I'd build a 'rib cage' of splines of one quarter of the heart and skin them, then mirror it twice and round off the joint line.

Ha.... sorry for wrong term used. Mind to show me some of the ideas, a brief one would be fine.

AFAIK if you have say a triangle sketched of three black lines and extrude them, the resulting solid will be all black, no matter what colour you have set in your file. You should be able to remove the colour via the display tab, though.

Don't know if there's a difference, I have 2010.

Matteo, I am one of these designers who do not have the capabilities and resources to make good use of ANSYS. I would be very interested in a solution that requires less budget and effort. My goal is to make a simple and fast analysis in an early design stage to ensure feasibility. Later, when the options are more focused, I will work with a specialist...