ANSYS Workbench Application Customization
Toolkit Developer's Guide
Release 15.0ANSYS, Inc.
November 2013Southpointe
275 Technology Drive ANSYS Customization Suite
Canonsburg, PA 15317
ANSYS, Inc. is
certified to ISO
9001:2008.
ansysinfo@ansys.com
http://www.ansys.com
(T) 724-746-3304
(F) 724-514-9494
Copyright and Trademark Information
© 2013 SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use, distribution or duplication is prohibited.
ANSYS, ANSYS Workbench, Ansoft, AUTODYN, EKM, Engineering Knowledge Manager, CFX, FLUENT, HFSS and any
and all ANSYS, Inc. brand, product, service and feature names, logos and slogans are registered trademarks or
trademarks of ANSYS, Inc. or its subsidiaries in the United States or other countries. ICEM CFD is a trademark used
by ANSYS, Inc. under license. CFX is a trademark of Sony Corporation in Japan. All other brand, product, service
and feature names or trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Disclaimer Notice
THIS ANSYS SOFTWARE PRODUCT AND PROGRAM DOCUMENTATION INCLUDE TRADE SECRETS AND ARE CONFID-
ENTIAL AND PROPRIETARY PRODUCTS OF ANSYS, INC., ITS SUBSIDIARIES, OR LICENSORS. The software products
and documentation are furnished by ANSYS, Inc., its subsidiaries, or affiliates under a software license agreement
that contains provisions concerning non-disclosure, copying, length and nature of use, compliance with exporting
laws, warranties, disclaimers, limitations of liability, and remedies, and other provisions. The software products
and documentation may be used, disclosed, transferred, or copied only in accordance with the terms and conditions
of that software license agreement.
ANSYS, Inc. is certified to ISO 9001:2008.
U.S. Government Rights
For U.S. Government users, except as specifically granted by the ANSYS, Inc. software license agreement, the use,
duplication, or disclosure by the United States Government is subject to restrictions stated in the ANSYS, Inc.
software license agreement and FAR 12.212 (for non-DOD licenses).
Third-Party Software
See the
legal information in the product help files for the complete Legal Notice for ANSYS proprietary software
and third-party software. If you are unable to access the Legal Notice, please contact ANSYS, Inc.
Published in the U.S.A.
Table of Contents
Introduction ............................................................................................................................................... 1
Add-Ins and Customization ..................................................................................................................... 1
Defining the Extension Concept .............................................................................................................. 1
Project and Extensions ............................................................................................................................ 1
Defining an Extension ................................................................................................................................ 3
Basic Extension Definition ....................................................................................................................... 3
XML Extension Definition ........................................................................................................................ 4
Python Callbacks for Extensions .............................................................................................................. 5
Customizing an Application .................................................................................................................... 6
Extensions and Libraries ......................................................................................................................... 7
Using Extensions ........................................................................................................................................ 9
Extension Types ...................................................................................................................................... 9
Loading and Unloading Extensions ......................................................................................................... 9
Installing and Uninstalling an Extension ................................................................................................ 11
Compiling an Extension ........................................................................................................................ 12
Generation Options for Extensions Handling ......................................................................................... 15
Licensing ................................................................................................................................................... 19
Extension Capabilities .............................................................................................................................. 21
Toolbars and Toolbar Buttons ................................................................................................................ 21
Popup Dialogs ...................................................................................................................................... 23
Adding a Pre-Processing Feature in ANSYS Mechanical .......................................................................... 24
Adding a Post-Processing Feature in ANSYS Mechanical ........................................................................ 30
Creating Results with Imaginary Parts ................................................................................................... 35
Obsolete ”OnStartEval” and “GetValue” Callbacks ................................................................................... 36
Connecting to a Third-Party Solver ........................................................................................................ 36
Third Party Solver Connection Extension ......................................................................................... 36
Post Processing .............................................................................................................................. 41
Load and Save Data ........................................................................................................................ 42
Defining an Optimization in ANSYS DesignXplorer ................................................................................ 45
The Optimization Study .................................................................................................................. 46
The Optimization Component ................................................................................................... 48
The Optimization Extension ...................................................................................................... 49
Implementation of an Optimization Extension ................................................................................ 49
Implementation Requirements ................................................................................................. 49
Optimization Extension Definition and Configuration ................................................................ 49
Optimizer Capabilities .............................................................................................................. 51
Main Capabilities ................................................................................................................ 51
Optional Capabilities .......................................................................................................... 52
Notes on IOptimizationMethod Implementation ............................................................................. 53
Notes on Monitoring ................................................................................................................ 53
Notes on Results ....................................................................................................................... 53
Working with Properties ....................................................................................................................... 54
Creating Groups of Properties ......................................................................................................... 54
Defining DesignXplorer Optimization Properties ............................................................................. 58
Properties in the DesignXplorer User Interface .......................................................................... 58
Additional Attributes for Optimization Extensions ..................................................................... 59
Advanced Usage Example: Properties Dependency ................................................................... 59
Advanced Usage Example: Control Property Visibility with a Callback ......................................... 60
Advanced Usage Example: Modify an Attribute with a Callback .................................................. 60
Storing Data in Your Extension .............................................................................................................. 61
iii
Release 15.0 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
