Solid Map Panel

Location: 3D page

Only relatively simple solids can be meshed; complex objects must first be partitioned into simpler sections so that the sections can be meshed individually.

Furthermore, even if all solids are mappable, they may not all be meshable at once; you may still need to mesh each mappable solid individually, or only a few at a time. Any given volume can have one of four states, which are color-coded when using the mappable view option on the Visualization toolbar. Although the colors can be customized, the default settings are:

Blue: A solid that has not been edited at all, and therefore is not evaluated for mappability.
Orange: A solid that has been edited, but remains completely unmappable (further partitioning may enable mapping).
Yellow: A solid that is mappable in one direction.
Green: A solid that is mappable in three directions (this is very rare).

Engineering Solutions displays the progress of the solid map meshing process in the status bar. Upon completion, Engineering Solutions displays a report of the mesh quality. The element quality value reported is the worst scaled Jacobian in the mesh. The scaled Jacobian's value may range from 0.0 to 1.0 (best). An elem's scaled Jacobian is a ratio of the elem Jacobian over the Jacobian of an ideal elem of the same configuration. To use other mesh quality measures, go to the Check Elements panel.

Note: All of these subpanels depend on an existing 2D mesh, which is then extrapolated into a 3D mesh based on the parameters you input. The One Volume and Multi Solids subpanels, however, can automatically create 3D mesh directly on solids as long as the solids you select are already mappable.

You can omit the source, the destination, or the along geometry by setting either one of the entity selectors to (none). Only one of these selections can be set to (none); the other two selections are then required to define the volume to fill.

The 2D meshes extruded do not have to be continuous.

The "along" faces do not all have to be defined.

You can create elements with a user-specified bias by selecting linear, exponential, or bellcurve after bias style. Specify the bias intensity value after intensity = and click mesh.

General Subpanel

Use the General subpanel to access all of the possible entry controls for maximum flexibility.

Option	Action
source geom	Choose a method for selecting source geometry that defines the source face of the 3D volume. surfs Select surfaces that define the source face of the volume/solid. lines Select lines that define the periphery of the source face. nodes Select multiple lists of nodes, each representing the periphery of the source face. none No source geometry is defined. The geometry inferred from the elems to drag is considered as source geometry.
elems to drag	Select the elements/mesh that correspond to the source face extruded to create the solid mesh. If the source face type chosen is a surface, the elements to drag selection is optional as the elements associated to the surface are automatically selected.
dest geom	Choose a method for selecting the geometry that defines the destination face of the 3D volume. surfs Select surfaces that define the destination face of the volume/solid. lines Select lines that define the periphery of the source face. nodes Select multiple lists of nodes, each representing the periphery of the source face.
elems to match / smooth dest	elems to match Select the elements on the destination surface that you wish the 3D mesh to match up with. smooth dest Smooth the mesh that is mapped on the destination face when your destination geometry varies greatly from the source geometry.
along parameters	Define/set the parameters required for the mesh along the solid map. Set the element size or density (toggle) to be defined in the along direction. This determines the number of elements along the depth of the mapping. If the size or density is set to "0", the element size/density is calculated based on the average element size of the source elements (elems to drag).
along bias style	Choose the type of biasing to use while creating nodes in the along direction. The biasing style works in conjunction with biasing intensity. If intensity is set to "0" the biasing is not applied.
intensity	Specify the biasing intensity value.
3d elem faces by nodes	Select 3d elements faces by nodes as input.
apply orthogonality to along	Keep the solid elements generated more perpendicular to the surface faces in the along direction.

Line Drag Subpanel

Use the Line Drag subpanel to select a 2D mesh, and then select a line from the model geometry to use as the mapping direction.

Option	Action
elems to drag	Select the elements/mesh that correspond to the source face extruded to create the solid mesh. If the source face type chosen is a surface, the elements to drag selection is optional as the elements associated to the surface are automatically selected.
elems to match / smooth dest	elems to match Select the elements on the destination surface that you wish the 3D mesh to match up with. smooth dest Smooth the mesh that is mapped on the destination face when your destination geometry varies greatly from the source geometry.
along geom	Choose a method for selecting the geometry that defines the face of the 3D volume along which you wish to map the mesh. surfs Select surfaces to define the mapping face of the volume/solid. lines Select lines that define the periphery of the source face. nodes Select a node list that defines a line along which to map. mixed Select any combination of surfaces, lines, 2D elements/shell faces, and/or nodelist/nodepath. When elements are used, the mapped solid mesh maintains the nodal positions with selected elements. They can be equivalenced to have common nodes. While selecting nodelist/nodepath, each selection should represent an edge that connects the source and destination.
along parameters	Define/set the parameters required for the mesh along the solid map. Set the element size or density (toggle) to be defined in the along direction. This determines the number of elements along the depth of the mapping. If the size or density is set to "0", the element size/density is calculated based on the average element size of the source elements (elems to drag).
along bias style	Choose the type of biasing to use while creating nodes in the along direction. The biasing style works in conjunction with biasing intensity. If intensity is set to "0" the biasing is not applied.
intensity	Specify the biasing intensity value.

