Fast Start Training Guide - SIMSOLID

SIMSOLID FAST START TRAINING

Fast Start Training Guide

All materials © 2017 SIMSOLID Corporation – All Rights Reserved


Table of Contents • • • • • • • 2

Section 1 – Introduction Section 2 – My first analysis Section 3 – User interface basic concepts Section 4 – Processing design geometry Section 5 – Creating an analysis Section 6 – Interpreting results Section 7 – Additional topics and sources for more information

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Section 1

INTRODUCTION

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Welcome to SIMSOLID • SIMSOLID is a next generation, high capacity, structural FEA • It uses new computational methods which operate on original, unsimplified, CAD geometry and does not create a mesh • SIMSOLID can solve very large assemblies on a standard desktop computer. No HPC or cloud back end is required • SIMSOLID is the perfect complement to your existing CAE specific or CAD embedded Simulation. It extends their analysis range to larger models and provides feedback in seconds to minutes

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SIMSOLID removes the “big 4” FEA barriers to use • Budget barrier – SIMSOLID is extremely affordable. Pay as you go with low monthly or annual subscription options • Access barrier – SIMSOLID is a lightweight (33 MB) downloadable app that integrates directly with CAD and runs on your standard desktop computer. No expensive HPC hardware or remotely shared cloud based system required • Know-how barrier – SIMSOLID is extremely simple to use. It eliminates geometry simplification and meshing, the two most time consuming, expertise extensive and error prone tasks done in traditional FEA • Time to solution barrier – SIMSOLID is fast. Typical results are obtained in seconds to minutes.

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SIMSOLID technology • •

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SIMSOLID is based on entirely new FEA technology SIMSOLID does not use a mesh but instead applies classes of higher order functions on both a part and CAD feature basis SIMSOLID is an adaptive solver that automatically iterates to improve accuracy on both a local and global basis SIMSOLID algorithms are designed specifically to handle large assemblies with complex connections For more information including whitepapers, validation and theory documents go to: http://www.simsolid.com/white-papers/


SIMSOLID Do’s and Dont’s SIMSOLID’s unique numerical solution methods do not have many of the limitations found in traditional FEA. With SIMSOLID, there is no meshing and geometry handling is much easier. Here is a short list of DO’s and DONT’s hints and tips to help get you going.

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Do use the CAD geometry as is – SIMSOLID is capable of analyzing all geometric detail including fillets, rounds, holes, imprints and other small features. Even surface construction complexity such as odd face transitions and small splinter surfaces are OK to leave in unaltered. SIMSOLID is tolerant of imprecise geometry.

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Don’t merge assemblies – Most traditional FEA applications recommend this step in order to help the meshing process and eliminate complex and cumbersome specialty element connections. With SIMSOLID this is not done. Merging parts actually slows down the solution process. Always keep all CAD parts separate.

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Don’t be afraid of large assemblies – With SIMSOLID, it is acceptable to leave in small parts such as bolts, nuts and washers. Even bolts with threads are OK. SIMSOLID unique adaptive solution process will work efficiently on models with hundreds of parts.

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Don’t be afraid of imperfect connection geometry – In SIMSOLID, assembly part connections are very tolerant of gaps (geometry that does not touch) and penetrations (geometry that overlaps). Its assembly connections are industry best at handling ragged contact surfaces and setup is fast and easy.

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SIMSOLID Editions SIMSOLID comes in two configurations: • SIMSOLID Standard edition – – – –

Static and modal analyses Standard boundary conditions Unique multi-CAD analysis model associativity with Fusion 360, SOLIDWORKS, Onshape and STL Limited to 100 parts and 8-cores for parallel processing

• SIMSOLID Power edition (30-DAY TRIAL VERSION) – – – – – –

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More analyses – thermal, thermal stress and geometric nonlinear static analysis More connections – virtual connectors, spot, laser and fillet welds More boundary conditions – thermal, inertia, inertia relief, hydrostatic, bearing, hinge, remote load More capabilities – rigid parts, bolt/nut tightening, modal participation factors More result outputs – bolt, contact region and spot weld resultant forces More capacity – no limit on number of parts or number of cores for parallel processing


