Technical Specification 
FLO/MCAD from Flomerics enables parts
and assemblies from any Mechanical Computer Aided Design (MCAD) software
(such as Pro/Engineer, I-DEAS, Solid Designer, etc.) to be transferred
easily and rapidly to and from FLOTHERM for thermal analysis.
FLO/MCAD is more than just an interface
program - it intelligently filters the geometrical data for a particular
part or assembly and creates a simplified "thermal equivalent"
for analysis purposes. This is critical because production quality MCAD
solid models contain a vast amount of thermally insignificant geometric
detail. Simply importing the geometry from the MCAD system into FLOTHERM
will create a thermal analysis problem so complex that it will take weeks
to solve. A wiser approach is to simplify the geometry to a level that
matches the thermal importance of the part, e.g. little or no simplification
for thermally critical geometry, a lot of simplification for small or passive
geometry. A few moments spent simplifying the problem can save days or
weeks later.
FLO/MCAD is a productivity tool designed
to help the engineer speed up and automate the simplification process
leading to greater productivity and faster turnaround in thermal analysis.
 Normally the
MCAD part geometry includes radii, fillets, draft angles, small holes
and other features which are not important from a thermal standpoint,
but which greatly increase the complexity and time required for thermal
analysis if included in the simulation. Using FLO/MCAD,
the user can identify and remove unnecessary geometrical features such
as non-planar surfaces, blends, fillets, small holes and protuberances,
while preserving volume or surface area as appropriate. FLO/MCAD
then "dissects" (converts) the part automatically into FLOTHERM
primitives and transfers it to FLOTHERM.
Alternatively a one touch operation can both simplify and then dissect
the model using a slider bar to set the simplification level. This method,
called "decomposition ", provides a near instantaneous conversion
capability for seamless integration with MCAD environments.
The
Decomposition Process
The
MCAD geometry file is converted to an ACIS solid on import into
FLO/MCAD.
A desired
simplification level is set on a slider bar, appropriate for the
level of detail required.
The
model is then simplified, converted into FLOTHERM objects and transferred
to FLOTHERM in a single operation.
A thermal
analysis can then be conducted in the usual way.
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