Simulation-driven design
Simcenter Inspire
formerly Altair Inspire
Altair Inspire, now in Simcenter: generate parts, test them and check they can be made early, in one CAD-like tool for designers.
1 interface
For every Inspire profile
Since the June 2026 release, structures, motion, fluids and manufacturing profiles share one interface.
Smart Expert
Support from engineers
Siemens-certified expertise, and a Top European Partner award for customer support.
What is Simcenter Inspire?
Simcenter Inspire, formerly Altair Inspire, is a CAE tool from Siemens Digital Industries Software built for designers. It brings simulation into a CAD-like environment and combines geometry modelling, generative design and manufacturing simulation, so you can explore concepts, check performance and assess manufacturability early in the design process.
Combine BRep, PolyNURBS, facet and implicit geometry, with lattices, in one model
Study structural, motion and flow performance with embedded solvers that remove or automate meshing
Generate concepts early with topology optimisation, then refine and validate them in Simcenter OptiStruct
Siemens render: a graphics-card concept with lattice heat sinks, designed in Inspire.
Book a demo with an engineerDeveloper
Siemens Digital Industries Software (Siemens acquired Altair in 2025)
Current release
Simcenter Inspire 2026.1 (June 2026)
AI predictions
Since 2026.1, train Simcenter PhysicsAI models on OptiStruct, SimSolid, Cast, Mold, Form and Extrude results and predict inside Inspire
Inspire tools
Cast, Extrude Metal, Extrude Polymer, Form, Mold, Polyfoam and 3D Print; Render and Studio for visualisation and industrial design
Reads CAD
CATIA V5, NX, Creo, SolidWorks, Inventor, JT, Parasolid and STEP; Teamcenter and Windchill connectors
Altair users
Coming from Altair Inspire?
Siemens has renamed Altair Inspire and moved it into Simcenter. The changes focus on naming, packaging and integration; in essence, Siemens says, it is the same technology. See what the other former Altair tools are called now.
Renewing Inspire? Get a quoteName
Altair Inspire → Simcenter Inspire; Inspire Cast, Form, Mold, Studio and the other tools carry the Simcenter name too, and Print3D is now Inspire 3D Print
Releases
Altair Inspire 2026 and earlier → Simcenter Inspire 2026.1 (June 2026), then two Simcenter releases a year from December 2026
Support
Altair support → Siemens Support Center. Bought through Volupe? Your Volupe contacts for licensing, support and training stay the same.
Volupe
Altair channel partner for Inspire → the same Volupe team, which sells, supports and trains every former Altair tool as a Siemens Platinum Smart Expert Solutions Partner
Capabilities
From first shape to a part you can make
Topology optimisation that follows the loads
Set the design space, loads and goal, such as maximum stiffness or minimum mass, and topology optimisation removes the material the part does not need. Draw directions keep the shape castable, stampable or extrudable, and an overhang control makes it more self-supporting to print. Then fit PolyNURBS to the result.Customer result87% lighter robot brackets and 94% lower annual repair costs. Würth Industrie Service
Test strength, motion and flow early
Structural analysis runs on the SimSolid or OptiStruct solver, mechanisms can be rigid or flexible bodies, and motion results can be extracted for structural analysis and optimisation. Inspire Fluids adds steady-state flow and heat transfer for design exploration.Customer result18% lighter aluminium profile, validated in Simcenter SimSolid, with a 40% shorter design cycle. Faraone
Check it can be made
Inspire Cast simulates filling, solidification and deformation for gravity, high- and low-pressure casting. Inspire Form, Mold, Extrude, Polyfoam and 3D Print cover stamping, injection moulding, extrusion, foam parts and additive manufacturing, each as its own Inspire product.Customer result53% lighter cast harvester boom end, with porosity found and fixed in an Inspire Cast check. Etteplan
Feature details: Siemens product pages and blog, and the Simcenter Inspire 2026.1 user guide. Customer results: Siemens case studies.