Templates ............................................................................................................................................. 62
Binding Toolbar Buttons with ACT Objects ............................................................................................ 62
APIs Description ....................................................................................................................................... 65
APIs for ANSYS Mechanical ................................................................................................................... 65
Traversing the Geometry ................................................................................................................ 65
Traversing the Mesh ........................................................................................................................ 67
Traversing Simulation ..................................................................................................................... 68
Traversing Results ........................................................................................................................... 70
User Interface and Toolbars ............................................................................................................. 72
APIs for ANSYS DesignXplorer ............................................................................................................... 72
Optimization Architecture .............................................................................................................. 72
The Optimization Process ............................................................................................................... 73
Associated Libraries ................................................................................................................................. 75
Query to Material Properties ................................................................................................................. 75
Units Conversion .................................................................................................................................. 76
MAPDL Helpers .................................................................................................................................... 78
Journaling Helper ................................................................................................................................. 79
XML Extension Definition ......................................................................................................................... 81
<Extension> Element ........................................................................................................................... 81
<GUID> Element ............................................................................................................................ 81
<Script> Element ............................................................................................................................ 82
<Interface> Element ....................................................................................................................... 82
<Images> Element ................................................................................................................... 83
<Callbacks> Element ................................................................................................................ 83
<Toolbar> Element ................................................................................................................... 86
Child Elements ................................................................................................................... 87
<Simdata> Element ........................................................................................................................ 88
<Load> Element ....................................................................................................................... 89
<Callbacks> Element .......................................................................................................... 90
<Property> Element ........................................................................................................... 95
<Callbacks> Element .................................................................................................... 96
<Propertygroup> Element .................................................................................................. 99
<Propertytable> Element ................................................................................................... 99
<Result Element> ................................................................................................................... 100
<Callbacks Element> ........................................................................................................ 101
<Property> Element ......................................................................................................... 104
<Propertygroup> Element ................................................................................................ 105
<Propertytable> Element ................................................................................................. 105
<Solver> Element ................................................................................................................... 105
<Callbacks> Element ........................................................................................................ 106
<Property> Element ......................................................................................................... 108
<Propertygroup> Element ................................................................................................ 108
<Propertytable> Element ................................................................................................. 108
<optimizer> Element .............................................................................................................. 108
<callbacks> Element ......................................................................................................... 110
<OnCreate> and <OnRelease> Callbacks .................................................................... 111
<CanRun> and <QuickHelp> Callbacks ....................................................................... 112
<Description>, <Configuration>, and <Status> Callbacks ............................................. 113
XML File Definition ............................................................................................................................. 114
Development and Debugging Tips ......................................................................................................... 123
Prerequisites ....................................................................................................................................... 123
Debug Mode ...................................................................................................................................... 123
Release 15.0 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.iv
ANSYS Workbench Application Customization Toolkit Developer's Guide
IronPython Console Extension ............................................................................................................ 125
Debugging an Extension ..................................................................................................................... 126
Debugging with Microsoft® Visual Studio®
..................................................................................................................................................... 127
Using Python Tools for Visual Studio®
..................................................................................................................................................... 127
Advanced Programming in C# ................................................................................................................ 129
Initialize the C# Project ........................................................................................................................ 129
C# Implementation for a Load ............................................................................................................. 129
C# Implementation for a Result ........................................................................................................... 130
Limitations .............................................................................................................................................. 133
Examples ................................................................................................................................................. 135
Von-Mises Stress as a Custom Result .................................................................................................... 135
An Edge-Node Coupling Tool .............................................................................................................. 139
DesignXplorer Optimization Extension Examples ................................................................................ 144
v
Release 15.0 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
ANSYS Workbench Application Customization Toolkit Developer's Guide
