CAD Setup and Troubleshooting

Pro/ENGINEER Troubleshooting

The link between Pro/ENGINEER and Simulation Mechanical exists in the Pro/E file config.pro. If the Autodesk Simulation pull-down menu does not appear, or if it appears for some users but not other users, check that config.pro is correct. (When using Intralink, a common problem is that different config.pro files are copied from the network depending on the user.) The lines that follow exemplify what should be added to the config.pro file:

!BEGIN SETUP

!=============================

!== Setup ==

!=============================

PROTKDAT C:\Program Files\Autodesk\Simulation 20xx\text\protk.dat

!END ALGOR SETUP

where C:\Program Files\Autodesk\Simulation 20xx is the path where Autodesk Simulation Mechanical is installed.

If using Intralink and Pro/ENGINEER (64-bit version), then the PATH environment variable needs to include the path to the folder that contains the 64-bit version of the file agsdb_ar.dll. The path is something like C:\Program Files\Autodesk\Simulation 20xx\x64. (Note the last folder, x64, which indicates the 64-bit version of the Autodesk Simulation software.) Consult with your I.T. department for help on setting environment variables.

One way to test whether the proper config.pro file is loaded is as follows:

1. In Pro/ENGINEER, go to Utilities: Auxiliary Applications: Register or Tools: Auxiliary Applications: Register depending on the version of Pro/E.
2. Open the protk.dat file.
3. Highlight the Autodesk Simulation entry in the Application window and click Start.
4. The Autodesk Simulation menu item should appear at this point and the connection to Pro/E is established.

If the above steps load the Autodesk Simulation pull-down menu to Pro/E, then the wrong config.pro file is being loaded by Pro/E.

If the Autodesk Simulation pull-down menu does not appear in Pro/Engineer, or if errors occur while opening the Pro/E model from Autodesk Simulation, then confirm that the PATH environment variable contains the correct path to the Autodesk Simulation installation.

For Pro/ENGINEER (64-bit version), it may be necessary to download and install additional runtime modules. If attempting to transfer the model from Pro/ENGINEER to Autodesk Simulation gives the message Startup of application 'Autodesk Simulation Menu for ProEngineer' failed, then follow this procedure:

1. Download the 64-bit Visual C++ 2010 redistributable runtime modules from Microsoft. At the time of this writing (January 2013), the package to download is identified as Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 Redistributable Package (x64) and is available from the following link:
2. After downloading, install the package.

The third-party program Dependency Walker (Depends.exe) can be used as a diagnostic tool to determine if the runtimes are missing on a 64-bit system. Use it to open AlgDbRecord-win-x64.dll located in the Simulation Mechanical installation folder (like C:\Program Files\Autodesk\Simulation 20xx). When AlgDbRecord-win-x64.dll is opened, If msvcrt80.dll and msvcp80.dll are flagged as missing, install the Visual C++ redistributable. Once the redistributable is installed, those DLLs should no longer be marked as missing. (At the time of this writing, Dependency Walker is available from .)

Rhinoceros Troubleshooting

When running for the first time after a fresh install and attempting to open any Rhinoceros .3dm file, the model may not open. This occurs because the CAD transfer plugin needs loaded into Rhinoceros. The solution is easy:

• Open the .3dm file again and it will work.

SolidWorks Troubleshooting

If the Autodesk Simulation pull-down menu does not appear in SolidWorks, check the Tools: Add-ins dialog in SolidWorks. The Autodesk Simulation SolidWorks Add-in should be activated. If Autodesk Simulation SolidWorks Add-in is not listed, then register the files listed in Table 1 (see How to Register a File at the end of this page).

After registering the files, Autodesk Simulation SolidWorks Add-in should be available under SolidWorks' Tools: Add-ins menu.

SpaceClaim Troubleshooting

If the Autodesk Simulation Mesh tab does not appear in SpaceClaim, check the Add-Ins command under the SpaceClaim Options dialog (Application menu: SpaceClaim Options). Make sure Autodesk Simulation InCAD for Space Claim is checked and the Status is active. If Autodesk Simulation is not listed, then register the files listed in Table 1 (see How to Register a File at the end of this page).

General Troubleshooting

Within the interface, the CAD plugins are listed on the CAD Import tab of the Options dialog box. On the ribbon, go to the Tools tab > Options panel > Application Options command to reach this dialog box. If the plugin is not activated, the software will not directly transfer the corresponding CAD files.

The Autodesk Simulation Mechanical software is composed of numerous individual programs (exe's, dll's, ocx's, and so forth). Windows locates these files is by registering them. If you receive a message of the following type, then registering all the Autodesk Simulation programs may fix the problem:

• unable to locate a program, component, command or function
• error in loading a DLL or OCX
• a file needs to be registered
• general program crash (such as when starting the software)
• other obscure errors not readily recognized as a registration problem (such as Error # 32797 was generated by FEM2ESH Application-defined or object-defined error)

The Simulation Mechanical programs files are registered by running regall.bat as follows. Note that administrator privileges are required before running regall.bat.

1. Use Windows Explorer, My Computer, or Computer to view the contents of the Simulation Mechanical installation folder (the default path is C:\Program Files\Autodesk\Simulation 20xx)
2. With Windows XP, double-click the file regall.bat. With Windows 7 or 8, right-click regall.bat and choose Run as administrator.
3. A DOS Command Prompt window will appear while the registration is occurring. After a short period (approximately one minute) the window will disappear. Run the Simulation Mechanical software to see if the problem has been corrected.

It is also possible to register individual files as described below.

To Register Files:

When the Autodesk Simulation menu or options do not appear in the CAD program, the problem may be due to not having the appropriate files registered. Table 1 lists which files to register for each modeler. Consult with your I.T. department for help on registering files, or use this procedure.

1. Go to the Windows Start: Run window and clear out the current command.
2. Type regsvr32 followed by a space.
3. Open My Computer or Windows Explorer and locate the file to register. Drag it to the Run window. The command will now look like regsvr32 "C:\Program Files\Autodesk\Simulation 20xx\algorsw.dll" – where 20xx indicates the version of the software. The quotation marks are required because of spaces in the file path, which would otherwise be interpreted as delimiters.
4. Click OK on the Run window. The file should register successfully.

Table 1: Files Related to CAD Setup

Notes for Table 1:

1. Unless indicated otherwise, the files in Table 1 are located in the Autodesk Simulation Mechanical installation folder (such as C:\Program Files\Autodesk\Simulation 20xx).
2. Most of the files in Table 1 have a 32-bit version and 64-bit version. The filenames in the table are the generic names; the complete filenames end in -win-ix86.dll (for 32-bit) or -win-x64.dll (for 64-bit). If the CAD software does not have a 64-bit version, then use the 32-bit version.
3. Generally speaking, the files have names looking like the CAD package with which they are associated (assume DLL unless otherwise noted). CImp is always related to the Autodesk Simulation side of the transfer process and Alg is always related to the CAD side. Host executables are for those few packages that need some out-of-process assistance for technical reasons.
4. Some of the DLLs will produce and remove files when registered and un-registered.