PLEASE POST HERE ABOUT SOFTWARE FOR SIMULATIONS

[chiriuy]

Hi everyone,

Thanks for your replies leading me to this sims, but i'm still unsure that this is what i'm looking for.

I've checked both programs you told me here to take a look at and both seem only to simulate circuitry, what I need is something more "mechanical". I.E "i found a piece of software called newton that seemed to be what i'm looking for but it is not free and i'm not planning to fork out any money until i'm sure its useful, it does have a trial but almost everything is disabled."

The thing is that since i'm not knowledgable in the subject i might have explained myself wrong, if you do get what i try to mean by looking to this software maybe you can tell me of a free or opensource alternative.

Many thanks

[Thaelin]

   You may want to look at FEMM as well. It will help if you are a bit more detailed on what you wish to sim. Stephan here on the board uses it and may be of some help.

thaelin

[z_p_e]

Hi there:
   Here in lies the problem with sims. For the record, I did a sim once and it gave me results that were misleading. The device worked very well and had a power factor rating making it worth the build. So I spent over $300 haveing it made. Guess you know the rest. Salvage was around $100. Be careful and make sure you go over the program many times.After its all and done, its still just a sim. Tuned LC's are a good example of what I mean. Happy simming.  ^_^

thaelin

This is a blanket generalized statement and should be qualified.

Sim engines and models have their quirks and limitations true, but for electronics, 99% of the time the sim will be accurate.

I do not want to get into a debate about sims as I've been through enough of that already here, but "problems" in my experience (running sims since 1991), are mainly with the inductor model.

Unfortunately, FE research involves a lot of work with coils, so therein lies the problem.

It comes down to experience and knowledge in working with the simulator, and in particular the inductor model. If one does not take into account, and adjust for the missing elements in the inductor model, one should never expect realistic simulation results.

The sim engine is a computer, so if you put in garbage, guess what comes out?