Cadence Fidelity Pointwise Free Trial: CFD Mesh Generation Software

Cadence currently provides a free-trial request path for its Fidelity CFD software portfolio. The Fidelity Pointwise section on the Cadence website links directly to that trial form. Cadence does not publicly specify the trial duration or clearly state which Fidelity products will be included before you submit the request, so confirm that Fidelity Pointwise is part of the evaluation you are offered.

Pointwise Is Now Cadence Fidelity Pointwise

If you searched for Pointwise, Pointwise CFD, Pointwise mesh software or Pointwise trial and had trouble finding the product, you are not imagining things.

Cadence acquired Pointwise, Inc. in 2021 as part of its expansion into computational fluid dynamics and multiphysics simulation.

Pointwise had already developed a strong reputation as a dedicated CFD mesh-generation tool, particularly in aerospace and other applications where mesh quality and control are critical.

After the acquisition, Cadence moved the product into its Fidelity CFD portfolio and renamed it:

Pointwise → Cadence Fidelity Pointwise

Cadence has confirmed that Fidelity Pointwise is the continuation of the original Pointwise product rather than a completely different meshing application.

Beginning with Fidelity Pointwise 2023.1, Cadence shifted new development to the Fidelity-branded version. The older Pointwise V18.6 product is no longer the current commercial product.

So if an engineering paper, tutorial, colleague or another CFD vendor tells you to create a Pointwise mesh, Fidelity Pointwise is the product you should now be looking for.

What Does Fidelity Pointwise Do?

Fidelity Pointwise is primarily a CFD preprocessing and mesh-generation tool.

It does not need to be your CFD solver.

Instead, you can use Fidelity Pointwise to prepare geometry and generate the computational mesh that will then be exported to another CFD solver.

Cadence describes Fidelity Pointwise as compatible with a variety of CFD workflows and solver formats.

Capabilities include:

• Structured and unstructured mesh generation
• Hybrid meshes
• Overset meshes
• High-order meshes
• Surface and volume meshing
• Geometry import and repair
• Mesh import and export
• Boundary-layer mesh generation
• Scripting and workflow automation
• Custom templates
• Large meshes extending into billions of cells
• Export for multiple CFD solver formats

That solver independence is one of the reasons the Pointwise name continues to appear outside Cadence’s own CFD ecosystem.

Is Fidelity Pointwise a CFD Solver?

No.

Fidelity Pointwise creates the mesh used for CFD analysis.

The CFD solver performs the numerical calculations that predict fluid behavior.

Think of the workflow roughly like this:

CAD geometry → Geometry cleanup → Mesh generation → CFD solver → Results

Fidelity Pointwise primarily occupies the mesh-generation portion of that workflow.

Cadence also sells CFD solvers and complete CFD environments under the broader Fidelity name, which is one reason finding Pointwise on the Cadence website can be confusing.

You do not necessarily need the entire Fidelity CFD environment simply because you want to generate a Pointwise mesh.

Fidelity Pointwise vs. Fidelity CFD

This naming deserves clarification.

Fidelity Pointwise is the dedicated mesh-generation product descended from the original Pointwise software.

Fidelity CFD is Cadence’s broader CFD software portfolio and end-to-end simulation environment.

The Fidelity family includes multiple technologies for preprocessing, meshing, solving, optimization and specialized applications.

That means you may encounter:

• Fidelity Pointwise
• Fidelity CFD
• Fidelity Flow
• Fidelity Charles
• Fidelity Fine Marine
• Fidelity CFD for Turbomachinery
• Fidelity mesh-generation technologies

They are related, but they are not interchangeable product names.

If your requirement specifically says Pointwise mesh, look for Fidelity Pointwise.

Why Is Pointwise Important for Flexcompute Flow360?

This is one reason engineers may suddenly find themselves searching for software they thought had disappeared.

Flexcompute’s current two-week Flow360 evaluation asks users to bring an existing Pointwise mesh.

That does not mean Cadence owns or controls Flow360.

It means Flow360 can consume meshes generated in Pointwise.

And it demonstrates why the original Pointwise product name still matters even though Cadence now markets the software as Fidelity Pointwise.

If you are evaluating Flow360 and do not already have a Pointwise-generated mesh, find out what mesh preparation will be required before starting your Flow360 evaluation period.

You do not want to spend the first part of a time-limited CFD evaluation discovering that you still need to prepare your simulation model.

Can Fidelity Pointwise Work With Other CFD Solvers?

Yes.

One of Pointwise’s long-standing strengths is that it was developed as a dedicated meshing application rather than as preprocessing tied exclusively to one CFD solver.

When Cadence acquired Pointwise, it said the software could export data to more than 40 CAE formats.

Cadence continues to describe Fidelity Pointwise as compatible with various CFD solvers and simulation workflows.

This makes it worth evaluating even if you do not intend to use a Cadence CFD solver.

What Types of Meshes Can Fidelity Pointwise Create?

Fidelity Pointwise supports several important CFD mesh strategies.

Structured meshes

Structured grids can provide highly controlled cell placement and are frequently useful where flow direction, boundary layers and numerical efficiency matter.

Unstructured meshes

Unstructured grids can make it easier to handle complex geometries where fully structured topology would require considerably more manual work.

Hybrid meshes

Hybrid approaches combine mesh types so engineers can use different cell structures in different parts of the model.

Overset meshes

Overset, or Chimera, grids allow separate meshes to overlap.

This can be especially useful when components move relative to one another or when complex geometry would otherwise make a single connected mesh difficult to construct.