See Simcenter Inspire in a live demoRelated tools
Often used with Simcenter Inspire
Questions about Simcenter Inspire
Your Simcenter Inspire specialist
Johan Dahlberg
Application Support Specialist, Ph.D.
We reply within one day.
Ask a technical question →
How is Simcenter Inspire licensed?
We quote each set-up individually. According to the Simcenter Inspire 2026.1 user guide, Inspire’s solvers either draw Altair Units from a managed licence or a licence server, or run as features of a standalone licence, and Siemens names process tools such as Inspire Cast and Inspire Form as products of their own. Tell us how you license Inspire today, the tools you use and your renewal date, then request an Inspire licence quote.
What changed for Altair Inspire users?
Siemens completed the acquisition of Altair on 26 March 2025. With the June 2026 release, Altair Inspire became Simcenter Inspire, and tools such as Inspire Cast and Inspire Form carry the Simcenter name too. Altair’s support services have moved to the Siemens Support Center, and from December 2026 Simcenter products get two major releases a year. If you bought Inspire through Volupe, your Volupe contacts for licensing, support and training stay the same.
How does Simcenter Inspire compare with Simcenter OptiStruct and SimSolid?
They cover different stages. Siemens says Inspire makes generative design accessible to design engineers without deep FEA backgrounds: it generates optimised concept geometry early, and Simcenter OptiStruct refines and validates those concepts later. According to the product documentation, structural analysis in Inspire can use OptiStruct or SimSolid, but SimSolid is for analysis only, not optimisation, and inside Inspire it covers linear static and modal analysis; standalone Simcenter SimSolid covers more analysis types. If you are new to the terms, our guide explains the difference between topology optimisation and generative design.
Which manufacturing processes can Simcenter Inspire simulate?
Each process has its own Inspire tool. For casting and stamping, core Inspire has basic porosity and thinning checks; according to the documentation, Inspire Cast handles basic, gravity, high-pressure and low-pressure processes. Siemens says Inspire Form’s feasibility module predicts formability in seconds and its tryout module simulates multi-stage forming, trimming and springback. Inspire Mold targets warping and sink marks in injection-moulded parts; Inspire Extrude, Polyfoam and 3D Print cover extrusion, foam parts, powder bed fusion and metal binder jetting.
Can Simcenter Inspire simulate motion and fluid flow?
Yes. According to the documentation, Inspire Motion simulates mechanisms as rigid or flexible bodies, with joints, motors, actuators and springs, and you can extract its results for use in structural analysis and optimisation. Inspire Fluids is a design exploration tool for steady-state, single-phase flow and heat transfer, on a voxel-based solver that needs no traditional CFD mesh. Siemens says the June 2026 release adds real-time geometry editing. For transient or multiphase flow, Volupe also supports Simcenter STAR-CCM+.
Which CAD formats and operating systems does Simcenter Inspire support?
According to the Simcenter Inspire 2026.1 user guide, Inspire imports CATIA V5, NX, Creo, SolidWorks, Inventor, JT, Parasolid and STEP files, among others, converts third-party formats to Parasolid where needed, and opens and saves files in Siemens Teamcenter and PTC Windchill. It runs on 64-bit Windows 11, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.6 and Rocky Linux 9.6 with at least 16 GB of RAM; the Print3D tab and the porosity check are Windows-only, and rendering needs a dedicated GPU that supports Vulkan 1.2 (AMD, Intel Arc or NVIDIA; onboard Intel graphics are not supported).
Does Volupe offer Simcenter Inspire training and support?
Yes. Our simulation engineers answer technical questions from Inspire users: ask our engineers. Volupe sells, supports and trains every former Altair tool; Simcenter Inspire is not among the scheduled courses on our training page, so tell us what your team needs and we will come back with options.
Talk to an engineer in your region
Every Volupe business developer holds an engineering degree. Find your regional contact below, or send us a message.
Ask us about Simcenter Inspire
Use this form for licence quotes, demos, training and technical questions.
What happens next
- A reply within one day.
- A scoping call with one of our engineers.
- A quote, demo or other next step that fits your enquiry.
After purchase: support from Volupe simulation engineers.