by ANSYS Icepak 4.3. The above mentioned tools for CAD export can
be used after any amount geometric or feature clean-up. This helps users achieve
the right balance between geometric accuracy and the elimination of unwanted
features.
CAD volume direct export: The cylindrical heat sink with twisted radial fins converted into a CAD block in Icepro and solved in Icepak.
Icepro Features
Icepro is the MCAD translation software that provides complete geometric
support to the ANSYS Icepak 4.3 electronics thermal management software.
Icepro 5.0 is a stand-alone, object based translation tool built on
Granite® from PTC. Icepro 5.0 offers various levels of CAD part
decomposition, from fully automatic to fully manual. It provides multiple
options for the geometric simplification and clean-up of excessive details.
It is the most convenient platform to move from MCAD to ANSYS Icepak in an
efficient and timely manner.
GUI and General
- new! user interface containing listview, cadview, icons, and main menu
- Selection of multiple objects from listview or cadview
- Improved graphic rendering of all objects
- Options such as active toggle, visibility toggle and solid or wire-frame
shading toggle
- Basic 3-button mouse based cadview movements - left for rotation,
middle for zoom and right for pan
- Rename of individual ANSYS Icepak objects in the listview
A Pro/E assembly model imported and colored in Icepro
Import/Export
- Icepro can read the following CAD file formats:
- native Pro/E part and assembly files
- STEP, generated by any CAD software
- ACIS (file extension SAT), generated by any CAD software
- IGES, generated by any CAD software
- Default directory locations for improved data management - following
paths can be set to default values:
- Icepro projects folder
- CAD folder
- ANSYS Icepak library folder
Automatic CAD Decomposition
- CAD parts may be decomposed into Icepak/Icewave objects at 4 different
levels
- new! Level 3: Direct import of a CAD part as an ANSYS Icepak CAD block -
no decomposition is used
- Level 0: CAD part bounding box is substituted by ANSYS Icepak block or
plate
- Level 1: Decomposition into a combination of cubical and cylindrical blocks
and rectangular plates
- Level 2: Decomposition into a combination of polygonal blocks and plates
- Size based threshold for ignoring CAD parts less than specified size
- User input thresholds for automatic recognition of blocks and plates
- Options for automatic recognition of supported flow objects such as 3D
fans, openings and fluid blocks
Automatic decomposition into Icepak blocks and plate primitive shapes
Level 3 processing: CAD geometry direct export as an Icepak CAD block
ANSYS Icepak Object-Processing
- New versatile filtration tool
- Grille conversion tool for converting selected openings into rectangular
or circular grilles
- Conversion of Ice objects from original type to alternate types
Flow objects that can be created in Icepro
Assembly
Default Level 0 processing places Ice assemblies corresponding to CAD assembly
nodes
- new! Option to place a selection of Ice objects into a new or existing
assembly
- new! Option to disassemble an existing assembly
Clean-Up
- new! Remove Faces tool to eliminate faces belonging to unimportant features
- intended for STEP, ACIS and IGES format files at part level
- Model roll-back based feature suppression for Pro/E parts
- All clean-up tools are applied on a single selected part, even though
the imported file may be an assembly
Feature suppression window for Pro/E parts
Clean-up by feature suppression of a Pro/E part
Clean-up by Remove Faces tool
Other Advanced Features
- new! Manual decomposition of CAD parts
- Resulting children can be subject to automatic decomposition at any level
- Selected child can be further decomposed manually
- new! CAD surface export as an Icepak CAD plate object
- Multiple CAD surfaces can be exported as a single Ice CAD plate
- Coarsen/Refine options available immediately after the export
- Use manual decomposition if automatic decomposition does not give a good
match with ANSYS Icepak primitives
Manual decomposition of CAD part: (A) Feature suppression to retain only heat
sink, base and fins, (B) Automatic decomposition of suppressed CAD part results
in 4 different polygonal blocks, (C) Manual decomposition gives full control
CAD surface export: Inner surfaces of a cellular phone cover exported to ANSYS
Icepak after clean-up; different Icepro tools used for other components.
Online Help and Documentation
- Online documentation with index based search
- Context-sensitive help for all icons
- Tutorial manual with corresponding CAD models
Supported Hardware
- PCs using Windows/NT and Linux
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