Leveraging EMC Simulation for electronics enclosure design

Whether defined by the FCC/IC, RED (CE), ISO, CISPR, or another agency, these guidelines present a minimum level of acceptable interference, and you must prove that your devices fall under those minimums before you can bring them to market. While a normal part of manufacturing electronics, proving compliance can be time consuming, costly, and frustrating to both customers and employees, especially if problems aren’t identified until late in the development phase.

Early detection reduces cost
From the graphic below, you see that even if your device has a lot of problems, the cost to fix them is minor when discovered during the concept or detail design phase. Alternatively, if you have just one problem discovered during the production ramp-up or full production phase, the cost to repair can be astronomical. Not only can fixing the problem cost a lot of money, but it can also take a lot of time to identify the problem, get the new components, and rebuild the part. These delays can damage your reputation with customers and employees. 

Use Ansys Simulation Software for early detection
With simulation software, engineers can test a design’s behavior in different scenarios, ensuring that it meets minimum requirements before moving into the prototyping phase, resulting in better performing products that get to market faster. By delivering better products faster, you will save time and improve the customer and employee experience, all of which are good for your bottom line.

Ansys has been developing engineering simulation software for more than 50 years. Its electronic simulation solutions allow innovators to identify problems, gain insight, and work rapidly through optimization.

Two Ansys products used to optimize electromagnetic shielding are:
Ansys HFSS: Housed within the Ansys Electronics Desktop, Ansys HFSS computes the full-wave electromagnetic field effects entering or leaving your enclosure. By leveraging the Finite Element Method (FEM) and adaptive meshing, HFSS selectively applies and refines the mesh to ensure industry leading simulation accuracy. The ability to parameterize your enclosure model enables engineers to identify the ideal slot/hole/gasket configuration that reduces EMC risks.
EMA3D Cable: EMA3D Cable uses the Finite-Difference Time-Domain (FDTD) electromagnetic solver to tackle complex EMC challenges around enclosures and cables. It is housed within Ansys Spaceclaim and Discovery modeling platforms, enabling engineers of varying disciplines to evaluate their enclosures and cables for EMC. An integrated cable tool accurately represents complex wiring harness to determine the ideal routing and shielding configurations.