{"id":460186,"date":"2026-06-22T12:50:06","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T12:50:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/innovationspace.ansys.com\/forum\/forums\/topic\/importing-kicad-pcb-into-hfss-for-radiated-emissions-simulation\/"},"modified":"2026-06-22T12:50:06","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T12:50:06","slug":"importing-kicad-pcb-into-hfss-for-radiated-emissions-simulation","status":"publish","type":"topic","link":"https:\/\/innovationspace.ansys.com\/forum\/forums\/topic\/importing-kicad-pcb-into-hfss-for-radiated-emissions-simulation\/","title":{"rendered":"Importing KiCAD PCB into HFSS for Radiated Emissions Simulation"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&lt;div&gt;&lt;p&gt;Hello everyone,&lt;\/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;I&rsquo;m currently working on a project where I need to <strong>simulate the radiated emissions of a PCB using Ansys HFSS<\/strong>, and I would really appreciate some guidance on the correct workflow and best practices.&lt;\/p&gt;&lt;h3&gt;<strong>Background<\/strong>&lt;\/h3&gt;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>I have designed my PCB using <strong>KiCAD PCB Designer<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>The board includes both <strong>passive components (R, L, C)<\/strong> and <strong>active components (ICs, drivers, etc.)<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>My goal is to <strong>analyze radiated emissions (EMI\/EMC)<\/strong> from the PCB<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&lt;hr&gt;&lt;h3&gt;<strong>What I Want to Achieve<\/strong>&lt;\/h3&gt;<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Import my PCB <strong>layout and geometry (traces, vias, stack-up)<\/strong> from KiCAD into HFSS<\/li>\n<li>Include <strong>component footprints and relevant electrical characteristics<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Properly define:\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Excitations (ports, sources for active components)<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Material properties<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Radiation boundary \/ air region<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Perform <strong>radiated emissions simulation<\/strong> (far-field \/ near-field)<\/li>\n<li>Evaluate EMI behavior from both:\n<ul>\n<li>Passive structures (traces, planes, vias)<\/li>\n<li>Active sources (switching ICs, signal drivers)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>&lt;hr&gt;&lt;h3&gt;<strong>Current Challenges<\/strong>&lt;\/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;I&rsquo;m currently stuck in the following areas:&lt;\/p&gt;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>&lt;p&gt;<strong>KiCAD &rarr; HFSS workflow<\/strong>&lt;\/p&gt;\n<ul>\n<li>What is the best export format? (STEP, IDF, IPC-2581, ODB++, etc.)<\/li>\n<li>How to preserve PCB stack-up and copper layers correctly?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>&lt;p&gt;<strong>Component Modeling<\/strong>&lt;\/p&gt;\n<ul>\n<li>How to treat <strong>passive vs active components<\/strong> in HFSS?<\/li>\n<li>Should I:\n<ul>\n<li>Use lumped elements?<\/li>\n<li>Replace ICs with equivalent sources?<\/li>\n<li>Import full 3D models?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>&lt;p&gt;<strong>Excitation Setup<\/strong>&lt;\/p&gt;\n<ul>\n<li>How to define realistic excitation for EMI simulation?<\/li>\n<li>Especially for digital\/high-speed switching signals<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>&lt;p&gt;<strong>Simulation Setup<\/strong>&lt;\/p&gt;\n<ul>\n<li>Best practices for:\n<ul>\n<li>Radiation boundary setup<\/li>\n<li>Mesh refinement for EMI problems<\/li>\n<li>Frequency range selection<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>&lt;p&gt;<strong>Tools &amp; Workflow<\/strong>&lt;\/p&gt;\n<ul>\n<li>Should I be using:\n<ul>\n<li><strong>HFSS 3D Layout instead of HFSS 3D<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>SIwave or Electronics Desktop workflow<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Any specific Ansys PCB import tools?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&lt;hr&gt;&lt;h3&gt;<strong>What I&rsquo;m Looking For<\/strong>&lt;\/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;I would really appreciate:&lt;\/p&gt;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A <strong>step-by-step workflow<\/strong> for going from KiCAD &rarr; HFSS<\/li>\n<li>Recommendations on <strong>which Ansys tool\/module is most suitable<\/strong> (HFSS vs HFSS 3D Layout vs SIwave)<\/li>\n<li>Best practices for <strong>EMI\/radiated emissions simulations of PCBs<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Any <strong>tutorials, examples, or documentation<\/strong> relevant to this use case<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&lt;hr&gt;&lt;h3&gt;<strong>Additional Context<\/strong>&lt;\/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;I&rsquo;m relatively new to HFSS and EMC simulations, so even high-level guidance on the <strong>correct approach and toolchain<\/strong> would be extremely helpful.&lt;\/p&gt;&lt;hr&gt;&lt;p&gt;Thank you in advance for your time and support!&lt;br&gt;I&rsquo;m looking forward to your suggestions and insights.&lt;\/p&gt;&lt;\/div&gt;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"template":"","class_list":["post-460186","topic","type-topic","status-publish","hentry","topic-tag-ansys-circuit","topic-tag-circuit-elements-1","topic-tag-hfss-circuit","topic-tag-layout","topic-tag-modal-solution","topic-tag-pcb","topic-tag-pcb-manfacturing-2","topic-tag-pcb-stack-up","topic-tag-radiation-model"],"aioseo_notices":[],"acf":[],"custom_fields":[{"0":{"_bbp_forum_id":["27793"],"_bbp_topic_id":["460186"],"_bbp_subscription":["696860"],"_bbp_author_ip":["208.127.61.207"],"_bbp_last_reply_id":["0"],"_bbp_last_active_id":["460186"],"_bbp_last_active_time":["2026-06-22 12:50:06"],"_bbp_reply_count":["0"],"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":["0"],"_bbp_voice_count":["1"],"_bbp_engagement":["696860"],"_btv_view_count":["45"],"_bbp_topic_status":["unanswered"],"_bbp_notification_enabled":["696860"]},"test":"prince-mathewstudenti-unipr-it"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/innovationspace.ansys.com\/forum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topics\/460186","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/innovationspace.ansys.com\/forum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topics"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/innovationspace.ansys.com\/forum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/topic"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/innovationspace.ansys.com\/forum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topics\/460186\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/innovationspace.ansys.com\/forum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=460186"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}