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Welcome to the ANSYS Workbench Tutorial
The ANSYS Workbench is focused on helping to improve the engineering product process. The intent of this tutorial is to
help you learn the full power and capabilities of this highly integrated engineering simulation platform.

The tutorial provides a self-teaching teaching format that allows you to become familiar with various ANSYS Workbench
functionalities. It is intended to be taken at your leisure and at your own pace.

The tutorial has been designed to teach you both the process flow and the technical capabilities of the ANSYS
Workbench. The exercises contained in the tutorial are designed to be taken using the ANSYS ED 10.0 or standard
ANSYS Workbench version 10.0. The size and complexity of the exercises presented in the tutorial have been developed
to run within the finite element and other limits of the educational version of the product.

If you do not have access the either of the above products follow the following link to contact your local ANSYS provider.

Find My Local ANSYS Workbench Provider

This tutorial is provided in two formats. This printable format which is provided should you wish to print and reproduce
hardcopies of tutorial content and a separate on-screen format. The on-screen content contains scaleable graphic images
which can be viewed and resized as required in your internet browser or a standard PDF viewer as you take the tutorial
itself.

If you are taking this tutorial using version 10.0 of the ANSYS Workbench and you receive licensing errors when
performing various simulations, or if you are interested in the full range of products select the following link or contact your
local distributor based on the link above.

View ANSYS Product Offerings

If you are taking this tutorial using the educational version (ANSYS ED) of the Workbench and are interested in the
specific limits of the product visit:

ANSYS ED – Limitations
 ANSYS 10.0 WORKBENCH TUTORIAL
If you are interested in more formal classroom offerings covering engineering simulation theory as well as processes
visits:

ANSYS Workbench Training

Contents
The contents of this tutorial are intended to provide both an overview of the ANSYS Workbench itself and a suite or
technical exercises to teach you how to perform some basic types of simulation. It is not the intent of the exercises to
teach you more advanced types of linear and non-linear engineering simulation.

Introduction and Overview

This section is intended to introduce you to the basic content and use of the ANSYS Workbench. It includes descriptions
of the basic application tools and screen contents that you will encounter when taking the tutorial. The objective is to
introduce general terminology and the methods of interacting with the ANSYS Workbench through its graphical user
interface.

Exercise 1 – Workbench Basics

The first exercise introduces you to the basic workflow associated with performing engineering simulations. You will be
guided through the creation of a simple model. You will then apply loads and supports to your model and solve a simple
problem.

Once you solved the problem presented you will learn how to review the results of your simulation including stresses and
deformations. You will also be introduced to methods provided to produce engineering reports using the patented ANSYS
Workbench Report Generator. The reporting tool simplifies your ability to produce web-enabled (HTML) reports for
distribution and review by others. These reports can be saved and viewed by others without access to or need for the
ANSYS Workbench application software.

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Exercise 2 – Dimensions and Parameters

• Prerequisite: Exercise 1

One of the most significant capabilities of the ANSYS Workbench is its ability to interact with most major parametric CAD
systems. Because the Computer-Aided Design systems used by you and others vary, this tutorial introduces you to
model creation and the use of Dimensions and Parameters using the integrated DesignModeler.

It is important as you take this and other exercises that you understand that these operations could be just as easily
performed using your own local CAD systems. The bi-directional associativity between the ANSYS Workbench and CAD
systems allows the Workbench to interact with and modify your CAD models during the design and engineering process
based on simulation results.

In this exercise you will learn the use of dimensioning tools and the parameter manager. These tools facilitate
engineering simulation and your ability to perform various “What if?” and other design studies early in the design process.

Exercise 3 – Named Selections and Localized Loads

• Prerequisite: Exercise 2

There are two areas two areas of communications and collaboration that need to exist when engineering simulation and
CAD systems are integrated. This exercise deals with those areas.

First, what are named selections? Named selections are in affect tags or labels applied to entities (edges, faces, bodies)
or groups of entities in CAD systems. When using the ANSYS Workbench these entities are referred to as named
selections.

