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Get Started
New to Inspire? Learn the basics here.
The Model Browser
Use the Model Browser to organize your model, organize analysis and optomization objects, and access objects that aren't currently shown in the modeling window.
Mass Calculation
Mass calculation allows masses to be calculated and displayed in the Model Browser.

Welcome
What's New
Discover new features and enhancements.
Get Started
New to Inspire? Learn the basics here.
- What is Altair Inspire?
  Inspire is a concept design tool, which you can use to run structural optimization, finite element analysis, motion analysis, and additive manufacturing analysis.
- Videos: Getting Started with Inspire
  A series of videos introducing the view controls, 3D modeling, structural analysis, topology optimization, and PolyNURBS.
- Licensing Features
  Some ribbon tabs are associated with license features. Depending upon the tab you have invoked, additional units may be drawn. These features will be checked out for the duration of the session.
- Workspace and Tool Belts
  Learn how to customize the workspace and tool belts.
- Find and Search for Tools
  Quickly find and open the tools that are available on the ribbons.
- File Import and Export
  Learn how to import geometry and export results.
- Select and Edit
  Review techniques for selecting and editing objects.
- Adjust the View
  Change the view in the modeling window using the mouse or view controls.
- Move and Snap
  Translate, rotate, and align parts and other objects using the Move tool and snaps.
- Systems
  The Systems tool is useful for aligning loads to a local coordinate system rather than the global coordinate system. Keep in mind that results are only shown in the global coordinate system.
- Screen Capture
  Record a video or take a snapshot of the screen.
- Units and Measurement
  Change the default unit system, create custom units, and measure geometry features.
- The Model Browser
  Use the Model Browser to organize your model, organize analysis and optomization objects, and access objects that aren't currently shown in the modeling window.
  - Managing Analyses in the Model Browser
    You can create as many analysis types as you need with different loading conditions to understand how each impacts the results of an analysis or optimization.
  - Parts and Assemblies
    Organize parts into assemblies and view part alternatives.
  - Enable List View in the Model Browser
    Select List View to view the Model Browser as a list view with groups of assemblies and parts.
  - Search and Filter
    Search entities and automatically filter the results to only display the entities that contain the search string. You can also filter by entity type.
  - Show or Hide
    Show or hide an entity by clicking its icon in the Model Browser or using the context menu.
  - Configure a Model
    Configure a model by activating or deactivating parts so they are included or excluded from calculations like mass summaries, static weight calculations, optimization, etc.
  - Find
    Find entities in the model that contain the search string you enter. The search results are not filtered.
  - Edit
    Double-click an entity in the Model Browser to edit it.
  - Mass Calculation
    Mass calculation allows masses to be calculated and displayed in the Model Browser.
  - Suppress or Unsuppress Entities
    Suppress or unsuppress an entity using the context menu in the Model Browser.
  - Show Model, Assembly, or Part Information
    Quickly find out how many items are in an entire model, an assembly, or a part. For example, if you select the entire model, you will see the number of forces, supports, assemblies, parts, loads, etc. If you select a part, you will see the mass, volume, bounding box, center of gravity, features, etc.
- Run a Simulation
  Use the Analyze icons that appear on various ribbons to run and view the results of a simulation.
- Help and User Assistance
  Learn about the forms of help and user assistance available from the product.
- Preferences
  Modify the workspace display, default keyboard shortcuts, and other settings.
- Inspire System Requirements
  A list of supported operating systems and minimum requirements for hardware and memory.
- Keyboard Shortcuts and Mouse Controls
  Learn keyboard shortcuts and mouse controls for common operations.
Tutorials
Start using Inspire with our interactive tutorials.
Variables
Create and assign variables to parametrize a model. This allows you to quickly iterate and compare design concepts by tweaking the values of the variables.
Parametric Modeling
Create parametric sketches, geometry, and PolyNURBS with construction history and variables.
Implicit Modeling
Create implicit models with primitives, lattices, point clouds, fields, offsetting, Booleans, inverting, smoothing, morphing, and filleting.
Structures
Set up your model and run a structural analysis or optimization.
Motion
Set up and run a motion analysis, plot the results, and export the results.
Fluids
Prepare and run a computational fluid dynamics simulation.
Design Explorer
Evaluate designs by using geometric variables and applying a design-of-experiments (DOE) or optimization method. We recommend fully constraining your sketch when sketch variables are used in the design exploration.
Manufacture
Set up and run a basic porosity or thinning analysis.
Print 3D
Prepare and run an additive manufacturing simulation, and export a file for 3D printing.
Rendering
Adjust the materials and environment of objects in the scene to create a photorealistic image.
Inspire Python API
Learn how to access the Inspire Python API including online help, quick start demos, and the Extension Manager.
Reference
View the glossary, frequently asked questions, and errors and alerts.
Keyboard Shortcuts and Mouse Controls
Learn keyboard shortcuts and mouse controls for common operations.

Mass Calculation

Mass calculation allows masses to be calculated and displayed in the Model Browser.

To improve overall performance, when a CAD file is imported the mass sizes are not calculated and are shown as ** in the Model Browser.

Press F2 to open the Model Browser.
To display mass in the Model Browser, right-click the Object column.
Turn on Mass to show the column.

Tip: Because the mass calculations are continually updated as you make changes to the model, larger models may exhibit a slowdown in performance when this option is enabled. To hide the column, right-click the column header and turn off Mass.
Click the Calculate button to display the mass of a part. A nonzero mass indicates a solid object.

Note: You can override a selected part's mass in the Property Editor. This will affect measure weight calculations and motion calculations, but not structural analysis calculations.