CT1900 Student Guide Femap101 PDF

SIEMENS
Femap 101
Student Guide
Version 10.3
Siemens PLM Software
Proprietary and restricted rights notice
This software and related documentation are proprietary to Siemens Product

Lifecycle Management Software Inc.
2012 Siemens Product Lifecycle Management Software Inc. All Rights
Reserved.
All trademarks belong to their respective holders.
CT 1900 Student Guide for Femap 101 - v10.3, Rev 010612
ii
Femap 101 v10.3
Training Class Agenda

Day 1
Topic
Lesson No
Workshop(s)
The FEA Modeling Process Using Femap
The Femap User Interface Part 1
Geometry Creation and Editing
Overview of Materials
Overview of Properties
Meshing Overview
Day 2
Lesson No
Topic
Workshop(s)
Complete Meshing Workshops
Boundary Conditions Loads and Constraints
Model Display and Visualization
10
The Meshing Toolbox
11
Analysis Set Manager
CT 1900 Student Guide for Femap 101 - v10.3 Rev 010612
iii
Day 3
Lesson No
Topic
Workshop(s)
12
Postprocessing
13
Midsurfacing
14
Assembly Modeling
15
Finite Element Modeling Debugging

Student Topics
iv
Lesson 1 The FEA Modeling Process
Using Femap
Purpose
This lesson provides an overview of general overview of Finite Element Modeling and
Analysis and the tools in Femap available to generate FEA models.
Topics
What is Finite Element Analysis?
What comprises a FEA model?
Femap Modeling Process Flow
Femap Model Objects and Commands
Femap UI Overview
Units
Femap Model File Formats
Femap Preferences
1-1
Lesson 1
What is Finite Element Analysis?

A Finite Element Analysis (FEA) is a mathematical simulation of a physical structure
when internal and external forces are applied to it.
It can be used to simulate the following types of physical behavior:
Structural
Thermal
Fluid Flow
Optical
Electromagnetic
Femap can be used to model the first four types of FEA models.
1-2
Lesson 1
What comprises a FEA model?

A Finite Element Analysis model is a collection of:
Finite Elements - well-defined mathematical models of:
Beam and Rod elements
Surface or Shell elements triangular or quadrilateral
Solids - tetrahedral or hexahedral
Miscellaneous elements such as Springs, Mass, Rigid, and Contact
Material attributes
Boundary conditions (loads and constraints)
1-3
Lesson 1
Takeaway
A FEA model is at best, an approximation of a physical structure.
The accuracy of the results from a FEA model are only as good as the quality of
the mesh and the accurate application of material attributes and boundary
conditions to a model.
1-4
Lesson 1
Femap Objects and Workflow for Generating a FEA Model
Geometry
Materials
Boundary Conditions
Constraints
Loads
Properties
Mesh
Analyze
Post process
1-5
Lesson 1
Geometry
Import Geometry
File, Import
Geometry
File, References
Create Geometry
Geometry,
commands
Modify Geometry
Geometry,
commands
Modify, commands
Direct CAD geometry interfaces
Solid Edge, NX (Unigraphics

and I-deas), ProE, CATIA, and
SolidWorks.
Industry standard CAD geometry

Interfaces
Parasolid, ACIS, IGES, STEP,

STL
Femap geometry creation and

editing
Points, 2D and 3D curves
Surfaces
Solid creation and editing

operations
Midplane surface extraction and

editing
Additional geometry cleanup and

editing tools are available in the
Meshing Toolbox
1-6
Lesson 1
Materials and Properties

Materials
Model, Material commands
Material Types:
Properties
Model, Property commands
Property Types:
Isotropic
Line elements
2D and 3D Orthotropic
Plane elements
2D and 3D Anisotropic
Volume elements
Elastomers Hyperelastic, Foam,

etc.
Other elements
Analysis program specific types

(NX Nastran, MSC Nastran, LSDyna, Abaqus, Marc)
1-7
Lesson 1
Boundary Conditions
Constraints
Model, Constraint commands
Loads
Model, Load commands
Femap models can contain multiple Constraint Sets and Load Sets
Constraints and Loads can be assigned to geometry or meshes
For loads, the Model Info window allows:
Creation, editing, highlighting,

and deletion of Load and
Constraint sets.
Creation, editing, highlighting,

and deletion of individual
Loads, Load Definitions,
Constraints, and
Constraint Definitions.
Creation and editing of Body,

Nonlinear, Dynamic, and
Heat Transfer loads and
settings.
1-8
Lesson 1
Femap Model Objects and Commands Meshing

Mesh Control and Multielement Meshing
Mesh, Mesh Control,
commands
Mesh, Geometry
commands
Single Nodes
Model, Node
command
Single Elements
Model, Element
command
Additional mesh creation and editing tools are available through the Meshing
Toolbox
1-9
Lesson 1
Femap Model Objects and Commands - Analysis

View Results
(Postprocess)
Analyze
Model, Analysis
command
View, Select (F5)

View, Options (F6)
View, Advanced Post
commands
Report
List, Output,
commands
Data Table
operations
Generate and submit analysis with

the Model, Analysis command
The PostProcessing Toolbox is the
primary interface for generating
graphical display of simulation results
with:
Deformed plots and/or
Contour plots
Freebody diagrams
The Post toolbar also has shortcuts

to display deformed and contour plots
Use the Data Table and the set of
List, Output commands to generate
a table of results
1 - 10
Lesson 1
Overview of the Femap Graphical User Interface (GUI)

Femaps GUI has multiple components:
Model graphics pane
Multiple models can be opened and displayed simultaneously
Dynamic zoom, pan and rotation supported via the mouse or through the use of
a 3D mouse device
Command menus - user customizable
Toolbars - user customizable
Docked, floating and stackable panes
Status and Tray Bar on the bottom of the Femap window
1 - 11
Lesson 1
Femap Model Units

Femap is unit-less and does not track or maintain consistent units Likewise, most FEA
solvers are unit-less.
But
Femap standard material and beam section property libraries use in-lbs units
Solid geometry defaults to inches on desktop and to meters in Femap model

databases (.modfem and .NEU files). Conversion of geometry units from meters
use the Geometry Scale Factor.
Parasolid (regardless of product) always stores data in meters
Units conversion tool lets user convert units of data in model

User must be aware of current units system being used
You can use the File, Notes command to make a notation for future reference and
to add a comment in the analysis file.
The following two pages have charts that show consistent unit values that should be
used to obtain accurate results.
1 - 12
Lesson 1
Femap Model Data Input to Achieve Accurate Results

Structural Problems
Femap model data should be input with values in the following units when using NX
Nastran as the solver for a structural solution:
English
lbf in- s
SI
mN mm - s
SI
N mm - s
SI
Nm-s
Length
inches
mm
mm
Mass Density
lbm/in3
kg/mm3
Tonnes/mm3
kg/m3
Force
lbf
mN
Stress,
Pressure,
Modulus of
Elasticity and
Shear
Modulus
psi
kPa
MPa
Pa
Moment,
Torque
lbf/in
N/mm
N/mm
N/m
Velocity
in/sec
mm/sec
mm/sec
m/s
Acceleration
in/sec 2
mm/sec 2
mm/sec 2
m/sec 2
Temperature
Coefficient of
Thermal
Expansion
in/degF
mm/degC
mm/degC
m/degC
Model Data
1 - 13
Lesson 1
Femap Model Data Input to Achieve Accurate Results

Thermal Problems
Femap model data should be input with values in the following units when using NX
Nastran as the solver for a thermal solution:
English
lbf in- s
SI
N mm s
SI
mN mm s
SI
Nms
Length
inches
mm
mm
Mass Density
lbm/in3
kg/mm3
Tonne/mm3
kg/m3
Temperature
Coefficient of
Thermal
Expansion
in/F
mm/C
mm/C
m/C
Energy
lbf-in
mJ
Thermal
Conductivity
lbf/sec-F
W/mm-C
mW/mm-C
W/m-C
Specific Heat
lbf/sec2-F
J/kg-C
mJ/Tonne-C
J/kg-C
Heat Transfer
Coefficient
lbf/in-sec-F
W/mm2
mW/mm2
W/mm2
lbf-in/sec
mW
Model Data
Heat
Generation
(Flux)
1 - 14
Lesson 1
Units Conversion
Use the Tools, Convert Units command to convert units.
Convert all quantities using conversion of basic units
Convert specific entities with individual conversion factors
E.g. convert N-mm units in model to N-m
Length: 0.001 m = 1 mm
Mass: 1000 kg = 1 tonne
Force: 1 N = 1 N
Energy: 0.001 Nm = 1 Nmm
1 - 15
Lesson 1
Femap Model File Formats

Femap models are stored as binary .modfem files
Femap model files saved in versions prior to Femap v10.2 are stored as .mod files
Femap automatically converts older version .mod or .modfem files to the current
version of Femap
When this conversion occurs, you are presented the FEMAP Neutral File
Converter message box, then the Neutral File Read Options dialog box, where
you confirm the options for converting from the older model file.
A Femap Neutral File (.NEU file extension) is a Ascii text file and can be exported from
Femap using the command, File, Export, Femap Neutral. This command allows you
to write a Neutral file for an earlier version of Femap (v4.1 through the current release of
Femap).
Entities not supported in the earlier version of Femap will be ignored in writing the
Femap Neutral File.
Femap Neutral files are read into Femap files using the command File, Import, Femap
Neutral. The Neutral File Read Options dialog box allows the selective import of
geometry, mesh, output, groups and/or views into the active Femap model.
1 - 16
Lesson 1
Femap Preferences
Preferences are used to configure Femap for optimum performance and the way you
prefer to work. These are described in detail in the Femap Commands manual and in
Femaps online help.
Preferences are stored in the femap.ini file under the main Femap installation folder
If you specify a different Start In location for your Femap startup shortcut, Femap
will first look in that location for a femap.ini file and use the preferences set in that
file. In addition, any changes to preferences will automatically be stored in the
femap.ini file in that folder.
If no femap.ini file exists in your startup folder, changes will be made to the
femap.ini file in the main Femap installation folder, provided that you have write
permission for that folder.
Set preferences with the File, Preferences command for:
Messages
Views
Render
User Interface
Database
Geometry/Model
Interfaces
Library/Startup
Color
Spaceball
The following pages

describe four (4) of the most
important Preferences
settings: Geometry/Model,
Render, Database and
Library/Startup.
1 - 17
Lesson 1
Femap Preferences Geometry/Model Solid Geometry

Scale Factor
Select between the Parasolid or Standard geometry engines for your Femap model.
The Parasolid engine is recommended, otherwise, only wireframe geometry can be
imported, created and/or edited.
You can modify the Geometry Engine and allow editing of solids in a part initially
created using the Standard Geometry Engine by changing the Femap preference to
Parasolid.
Femap stores geometry in meters. The Solid Geometry Scale Factor is used to
internally store your geometry units as meters in Parasolid.
For example, if you select Inches, the Scale Factor is 39.37 (inches/meter). Femap
uses the inverse of this number to store the geometry in its model database (1 inch
= .0254 meters).
This scaling will allow you to import and model parts that are outside of the
Parasolid modeling limits ( +/-500 x 500 x 500).
Note: If you import geometry with a different scale other than the files original scale,
new or modified geometry will be out of scale with the imported geometry.
1 - 18
Lesson 1
Femap Preferences Render Tab

The Render dialog box lets you control the level of functionality that you have while in
Render mode.
Hardware Acceleration can be toggled off if your graphics card drivers are causing
instability in Femap, or if your graphics card does not fully support OpenGL, such as
in a laptop without a graphics accelerator chip.
Including less entities with the Include In Dynamic Rotation option will speed up
dynamic rotation of large models.
Advanced/Debug messages can be turned on to help the Development team

diagnose complex geometry issues if they arise.
Setting the BitBlt Delay can be used to help with performance on consumer or
game-oriented graphics cards.
1 - 19
Lesson 1
Graphics Card Performance Considerations

Desktop area resolution should be taken into consideration when using Femap. Having
a very fine screen resolution can increase the time animations need to generate and the
time individual windows need to refresh.
If Femap appears to be having graphics errors, it could be the driver for your graphics
card. Update the drivers for your graphics card often!
Drivers from the manufacturers of the graphics card chipset tend to be more stable
then the drivers from the maker of the graphics card. (e.g. use an ATI or nVidia
driver vs. an ASUS driver)
1 - 20
Lesson 1
Femap Preferences Database Tab

The Database tab defines various performance settings:
Database Options
Database Performance
Timed Save
Scratch Directory
Click the Database Options Help button for detailed information on settings in this tab.
Note that any changes made in the Database tab requires you to exit and to start a
new Femap session.
1 - 21
Lesson 1
Femap Preferences Database Scratch Directory

This option specifies the location of Femaps Scratch Directory folder where
temporary, scratch, and recovery files are written during a Femap session
If this option is left blank, Femap will write its temporary files to the Windows TEMP
folder location
When a Windows TEMP variable is not defined, the location of the Femap
scratch files defaults to your Documents and Settings\USERNAME\Local
Settings\Temp folder. In many cases, this is a location on the network other
than your local PC.
Setting the Femap Scratch folder or setting the TEMP variable to a network file
location may seriously degrade Femaps performance and dramatically increase file
save times. In addition, if your network fails for any reason, any opened files in a
Femap session have the potential to be corrupted.
Exit and restart Femap after changing the Scratch Directory folder.
1 - 22
Lesson 1
Femap Preferences Database Database Performance

These options specify:
Database Memory Limit - sets the maximum amount of system memory that
FEMAP will use to hold parts of the model and results in memory.
Max Cached Label - sets the largest label for which FEMAP will reserve memory.
This option must be set to a ID higher than any entity in the model.
Blocks/Page - sets the "page" size. The optimum setting of this number often
depends on the speed of the disk and controller.
Default value is 5,000,000
Generally, this should only be changed with high-speed physical drives and/or
disk-caching enabled.
Open/Save Method generally this should be changed only when you experience
very slow opening and saving of Femap models.
The Read/Write Test may be used to determine which Open/Save Method

should work best on the current machine. When finished, results of the test will
be written to the Messages window and the "recommended" setting will be
displayed in the Open/Save Method drop-down.
1 - 23
Lesson 2
The FEMAP User Interface

Part 1
Purpose
This lesson provides an overview of the Femap User Interface.
Topics
Femap Main Window Layout
Graphics Windows
Femap Main Menus
Toolbars and Customizable Menus
View Manipulation Part 1
Dockable Panes
Model Info Tree
Entity Editor
Status Bar and Tray
Right Mouse Button
Entity Selection
Setting the Pick or Snap Mode
Locate and Vector Dialog Boxes
Shortcut Keys
Online Help
2-1
Lesson 2
Femap Main Window Layout

Femap Main
Menu
Femap Title Bar
Named Tab for Graphics Windows

Tabs for Stacked
dockable panes
Femap Graphics Window
Floating dockable
pane
Current Model Status

(FEMAP Menu Help when
in command)
FEMAP Status and

Tray bar
FEMAP Trays
2-2
Lesson 2
Graphics Windows
Femaps graphics windows have the ability to display:
Wireframe, hidden line, or rendered FEA models
XY plots of functions and analysis results.
Multiple Models can be opened at the same time each with multiple views.
A single model with multiple views has the view name displayed in the view tab
When multiple models are open, each view has their view tab displayed as
Model Name : View Name
2-3
Lesson 2
Graphics Windows (continued)

Dynamic Viewing
Views can be dynamically rotated, zoomed, and panned using the mouse.
Through the use of a supported SpaceBall device
True Windows - provide easy transfer from Femap to other Windows programs.
Cut and Paste
Windows Metafiles
JPEG, BITMAP, GIF, TIFF, and PNG picture file formats
AVI and Animated GIF animation files
2-4
Lesson 2
Femap Main Menus

Provides access to most Femap operations through drop-down menus.
Menu commands displays short-cut keys (hotkeys) and shows toolbar icons on
menu (includes user-defined shortcut keys and icons, when assigned)
2-5
Lesson 2
Customize Dialog Box

Toolbars
Turns toolbars on and off
Create and delete userdefined toolbars.
Commands
Add regular and userdefined commands to an

existing menu or toolbar.
Keyboard
Designate and manage

shortcut keys (hotkey)
combinations for specific
commands.
User Commands
Create and manage user-defined commands.
Options
Set options on the toolbars such as using large icons, showing tooltips (with or
without shortcut keys), and menu animation options (options are selected for ALL
toolbars).
2-6
Lesson 2
Toolbars
Dockable Toolbars
Toolbars can be docked anywhere
around the perimeter of the main Femap
window.
When docked, toolbars can be placed
next to one another or stacked on top
of one another.
Floating Toolbars
Toolbars can be peeled off the perimeter of the main Femap window and made to
float anywhere within the main Femap window.
Floating toolbars can be reshaped.
2-7
Lesson 2
Customizing Toolbars
Three (3) methods to customize or create a new toolbar:
Select the Tools, Toolbars, Customize command
Right-click in a toolbar pane or outside of any Femap pane
Click the Customize icon (down-arrow icon) on a docked or floating toolbar and then
select Customize from the context-sensitive menu.
Clicking the Down icon in a toolbar

allows direct access to that toolbar
and has options to disable
commands in that toolbar.
2-8
Lesson 2
Creating Custom Toolbars

Click the New button inside the Toolbars tab, then give the new toolbar a unique name.
1. Click the Commands tab and choose a category.

2. Drag the desired command or menu onto the blank toolbar
3. Alter any icons using the individual icon editing tools explained on the previous page
4. Close the Customize dialog box and start using the new user toolbar.
2-9
Lesson 2
Toolbars Icon Editing Menu

While the Customize Dialog box is open, you can also edit individual icons by placing
the cursor over any icon and clicking the right mouse button. This will bring up a menu
as follows:
2 - 10
Lesson 2
View Manipulation
View Rotation, Zooming and Panning
View Orientation Toolbar
Entity Display Toolbar
View Toolbar
2 - 11
Lesson 2
View Rotation, Zooming and Panning

Views can be dynamically manipulated with the mouse by holding a mouse button and
keys and dragging the mouse in the Graphics window:
Action
No command active
While a command is active
Rotate
Left or Middle mouse

button
Middle mouse button
Pan
Ctrl+Left or Ctrl+Middle
mouse button
Ctrl+Middle mouse button
Zoom
Shift+Left or Shift+Middle
mouse button
Shift+Middle mouse button
The mouses Scroll wheel can be used for dynamic zooming.

Femap Preferences can be modified to swap the use of the Ctrl and Shift keys for
dynamic viewing.
Located under the User Interface tab, Mouse Interface options.
2 - 12
Lesson 2
View Orientation Toolbar

The View Orientation toolbar allows you to rapidly reorient a view to one of Femaps
standard nine (9) views.
This toolbar is not activated as part of the standard Femap GUI layout, you will need
to activate and place it.
The Isometric, Dimetric, and Trimetric view orientation(s) can be modified using
Femaps Preferences.
Select the View tab and set the angles for these views under the View and Dynamic
Rotation section.
As an alternative, you can use the View, Rotate, Model command (F8 hotkey) to rotate
or orient views.
Version 10 added the option to Rotate Around any coordinate system, including
those defined by the user.
2 - 13
Lesson 2
Entity Display Toolbar

The Entity Display toolbar toggles the display of different entity types within a Graphics
window.
Coordinate
Systems
Constraints
Text
Nodes
Surfaces
Regions
View Analysis
Elements
Model Toggle
Loads
View Geometry
Toggle
Curves
Connectors
View Labels
Toggle
Points
Note:
Display of aeroelasticity components (Panel, Mesh, Spline and Control

Surfaces) are toggled using the Aeroelasticity toolbar.
2 - 14
Lesson 2
Entity Display Control with the View Visibility dialog box

The View Visibility dialog box controls the display of entities in a manner similar to the
Entity Display toolbar, but in more detail.
Access via the View, Visibility command, the Ctrl+Q hotkey or by clicking the View
Visibility icon on the View toolbar.
2 - 15
Lesson 2
View Toolbar
The View toolbar allows control of the active view orientation, magnification, view style,
and layers.
2 - 16
Lesson 2
View Toolbar View Style Icon Pulldown Menu

The View Style menu controls settings for view type (wireframe, hidden line, etc.), mesh
display, element colors, mesh size indicators and other commonly used display settings.
2 - 17
Lesson 2
Dockable Panes
There are eight (8) standard dockable
panes
Model Info
Meshing Toolbox
PostProcessing Toolbox
Entity Editor
Entity Info
Data Table
Data Surface Editor
Messages Window
Two other dockable panes are available

for customization of Femap:
Program File
API Programming
Can be turned on and off using the Tools
menu and the Panes toolbar.
Panes can be resized when docked or
floating.
2 - 18
Lesson 2
Dockable Panes Display Configurations

Panes can be shown on the screen in a few different configurations
Floating
Docked
Docked and Stacked (click Tab to activate Pane)
Docked and Tabbed (Retracted) Place cursor over tab to have pane fly-out and
be used (Docked and Tabbed Panes can also be Stacked)
The Push Pin Icon is used to toggle a dockable

pane from simply Docked to Docked and
Tabbed.
2 - 19
Lesson 2
Dockable Panes - Positioning

Docking position indicators are used to position Dockable Panes in specific places in the
interface and can also be used to stack the panes.
Docking locations appear as arrows.
Docking position indicators only appear when a dockable pane is being dragged from
one position to another.
An outline of where the pane will be positioned will appear when the cursor is placed
over a specific Indicator.
2 - 20
Lesson 2
Messages Pane
Can be turned on and off using the Tools, Other Windows, Messages menu or with
the Messages icon on the Panes toolbar.
Provides information on commands Femap is performing, and their status.
The Messages pane is also the default location for listing the results of Tools, Check
and List commands
The command List, Destination is used to toggle on and off results of List
commands to the Messages pane. This command can also be used to specify
listing out to a file.
Error listings are also sent to the Messages pane.
Font, font size and text colors for the Messages pane are set using the File, Preferences
command under the Messages tab.
Undock the Messages pane by double-clicking on its title bar. To return it to its previous
docked location and size, double click its title bar again.
The Messages pane can be resized when docked or floating.
Copy or Save Information from List
Highlight and Cut or Copy
Data Table information can be pasted into the Messages pane

Note:
When typing in the Messages window, anytime you type a shortcut key, the
command assigned to the key will be invoked.
2 - 21
Lesson 2
Messages Pane Other Options

Format contents of the Messages window with the context sensitive pop-up menu (rightmouse click).
2 - 22
Lesson 2
Model Info Pane

Can be turned on and off using the Tools, Model Info command or with the Panes
toolbar.
Provides quick access to top-level entities in Femap through an easy to navigate tree
structure.
Top-level items found in the tree include:
Coordinate Systems
Geometry Solids and Sheet Solids

Only
Connections
Properties
Regions
Connectors
Aero Model
Model
Elements
Materials
Properties
Layups
Loads and Constraints
Functions
Data Surfaces
Analyses Analysis Sets
Results Output Sets
Views
Groups
Layers
Selection List
Active objects appear as blue bold text
2 - 23
Lesson 2
Model Info Pane Additional Features and Selection List

Context-Sensitive menus available for each item in the Model Tree by highlighting an
item then clicking the right mouse button.
Multiple entities can be highlighted at the same time in order to perform operations on all
of the entities at once.
Active Entity of each entity type is displayed with Blue text in the tree.
Selection List used when Select Multiple is active in the Select Toolbar.
Lists each entity type currently in the selection set
Displays the number of entities of each entity type in parentheses
2 - 24
Lesson 2
Model Info Pane Icons
Collapse/Expand All
Collapses or expands ALL categories in the Model Info tree at once. Can be
used to only show what you need to view specific entities.
Reload From Model
Reloads the Model Info tree with all current information from the model. Always
collapses the whole tree completely.
Reset All Visibility Options
Toggles the display of all entities on

Send To Data Table
Sends selected data to the Data Table pane for sorting, filtering, and evaluation.
The Data Table MUST be open and unlocked for this icon to be used.
Show When Selected pull

down
Note:
Toggle on/off and settings

for highlighting of selected
objects. Similar to the
Window, Show Entities
command.
Defaults for Show When Selected can be set in the Show Entities
Defaults section found on the User Interface tab of the Preferences dialog
box.
2 - 25
Lesson 2
Model Info Tree Context Sensitive Menus

Context-Sensitive menus are available for each item in the Model Tree by highlighting
an item then clicking the right mouse button.
Menu is different for each entity type in the tree.
Some context sensitive menu commands require that multiple entities be chosen to
activate a command. (e.g., MultiSet Animate)
Select individual entities while holding down the CTRL key.
Hold down the SHIFT key and select a first

entity and a last entity to select a continuous list of entities.
2 - 26
Lesson 2
Entity Editor
Turn on and off the Entity Editor pane with the Tools, Entity Editor menu or with the
Panes toolbar.
Provides information of specific entities in Femap displayed using different types of
fields. The types of fields include:
Numeric Value - Enables you to enter a numeric

value for a specific field
Text - Text can be typed directly into these fields.

