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Autodesk® Simulation DFM

    Design decisions can impact on the manufacturability of a plastic injection molded part.

    Autodesk Simulation DFM is an add-on that gives real-time feedback on the implications of design decisions via a set of three icons that represent the manufacturability, cost, and environmental impact considerations.

    Vary a part feature dimension and both the manufacturability and the cost could change. Select an alternate material and get quick feedback on the cost and environmental impact of the choice.

    Most of the parameters used to calculate these indicators are configurable, making the results relevant to the type of project being undertaken.

    Note
    • If a non-plastic material is selected in Inventor, Autodesk Simulation DFM is disabled.
    • Autodesk Simulation DFM does not support multi-bodied parts.
    • Unless specified in the CAD environment, Autodesk Simulation DFM assumes the plastic being used is polypropylene.

    Autodesk Simulation DFM supports the following CAD packages:

    Autodesk Inventor 2013

      Inventor - 32 bit Inventor - 64 bit
    Windows XP 32 bit    
    Windows XP 64 bit    
    Windows 7 32 bit    
    Windows 7 64 bit    

    Autodesk Inventor LT 2013

      Inventor LT - 32 bit Inventor LT - 64 bit
    Windows XP 32 bit    
    Windows XP 64 bit    
    Windows 7 32 bit    
    Windows 7 64 bit    

    Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire 4.0

      Wildfire 4.0 - 32 bit Wildfire 4.0 - 64 bit
    Windows XP 32 bit    
    Windows XP 64 bit    
    Windows 7 32 bit    
    Windows 7 64 bit    

    Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire 5.0

      Wildfire 5.0 - 32 bit Wildfire 5.0 - 64 bit
    Windows XP 32 bit    
    Windows XP 64 bit    
    Windows 7 32 bit    
    Windows 7 64 bit    

    Creo™ Elements/Pro™ 5.0

      Creo Elements/Pro 5.0 - 32 bit Creo Elements/Pro 5.0 - 64 bit
    Windows XP 32 bit    
    Windows XP 64 bit    
    Windows 7 32 bit    
    Windows 7 64 bit    

    Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks 2011

      SolidWorks 2011 - 32 bit SolidWorks 2011 - 64 bit
    Windows XP 32 bit    
    Windows XP 64 bit    
    Windows 7 32 bit    
    Windows 7 64 bit    

    Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks 2012

      SolidWorks 2012 - 32 bit SolidWorks 2012 - 64 bit
    Windows XP 32 bit    
    Windows XP 64 bit    
    Windows 7 32 bit    
    Windows 7 64 bit    

    Recommended hardware

    The recommended system to run Autodesk Simulation DFM is a 64-bit machine with 4GB or more RAM, plus a dedicated graphics card with 1GB or more graphic memory.

    Topics in this section

    • Autodesk Simulation DFM widget

      When the Autodesk Simulation DFM plug-in is installed, a small widget appears in the CAD workspace that highlights the result of design decisions on the production of a plastic injection molded part.