FE Geometry

Use the FE Geometry tools to convert elements or CAD surfaces into FE geometry, or update existing FE geometry.

1. From the Geometry ribbon, click the FE Geometry tool.

   
   
   Figure 4.

2. Select an option from the secondary ribbon.

   Option	Description
   From CAD	Select CAD geometry with associated elements to convert.
   From Elements	Select elements that are not associated with geometry to convert. Click on the guide bar to define options. Create at features Simple - Fast method of identifying features based solely on the angle between normals of adjacent elements. Based on this, the surface is created. Connected - Seeks to avoid any "orphan" or non-closed feature lines. It includes a more rigorous check to combine small areas and avoid creating features that end abruptly or do not connect to any other features while creating surfaces. Example shown below: Figure 5. Edge feature angle Feature angle based on angle between normals of adjacent element normals. Based on the settings, features are created on the surfaces. Vertex feature angle Maintain connectivity of the input surfaces to any attached surfaces. Allow open features Orphan feature edges can be created with this option, as shown in Figure 5 by the Simple example. Create at component boundaries Feature edge separating the component boundary is created while creating different surfaces. Create solids Orphan elements forming an enclosed volume are converted into a solid. Create at 1D elements Feature edges are created at 1D elements.
   Update	Select existing FE geometry to update. Surfaces and elements can be selected, and, using the options above, new FE geometry can be created. In addition to the "From Elements" options, click on the guide bar to define: Remove existing features Before creating FE geometry, existing features can be removed. Create at selection boundaries Feature edges are created considering element selection.