Section 1

MY FIRST ANALYSIS

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My first analysis • As an introduction, we will do a quick modal analysis to calculate the first 3 flexible modes of a 30-part assembly of a bridge • More explanation coming, but for now this will provide a view of how few inputs are actually required • Our 4 steps to accomplish this are: 1. Import STL geometry, create connections 2. Apply material property 3. Create modal analysis & run 4. Examine frequencies and mode shapes

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4-step analysis – calculate first 3 flexible modes Import geometry, create connections Apply material property Create modal analysis & run Examine frequencies and mode shapes

Start by picking here

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4-step analysis – calculate first 3 flexible modes Import geometry, create connections Apply material property Create modal analysis & run Examine frequencies and mode shapes Pick material

Select apply material

Start by picking here

Then apply it to all parts in assembly and press OK

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Create new modal analysis from the main window toolbar

Press here to start modal analysis

Ask to find 3 flexible modes Make sure modal workbench is active

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Frequencies Pick Displacement magnitude

Pick “Show deformed shape”

Pick here to animate mode shape

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Section 3

USER INTERFACE – BASIC CONCEPTS

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User interface basic concepts • • • • • • • • 16

Screen areas Mouse buttons Main menu toolbars Graphics window Project tree Workbench toolbars Bookmark browser Specifying units

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SIMSOLID FAST START TRAINING Main toolbar

Project Tree

Workbench toolbar

Graphics Area

Bookmark Browser 17

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Mouse buttons – View manipulation • • • •

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Model Rotation – left mouse button (LMB) click + drag to rotate model Model Translation – right mouse button (RMB) click + drag to pan model. Model Zoom – rotate the mouse wheel to zoom the model. Model Zoom Extents (Fit): either pick the fit to window button on the main toolbar or click the window background with RMB and select “Fit geometry to window” Box Zoom – use the "Box zoom" button from the main window toolbar then click and drag box using LMB. As faster alternative, just hold SHIFT key and drag with LMB. Alternative CAD system mouse mappings are available from “Settings>Mouse setting” menu

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Mouse buttons – Entity selection •

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Single select – Select a single entity using the left mouse button (LMB) Multiple select – Select multiple entities by holding down Ctrl key and select with LMB Box select – Holding down Ctrl key and drag to select items within the box – Drag box down – any entities partial enclosed within the box will be selected – Drag box up – all entities must be fully enclosed within the box to be selected

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Standard & custom views •

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Standard views – top, bottom, front, back, etc. – Available on pulldown menu in main toolbar, or – by selecting main axis X, Y or Z arrowheads Z-up or Y-up definition – defined in the “Settings>Screen coordinate system” menu User defined views – Available on main toolbar button – Are added to bottom of Standard views pull down menu – User defined views are model specific – are saved in Project file

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Standard views

User defined views

Select arrowhead to point Y axis normal to screen

Select arrowhead to reverse (Z into screen)

Double click to edit name


Main menu toolbar Show sectioning plane Import from cloud

Project tree on/off

Import from file

Show parts shaded

Box zoom on/off

Highlight items with comments

Open, close, save project

Precise rotation

Fit geometry to window

User defined views Bookmark browser on/off

Standard views

Show hidden parts as ghosts

Show part edges

Measurements tool Help window on/off

Show hidden parts

Box selection on/off

Show parts translucent Show part in random colors

Selection filter Show boundary conditions

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Create new analysis – static, modal, thermal or nonlinear static


Graphics window

Immovable constraint on part face

Loaded part face

Entity context menu – select part with RMB. CTRL-select to select multiple parts

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Project tree

SI Select Assembly to set workbench focus

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The project tree contains multiple workbenches. A workbench is a related set of project tree entities to which certain actions can be applied. Entities in the workbench will be bolded when active and a workbench toolbar will appear to the right of the project tree. Entity selection can be made in project tree or directly on object in graphics window – –

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All workbench entities shown in bold

Select using left mouse button (LMB) Group select using shift-LMB or Ctrl-LMB

Display entity context menu using right mouse button (RMB) selection in either the graphic window or project tree Double-click project tree entity to open Edit dialogs TIP: The Project tree is the primary way to manage all SIMSOLID entity interaction

