Altair Inspire 2019.1

Inspire version 2019.1 includes the following new features and enhancements.

New Features

Part Replacement

Seamlessly replace an existing part with a new CAD model without losing your model setup. Altair Inspire automatically re-attaches existing loads, supports, connections, etc. so you can continue iterating uninterrupted.

Video Recording

You can now capture videos in addition to still images. This feature is available in the File menu under Screen Capture. Videos can be saved in gif and mp4 format.

Joint Coupler

Rotational and/or translational movements of connected parts in your motion model can now be coupled together with the Couplers tool. This tool works on a variety of rigid connections (joints, supports, implicit joints in motors and actuators, and springs). The By Joints option on the guide bar lets you select the entities that you want to couple together, and the microdialog lets you specify scale factors on the connections to achieve the coupling ratio you desire. Alternatively, you can use the At Free Joints option, which is useful in conceptual models that use primitive geometry (cylinders) as well as in geared applications where the Coupler tool is able to automatically compute the gear ratio from the number of gear teeth (or cylinder radii).

Meshing Improvements for Motion Contacts

The meshing operation for 3D solid parts in motion contacts has been updated to provide improved performance. Additionally, now you can specify the mesh resolution on a per-part basis. The Property Editor for parts has a Motion Contact category with new options to manually specify the Resolution (Very Low, Low, Medium, High, Very High), or you can continue to use the default mesh resolution via Autocalculate Resolution checkbox.

Analytical Contact for Spheres and Ellipsoids

Motion contacts now use shape identification to automatically determine whether any of the parts in the contact sets are either Sphere or Ellipsoid geometric primitives. If so, then geometric contact detection will be solved in its analytical form rather than being meshed. You may want to consider using geometric primitives whenever possible to take advantage of the improved efficiency of the solution.

Enhancements