Getting started with TRAFOLO

Intro into FEM from a simulation engineer's perspective

https://youtu.be/tD8-qRFzWZk?si=PEU0xQL7t_HVBr4o

Common pitfalls

• https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/model-smarter-harder-some-advice-save-you-thousands-14-trafolo-wlkbf/
  Start from a minimal model, sanity-check with hand math, add physics and geometrical complexity only when the data demands it, and design your mesh/study plan like an experiment (hypothesis-testing).
• https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/mastering-fem-part-2-doing-math-ensuring-physics-12-trafolo-6mpbf/
  Estimate orders of magnitude, test mesh sensitivity, monitor residuals against quantities of interest, and verify that the physics make sense.
• https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/mastering-fem-part-1-isnt-magnetics-beauty-contest-keep-your-xq6gf/
  As mechanical talent rises, so does the geometry cleanup for electromagnetic analysis. Before chasing fillets, build the ugliest, yet honest, model that captures the dominant effects: use clean CAD, exploit symmetry, start simple when possible, and then scale complexity only as evidence requires. Pretty geometries don’t fix bad assumptions.
• https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/validation-planar-transformer-trflo-vs-annss-10-trafolo-wzbkf
  A head-to-head on an integrated planar transformer where both setups are aligned on geometry, materials (B-H), excitations, and meshing to compare skin/proximity-driven AC behavior.
• https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/good-bad-ugly-mesh-4-trafolo/
  A field guide to mesh quality: what “good” looks like, how “bad” causes trouble, and how to turn “ugly” into useful with local sizing, defeaturing, and targeted refinement where physics and gradients live.
• https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/fixing-cad-geometries-fem-2-trafolo/
  Practical CAD advice on defeaturing: remove microscopic faces/edges, heal gaps, merge nearly coincident surfaces, boolean with care, and keep things watertight so the mesh generator is satisfied. Defeaturing early pays back.
• https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/fixing-b-h-curve-fem-simulations-1-trafolo/
  How to keep material curves from ruining your model: avoid blind extrapolation, filter outliers, preserve monotonicity, mind units (µ vs. µr), and set reasonable initial magnetization.

Getting hands dirty

Documentation

1. Templates - high-level guide on how to set up cases.
2. https://trafolo.eu/documentation/users-guide/ - explains how to use/set-up specific things.
3. https://trafolo.eu/documentation/interface/ - explains what each setting in the software does.

Getting personal help

Communication is key. If you get stuck, don't hesitate to reach out for help. We have been solving hundreds of cases and have built extensive experience. It may take just seconds of our time to provide advice, saving you hours of struggle.

We prefer chats and usually try to reply in real-time, even on evenings and weekends. Keep it to one message, no intro - just what help is needed.

Lastly, as the tool is still in active development, bugs may happen both in TRAFOLO and 3rd party software. We would be grateful if you could inform us about them. From our side, you can expect workarounds and speedy fixes.

MS Teams - fast and formal

https://teams.microsoft.com/l/chat/0/0?users=info@trafolo.eu

WhatsApp - very fast and informal

https://api.whatsapp.com/send/?phone=37124786762

Email - slow and messy

info@trafolo.eu

Scheduling calls

call.trafolo.eu

Sharing models

The most efficient way to resolve issues in models (meshing, setup, and convergence) is when users share cases.

File → Export Project → Archive File (Processed results only)
This will create a moderate-sized zip file you can send.

In cases when you cannot share the model due to strict limitations, try replicating the issue in an equivalent setup.