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Workbench toolbar


Workbench toolbars Assembly toolbar

Connections toolbar Apply material property

Resume suppressed parts

Auto create connections Manually create connections Create Spot and Laser Welds – Power Edition only

Create rigid part – Power Edition only Review Connections

Create spot

Review and clean assembly

Create local coordinate system

Create virtual connectors Power Edition only Show disconnected groups of parts

Check for geometry defects

NOTE: The toolbar displayed is based on the currently selected workbench in the project tree 24

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Workbench toolbars Structural analysis toolbar

Immovable support Hinge support – Power Edition only

Sliding support Spring support -Power Edition only

Pressure load

Check rigid motions Create result contour plot

Result point probe

Uniform load or displacement Gravity load Inertia load – Power Edition only Remote load – Power Edition only

Thermal load – Power Edition only Hydrostatic load – Power Edition only

Nut tightening – Power Edition only

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Run the analysis

Create XY plot

Spot weld forces – Power Edition only

Bolt/nut forces – Power Edition only

Reaction forces

Bearing load – Power Edition only

Bolt tightening – Power Edition only

NOTE: The toolbar displayed is based on the currently selected workbench in the project tree


Bookmark browser •

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Saves the current graphics state along with any overlaid windows (such as summary dialogs) Great way to document your work Bookmarks are saved in the project file Bookmark images and animations can be exported to media files to use in reports. Files are saved in .png and .mp4 formats

Save images and animations to media files

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RMB select thumbnail to display context menu

Increase/decrease thumbnail size Triangle indicates animation bookmark

Double-click name to edit

To save animation, create new bookmark while animation is active

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Create new bookmark

Update bookmark with contents of current graphics window

Adds onscreen caption. Drag caption to reposition in graphics area

Select any thumbnail to restore graphics view


Interface Synchronization •

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The project tree, bookmark browser and graphics window states are always synchronized The focus will be consistent for all user interface controls Select any one and the others will update

Project tree workbench will synchronize as well

Graphics area will synchronize with bookmark Select bookmark

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Specifying units

Double-click here to open units dialog Set the number format of result output here – engineering, scientific or concise mix Both input and output units can be set

Check here to make these settings the default for new projects

TIP: SIMSOLID manages all units. These are the default values only. They can still be overridden on most data input forms. Mixed unit input is fully supported throughout the product. 28

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Section 4

PROCESSING DESIGN GEOMETRY

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Processing design geometry • Design Studies • Geometry import – – – –

from SOLIDWORKS From Autodesk Fusion 360 from Onshape From STL

• Creating connections • Adjusting visualization styles • Assigning materials 30

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Design studies •

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Design Studies allow you to quickly evaluate and compare the structural performance from different geometric configurations. A single SIMSOLID Project file can contain multiple Design Studies each with their own unique set of geometry and analyses. Every time geometry is imported, it is placed into a new design study and SIMSOLID will attempt to reapply existing material property, connection and analysis definition data. The source for this data will be the BASELINE design study. The first design study defaults to BASELINE but this can be changed at any time by selecting the right mouse button (RMB) menu “Set as baseline” on any design study root node in the project tree.

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BASELINE Study – this is the source for all material properties, connections and analysis conditions

Each time new geometry is read in, the data attributes from the baseline study will be applied here

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Design studies - Managing associativity •

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Every time geometry is imported, it is placed into a new design study and SIMSOLID will attempt to reapply existing BASELINE material property, connection and analysis definition data. Items that cannot be reapplied will be marked in red All red entities must be resolved before a new analysis can be started For contact conditions, SIMSOLID will bond automatically. Review to make sure this is what you want. Either, RMB select then pick “Accept contact condition(s) in red” or double-click to Edit For boundary conditions, double-click and reselect the location (face, edge, spot, etc.)

