Browsers supply a great deal of view-related functionality by listing the parts of a model in a tabular and/or tree-based
format, and providing controls inside the table that allow you to alter the display of model parts.
FE geometry is topology on top of mesh, meaning CAD and mesh exist as a single entity. The purpose of FE geometry
is to add vertices, edges, surfaces, and solids on FE models which have no CAD geometry.
Manage all of the IDs for the entities that you create, and define ID ranges for all of the entities in each Include
file in relation to the full model in order to avoid ID duplication.
Perform automatic checks on CAD models, and identify potential issues with geometry that may slow down the meshing
process using the Verification and Comparison tools.
Local coordinate systems can be used for setting up loads/boundary conditions that do not act in the global axis direction,
transforming results, defining material orientation, and many other operations.
Use the Auto Contacts tool to determine contact interfaces between selections of components or elements. Based on
the user-specified options like proximity tolerance, surface creation method, main surface type, and secondary type,
the tool generates contacts based on set segments or node and element combinations.
Tools and workflows that are dedicated to rapidly creating new parts for specific use cases, or amending existing
parts. The current capabilities are focused on stiffening parts.
Use the Auto Contacts tool to determine contact interfaces between selections of components or elements. Based on
the user-specified options like proximity tolerance, surface creation method, main surface type, and secondary type,
the tool generates contacts based on set segments or node and element combinations.
Use the Auto Contacts tool to determine contact interfaces between selections of
components or elements. Based on the user-specified options like proximity tolerance,
surface creation method, main surface type, and secondary type, the tool generates contacts
based on set segments or node and element combinations.
Auto contact generation works independent of whether the
model is FE or geometric.
Restriction: This tool is only available in the
OptiStruct profile.
From the Model ribbon, Contacts tool group, click the
Auto Contacts tool.
On the guide bar, click to set contact calculation options for Sliding and Tied contacts.
Some of the main parameters include:
The maximum feature angle used to identify contacts
The contact surf (set) types - main and secondary
Main - Surface (elems) or Segment (Set Segment)
Secondary - Node, Surface (elems), or Segment (Set Segment)
The method for creating main and secondary surfaces
The property to attach to the contact pairs
Select the contact type that gets generated from the guide bar drop-down.
If using a proximity tolerance to determine the distance between selections,
enter a value.
Select the components or elements to create contact interfaces between.
Optional: If the Property Options setting is set to Use existing
property, you can select and assign a PCONT property.
Click Find.
The evaluation is executed. If valid contacts are found, a model tour
style guide bar appears that you can use to review the
various node, surface, or segment creations.
Review the next or previous contact by clicking or
on the guide bar.
Optional: Use the options on the display toolbar to toggle the visibility of associated
components and main/secondary interfaces as well as adjust the transparency
level.
Optional: Edit the content of the Secondary and Main selectors (node, surface, or segment
selections) to correct and/or improve the contact generated by the tool.
Note: The entity selectors on the model tour guide bar
are restricted by the main and secondary types defined in the options menu.
If set to Node, only nodes are available for selection. If set to Surfaces,
you can only select elements. If set to Segments, you can only select
faces/edges.
Optional: Use the checkbox beneath the guide bar to swap the main
and secondary interfaces.
Click one of the action buttons on the guide bar.
- Reject individual contacts
- Reject all contacts and return to the Create
context