Usually in a Title, Text, or Notes field
Drop-down menu button - Button has arrow

facing down. Lists options for that can be
selected for a particular field.
Options button - Button has three dots. Brings

up the color palette or a dialog box that is used
to change the information in that specific field.
Read Only - Cannot be changed. Shown in

Blue text.
2 - 27
Lesson 2
Entity Editor (continued)

Entities can be sent to the Entity Editor using the following entry methods:
Model Info pane
Select Toolbar
When an entity in the tree is highlighted, it will appear in the Entity Editor
(Analyses and entities in the Selection List from the tree will not populate the
Entity Editor when highlighted)
When activated, the last chosen
entity will appear in the
Entity Editor pane.
Data Table pane
Once the Data Table has entity

data in it, every time a row
containing entity data in the table
is highlighted, it will appear in the
Entity Editor.
2 - 28
Lesson 2
Entity Editor Icons
Lock/Unlock Toggle - When unlocked, the Entity Editor will always display the
entity that was last selected using an entity entry method. When locked, the data
in the Entity Editor will remain there until the pane is unlocked.
Copy to Clipboard - Copies the current data in the Entity Editor to the clipboard
so it can be pasted into the Messages window or an outside program
Clear All clears the contents of Entity Editor window. Does not delete the
entity.
Categorized - Default listing method of the Entity Editor. For each entity, groups
similar parameters, options, and settings together for more efficient use.
Alphabetic - Displays all the fields without any categories in alphabetical order
Collapse/Expand All - Collapses or expands ALL categories in the Entity Editor at

once. Can be used to only show what you need to modify specific entities.
Reload From Model - Reloads the Entity Editor fields with the values that are
currently in the model for the chosen entity. Use this to recover the original values
for all the fields, except for modifications made with a prior Update Model action.
Update Model - Applies any changes made in the Entity Editor to a chosen entity
and saves the changes to the model database
2 - 29
Lesson 2
Entity Editor Other Options

Expand/Collapse toggles
Allow you to collapse and expand individual categories and sub-categories inside
the Entity Editor.
Entity Editor Help
Shows a title and short description of what each field of every entity represents.
Also documents the Nastran Bulk Data entry (if applicable) the field will produce
when a Nastran Input File (*.DAT, *.BDF, or *.NAS file usually) is exported.
Context Sensitive Menus
Different menus appear when the

right mouse button is clicked
depending on what type of field is
currently highlighted. For
instance, when a Text or
Numerical Value field is
highlighted, a menu will pop-up
which will allow you to Undo
(reverts to last saved value while
field is still highlighted), Cut,
Copy, Paste, Delete, or Select
All.
Note:
You can use calculator

functions (addition,
subtraction,
multiplication, and
division), as well as
exponentials (i.e.
1.234E4 for 12,340 OR
5.67E-3 for 0.00567) in
any real number field.
2 - 30
Lesson 2
Status Bar and Tray

Can be turned on and off using the Tools, Other Windows, Status Bar command.
Located at bottom of Femap Main Window
Provides running total of nodes and elements in model.
Displays a short description of commands when in the menu structure of Femap or

positioned over icon.
Tray on Right
Displays and activates object sets
Properties
Load Sets
Constraint Sets
Groups
Output Sets
Change Current Object or create a new one by clicking on a set
Right-clicking the Status Bar brings up a customization menu which can be used to
toggle individual Tray items on and off
2 - 31
Lesson 2
Right Mouse Button

Provides quick and convenient access to common commands.
OK and Cancel for commands and dialog boxes
Previous Command
Recalls the last command executed
Modify the Workplane.

Show Tooltips
When activated, shows information for a

highlighted entity in a Tooltips window
(small yellow window in the main graphics
window)
Works much like Dynamic Query in

previous versions of FEMAP when there
is entity active in the Select toolbar
2 - 32
Lesson 2
Right Mouse Button - continued

Picking Options - Snap To, Pick Query, Pick Any Inside, Pick All Inside
See section on setting the snap mode
Select
This menu of options allows you to control

which coordinates will be selected when
you use the graphics cursor to pick a
location.
2 - 33
Lesson 2
Right Mouse Button - continued

Equations
Brings up the Equation Editor in FEMAP

(a field must be highlighted in a dialog
box for this option to be available).
Visibility, Post Data, and XY Data
Convenient method of changing view

parameters
Menu commands for these option

several layers down, right mouse button
provided easy access
2 - 34
Lesson 2
Entity Selection Dialog Box

The Entity Selection dialog box is used by commands to build a list of entity IDs that will
be used for the operation.
The Add method allows you to graphically, and through Methods, add entity IDs to
the list of IDs.
The Remove method allows you to graphically remove entity IDs from the list, and
is dependant on the order you removed the entities. So if you were to add the entity
ID after removing, it would still be included in the list.
The Exclude method allows you to exclude entity IDs permanently from the list
(Used primarily with Groups)
The Delete command will delete the entity ID from the list.
Selection methods with the Method button vary depending on the entity type.
2 - 35
Lesson 2
Entity Selection Dialog Box - Continued

The Entity Selection dialog box is used by commands to build a list of entity IDs that will
be used for the operation.
The Pick button allows you to:
Switch between Normal, Front, and Query picking
Select entities graphically from the screen using a Box, Circle, Polygon, or Freehand
shape
Hotkeys are available for the following:
Box press and hold the Shift key
Circle press and hold the Ctrl key
Polygon press and hold the Ctrl+Shift keys
Select based on Coordinate(s), Around a Point, Around a Vector, or Around a Plane
Specify options for selecting Combined Curves and Boundary Surfaces
Add additional entities based on entities already selected using Add Connected
Fillets and Add Tangent Surfaces
Select entities matching the Color selected from a color palette.
Select From List button. For objects that have "Titles" the "Select from List"
button can be used to choose entities from a list dialog box. Ctrl+L in a dialog
box field brings up the list of "Titled" entities.
The Preview button graphically highlights the entities selected.
Note: Clicking the

icon in a Femap Entity Selection dialog box takes you
directly to the Femap User Guide through on-line help and has a table of all
the Selection methods for each entity type.
2 - 36
Lesson 2
Using the Filter in the Select from List Dialog Box

When the Select from List dialog box is used, you can filter the selection list to reduce
the number of entries to select from .
Enter the filter string and push the Filter

those entries that contain the filter string
You can enter additional filter strings or push the Clear All Filters
clear your filter and return to the original, unfiltered selection list.
icon to reduce the search list to the

icon to
2 - 37
Lesson 2
Setting the Pick or Snap Mode

For any Femap operation where a location is
used to specify a coordinate, you can set the
Pick or Snap Mode to one of four types:
Snap to Screen (default)
Snap to Grid snaps to the nearest grid

location on the current XY Workplane
regardless whether the workplanes
display is toggled on or off.
Snap to Point location snaps to the

nearest point on the visible model. Points
do not need to be displayed.
Snap to Node location snaps to the

nearest node on the visible model.
Nodes do not need to be displayed.
The snap mode can be specified

by either:
Using the standard contextsensitive menu activated by

clicking the right mouse button
in the Graphics pane.
Using the Snap Mode pulldown menu on the Select

toolbar.
The current Snap Mode is always

displayed on the Select toolbar.
2 - 38
Lesson 2
Locate Dialog Box

Whenever a location is required in Femap, the Locate Enter dialog box will appear.
Enter coordinates directly (relative to specified Coordinate System) or
Click the Methods button to change

the method of specifying a location
See section 4.3.1 Entity Selection

in the Femap User Manual
(user.pdf).
Note: Setting the Method in the Locate dialog

box does NOT change the Snap Mode
2 - 39
Lesson 2
Vector Locate Dialog Box

Whenever a vector is required in Femap, the Vector Locate Select Vector dialog
box will appear.
Click the Methods button to change the definition method of the vector.
Note: To change the Method of specifying the coordinates of the vector, place the
cursor in one of the coordinate boxes, and press the Ctrl+Z hotkey.
2 - 40
Lesson 2
Plane Locate Dialog Box

Whenever a Plane is required in Femap, the Plane Locate Specify Plane dialog box
will appear.
Click the Methods button to change the definition method of a plane.
Note: To change the method of specifying the coordinates of the plane, place the
cursor in one of the coordinate boxes, and press the
Ctrl+Z hotkey.
2 - 41
Lesson 2
Shortcut Keys
Femap contains preprogrammed shortcut keys for commonly used commands.
F5 - View Select
F6 - View Options
F8 - View Rotate
Ctrl+D - View Redraw
Ctrl+A - View Autoscale Visible
Ctrl+G - View Regenerate
Ctrl+Z Undo
See Appendix A of the Femap User Guide for a complete list of preprogrammed
shortcut keys
Preprogrammed Keys shown on Menu Structure
Dialogue Box Keys available when in a command.
Ctrl+A - Measure an Angle
Ctrl+C - Windows Copy
Ctrl+D - Measure a Distance
Ctrl+Z - Use Standard Coordinate Selection Dialog Box to define location.
And Many More (See Appendix A of User Guide)
Customizable Shortcut Keys Use the Tools, Toolbar, Customize command
Customized shortcut keys can be saved to a .LAYOUT file and imported into other
installations of Femap.
In some cases, importing a .LAYOUT file with customized shortcut keys only into a
new version of Femap will not recreate some or all of the customized shortcut keys.
2 - 42
Lesson 2
Creating Customized Shortcut Keys

Click the customize triangle on any toolbar and select Customize from the menu, then
choose the Keyboard tab.
Choose a Category from the drop down list, then highlight the command from the
Commands list.
Once the command is highlighted, place the cursor in the Press new shortcut key field
and key in a new character or keyboard combination.
If the key or keyboard combination has already been defined, FEMAP will bring up a
dialog box stating This shortcut is currently assigned. Do you want to re-assign this
shortcut?
By clicking the Yes
button, the key or
keyboard combination
will be added to the
Key assignments:
list and replace the
previous command
assigned to that key.
After you have
chosen the correct
key or keyboard
combination, click the
Assign button.
Note: When typing in the Messages window, anytime you type a shortcut key, the
command assigned to the key will be invoked.
2 - 43
Lesson 2
On-Line Help
Menu Help - Femap provides description of each command while pointing at it or
accessing it on the Status Bar .
Help is context sensitive
Access a command
Click F1 to access HELP
Help Window will appear with description of the current command.
Shift + F1 to choose a command with the Whats This? cursor.

Notes: Femap Help does not work in Googles Chrome browser.
With Internet Explorer, enable the option, Allow active content to run in files
on My Computer, in order for the Femap Help system to operate properly.
2 - 44
Lesson 2
FEMAP Help Menu

Full On-Line Help System accessed through
the Help Menu.
Toolbars
Dockable Panes
NX Nastran access the complete NX

Nastran documentation set
Whats New
Examples
Using Help
Programming access the API

Programming Guide
Basic Language access when the API

Programming window is open
Tip of the Day
Femap on the Web
Technical Support access FEMAP

Technical Support via the web
About access to licensing info and input

of license keys
2 - 45
Lesson 3
Purpose
This lesson provides an overview of the Femaps geometry import, creation and editing
tools.
Topics
Geometry Overview
Parasolid Geometry Kernel
Geometry Import
Solids Overview
Geometry Cleanup
Geometry Preparation Command
Wireframe Geometry Creation and Modification
Surface Geometry Creation and Editing
Solid Geometry and Editing
General Geometry Modification Tools
Additional Geometry Tools for Meshing
3-1
Lesson 3
Geometry Overview
Femap supports the creation and modification of wireframe, surface, and solid geometry
using the Parasolid geometry kernel
Femap reads multiple CAD formats
Femap geometry creation and editing
Points, 2D and 3D curves
Surfaces
Solid creation and editing operations
Supports Solid, Sheet and Non-manifold Bodies
Midplane surface extraction and editing (to be covered in a separate lesson)
3-2
Lesson 3
Parasolids Geometry Kernel

Parasolid geometry is always stored in SI (meters) no matter what unit it is created in.
Parasolid has a box with dimensions of 1000 x 1000 x 1000 with its origin at the
center of the box
Default Coincident Point Tolerance of 1.0E-8
Parallel Tolerance of 1.0E-11 Radians
Independent of product (Femap, UG NX, Solid Edge, etc.)
From the Parasolid documentation:
To allow precision to be handled correctly, all parts of a body must be within this
box
It is highly recommended to set the default unit in your application code to one
meter
3-3
Lesson 3
Solid Geometry Scale Factor

Scaling of geometry is managed in Femap with the Solid Geometry Scale Factor.
Set in Femaps preferences under the Geometry/Model tab
e.g. - When the models length is in millimeters, a length of 1.0 mm on the desktop
will be stored as .001 meters in the database
Effectively scales the box to +/- 500,000 mm in X, Y, and Z from the origin.
Can also be set in the Solid Model Read Options dialog box for Parasolid and ACIS files
and the STEP Read Options dialog box for STEP.
When the dialog boxes are opened, the Geometry Scale Factor reflects Femaps
preference.
Geometry Scale Factor for Meters = 1
Geometry Scale Factor for Inches = 39.37
Geometry Scale Factor for Millimeters = 1000
Note:
If you change the Geometry Scale Factor to a value other than the value of
Femaps preference in one of these dialog boxes, Femaps preference will
update to the input value.
3-4
Lesson 3
Geometry Importing
Import geometry with the File, Import, Geometry command.
Import Geometry icon can be found on the Model toolbar
Direct CAD Interfaces

Solid Edge (.par, .psm, .pwd, .asm)
NX Unigraphics (.prt)
NX I-deas (.idi)
Pro/Engineer (.prt, .asm)
Catia v4 (.mdl, .exp, .dlv)
Catia v5 (.catP*) optional
SolidWorks (.sldprt, .sldasm)
Standard CAD Interfaces
Parasolid
ACIS
STEP (AP 203 Solids, AP 214 Surfaces)
IGES
DXF
STL reads .stl files as triangular surface mesh
3-5
Lesson 3
Geometry Updates from CAD

When solid geometry is imported from a CAD file, a reference to the source file of the
geometry imported is created in the Femap model.
The reference is based on the time/date stamp of the CAD file(s) imported, including
modification(s) to components in an assembly.
The File, References command is used to view the status of a reference in Femap.
If the time/date stamp is modified due to changes in the CAD model, this will be
shown in the Reference Manager dialog box.
Femaps default preferences are set to generate references upon import and to
automatically check for reference updates when opening a model.
3-6
Lesson 3
Solid Bodies
A Solid body is completed enclosed by surfaces and has no gaps or dangling surfaces.
Any Solid body is shown in the Model Info panes Geometry tree with this icon:
Note:
Running the Tools, Mass Properties, Solid Properties command will show
that a Solid body has Volume.
3-7
Lesson 3
Sheet Bodies
Sheet bodies have one or more contiguous surfaces that do not enclose a volume
For multi-surface Sheet bodies, all surfaces must connect on a common edge with
one other surface as the Base and Side Walls solid body below.
Since the eight Rib bodies do not connect on a common edge with any other
surfaces, these are all separate Sheet bodies.
A Sheet body is shown in the Model Info panes Geometry tree with the icon below.
3-8
Lesson 3
Non Manifold Bodies

Non Manifold bodies are connected solids that can be a combination of Solid and/or
Sheet bodies.
Creating Non Manifold bodies from mid-surfaced geometry can also be very useful
for meshing purposes, as surfaces coming together at T-Junctions share a common
curve.
A Non Manifold body is shown in the Model Info panes Geometry tree with this icon:
3-9
Lesson 3
Geometry Checking and Cleanup

After importing geometry, it is strongly recommended that you check and fix all solid
geometry before attempting to mesh
The Solid, Geometry, Cleanup command
checks the validity of selected solids in your
Femap model file. Options for this command
are described on the next page.
The Meshing Toolbox has the Entity Locator tool to locate curves and surfaces within
solids by specifying a search method and size. You will use this tool in Exercise 3b
Geometry Modification and Preparation.
3 - 10
Lesson 3
Geometry, Solid, Cleanup Command

Remove Redundant Geometry
Cleans curves imprinted on surfaces and merges surfaces that are part of the
underlying original surface. This is the only option that is enabled when the
command is executed.
Disable this option if you want to maintain
splits of surfaces such as surface to
surface intersections or imprinted curves.
Remove Sliver Surfaces
Removes small sliver surfaces resulting from
inaccuracies in solid geometry operations.
Check Geometry
Checks the validity of the solid. Will show that
an imported solid body is in reality a sheet
solid if imperfections are detected.
Match Model Scale Factor
Use when solids imported are at a different
Solid Geometry Scale Factor than the factor set in Femap preferences.
Adjusts the selected solid(s) to the factor set in Femap preferences.
Must have Check Geometry option enabled.
Advanced cleanup options - See section 3.4.2.22 of the Femap Commands manual.
Has options to repair and remove small features.
Surface Heal and Stitch option is similar to Explode and Stitch commands. Can
only be used on one solid at a time.
Note:
If you still have problems cleaning geometry for meshing, an alternative

technique is to Explode the problem solid, then Stitch it back together.
3 - 11
Lesson 3
Wireframe Geometry Creation and Modification Topics

Workplanes
Wireframe Geometry Defaults
Lines
Arcs
Circles
Splines
Wireframe Geometry Modification
Boundary Surfaces
3 - 12
Lesson 3
Workplanes
The Workplane is used to define the local X-Y plane for 2D wireframe and some solid
geometry creation commands.
Access via the Tools, Workplane command or the F2 hotkey.
Snap Options control display of the grid spacing, etc. of the workplane
Workplane display can be toggled on and off in the Workplane Management dialog
box using the Draw Workplane check box or with the View Style, Workplane icon
on the View toolbar
Grid display options in the View Options Tools and View Style dialog box
controls color and fill settings for the workplane
3 - 13
Lesson 3
Wireframe Geometry Defaults

Default colors for curves are set in Femaps Preferences dialog box.
Color can also be set for a model with the Tools, Parameters command or in the View
Options dialog box.
Color, ID, Default Length, Spline Order, etc. are set in the Geometry Parameters dialog
box.
Press the Parameters button in the Locate - dialog box to manage these settings.
3 - 14
Lesson 3
Lines
Creation with the Geometry, Curve Line
commands:
Locate on the Workplane:
Project Points
Horizontal
Vertical
Perpendicular
Parallel
Midline
At Angle
Angle to Curve
Point and Tangent
Tangent
Rectangle
Locate in 3D space:
Continuous
Points
Coordinates
Offset
Vectored
3 - 15
Lesson 3
Arcs
Arcs are always placed on the Workplane
Arc creation with the
Geometry, Curve Arc commands:
Center-Start-End
Radius-Start-End two points on the arc
define the start and end of the arc. A
positive radius will create an arc less then
180 degrees while a negative radius will
generate an arc greater than 180 degrees.
Angle-Start-End two points on the arc define the start and end of the arc; a positive
angle will generate the arc from the start to the end in a counterclockwise direction
a negative angle will generate the arc clockwise from the start point to the end point..
Chord-Center-Start locate the center, start point for the arc, and a chord length
less than twice the radius.
Points locate the start point, a point on the arc, and the end.
Center and Points use this to create an arc in 3D space. Specify by four points:
Center, start, end, and a fourth point that defines the direction of the arc.
Start-End-Direction specify the start and end points, and the tangent direction for
the start point.
3 - 16
Lesson 3
Circles
Circles are always placed on the
Workplane
Circle creation with the
Geometry, Curve Circle commands:
Radius two points define the
center and a point on the circle.
Diameter two points on the circle
define the diameter.
Center define the center and the
radius of the circle.
Two Points locate two points on the
circle and enter the radius.
Point-Tangent locate the center
point and a tangent curve.
Concentric create a circle by selecting an existing circle and the new circles
radius.
Points on Arc create a circle by three points.
Center and Points create a circle by defining the center, starting point on the
circle, and a point defining the positive direction of the circle.
3 - 17
Lesson 3
Splines
Splines can be generated by Control Points
or by Points on the spline (the splines control
points are automatically generated by Femap).
Four (4) point Bezier splines are created when
using the following commands:
Ellipse
Parabola
Hyperbola
The Equation spline is created by specifying

coefficients of parametric cubic equations.
A Tangent spline is created by specifying the

start and end points of a spline and the tangents
at those points.
The spline created by the Blend command creates a spline blending two curves. A
Blend Factor controls the interior shape.
The Offset spline uses a point projected onto the Workplane to determine the offset
location.
Combine a set of contiguous curves into a single curve using the Multiple Curves
command. Not to be used with sharp corners.
3 - 18
Lesson 3
Boundary Surfaces and Sketching

The Geometry, Boundary Surface command creates planar surfaces made up of a
boundary curves. This command is very useful when the wireframe geometry needs to
be converted to surfaces and/or solids.
Can include multiple holes.
Boundary Surface(s) are non-Parasolid surface(s) use the Geometry, Surface,
Convert command to convert into a Parasolid surface.
The Geometry, Sketch command creates a Boundary Surface from curves created
during the Sketch command sequence.
Also accessible from the Solid toolbar once the sketch is completed, you have the
option to extrude or revolve the sketched boundary surface.
The Modify, Edit, Boundary command allows you to add or remove curves from an
existing Boundary Surface.
3 - 19
Lesson 3
Wireframe Geometry Editing

Wireframe geometry can be edited with the
following commands:
Modify, Trim
Trims the intersection curves. These curves
must extend past one another will not
extend to the intersection.
Modify, Extend
Extend the end point of the selected curve(s)
to a point projected from the point normal to
the curve.
Modify, Break
Splits the selected curve(s) at a point
projected from the selected point normal to
the curve.
Also available in the Meshing Toolboxs
Geometry Editing tool.
Modify, Join
Trims and/or extends the selected curves to
their intersection point.
Modify, Fillet
Creates a tangent arc between the two
selected curves.
Modify, Chamfer
Creates a chamfer between the two selected
curves.
Note:
Except for the Break operation, these commands cannot be applied to solid
or surface geometry curves.
3 - 20
Lesson 3
Surface Creation and Non-Manifold Geometry Commands

Edge Curves
Creates a surface from 3 or 4 curves.
Aligned Curves
Lofts a surface through curves.
Sweep
Used to sweep multiple-curve cross sections along a curve
Convert
Used to convert boundary surfaces and surfaces made with the standard FEMAP
geometry engine into Parasolid surfaces. Only planar boundary surfaces will be
converted with the Convert command.
Remove Hole
Used to remove interior voids in surfaces.
Can also be used to remove holes in solids.
NonManifold Add
Used to combine surfaces which do not enclose a volume and/or contain nonmanifold features (i.e., T-junctions) into a Parasolid General Body
May also be used to combine solids and surfaces into a Parasolid General Body
Recover Manifold Geometry
Used to break a Parasolid General Body created using the NonManifold Add
command into manifold sections.
3 - 21
Lesson 3
Surface Curves
The Geometry, Curve - From Surface set of commands are used to create curves on
surfaces with the following techniques:
Intersect select two intersecting surfaces and/or solids.
Project project the selected curve(s) normal to the selected surface(s).
Project Along Vector - project the selected curve(s) along the specified vector onto
the selected surface(s).
Parametric Curve specify a location to generate a curve along a U or V direction
on the selected surface.
Slice split the selected surface(s) and/or solids by a plane.
Split at Locations generate a parametric curve on a surface by specifying the start
and end locations of the curve.
When the Update Surfaces option is enabled (default for new models), the curves
become part of the surface and will split the surface into multiple surfaces (if the
curves selected make up a closed loop). Otherwise, the curves generated by this
command are simply internal curves of the surface.
3 - 22
Lesson 3
Surface Curves (continued)

