Use the Spotweld panel to create 1D elements to connect different parts.
Location: 1D page
Spotwelds can be created one at a time or in groups using the Using Geom, Using Nodes, or Using
Elems subpanels.
Using Geom Subpanel
Use the Using Geom subpanel to create spotwelds with surface geometry obtained from
CAD data.
Option
Action
surfs-surfs /
lines-surfs
surfs-surfs
If more than two surfaces are within the search
radius, spotweld elements are not created. To create
welds in this situation, select a pair of surfaces
at a time.
The local coordinate systems are oriented with the y
axis located along the direction between the
selected nodes.
Welds are placed in the current component.
lines-surfs
all surfs/elems
Attempt to weld together all surfs/elems found
within the given search radius. If more than two
surfs/elems are found, Engineering Solutions
attempts to weld all of the layers together. This
option is present to allow for 2t and 3t
welds.
ind surfs/elems
Find the first surf/elem (within tolerance) in
each collector via a database lookup.
Note: This
may not be the closest surf/elem; it is simply the
first one that is found. Placing too many
elems/surfs in each collector may lead to
unexpected results.
The local coordinate systems are oriented with the y
axis located along the direction between the
selected nodes.
all surfs / ind
surfs
all surfs
Select all surfaces simultaneously.
ind surfs
Select surfaces that define the independent and
dependent regions individually
surfs selector
Select the independent
surfaces.
When using all surf, select two (or more) surfaces
between which to create the element(s).
element config
Select type of element
to create.
weld location
Select the nodes or
points where you want to create spotwelds.
lines
Each line is treated independently, resulting in
welds being located at the beginning and end of each
line with the remainder of the welds being spaced
evenly along the length of each individual
line.
line list
All of the selected lines are combined head-to-tail
in the order they were selected, and then treated as
a single line. This results in only the beginning of
the first line and the end of the last line having
weld points, with the rest of the welds being spaced
evenly along the length of the combined line.
property
Assign properties to
the spotweld element(s).
search
tolerance
Specify the tolerance
value to use to identify relevant surfaces between which to
create the elements at the specified locations.
without systems /
build systems
build systems
Build the local coordinate system at each end of the
spotweld element.
without systems
Do not build systems.
spacing /
density
density
Specify the number of spotweld elements to create
along the line.
spacing
Specify a set distance between the spotweld elements
create along the line.
Note: Available when line-surfs is selected.
offset options
You can either
explicitly state the offset distance from each end on the line,
or you can use the 1/2 spacing option. The 1/2 spacing option
determines the distance between two welds and sets the explicit
offset to 1/2 of this distance.
Using Nodes Subpanel
Use the Using Nodes subpanel to create spotwelds using finite element model data. Figure 1. Weld Created using Build Systems Figure 2. Weld Created using Without Systems
The local coordinate systems are oriented with the y axis located along the direction
between the selected nodes.
The dependent node can be moved to create weld elements that are perpendicular to the
surface formed by the elements attached to the independent node. This relocation can
occur either with or without pre-existing geometrical surfaces defining the
dependent surface.
Option
Action
indep node
selector
Select the independent
node.
dep node
selector
Select the dependent
node.
Engineering Solutions builds the element after
you select the dependent node.
element config
Select the type of
element to create.
move dep node
Move the dependent
node along the surface in which it lies and create a spotweld
normal to the independent surface. If the quality of the
resulting mesh due to the movement of the dependent node is not
acceptable, click reject and select
remesh dep region to remesh the
dependent region.
Note: This option remeshes only the dependent
region affected by the movement of the dependent
node.
property
Assign properties to
the spotweld element(s).
without systems /
build systems
build systems
Build the local coordinate system at each end of the
spotweld element.
without systems
Do not build systems.
Using Elems Subpanel
Use the Using Elems subpanel to create spotwelds and internally remesh the
surrounding elements.
If more than two elements are within the search radius, spotweld elements are not
created. To create welds in this situation, select a pair of elements at a time.
The local coordinate systems are oriented with the y axis located along the direction
between the selected nodes.
Welds are placed in the current component
Option
Action
all elems / ind
elems
all elems
Select all elements simultaneously.
ind elems
Select the elements that define the independent and
dependent regions individually.
elems selector
Select
elements.
element config
Select the type of
element to create.
weld location
Select the nodes or
points where you want to create spotwelds.
property
Select the property
collector to be assigned to the element.
search
tolerance
Specify the tolerance
value to use to identify relevant surfaces between which to
create the elements at the specified locations.
without systems /
build systems
build systems
Build the local coordinate system at each end of the
spotweld element.
without systems
Do not build systems.
attach to shell
elems
Create 1D connection
elements and attach them to neighboring shell elements by
internally remeshing the surrounding elements.
Switch Nodes Subpanel
Option
Action
elems selector
Select the weld
elements whose dependent and independent nodes you want to
switch.
