Hot damn! This may just be possible after all!... or maybe not.

[skreidle]

AutoCAD can export to ACIS (.sat) files.
SolidEdge can open ACIS files, and save as IGES (.igs).
ANSYS can open IGES files.
Huzzah!

...scratch that.
Yes, the above is true, but getting ANSYS to open the files as I'd expected, perhaps not so possible.
*sigh*

Comments

[kitanaor.livejournal.com]

I hate ANSYS. It would be a nice program if it didn't do everything in its power to piss me off.

[skreidle.livejournal.com]

I'm fond of its apparently inability to perform the following actions:
1) Create keypoints
2) Create lines between the keypoints.
3) Create areas from the lines.

Why? Because apparently the lines bring in their own keypoints, and thus are not connected to each other, despite spatial coincidence of their ends.
It's too powerful for its own good, it's a distributed-code-writing effort for a massive commercial application, with all kinds of legacy support.

I prefer the slightly buggy VisualFEA.. at least I can figure out how to do most of what I want in there.