The Offset Curve/Washer command generates curves offset from the selected curves.
The Washer option is used to generate concentric arcs around the selected arc(s).
Washers can also be created in the Meshing Toolboxs Geometry Editing tool.
Offset Curves is used when the curves to be offset are around non-planar holes or
around non-circular interior features.
For cases where offsets of non-planar curves are requested, deselect the
AutoSelect Surfaces option.
The Save Split Lines option creates connecting lines from the selected arc(s) to the
concentric arcs and tags the surface around the arcs to use mapped four corner
meshing.
3 - 23
Lesson 3
Surface Curves (continued)

The Pad command generates a square centered at the selected hole. Pads can also be
created in the Meshing Toolboxs Geometry Editing tool.
Pad Width = 2 X Hole Diameter X Pad Size Factor

Pad Size Factor = Pad Width / (2 * Hole Diameter)
Setup Mapped Meshing sets the mesh sizes around the four surfaces on the pad
area for Four sided Mapped Meshing
Three (3) options for aligning the orientation of the pad:
Auto Align
Vector Align
Tangent Align
3 - 24
Lesson 3
Surface Curves Point to Point

Geometry, Curve from Surface, Point
to Point command -select two points on
a surface (First Point for Face Split and
Second Point for Face Split), Similar to
the Split at Locations command, except
that the points must exist on the surface.
The surface to split is automatically
determined by the two points selected.
This operation also exists in the
Meshing Toolboxs Geometry Editing
tool.
3 - 25
Lesson 3
Surface Curves Point to Edge

Geometry, Curve from Surface, Point
to Edge command -select an existing
point on a surface (Split Point) and curve
to project the point to (Split Edge).
tool.
3 - 26
Lesson 3
Surface Curves Edge to Edge

Geometry, Curve from Surface, Edge
to Edge command -select an edge (Edge
to Project To) and then the Edge(s) for
Point Projection. The resulting curve(s)
are normal to the Edge to Project To.
tool.
3 - 27
Lesson 3
Solid Geometry Creation

Extrude and Revolve 2D profiles
Primitives
Block
Cylinder
Cone
Sphere
Stitch
Explode
Editing operations
Fillet
Chamfer
Shell
Thicken
Remove Face
3 - 28
Lesson 3
Additional Solid Modeling Creation and Editing Tools

Boolean operations
Add
Remove
Common
Embed
Intersect
Face imprint and splitting
Slice
Slice Match
Slice along Face
Embed Face
3 - 29
Lesson 3
General Geometry Modification Tools

Copy geometry via the following commands:
Geometry, Copy
Geometry, Radial Copy
Geometry, Scale
Geometry, Rotate
Geometry, Reflect
Move geometry via the following commands:
Modify, Project
Projects points onto curves, surfaces, vectors and planes
Modify, Move To
Moves a point from its current location to the selected location
Modify, Move By
Modify, Rotate To
Modify, Rotate By
Modify, Align
Modify, Scale
Allows scaling in three directions of the specified coordinate system
Modify a points location with the following command:
Modify, Edit, Point
Change color and transparency with:
Modify, Color
Modify, Transparency
Change layer with:
Modify, Layer
Modify the ID of the geometry with:
Modify, Renumber
3 - 30
Lesson 3
Additional Geometry Tools for Meshing

In some cases, you may need to modify geometry for meshing . In addition to the
Geometry tools covered in this lesson, there are additional techniques that will be
covered in subsequent sections:
Mesh, Geometry Preparation command
Midplane Modeling
Meshing Toolbox
Entity Locator
Feature Suppression
Feature Removal
Feature Editing
Geometry Editing
Combined / Composite Curves
Combined / Boundary Surfaces
3 - 31
Lesson 4
Overview of Materials
Purpose
This lesson provides an overview of creating and editing materials with Femap.
Topics
Defining Materials
Types of materials supported
Other Types of Materials
Using Functions for Defining Material Properties
Nonlinear Material Models
Modifying Materials
Material Libraries
4-1
Lesson 4
Defining Materials
Create new materials with the Model, Material
command or right-click on the Material object in
the Model Info pane
Default material type is Isotropic
Type values directly into the fields provided; or
Access the material library by selecting the

Load button
4-2
Lesson 4
Materials Supported by Femap

Isotropic
Properties are constant in all directions (values entered as a single value).
Orthotropic 2D and 3D
Direction dependent.
Define in two planer or three principle directions.
Anisotropic 2D and 3D
Properties specified as a general 3x3 (2-D) or 6x6 (3-D) elasticity matrix.
Hyperelastic
Materials subject to large deformations
Input distortional and volumetric deformations or stress/strain data
Fluid
Defines materials such as liquids and gases used in fluid flow and/or heat transfer
analysis.
Other Types
Materials with attributes unique to specific solvers. Descriptions follow on the next
page.
To select a different material
type, click the Type button in
the Define Material dialog box,
and then select a different
material type, e.g., Hyperelastic.
Note: The default material

Type changes to the
last selected type.
4-3
Lesson 4
Other Types of Materials

Other Materials are for solver specific materials such as Nastran, NX Nastran,
MSC.Nastran, LS-DYNA, MARC, and ABAQUS/Explicit Material types. The other
material types specific to NX Nastran are shown in the Define Material dialog box below.
NX Nastran Advanced Nonlinear Materials
Hyperelastic Mooney-Rivlin
Hyperelastic Hyperfoam
Hyperelastic Ogden
Hyperelastic Arruda-Boyce
Gasket Material
Hyperelastic Sussman-Bathe
Shape-Memory Alloy
Viscoelastic
Additional Other Types material definitions unique to specific solvers

LS-DYNA
MARC
ABAQUS/Explicit
Sinda/G
Nastran Fluid material (MAT10)
Nastran Equivalent Laminate (Multiple MAT2)
MSC.Nastran Hyperelastic
NEi Nastran NITINOL
User Defined material types for custom program interfaces.
4-4
Lesson 4
Using Functions for Defining Materials

Femap supports the definition of materials
that vary with:
Temperature
Stress
Strain
Frequency
Materials that allow the use of Functions

are:
Isotropic
Orthotropic (2D and 3D)
Anisotropic (2D and 3D)
Fluids
These variances are defined using

Functions. Functions can be defined and
stored in a library using the command,
Model, Function
You can also right-click the Function

object in the Model Info pane and select
New from the menu
The Define Materials

dialog box also has a
button to define new
functions without
leaving the create or
edit material
operation
4-5
Lesson 4
Function Definition Dialog Box
The Define Function dialog box has a pull-down to select the Type of function. For
materials, you should select one of the following:
Temperature dependent material: 2..vs. Temperature
Frequency dependent material: 3..vs. Frequency
Strain vs. Stress: 4..vs. Stress
Stress vs. Strain: 13..Stress vs. Strain
The Data Entry field of this dialog box has multiple options for defining functions
Use the Paste from Clipboard option to take data from a spreadsheet and copy it into
your Femap function.
4-6
Lesson 4
Assigning a Function to a Material Attribute

When a Function is being used to assign material attributes, there are two options for
selecting the function:
In the field that you are using a function, enter a scalar multiplier of the selected
function (in most cases a value of 1), and then with the cursor still in that field, press
the Ctrl+f hotkey. This will activate the Select Function dialog box.
Click the Function References tab, click the Function pull-down and select the
function to be applied to that field. Just like when using the first option, the value
entered in the material field will cause the material attribute to be the scalar value
time times the function used for that field.
4-7
Lesson 4
Nonlinear Material Models

The following table lists the materials that can be defined as nonlinear and the type of
nonlinearity:
Material Type
Isotropic
Nonlinear Elastic
Elasto-Plastic
Plastic
Orthotropic (2D
and 3D)
Anisotropic (2D
and 3D)
To assign the type of material nonlinearity and the attribute for the nonlinearity, select
the Nonlinear tab in the Define Material dialog box and then select the Nonlinearity
Type.
4-8
Lesson 4
Modifying Materials
Use the Modify, Edit Material command:
Enter the Material ID you want to edit; or:
Select an element with the material you want to edit; or:
Alternatively, you can click the Select from List icon (
)or:
In the Model Info pane select the material(s) to be edited, right-click and
then, select Edit from the menu.
Right-clicking on the Materials heading in the tree will select ALL

materials for editing.
Note: The Visibility Toggle icon to

the left of the material name
indicates whether or not
objects using that material
are displayed in the Femap
model view(s).
4-9
Lesson 4
Material Libraries
Femap has the ability to store an retrieve materials in a materials library. In the Femap
main installation folder, there are four material database files that can be used:
material.esp:
small library of metals in English units
mat_eng_in-lbf-psi-degF-BTU.esp: extensive metal alloys library in English units
mat_eng_mm-N-tonne-degC-Watts.esp: extensive metal alloys library in metric

(mm) units, material density in Tonne/mm3
mat_eng_SI.esp:
extensive metal alloys library in SI units
Since these libraries can be deleted during the uninstallation of Femap or replaced when
performing a repair of a Femap installation, any customization of these libraries should
be accomplished by copying these databases to a location other than the Femap
installation folders and regularly backed up.
To load a material from a materials library, click the Load button in the Define Material
dialog box.
To store a new or modified material to a library, click the Save button in the Define
Material dialog box.
Saving a material does not over-write an existing material, but creates a new
material database entry.
4 - 10
Lesson 5
Properties
Purpose
This lesson provides an overview of creating and editing properties with Femap.
Topics
Element Types
Defining Properties
Editing Properties
5-1
Lesson 5
Properties
Element Types
A Property defines the element shape (type) and associated material. Properties define
additional analysis information for each element type, and are controlled by the element
type.
Femap supports the following element types:
Line (1D) Elements:
Plane (2D) Elements:
Rod
Shear Panel
Tube
Membrane
Curved Tube
Bending Only
Bar
Plate
Beam
Laminate
Link
Plane Strain
Curved Beam
Axisymmetric Shell
Spring Damper
Plot Only
DOF Spring
Gap
Plot Only
Volume (3D) Elements
Axisymmetric
Solid
Other Elements
Mass
Mass Matrix
Rigid
Stiffness Matrix
Slide Line
Weld/Fastener
5-2
Lesson 5
Properties
Defining Properties
Create new properties with the Model,
Property command or in the Model Info
pane, right-click on the Property object
and select New.
The default property (element type) is

Plate
Change the type by clicking the

Elem/Property Type button
Other types are selected with

Elem/Property Type dialog box.
Selecting a different element/property

type makes that type the default type
5-3
Lesson 5
Properties
Define Property Dialog Box

Property data includes (depending on Element / Property Type)
Material selection
Select the Material icon (

) to create a new material if the material for the
new property has not yet been defined.
Property Values these attributes will change based on the property Type.
Thickness
Area, etc
Mass and inertia
Radius
Stress Recovery Points (Beams)
5-4
Lesson 5
Properties
Bar and Beam Properties

For Elem/Property Type Bar, Beam, or Curved Beam
Enter values directly; or
Use the Shape button to enter cross-sectional data
5-5
Lesson 5
Properties
Bar and Beam Shape Input

Choose either a Standard or NASTRAN (PBEAML) category of Beam.
Choose a standard shape from the Shape drop down list in the Cross Section Definition
dialog box.
Enter appropriate values for a shape and specify the Stress Recovery locations.
Use the arrow buttons to locate these points.
The Reference Point can be used to set the mesh location and when used, Femap
will automatically calculate offsets from the beams shear center.
Choose General Section under Shape to select any planar surface as the cross
section of a beam.
Beam properties will be automatically calculated by after clicking OK.
5-6
Lesson 5
Properties
Beam Orientation and Offsets

Nodes on beams are located by default at the shear center of the beam.
Offsets can be preset when creating or editing a Beam element.
Offset is from the shear center unless the option to Compute Shear Center Offset
is turned off.
The Mesh, Mesh Control, Attributes on Curve command has options to preset beam
Offset and Orientation.
Use the Modify, Update Elements, Line Element Orientation command to change
orientation of the selected beam elements.
The Modify, Update Elements, Line Element Offsets command is used to change the
offset of the selected beam elements.
Can also change the offset by setting the location of the node to the beam
Reference Point.
5-7
Lesson 5
Properties
Beam Coordinate System

Bar and Beam elements have a local coordinate system for each element.
X axis of the beam is along the length of the beam
Pt A is the start of the Beam
Pt B is the end of the Beam
Y and Z axes are determined by the beams property definition.
FEMAP prompts for an

alignment vector when
creating beam elements.
This vector is used to

specify the direction of
the Y-Axis specified in the
Beam Property.
5-8
Lesson 5
Properties
View Settings for Line and Planar Elements

Femaps View Options (View, Options or the F6 hotkey) has settings to help in
displaying line and planar element attributes.
In addition, the View Style pulldown menu on the View toolbar has shortcuts to toggle
line element display settings on and off.
Offsets toggle display of line (and planar) elements offsets.
Orientation toggle display of line (and planar) element orientations.
Thickness/Cross Section toggle display of line (and planar) element cross

sections.
5-9
Lesson 5
Properties
Modify, Update Elements Commands

Reassign Element Properties and Materials
Line Element settings
Plane Element settings
Element Order
5 - 10
Lesson 5
Properties
Modify, Update Elements General Commands

Type assign a different property to the selected element(s). The element(s) must be
of the same shape (Line, Plane, etc.)
Formulation modify formulation of elements of the same type.
e.g. Change a Nastran Spring element to a Nastran CBUSH element.
Property ID assign a different property ID to element(s) of the same type.

Material ID assign a different material to the selected physical property.
5 - 11
Lesson 5
Properties

for Line Elements
Line Element Orientation update beam/bar element orientations
Line Element Offsets update beam/bar element offsets
Line Element Reverse Direction reverse element connectivity. i.e.; Swap A and B
nodes.
Beam/Bar Releases update beam/bar element end releases
Beam Warping update beam warping as defined using NASTRAN SPOINTs
Remove Cross Section removes beam/bar element section shape while retaining
properties
5 - 12
Lesson 5
Properties

for Plane Elements
Reverse Normal/Orient First Edge offers options for setting the normal direction and
orientation of 2-D element(s).
Material Angle set or modify the material angle of selected element(s). Used for
direction-dependent materials and laminates.
Split Quads splits quad element(s) into triangles
Adjust Plate Thickness/Offset modify the thickness or offset of the selected
element(s).
5 - 13
Lesson 5
Properties
Modify, Update Elements,

Adjust Plate Thickness/Offset Command
Used to modify element thickness and offsets of Plane Elements
Modify the Thickness of the selected elements, including creating and/or modifying
variable thickness shells
Automatically creates new properties for the variable thickness planar elements.
Modify the Offset distance of the selected plane elements.
By default, nodes are located at the midplane (1/2 the thickness) of shell elements.
Use the Mesh, Mesh Control, Attributes on Surface command to preset the
offset.
Constant element offset can also be set in FEMAP 10 and above when meshing
surfaces by pressing More Options button and setting the appropriate options in
the Offset section.
5 - 14
Lesson 5
Properties
Modify, Update Elements Miscellaneous Commands

Linear/Parabolic Order update the Order of the selected element(s) to/from
Parabolic.
To convert from Parabolic to Linear, select No in the first dialog box presented in
the command.
You must manually delete and/or merge any midside nodes for elements converted
from Parabolic to Linear.
Midside Nodes moves the midside

nodes on the selected element(s) to
the midside of the element. Use after
nodes have been moved.
Rigid Thermal Expansion assign a
Coefficient of Thermal Expansion ()
to the selected Rigid Element(s).
5 - 15
Lesson 6
Meshing Overview
Purpose
This lesson provides an overview of the tools available in Femap to control and
generate meshes.
Topics
Recommended Meshing Workflows
Mesh Control
Feature Suppression
Geometry Meshing
Hex Meshing
Mesh Modification Tools
6-1
Lesson 6
Meshing Overview
Recommended Meshing Workflows

Before any meshing, set a reasonable Default mesh size for the model then set the
mesh sizing for the objects to be meshed
Break edge curves where needed
Create any needed Curves on Surfaces and Mesh Points on
Surfaces
Solids
Suppress any features as needed

Set the Mesh Size on Solids
Assign solid Attributes
Set the mesh size on individual surfaces as needed
Break surface boundary curves where needed

Create any needed Curves on Surfaces and Mesh Points on
Surfaces
Surfaces
Suppress any features as needed

Set the Mesh Size on Surfaces
Assign surface Attributes
Set the mesh size on individual curves as needed
Break curves as needed

Curves
Set the Mesh Size on Curves

Assign curve Attributes
6-2
Lesson 6
Meshing Overview
Mesh Control
The Mesh, Mesh Control menu creates settings for:
Default mesh size
Set mesh size on curves, surfaces and solids
Hard mesh points
Mesh Attributes - assignment of element properties

to geometry
Mesh approaches on surfaces
Suppression of geometric features during meshing
Many of these commands are also on the Mesh

toolbar.
Preview mesh sizing on curves with the View,

Options (F6), Labels, Entities and Colors,
Curve Mesh Size option
Toggle Mesh Size symbols with the View

Style, Mesh Size icon on the View
toolbar.
6-3
Lesson 6
Meshing Overview
Mesh, Mesh Control Commands

Mesh, Mesh Control, Default Size
Used to define the default element size.
If you only need a uniform mesh, this will be the only mesh control operation you
need to do.
Used along curves that have no other sizing specified
Mesh, Mesh Control, Size commands
At Point, used to specify the size along any curve that references that point, and
does not already have a size specified.
Along Curve, specifies the element size, or number of elements to be placed,

and how they will be spaced along the curve.
On Surface, used to specify the size on all of the curves referenced by the
surface, and gives other options for controlling the mesh on the surface.
On Solid, provides the same basic mesh control as the previous, but also has
additional options that pertain primarily to multi-solid meshing, and hex meshing.
6-4
Lesson 6
Meshing Overview
Mesh, Mesh Control Commands (continued)

Mesh, Mesh Control, Interactive, allows you to interactively modify existing mesh
sizes along one or more curves.
Add: The current curve mesh size is increased by the number of elements
specified
Subtract: The current curve mesh size is decreased by the number of elements
specified. It is not reduced below 1
Set To: The curve mesh size is set to the number of elements specified
Note:
Interactive sizing with automatic re-meshing is available in the Meshing

Toolbox under the Mesh Sizing toolset.
Mesh, Mesh Control, Custom Size Along Curve, can be used to place nodes at
specific locations along curves, and match one curve's mesh sizing to another curve or
curves.
See example on following pages
Mesh, Mesh Control, Mapped Divisions on Surface, allows you to specify divisions
for a mesh on 3 and 4 sided surfaces
Mesh, Mesh Control, Mesh Points on Surface, defines specific locations on a surface
where nodes will be created when the surface is meshed
6-5
Lesson 6
Meshing Overview
Example - Mesh, Mesh Control, Custom Size along Curve
Initial Mesh Sizing
Initial Mesh after setting Mesh Approach on Surface to Mapped

Four Corner using the vertices of the three straight edges
6-6
Lesson 6
Meshing Overview
Example - Mesh, Mesh Control, Custom Size along Curve

(continued)
Resulting mesh after applying the Mesh, Mesh Control, Custom Size along
Curve command matching the bottom edge to the top three (3) edges.
6-7
Lesson 6
Meshing Overview

Mesh, Mesh Control, Attributes
At Point - used to assign meshing properties to points, so that when the points are
meshed, the properties will automatically be assigned to the points
Along Curve used to assign a 1D property (rod, beam, etc.) to the selected
curve(s).
On Surface - most commonly used for assigning plate properties to surfaces, and
should be used when meshing multiple surfaces with different properties in one
meshing operation.
When the selected property type requires additional input such as orientation
and offset, you are prompted to assign those attributes
Includes ability to pre-assign plate offsets to surface
On Volume/Solid assign a solid property to the selected solid(s)
6-8
Lesson 6
Meshing Overview

Mesh, Mesh Control, Approach on Surface, used to specify whether FEMAP will
create a free/boundary mesh or a mapped mesh. There are several options for free and
mapped meshing. For details, see section 5.1.2.15 in the Femap Commands Manual
Femap primarily uses the Free-Parametric approach for meshing
Femap will automatically assign the corner points when the Mapped Four Corner
option is selected and no points are selected
6-9
Lesson 6
Meshing Overview
Surface Mesh Approach: Mapped Three Corner
Mapped Three Corner Mesh
Mapped Three Corner Fan Mesh
6 - 10
Lesson 6
Meshing Overview
Edge and Feature Suppression

Use the command, Mesh, Mesh Control, Feature Suppression
Removing Loops works on surfaces and solids
Interactive feature suppression is also available in the Meshing Toolbox under the
Feature Suppression toolset.
6 - 11
Lesson 6
Meshing Overview
Setting Mesh Sizing on Surfaces

Use the Mesh, Mesh Control, Size on Surface command.
Select the Replace Mesh Size on All Curves option to override mesh sizes on any
curve that has had its mesh size set by curve mesh sizing command(s).
Use Min Elements on Edge to set the number of elements on curves whose length
is less then the Element Size setting.
6 - 12
Lesson 6
Meshing Overview
How Femap determines Default Element Size on Surfaces

For both solids and surfaces, Femap provides a recommended Element Size by
dividing the average length of the curves on the selected surface(s) or solid(s) by 6.
6 - 13
Lesson 6
Meshing Overview
Max Angle Tolerance

Max Angle Tolerance controls the maximum allowable angle between the tangent of a
surfaces boundary curve at the start of the element edge and the angle of the free edge
of the element. With this option enabled, the length of all free edges on the selected
surface(s) must be less than or equal to the Element Size.
6 - 14
Lesson 6
Meshing Overview
Setting Mesh Sizing on Surfaces (continued)

Max Elem on Small Feature and Max Size of Small Feature are used to control the
number of elements around the perimeter of an interior boundary.
Max Size of Small Feature is the effective diameter of the interior feature calculated
by taking of the perimeter length of the interior feature divided by pi.
The default value of this option is equal to the value of the Element Size.
Vertex Aspect Ratio is used to optimize mesh sizing at locations where both long and
short curves are joined at common vertices
With Vertex Aspect Ratio

Option Enabled
Vertex Aspect Ratio Option Disabled
6 - 15
Lesson 6
Meshing Overview
Mapped Meshing Refinement and Suppress Short Edges

Options
The Mapped Meshing Refinement option attempts to refine the mesh for 3 or 4-sided
surfaces.
Suppress Short Edges suppresses any edge on the selected solid(s) or surface(s) that
has a length less than or equal to the specified percentage of the Element Size.
Suppressing short edges on certain solids or surfaces may cause the mesher to fail.
While not common, an error stating you have a "hole" in the mesh will inform you of
this situation.
6 - 16
Lesson 6
Meshing Overview
Parameter vs. Length Based Mesh Sizing

Femap, by default, uses Parameter/Length mesh sizing
This first sizes all curves using parameter-based sizing, then determines an
average distance between each of the mesh locations on each curve. If the
distance between any of the mesh locations is more than 1% different than the
"average distance", then that curve is resized using length-based sizing.
For many cases, there will be no difference between Parameter and Length-based
mesh sizing, however, for complex curves and surfaces such as splines, there is a
difference:
Parameter-based
Mesh Sizing
Length-based
Mesh Sizing
6 - 17
Lesson 6
Meshing Overview
Curvature Based Mesh Refinement

The Curvature Based Mesh Refinement option, Refinement Ratio is similar to Max
Angle Tolerance except it uses a length ratio instead of angles
Refinement Ratio = Chord Height / Chord Length
Chord Height = maximum normal distance from the element edge to the curve
or surface
Chord Length = length of the element edge
6 - 18
Lesson 6
Meshing Overview
Setting Mesh Sizing on Solids

Use the Mesh, Mesh Control, Size on Solid command.
Similar to the Automatic Mesh Sizing dialog box for surfaces except for:
Selection of either Tet Meshing or Hex Meshing
Auto Boundary Small Surf option
Assembly / Multi-Solid Sizing options
6 - 19
Lesson 6
Meshing Overview
Mesh Sizing on Solids Options

