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Get Started
Learn the basics and discover the workspace.
Best Practices
Explores best practices to ensure high-fidelity results in SimSolid.
SimSolid Finite Element Equivalents
Recommend equivalents in SimSolid relative to other finite element analysis entities.

Welcome
What's New
View new features for SimSolid 2025.
Get Started
Learn the basics and discover the workspace.
- Product Introduction
- License Setup
  Activate your SimSolid license from within the product.
- Minimum Hardware Requirements
  Learn the minimum requirements for supported platforms.
- Hints and Tips
  Short list of hints and tips to get you started with SimSolid.
- Quick Start
  General workflow overview for SimSolid.
- User Interface
  Visual guide for navigating the SimSolid user interface.
- Best Practices
  Explores best practices to ensure high-fidelity results in SimSolid.
  - Geometry
    Geometry import best practices and reader recommendations.
  - Connection Fidelity
    Connection tools in SimSolid and connection best practices.
  - Geometric and Solution Adaption
    SimSolid adaption tools and solution settings best practices.
  - SimSolid Finite Element Equivalents
    Recommend equivalents in SimSolid relative to other finite element analysis entities.
- Mouse Controls
  Mouse controls for model view manipulation and component selection in SimSolid
- Keyboard Shortcuts
  List of keyboard shortcuts available in SimSolid.
- Command Line Execution
  Install and invoke SimSolid from the operating system command line.
- Run SimSolid on Linux
  The Linux version of SimSolid works without any user-interface and is meant to run jobs on HPC clusters.
- Units
  A guide to unit management in SimSolid.
- Measurements
  Measurement of coordinates and dimensions in SimSolid.
- Solution Settings
  Summary of the settings available for refining SimSolid solutions.
- Set Model Front View
  Select default orientation for the Front View of the model.
- User Defined Views
  Generator and browser for user defined views.
- Product Comparison
  Comparison of functions available in SimSolid , SimSolid Standard, SimSolid Advanced, and and Inspire.
- Configuration File
  Used to manually activate or deactivate a set of features.
- Theoretical Background
  Theoretical background of SimSolid and its software implementation workflow, and comparison of other methods used in traditional FEA.
Tutorials
Discover SimSolid functionality with interactive tutorials.
Interface with External Products
Interfaces that support SimSolid output file format.
Geometry
Information about treatment and properties of geometric entities in SimSolid.
Assembly
Summary of available functionality for defining the properties and behavior of parts in the model.
Connections
Connections are used to define the association of different regions of interest between parts in an assembly.
Create Analysis
Create an analysis for your project.
Boundary Conditions
Boundary Conditions available for SimSolid.
Post Processing
Run analyses and view a variety of results in SimSolid.
Design Study
Design studies allow you to quickly evaluate and compare the structural performance from different design scenarios.
Verification Problems
Solved verification models.
Frequently Asked Questions
This section provides quick responses to typical and frequently asked questions regarding

SimSolid Finite Element Equivalents

Recommend equivalents in SimSolid relative to other finite element analysis entities.

Table 1.
SimSolid entity	FE equivalent
Connections
General connector	RBE2
Bushing	RBE2 + CBUSH
Remote mass - rigid	RBE2+ CONM2
Distributed mass	NSM
Pins-Rotating	RBE2+JOINTG-HINGE
Pins-Bonded	RBE2
Pins -Sliding	RBE2+JOINTG- CYLINDRI
Remote support	RBE2+ SPC
Shock Absorber	CBUSH, CELAS1, CELAS2
Rods	CELAS1, CELAS2
Rivet	RBE2
Joints Ball Hinge Cylindrical Linear Guide Universal	RBE2+ JOINTG BALL HINGE CYLINDRI TRANSLAT UNIVERSA
Boundary Conditions
Remote load on faces and spots	Loads on RBE3
Remote load on General connector	Loads on RBE2
Remote displacement	Enforced displacement on RBE2

Additional Guidelines

Directional constraints

Use bushings
- Use bushings to connect two parts or a ground bushing
- Set all directional stiffness to either rigid or free (zero)
Use enforced displacement
- Set displacement to 0 to constrain all displacement in specific direction(s) on faces