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Geometry considerations • •

SIMSOLID does not import CAD surface or solid geometry. Instead it uses a more efficient faceted geometric approach. From CAD (SOLIDWORKS, Fusion 360 or Onshape) – – –

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Full CAD hierarchical assembly tree structure used CAD part faces used (preferred) Facets are based on CAD add-in faceting parameters

From STL – –

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CAD face structure

Multi-body STL used. Flat assembly tree structure only SIMSOLID determined part face structure based on surface curvature (will miss fillet faces, see example on right) Facets are based on STL file export parameters (must take care, as some CAD system export poor quality STL)

When possible, the direct CAD integrated paths are preferred over generic STL. Geometry quality is better and solver solution speed will, in most cases, be faster. Faceting best practice – use a level of tessellation that is sufficient to capture the general part shape but not be overly fine. Too much detail does not improve the solution accuracy and only slows down the solution sequence.

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STL face structure


Design studies – Copying analyses • • •

Analyses may be easily copied between design studies. RMB select the analysis and pick “Copy to” and the location target. Power Edition only - static analysis contact and boundary conditions can be copied to a new non-linear analysis. RMB select the analysis and pick “Copy to non-linear analysis” –

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Note: when doing nonlinear analysis, you have the option to use follower loads. Simply double-click the load to Edit and select the follower icon next to the load value.


Geometry and material property import from SOLIDWORKS Pick here to load the current SOLIDWORKS visible geometry into SIMSOLID – uses shared memory (preferred method)

Pick here to save model to SIMSOLID formatted file – use this method if SIMSOLID is on a different machine from SOLIDWORKS

Pick here to adjust face facet settings Choose which active SIMSOLID project to load the design study geometry into.

Inside of SOLIDWORKS, make sure SIMSOLID add-in is activated

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TIP: Install SIMSOLID on same machine as SOLIDWORKS and installer will also load SIMSOLID SOLIDWORKS add-in


Geometry & material property import from Fusion 360

Pick here to load the current Fusion 360 visible (body or mesh body) geometry into SIMSOLID – uses shared memory (preferred method) Pick here to save model to SIMSOLID formatted file – use this method if SIMSOLID is on a different machine from Fusion 360 Pick here to adjust face facet settings

Inside of Fusion 360, make sure SIMSOLID add-in is activated

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TIP: Install SIMSOLID on same machine as Fusion 360 and installer will also load SIMSOLID Fusion 360 add-in

Choose which active SIMSOLID project to load the design study geometry into.


Geometry import from Onshape Select cloud settings to authorize Onshape account (required one time)

Open browser to log into Onshape and authorize

Select here to open Onshape document. Right mouse button select here to change Onshape workspace.

Select Import from cloud

Most of the time, Standard face facets are OK. Should only need to change for complex curving geometry. NOTE: too many facets will slow down the analysis. Adjust with caution.

Select here to select part or assembly studio

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Select here to import assembly into SIMSOLID. Or better yet, just double-click on the Part or Assembly studio icon and skip the Open button.


Geometry import from STL file •

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Select the “Import from file” button from the Main Toolbar. Browse to where your file (or files) are located, select all of them and the press Open. SIMSOLID knows all about units, but unfortunately STL does not. A dialog allows you to specify the units that the file is in. Bounding box dimensions are displayed to help you decide.

Select Import from file


Automatically Create Connections •

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Once the geometry is read in, SIMSOLID will display a dialog to prompt for connection tolerances. The “Automatic connections” operation tries to create connections between all parts using these tolerances as a guide. Once complete, you will see a list of all parts and connections in the Project tree. If there are parts that SIMSOLID cannot connect, a dialog will be displayed to notify you and give you the option to suppress or delete the unconnected entities. Connections can be created manually as well – see icons in the connections workbench toolbar Manually create connections

Auto create connections Show disconnected groups of parts

NOTE: A best practice it to make the gap and penetration tolerance as small as possible. Values that are too big can over constrain the model. 39

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Review Part Connections •

METHOD 1 –

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METHOD 2 –

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To see where a connection is on the model, simple select it in the project tree. The model turns transparent and the connection is highlighted by a red cross-hatch pattern. For instances where the model is more complex, use the “Zoom In” command on the Context menu (use RMB to select the connection). Now the view will zoom in to the connection location and only the two parts associated with the connection are displayed. A “+”and “–“ Zoom button will appear on the connection to allow you to fine tune the view. An alternate method is to RMB pick a part and select the “Review part connections” menu item. This display a dialog listing all connections associated with the selected part only.