Auto Boundary Small Surf attempts to combine any surface on a solid that has a area
less than or equal to the specified percentage of Element Size squared with an adjacent
surface that is tangent or nearly tangent to the small surface.
The Assembly / Multi-Body Sizing options can be used to automatically set mesh
approaches on solids with adjacent surfaces when multiple bodies are selected .
Adjacent Surface Matching when surfaces on two adjacent bodies are

coincident and have sizes and boundaries, Femap will slave the mesh size and
approach of the two surfaces.
Use the Remove Previous Slaving option to remove the mesh sizing and slaving
on bodies that have had mesh sizes previously applied.
Adjust Colors changes the colors of surfaces that have mesh sizes set. The
following lists the colors and their meanings:
Dark Transparent Blue free surfaces that have mesh sizes successfully
applied.
Light Solid Blue surfaces that have been matched to an adjacent surface for
the purpose of creating a continuous mesh.
Red surfaces on solids that cannot be hex meshed.
Skip Sizing on Slaved Surfaces skip mesh sizing on surfaces that are slaved to
another surface.
6 - 20
Lesson 6
Meshing Overview
Boundary Surface from Surfaces on Solid

The command, Geometry, Boundary Surface, From Surfaces on Solid
Takes the surfaces you select, and uses the enclosing outer curves to form a
regular boundary surface.
The surfaces must be stitched into a solid.
This feature works best with surfaces that have small to moderate curvature.
Can be used to remove sliver surfaces by selecting surfaces that surround the
sliver.
This capability is also found in the Meshing Toolbox under the

Combined/Boundary Surfaces toolset.
6 - 21
Lesson 6
Meshing Overview
Geometry Meshing
Mesh, Geometry, Point - is the most basic of the automatic meshing commands.
Will generate nodes (and elements for 0D element types such as Mass Elements) at
the selected points.
Allows you to specify the beginning node and element ID.
Mesh, Geometry, Curve
Creates a mesh of nodes and 1-D elements along a curve
Mesh, Geometry, Surface - creates nodes and planar elements on a selected set of
surfaces.
Must first define the mesh sizing using one of the various Mesh Control commands
There are also basic Mesh Control options on the Automesh form, as well as Mesh
Smoothing, and Element Shape options
Mesh, Geometry, Volume - creates nodes and elements in a selected set of volumes.
Since this command uses a mapped meshing technique, the number of

nodes/elements along opposite faces of a volume must always be equal
Mesh, Geometry, Solid - Produces a 3-D solid tetrahedral mesh in a solid part
Mesh, Geometry, Solids From Elements - meshes a plate element mesh that
encloses a volume into a solid element mesh
6 - 22
Lesson 6
Meshing Overview
Automesh Surfaces Dialog Box

The Mesh, Geometry, Surfaces command opens the Automesh Surfaces dialog box.
By default only a portion of the available mesh options are visible.
You may specify the following options:
Mesher Triangle or Quad
Toggle generation of Midside Nodes
Toggle Mapped Meshing on or off
To see all of the surface meshing options available, press the More Options button.
6 - 23
Lesson 6
Meshing Overview

The expanded Automesh Surfaces dialog box has the following options:
Mesher Triangle or Quad
Toggle generation of Midside Nodes
Pre-V10 Meshing can be used to have FEMAP mesh using the old meshers
and options.
Connect Edge Nodes and a Tolerance can be set to automatically merge
nodes on surfaces of stitched bodies.
Toggle Mapped Meshing on or off and set various mapped meshing options.
6 - 24
Lesson 6
Meshing Overview
Automesh Surfaces Dialog Box (continued)

Expanded Automesh Surfaces dialog box (continued):
Select the Smoothing option and settings to reduce mesh distortion.
Laplacian moves the node towards the centroid of the surrounding nodes.
Centroidal moves a node towards the centroid of the element-weighted centroid

of the surrounding elements.
Offset options allow you to offset to the top face, bottom face, or by a specified
value as the mesh is created instead of having to do it as a secondary step.
If an offset is applied as part of the Mesh, Mesh Control, Attributes on Surface

command, that value will be used if no value is set in the Automesh Surfaces
dialog box. If a value is entered, it will override the previously set attribute value.
6 - 25
Lesson 6
Meshing Overview

Expanded Automesh Surfaces dialog box (continued):
Post-Meshing Cleanup is on by default and detects certain patterns in the mesher

to eliminate them
Cut Quads with Angle Deviation Above specified degrees
Min Elements Between Boundaries forces the mesher to attempt to put the
specified number of elements between adjacent boundaries
Max Element Aspect Ratio attempts to create elements which are under the
specified aspect ratio
Quick-Cut boundaries splits boundaries with more then the specified number of
nodes into smaller pieces for meshing.
6 - 26
Lesson 6
Meshing Overview
Quad Edge Layer Option for Quad Meshing of Surfaces
Use the Quad Edge Layer option to set the depth of quad elements around
features
0
Layers
1
Layer
2
Layers
3
Layers
6 - 27
Lesson 6
Meshing Overview
Automesh Solids Dialog Box

When applying the command, Mesh, Geometry, Solids, the Automesh Solids dialog
box is activated. With this dialog box, you specify the following options:
Surface Mesh Only
Allow Mapped Meshing
Toggle Midside Nodes
Merge Nodes
By default this options

is set to 0..Off
1..New Nodes only
2..All Nodes
Tet Growth Ratio specify a factor to increase the size of the interior elements
over the size of the initial surface mesh.
Initial Size Ratio used to provide additional control for the size of the mesh.
Lower values results in denser meshes.
Update Mesh Sizing activates the Automatic Mesh Sizing dialog box for solids.
Options activates the Solid Automeshing Options dialog box
6 - 28
Lesson 6
Meshing Overview
Mesh, Geometry Preparation Command

Beginning with Femap v10.3, the Mesh, Geometry Preparation command can be used
with meshing solid(s) that either fails meshing or has a poor quality mesh due to
geometry issues such as slivers or small surfaces.
The Prepare Geometry option is used as the basis for the settings in the Geometry
Preparation Options dialog box. This is activated by clicking the Prepare Options
button.
6 - 29
Lesson 6
Meshing Overview
Manual Meshing Tools

Model, Element command.
Creates a single element
Mesh, Between command.

Mesh, Region command.
Mesh, Revolve, Extrude and Sweep commands.
With these commands you can revolve , extrude, or sweep curves or line elements
into plane elements, and plane elements into volume elements. You can also select
face(s) on volume element(s) to create additional volume elements.
Mesh Copy, Radial Copy, Scale, Rotate and Reflect commands.
6 - 30
Lesson 6
Meshing Overview
Manual Mesh Modification Tools

Mesh, Editing, Interactive command.
Mesh, Editing, Split command.
Mesh, Remesh command set.

Mesh, Smooth command.
6 - 31
Lesson 6
Meshing Overview
Semi-Automatic Hex Meshing

Femap can automatically hex mesh solids that are valid mapped meshing solids (solids
of extrusion or revolution)
Preparing the solid for Hex Meshing
Begin by slicing the solid into simple sections that are extrusions using the following
commands:
Geometry, Solid, Slice
Geometry, Solid, Slice Match
Geometry, Solid, Slice Along Face
Geometry, Solid, Embed Face
Meshing the Solids
Use Mesh Control to set the size and link the adjacent surfaces
Then Mesh, Geometry, Hex Mesh Solids
Note: Solids of revolution must be sliced so that the solid comprises is

less then a 360-degree revolution. e.g A straight, pipe section
must be split in half.
6 - 32
Lesson 6
Meshing Overview
Meshing Toolbox
In the next section, you will learn about the Meshing Toolbox. This toolbox allows for
interactive modification of geometry and meshes to improve the quality of meshes:
Geometry Feature Suppression
Geometry Feature Removal
Feature Editing
Geometry Combined/Composite Curves
Geometry Combined/Composite Surfaces
Geometry Editing
Mesh Sizing Toolbox
Mesh Surface Toolbox
Mesh Locate Toolbox
Mesh Quality Toolbox
6 - 33
Lesson 7
Purpose
This lesson provides an overview of Femaps capabilities in managing, creating and
editing boundary conditions .
Topics
Constraint Sets and Constraints
Load Sets
Body Loads
Load Categories Structural, Thermal, and Fluid loads
Creating and Editing Loads
Structural Load Types
Thermal Load Types
Fluid Load Types
Advanced Femap Loads
Load Set Options for Advanced Analyses
7-1
Lesson 7
Constraint Sets
The Model, Constraint, Create/Manage Set command creates a new Constraint Set or
activates an existing Constraint Set.
This command is also available in the Status Bar.
You may create as many different Constraint Sets as necessary.
Combine multiple Constraint Sets with the Model, Constraint, Combine command.
7-2
Lesson 7
Constraint Set Manager Dialog Box

Activating the Model, Constraint, Create/Manage Set command opens the Constraint
Set Manager dialog box.
The selected constraint set becomes the active set when the Done button is clicked.
With this dialog box, you can:
Create a New Constraint Set.
Change the name of an existing constraint set by selecting a constraint set and then
clicking the Update Title button.
Renumber the selected constraint set.
Delete (the selected) or Delete All constraint set(s).
Copy the selected constraint set.
Create Referenced Sets for Nastran SPCADD/MPCADD constraint sets.
Requires that a combined set already be created and selected.
7-3
Lesson 7
Creating New Constraint Sets

Selecting the New Constraint Set button in the Constraint Set Manager dialog box
activates the New Constraint Set dialog box.
When a model has no constraint sets, you can only create a Standard constraint set.
A Standard set is used to contain geometry and nodal constraints.
Clicking the More button will create the constraint set with the ID and Title and will
then resets the options in the New Constraint Set dialog box to enable the creation of
a new constraint set.
If one or more constraint sets are in a model, you can also create a Nastran
SPCADD/MPCADD Combination constraint set.
A combined set references one or more Standard constraint sets.
When a Nastran deck is created by Femap, it writes out the Nastran SPCADD and
MPCADD cards as needed.
7-4
Lesson 7
Nastran SPCADD/MPCADD Combination Constraint Sets

To reference Standard
constraint sets, select a
Combination constraint in set
the Constraint Set Manager
dialog box, or right-click the
combined constraint set in
the Model Info pane and
select and select Referenced
Sets button in the dialog box
or the context-sensitive
menu.
The Reference Constraint Set for Nastran SPCADD/MPCADD dialog box will list the
Available (standard) Sets and the Referenced Sets.
Manage references by selecting one or more Standard reference sets and click the Add
Referenced Sets or Remove Referenced Sets.
Note: Nastran combined sets are not displayed in the graphics window unless Show
Constrained Entities is selected from the context-sensitive menu in the
Model Info pane.
7-5
Lesson 7
Creating Constraints
Use the Model, Constraint commands, Constraint toolbar, or the Model Info tree.
7-6
Lesson 7
Nodal Constraints
Nodal Constraints - specify six (6) specific degrees of freedom with the Model,
Constraint, Nodal command
X translation = 1, X rotation = 4
Y translation = 2, Y rotation = 5
Z translation = 3, Z rotation = 6
Specify Coordinate System
Constraint Equations relate the motion or displacement of one node to the motion or
displacement of one or more other nodes. To create these, use the command, Model,
Constraint, Equation.
Often referred to a MPCs
7-7
Lesson 7
Geometry Constraints
Geometric constraints - applied to
geometry and expanded to nodes
during export to an analysis file.
Model, Constraint, On Point
Model, Constraint, On Curve
Model, Constraint, On Surface
Expand Geometric constraints
manually by using the Model,
Constraint, Expand command.
Available when
constraining a
surface.
Available only for arcs or

cylindrical surfaces.
7-8
Lesson 7
Editing Constraints
Edit Constraints with:
Modify, Edit, Constraint
Definition
Modify, Edit, Constraint
Individual
Individual constraints in a
Constraint Definition may
be edited. If the
Constraint Definition is
subsequently edited, the
individual edit is
overwritten by the value of
the Constraint Definition..
You can convert a Constraint Definition to Individual Constraints by right-clicking a

Constraint Definition in the Model Info pane and selecting Remove Definition
Model Info tree
Includes the option to Edit Where Applied add and/or remove entities where
a constraint is applied. (new in v10.1)
Entity Editor
Note:
Constraints created prior to Femap v9.3 are shown in the Model Info tree as
Other Constraints.
This also applies to all FEMAP models created by importing analysis files.
7-9
Lesson 7
Creating Load Sets

The Model, Load, Create/Manage Set command creates a new Load Set or activates
an existing Load Set.
This command is also available in the Status Bar Tray
Create new load sets with the Model Info pane
You may create as many different load sets as necessary.
7 - 10
Lesson 7
Load Set Manager Dialog Box

Activating the Model, Load, Create/Manage Set command opens the Load Set
Manager dialog box.
The selected load set becomes the active set when the Done button is clicked.
With this dialog box, you can:
Create a New Load Set.
Change the name of an existing load set by selecting a constraint set and then
clicking the Update Title button.
Renumber the selected load set.
Delete (the selected) or Delete All load set(s).
Copy the selected load set.
Create and manage Referenced Sets for Nastran Load Combination sets.
Requires that a combined set already be created and selected.
7 - 11
Lesson 7
Creating New Load Sets

Selecting the New Load Set button in the Constraint Set Manager dialog box activates
the New Load Set dialog box.
When a model has no load sets, you can only create a Standard load set. A
Standard set is used to contain geometry, nodal, elemental and body loads.
Clicking the More button will create the load set with the ID and Title and will then
resets the options in the New Load Set dialog box to enable the creation of a new
load set.
If one or more load sets are in a model, you can also create a Nastran Load
Combination load set.
A combined set references one or more Standard load sets.
When a Nastran deck is created by Femap, it writes out the Nastran LOAD cards
as needed.
7 - 12
Lesson 7
Nastran Load Combination Load Sets

To reference Standard load sets,
select a Combination load set, in the
Load Set Manager dialog box, or rightclick the load set in the Model Info
pane and select and select
Referenced Sets button in the dialog
box or the context-sensitive menu.
The Reference Load Sets for Nastran Load dialog box will list the Available (standard) Sets and
the Referenced Sets.
Manage references by selecting one or more Standard reference sets and click the Add
Referenced Sets or Remove Referenced Sets.

Set the Overall scale of the combined load set.
Set the scale of the For Referenced Set.
7 - 13
Lesson 7
Standard Combined Load Sets

You can also create a standard combined load set by combining multiple Load Sets into
a new Load Set or another existing Load Set with the Model, Load, Combine
command.
Allows you to specify the Scale Factor of the Load Set(s) combined
Combined Sets are copies of the combinations and will not update if the original load
set is modified
7 - 14
Lesson 7
Body Loads
Body or Global Loads applied to the entire model
Translational Acceleration (gravity) and Rotational Acceleration
Use to apply the weight of the structure as a load
Rotational Velocity and Center of Rotations
Specify the Coordinate System for translational and rotational accelerations and
velocities
Thermal Default Temperature
Required for all Nastran Heat Transfer analyses
7 - 15
Lesson 7
Creating Load Definitions

Use the Model, Load commands, Load toolbar, or the Model Info pane to create a Load
Definition.
A Load Definition is a container of all the loads created using one of the techniques
above.
Load Definitions can be Removed which takes all the loads in the load definition and
converts them to Other Loads.
Note:
Loads created prior to Femap

v9.3 are shown in the Model
Info tree as Other Loads.
This also applies to all
FEMAP models created by
importing analysis files.
7 - 16
Lesson 7
Create Loads Dialog Box

After selecting the mesh or geometry to be loaded, the Create Loads on (Entity Type)
dialog box is opened. In this dialog box, you specify:
Title
Color and Layer
Coordinate System
Load type select from one of the available types in the list (force, pressure, etc.)
Direction only available when specifying directional loads
Load Input Values
Phase - used for Frequency Response loading only
Midside Node Adjustment follow the distribution of loads as specified in Femaps
preferences under the Geometry tab
Total Load when multiple entities are selected to apply the load to, enable this
option to distribute the load across the selected entities so that the sum of the loads
equals the load input value.
Enabled by default when multiple entities are selected for loading.
7 - 17
Lesson 7
Editing Loads
Edit Loads with:
Modify, Edit, Load Definition command
Modify, Edit, Load Individual command
Individual loads in a Load Definition may be edited. If the Load Definition is
subsequently edited, the individual edit is overwritten by the value of the Load
Definition.
You can convert a Load Definition to Other Loads by right-clicking the Load
Definition in the Model Info tree and selecting Remove Definition.
You can highlight any number of individual Loads of the same type found in the
Other Loads section of a Load Set in the Model Info tree and combine them into a
Load Definition using Create Definition
Model Info pane
Includes the option to Edit Where Applied add and/or remove entities where a
load is applied. (new in v10.1)
Entity Editor
7 - 18
Lesson 7
Structural Load types supported by Femap

Load Type
Points
Curves
Surfaces
Nodes
Elements
Force
Force Per Length
Force Per Area
Force Per Node
Bearing Force
Moment
Moment Per Length
Moment Per Area
Moment Per Node
Torque
Displacement
Enforced Rotation
Velocity
Rotational Velocity
Acceleration
Rotational Acceleration
Distributed Load
Pressure
7 - 19
Lesson 7
Bearing Force on Surface

Beginning with version 10.1.1 of Femap, you can apply a Bearing Force to a surface or
surfaces eliminating the need to create Radial Coordinate System(s) and distribute the
load using an Equation or Data Surface.
Femap automatically adjusts the value of the individual nodal forces created when the
analysis deck is generated to equal the Magnitude input in the Create Loads on
Surfaces dialog box
7 - 20
Lesson 7
Bearing Force on Surface (continued)
The Load Angle (default = 180 degrees) is the total angle that the bearing load is
applied across the selected surface(s). The direction of the bearing force is the
bisector of the Load Angle and is specified after approving the inputs of the Create
Loads dialog box.
Normal To Surface will distribute the load normal to the selected surface(s).
Disabling this will distribute the load in direction specified.
When multiple surfaces are selected, the Total Load option is automatically enabled
spreading the specified Magnitude among all the surfaces selected, otherwise, the
magnitude will be applied to each surface
When the Traction Load option is selected, the distributed load will pull on the
surfaces pointing away from the solid volume instead of pushing on the surfaces
pointing towards the solid volume
Once the inputs for the Bearing Loads are completed and the OK button is pushed, you
will be prompted to specify the direction of the bearing force.
7 - 21
Lesson 7
Torque Loads on Surfaces

Also beginning with version 10.1.1 of Femap, you can apply a Torque to a surface or
surfaces eliminating the need to apply individual forces to surfaces or by assigning a
moment to a node and connecting it to the surface nodes with a rigid element.
Femap automatically adjusts the value of the individual nodal forces created when the
analysis deck is generated to equal the Magnitude input in the Create Loads on
Surfaces dialog box
Once the inputs for the Torque are completed and the OK button is pushed, you will
be prompted to the location and orientation of the axis about which the torque is
applied.
7 - 22
Lesson 7
Thermal Load types supported by Femap

Load Type
Points
Curves
Surfaces
Nodes
Elements
Temperature
Element Temperature
Heat Flux (Heat Energy

/Unit Area)
Heat Flux per Length
Heat Flux per Node
Heat Generation (Heat

Energy / Unit Volume)
Element Heat Flux
Convection
Radiation
Element Heat
Generation
7 - 23
Lesson 7
Fluid Load types supported by Femap
Load Type
Points
Curves
Surfaces
Nodes
Elements
Static Fluid pressure
Total Fluid pressure
General Scalar
Steam Quality
Relative Humidity
Fluid Height Condition
Unknown Condition
Slip Wall Condition
Fan Curve
Periodic Condition
7 - 24
Lesson 7
Advanced Femap Loads

Femap has the ability to create variable loads via:
Functions time and frequency dependant loads
Method
Constant value entered into the Value field
Variables distributed or position dependent loads
Click the Advanced button to create or edit the Variable
Data Surfaces advanced methods for creating variable loading conditions
Note:
A loads Value is used as a scalar multiplier of the Function, Variable or Data

Surface.
Check the sum of the applied load using the command Tools, Check, Sum
Forces.
7 - 25
Lesson 7
Advanced Loading with Functions

A Function allows you to create general X vs. Y tables of information.
Only Time or Frequency dependant functions can be used to create loads.
Can also be used define nonlinear material properties.
Data can be created in four ways:
By choosing a Single Value to enter in the X and Y values one at a time.
Using a Linear Ramp, you pick a starting and ending X and Y value.
An Equation where you specify the starting and ending values of X and delta X and
then enter Y as a function of X.
Use the Paste from Clipboard function to attain data from a two column
spreadsheet, or a listing of two comma separated values from a text file.
7 - 26
Lesson 7
Advanced Loading with Variables

You can make load equations as a function of a coordinate, nodal, or element centroidal
location without having previously created a function.
!x, !y, and !z return the X, Y, and Z coordinates of nodes, elements etc.
The Equation Editor is accessible with the CTRL+e hotkey.
You can also combine Variable loads with Functions
7 - 27
Lesson 7
Data Surfaces
The Data Surface Editor pane allows more flexible and complex load definitions.
After setup, the data surface can be edited directly using the Data Surface Editor.
Access to all Data Surface types

(except Tabular) are available
through the Create Load dialog box,
allowing setup on the fly.
7 - 28
Lesson 7
One-dimensional Data Surfaces

Along Coordinates Data Surface
Interpolate linearly between at least three data points
Multiple piece-wise linear data points
Multiple splined data points
Enter or select the 3-D point locations and data values, and FEMAP does the rest
7 - 29
Lesson 7
Two-dimensional Data Surfaces

Between Coordinates Data Surface
Bilinear interpolation between 2, 4, or 8 data points
Parametric interpolation between 2 or 4 data points
Options to select a Curve for 2 points or a Surface for 4 points to define the
parametric space.
Simply enter the 3-D point locations and data values, and Femap does the rest.
7 - 30
Lesson 7
Output Map Data Surfaces

Maps output from one model as a data surface source for another
7 - 31
Lesson 7
Other Data Surfaces

Mesh Data Surface
Node / Element ID surfaces
Tabular Data Surface
2-D / 3-D spreadsheets
Multi-dimensional array of points
Linear interpolation
Arbitrary 3-D Data Surface
Enter Scalar or Vector data
Equation Data Surfaces
Similar to using Variables
7 - 32
Lesson 7
Support for Advanced Load Definitions

Load Type
Functions
Variables
Data
Surfaces
Force / Forces Per Length / Force Per Area
Force Per Node / Moment Per Node
Bearing Force
Moment / Moment Per Length / Moment Per

Area
Torque
Displacements / Rotations / Velocities /

Accelerations
Distributed Loads / pressure
Temperatures
Heat Flux / Heat Flux Per Area
Heat Flux Per Node / Heat Generation /

Element Heat Flux
Convection / Radiation
Fluid Loading
7 - 33
Lesson 7
Dynamic Analysis Load Set Options

For any of the dynamic analysis sequences listed below, you can use the Model, Load,
Dynamic Analysis command to set up the options for:
Direct Transient
Modal Transient
Direct Frequency
Modal Frequency
Random Response
Response/Shock Spectrum
Many of these options can be set and modified using the Entity Editor after a Load Set
has been selected using the Model Info tree.
As an alternative to using load set options to set dynamics options for a Nastran
dynamics analysis, you can also define these same options with the Dynamics option
setting in a Analysis Set.
7 - 34
Lesson 7
Nonlinear Analysis Load Set Options

The Model, Load, Load Nonlinear Analysis command sets the Solution for these
three types of Nonlinear solutions:
Static
Creep
Transient
As an alternative to using load set options to set dynamics options for a Nastran
dynamics analysis, you can also define these same options with the Dynamics option
setting in a Analysis Set.
Note:
After selecting the type of Nonlinear Analysis, click the Defaults button to
automatically enter the NX Nastran Nonlinear defaults and modify as
needed.
7 - 35
Lesson 7
Heat Transfer Analysis Load Set Options

The Model, Load, Heat Transfer command is used for:
Radiation
Free Convection
Forced Convection
Not required for conduction only models.
7 - 36
Lesson 7
Notes on Loads
NX Nastran Displacement and Enforced Rotation loads require constraining the loaded
object in the direction of the applied load
e.g. A Displacement Load of x=.10, and y=.10 applied to a point requires that the
corner be constrained in X and Y.
For NX Nastran Advanced Nonlinear (SOL601), loads should be applied with a timebased function.
For solvers other than NX Nastran, refer to the Femap Users Guide for details on the
loads supported by Femap for the solver used Also refer to that solvers documentation
on how to apply loads.
7 - 37
Lesson 8
The Femap User Interface

