Altair SimSolid 2026 Brings Meshless Electromagnetic Simulation to Electronics Engineers
Altair SimSolid 2026 marks a watershed moment for the meshless simulation platform: for the first time, engineers can perform electromagnetic (EM) analysis directly on native CAD geometry—no mesh, no geometry simplification, no defeaturing required. This release extends SimSolid's proven meshless technology from its established structural and thermal domains into the electromagnetic realm, targeting signal integrity, RF design, and antenna engineering workflows.
Why Meshless EM Matters
Traditional electromagnetic simulation tools—whether FEM-based or FDTD-based—require engineers to generate a volumetric or surface mesh before any physics can be solved. For complex electronics assemblies, this meshing step can consume hours of expert time: geometry must be defeatured, thin features mid-surfaced, and mesh density carefully tuned to balance accuracy against compute cost. Errors introduced during meshing propagate directly into results.
SimSolid's approach bypasses this entirely. Its advanced mathematical framework approximates field solutions over the complete, unmodified CAD geometry, eliminating the two most time-consuming pre-processing steps. The 2026 release brings this same philosophy to electromagnetics, enabling engineers to move from CAD import to EM results in minutes rather than hours.
Two Core EM Analysis Types
S-Parameter Analysis
S-parameters quantify how electromagnetic signals are transmitted, absorbed, and reflected across a device's ports. In SimSolid 2026, engineers define a frequency span (e.g., 14–16 GHz), assign waveguide port conditions to inlet and outlet faces, and designate conductor regions using the Perfect Electric Conductor boundary condition. The solver then computes transmission and reflection coefficients across the specified bandwidth.
This capability is directly applicable to:
- RF filter design — evaluating passband and stopband performance
- Antenna matching networks — verifying impedance matching across operating frequencies
- Connector and cable analysis — assessing signal integrity at high data rates
- Microwave component characterization — rapid bandwidth screening before full-wave validation
Modal Electromagnetic Analysis
Modal EM analysis identifies the natural resonant modes of a structure—the characteristic frequencies at which electromagnetic energy propagates through the geometry. Engineers specify the number of modes to extract; SimSolid returns the resonant frequencies and corresponding field distributions (electric field, electric flux density, magnetic field, magnetic flux density) for each mode.
This is particularly valuable for cavity resonator design, waveguide component development, and understanding the frequency handling range of complex electronic enclosures.
Workflow Integration
The EM workflow in SimSolid 2026 follows the same pattern as structural and thermal studies. After importing CAD geometry, users:
- Define materials in the Material Database (e.g., assign "Air" to the device interior)
- Select the new Electromagnetic symbol from the main ribbon
- Choose S-Parameters or Modal Electromagnetics
- Apply boundary conditions (waveguide ports, Perfect Electric Conductor faces)
- Run the solver — typical solve times are measured in minutes
Results are visualized directly on the 3D geometry, with field quantity plots available immediately after solution. No post-processing export or third-party visualization tool is required.
Strategic Context: Unified Multiphysics Without Meshing
This release positions SimSolid as a genuinely multi-disciplinary meshless platform. Engineers working on electronics assemblies can now evaluate structural integrity, thermal performance, and electromagnetic behavior within a single environment—without ever generating a mesh. For teams designing PCBs, RF modules, or antenna systems where tight coupling between mechanical and electromagnetic performance is critical, this unified workflow eliminates the friction of transferring models between specialized tools.
SimSolid 2026 is available as part of the Siemens Simcenter portfolio following Siemens' acquisition of Altair. More information is available at altair.com/simsolid.