Review Part Connections •

METHOD 3 – – –

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Use Review connections dialog. Allows you to sort all connections by attribute. Just pick the column headers Any connection selected will be highlighted in the graphics window


Adjusting visualization styles • • • •

Parts can be displayed as shaded, wireframe or transparent Parts can be hidden Hidden parts can be shown as ghosted (light transparent) To hide part: – –

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Show parts shaded

Show hidden parts as ghosts

Show part edges

Show hidden parts

select one or more parts in either the project tree or graphics region. Use CTRL key to multi-select RMB select “Hide menu”

To show hidden parts, RMB in a blank area of the graphics window and select “show all hidden parts”

Show parts translucent

Show part in random colors

TIP: Use bookmarks to save a favorite graphics style or visual grouping

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Show boundary conditions


Visualization Examples

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Random colored parts

Translucent parts

Results plot with hidden parts shown as ghosted

Edge only display

Hidden parts shown as ghosted (light transparent)

Edges on (undeformed), deformed shape with continuous contour plot


Assign Material Properties Select Assembly

NOTE: CAD materials will be imported with model geometry, if defined.

Select Assign material

Select material

Material name listed next to parts

Select here and OK to assign selected material to all parts

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Select here and OK to assign selected material to selected parts. Parts can be selected in either the project tree or the graphics window.


Using default materials If you change your mind and find you no longer want a default material, RMB select and pick “Clear”

Pick material

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Double-click here to open materials dialog

TIP: This only needs to be set up one time. Will be saved as a user preference.

NOTE: Default materials will be applied to any parts without material when an analysis is run.

Pick OK

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Review material property assignment •

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Large assemblies can have many material properties. SIMSOLID makes it easy to review material property assignments. RMB pick Assembly and select: –

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Show>Materials – This will show a list of all material property assignments. Pick a material name and all parts with that material property will be highlighted. Show>Parts without materials – This will hide all part with materials and only show parts without material property assignments.

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Suppressing and deleting parts • •

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Suppressing parts removes them from inclusion in related analyses but leaves them in the Project file Deleting parts removes them from the project file. Use caution as delete cannot be undone. Parts may be suppressed or deleted from current or all design studies Parts are suppressed or deleted using right mouse button (RMB) selection of a group of parts in either the project tree or the graphics window. Suppressed parts are shown in the project tree as crossed out and grey Use RMB menu “Resume” to unsuppress a part and reactivate it.

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Section 5

CREATING AN ANALYSIS

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Creating an analysis • • • • •

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Create new analysis Specify contact conditions Create boundary conditions Specify solution settings Run the analysis

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Create new analysis

Create a new analysis by selecting from either the Analysis menu or main toolbar. NOTE: Thermal and Structural non-linear analysis available in SIMSOLID Power edition only.

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Specify contact conditions • • •

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SIMSOLID contact conditions can be bonding, sliding or disabled Contact conditions are created automatically but can be changed by user RMB pick a connection then select Edit

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Create boundary conditions Select analysis workbench Select where to apply to

Select boundary condition

(optional) select units for this boundary condition

Toggle between load and specified displacement Enter load or displacement value

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Using Spots •

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Select Spot as location

Many traditional FEA systems require faces to be split to create localized loads and constraints Select existing or pick here to create new spot SIMSOLID has a better way – Spots Spots can be rectangular, circular or triangular. They can even be points, lines or arcs Spots are projected onto parts normal to the screen Pick part face to orient part and center view Spots can be projected onto more than one face or more than one part

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Select Spot type – rectangle, circle, triangle

Define shape attributes

If necessary, fine tune location

Specify what to project Spot onto

Pick on part to position Spot

Pick OK to project onto part(s)