Part 2
Purpose
This lesson provides an introduction to selection, viewing, and data collection tools in
Femaps user interface.
Topics
Select Toolbar
View Options
Data Table
Programming Interfaces
8-1
Lesson 8
Select Toolbar
The Select Toolbar allows you to select entities one at a time or create a list of selected
entities that will remain active until you toggle off or clear the selection list. This
functionality allows you to choose entities of different types first and then perform
multiple commands from the menus or the toolbars on the selected entities.
The Select toolbar is essential to the use of the dockable panes, especially the Entity
Editor and Data Table because the selector is often the best way to place an entity into
either of these panes.
The Select toolbar consists of 5 items which aid in the selection process:
Selector Entity Menu
Selector Modes Menu
Selector Actions Menu
Selector Clear (Clear current selection list)
Snap Modes (Snap to Screen, Snap to Grid, Snap to Point, Snap to Node)
8-2
Lesson 8
Select Toolbar Selector Entity

This menu allows you to
choose which type of entity
you would like to select. The
current entity type available
to be selected will be marked
with a check mark in an
orange square.
The Selector Entity icon
visible on the toolbar will
change to the icon of the
current entity type being
selected. You can toggle this
icon back and forth between
no selection and the current
entity by clicking the icon.
The entity types are
separated into geometric
entities, finite element
entities, and text.
8-3
Lesson 8
Select Toolbar Selector Modes

The Selector has different modes to help you select the correct entities, create a
Selection List, and modify a Selection List.
Add To Selection - Adds entities to the current selection list when Select Multiple
is active or simply chooses entities when Select Single Item is active. This is the
default
Remove From Selection - Removes entities from the current Selection List when
Select Multiple is active. Only allows selection of entities currently in the Selection
List. Does not highlight anything when Select Single Item is active
8-4
Lesson 8
Select Toolbar Selector Modes (continued)

Normal - This mode highlights entities which are able to be selected when the cursor is
placed over a specific entity. This is the default selection mode.
Query - This mode allows you to choose a position on the screen near the entity you
wish to select, then drills down into the graphics window and selects all the entities that
would be touched by an imaginary line perpendicular to the screen. After the entities
have been identified, it opens a dialog box and places them in a list for you to choose
the correct entity. As you highlight entities in the list, they will be highlighted in the
graphics window as well. Once you have found the correct entity, click the OK button.
Front - This mode always selects the entity closest to the front of the screen. It uses
the same premise as Query to drill down into the screen with the imaginary line and
then simply selects the top-most entity in the current view. If the top-most entity is
already chosen, it selects the next one along the line, moving into the screen.
8-5
Lesson 8

Select Any Inside - This is a box pick mode which signifies that any entity entirely
enclosed or has a start or end point within the outline of a selection box will be
included in the selection. Box picking includes Circle, Polygon, and Freehand picking
and is only available when Select Multiple is active.
Select All Inside - This is the other box pick mode which signifies that only entities
completely inside the box will be included in the selection.
Select Related - When this mode is toggled on, it selects ALL other entities that are
related to the selected entities and places them in the selection list. To toggle it off,
simply select it again. By default this mode is OFF.
When Select Related is turned on, Select Multiple is also automatically toggled on.
8-6
Lesson 8

Select Single Item - Restricts selection to only one item at a given time. As each entity
is selected it will update the Entity Editor dockable pane. This is the default.
Select Multiple Items - Allows you to create a Selection List. A Selection List can
contain multiple entities of one type or multiple entity types. As each entity is selected it
will update the Entity Editor dockable pane, as well as add the entity to the running
totals of the Selection List in the Model Info tree.
8-7
Lesson 8

Show Tooltips - When this mode is
activated, a Tooltip note will pop up
with useful information about the
entity which is currently highlighted.
To toggle this option off, select it from
the menu again. It can also be turned
on and off using the right mouse
menu in the graphics window, when
the Entity Selector is set to None.
e.g. When entity selection is set

to Node, the Tooltip will contain
Node number, Coordinates,
Definition Coordinate System,
and Output Coordinate System.
When post-processing, the
Contour Output Vector will
appear in the Tooltip for
elements and the Deformation
Output Vector will be appear in
the Tooltip for nodes.
While a Tooltip pop-up window is

displaying information, if you click the
left mouse button, the information will
be sent to the Entity Editor and/or the
Data Table dockable panes, as long as
the panes are visible in the FEMAP
interface AND unlocked.
8-8
Lesson 8
Select Toolbar Selector Actions Menu

This menu contains Actions the
Selector can use for specific types of
selections. There are various Box
pick options, grow and shrink
commands to build up or cut down a
selection, use of the typical FEMAP
entity selection dialog box, group
commands, copy and paste, and the
ability to send a selection over to the
Data Table.
Box - Creates a rectangular

selection box to pick multiple
entities at once. Holding the Shift
key also activates this option.
Circle - Creates a circular

selection box to pick multiple
entities at once. Holding the
Control key also activates this
option.
Polygon - Allows you to create a

selection area by creating a multisided shape using a click of the
mouse to end one side of the
polygon and begin the next side.
The polygon can have as many
sides as you would like and is very
helpful in selecting individual
nodes in uniquely shaped
geometry
Freehand - Allows you to create a

selection area by holding down the
left mouse button and drawing a
freehand sketch. Works very
similar to the Polygon mode, but
the shape is not limited to the use
of only straight lines.
8-9
Lesson 8

Coordinate Select objects by X,
and/or Y, and/or Z coordinates by:
Above or Below a specified value.
Outside or Between minimum

and maximum values.
At Location within a tolerance.
Around Point Specify a coordinate

(In a specified coordinate system) and
select by:
Farther Than or Closer Than a

specified radial distance from the
point.
Outside or Between minimum and

maximum values of the specified
radial distance.
At Location within a tolerance of the

specified radial distance.
8 - 10
Lesson 8

Around Vector Specify a vector and
a radial distance from the vector.
Select objects:
Farther Than or Closer Than a

specified radial distance from the
vector.

maximum distance from the vector.
At Location within a tolerance.
Around Plane Select a plane and the

normal distance from the plane. Select
objects by:
Positive Side or Negative Side

distance from the plane.

maximum distance from the plane.
At Location within a tolerance of the

specified distance.
8 - 11
Lesson 8
Select Toolbar Selector Actions Menu (continued)

Grow - Adds the elements surrounding the
currently selected elements to the Selection
List. In general, it will start with the selected
element and expand out one element in all
directions to non-selected elements. The
selection will move out an additional
element layer every time the Grow
command is used
Shrink - Removes the outer-most layer of
selected elements from the Selection List.
Works in the reverse direction as the Grow
command.
Initial Selection
1st Growth Iteration
2nd Growth Iteration
8 - 12
Lesson 8

Dialog - Brings up the specific FEMAP
Entity Selection dialog box for the entity
currently active in the selector. This allows
you to use all of the entity specific selection
methods available on menu when the
Method button is clicked inside the dialog
box
Create Group - Brings up the Save
Selection as Group dialog box. Allows you
to create a new Group or to add, remove, or
exclude the entities in the Selection List
from the active Group.
Load Group - Allows you to add the entities
of any existing Group to the current
Selection List.
Export Neutral Takes the objects in the
Selection List and writes a Femap Neutral
File.
8 - 13
Lesson 8

Copy - Allows you to copy all of the entities in the
Selection List and Paste them into a different
model. When the Selection List is copied, the entity
data is sent to a modified version of a FEMAP
neutral file and is placed on the clipboard. Once on
the clipboard, it can be pasted into a different
model using the Paste command on the Selector
Actions menu (Ctrl+v will not work in this case)
You MUST be sure that all entities related to a

specified entity are included in the Selection List
before using the Copy command. This will
assure an accurate transfer between models
occurs. One way to assure a Selection List will
be complete for copying purposes is to use the
Select Related mode of the Select toolbar.
Paste - This command allows you to paste a

copied Selection List into a another opened Femap
model. The Paste command recognizes that a
modified FEMAP neutral file is on the clipboard and
reads that neutral file into FEMAP.
When the Paste command is used it will bring

up the Neutral File Read Options dialog box to
allow you enter an ID offset and select other
options to aid in the prevention of overwriting
entities in the current model.
8 - 14
Lesson 8

Add to Data Table - Takes all of the
entities in the Selection List that are the
entity type currently active in the Selector
and sends their data to the Data Table. The
Data Table MUST be unlocked in order for
this command to be available.
8 - 15
Lesson 8
Select Toolbar
Context Sensitive Menus
While a certain entity type is active in the selector, only that entity type will be available
for picking in the graphics window. Since FEMAP is only highlighting one specific entity
type at a time, there are context sensitive menus for each entity type (except Text).
These menus can be accessed by highlighting an entity in the graphics window and then
clicking the right mouse button. These Context Sensitive menus contain frequently used
commands for each entity type.
Any time there is an active entity in the Select Toolbar, clicking Alt + clicking the right
mouse button in the graphics window will bring up the Quick Access Menu instead of the
context sensitive menu related to the active entity. This can very helpful for picking
mode purposes and to toggle Show Tooltips.
8 - 16
Lesson 8
Select Toolbar Clear Selector Options

Select Toolbar has two options for clearing a Selection List:
Clear All clears the entire Selection List
Clear Active Entity clears only the active Selector Entity
8 - 17
Lesson 8
View Options
The View, Options (F6 hotkey) command allows you control the way your view is
displayed. See the View Options section of the Femap Commands manual for details on
the multiple options available in these dialog boxes
There are three major categories in the View Options dialog box:
Labels, Entities and Color controls the way text, geometry and mesh entities,
and the color of entities are displayed in the active view.
Tools and View Style controls view entities, style and display of view objects
such as Symbols in the active view.
PostProcessing controls the options for displaying graphical and XY plots of

analysis results.
Use the Apply button to update the active view without leaving the View Options
command.
8 - 18
Lesson 8
View Background and Entity Visibility

The view background can be modified with the View, Background command. With this
command, you can specify a background that is either
Transparent
Solid
Shaded
You also have the option to specify a bitmap as a logo background. The bitmap for
the logo is specified in the Femap Preferences dialog box in the Views tab.
A view with its View Options, Entity Display settings, and Background can be saved to a
View Library within the Visibility dialog box (activated with the Ctrl+Q hotkey or from
the View toolbar) by clicking the Save View button.
A saved view will

update the active
views settings by
clicking Load View.
Changes made to
the active view can
also be removed
via the Reset View
button in this dialog
box.
Saved views can also

be set as the
Startup View for all
new models via the
View tab of the FEMAP
Preferences.
8 - 19
Lesson 8
Data Table
Use the Tools, Data Table command or the Panes toolbar to turn the Data Table on
and off.
When the Data Table is first opened, it is locked. The Lock/Unlock icon must be
selected to unlock it to enable it to receive or update data.
Data is placed into an interactive, dynamically changing table using various methods to
fill the table provided it is unlocked
Each item appears as a single row separated into a number of columns when it
enters the Data Table.
Information of entities of the same type can be sorted, filtered, and evaluated to help
you understand what is occurring in your model before and after analysis.
In many ways, the Data Table is a complement to the other dockable panes and can
also simply be an alternate method to list and view entity data
All FEMAP entities which can be selected using the Select toolbar can be sent to the
Data Table.
Several commands are available for listing and sorting results when the Data Table is
open and analysis results sets are loaded into your FEMAP model:
List, Output, Summary to Data Table
List, Output, Results to Data Table
List, Output, Nodal Changes to Data Table
8 - 20
Lesson 8
Programming Interfaces
Program Files
FEMAP has the ability to record and replay command sequences using Program
Files.
Program Files can be edited to accept user input.
Program Files may not be compatible between different versions of FEMAP.
API FEMAP has an Application Programming Interface that can be used to customize
FEMAP for applications such as:
Automate tasks such as swapping the background colors of views for printing .
Calculate the midplane stresses on shell elements.
Interface with other programs for the purposes for importing, modifying, or reporting
data.
FEMAP has a built-in Basic language programming environment through the API
Programming pane.
Microsoft Visual Basic and Visual C++.NET can also be used to develop custom
applications for FEMAP.
The API can be used to embed FEMAP into other applications; open, create, and/or
modify FEMAP models; or to develop standalone FEMAP applications without using
FEMAPs GUI.
Examples of API applications are shipped with FEMAP in FEMAPs API folder. The
Custom Tools toolbar is set by default to point to this folder.
8 - 21
Lesson 9
Purpose
This lesson provides an introduction to selection, viewing, and data collection tools in
Femaps user interface.
Topics
Geometry, Material, Property and Layer Visibility Toggles
View, Advanced Post, Model Contour Data command
Visibility Dialog Box
Comparing Groups and Layers
Layers
Groups
View Options
9-1
Lesson 9
Geometry, Element, Material and Property, Display Control

Beginning with Femap Version 10.1, display of Element (by Type or by Shape),
Materials, Properties and can be controlled from the Model Info pane. Femap v10.1.1
adds the ability to toggle solids on and off.
The box to the left of the objects ID/name is the Visibility Toggle and indicates
whether or not the object is displayed.
Indicates that the object is displayed.
You can also select one or more of the same object type and then Right-click to bring up
the Visibility Toggle menu.
Femap will display the combination of selected geometry, element types, materials,
properties and groups, eliminating the need to organize the model by layers or by
creating additional groups.
9-2
Lesson 9
Display Control Example

Example: Wing model with multiple groups, element types and shapes, materials and
properties.
9-3
Lesson 9
Display Control Example (continued)

Display only a portion of the model with elements comprised of Aluminum alloys:
9-4
Lesson 9
View, Advanced Post, Model Contour Data Command

To display material and mesh attributes as a Contour, Criteria, or Beam Diagram plot,
use the command, View, Advanced Post, Model Contour Data. This command is
also directly available on the View toolbar.
Model data that can be graphically plotted is:
Element Quality
Material Data
Property Data
You cannot simultaneously display model data and analysis results.

Example Display Plane Element Thickness as a Criteria plot without labels:
9-5
Lesson 9
Visibility Dialog Box

The Visibility dialog box is accessed by using either clicking the View Visibility icon on
the View toolbar or by pressing the Ctrl+q hotkey. Note that the active view number and
title is displayed in the upper left corner of the dialog box.
With this dialog box, you can toggle the display of:
Entity / Label - allows you to toggle the display of individual load and constraint
types
Group
Layer allows you to create new groups as well as toggling the display of layers
Loads / Constraints also allows you to set and control the display of single or
multiple Load and/or Constraint Sets
Geometry
Connection
Coordinate
System
Element
Material
Property
9-6
Lesson 9
Comparing Groups and Layers
Layers
Groups
Can be assigned to multiple

Groups
Entities
Display
Simultaneously?
Can be assigned to only

one Layer
Assign by rules, relationships,

and/or clipping.
Imported with some CAD

geometry formats.
Automatic generation tools.
Multiple / User Controlled
Reference Groups for

managing groups of Groups
(Femap v10.1)
Multiple / User Controlled

(single Group only prior to
Femap v10.1)
Displayed Layers only

Graphical Selection
Optional No Pick layer

prevents graphical
selection of entities on that
layer (except when Select
All is used).
Only entities in the displayed

groups can be selected
except when Select All is
used.
9-7
Lesson 9
Layers
Create new layers using the Tools, Layer command. This activates the Layer Manager
dialog box.
The Layer Manager dialog box has options to:
Create a New Layer
Assign ID, Title and Color
View Options allows display of colors by layer (by entity type)
Update a layer name
Renumber a single layer
Delete a layer
Delete All layers
Note: If you delete layer(s), any entities on the

deleted layer still exist in the Femap model,
and you will need to reassign them to another
layer in order to make them visible and
selectable.
9-8
Lesson 9
Layers in the Model Info Pane

Layers objects
Create New layers
Activate layers
Manage layers
Delete layers
Selection List objects
Select the object(s)

in the Selection List,
right-click the
mouse and select
Layer from the
menu.
9-9
Lesson 9
Defining and Populating Groups

Use the Group, Create/Manage command to
create a Group, then use other commands to add
entities into group
Group Clipping Group, Clipping commands
Selects all entities inside/outside clipping

region by:
Coordinate
Screen
Plane
Volume
Set Clipping first, then rules.
Group Rules
Various entity selection commands, either by

ID or using relationships to other entities, e.g.
Group, Element, On Surface
Entities can be added to group using any

combination of selection methods
When selecting entities, use the Exclude

option if you want the selected entities
removed permanently from the group.
Referenced Groups allow a group to link to one or

more other group(s).
9 - 10
Lesson 9
Group Management
The Group, Create/Manage command opens the Group Manager dialog box. The
Layer Manager dialog box has options to:
Create a New Group
Assign ID and Title
Update Title updates the title of the group
Renumber the selected group
Delete a selected group
Delete All groups
Manage Referenced Groups
Deactivate the active group with None Active
9 - 11
Lesson 9
Control of and Automatic Generation of Groups

The Group, Operations command set:
Use Automatic Add to add to the either the Active or Selected group as you model
Evaluate and Evaluate Always are used to update groups as the model is modified.
Limit use of Evaluate Always in large models.
Copy and Condense groups
Combine groups using Boolean operations
Use Add Related Entities to add entities to existing groups such as Loads and
Constraints on Surfaces, Nodes on Elements, etc.
Generate commands can be used to automatically generate and maintain groups in
the model by:
Solids
Property
Material
Element Type
Output
Superelements
Layers
9 - 12
Lesson 9
Using Booleans with Groups

The Group, Operations, Booleans command allows you to create a new group:
Add / Combine take all entities from the selected groups.
In all take entities that are common to all of the selected groups.
Not in Any take entities that do not exist in any of the selected groups.
Subtract remove the entities from the selected groups from another group.
Only in One - take only the entities that exist in one of the selected groups.
Not in All - take only the entities from the selected groups that do not exist in all of
the selected groups.
Note:
To see examples of the Group, Operations, Booleans command, go to

Section 6.4.3.2 of the Femap Commands Guide.
9 - 13
Lesson 9
Group Creation and Control from the Model Info Pane

Right-click on a group name
to bring up the contextsensitive menu for groups.
Create a New group
Combine groups into a

new group
Add Related Entities
Toggle Automatic Add

to the Active or Selected
group
Show the Full Model,

Active Group or
Multiple Groups (a
further explanation of this
follows).
Activate the selected

group
List the contents of the

selected group(s)
Delete the selected

group(s)
Manage Referenced
Groups
Add to Selection adds the contents of the selected group(s) to the Selection List
Export Neutral exports the contents of the selected group(s) to a Femap Neutral file
9 - 14
Lesson 9
Group Display Control

Multiple groups can be displayed using either the View Visibility dialog box or via the
Group tree in the Model Info pane.
To activate the Visibility dialog box to control display of groups:
Click the View Visibility icon on the View toolbar

or
Right-click in the graphics window and select Visibility on the context-sensitive

menu
Select the Group tab in the Visibility dialog box
Choose between:
Show Full Model when selected, the selection of individual groups in the
group list section of this dialog box is grayed out.
Show Active Group
Show Single Group when selected, the selection of individual groups in the
group list section of this dialog box is grayed out.
Show/Hide Multiple Groups
The Visibility Toggle is the box to the left of the groups ID and name and
indicates whether or not the group is displayed.
9 - 15
Lesson 9
Group Display Control (continued)

The display of groups can also
be controlled from the Group
tree in the Model Info pane.
The box to the left of the

groups ID and name is the
Visibility Toggle and
indicates whether or not
the group is displayed.
Indicates that the

group is displayed.
Indicates that the

group is hidden.
A blank checkbox
indicates that the
group is not displayed.
Indicates that all

groups, except for
those hidden are
displayed.
You can also select one or

more of the same object type
and then Right-click the
Visibility Toggle.
9 - 16
Lesson 9
Group Display Control Using the Status Bar Tray

In addition to the Model Info panes Group tree, you can activate a group using the
Status Bar Tray
Click Grp: (#) on the Status Bar Tray and select the group you want to activate.
The number (#) indicates the active group number
Options to control display of groups with:
Show Full Model
Show Active
Show Multiple
9 - 17
Lesson 9
View Options
In many cases, you may want to display specific entity indicators such as surface
normal, curve direction or element normal's. The View Options dialog box offers options
to display these indicators.
Example Turn on display of rigid elements degree of freedom indicators and
master/slave nodes:
An unfilled box
indicates the Slave
Node on the rigid
element
A filled box
indicates the
Master Node on the
rigid element
9 - 18
Lesson 9
View Options (continued)

Example Turn on display of surface normal's:
9 - 19
Lesson 10
The Meshing Toolbox
Purpose:
The Meshing Toolbox is used for accessing FEMAPs interactive geometry cleanup
and idealization tools and interactive mesh editing tools. This lesson is an overview
of the tools available in the Meshing Toolbox.
Topics:
Entity Locator Tools
Feature Suppression Tools
Feature Removal Tools
Feature Editing Tools
Geometry Editing Tools
Combined / Composite Curves Tools
Combined / Boundary Surfaces Tools
Mesh Sizing Tools
Mesh Surface Tools
Mesh Locate Tools
Mesh Quality Tools
10 - 1
Lesson 10
The Meshing Toolbox
Meshing Toolbox - Controls

Similar to other FEMAP Panes, the Meshing Toolbox can be turned on and off from the
Tools menu.
The Meshing Toolbox has several controls for:
Toolbox Visibility toggle Meshing Toolbox controls
Toggle Entity Locator toggle the feature Locator controls
Mesh Quality Toggle toggle display of mesh quality
Automesh / Remesh Control select either automatic remeshing or manual
meshing after making an update in one of the Meshing Toolbox controls
Select / Dialog Select icons select a single entity or multiple entities using a
Select dialog box
10 - 2
Lesson 10
The Meshing Toolbox
Entity Locator for Curves

The Locator makes it possible to quickly search for features in a model that could
result in poor mesh quality.
Locator controls are activated by toggling the Toggle Entity Locator icon.
The Locator has an option to Search for:
Curves
Surfaces
Elements
When Curves are
selected the Search
Method can be set to
search for:
Short Edges
Based On
Global Mesh
Size
Curve Length
Shortest
Curves
Free Edges
NonManifold Edges
From Group
You can also select
whether to locate the
curve in the:
Entire Model
Only in Group(s)
Not in Group(s)
10 - 3
Lesson 10
The Meshing Toolbox
Entity Locator for Surfaces

When Surfaces are selected the Search Method can be set to search for:
Small Surfaces
Fit in Radius
Slivers
Sliver Tolerance
Spikes
Spike Width
By Area
Area Less Than
You can also select
whether to locate
surfaces in the:
Entire Model
Only in Group(s)
Not in Group(s)
10 - 4
Lesson 10
The Meshing Toolbox
Entity Locator for Elements

When Elements are selected
the Search Method can be set
to search for:
Free Edges
Quality
Specify the Max
Allowable Value for the
selected Quality Type
Edge Length
Specify the Edge Length.
Femap searches for
elements with edge
length(s) less than or equal
to the specified value.
You can also select whether
to locate surfaces in the:
Entire Model
Only in Group(s)
Not in Group(s)
10 - 5
Lesson 10
The Meshing Toolbox
Entity Locator - Toggle Entity Locator Menu

