DesignSPHysics is an open-source FreeCAD module that provides a comprehensive graphical user interface (GUI) for DualSPHysics, a mesh-free particle-based fluid simulation engine based on Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH).
Development of DesignSPHysics began in September 2016, and the software is currently in its beta phase.
Visit the official DesignSPHysics website for downloads, tutorials, and additional information.
- 19th SPHERIC World Conference — Barcelona, Spain — June 16–19, 2025
- 8th DualSPHysics Workshop — Ourense, Spain — January 27–29, 2026
- SPH Modelling for Engineering Applications — Braunschweig, Germany — March 25–27, 2025
- 4th Hands-on Course on Experimental and Numerical Modelling of Wave-Structure Interaction — Florence, Italy — July 1–5, 2024
- 7th DualSPHysics Workshop — Bari, Italy — March 19–21, 2024
Visit the official DesignSPHysics website for more information.
DesignSPHysics simplifies the process of setting up, running, and post-processing SPH simulations through an intuitive interface in FreeCAD. Key functionalities include:
- Integrated pre-processing with GenCase
- Simulation execution with DualSPHysics
- Post-processing using DualSPHysics Tools
- Case creation with fluid and solid domains
- Automated data generation and file management
- Built-in support for Python 3.5+ and Qt via PySide
- Macro bootstrapper integration with FreeCAD
Future versions will include modular support for additional SPH solvers beyond DualSPHysics.
There are multiple ways to obtain the DesignSPHysics package:
Clone the latest development version from GitHub:
git clone https://github.com/DualSPHysics/DesignSPHysics.gitGet pre-packaged code from the GitHub Releases page.
Important: Starting with version 0.8.0, DesignSPHysics does not include the DualSPHysics binaries. These must be downloaded separately.
DualSPHysics binaries should be located in DesignSPHysics/dualsphysics/bin.
You can obtain the required binaries using one of the following methods:
-
Option A: Automatically via Setup Script
cd DesignSPHysics chmod +x setup.sh && ./setup.sh
-
Option B: Manually
- Download
dualsphysics.zipfrom the official DualSPHysics website - Move the file into the
DesignSPHysicsfolder - Extract the contents
- Download
- Rename the downloaded or cloned folder to
DesignSPHysics - Move the folder into FreeCAD’s
Moddirectory:- Windows:
%APPDATA%/FreeCAD/Mod - Linux:
~/.FreeCAD/Mod
- Windows:
- Copy the
DesignSPHysics.FCMacrofile into the FreeCADMacrodirectory:- Windows:
%APPDATA%/FreeCAD/Macro - Linux:
~/.FreeCAD/Macro
- Windows:
To start using the plugin in FreeCAD:
- Open FreeCAD
- Navigate to Macro → Macros...
- In the
Execute macrowindow:- Locate and select
DesignSPHysics.FCMacro - Click Execute
- Locate and select
A new panel labeled DesignSPHysics will appear on the right. Follow these steps:
- Click Setup Plugin to open the DSPH Setup window
- DualSPHysics executables should be configured automatically while ParaView executable should be configured manually.
If you experience issues during installation or launch, residual configuration files from previous installations might be the cause. You should delete them before proceeding.
-
Windows:
C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Roaming\FreeCAD -
Linux:
~/.config/FreeCAD
To manually remove residual files:
- Use a file manager to delete any
DesignSPHysics-related files - Or, run this command in a terminal (Linux):
rm ~/.config/FreeCAD/designsphysics*
Replace
<user>with your actual system username.
- 📖 DesignSPHysics Wiki
- 💬 DualSPHysics GitHub Discussions
- 🐛 Report Issues on GitHub
- ✉️ Contact contributors via the CONTRIBUTING file
We welcome contributions! Whether it’s bug fixes, new features, or documentation improvements, your input is valuable. Please read the CONTRIBUTING file for detailed guidelines.
DesignSPHysics is released under the GNU General Public License v3.0 or later.
© 2025 Ivan Martinez Estevez, Andres Vieira
EPHYSLAB Environmental Physics Laboratory, Universidade de Vigo
EPHYTECH Environmental Physics Technologies
This software is provided “as is,” without warranty of any kind. See the license for details.