Written by Senior Applications Engineer, Al Zullo.
Starting with SolidWorks Simulation 2009, we have been granted the ability to run a Simulation study while continuing to work on other models in SolidWorks or even shut SolidWorks down while the Simulation continues to solve. We are also allowed to run multiple studies simultaneously. The best part is there are no special settings or hidden check boxes to enable this functionality.
When an analysis is started, a process separate from the SLDWORKS.exe process will start. The process which starts depends upon the study type specified. To determine which processes are running, start Windows Task Scheduler (CTRL+ALT+DEL > Task Scheduler), select the ‘Processes’ tab, and search the processes under the ‘Image Name’ column as highlighted below.
Each analysis type has its own solver. The following list outlines the process names associated to each solver:
Solver Process name
Linear Static Analysis STAR.EXE
Buckling, Frequency and Mode Shape Analysis DSTAR.EXE
Nonlinear Static and Dynamic Analysis NSTAR.EXE
Heat Transfer Analysis HSTAR.EXE
Fatigue Analysis FSTAR.EXE
Advanced Dynamic Analysis ASTAR.EXE
Flow process StandAloneSlv.exe