The Toggle Entity Locator icon is
used to cycle through objects located
through the Locator control.
Show Options can be used to rotate
and/or zoom closer to the objects
found using one of these operations:
Next find the next object located
Previous find the previous object
located
Current find the next object
located
First find the first object located
by the Locator tool.
Last find the last object located
by the Locator tool.
These operations will remove or clear objects found by the Locator:
Do Not Locate - deletes the current entity from the list of located entities and keeps
the entity from being located again during the current model editing session.
Remove - deletes the current entity from the list of located entities
Clear Locator clears the list of entities found by the Locator
Entities located can also be used to:
Create Group creates a new group of entities found by the locator
Add to Data Table if the
10 - 6
Lesson 10
The Meshing Toolbox
Feature Suppression
Feature Suppression controls allow you to interactively suppress or remove
suppression of:
Loops select one edge on an feature to automatically suppress the entire set of
curves and surfaces comprising the feature
Curves select curve(s) to be suppressed. Should not be used on solids.
Surfaces select surface(s) to be suppressed. Should not be used on sheet bodies.
The Action menu toggles the action to :
Toggle Suppression if a entity is unsuppressed, suppress it. If it is

suppressed, restore it.
Suppress or Restore
Limit Size prevents selection of entities that have their length less than the specified
Smaller Than value.
Update Colors - set options to toggle and colors for suppressed entities.
Show Suppressed - allows you to highlight suppressed Curves or Surfaces
Restore All features in either selected solid(s) (In Solids button) or in the entire
Model
10 - 7
Lesson 10
The Meshing Toolbox
Feature Removal
Feature Removal differs from Feature Suppression in that the underlying solid or
surface geometry is modified.
Loops includes an option to set the Limit Size for selecting loops.
Add Surface Mesh Point - adds a Mesh Point on Surface at the center of the
loop.
Curves includes an option to set the Limit Size for selecting loops. Also includes
an option for Aggressive Removal
Surfaces - when a single surface on a solid is selected, Femap will attempt to clean
up the solid to result in a clean solid. In some cases, no operation will be performed
and in others, other adjacent surfaces will be removed. There is also an option for
Aggressive Removal
Note:
There is no option to restore removed features beyond what is supported

with the Undo command.
10 - 8
Lesson 10
The Meshing Toolbox
Feature Editing Tool

Feature Editing allows the relocation of Feature Edges and Surfaces.
With Feature Edges, you can:

Translate Surfaces specify the Vector to Move Along and a translation
Distance
Rotate Surfaces - specify the Vector to Rotate About and a rotation Angle
Resize Hole specify the Hole Diameter
For a Surface, you can:
Translate Surfaces specify the Vector to Move Along and a translation
Distance
Rotate Surfaces - specify the Vector to Rotate About and a rotation Angle
Note:
Feature editing does not allow the modification of topology.
10 - 9
Lesson 10
The Meshing Toolbox
Geometry Editing Tool

Geometry Editing includes many of the surface curve commands available with the
Geometry, Curves on Surface command set. Meshed surfaces will be updated and any
new surfaces created with this tool set will also be meshed using the current assigned
mesh sizes on curves and default mesh size.
With this toolset you can:

You can split a curve at
the Location to Break
at with the Curve Break
operation
Split or imprint a surface
with the Point to Point,
Point to Edge or
Edge to Edge operation
Generate Pads or
Washers
Extend surfaces
10 - 10
Lesson 10
The Meshing Toolbox
Combined / Composite Curves

Combined / Composite Curves combines two or contiguous curves into a single
curve for meshing. The can be created by:
Add By Point create the
composite curve by
selecting a vertex point on
two or more curves
Add Curves
The Combine Surfaces
option creates Combined
Surfaces for surfaces using
the curves that are
combined.
Split At splits a composite
curve at the selected point
Remove converts the
composite curve at the

selected position back to its
the original curve definition.
The remainder of the
composite curve is retained.
Delete converts all curves on the composite curve back to their original curve
definitions
10 - 11
Lesson 10
The Meshing Toolbox
Combined / Boundary Surfaces

Combined / Boundary Surfaces combines two or contiguous surfaces into a single
surface for meshing. The can be created by:
Add By Curve create the composite surface by selecting a common edge on the
two original surfaces
Add Surfaces converts the selected surface to a composite surface. If multiple

surfaces are selected using the Dialog Select tool, the selected surfaces are
combined into a single surface provided they are connected by a common edge.
Merge To Existing merges existing adjacent Combined Surfaces to the

selected surfaces when Dialog Select and two or more surfaces are selected to
be combined.
Split Along splits a composite surface by the selected curve(s)
Remove converts the selected composite surface(s) their original surface

definitions
Delete converts the selected composite surface(s) to their original surface

definitions
10 - 12
Lesson 10
The Meshing Toolbox
Mesh Sizing Toolbox

Mesh Sizing controls
provides interactive
modification of mesh sizes on
curves.
Set the mesh size on selected
curve(s) with the Size Curves
option.
Add add the Number of
Nodes to the current mesh
size
Subtract subtract the
Number of Nodes from
the current mesh size
Set To in this case, the
number of elements on the
curve will equal the
Number of Nodes.
Specify the Spacing as
either:
Equal
Biased when
this option is enable, you
specify the Bias Factor
Enable Length Based Sizing

When the Sizing Option is set to Match Curves, the curve(s) selected will match the
mesh sizing settings of the Master Curve
Enabling the Show Free Edges option highlights the nodes on the meshs free edges
10 - 13
Lesson 10
The Meshing Toolbox
Mesh Surface Toolbox

Mesh Surface has controls
to:
Set surface mesh
attributes
Set mesh size on
surfaces
Mesh surfaces
Advanced Options
gives you access to
most of the options in
the Mesh Surface dialog box
10 - 14
Lesson 10
The Meshing Toolbox
Mesh Locate Toolbox

With the Mesh Locate
controls, you can interactively
move nodes to improve the
quality of a mesh.
Specify the attached mesh
with the Select Mesh to
Edit option:
Attached To Surface
Attached To Solid
Standalone Mesh
ignore attached geometry
and modify the node
locations freely
With the Locate Multiple option you can select multiple nodes and move them
simultaneously
The Locate Method specifies whether to move the node:
Dynamic drag the position of the selected node(s) using the cursor
Manual, Vector specify the direction and distance to move the selected node(s)
Smooth will move the adjust the other nodes of the attached elements to smooth the
mesh quality
Enabling the Project option constrains the nodes movement so that it remains attached
to its surface
Constrain to Curve constrains the nodes movement to remain attached to its curve
Once a node or nodes have been moved, you have the option to Save or Discard the
edit(s)
10 - 15
Lesson 10
The Meshing Toolbox
Meshing Toolbox Mesh Quality

Mesh Quality displays a
contour display of the quality
of the free faces of a models
mesh.
Quality Type specifies
whether to display the
mesh quality by:
Aspect Ratio
Taper
Alternate Taper
Internal Angles
Warping
Nastran Warping
Jacobian
Combined Quality
Set the Number of Distortion Levels to:
2 or 4
Toggle Smooth Contours
Minimum Distortion displays the minimum element distortion value in the Meshing
Toolbox pane
Max Distortion displays the maximum element distortion value in the Meshing
Toolbox pane
Note:
To display the quality of internal elements, you must use the Meshing
Toolboxs Entity Locator Elements Quality tool
10 - 16
Lesson 11
Analysis Set Manager
Purpose
This lesson provides an introduction to the setup of analyses using Femaps Analysis
Set Manager.
Topics
The Analysis Set Manager
Analysis Set Manager Dialog Box
NX Nastran Supported Solution Sequences
NX Nastran Input File Setup
Preview/Edit Input
Bulk Data Entries
Analyze Process
NX Nastran Analysis Procedure and Files
11 - 1
Lesson 11 Analysis Set Manager
The Analysis Set Manager

Femaps Analysis Set Manager manages the options necessary to:
Create a ready to run input file.
Launch the NX Nastran solver or to launch another locally installed solver.
Start VisQ to send the input file to a solver on another machine.
Analysis Sets are stored along with the Femap model file or can be stored in a Femap
library that is available across different model files.
To enter the analysis Manager select the Model, Analysis command.
Click the New button to create a new Analysis Set.
Specify a Title, Analysis Program, and the Analysis Type
11 - 2
NX Nastran Supported Solution Sequences

Linear statics
Normal modes
Buckling
Dynamics
Modal or direct transient
Modal or direct frequency
Response Spectrum
Random Response
Design optimization
Nonlinear
Nonlinear statics
Nonlinear transient response
Heat Transfer
Steady-state heat transfer
Transient heat transfer
Advanced Nonlinear
Nonlinear Statics (SOL601,106)
Nonlinear Transient (SOL601,129)
Nonlinear Explicit (SOL701)
11 - 3
Analysis Set Manager Dialog Box

The Analysis Set Manager dialog box shows all analysis sets defined in the model
Expand the tree view with +,-
Edit sets by double click on tree item or highlight and select Edit button
Export: writes input file to disk
Delete
Copy
Load and Save to the Analysis Set library
11 - 4
NX Nastran Input File Setup

Select Solver and Analysis Type
Set Executive, Bulk Data, GEOMCHECK, MODELCHECK options
Can add additional NX Nastran cards and/or Include Files with Start/End Text
options
Case Control
Master Requests and Conditions
Subcases
Select Master Requests and Conditions then click the New button
Multi set:
Select constraint and loads sets and Femap will create a subcase for each
combination of selected constraint and load set(s)
Not available for all analysis types
11 - 5
Analysis Set Nastran Bulk Data Options Dialog Box

When using one of the Nastran solvers, the Nastran Bulk Data Options dialog box has
multiple options. Two of the many options are described below. See section 8.7.1.3 of
the Femap Commands Manual for more details.
If you want to analyze only a portion of the model, you can specify a single group to
write out only with the Portion of Model to Write option.
Some models may have specified the mass properties entry for materials as weight
density rather then mass density. In this case, enable the WTMASS option and
specify the value of the gravitational constant.
11 - 6
NX Nastran Advanced Dynamics Options

NX Nastran Advanced Dynamics has additional options for the selected analysis Type in
the Analysis Set
These options can

also be defined in a
Load Set.
11 - 7
NX Nastran Nonlinear Options

When NX Nastran Nonlinear is the analysis Type, Nonlinear options can be set as part
of the Master Request and Conditions or as an option when subcases are used.
Just like in NX Nastran Advanced Dynamics, these can also be set as options in a
load set.
11 - 8
Preview/Edit Input
Preview
Generates the input deck
Check for errors
Edit Preview edits performed using this option will be a one time only edit and will
only be applied when applying the Export or Analyze button
Modify, add, remove entries
Standard field spacing displayed as header
Add comments
Analyze or Export
11 - 9
Analyze Process
Analyze operation
Exports input deck and

starts in a NX Nastran job
as a separate process
The Analysis Monitor

displays the NX Nastran
.log, .f04, or .f06 files
Results automatically
loaded into Femap
(Femap Preferences
default).
11 - 10
NX Nastran Analysis Procedure and Files

NX Nastran Output files these files are retained :
.f06 (Print File) Contains results data, as well as, warning and error messages.
Also, XY Plot data, diagnostic information (Geomcheck, Weight Check, Ground
Check), Grid point force data, and Failure indices for Composite (Laminate) Elements
prior to Femap 8.3
.op2 (Binary Output File) Contains results data in binary format, but results data
can be imported into Femap much faster using the .op2
.f04 (Text File) Contains a summary of file and database usage information,
memory and disk usage sizes, and module execution and statistical information.
.log (Text File) License usage, summary of solution times, and other general
information about the execution of NX Nastran.
Results data:
Components of displacements at grid points
Element Recovery data (stresses, strains, strain energy, and internal forces and
moments
Grid point data recovery (applied loads, constraint forces, and element forces)
Note:
Several temporary files are generated during an NX Nastran analysis

execution. By default, these files are placed in the scratch file location
designated during the installation of NX Nastran. These files are
automatically deleted after the successful execution of NX Nastran. Femap
allows you to override the default scratch file through a preference setting,
or you can specify the file location in an Analysis Set option.
The scratch file folder should be checked frequently and files deleted as
needed.
11 - 11
Lesson 12
Post Processing - Visualizing and

Documenting Results
Purpose:
This lesson provides an detailed overview of post-processing results in Femap.
Topics:
Results Display and Reporting
The PostProcessing Toolbox
Beam Cross Section Results Display
View Select Dialog Box
Deformed and Contour Data
Post Data dialog box
Contour Options
Animation Commands and Options
XY Plots
Freebody Display
Vector Plots
Additional Output Processing
Detailed Post Processing Options
Post Processing Toolbar
12 - 1
Lesson 12
Post Processing - Visualizing and Documenting Results
Results Display and Reporting

Femap display results in the graphics pane as one of two two styles:
XY results plotted as graphs
Model results graphically displayed on the mesh
The default display for any new Femap view is the Model style. Both styles have
multiple types of displays that can be selected in the View Select dialog box. Graphical
display of deformed and/or contour results can be also be set in the PostProcessing
toolbox.
Results can also be listed in the Messages pane and/or to a text file and can also be
displayed in the Data Table
Note:
For versions of Femap prior to v10.2, selection of results type, output sets,
and output vectors is controlled through the View, Select command and the
Post toolbar and display settings for results is controlled through the View,
Options command.
12 - 2
Lesson 12
The PostProcessing Toolbox

The PostProcessing Toolbox is used
quickly display deformed and/or contoured
results. The most commonly used options
for displaying results in the View Select,
Deformed and Contour Data, Contour
Options and View Options dialog boxes
are readily accessible with this toolbox.
There are three (3) tools within this
toolbox:
Deform
Contour
Freebody
12 - 3
Lesson 12
PostProcessing Toolbox Toolbar

The PostProcessing Toolbox has several icons on its toolbar:
Turn Tools On and Off toggles the

Deform and Contour tools on and off.
Reload from Model syncs the options displayed in the PostProcessing

Toolboxs tools with the display in the active graphics pane. Generally used if
Auto Redraw is disabled and you want to reset the values in the PostProcessing
Toolbox to the values displayed in the active Graphics pane.
Set to Undeformed, No Contour
Set the Deformed Style select one

of the deformed styles using the
Transformation Output Vector set in
the Select PostProcessing Data
dialog box or in the Deform tool
12 - 4
Lesson 12
PostProcessing Toolbox Toolbar (continued)
Set the Contour Style select one of

the deformed styles using the
Transformation Output Vector set in the
Select PostProcessing Data dialog box
or in the Deform tool
Auto Redraw Automatically refreshes the active graphics pane when any
changes are made to the Deform Style or the Contour Style. On by default for
any new model, turn this off for large models for better performance when
multiple changes are going to be made to the results display.
Manual Redraw Refreshes the active graphics pane when any changes are
made to the Deform Style or the Contour Style
12 - 5
Lesson 12
PostProcessing Toolbox Deform Tool

When you desire to create a
deformed shape, the Deform Tool
controls the deformed style, the
Output Set and Transformation
Vector and several commonly used
options for displaying deformed
shapes.
The Deform tool offers seven (7)
styles of deformed shapes:
Undeformed
Deformed
Animate
Animate MultiSet
Vector
Trace
Streamline
For all styles, the Output Set and
the Output Vector can be
selected using the Select Output
Set and Select Output Vector
icons.
12 - 6
Lesson 12
PostProcessing Toolbox Deform Tool

Common Style Options
When any of the Deform styles are selected, except for Streamlines, the following
options are available:
Transform select the transformation coordinate system and its component(s)
Scale Select the type of scale for the deformed shape: % of Model or Actual
Deformations.
For % of Model, you can set the display scale of the Max % Model equal to
the highest value of the deformed vector selected times the value of the largest
extent of the undeformed model.
You can also enable the Scale Based on Group where the largest
deformation displayed is based on the maximum value of the deformed
vector in the displayed groups
For Actual Deformations, you directly set the scale of the deformed values.
12 - 7
Lesson 12
PostProcessing Toolbox Contour Tool

Common Style Options (continued)
Again, for all the Deform styles except for Streamlines, you have the Deform Relative
to option. This can be left at the default of the Model Origin or to a selected Fixed
Node.
For Deformed, Animate, Animate MultiSet and Trace styles, you have the option to
display the Undeformed Model. The undeformed model can be displayed using the
views element color display settings or by enabling the Use View Color option.
12 - 8
Lesson 12
PostProcessing Toolbox Deform Tool Animate

When the Animate style is selected, the following Animation options are available in
the Deform tool in addition to the common options described on the previous two slides:
Shape select from a Linear or Sine (sinusoidal) distribution of the frames. For
both types, you can select between Full, Full-Abs(olute), Half, or Half-Abs(olute).
Full displays the loading and unloading of the model while Half displays only
the loading of the model
Frames specify the number of animation frames
Delay - specify the time delay between frames in milliseconds
Animation Control opens the Animation Control dialog box where the animation
can be paused, stepped from frame to frame, frame delay and full or half shapes
can be toggled on and off.
12 - 9
Lesson 12
PostProcessing Toolbox Deform Tool Animate - MultiSet

When the Animate MultiSet style is selected, the options are the same as for the
Animate style with the addition of:
Final Output Set select the Final Output Set for animation
Specify the Increment between the Output Set and the Final Output Set
12 - 10
Lesson 12
PostProcessing Toolbox Deform Tool Vector

When the Vector style is selected, the following options are available as well as the
common options described earlier:
Label display vector with either No Labels, Output Value or labels on only those
vectors within the Top Percent specified
Color - set the display color of the vectors
Arrowheads toggle the display of the vector arrowheads on and off
Component Vectors - turn on display of component vectors. Default is to display
the resultant vector
Show As Solid display the vector as a solid
12 - 11
Lesson 12
PostProcessing Toolbox Deform Tool Trace

The Trace style is similar to a Animate Multi-Set display with the addition of the
display of the path of the output vector at the output steps selected.
When the Trace style is selected, the options available are the same as for the Animate
MultiSet style with the addition of the following:
At Locations display on the entire model or only a selected group
Label display either No Labels, the Output Set ID or the Output Set Value
Length Display the trace of the deformation as the Full Length path or to
animate the path with the Animate Growth setting
Color set the color of the trace path
Show Locations show a symbol at the location along the trace path for each
output set selected
12 - 12
Lesson 12
PostProcessing Toolbox Deform Tool Streamline

When the Streamline style is selected, the following options are available in the Deform
tool:
Transform select the transformation coordinate systems component(s)

Locations select a Specified Location, At Point for an existing point in the
model or a Group of points to define the start point(s) of the streamline(s)
Location - displays the coordinate of the streamline start point. This option
also allows you to specify the location by a selected Coordinate System.
Dynamic Location when a Specified Location or At Point is selected for the

location of the start of the streamline, dynamically transform the location of the
streamlines start point. When a Group is used to define the location(s) of the
streamline points, you can dynamically define a single streamline using this tool.
12 - 13
Lesson 12
PostProcessing Toolbox Deform Tool Streamline

(continued)
When the Streamline style is selected, the following additional options are available in
the Deform tool:
Streamline display the Draw Start or indicators of the start point(s) of the
streamline(s) and display the color of the streamline(s) by either a contoured color
line or by Use View Color
Parameters set the parameters for the streamline.
12 - 14
Lesson 12

When you desire to create a
contour plot, the Contour tool
controls the contour style, the
Output Set and Transformation
Vector and several commonly used
options for displaying contour
plots.
The Contour tool offers six (6)
styles of contour displays as well
as No Contours:
Contour
Criteria
Beam Diagram
IsoSurface
Section Cut
Contour Vector
For all styles, the Output Set and
the Output Vector can be
selected using the Select Output
Set and Select Output Vector
icons.
12 - 15
Lesson 12

Common Style Options
When any of the Contour styles are selected, the following options are available:
Transform select the transformation coordinate systems component(s) for Nodel

Vector Output, Plate Force/Stress/Strain and/or Solid Stress/Strain
Show On display contours on the Full Model, Active Group, or from the list of
groups in the model
Levels - Specify the Level Mode, Contour Palette and # of Levels. Enable
Continuous Colors and Animate the contour colors when the Deform Animate
style is enabled.
Clicking the Levels/Palette

icon allows the selection of one
of several Standard Colors contour color settings in the
Contour/Criteria Levels dialog box.
12 - 16
Lesson 12

Common Style Options (continued)
For the Contour style, the following display options are available in addition to those on
the previous page:
Legend - Enable display of the legend as well as specify the Position of the
legend. Specify the Label Color mode and the View Color. In addition, you can
enable both Exponential Labels and Label Erase Background. Set the Label
Frequency, Label Digits and label Shrink to %.
12 - 17
Lesson 12
PostProcessing Toolbox Contour Tool - Contour Style

In addition to the options for all of the Contour styles listed on the previous page, for the
Contour style, you have the option to set:
Data Conversion select from the options for Average, Maximum or Minimum
values using the corner nodes or Centroid
Type select Elemental or Nodal.
When Elemental is selected, you have the option to enable Double-Sided Planar
contours when a planar Output Vector is selected and in addition, you can
simultaneously display an Additional Vector
Show As display the contour as Filled or Line

12 - 18
Lesson 12
PostProcessing Toolbox Contour Tool Criteria

When the Criteria style is selected, in addition to the options available of all contour
styles, the following options are available in the Criteria tool:
Limits Mode Select from No Limits, Above Maximum, Below Minimum,

Between or Outside
Elements that Pass / Elements that Fail Enable none, one, or both of these
options and set the Color options for the displayed elements.
12 - 19
Lesson 12
PostProcessing Toolbox Contour Tool Beam Diagram

When the Beam Diagram style is selected, the following additional display control
options are available in the Contour tool:
Show As select the results display as a either a:
Beam Diagram - select a Labels option, Direction, and enable/disable Show

Reversed. Set the Scale of the largest value relative to the model size and the
Border Color of the delineator between the ends of adjacent beams.
Beam Contour - specify the Direction of the beam results
12 - 20
Lesson 12
PostProcessing Toolbox Contour Tool IsoSurface

When the IsoSurface style is selected, the following additional options are available in
the Contour tool:
Show As select the results display as a either a:
IsoSurface, IsoLine or Contour on Deform IsoSurface . Contour on Deform

IsoSurface uses the Deformed Output Vector for its values.
Number display a Single IsoSurface or IsoLine at the specified At Value or

Use Contour Colors
IsoSurf/Line Color toggle between contour colors or a single color.
Dynamic Control activates the Dynamic IsoSurface Control dialog box
12 - 21
Lesson 12
PostProcessing Toolbox Contour Tool Section Cut

When the Section Cut style is selected, the following additional options are available in
the Contour tool:
Show As select the results display as either Filled or Line

Cut Options select from either: Cut Model specify a single cutting plane;
Parallel Sections specify the number of parallel sections and the distance
between sections; or Multiple Sections - specify up to three (3) user-defined
section planes
Dynamic Control - activate the Dynamic Section Cut Control dialog box. For
Parallel Sections, this will dynamically move all the section cuts. For Multiple
Sections, you select which section cut you want to dynamically move.
12 - 22
Lesson 12
PostProcessing Toolbox Contour Tool Contour Vector

When the Contour Vector style is selected, the following additional options are
available in the Contour tool:
Contour Vectors opens the Contour Vector Options dialog box to specify the
Vector Type, Elemental Vectors and output data orientation
Vector Options specify the Vector Style and set the color of the vectors and Use
View Color to those set in the Contour Vector Options dialog box or display by
contour color
Length enable Adjust Length to Value to display the vectors relative to the
highest value specified by value of the Arrow Length
12 - 23
Lesson 12
Freebody Display
Freebody diagrams are created in Femap with the Freebody tool. To create a new
freebody, click the Add Freebody icon under the Freebody Properties tool.
This activates the Freebody Manager dialog box. Click the New Freebody button.
Note:
When freebody displays are needed, you will need to specify the output of
Grid Point Forces or equivalent for non-Nastran solvers. This is the Force
Balance option in the Analysis Set Manager, Nastran Output Requests
dialog box.
12 - 24
Lesson 12
Freebody Diagram Types

In the New Freebody dialog box, you specify the:
Display Mode Freebody or Interface Load display
Vector Display Nodal Forces and/or Nodal Moments
When a Interface Load display is selected, select the specify Total Force and
Total Moment options
Freebody Contributions
And, when a Interface Load display is selected, select the Load Components in
Total Summation
12 - 25
Lesson 12
Freebody Entity Selection

When a Freebody display is selected, you must select the Elements to be included in
the freebody display. Nodes attached to the selected elements are automatically
included in the freebody display.
To select elements, you first specify whether to select the elements by the elements in a
selected Group or by Entity Select.
When the Entity Selection Mode is set to Entity Select, click the Select
Freebody Elements icon to active the Select Entity Select Freebody Elements
dialog box.
The Show Freebody Elements icon can be used to display the freebody
elements selected using the highlighting option set for the model.
The Reset Freebody Elements icon can be used to clear the freebody element
selection.
12 - 26
Lesson 12
Freebody Entity Selection

