×
INTELLIGENT WORK FORUMS
FOR ENGINEERING PROFESSIONALS

Log In

Come Join Us!

Are you an
Engineering professional?
Join Eng-Tips Forums!
  • Talk With Other Members
  • Be Notified Of Responses
    To Your Posts
  • Keyword Search
  • One-Click Access To Your
    Favorite Forums
  • Automated Signatures
    On Your Posts
  • Best Of All, It's Free!
  • Students Click Here

*Eng-Tips's functionality depends on members receiving e-mail. By joining you are opting in to receive e-mail.

Posting Guidelines

Promoting, selling, recruiting, coursework and thesis posting is forbidden.

Students Click Here

Jobs

Imoprting an assembly and defining contact
2

Imoprting an assembly and defining contact

Imoprting an assembly and defining contact

(OP)
Hello! I have several parts in stl format which I can assemble together using either Geomagic or Pro/E.  I wish to import these geometries into Patran and define the contact between each of the two parts. The ultimate goal is to run the model in ABAQUS. I don't have the license for the Pro/E – Patran interface. I have several problems, and which ever one you can help with it would be greatly appreciated. I have looked through the other posts but didn't find an answer.

- How do you import the parts together so that you are still able to pick out elements from the master and slave surfaces separately to define contact? I tried making individual Patran databases from each CAD object and importing them into the final database, but I still can not achieve what I want.

- Along the same line, how would you highlight only one object so that you can actually see which elements you are picking?  I can't really see what's going on in the contact region because the objects are actually in contact!

- Is there a way to have Patran spit out info on the elements or nodes - belonging to the two touching objects - that are within a certain distance of each other?

Thanks!
 

RE: Imoprting an assembly and defining contact

rm447,

Let start by your 2nd question.

For contact, I usually create groups in Patran for all geometries. So one geometry per group. You could also create a group with all geometries so you can look at the big picture. Note that you can also multi-select groups to show them at the same time. You should also mesh the parts in those groupes as well. That way, when I defined the contact surfaces, mesh or deformable bodies, I post only one group and select the nodes, elements, surface or solid I want to include in the contact study for that geometry.

I unfortunately cannot help help you with your third question.

For the first question, here is my experience with Catia V5 models. I don't know if it is similar with STL files.


There is two way of doing it:

1st - Import directly the assembly and Patran will add into the database all the geometries and class them in separate groups.

2nd - Import each individual parts but they need to be designed in a way that their positionning in space is in regard of the same basic axis system so Patran can locate each part correctly into space.

Hope this helps a little bit.
 

RE: Imoprting an assembly and defining contact

(OP)
Hi francoislambert11, thanks for your response :)
 

Red Flag This Post

Please let us know here why this post is inappropriate. Reasons such as off-topic, duplicates, flames, illegal, vulgar, or students posting their homework.

Red Flag Submitted

Thank you for helping keep Eng-Tips Forums free from inappropriate posts.
The Eng-Tips staff will check this out and take appropriate action.

Reply To This Thread

Posting in the Eng-Tips forums is a member-only feature.

Click Here to join Eng-Tips and talk with other members!


Resources