Specify solution settings •

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The “Settings> Solution settings” menu item is used to specify solution accuracy control values. Three solution levels are possible – Standard, Detailed and Custom. The default setting is Standard. This will provide three adaptive solution passes and is intended to provide the best trade-off of solution speed to solution quality. In most cases, this will be all that is required for general load path calculation. A best practice is to always start with this setting. The second solution quality level is Detailed. This will provide four adaptive solution passes and also has additional controls to refine stresses more completely. A best practice is to use this setting in local parts where additional stress detail is desired. Part based solution settings are applied by right mouse button (RMB) selecting a part (or parts) in either the Project tree or directly in the graphics window and picking the “Part solution settings” menu item. The third solution quality level is Custom. This is an expert mode that allows individual control of all solution settings. This should only be used for parts with unusual characteristics or when fine degree of control is desired.

TIP: Solution settings can be applied globally to the entire model or locally to a group of parts. 54

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Solution settings details •

Stress refinement – this setting controls the methodology used to refine stresses. Both advanced options are slightly more computationally expensive to run. A best practice is to use them locally on a part by part basis. These apply only to structural linear and nonlinear statics, they are not used in modal or thermal analyses. Options include: – –

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Standard – uses default methodology Adapt to features – uses special logic that has more aggressive adaptivity for stress distribution in local feature areas

Geometry complexity – Options include: Standard, Increased or High. This represents the initial size of the equation set used on a part by part basis. For most parts Standard is the best choice. In most cases, this only needs to be increased for parts with extreme aspect ratios such as long narrow parts or thin complex curved shells. This is best done on a part by part basis. Increasing the geometry complexity globally can slow down solution time significantly. Max number of adaptive solutions – SIMSOLID is an adaptive solver that makes multiple solution passes. With each pass the equations are solved, global and local error measures are calculated and based on these measures, the equations are locally enriched. Increase this value to increase accuracy. Typical values are 3 to 6 passes.

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Solution settings for global-local analysis •

Note: Solution settings define a strategy of solution adaptation when multiple solution passes are performed. The strategy is defined by two things: 1. 2.

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by the settings itself set in the dialog by the geometrical scale (size) of the objects they are applied to

Global solution settings define the solution refinement strategy on the whole assembly assuming that accuracy requirements are approximately equal on all parts. Global solution settings scale is the size of the whole assembly. Local solutions setting define the solution refinement strategy on a part or group of parts. The scale of the settings is the size of the parts in the group. Therefore, the same solution settings applied to the whole assembly or to a specific part will have different effects on the accuracy. The local settings will always drive solution to be more locally accurate for a given set of parts because the scale is smaller. This facilitates the ability to do Global-local analysis and to focus the adaptive refinement on particular areas of interest. This implies that both a Global and Part local solution setting can have the same settings value but because of scale differences will provide slightly different results.

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SIMSOLID FAST START TRAINING Start Here

Want to find overall system performance?

Considerations for global-local stress studies

Got equal size parts with non-local stresses?

Got small parts with local stresses?

Considerations for geometric complexity

Got thin shells with bending?

Got small parts with fine geometric detail?

Typical 3 to 6 passes

Want to do additional solution convergence studies?

Solution setting roadmap


Run the analysis

Pick analysis workbench

When done, pick here to display analysis summary Pick here to run

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Section 6

INTERPRETING RESULTS

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Interpreting results • Creating a contour plot • Fast results switching • Other display results – – – – – 60

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Safety factor plots XY plots Point probes Reaction forces Spot weld forces


Creating a contour plot •

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Once the analysis is complete, a Result entity icon will appear in the Project Tree and the Result Plot button will no longer be greyed out. To create a contour plot, click and hold with the left mouse button (LMB) on the Result Plot button, then select the desired result type from the pop-up menu.

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Pick and hold with LMB

Pick type of contour to display


Contour legend controls • •

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Contour legend controls are on plot dialog Parts can be hidden during results display. Just RMB select on the model or in the Project tree and pick Hide. Hold down the CTRL key to select more than one part. Contour can be on deformed or undeformed part geometry Pick “Show part edges” button in main window toolbar to display undeformed edges Max/Min labels can be displayed on model. Drag to reposition. Legend controls can be hidden and legend can be dragged to any place in graphics window. Click on legend to bring back controls Max/Min legend bounds can be locked during “Fast results switching” see next slide. NOTE: this lock only works when switch between identical results.