There is little question that most designers when designing a single component or assembly know both how their design is
supported or mounted and how it is loaded and where the loads are applied. Using named selections allows supports and
loads to be linked to CAD and DesignModeler models that are persistent when designs are modified. This allows
simulations on design changes to be fully automated as changes occur.

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What are localized loads? A simple example might be the footprint of a piece of equipment mounted on a surface in a
design model where the equipment itself and its footprint are not defined in a CAD model.

The ANSYS Workbench supports the definition of surfaces patches on a CAD or DesignModeler model to be imprinted on
a surface without having to modify the CAD model itself.

This exercise deals with these two capabilities and their use when performing engineering simulations.

Exercise 4 – Remote and Combined Loads

• Prerequisite: Exercise 3

In exercise 3 you defined imprinted images or footprints on a portion or a face or surface to which supports or loads are to
be applied. The purpose of this capability was to not have to create modified or special CAD models for this purpose.
This frees you in performing simulations from having to modify or request modifications of the CAD model.

At the same time these local loads may be the result of remote masses associated with these patches that are
represented by an un-modeled piece of equipment where the mass and center of gravity are known.

This exercise deals with the application of remote (un-attached) forces or masses to these predefined patches.

Exercise 5 – Assemblies and Contact

• Prerequisite: Exercise 4

Now that you have learned to deal with simulations of a single part, it is time to learn about how ANSYS Workbench
technology is applied to assemblies.

In this exercise you will modify your original model to mount the plate you created on a post supported at its base. The
automated contact surface definitions used in this exercise (while based on a model created with the ANSYS Workbench
DesignModeler); work in the same way when CAD assemblies are attached to the Workbench.

On completion of this exercise you will have examined the basic workflow associated with the basic use of the ANSYS
Workbench itself.

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Exercise 6, Part 1 – Exploring Simulation

The quantity and types of engineering simulation capable within the ANSYS Workbench are beyond the scope of this
basic tutorial. The exercises available in the remainder of this tutorial provide a brief view of some of these capabilities.

It is presumed at this point that you have completed the introduction and exercises 1 through 5 of the overall tutorial. If
you have done so, each of the following exercises can be taken individually based on your areas of interest.

• Exercise 6A – Loads and Load Steps

This exercise demonstrates the application of load steps based on masses and accelerations based on discrete
vectors to the results of exercises 1 through 5.

• Exercise 6B – Modal Analysis

This exercise uses the results of the previous exercise and explores modal and harmonic simulation to determine
the structures natural frequency responses with and without applied loads.

• Exercise 6C – Optimization

This exercise introduces you to the basic capabilities for performing simulation driven design. Included in the
exercise are the use shape optimization capabilities to remove excess or on-needed material in a part or
component and the use of Design of Experiment (DOE) principals to optimize designs.

Exercise 6, Part 2 – Exploring Simulation

• Exercise 6D - Steady State and Transient Thermal Simulation

This exercise introduces you to a few basic capabilities of the ANSYS Workbench in the areas of steady state and
transient thermal simulation capabilities. The exercise uses a predefined model.

The exercise is your first introduction to the definition, use and application of varied materials to model produced in
CAD or with the DesignModeler to the parts in models or assemblies.
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• Exercise 6E - Linear Buckling

This exercise introduces you to the basic methods of determining buckling modes and performing linear buckling
simulations based on a simple beam or column profile.

• Exercice 6F – Stress-Life Fatigue

This exercise introduces you to a minimum set of tools for performing stress-life fatigue simulations and method
used to examine various results from the simulation.

• Exercise 6G - Solving with 2D and 3D Symmetry

If you are familiar with the concepts of symmetry in performing analysis on rotating machinery or mechanisms or
other parts whose simulation is symmetric in nature; this exercise introduces you to apply your knowledge of the
design to improve simulation performance.

Exercise 7 – Basic Electro-magnetics

This exercise is intended to provide a very simple example of the use of the ANSYS Workbench in performing various
types of electro-magnetic simulation.

Conclusion

We hope when you complete this tutorial that you have a better understanding of the ANSYS Workbench. If you wish to
learn more contact your local distributor.

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© 2006 ANSYS, Inc. All rights reserved.