------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ANIFORM RELEASE NOTES ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- # indicates there is more information about the feature in the help documentation. * indicates the feature is present in the advanced option mode. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2026-06-30 AniForm Scheduler 4.0.3 + Simulation Server 4.0.3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Fixed an issue where simulation jobs could be assigned to a Simulation Server prematurely during bulk job submissions. - Changed the PENDING job status to QUEUED in the Scheduler web interface for improved clarity. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2026-06-16 AniForm PrePost + Client 6.0.5 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Fix for an exception when undo-ing a material model parameter modification. - Fix for an exception with a tailored equivalent layup where a section has one ply. - Fixed an issue where weight-scaled layups were missing the "WS" marker in the Calculation Layup dropdown. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2026-06-04 AniForm PrePost + Client 6.0.4 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Fixed an issue with a missing mesh repair dependency that could affect mesh import operations. - Fixed an issue causing incorrect project upgrades for legacy projects containing equivalent tailored layups. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2026-05-19 AniFormCompositeCaeHDF5export 6.01 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Fix: Cannot load simulation with membrane (or multiple laminates). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2026-04-28 AniForm PrePost + Client 6.0.3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Fix for cross-section view slider. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2026-04-21 AniForm PrePost + Client 6.0.2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Fix for an exception when validating laminate with less sections than the layup. - Fix for an exception when validation project with AFP Laminate after copying a section. - Prevent converting sections to or from AFP Parts. This solves an exception. - Prevent copying and deleting AFP sections. This solves an exception. - Fix a visibility issue when camera to close to scene in orthographic view after bounding box changes. - Fix for an exception when adding undefined cut or dart leads to exception when showing calculation mesh. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2026-04-03 AniForm Core 6.0.2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Added internal functionality to support ongoing and future product enhancements. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2026-04-03 AniForm PrePost + Client 6.0.1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PrePost: - Fix for exception when creating a toolbox item and disabling advanced option mode in result mode. - Fix for exception when plotting calculation mesh ply 2 if membrane is used. - Fixed an issue where not all Simulation settings were displayed. - Fixed an issue where an old afs file results in an exception. - Improved performance when pasting sections in the Layup Builder. - Improve SimulateProjectCommand for use in scripts. Client: - Fix api version range local Simulation Server use. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2026-03-23 AniForm Core 6.0.1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Fix Linux installer, related to module files. - Improved numbering of automatically generated nodes. - Upgraded an internal component to resolve a rare, difficult-to-reproduce issue that could cause solver execution to stall indefinitely. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2026-03-23 AniFormInverseDrape 6.00 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Fixed an issue in boundary resampling that could result in incorrect boundary point ordering. - Fixed an issue causing an incorrect boundary mapping between the deformed and undeformed geometry. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2026-03-23 AniFormCompositeCaeHDF5export 6.00 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Added compatibility with AniForm PrePost 6.0.0, including support for the revised modelling of equivalent layups and weight-scaled equivalent layups. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2026-03-23 AniFormContourReader 6.00 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Tool for creating sectioned meshes and associated layup definitions from ply contour data. - Added export of section-based tailored layups in AniForm Layup (.afl) format. - Exported .afl files contain layup definitions only and do not include material model information. - Added support for flat laminate export from CATIA V5 CPD .xml files. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2026-03-23 AniFormLayupCreator EoL ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - End of Life of the AniFormLayupCreator add-on. - Layup Creator functionality has been migrated to PrePost 6.0.0, with several improvements. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2026-03-23 AniForm PrePost + Client 6.0.0 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PrePost: - Overhaul of material definition: # - Overhauled the underlying data model. - Overhauled the Model Builder tree. - Material model definitions and layup definitions are now decoupled. - Material cards are now provided in the new .afmat format, supporting multiple forming temperatures from a single import. - Overhaul of layup definition: # - Overhauled the underlying data model. - Overhauled the Model Builder tree. - Simplified layup definition based on ply orientation, material, and shape. - Easily create large layups using the "New Layup" window. - Simplified the definition of section-based tailored laminates. - New equivalent layup functionality in PrePost: # - Enables reduced simulation runtimes while preserving global deformation behavior. - Equivalent layups are generated automatically. - Improved algorithms for determining equivalent layups, for both uniform and tailored layups. - PrePost and Client updated for .NET 10 compatibility. Client: - Fixed an issue where multiple RDP users could not start Client. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2026-01-19 AniForm Core 5.4.4 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Fix cluster start script. - Fix issue with missing diagonal elements and nnz calculation. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2025-12-09 AniForm Scheduler 4.0.2 + Simulation Server 4.0.2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Further tuning the solver (Core) process priority to reduce excessive CPU usage on systems with efficiency-core processors. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2025-12-05 AniForm Scheduler 4.0.1 + Simulation Server 4.0.1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Improved solver performance (Core) on Windows by elevating process priority on systems with efficiency-core CPUs. - Enable immediate cluster job cancellation by setting status upon submission. - Prevent premature job shutdown while threads remain active. - Improved log messages and diagnostics. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2025-11-21 AniForm PrePost + Client 5.4.4 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Updates in AniForm Client. No updates in PrePost. - Make AniForm Client compatible with AniForm Scheduler 4.0.0. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2025-11-21 AniForm Scheduler 4.0.0 & Simulation Server 4.0.0 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Added integration with cluster workload managers.# - Supported workload managers: - SLURM - PBS - Custom workload managers through configurable submission scripts. - Automatic configuration of workload-manager integration scripts during installation (for SLURM and PBS environments). - Automatic creation of Scheduler job queues for registered cluster configurations. - Added support for cluster configuration profiles, including node, task, CPU, and thread allocation settings.# - Users can submit cluster jobs directly from PrePost and Client, monitor simulation progress in real time, synchronize intermediate results automatically, and cancel running jobs remotely.# ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2025-11-21 AniForm Core 5.4.3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Official release for Linux cluster environments.# - Supports execution on Linux clusters managed by workload managers such as SLURM and PBS. - Can be used independently with existing cluster job submission workflows or integrated with AniForm Scheduler and Simulation Server. - When integrated with AniForm Scheduler and Simulation Server, users can submit cluster jobs directly from PrePost and Client, monitor simulation progress in real time, synchronize intermediate results automatically, and cancel running jobs remotely. - See the AniForm Scheduler 4.0.0 & Simulation Server 4.0.0 release notes for more details. Other updates: - Make sign of the shear angle result consistent with its usage elsewhere. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2025-11-01 AniForm PrePost + Client 5.4.3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Improved tape mesher for XML Fiber-Placement (FP) files. The mesh level now controls both the chordal error of the tape border and the element density. - Improved contour plot legend behavior when switching from an Indicator result to another result. - Improved mesh import for GiD meshes with sections. Isolated sections (sections that are not connected) with the same material ID now remain in the same section in PrePost. The order of the sections in PrePost now matches the order material ID numbering. - Fixed export of deformed plies to a mesh file. Membranes were still being exported even when not visualized. - Fixed measurement visualization trigger. - Fixed an issue where a copy of grippers (toolbox item) did not inherit the set free gripper DoFs. - Fixed a crash when plotting fiber directions when not all plies contain a fiber. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2025-09-17 AniForm PrePost + Client 5.4.2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - New default property for all Point, Line, and Edge grippers: Free All Structural DoFs. - Improved in-plane mesh distortion indicator for fabrics by considering the second fiber direction (does not affect unidirectional reinforced plies having a single fiber direction). - Fixed missing fiber compression indicator calculation for unidirectional plies in hybrid layups with fabrics. - Fixed an issue for laminate-based indicator results for Fiber Placed (FP) Laminates. - Fixed an issue where gravity and pressure loads were cleared when inserting a first interval into another loading. - Enhanced interaction between the wireframe and calculation mesh toggle button. - Resolved an issue in 3D Viewer when a mesh lies outside the far plane. - Improved alignment of text labels in 3D viewer. - Aligned panel background colors in post mode. - Corrected exported indicator AFR category in the results drop-down. - Fix for AFR export of indicators. It used to rely on dynamically created temporary mesh group IDs. Now it maps back to static mesh group IDs as defined in the AFS, ensuring correct result export. - Fix for an issue where exporting indicator ply results as text produced empty output. - Fix for crash triggered with the plot history script when switching between pre and post modes. - Fix for crash when opening results with multiple laminates. - Fix for crash when making screenshots and videos by increasing the size limits. - Fix for crash when disabling debug mode. - Fix for crash when undoing deleted sections. - Various other bug fixes and improvements. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2025-06-10 AniForm PrePost + Client 5.4.1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Mesh import functionality now automatically attempts to repair poorly defined elements during import. This includes elements with extreme aspect ratios or zero area, which can occur when exporting surfaces from CAD software (e.g. to .stl format). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2025-05-12 AniForm PrePost + Client 5.4.0 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PrePost: - Introduced unit systems MPA and BIN, enabling full unit-awareness within a project. - Material card files (.afl) have been updated accordingly to support unit-awareness.# - Added automatic simulation quality and defect indicators in the Post Project, available in the post-processing mode.# - Updated documentation#: - Added quick setup guides for installation, for On-Premise Solving and Cloud Solving. - Migrated simulation quality guide: See PrePost > Solving > Accuracy vs. runtime - Added advice on workflow: See PrePost > Solving > Workflow - Added advice on long runtimes: See PrePost > Solving > Long runtime - Migrated result interpretation guide: See PrePost > Post-processing > Simulation results - Added explanation on indicators: See PrePost > Post-processing > Indicators - Made ply-remesh direction consistent for +/- 90-degree rotations. - Reordered Result Control form: - Moved animate panel to the top. - Introduced Item/Component dropdown (additional dropdown for sub-result-items). - Enabled contour plot results to be shown at Laminate or Ply level (Item dropdown list). - Grouped related results like 'Fiber direction'; fiber family selectable via Item dropdown. - Added automatically generated shear angle result for unidirectional materials (previously only for fabrics).# - Renamed 'Thickness' to 'Free thickness' to clarify it's not constrained by mould surface.# - Fixed missing layup labels in 3D Viewer for membranes. - Fixed incomplete element plotting on AMD graphics cards. - Fixed issue where 'Mixed' name was not updated in Layup Builder. - Fixed incorrect element numbering in Abaqus export for skinny edge triangles. - Fixed GID writer error for large meshes. - Various other bug fixes and improvements. Client: - Added option to add the AniForm Cloud scheduler.# - Improved monitoring view for the solver model.out of a simulation job. - Renamed 'Clean all' button to 'Archive' to avoid confusion; as some users feared it would delete simulation data from the local hard drive. In reality, this action only removes data stored remotely on the instance hosting the Scheduler and clears the job entry metadata in the Client. Local simulation data is never deleted by the Client. - Added a user notification when old, finished simulation jobs are detected in the Client that are eligible for archiving. - Various other bug fixes and improvements. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2025-05-12 AniForm Core 5.4.2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Update internal libraries to support latest hardware. - Fix out-of-memory issue on AMD machines above 300GB. - Fix license check hanging in nested symbolic link folders. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2025-05-12 AniForm Plugin Development Kit (PDK) 5.4.2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Added GetOriginalLocalCS method to Plugin ContinuumPoint for UserMaterials. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2025-05-12 AniFormLayupCreator 5.40 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Support updated layup file (.afl) version 4, which includes a unit system. Unit systems have been introduced in PrePost 5.4.0. - Make .cs script compatible with PrePost 5.4.0. The .cs script is exported by LayupCreator in order to automate the creation of a tailored layup in PrePost. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2025-05-12 AniFormLayupCreator Lite 5.40 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Support updated layup file (.afl) version 4, which includes a unit system. Unit systems have been introduced in PrePost 5.4.0. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2025-05-12 AniForm AbaqusCAE plugins v1.51 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - The solid element tutorial has been extended to include a configuration in which a single layer of solid elements can represent both a single ply and multiple plies. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2024-07-01 AniForm PrePost + Client 5.3.4 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Fix: Camera views shortcut keys not working when settings are changed in another PrePost session. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2024-06-20 AniForm PrePost + Client 5.3.3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Fix: Fixed an issue in PrePost causing an error in Core with elementgroup numbers, when solely a tensioner without a gripper is applied to a laminate. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2024-05-24 AniForm PrePost + Client 5.3.2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Fix: Reload camera-views when drop-down opening, no need to restart 2nd prepost. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2024-05-24 AniForm AbaqusCAE plugins v1.5 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Import plugin now supports automatic processing of discrete fields representing ply thickness distributions for shell elements (not for solids). - Added tips on how to potentially deal with predicted spatially varying thickness when plies are formed into a predefined mould cavity. - Added tips on how to potentially deal with a other discrete fields (shear and stress) exported from PrePost. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2024-04-29 AniForm PrePost + Client 5.3.1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Offset correction for FP laminate xml's that already include vertical ply offsets in the point data. Previously it was assumed all FP plies are deposited onto the same surface, which was used as a reference for offsetting. Now both situations are supported. - In the Result Control, fix drop-down list for Contour plot items not ordered correctly when there is no Laminate thickness result (Post Project). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2024-04-26 AniForm PrePost + Client 5.3.0 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Entirely new 3D viewer: - Added an option to save multiple camera views across PrePost sessions (RM-click in 3D viewer). - Added an option to view cross-sections at user-defined planes. - Added rotation option for navigation cube (holding Shift + click on cube). - Improved measurement mode: Now the measurement is not lost in some cases. It’s possible to zoom/rotate/pan and use the cube and toolbar without losing the measurement. - Improved scaling of arrows (normals) and toolbox-items for some edge cases. - Elaborated colour palette for use in Model Builder tree items: Improved preset colours and ability to set custom colours. - User Material and User Interface material models can now be equipped with user-defined *post items (to be configured in user-plugin).* - Removed 'Auto set contact' button from laminate sections' property field for simplification (still available in 'Advanced options' mode). - Added a warning when flipping normals would affect configured contact settings. - Improved timeline interval handling: Now it is possible to remove intervals and edit the time span column from anywhere, namely in timeline, gravity, pressure, and loading entries. - In the post-processing mode, added the possibility to export the meshes at the displayed position (visualised time step) of Rigid tools, Membranes, and Laminates in the Result Tree. - For the 'Abaqus CAE field export' item, when available in the Post Project, additional results can be exported as fields. Added fields are 'Shear angle', 'Thickness', and 'Stress'.* - Fixed an issue where some user settings (View->Advanced options) were not kept after installing a new version of PrePost. - Fixed an issue where adding a node (e.g. when applying toolbox items) near the edge of a laminate resulted skinny elements, which may lead to adverse numerically-driven consequences like locally flipped normals. - Added documentation for Fiber Placed (FP) laminates and its related xml file format.# - For FP laminates, removed the 'Laminate thickness' result derived in the Post Project, as this result is confusing for thickness interpretation of FP laminates. Tip: To obtain a intuitive calculation of the part thickness distribution, import a part surface in the Post Project and add to it the 'Laminate thickness' item available in the RM-click menu.# - For the 'Laminate thickness' item in the Post Project, when added to an imported part, enable the 'Include overlaps' option by default for the thickness calculation. - For the 'Traction' result item for contour plots, exclude the z-component (normal) item to avoid confusion. This traction result has in-plane vectors only. - Reduced the size of displacement results (model_40_1.afr) by excluding irrelevant groups. - Improved model.afi file readability: Added comments with names of materials and tools. - Multiple other bug fixes and improvements. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2024-04-26 AniFormLayupCreator 5.30 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Make .cs script compatible with PrePost 5.3.0. The .cs script is exported by LayupCreator in order to automate the creation of a tailored layup in PrePost. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2024-04-26 AniForm Simulation Server 3.2.4 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Make compatible with AniForm PrePost + Client 5.3.0. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2024-04-26 AniForm Scheduler 3.2.4 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Make compatible with AniForm PrePost + Client 5.3.0. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2024-01-18 AniFormInverseDrape 4.30 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Improve visual appearance of laminates with dense meshes. - Fixed a bug causing the algorithm to produce two adjacent contour lines instead of one. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2024-01-10 AniForm AbaqusCAE plugins v1.4 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Enable "Supplied orientation directions are defined in part space" by default for the element orientation field, such that mapped fiber directions co-rotate with any post-rotation of an instance of the part. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2024-01-10 AniForm PrePost + Client 5.2.2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Fix exception when laminate section selected and project gets validated. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2024-01-05 AniForm PrePost + Client 5.2.1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Update Digimat xml export: ensure consecutive node and element numbering for multiple sections/parts within a ply/file. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2023-12-14 AniForm PrePost + Client 5.2.0 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Improved timeline interval handling, reducing review and reconfiguration needs. - For loadings, new multi-select capability for dropdown DoF target types. - New 'Vacuum bag' toolbox item, resulting in more stable solving performance compared to the old way of modelling a bag with two membranes subject to a pressure loading.# - Mesh settings for Fiber-Placement (FP) files now to be set during import of the XML file (formerly in Simulation Settings). - Option 'Include sector contact' for FP laminates now in its property screen (formerly in Simulation Settings). This option implies that the interaction of overlapping sectors 'within one ply' is modelled. Enabled by default. This option may increase the memory needs during a simulation. - Scripts menu item is now available in the default view mode of PrePost. - Laminate's stacking direction now in the laminate property section (formerly in Simulation Settings).# - Mesh import now also supports ASCII-based .STL files with multiple solid entities. - Added node and element group numbers visualisation in the post-processing mode. Can be enabled in the View menu. - Improve performance of 'laminate thickness' calculation in case of many sections. - Improve performance when deleting long lists of materials. - Multiple other bug fixes and performance improvements. - More advanced options made available in various property sections. - Added 'Custom remesh' option to set manually the element size.* - Added 'Robust contact' option, which adds additional contact pairs between the laminate's inner plies and external entities such as tooling.*# - Added tool-tool contact option to model interactions of a tool with another tool.*# - Added laminate-laminate contact option to model the interaction of one laminate with one or more other laminates. Can also be used to model contact between laminate and spanned foil strips supporting it.*# - Added sliding and penetration resistance settings for 'Pin support' toolbox item.*# - Added a layup 'Deconsolidation factor' to alter the 'virtual' laminate thickness. The material behaviour itself remains unaffected.*# - Added 'Edit equivalent layup' option. For example useful when modelling multi-material layups.* ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2023-12-14 AniForm Core 5.2.1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Allow override elementgroup number in tool. - Fix .api filename not case sensitive. - Reduce .data.out file size. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2023-12-14 AniForm Plugin Development Kit (PDK) 5.2.1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Fix iteration update in UserInterface. - UserInterface model extended with temperature. - New extensive documentation including examples on the development of User Material and User Interface models. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2023-12-14 AniForm Simulation Server 3.2.3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Installation wizard improvements. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2023-12-14 AniForm Scheduler 3.2.3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Installation wizard improvements.