The EMWorks alternative for WPT coils.
EMWorks puts finite element electromagnetics inside the CAD model your mechanical team already owns. AirInduct Sim works one step earlier — deciding what the air-core coil should be — before anyone draws it.
Last reviewed: October 2026
What EMWorks does well
EMWorks has developed electromagnetic simulation software since 2000, starting as a partner for SOLIDWORKS simulation. Its flagship, EMS, became a fully embedded add-in for SOLIDWORKS and Autodesk Inventor, so engineers could solve fields on the same parts and assemblies they were already designing, with no export step. Today the company is moving to a standalone EMWORKS platform whose CAD is powered by Autodesk Inventor, with the low-frequency solver offered as its EMAG module.
That CAD-native workflow is its real advantage. Magnetostatic, AC magnetic and transient FEM can be coupled to circuits, motion, thermal and structural analysis on one model. EMWorks has also covered wireless power directly, with webinars on WPT in SOLIDWORKS and an application note on implantable links that computes coupling across a tissue gap.
Where AirInduct Sim is faster for WPT coils
In a CAD-embedded tool, every coil variant is a CAD model: sketch the turns, sweep the conductor, place it in the assembly, assign the coil, mesh, solve. Ideal once the coil exists; slow while you are still asking how many turns and what radius. AirInduct Sim answers those questions without geometry, using closed-form Biot–Savart for the field and the Neumann integral for coupling.
- Eight parametric presets — circular and square Helmholtz, descending-turn (DTC) spirals and cross pairs — so a variant is a number change, not a rebuild.
- Self-inductance, mutual inductance M and coupling k on every run.
- Gap, offset and turn sweeps plus a genetic optimizer, in seconds.
- No CAD seat and no Windows requirement: browser, iOS and Android.
- An AI Copilot that drives the app and runs the real solver, and an MCP server for agents.
It is free to start: the free plan covers the Helmholtz topology with 3 simulations a month, and AirInduct Pro unlocks every topology, the AI Copilot and unlimited runs (see pricing).
EMWorks vs AirInduct Sim at a glance
A CAD-embedded FEM tool and a parametric coil solver, on the jobs a WPT designer repeats.
| Criterion | AirInduct Sim | EMWorks |
|---|---|---|
| Solver method | Closed-form Biot–Savart field + Neumann mutual inductance, no mesh | Finite element method: magnetostatic, AC magnetic, transient, electrostatic and more |
| 3D | Full 3D B and H fields, interactive 3D plots | 2D and full 3D on the CAD model |
| Install | None — runs in the browser, plus iOS and Android apps | Windows desktop only (Windows 10 or later, 64-bit) |
| Licence / price model | Free plan + Pro subscription | Commercial licence, quote-based; perpetual or annual, trial on qualification, academic discounts |
| Time to first result | Seconds from a topology preset | Minutes to hours: model the coil in CAD, assign materials and coils, mesh, solve |
| WPT outputs (L, M, k) | Self-inductance, mutual inductance M and coupling k on every run | Inductance, flux linkage and coupling from the solved model |
| CAD host | Not a CAD tool — topology presets and parameters | Long sold as an add-in for SOLIDWORKS and Autodesk Inventor; now also a standalone platform with Inventor-powered CAD |
| Coupled physics | Electromagnetics only, air-core coils | Circuit, motion, thermal and structural coupling on the same model |
| Sweeps and optimisation | Parameter sweeps + genetic optimizer built in | Parametric studies driven by CAD dimensions |
| Export | PDF report, KiCad, DXF, SPICE | Results inside the CAD model; native CAD formats via the host |
| AI assistance | AI Copilot that drives the app and runs the real solver; MCP server for agents | None listed on EMWorks product pages |
Competitor details are taken from public vendor pages and documentation, last reviewed October 2026. Product names are trademarks of their respective owners and are used only to identify them. AirInduct is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by any of these vendors.
When to stay with EMWorks
Stay with EMWorks when the surroundings decide the answer. A coil inside a metal housing, ferrite behind a phone coil or a bracket that heats up: these need FEM on the real assembly, and AirInduct Sim models only air-core coils, with no shields or nearby metal.
It also wins when mechanical and electromagnetic design must stay in lockstep, or when you need force, temperature and stress from the same study. If your team already holds SOLIDWORKS or Inventor seats with EMWorks, keep using them for that work.
From AirInduct Sim into your CAD model
- Pick a preset in AirInduct Sim and sweep turns, radius and gap to map M and k.
- Refine the best candidate with the optimizer and save the PDF report.
- Export the coil as DXF and insert it as a sketch in SOLIDWORKS or Inventor, then sweep or extrude the conductor.
- Place it in the assembly, solve the air-core case in EMWorks first, and compare inductance with the report before adding housings and ferrite.
See all export formats, or try the 3D field view.
Which should I use?
Use AirInduct Sim to decide what an air-core wireless power coil should be, and EMWorks to check how it behaves inside your real CAD assembly. EMWorks brings finite element electromagnetics to the model your mechanical team already maintains, with circuit, motion, thermal and structural coupling, which is exactly what you want when housings, ferrite or brackets shape the field. But each variant is a CAD edit, a mesh and a solve, on a Windows workstation. AirInduct Sim replaces that loop for early sizing: change a parameter, get inductance, mutual inductance and coupling in seconds, sweep gap and offset, and let the optimizer search. For research coils, teaching and prototypes, that may be enough. For a product, pick the geometry in AirInduct Sim, then draw only that coil in SOLIDWORKS or Inventor and validate it with EMWorks.
Compare with other tools
See all 20 AirInduct Sim alternatives and comparisons →Size the coil before you draw it.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need SOLIDWORKS to run EMWorks?
Not necessarily. EMS was long sold as an add-in for SOLIDWORKS or Autodesk Inventor, but EMWorks is moving to a standalone platform with its own Inventor-powered CAD. AirInduct Sim needs no CAD at all; it runs in a browser.
Has EMWorks published wireless power transfer examples?
Yes. EMWorks has run webinars on WPT with EMS for SOLIDWORKS and published an application note on inductive power for implantable devices, computing coupling coefficient and induced voltage across tissue gaps.
Why size a coil outside CAD if my enclosure is already in SOLIDWORKS?
Because each FEM variant means editing the model, remeshing and solving. AirInduct Sim sweeps hundreds of turn counts, radii and gaps in the time one CAD-embedded study takes, so the CAD model only receives the coil worth detailing.
Does EMWorks run on a Mac?
No. EMWorks states its products run on 64-bit Windows 10 and later only. AirInduct Sim runs in any modern browser, including on macOS, ChromeOS and Linux, and as iOS and Android apps.