Numerical EM Modeling Questions

1. What numerical modeling tools are available at no cost or at a nominal cost?

Before investing a lot of time and money on one of the more expensive electromagnetic modeling codes, it is a good idea to download and experiment with some of the free codes available on the internet. Once you've had a chance to see how numerical modeling works and what you can and cannot accomplish with basic codes, you'll have a much better idea of what capabilities and features you'll need in a commercial code.

The link below lists a variety of electromagnetic modeling codes that can be downloaded free of charge. For novices, we recommend NEC2 (wire grid modeling, method of moments) or FEMM (bounded problems using finite elements). These are relatively simple, yet powerful tools. The IBM codes are even more powerful and flexible, but they require a significant investment of time to learn to use them. "Lite" versions of commercial modeling codes are also available. These can be excellent tools for exploring the strengths and weaknesses of a commercial code before investing heavily in it.

List of Free Electromagnetic Modeling Codes