Linear Solid Subpanel

Use the Linear Solid subpanel to select two existing 2D meshes and extrapolate a 3D mesh that connects them.

Option	Action
elems to drag	Select the elements/mesh that correspond to the source face extruded to create the solid mesh. If the source face type chosen is a surface, the elements to drag selection is optional as the elements associated to the surface are automatically selected.
elems to match	Select the elements on the destination surface that you wish the 3D mesh to match up with.
along geom	Choose a method for selecting the geometry that defines the face of the 3D volume along which you wish to map the mesh. nodes Select a node list that defines a line along which to map. none Do not use geometry.
along parameters	Define/set the parameters required for the mesh along the solid map. Set the element size or density (toggle) to be defined in the along direction. This determines the number of elements along the depth of the mapping. If the size or density is set to "0", the element size/density is calculated based on the average element size of the source elements (elems to drag).
along bias style	Choose the type of biasing to use while creating nodes in the along direction. The biasing style works in conjunction with biasing intensity. If intensity is set to "0" the biasing is not applied.
intensity	Specify the biasing intensity value.

Ends Only Subpanel

Use the Ends Only subpanel to select two opposing surfaces and one 2D mesh, then extrapolate the mesh between the surfaces.

Option	Action
source geom	Choose a method for selecting source geometry that defines the source face of the 3D volume. surfs Select surfaces that define the source face of the volume/solid. lines Select lines that define the periphery of the source face. nodes Select multiple lists of nodes, each representing the periphery of the source face. none No source geometry is defined. The geometry inferred from the elems to drag is considered as source geometry.
dest geom	Choose a method for selecting the geometry that defines the destination face of the 3D volume. surfs Select surfaces that define the destination face of the volume/solid. lines Select lines that define the periphery of the source face. nodes Select multiple lists of nodes, each representing the periphery of the source face.
elems to drag	Select the elements/mesh that correspond to the source face extruded to create the solid mesh. If the source face type chosen is a surface, the elements to drag selection is optional as the elements associated to the surface are automatically selected.
elems to match / smooth dest	elems to match Select the elements on the destination surface that you wish the 3D mesh to match up with. smooth dest Smooth the mesh that is mapped on the destination face when your destination geometry varies greatly from the source geometry.
along parameters	Define/set the parameters required for the mesh along the solid map. Set the element size or density (toggle) to be defined in the along direction. This determines the number of elements along the depth of the mapping. If the size or density is set to "0", the element size/density is calculated based on the average element size of the source elements (elems to drag).
along bias style	Choose the type of biasing to use while creating nodes in the along direction. The biasing style works in conjunction with biasing intensity. If intensity is set to "0" the biasing is not applied.
intensity	Specify the biasing intensity value.

One Volume Subpanel

Use the One Volume subpanel to select a single, mappable solid volume and create a new 3D mesh for it.

Option	Action
volume to mesh	Select the solid to mesh.
source hint	Select the "beginning" surface that defines the direction of mesh mapping.
dest hint	Select the "ending" surface that defines the direction of mesh mapping.
source shells	Select the type of source shells that define the 2D mesh on the initial surface of the solid, and will dictate the output element type when meshing the solids. mixed Create hexa and penta elements. quad Create only hexa elements. trias or R-trias Create only penta elements (right-angle pentas in the case of R-trias).
along geom	Choose a method for selecting the geometry that defines the face of the 3D volume along which you wish to map the mesh. surfs Select surfaces to define the mapping face of the volume/solid. lines Select lines that define the periphery of the source face. nodes Select a node list that defines a line along which to map. mixed Select any combination of surfaces, lines, 2D elements/shell faces, and/or nodelist/nodepath. When elements are used, the mapped solid mesh maintains the nodal positions with selected elements. They can be equivalenced to have common nodes. While selecting nodelist/nodepath, each selection should represent an edge that connects the source and destination.
along parameters	Define/set the parameters required for the mesh along the solid map. Set the element size or density (toggle) to be defined in the along direction. This determines the number of elements along the depth of the mapping. If the size or density is set to "0", the element size/density is calculated based on the average element size of the source elements (elems to drag).
along bias style	Choose the type of biasing to use while creating nodes in the along direction. The biasing style works in conjunction with biasing intensity. If intensity is set to "0" the biasing is not applied.
intensity	Specify the biasing intensity value.
smooth dest	Smooth the elements on the resulting face of the solid to improve the resulting mesh quality.
elems to solid/surf comp / elems to current comp	Select which component to put the newly-created elements. elems to solid/surf comp Add the elements to the same component that contains the solid and its surfaces. elems to current comp Add the new elements to the current component.

Multi Solids Subpanel

Use the Multi Solids subpanel to select multiple mappable solids and create 3D meshes for them.

Engineering Solutions can create volume meshes on multiple shapes at the same time, allowing you to mesh solid parts faster.

Note: Complex parts must still be partitioned into multiple simpler solids.

This does not always work for large numbers of solids, even if they are all mappable. In some cases you may need to mesh them a few at a time or even (in extreme cases) individually.

