From STL to results fast: automatic domain sizing, sensible defaults, and visualization.
Go to Design → Import STL and select your drone (or other) geometry. Choose the correct units for the STL (e.g., meters). This ensures sizes, speeds, and forces are consistent throughout the setup.
Enable “Set up CFD boundaries based on STL file”. Stallion 3D computes appropriate domain extents from the model so you don’t have to hand‑tune boxes or offsets.
If your STL is watertight and clean, you can skip this. Otherwise, use the geometry quality tools to mitigate small holes or imperfections before meshing.
For the initial run, keep the default solver, boundary, and freestream settings. The defaults are designed to produce a robust, informative baseline so you can iterate quickly.
Click Generate Grid & Solve. Stallion 3D builds the mesh (on the order of millions of cells for typical drone demos) and starts the CFD run. When complete, click Visualize to inspect results.
Use the built‑in 3D viewer to confirm geometry, inspect pressure distribution, and review key solution fields. You can visualize geometry alone or overlay solution data to validate the setup quickly.
For deeper post‑processing, export surface and volume CSV files and the STL. In ParaView, load the CSV, apply Table To Points, then use Point Dataset Interpolator with the STL surface as the target to map fields onto the mesh.
Tip: Stallion 3D handles subsonic, transonic, and supersonic regimes, so you can evaluate a wide range of concepts rapidly before committing to detailed studies.
Have questions or want to see more? Explore Stallion 3D or reach out via the links below.
Dr. Patrick Hanley is the owner of Hanley Innovations. He received his Ph.D. in fluid dynamics from MIT (Aero/Astro). Read more ..
3DFoil
MultiElement Airfoils
MultiSurface Aerodynamics
Stallion 3D
VisualFoil
VisualFoil PLUS
Telephone: (352) 653-0875