Applications can include rotating machinery, aircraft control surfaces and other moving-body simulations.

High-order meshes

High-order CFD methods may require curved mesh elements that represent complex geometry more accurately than conventional straight-sided elements.

Fidelity Pointwise includes support for high-order mesh generation as well.

Why Does CFD Mesh Quality Matter?

A CFD solver only knows the geometry through the computational domain you give it.

A poor mesh can undermine an otherwise sophisticated CFD analysis.

Engineers must consider issues such as:

• Boundary-layer resolution
• Cell size
• Cell shape
• Skewness
• Aspect ratio
• Growth rate
• Curvature
• Wake refinement
• Near-wall treatment
• Mesh independence
• Computational cost

Creating more cells is not automatically the answer.

The goal is to place sufficient resolution where the physics requires it without creating an unnecessarily expensive simulation everywhere else.

That is precisely why dedicated meshing tools such as Fidelity Pointwise continue to exist even as CFD packages add increasingly automated meshing capabilities.

Does Cadence Offer a Fidelity Pointwise Free Trial?

Cadence currently provides a free-trial request form for Fidelity CFD software, and the Fidelity Pointwise product listing links directly to that form.

The process is not an instant download.

Cadence asks you to submit your information, after which a representative contacts you to arrange the free trial.

Cadence currently does not publish:

• A specific Fidelity Pointwise trial duration
• Whether every applicant receives Fidelity Pointwise
• What functionality is included
• Mesh-size limits
• Export restrictions
• Cloud versus local installation details for the evaluation
• Whether a sales or technical qualification call is required

For that reason, EngineeringSoftwareTrials.com classifies this as a vendor-arranged free trial, not a self-service trial.

Before requesting the trial, ask Cadence:

1. Will my trial specifically include Fidelity Pointwise?
2. How many days will I have access?
3. Is the software installed locally or accessed through the cloud?
4. Are mesh exports enabled during the trial?
5. Are there mesh-size or cell-count limitations?
6. Which CAD formats can I test?
7. Can I export the mesh to my intended CFD solver?
8. Is technical support available during evaluation?
9. Can I use one of my own production-representative models?
10. Does the evaluation require access to any additional Fidelity products or licenses?

What Should You Test During a Fidelity Pointwise Evaluation?

Do not spend the entire evaluation following a polished vendor tutorial.

Use geometry that resembles the work you actually perform.

Test geometry import

Bring in CAD representative of your real workflow.

Look for:

• Missing surfaces
• Translation errors
• Small-feature problems
• Gaps
• Dirty geometry
• Geometry-healing effort

Test the difficult part of your mesh

If boundary layers are normally your problem, test boundary layers.

If you work with rotating systems, test overset capability.

If external aerodynamics is your concern, examine far-field creation, wake refinement and surface control.

The purpose of the trial is not to prove Fidelity Pointwise can mesh something.

It is to determine whether it can efficiently mesh your problem.

Measure manual effort

A beautiful mesh that requires hours of expert interaction may be appropriate for some high-value simulations.

For repeated production workflows, it may not be.

Track:

• Geometry cleanup time
• Mesh setup time
• Number of manual corrections
• Remeshing effort after a design change
• Scripting opportunities
• Reusable templates
• Total engineer time

Export the mesh

This is critical if Fidelity Pointwise will not be paired with a Cadence solver.

Generate a representative mesh and take it all the way into your intended CFD solver.

Verify:

• File compatibility
• Boundary-condition transfer
• Named regions
• Cell-zone handling
• Units
• Mesh orientation
• Solver-specific requirements

Do not assume that seeing your solver listed as supported means the transfer will behave exactly as your workflow requires.

Who Should Evaluate Fidelity Pointwise?

Fidelity Pointwise may be especially worth evaluating for teams working with:

• Aerospace CFD
• External aerodynamics
• Automotive aerodynamics
• Turbomachinery
• Marine CFD
• Propellers and rotors
• Internal flows
• Combustion systems
• Biomedical fluid dynamics
• High-Reynolds-number flows
• Moving-body simulations
• Overset-grid workflows
• High-order CFD
• CFD teams using multiple solvers

It may also be valuable when automated meshing inside your primary CFD package does not provide enough control over critical regions.

Fidelity Pointwise Trial Verdict

Trial type: Vendor-arranged free trial
Self-service: No
Instant access: No
Published duration: Not currently specified
Sales contact required: Yes
Use your own geometry: Confirm with Cadence
Mesh export during trial: Confirm with Cadence
Best for: Engineers who need high levels of control over CFD mesh generation or need meshes that can move between solver environments

EngineeringSoftwareTrials.com Take

Fidelity Pointwise is a particularly interesting product to evaluate because it sits between CAD geometry and the CFD solver—and can therefore influence practically everything that happens downstream.

It is also a product that has become unnecessarily difficult to find.

If you knew it as Pointwise, you were right: the product did not disappear. Cadence bought Pointwise in 2021 and renamed the current software Fidelity Pointwise.

The free trial is also more difficult to interpret than it should be. Cadence links Fidelity Pointwise to a general Fidelity CFD trial-request form rather than providing a clearly defined Pointwise evaluation page with duration, restrictions and access details.

So before filling out the form, know what you want to evaluate.

Bring representative geometry.

Know which solver you intend to use.

And make Cadence confirm that your evaluation includes Fidelity Pointwise, not simply some portion of the larger Fidelity CFD portfolio.

Because when your CFD results depend on the mesh, evaluating the mesher should not be an afterthought.