Clicking mesh in this panel will create the solid mesh if automatic mode had been selected. If the interactive mode was selected, it will create any temporary 2D shell meshes required and assign the node seeding density to all of the along edges. Then it will open the Density subpanel.

Option	Action
solid	Select the desired solids. Note: Only solids that are mappable can be meshed.
check geom	Checks selected solids for any topological issues. Tiny edges will be colored pink and twisted edges will be colored red.
interactive / automatic	automatic Create the 3D solid mesh immediately. interactive Use the subpanels to enable further control over the mesh density and element mesh patterns.
elem size	Specify the size to when initially distributing the nodes to the edges.
source shells	Select the type of source shells that define the 2D mesh on the initial surface of the solid, and will dictate the output element type when meshing the solids. mixed Create hexa and penta elements. quad Create only hexa elements. trias or R-trias Create only penta elements (right-angle pentas in the case of R-trias).
source hint	Select the "beginning" surface that defines the direction of mesh mapping.
dest hint	Select the "ending" surface that defines the direction of mesh mapping.
elems to solid/surf comp / elems to current comp	Select which component to put the newly-created elements. elems to solid/surf comp Add the elements to the same component that contains the solid and its surfaces. elems to current comp Add the new elements to the current component.
smooth dest	Smooth the elements on the resulting face of the solid to improve the resulting mesh quality.
stop meshing on bad jacobian	Halt the meshing routines upon the creation of a bad jacobian solid element.
previous settings	When creating the temporary surface mesh, honor any prior edge node density settings.
keep 2d mesh	Keep any surface mesh associated to selected solids/surfaces.

Thin Solids Subpanel

Use the Thin Solids subpanel to create thin solid meshes. The mesh is created by first generating a 2D mesh on a selected set of faces, and then extruding this mesh to generate solid hexa or wedge elements.

In order to create a thin solid mesh, the solid geometry must meet a certain criteria.

The solid entity should be a bent sheet metal solid.
You should be able to identify both the Source (start) faces and the Destination faces.
Source and destination faces must be connected by side (along) faces which are almost 90 degrees to them.
The number of top and bottom faces do not need to match.
Side faces do not need to be four-sided.

Option

Action

thin solid mesh

Select whether to mesh elements or solids.

along surfs/source surfs (may hint)

Select surfaces that define the source face of the thin solid. A single surface selection as hint will work.

destination (may hint)

Select surfaces that define the destination face of the thin solid. A single surface selection as hint will work.

save src to SAVELIST

On detect, will save source surfaces to mark. This can be retrieved in other surface selection panels.

number of layers:

Specify the number of layers of elements to build along the normal direction.

element size = / elem_size/thickness

element size: Specify the desired element size.

Figure 7. Element Size = 2 (3 Layers)
elem_size/thickness: Specify the ratio of size to part thickness. Since the element size is based on the part thickness, the mesh will be finer in thinner areas.

Figure 8. Elem_size/Thickness = 2 (3 Layers)

element type =

Select the type of elements used in the initial shell mesh from which solid elements are created.

R-trias are right-angle triangular elements.
Mixed uses quads primarily, but inserts trias when necessary to improve mesh quality.
Quads attempts to use quads only, but may still insert some trias where quads simply will not fit.

Figure 9. Trias	Figure 10. Quads (Equal Densities)
Figure 11. Right-Trias	Figure 12. Mixed (Density 10 at Top, 5 at Bottom)

linear or no biasing / exponential biasing /bellcurve biasing

Select the biasing affects element growth in successive layers, moving away from the source faces.

No Biasing: All layers are equal in thickness.

Figure 13. Example: No Biasing
Exponential Biasing: Successive layers are exponentially thicker.

Figure 14. Example: Exponential Biasing
Bellcurve Biasing: Layers are progressively thicker near the center, but thinner near the source and destination faces.

Figure 15. Example: Bellcurve Biasing

bias intensity =

Specify the biasing intensity value.This numeric value affects how strongly the biasing effect is. When left at zero, no biasing is applied.

elements to current comp / original comp

Choose whether to organize the newly created components in the current component, or in the components of the shell elements.

post cleanup elems

Choose whether to optimize the generated hex mesh. If checked, optimization is performed to improve Jacobian and warpage quality. Avoids negative Jaobian elements created using thin solid.

Command Buttons

Option	Action
mesh	Create a solid mesh with all the provided input. The solid mesh created is placed in a collector named solidmap. If that collector does not exist, a new component is created with that name.
reject	Reject the last mapped solid mesh created.
equiv/faces	Equivalence all of the elements in the solidmap component and create the faces (^faces component) for that component. This function is optional and does not directly impact the solidmap functionality. It allows you to perform faster and easier solid modeling. The solidmap component is equivalenced with an initial tolerance of 1% of element size. When this function is performed, a message is displayed informing you of the number of nodes equivalenced along with the tolerance value used. Any subsequent use of this function without performing additional solid mapping increases the tolerance (to a maximum of 10% element size) before equivalencing again.
return	Exit the panel.