Discussion Forum

Hi,

I'm having a problem using the Livelink for Inventor in COMSOL 4.3.a.

I have a CAD design which consists of several parts:
- An outer structure
- A number of flat electrodes inside this structure. (Each of these electrodes is a part in itself. They don't make up an array.) The number of electrodes is a parameter in Inventor which is synced through the livelink, so I can control it from COMSOL.
- The internal volume surrounding all these parts

I open up COMSOL, add a livelink in the geometry node, click synchronize, and something goes awry:
- These electrode parts (objects in COMSOL) are not aligned properly with the internal volume object that is supposed to surround them: they are slightly shifted (see image in the attachment).
- Furthermore, some of the domains of each electrode have disappeared (each electrode consists of three layers).
- In addition, if in COMSOL I change the thickness of the electrodes (another parameter in Inventor which I can control from COMSOL) and synchronize the livelink, some electrodes disappear altogether.

I've tried changing the absolute import tolerance in the livelink node, to no avail.

When I go back into the Inventor GUI, however, everything looks perfect: the electrodes are all there, intact, perfectly aligned with the internal volume, with the correct (adjusted from COMSOL) thickness.

Changing the geometry in Inventor itself in the manners described above also doesn't cause any of the aforementioned problems.

Importing all the parts into COMSOL as .STP files (ie without using the livelink) also works fine.

So I imagine the problem resides with the Livelink. Do any of you have any experience with similar problems or suggestions for solutions?

thanks in advance,
Dennis