When a Interface Load display is selected, you must select both the Elements and
Nodes to be included in the interface load display.
Just like for a Freebody display, you can specify either selection by Group or by Entity
Selection.
When the Entity Selection Mode is set to Entity Select, the Select freebody
elements, Show freebody elements, and Reset freebody elements icons are
available.
Additionally, when Entity Selection Mode is set to Entity Select, click the Select
freebody nodes icon to active the Select Entity Select Freebody Nodes dialog
box. When the nodes are selected, you will be prompted in a dialog box to create
and automatically locate a total summation vector at the center of the selected
nodes.
The Show freebody nodes icon is used to display the freebody elements
selected using the highlighting option set for the model.
The Reset freebody nodes icon is used to clear the freebody node selection.
The Place summation vector at the center of selected nodes icon is used to
generate the force and/or moment summation vector at the center of selected
nodes.
12 - 27
Lesson 12
Freebody Vector Display Options

For both types of freebody displays, you have the option to toggle force and moment
vectors by either components or resultant vectors.
12 - 28
Lesson 12
Freebody Vector Display Options

View Properties are used to specify the style and color of force and moment vectors.
12 - 29
Lesson 12
Beam Cross Section Results Display

The View, Advanced Post, Beam Cross Section command generates a display of the
beam or bar results on a plane normal to a beam/bar elements local x-axis. Since
Femap calculates the stresses, the solver chosen for the solution is not critical as long
as the results include beam/bar axial forces, shear forces, moments and torques. The
shape of the cross section is not limited to standard shapes.
In most cases, you should turn off display of cross sections or change your view
rendering type to wireframe before selecting the View, Advanced Post, Beam Cross
Section command
Note:
In order for this command to be available, you must first activate a results set
that includes beam or bar force and stress output vectors.
12 - 30
Lesson 12
Beam Cross Section Stress Control Dialog Box

Activating the View, Advanced Post, Beam Cross Section command opens the
Beam Cross Section Stress Control dialog box.
By default, the active Output Set is selected and can be changed when multiple
output sets exist in the Femap model.
Elements allow you to either select a Single beam or bar element or Multiple
elements with the entity selection dialog box.
Dynamically change the Location of the cross section based upon the length of the
beam.
The Multiple option will generate the number of cross sections equally distributed
along the length of the element(s) selected. This will disable dynamic location of
the cross section
Show Stress allows the selection of one of the following:
0..von Mises Stress
1..Maxium Shear Stress
2..Maximum Principal Stress
3..Minimum Principal Stress
4..Axial Stress
5..Y Shear Stress
6..Z Shear Stress
7..Combined Shear Stress - has an option to display a Vector Plot
12 - 31
Lesson 12
Beam Cross Section Stress Control Dialog Box (continued)

Another Location option is the ability to change the view orientation normal to the beam
or bar X-axis by selecting the Screen Space option.
This option is only available when a Single element is selected.
Clicking the Advanced button opens the Advanced

Options dialog box
Scaled By will scale the size of the cross

section by the value entered
Quality changes the internal mesh used to

calculate the stress value requested. Input a
value from 1 to 5, where 5 represents the finest
mesh
Turn on Element Shrink and/or Section

Outlines
Override auto max min display of the results by

specify the Minimum and Maximum stress
values
Set the Vector Length, enable Solid Vector

and enable More Arrows for display of the
Combined Shear Stress Vector Plot
12 - 32
Lesson 12
View Select Command

The View, Select command is used to specify the XY Style (XY plot) or geometry Model
Style displayed in the active model view. The F5 hotkey is also used to activate this
command.
When the command is activated, the View Select dialog box controls:
XY Style for XY plots see page 12-43 for a detailed explanation of options
Model Style for model entity display. See Chapter 6.1.5.2 of the Femap Commands
manual, Choosing a Model Style for more details.
Draw Model
Features
Quick Hidden Line
Full Hidden Line
Free Edge limits the display of the model to only free element edges
Free Face limits the display of the model to only those elements with free faces
Deformed style
Contour style
Note:
Using the PostProcessing Toolbox is a more efficient method for displaying

deformed plots, contour plots or freebody diagrams.
12 - 33
Lesson 12
Deformed and Contour Data

To select the results data to display, activate the Select PostProcessing Data dialog box
with the View, Select command and then click the Deformed and Contour Data
button. You can also right-click in the graphics window and select the Post Data
command.
12 - 34
Lesson 12
Select PostProcessing Data Dialog Box

The Select PostProcessing Data Dialog is used to specify:
Output Set
Deformation Output Vectors
Contour Output Vectors
Contour Options
12 - 35
Lesson 12
Contour Options
The contour algorithm in Femap will use either nodal or elemental data to perform the
contouring. Depending on the selected options and the available data, Femap will use
several different approaches to calculate the contours.
Contour Type Using the default option of Match Output will automatically set the
contour data to the either Nodal for nodal results such as displacement or
Elemental for elemental results such as.
Contour Group allows the display of results of the Active or Selected group
without activating the group.
Data Conversion options see following 3 pages for a more detailed description
Average, Use Corner Data (default)
Average, without Corner Data
Maximum Value with or w/o Corner Data
Minimum Value with or w/o Corner Data
Element options
Provides the capability to Smart Average results. Thus accounting for

discontinuities in material or geometry and providing a more accurate
representation of the results.
Double-sided Planar Contours will display the reverse side of a selected

planar element Contour Vector, e.g. when Plate Top Max Prin Stress is selected
as the Contour Vector, the Plate Bot Max Prin Stress is also displayed. When
this option is selected, the element thickness should also be enabled.
12 - 36
Lesson 12
Nodal vs. Centroid Stresses

Output data from analysis programs varies in the position that it is calculated
Nodes or the centroid of the element
If you select nodal data, e.g., translations, Femap uses it directly
For results with element centroid data, but no corner data, you can either:
Average the centroidal values for the all the elements connected to each node
(default); or
Use the maximum of the centroidal values of the connected elements.
For results with element centroid data and element corner data you can either:
Average the values at each node (element corner data) to determine the data
(default),
Use the maximum of the values at each node (element corner data)
Average the centroidal values for the all the elements connected to each node
(ignores the corner data you have); or
Use the maximum of the centroidal values of the connected elements.
12 - 37
Lesson 12
Example Nodal Data Conversion

Example:
Four elements sharing node N, with corner data
Stress at node N can be calculated
Average with and without Corner Data
with:
N = (W+ X+ Y+ Z)/4
without:
N = (A+ B+ C+ D)/4
Maximum Value with and without Corner Data

with:
max (W, X, Y, Z)
without:
max (A, B, C, D)
Minimum Value with and without Corner Data

with:
min (W, X, Y, Z)
without:
min (A, B, C, D)
Node N
12 - 38
Lesson 12
Example Nodal Data Conversion

Averaged With Corner Data
Minimum With Corner Data
Maximum With Corner Data
12 - 39
Lesson 12
Output Transformations
By default, Femap displays NX Nastran results in the global or basic rectangular
coordinate system. The Select PostProcessing Data dialog box has options to
transform output vectors to user-selected directions. This option also exists in the
PostProcessing toolbox.
12 - 40
Lesson 12
Output Transformations (continued)

In this example, we want to display the radial stress around the large hole. A radial
coordinate system is centered at the large hole.
12 - 41
Lesson 12
Animation Commands
Create the animation in the View Select dialog box and select Animate as the Deformed
Style
This will create an animation of the active Deformation Output Vector in the Deformed
and Contour Data Dialog Box
By selecting the View, Advanced Post, Animation command, you can control the
speed of the animation.
Once the plot is Animating it can be saved as an AVI file or Animated Gif file (*.GIF)
using the File, Picture, Save command and selecting the Video for Windows (*.
AVI)or Animated GIF (*.GIF) format.
12 - 42
Lesson 12
XY Plots
Use View, Select (F5) command to generate XY plots also accessible from the
Graphics Windows context-sensitive menu.
XY vs ID - plots XY data as a function of the element or node ID
XY vs Set - plots XY data versus the Output Set ID for an Output Vector across several
Output Sets
XY vs Set Value - similar to vs Set, except uses Output Set value for X
XY vs Position - plots XY data vs the position of nodes or element in an axis direction
for an output Vector in on Output Set
XY vs Function - (not a post-processing option) plots XY data for a function
12 - 43
Lesson 12
XY Plots of Functions
Functions can be displayed quickly by selecting the function to be displayed in the
Model Info window and selecting Show from the context-sensitive menu.
Opens a new graphics view titled XY Show
12 - 44
Lesson 12
Loads from a Free body Diagram

Generate a Freebody diagram
Select the Model, Loads, Loads from Freebody command
Creates nodal loads from the free body diagram as displayed on the screen in the Active
Load Set.
12 - 45
Lesson 12
Vector Plots
Multiple types of Vector plots can be generated using results data.
Select Vector as the Contour Style in the View Select dialog box, then the Deformed
and Contour button.
Once an Output Set is selected, click the Contour Vectors button to specify the
options for the plot. This opens the Contour Options dialog box.
12 - 46
Lesson 12
Contour Vector Options

With the Contour Vector Options dialog box, you can set the:
Vector Type
Standard Vectors tensors such as Total Displacement, Principal Stresses and
Strains
Single Value, 2D and 3D Components specify any of the output vectors
2D Tensor Plot
12 - 47
Lesson 12
2D Tensor Plot Example

A Crows Foot plot generated by setting the Vector Type to 2D Tensor Plot in the
Contour Vector Options dialog box.
Example : Display Laminate Ply 1 X and Y normal stresses with results displayed in
the element material direction:
12 - 48
Lesson 12
View Options and 2D Tensor Plot Preferences

You can automatically set the View Options settings for a 2D Tensor Plot in Femaps
Preferences dialog box under the View tab by clicking the option for 2D Tensor Plot
View Options Override.
CT 1775
1900 Student Guide for Femap 101 - v10.3 Rev 010612
12 - 49
Lesson 12
Additional Output Processing Model, Output Commands

In addition to creating and managing output sets, the Model, Output command set has
the ability to:
Vector - create or modify an

output vectors Category, Type, ID,
Title and/or Description.
Define assign an output

vectors value to a selected node
or element ID.
Fill using a constant or an

equation, value of the active
output sets active output vector.
Process create new output sets

through a set of operations.
Calculate create a new output

set vector (to an automatically
assigned output vector ID) and
assign the value of the new output
set vectors through an equation
based on the selected element
and node IDs.
From Load assign the value of

the output set vectors based upon
the selected load set and type.
Transform create new output

set vectors by transforming the
selected output set vectors into a
selected coordinate system and
direction.
Extrapolate allows you to linearly extrapolate output from the center of planar or
solid elements to the element corners. Primarily used for analysis programs that do
not generate corner results.
Global Ply creates new output vectors in selected output sets for "Top Ply",
"Bottom Ply", and every "Global Ply" currently in the model.
Convert Complex create real/imaginary pairs from magnitude/phase data read

from frequency response results, and vice versa.
Expand Complex creates new output at specified phase intervals based upon
selected magnitude/phase data.
Forced Response calculates results corresponding to a Frequency Response

analysis using the results of a modal analysis as its basis.
12 - 50
Lesson 12
Detailed Post Processing Options

Accessed via the View, Options command (F6 and Ctrl+O hotkeys)
Located in the Category, PostProcessing
Long list of options, key ones include
Post Titles
On/off, Location
Deformed Plots
Deformed Style
Scale, Automatic scaling
options
Contour Plots
Contour/Criteria Style
Contour Levels
Contour Legend
Criteria Plots
Criteria Limits
Criteria - Elements that Pass
Criteria - Elements that Fail
XY Plots
XY Titles
XY Legend
XY Axes Styles
XY X - and
XY - Y Range/Grid
Freebody Diagrams
Freebody
Freebody Node Markers
Freebody Node Vectors
Freeboy Total Force and Moment
Freebody Nodal Force and Moment
12 - 51
Lesson 12
Post Toolbar
Allows quick display of Deformed and Contour plots
Detailed Postprocessing settings accessible from the Post Options pull down icon
12 - 52
Lesson 13
Midsurfacing
Purpose:
Midsurfacing is a technique that is used to build idealized models of thin bodies. This
lesson is an overview of the tools available Femap to create midsurface models.
Topics:
Midsurfacing
The Midsurface Commands
13 - 1
Lesson 13
Midsurfacing
Midsurfacing
Midsurfacing is the process of extracting the midplane between parallel surfaces in
order to reduce the complexity and increase the accuracy of the Finite Element Model.
For the part shown:
Solid: 113,512 nodes and 63,875 elements. ( > 3 minutes solve time).
Shell: 1725 nodes and 1576 elements. (< 10 seconds solve time).
13 - 2
Lesson 13
Midsurfacing
The Geometry, Midsurface Commands
Geometry, Midsurface, Single in Solid
Creates a single trimmed midsurface between two surfaces of a solid.
Geometry, Midsurface, Single
Creates a single sheet surface between two surfaces that extends beyond the extent of both
surfaces.
Geometry, Midsurface, Trim to Solid
Trims a surface with a solid and deletes any part(s) of the surface which lie outside the
volume of the solid.
Geometry, Midsurface, Trim with Curve
Trims or breaks a surface with a curve
Geometry, Midsurface, Extend
Extends a surface by using one of a surface's edge curves and "extending the surface using
a specified "Extend Shape method. This command is also available in the Meshing Toolbox,
Geometry Editing, Extend tool.
13 - 3
Lesson 13
Midsurfacing
Geometry, Midsurface, Automatic Command

Automatically generates the midplanes between the selected surfaces, trims them to the
solid, and cleans up any surfaces that are determined not to be part of the model.
Midsurfaces are extracted from parallel faces.
Automatically creates a group called Midsurface
Use where the part has multiple wall thicknesses or has features that are
branching or non-tangent.
13 - 4
Lesson 13
Midsurfacing
Geometry, Midsurface, Offset Tangent Surfaces Command

The Geometry, Midsurface, Offset Tangent Surfaces command is used to generate a
Sheet solid from a constant thickness solid where the topology consists of continuous
tangent surfaces.
Specify a surface on the solid body to be midsurfaced. Femap will automatically

select the chain of connected tangent surfaces.
Specify a Offset Distance. This is by default one-half of the solids thickness.
You have the option to delete the original solid automatically.
13 - 5
Lesson 13
Midsurfacing
Geometry, Midsurface Commands (continued)

The following three commands are the steps in order that the Geometry, Midsurface,
Automatic command follows.
Geometry, Midsurface, Generate
Geometry, Midsurface, Intersect
Creates midsurfaces
Splits the selected surfaces at their intersections
Geometry, Midsurface, Cleanup
Automatically determines which surfaces that can be deleted as a result of the

Midsurface, Cleanup command. Does NOT delete the surfaces, but places
them on a separate layer for inspection and user controlled deletion.
Geometry, Midsurface, Assign Meshing Attributes
Prompts you for the material for the selected surface(s) and then automatically
creates the properties with the wall thickness(es)of the original solid.
13 - 6
Lesson 13
Midsurfacing
Using NonManifold Add for Midsurface Models

Using Geometry, Surface, NonManifold Add on a midsurface model that is ready for
meshing is often a great way to assure mesh continuity in the model, especially if TJunctions exist.
Original Solid Geometry
Midsurfaced Geometry
2 Sheet Solids and 2 curves at Tjunction between Sheet Solids, both of
which needs to be sized the same for
mesh continuity
After NonManifold Add

1 General Body and 1
shared curve at T-junction
allows for easier mesh
sizing and assures mesh
continuity
13 - 7
Lesson 14
FEA Assembly Modeling
Purpose:
In the context of FEA, modeling assemblies may use multiple techniques to connect the
components of a FEA assembly. This lesson is an overview of the tools available in
Femap to model FEA assemblies.
Topics:
Finite Element Model Connection Types
Mesh, Connect Menu
Connecting FEA Components with Connectors
Bolted Connections with Bolt Regions
Fluid and Rotor Regions
14 - 1
Lesson 14
Finite Element Model Connection Types

Coincident Node
Rigid Element Connections
Welded Connections
Mesh Connections and Properties
Fluid and Rotor Regions
14 - 2
Lesson 14
Coincident Nodes
Connecting Similar Element Types can be accomplished with Coincident Nodes. To
check and merge coincident nodes, use the Tools, Check, Coincident Nodes
command.
Set a Tolerance for merging nodes. Pairs of nodes whose distance is less than or
equal to the Tolerance will be used in merging or listing nodes.
The Action setting is used to specify the option to merge and/or list the coincident
nodes detected among the nodes selected for checking.
The Keep ID setting is used to have Femap automatically select the node to keep,
or to keep the lowest ID, highest ID or to interactively select the nodes to keep.
Move To specifies that the coincident node remains at the current location, at the
location of the lower or higher ID, or move the node to midpoint of the location of the
pair of coincident nodes.
The Preview Coincident option is used to display coincident nodes before merging
Enable the option for Safe Merge to prevent distorted elements when nodes are
merged
Make Groups can be used to create group(s) of nodes merged or detected using
this tool. The resulting group(s) are created depending on the Action selected.
When Connection Regions are detected among the nodes selected to be checked
for coincidence, you have the option to Merge Across Connections.
14 - 3
Lesson 14
Rigid Element Connections

With most solvers, including NX Nastran, Shell and Beam Elements have 6 D.O.F. per
node, while Solids Elements have 3 D.O.F. per node.
Solid/Shell and Beam/Solid connections cannot be satisfied with use of coincident

nodes only.
If Solid/Shell, Solid/Beam, and Beam/Shell connections are not defined correctly,

you will get a FATAL MESSAGE 9137 SEKKRS (under-constrained model).
Rigid Elements can be used to transmit rotations between Solids and Shells and Solids
and Beams by transferring the translation on the nodes on the plate elements to the
nodes on the solid elements.
Use a minimum of two dependent nodes on the solid for every independent node
on the shell or beam.
Note:
Do not use mid-side nodes on elements as either Independent or Dependent

nodes.
14 - 4
Lesson 14
Define Rigid Element Dialog Box

The Define Rigid Element dialog box is used when creating or editing Rigid elements
This dialog box allows you to create a RBE1, RBE2 or RBE3 rigid element by clicking on
the corresponding tab for the rigid element type in the dialog box.
RBE1 element definitions are described on page 14-9.
For RBE2 elements, there is one Independent node and one or more Dependent nodes.
RBE3 elements have on Dependent node and one or more Independent nodes.
You can automatically generate the Independent node for a RBE2 elements or the
Dependent node for a RBE3 element by selecting the option for New Node at Center.
This option generates a new node by placing the node at the centroid of the Dependent
nodes for RBE2 and RBE3 rigid elements.
14 - 5
Lesson 14
RBE3 Rigid Elements

Use the RBE3 Rigid Element to transmit masses, loads, and rigid body motion (velocity,
acceleration).
To create a RBE3 rigid element, click the RBE3 (Interpolation) tab in the Define
RIGID ELEMENT dialog box
Generally, you should only specify the use of translational DOFs for the
Independent nodes on RBE3 elements
14 - 6
Lesson 14
Converting Rigid Element Types

RBE2 elements can be converted to RBE3 elements by editing the rigid element(s) and
clicking the Convert button in the Define Rigid Element dialog box
When an RBE2 element is converted, you are prompted for Ok to Convert only
Translation Degrees of Freedom. As a general practice, you should click OK.
RBE3 elements can also be converted to RBE2 elements.
14 - 7
Lesson 14
RBE3 Rigid Elements (continued)

You can adjust the Interpolation factor for RBE3 elements using the following steps;
1) In the Define RIGID Element dialog box, select the Independent node(s) for which
you are modifying the interpolation factor

2) Click the Update button
3) Modify the Factor in the Update Interpolation Element dialog box.
You can either change the value of the Factor, or you can select the Distance
Weighting option that causes Femap to calculate a weighted interpolation factor
based on that nodes distance from the Reference Node relative to all the other
nodes selected in Step 1.
14 - 8
Lesson 14
RBE1 Rigid Elements

The RBE1 rigid element can be modeled in Femap with the restriction that the total
number of Independent DOFs must equal six (6)
RBE1 rigid elements may also have more than one Independent node
14 - 9
Lesson 14
Welded Connections
Femap supports Weld Properties and Elements
Creates CWELD elements for NX Nastran and MSC.Nastran only
Spot Weld uses an effective length calculation based on the thickness of the two
shell elements connected.
Fastener allows direct input of stiffness matrix for weld properties
Multiple options for generating Weld Elements
Note:
Orientation of Weld is defined by either Projection method or Axis method

and may be limited by the type of Weld selected
Welded elements can only be created between plate elements.
14 - 10
Lesson 14
Mesh, Connect Menu

Allows rapid generation of MPCs, Rigid, and Line Element connections between
meshes
Also allows unzipping of coincident nodes with option to automatically create

connection types:
None leave nodes unzipped
Rigid Elements
DOF Spring Elements
Spring Elements (including CBUSH)
Gap Elements
14 - 11
Lesson 14
Surface to Surface and Edge to Surface Assembly

Connections
In many cases, you can use define assembly connections with a connection that
defines surface to surface or edge to surface contact. These connections are defined
differently from traditional connection elements like rigid, gap or springs.
A Connector is comprised of three (2) components:
Connection Property
A pair of Connection Regions
The Connect, Automatic command finds the closest surfaces between solids and
automatically generates Connectors (also known as Contact Elements) between
adjacent Connection Regions. This command is also found in the Model Info pane by
right-clicking on the Connections object and selecting the Automatic menu item.
After the solids are selected, you are presented

with the Auto Detection Options for
Connections dialog box that is described in
detail on the following page.
14 - 12
Lesson 14
Auto Detection Options for Connections Dialog Box

The Auto Detection Option for Connections dialog box has entries for:
Coincident Surface Detection:
Distance Tolerance
Angular Tolerance
Type of connection as specified under the Look For option:
0..All Connections
1..Face-Face Only
2..Edge-Face Only
You can select between Minimal and Aggressive Detection Strategies
Check for Connections in Same Solid generally not used unless you are
checking for contact within a single part such as a flexible seal
Combine all Connection between Solids - combines all detected connection

regions between a pair of solids and combines them into one region for each
solid
14 - 13
Lesson 14
Auto Detection Options for Connections Dialog Box

(continued)
Select the Connection Property:
Contact (linear contact)
Glued
An already defined Property
Descriptions of the these type of connection properties will be detailed in the next few
pages.
14 - 14
Lesson 14
Connection (Contact) Properties

In the Define Connection Property dialog box, first select the tab for the solver used to
solve a contact problem.
For NX (Nastran) Linear Contact, the Contact Type pull down selects Linear or Glued
contact.
Glued contact can be used in ALL NX Nastran solutions.
Linear contact can be used only in NX Nastran Linear Statics and Basic Nonlinear
solutions.
Always click the Defaults button when switching Contact Type or manually
creating a new Connection Property.
14 - 15
Lesson 14
NX Linear
Glued Contact Property Options
Glued Contact has the following property options. In most cases, selecting the
Defaults button will result in the proper settings.
Glue Type specifies the glue formulation.
1..Spring when this is selected, you can change the Normal Factor and
Tangential (Penalty) Factors
2..Weld (default) should be used for most cases as this prevents the
introduction of artificial rotational energy into the connection.
When selected, you can change the Glue Factor, but this is not
recommended.
Eval Order - determines the number of "Linear Contact or Glue Points" for a single
element on the source region.
Refine Source - determines if the source region is refined for the "Linear" or
"Glued" Contact solution.
Penalty Factor Units - specifies how contact element stiffness is calculated.
Search Distance if the two contact segments lie within this distance, NX Nastran
activates glued contact between the pairs.
Note:
For more details on Glued Contact, see the NX Nastran Users Guide,
Section 9.7.
14 - 16
Lesson 14
NX Nastran Linear Contact Property Options

