By Luke Davenport
Inventor Optimization technology allows you to solve multiple simulations simultaneously (with varying parameter to optimize the size/weight of the part), but not many people know that in the Inventor Stress Analysis environment you can actually perform multiple simulations (with varying materials, constraints, contacts, geometry inclusions and omissions, and forces) in one hit.
Firstly create your first simulation with all material overrides, constraints loads and contacts, and then right click to copy the simulation. This is much easier than creating all the simulations from scratch and will allow you to make the changes you require, then copy the simulation again as required (it is helpful to rename each simulation for clarity at this point).
Once all your simulations are set up, hit shift to select them all in the browser, click ‘Simulate’ and they will all be solved in turn.
This can be a really useful trick if you have multiple scenarios to test or you may be away from your desk and you don’t want to have to keep manually starting the next simulation. Enjoy!