×
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

Can see MPC's / RBE's

Can see MPC's / RBE's

Can see MPC's / RBE's

(OP)
Has anyone ever had a problem with not being able to see MPC's in Patran?

I'm working with a model that I'm been using for some time.  I just upgraded to 2012 and now I can't see the RBE2's that are there.  I can highlight and select them with the mouse, so I know they are there, but they won't display.  I tried going to Display > Finite Elements > and checked "Display MPC Markers", but it didn't seem to do anything.

My coworker had this same problem a couple of months ago and he ended up importing the run deck to create a brand new model file.  It resolved the issue, but in the process he lost the geometry and some of the group data.  I'm hoping there a better solution.

Has anyone encountered this?  

RE: Can see MPC's / RBE's

I just tried it myself and I got the same error as you. There is a new PLC command in Pat 2012.1 called mpc_marker, and I think this has resulted in a defect where you cannot properly view the MPCs in Patran 2012.1.

RE: Can see MPC's / RBE's

SOLUTION

I found a solution at this link,

http://simcompanion.mscsoftware.com/infocenter/index?page=content&id=KI8008294

You would have to do this

Known Issue
If you open an old database in Patran 2012 you do not see existing MPCs or Point Elements

Description
Issue will be fixed in next Release 2012.2.
In the meanwhile this workaround can be used to repair already converted databases:

Execute this PCL commands

$ mpc display bug 2012 fix
db_add_pref(453, 2, 0, true, 0, "")
db_set_pref_logical(453, TRUE)
$ point element display bug 2012 fix
db_add_pref(454, 2, 0, true, 0, "")
db_set_pref_logical(454, TRUE)


To execute this commands each time an old database is converted, you can add the following lines to a file "p3epilog.pcl" and copy it to your Patran installation or user home directory.

If you already use a customized p3epilog.pcl just add this lines to your existing file:

$ This function is called by MSC.Patran itself just after an existing database is opened.

FUNCTION user_db_open(x)

STRING x[]
$ mpc display bug 2012 fix
db_add_pref(453, 2, 0, true, 0, "")
db_set_pref_logical(453, TRUE)
$ point element display bug 2012 fix
db_add_pref(454, 2, 0, true, 0, "")
db_set_pref_logical(454, TRUE)
END FUNCTION

RE: Can see MPC's / RBE's

(OP)
Thanks ZeroExperience. Can you tell me how to run PCL commands? I understand how to create the p3epilog.pcl file to make this happens at the time I convert a database, but I don't know how to excute the commands on an existing database that has already been converted.

Thanks again.

RE: Can see MPC's / RBE's

In Patran there is a "terminal" where you can type PCL commands. You will notice PCL commands when you perform almost any Patran action (reorient your model, create material, create loads, etc). According to the fix, all you need to do is enter these two commands,

db_add_pref(453, 2, 0, true, 0, "")
db_set_pref_logical(453, TRUE)

Please backup any Patran files you modify, and the following is something I have not tried myself. If you don't want to type these two commands every time you start a Patran database, you can modify the following file
C:\MSC.Software\Patran_x64\20121\shareware\msc\unsupported\utilities\p3epilog.pcl
by adding this

FUNCTION user_db_open(x)

STRING x[]
$ mpc display bug 2012 fix
db_add_pref(453, 2, 0, true, 0, "")
db_set_pref_logical(453, TRUE)
END FUNCTION

More information about PCL can be found in these two documents,

http://simcompanion.mscsoftware.com/infocenter/index?page=content&id=DOC10146
http://simcompanion.mscsoftware.com/infocenter/index?page=content&id=DOC10147

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