TIP: Use bookmarks to save a contour plot settings, including animations

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Select Value to Set Upper Contour Bound

Lock Max Min Bounds Set Output Units

Show Deformed Shape Show Undeformed Shape

Start/Stop Animation Animation Steps Hide legend controls

Select Value to Set Lower Contour Bound Show Min/Max Labels

Set Contour Colors 8, 16 or Continuous Set Max Deform Scale Current Animation Frame Animation Speed


Fast results switching While contour is displayed, pick another analysis. Contour will “fast results switch” to new data

While contour is displayed, pick new result entity. Contour will “fast results switch” to new data

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Display results - Safety factor plot Pick and hold with LMB

2. Pick Material name. Safety factor contour will be shown for all parts with this material. Others will be ghost hidden (transparent).

3. Pick number to edit contour band value then enter to adjust

1. Pick Safety Factor

3. Or, use sliders to dynamically adjust contour bands

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HINT: CTRL-Select multiple material names to show safety factors on more than one material group of parts.


Display results - XY plot •

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While a contour plot is active, use the Graph button in the Workbench Toolbar to display the XY Graph dialog. Simply pick two or more points on the model to get an XY plot of the result. Drag on the plot to pan or use the mouse wheel to zoom. The Refit button get you back to the original plot scales. Use “Save As” to save the plot in a variety of graphic or text formats.


Display results - Point probe tool •

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While a contour plot is active, use the Pick Info button in the Workbench Toolbar to display the point probe tool. Simply pick one or more points on the model to get numeric values at those locations.


Display results - Reaction forces •

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Pick the “Reaction force” button in the Workbench toolbar to display the Reaction Force dialog. Select any boundary support to get the reaction forces summary.

Pick here to open Reaction force dialog

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Display results – Spot weld forces Pick column name to sort list Pick single Spot weld to view resultant force vector on the model

Or, CTRL-Select and SHIFT-Select multiple values to sum forces Pick here to open Spot weld forces dialog – Power edition only

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Refine results plot on a face • • •

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A right mouse button (RMB) option is available to locally refine result contours on a single part face. This can be useful for long narrow regions that may not have enough plotting resolution. Note that this does not affect the accuracy of the results. It only provides more sampling points to map results to. May be applied more than once to some faces. There is an upper limit on the resolution that is allowed. Once reached, this command will notify the user that no more refinement on the face is possible. Use with caution. Once additional points are mapped, you cannot go back to the original plotting resolution.

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Section 7

ADDITIONAL TOPICS AND SOURCES FOR MORE INFORMATION 70


Additional topics - Not covered here • • • • • • • • • • 71

Thermal & thermal stress analyses Geometric nonlinear analysis Bolted connections Specified displacement in local coordinate systems Rigid parts Standard and user defined views Hydrostatic loads Inertia loads Bearing loads and hinge constraint Exporting animations

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• • • • • • •

Modal participation factors Personalize the user interface Virtual connectors Creating custom materials Importing materials from .csv files Measuring distance and gaps Adding/editing/viewing project tree comments • Creating a MS PowerPoint report • Spot and laser welds • Fillet/seam welds


Sources for more information • • • •

SIMSOLID Blog SIMSOLID Forum SIMSOLID Learning videos SIMSOLID White papers

Follow us online at: Web Twitter Facebook LinkedIn YouTube 72

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https://www.simsolid.com/blog/ https://www.simsolid.com/forum/ https://www.simsolid.com/learning/ http://www.simsolid.com/white-papers/

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Next Steps Go ahead and try SIMSOLID for yourself. • Compare it with an analysis done using traditional FEA methods. But when using SIMSOLID, use the full CAD geometry and not the geometry that has been simplified for FEA. • Next, try it on an large assembly. Remember, never merge parts. Just leave them in their original design state and use SIMSOLID connections. • Then, modify the geometry and reimport it to create a 2nd design study. See how fast and easy it is to evaluate change on actual CAD designs. • And finally, have a question, please post it in the User forum or just contact us directly. We would love to hear from you.

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