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Why do you like Femap? - Take 2

Why do you like Femap? - Take 2

Why do you like Femap? - Take 2

(OP)
thread1234-329957: Why do you like Femap?

Hi ALL

Thanks so much for the very helpful contributions on the first thread "Why do you like Femap?" I did not set it up but I did get quite a bit of dialogue going from a post I submitted.

After making my initial comment I was amazed at the responses, although I only got back to this thread recently, I apologize for that !!

It is more than a year on since my post and ........ wait for it !!! ................ I am much more experienced with FEMAP. My anxiety attacks with FEMAP frustrations have greatly reduced .... lol

Listen, what can I say, I am a groups guy (from my PATRAN days). Layers, I cannot get into. One entity per layer does not cut it for me (which is what Layers are about). I like GROUPS as just that .... grouping entities, Boolean operations .. etc
Basically, I can compartmentalize regions of my model for quick access and operation. Although groups from materials and properties are useful ... it is not enough. I am not into the rules, laws, etc ...... I still do not grasp the practical use of those. I do not like the Add, Remove, Exclude because it is too complex and wants to remember everything that went on since the group was created ... I want entities IN or OUT ... use the KISS method.

I have since found the GROUPS menu, Operations, Add Entities, set to Active ..... to have entities being created to auto add to group. However, this should be a default setting, as in factory default. New users will take a while to figure that one out. I cannot recall the number of times a user has asked me .... how come I cannot see an entity I created.

I really like the MODEL INFO tree (a number of programs use this now).

Oh! I should say I am a very experienced user of FEA (it is my area of expertise). I have used many programs, pre-post and analysis and I go back to writing code for automating PATRAN 2 session files (mid-late 80's ... ouch! those were the days !!!!)
I am guilty of being a very experienced PATRAN user, I used to give user training.

I still think there is too much FEMAP clutter. Just have one way of doing things, keep the focus on the "model Info" tree. Help minimize mouse clicks (allow a default selection that makes sense). Example, I do not want to select node 1, click OK and then node 2, click OK .... etc if I want to inquire on a vector etc ........ just do it, move on to the second node after selecting the first. Maybe someone is going to say you can set it up that way .... please POST if so. However, even if so, it should be DEFAULT.
There are some selections that do move on ..

I still get some graphic hick-ups.
I find the "Multiple Groups" quite confusing, it may be graphical but it does not do what I expect of it. I simply want to view groups together by clicking on or off ....... maybe I should back off on the second glass of wine.
When I create an entity that should appear on the screen but does not ... I go to double click on the "activate" group and then it appears. Am I having "graphics" issues with my computer?

If I create a "NEW" group ..... why do all other groups disappear on the screen? No!, I want to create a group but then start selecting entities from the screen to be in it and carry on from there. Please do not tell me to go back to the "Multiple" groups ..... see above on that issue.

I like the results to Excel through the "Data Table" and "LIST/Output" menu.

It drives me crazy that when I want to load a LUG by selecting the faces around the hole using the "Methods/surfaces" it cannot select anything on a SOLID component ............ I need to go to the "Group" menu then "Surfaces/ID/methods-solid" first to bring in surfaces associated to the SOLID.
Why are the faces not considered to be equivalent to surfaces ..... this is CAE .. not CAD.

In relation to PATRAN, well, MSC really dropped the ball in the last 10-15 yrs by not fixing the "little" things that drove users nuts. Crashes happened frequently because it was developed on older platforms but never properly implemented in Windows. they went off on the "multi-disciplinary" kick to appease the Boeing's and Airbus of this World but said toss off the everyone else. SIMEXPERT ..... yeah, right !!!! I believe there is something else now .......

I have also used HYPERMESH, ..... now that is difficult to learn. Very confusing and awkward to use. However, some colleagues have said that once you get over the wall (high wall) one tends to like it. At the moment I am also into ABAQUS CAE, a nice program but intended to be used in 2D/3D analysis. It is powerful for advanced contact problems (niche area). Contact definitions are relatively easy to set up in ABAQUS. Recently, I did an advanced contact problem in FEMAP/NX NASTRAN. It was a large problem with many contact definitions ...... pleasantly surprised.

In all, I am pleased with my FEMAP bonding experience. Just some gripes but maybe it will bring useful insight from others. I find this type of dialogue much more informative than having to plough through user manuals for some of the "small" but ever so powerful features.

It is the NEW users that program developers need to impress, not the experienced ones (they already have those guys hooked). That means ease of use when operating the tool. Further feature enhancement and development comes from experienced users but it should not be at the expense of operational complexity.

Cheers
Outpost11














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