What's New in FLOW-3D WELD 2025R1
FLOW-3D WELD 2025R1 delivers unprecedented ease-of-use in precision welding simulation. This release introduces improved workflows with a unified user interface, simulation templates, new process automation and analysis capabilities, and significant performance improvements.
Workflow Improvements
New unified user interface
FLOW-3D WELD 2025R1 introduces a user interface that seamlessly integrates the functionality of FLOW-3D and FLOW-3D WELD. Users have the ability to enable all the relevant physics models within a single application as well as define all required material properties for single alloy or dissimilar metal welding applications.
New process templates
A new pre-loaded laser welding template makes simulation setup easier than ever.
Improved restart workflows
In FLOW-3D (x), the addition of a dedicated FLOW-3D WELD node and significant performance improvements enable parametric studies and optimization routines that can otherwise be time consuming to configure. Users can set up workflows to streamline model validation, identify process windows, conduct parameter sensitivity analyses, optimize laser inputs and beam characteristics.
Simulation results (right) from a parameter matrix for a laser melting simulation, run automatically with a single input file in FLOW-3D (x). Validation data courtesy Gong et. al [source: Haijun Gong, et al. Melt Pool Characterization for Selective Laser Melting of Ti-6Al-4V Pre-alloyed Powder (2014)]
Performance and Scaling Improvements
FLOW-3D WELD 2025R1 brings support for high performance computing (HPC) platforms, empowering unprecedented simulation speeds. Harnessing the advanced OpenMP – MPI capabilities of our core solver, laser welding simulations on HPC platforms are now up to ~9x faster as compared to standard workstation configurations.
Faster simulation runtimes mean an accelerated time to market for critical laser welding applications.
Solver Improvements
Improved Reflection model
Energy reflections from the melt surface can be a significant factor, especially when simulating the keyhole regime. The improved reflection model in FLOW-3D WELD provides a more accurate representation of laser reflections.
Heat source integration and improvements
The upgraded heat source definition options allow users to define complex laser paths such as spiral and skew lines with greater precision. Additional controls allow the transfer of heat source properties for multi-source simulations, saving time and reducing the chance for errors.
FLOW-3D WELD Support in FLOW-3D POST
The new, pre-configured objects for fluids, melt regions, heat sources, reflections and particles make visualization of FLOW-3D WELD simulations a breeze. Annotations of commonly-used outputs are automatically available upon opening the results file in FLOW-3D POST, accelerating postprocessing workflows.