Linear Contact multiple. In most cases, selecting the Defaults button will result in
the proper settings.
Friction specifies the static coefficient of friction.
Min(imum) and Max(imum) Contact Search Distance if the element faces of the
contact segments are within these values, NX Nastran activates the linear contact
algorithm for these contact faces.
14 - 17
Lesson 14
NX Nastran Linear Contact Property Options (continued)
Initial (Penetration) - Controls how NX Nastran handles initial gap or penetration of

the generated contact elements.
0..Calculated (default) - Use the initial position of the nodes in the contact
pairs. In the case of penetrations, a model may experience "press fit" behavior
when using this option.
2..Calculated/Zero Penetration - Same as 0..Calculated, but if penetration is

detected, set the initial contact force to zero (0).
3..Zero Gap/Penetration - Sets the penetration/gap to zero for all contact

elements. Very useful when the contact surfaces are physically in contact, but
due to mesh irregularities, penetration occurs.
Shell Offset use the default (0..Include shell thickness) unless the contact
segments are defined at the top of the shell mesh, not the mid plane of the shells.
Note:
For more details on Linear Contact, see the Femap Commands manual,
Section 4.4.3.1. You can also refer to the NX Nastran Users Guide,
Chapter 19 for additional details on gluded and linear contact.
14 - 18
Lesson 14
Selection of Master and Slave Contact Segments

When using either NX Nastran (Linear) Contact for NX Nastran Advanced Nonlinear
Contact, the correct specification of which of the two contact segments used as the
Source is important with respect to both the accuracy of the results and solution time. It
is also critical when contact between two segments is unconstrained in shear contact
except for friction.
Femap uses the terms:
Master to refer to the Target element face(s)
Slave to refer to the Source element face(s)
NX Nastran checks for contact between element faces from the Slaves element faces
to the Masters element faces and internally builds contact element pairs between the
two element faces. Therefore, as a rule, you should model with the following in mind:
Slave Mesh Density Master Mesh Density
14 - 19
Lesson 14
Manually Creating Connections and Regions

You can create a Connector by using the Connect, Connector command. This
command is also accessed by right-clicking the Connections Connector object in the
Model Info pane and selecting New from the menu.
This activates the Define Contact Connector - Select Connection Regions dialog box.
You can select or define the Master and Slave regions as well as select or define the
Connection Property for the connector.
A Connection Region is created by clicking the Define Region button in the Define
Contact Connector dialog box, by selecting the Connect, Region command or by rightclicking the Connections Region object in the Model Info pane.
NX Nastran surface regions are defined by Elements
NX Nastran edge regions are defined by Nodes
14 - 20
Lesson 14
Modeling Bolted Connections

Model bolted connections with:
Bar and/or Beam elements that comprise a Bolt Region
Bolt Preload an axial force load applied to the bar or beam elements or Bolt
Region
When Elements are selected to define the preload, a Bolt Region is

automatically created for the selected elements
Two elements that connect the ends of the bolt to the rest of the mesh usually
Rigid elements
API script automates generation of bolt mesh Custom Tools, Meshing, Hole to Hole
Fastener
Does NOT create the Bolt Region or the Bolt Preload
14 - 21
Lesson 14
Bolted Connection Example

Two Aluminum Lugs with a Stainless Steel Pin
Contact between lugs is modeled with Linear Contact
Pin is modeled as a two Beams with a 10 lb Preload connected to lugs at ends

with rigid elements
Preloaded bolt is assigned as the preload in the Analysis Set
14 - 22
Lesson 14
Fluid Connection Regions

The Connect, Fluid Region command creates segments representing incompressible
fluid volume regions used for the purpose of generating a virtual mass matrix (MFLUID
entry in Nastran input files).
14 - 23
Lesson 14
Rotor Connection Regions

Used to model Rotors for Rotor Dynamic analysis
Use when more than one Rotor exists in a model

and/or
A Rotors axis of revolution is not coincident with the Global-Z axis
Valid only for SOL110 Complex Modal Analysis (Normal Modes with Rotor Dynamics
option) and SOL111 (Modal Frequency Analysis with Rotordynamics option)
14 - 24
Lesson 15
Finite Modeling Debugging
Purpose:
This lesson is an overview of methods to check and debug Finite Element Models.
Topics:
Finite Element Modeling Mesh Sizing
Results Checking
Model Debugging
Common Errors
Recommended Model Checks
15 - 1
Lesson 15
FEA Modeling Debugging
Finite Element Mesh Sizing

Depending on the desired accuracy of the model, a course mesh (low number of larger
elements) or a fine mesh (high number of smaller elements) must be created. For
instance, a more complicated structure requires a finer mesh in order to produce
accurate answers.
Pros
Coarse
Model
Lower number of
Elements
Less accuracy for

complicated geometry
Less Degrees of
Freedom
Distorted elements can be

too stiff and misrepresent
response
Reduced Solve Time
Fine
Model
Cons
Accuracy for
complicated geometry is
improved
Higher number of
Elements
Less distorted elements

improves results
Increased Solve Time
More Degrees of Freedom
15 - 2
Lesson 15
Checking Results
It is always a good idea to do a reality check with the results of any Finite Element
Analysis. Using engineering knowledge and common sense will allow a user to
determine if the results make sense for the applied boundary conditions. For instance,
an under-constrained or unconnected (nodes not merged where they should be) model
may exhibit much larger displacements than expected a displacement in the opposite
direction of the applied load during a linear cantilever beam analysis.
Some Good Practices:
Always visually plot the models elements if possible for verification
Make sure responses correspond with applied boundary conditions
Check input loads with reaction forces: F = 0
Hand calculations are always a great idea whenever possible
15 - 3
Lesson 15
Model Debugging
Recommended minimum checks on input
Stiffness matrix checks
At the G-size
After MPC Processing
After All Processing
Mass Checks
Grid point weight generator output
Rigid-body mass checks
Assembly mass checks
Loading checks
15 - 4
Lesson 15
Model Debugging (continued)

Structural plots are useful primarily to visually verify model geometry. Other tools must
be used to assess the numerical accuracy of a finite element model. These tools
include many automatic error checks performed by NX Nastran and user-supplied
diagnostic requests in the form of DIAG, PARAM, DMAP Alters, and Case Control
requests.
NX Nastran performs many error checks during an analysis to ensure that all input data
is in the proper format and usable. If an error is detected during data processing, an
error message is generated. If the error is fatal, the analysis terminates.
Many times NX Nastran errors have a number and a short description of the error which
shows up in the .f06 file. Many times the same error number can represent a variety of
different issues. In cases where the error is not obvious, consult the Help->Analysis
menu and choose the error message segment where the Error Message number
appears. Go to the error number for a broader description.
15 - 5
Lesson 15
Model Debugging (continued)

Perform independent hand checks to verify the accuracy of the results
Other potential pitfalls for new users include:
First time use of a new capability. It is always a great idea to make a small test
model in order to see how NX Nastran functionality works as it will take less time to
debug and give insight into the usage of the feature
Reference the Femap Examples document as this has examples of nearly all
types of analyses that can be performed with Femap and NX Nastran.
Refer to NX Nastran documentation as these document details on many

advanced solutions . Some of the documents included with Femap are:
Basic Dynamic Analysis Users Guide
Advanced Dynamic Analysis Users Guide
Design Sensitivity and Optimization Users Guide
Basic Nonlinear Analysis Users Guide
Advanced Nonlinear Theory and Modeling Guide
Thermal Analysis Users Guide
Use of consistent units is of utmost importance!!!
Always use unique IDs NX Nastran sometimes allows for duplicate element IDs,
but not always. Duplicates can and do lead to problems, especially during data
recovery
15 - 6
Lesson 15
Common Types of Errors

Mistakes in engineering judgment
Approximations to physical behavior
Engineering Theory
Finite Element Theory
Finite Element Implementation
Modeling
Bolted connection
Welded connection
Corners
Transitions
Connections
Beam to Plate
Beam to solid
Plate to solid
15 - 7
Lesson 15
Common Types of Errors (continued)

Beam Orientation
Beam Releases
Loading (Make sure that the model is loaded accurately)
Finite Element Error
Round-off Error (Can cause serious, serious problems)
Program Bugs (Please Report them to UGS Solutions via GTAC)
A list of known errors is maintained and distributed
Plates not lining up (zipper effect)
Any connections depending on in-plane rotational stiffness of plates, or any rotational

stiffness on solids
Instabilities example: releasing both ends of a beam in torsion
Offsets of elements in wrong coordinate system (should be in the output coordinate
systems of the grid points for Bars and Beams)
Member Properties wrong (Beam orientation) or in plates Membrane only (left out
bending)
Beam end releases local or global (in beam coordinates)?
Element force output is normally in element coordinate system
15 - 8
Lesson 15
Minimum Recommended Model Checks

Pre-Analysis
Understand the structure and the elements
Make Small Models in order to understand the problem
Make pilot models in areas of uncertainty
If unfamiliar with an element type that needs to be used, make simple models and
compare the answers to theory
Model checks before analysis
Geometry
Undeformed plots
Look at connections between different element types
Based on knowledge of elements
Based on Loads
Look at corners (QUAD plates)
Shrink plots
15 - 9
Lesson 15
Recommended Model Checks - Elements

Beam and bar
Check that both ends of the beam have correct orientation (I1 and I2)
Check end releases (in element coordinates)
Offsets (in output coordinate system of GRIDs)
Plates and Shells
Check aspect ratios, taper, and warpage
Check orientation (element normals), surfaces consistent
Check attachments (in-plane rotational stiffness, corners, etc)
Offsets (in element coordinate system)
Material need E, (or G), and
Property entry be sure to get the correct properties (One of the most common
errors is not specifying MID2 for bending plates)
Solids
Check aspect ratios
Check taper
Check attachments (Any attachments depending on rotational stiffness, require a
special modeling effort)
Material need E, (or G), and
15 - 10
Lesson 15
Recommended Model Checks

Mass properties
Check on MATx entries
Check NSM on property entries
Bars, beams = mass/unit length
Plates = mass/unit area
Submit with PARAM, GRDPNT,xxxx

where xxxx = ID of GRID point to calculate mass properties about
Check center of gravity and total weight (mass) versus known values
Loads
Verify they are correct (OLOAD RESULTANT)
Run the Femap command, Tools, Check, Sum Forces
Constraints
Verify that they exist (often forgotten and overlooked)
Verify they are correct (location and orientation in output coordinate system of the
GRID points)
Verify they are applied (SPC CASE CONTROL command)
15 - 11
Lesson 15
Recommended Model Checks - Continued

Static Checks
Apply 1-G in X,Y, and Z directions independently
Check load paths (GPFORCE)
Check Reactions (SPCFORCE)
Does total = applied load?
Are the reactions at the correct locations and do they have the correct orientation?
Equilibrium check verify model is not over-constrained
Run free-free normal modes analysis.
Remove known constraints and check for unconstrained motion under applied loads
or imposed displacements
Thermal equilibrium check (if Thermal loads are being considered)
Check on MATx entries
Check for unconstrained set of constraints
Apply a determinate set of constraints
Use the same for all materials
Apply a uniform T to the structure. It should expand freely, meaning that it will
create no reactions, element forces, or stresses
Statics
Check EPSILON and MAXRATIO
EPSILON > 10-9and/or MAXRATIO > 105 may indicate trouble
Check reactions
Do they equal the applied loads?
Check load paths use grid point force balance to trace loads
Check stress contours for consistency
Sharp corners indicate bad modeling
Use different options (i.e., topological and geometric) and compare results
Compare values to hand calc or small model results
15 - 12
Lesson 15
Recommended Model Checks - Dynamics

Dynamics normal modes
Check frequencies. Are they in the expected range?
If free-free, are there six rigid-body (f = 0.0) modes?
Are there any mechanisms (f = 0.0)?
More than six rigid-body modes in free-free?
Any rigid-body modes in constrained modes?
Check Mode Shapes. Identify Modes.
Plots
15 - 13
Appendix A
Femap Preferences
A-1
Appendix A
Femap Preferences
Femap Preferences
Preferences are used to configure Femap for optimum performance and the way you
prefer to work
Preferences are stored in the femap.ini file under the main Femap installation folder
If you specify a different Start In location for your Femap startup shortcut, Femap
will first look in that location for a femap.ini file and use the preferences set in that
file. In addition, any changes to preferences will automatically be stored in the
femap.ini file in that folder.
Set preferences with the File, Preferences command
Messages set font and

font sizes
Views
Render
User Interface
Database set
performance options
Geometry/Model
Interfaces select
default
Analysis Interface
Library/Startup
Color
Spaceball
Many Femap
preferences
will take effect
immediately
after they have been
set, but in some cases
you will need to close and re-open Femap for the changes to take effect. Examples are:
Advanced/Debug Options for Render graphics
Database
Fonts changed in the Messages Window, etc.
A-2
Appendix A
Femap Preferences
Femap Preferences Messages and Views Tabs

The Messages tab (see previous page for snapshot of dialog box) sets the fonts and
colors displayed in the Messages window.
The Views tab allows you to:
Specify a Startup View (from the View Library) used when creating a new Femap
model
Specify the Background Bitmap or Logo for Render Views
Set Picture Copy, Picture Save Defaults including resolution
Set view options such as turning the Workplane Never Visible in New View
Contour Palette sets the default post processing contour palette for any new view
Specify View and Dynamic Rotation options
Try changing the Dynamic Speed option if flickering is encountered during

dynamic rotation
A-3
Appendix A
Femap Preferences
Femap Preferences Render Tab

The Render dialog box lets you control the level of functionality that you have while in
Render mode.
Hardware Acceleration can be toggled off if the graphics card, or it's drivers, are
causing instability in Femap.
Including less entities with the Include In Dynamic Rotation option will speed up
dynamic rotation of large models.
Advanced/Debug messages can be turned on to help the Development team

diagnose complex geometry issues if they arise.
Setting the BitBlt Delay can be used to help with performance on consumer or
game-oriented graphics cards.
A-4
Appendix A
Femap Preferences
Graphics Card Performance Considerations

Desktop area resolution should be taken into consideration when using Femap. Having
a very fine screen resolution can increase the time animations need to generate and the
time individual windows need to refresh.
If Femap appears to be having graphics errors, it could be the driver for your graphics
card. Update the drivers for your graphics card often!
Drivers from the manufacturers of the graphics card chipset tend to be more stable
then the drivers from the maker of the graphics card. (e.g. use an ATI or nVidia
driver vs. an ASUS driver)
A-5
Appendix A
Femap Preferences
Femap Preferences User Interface Tab

The User Interface tab sets preferences for
Menus and Dialog Boxes
Graphical Selection
Mouse Interface
Meshing Toolbox
Dockable Panes
Model Info
Show Entities Defaults
Toolbars
A-6
Appendix A
Femap Preferences
Femap Preferences Database Tab

The Database tab defines various performance settings:
Database Options
Database Performance
Timed Save
Scratch Directory
Click the Database Options Help button for detailed information on settings in this tab.
A-7
Appendix A
Femap Preferences
Femap Preferences Database Scratch Directory

This option specifies the location of Femaps Scratch Directory folder where
temporary, scratch, and recovery files are written during a Femap session
If this option is left blank, Femap will write its temporary files to the Windows TEMP
folder location
When a Windows TEMP variable is not defined, the location of the Femap
scratch files defaults to your Documents and Settings\USERNAME\Local
Settings\Temp folder. In many cases, this is a location on the network other
than your local PC.
Setting the Femap Scratch folder or setting the TEMP variable to a network file
location may seriously degrade Femaps performance and dramatically increase file
save times. In addition, if your network fails for any reason, any opened files in a
Femap session have the potential to be corrupted.
A-8
Appendix A
Femap Preferences
Femap Preferences Geometry/Model
Select between the Parasolid or Standard geometry engines to start with. The
Parasolid engine is recommended.
Selecting the Standard engine will only allow the construction and editing of
wireframe curves and boundary surfaces.
Femap stores geometry in meters. The Solid Geometry Scale Factor is used to
internally store your geometry units as meters in Parasolid.
For example, if you select Inches, the Scale Factor is 39.37 (inches/meter). Femap
uses the inverse of this number to store the geometry in its model database (1 inch
= .0254 meters).
This scaling will allow you to import and model parts that are outside of the
Parasolid modeling limits ( +/-500 x 500 x 500).
Note: If you import geometry with a different scale other than the files original scale,
new or modified geometry will be out of scale with the imported geometry.
FEMAP can be set to Delete Construction Geometry, Move it to the NoPick Layer, or
simply do nothing when used.
A-9
Appendix A
Femap Preferences
Femap Preferences Geometry/Model (continued)
Load Expansion on Midside Nodes sets the defaults for modification of the distribution of
Geometry-based loads (such as Forces on Surfaces and Moments on Curves) when
these loads are expanded to the nodes on Parabolic elements at the time of analysis.
To obtain an even distribution of force across a parabolic element, most programs
require a larger portion of the force be assigned to the midside nodes.
You can set the factors Along Edges, On Tri-Face, or On Quad-Face to represent
the amount of the total load on the element which will be applied to the midside
node.
You will typically want to use the default values as shown above, as well as use the
Midside Node Adjustment Default. If you have further questions on the
distribution required for your solver program, please consult the reference
documentation for your analysis program.
Element Quality checks can be turned on or off permanently and default values set for
each quality check via the Element Distortion button.
Default output orientations for various element shapes can be permanently set for use
when transforming results from the Output Orientation button.
A - 10
Appendix A
Femap Preferences
Femap Preferences Geometry/Model (continued)

The Alternate Section Property Calculator can be turned on in this dialog box. By
choosing this option, values generated by the Femap beam section property calculator
will be attained using an alternate method which in certain cases will be more accurate
than the standard method.
Pre-V10 Tet Meshing and Surface Meshing can be set as the defaults. This will allow
FEMAP 10 to use the older meshers instead of the new meshers, should any issues
arise.
Select between the following for Mesh Sizing:
0..Parametric
1..Equal Length
2..Parametric/Equal Length (default)
First set the mesh size on curves using parametric spacing, then determines an
average distance between each of the mesh locations on each curve. If the
distance between any of the mesh locations is more than 1% different than the
average distance, then that curve is resized using equal length sizing.
A - 11
Appendix A
Femap Preferences
Femap Preferences Interfaces

The Interfaces tab sets the default analysis interface. The defaults can be defined for
each interface (e.g. NASTRAN, ABAQUS, etc.)
The Enable Old Analysis Interfaces option allows the import of models and results
from older, unsupported solvers.
Setting the File Reference Options allows FEMAP to check if imported Geometry,
Analysis Input decks, and/or Analysis Results have been modified when a FEMAP
model is opened.
Use the File, References command to check references during a FEMAP session.
Increase the value of Max Lines to Monitor from the default value of 5000 if you like to
view the .f06 file during analysis execution.
A - 12
Appendix A
Femap Preferences
Femap Preferences Library/Startup, and Color Tabs

The Library/Startup preferences allow you to specify default FEMAP library files
Objects saved such as Materials, Functions, etc. are saved into the preferred library
Specify the location of your Custom Tools Path and an optional Program File or
API Script to run at the beginning of every new Femap session and opening of a
new model file
Color preferences allow you to select the default colors for entities
A - 13
Appendix A
Femap Preferences
Femap Preferences Spaceball Tab

When you have a Spaceball available on your PC, you can set options for use of a
Spaceball device in Femap.
A - 14
Appendix B
Composite Layups
Purpose
This lesson provides an overview of creating and editing properties with Femap.
Topics
Defining Properties
Editing Properties
B-1
Appendix B
Composite Layups
Composite Layups
Layups are a Femap object that designates multiple composite plies
Practical limit of 5000 plies per Layup
A Ply has the following attributes:
Ply ID (number)
Material
Thickness
Angle
Global Ply ID Used to

designate a common ply ID
for use in other layups.
e.g. The OML or Outer Skin
Ply for all layups.
B-2
Appendix B
Composite Layups
Creating and Updating an Individual Ply

New Ply - Once you have a Material, Thickness, and Angle specified, click this button to
add the ply to the layup.
Update buttons - Once a ply has been added to the list, the definition of that ply can be
updated using:
Update Global Ply
Update Material
Update Thickness
Update Angle
B-3
Appendix B
Composite Layups
Duplicating and Modifying Ply Sequences

Duplicate
The selected ply or plies will be copied to the top of the Layup.
Delete
Delete the selected ply or plies from the Layup.
Symmetric
The mirrored plies will be added to the top of the Layup in reverse order of
selection.
Reverse
Reverse the order of the selected plies based on the original position (i.e., the
selected ply which was closest to the Bottom of Layup will now be closest to the
Top of Layup in the list).
Move Up and Move Down
The selected ply or plies will be moved closer to the Top of Layup (Move Up) or
Bottom of Layup (Move Down) in the order selected.
Rotate
The selected ply or plies are rotated by the angle input in the Rotate Ply By dialog
box. The order of the plies in the Layup is not effected.
Copy and Paste
Copy and paste the selected ply or plies to the top of the current or another Layup.
B-4
Appendix B
Composite Layups
Layup Editor Layup Viewer

The Layup Editor dialog box has the Layup Viewer icon that launches the Layup
Viewer.
Options to control display of:
Thickness
Ply Angles
Titles
Color
Scale
The Copy icon pastes picture of the layup to Windows clipboard.
B-5
Appendix B
Composite Layups
Composite Layup Mechanical Properties

When the Entity Info window is active,
the Laminate Equivalent Properties are
automatically calculated and displayed
when a Layup is created or edited.
These properties are updated
continuously along with modifications to
the Layup.
When the Entity Info window is not
activated, selecting the Compute button
will display the calculated Laminate
Equivalent Properties in the Messages
window. These properties are NOT
updated until the Compute button is
reselected.
B-6
Appendix B
Composite Layups
Composite Laminate Materials and Properties

Composite Laminate Materials are generally designated as 2D Orthotropic
materials.
A Bond Shear Allowance should be specified for the Laminate element

property. This value represents the bond strength between the bonded laminate
sheets and is used to calculate a factor of safety against shear failure between
laminate panels.
A Failure Theory must also be specified for the Laminate element property.
B-7

CT1900 Student Guide Femap101 PDF

Enviado por

Dados do documento

Título original

Direitos autorais

Formatos disponíveis

Compartilhar este documento

Compartilhar ou incorporar documento

Opções de compartilhamento

Você considera este documento útil?

Este conteúdo é inapropriado?

Direitos autorais:

Formatos disponíveis

CT1900 Student Guide Femap101 PDF

Enviado por

Direitos autorais:

Formatos disponíveis

SIEMENS

Siemens PLM Software

Proprietary and restricted rights notice

This software and related documentation are proprietary to Siemens Product

CT 1900 Student Guide for Femap 101 - v10.3, Rev 010612

Femap 101 v10.3

Training Class Agenda

The FEA Modeling Process Using Femap

The Femap User Interface Part 1

Geometry Creation and Editing

Complete Meshing Workshops

Boundary Conditions Loads and Constraints

The Femap User Interface Part 2

Model Display and Visualization

The Meshing Toolbox

Analysis Set Manager

CT 1900 Student Guide for Femap 101 - v10.3 Rev 010612

Finite Element Modeling Debugging

CT 1900 Student Guide for Femap 101 - v10.3 Rev 010612

Lesson 1 The FEA Modeling Process

What is Finite Element Analysis?

What comprises a FEA model?

Femap Modeling Process Flow

Femap Model Objects and Commands

Femap Model File Formats

CT 1900 Student Guide for Femap 101 - v10.3 Rev 010612

The FEA Modeling Process Using Femap

What is Finite Element Analysis?

CT 1900 Student Guide for Femap 101 - v10.3 Rev 010612

The FEA Modeling Process Using Femap

What comprises a FEA model?

Finite Elements - well-defined mathematical models of:

Beam and Rod elements

Surface or Shell elements triangular or quadrilateral

Solids - tetrahedral or hexahedral

Miscellaneous elements such as Springs, Mass, Rigid, and Contact

Boundary conditions (loads and constraints)

CT 1900 Student Guide for Femap 101 - v10.3 Rev 010612

The FEA Modeling Process Using Femap

CT 1900 Student Guide for Femap 101 - v10.3 Rev 010612

The FEA Modeling Process Using Femap

Femap Objects and Workflow for Generating a FEA Model

CT 1900 Student Guide for Femap 101 - v10.3 Rev 010612

The FEA Modeling Process Using Femap

Direct CAD geometry interfaces

Solid Edge, NX (Unigraphics

Industry standard CAD geometry

Parasolid, ACIS, IGES, STEP,

Femap geometry creation and

Points, 2D and 3D curves

Solid creation and editing

Midplane surface extraction and

Additional geometry cleanup and

CT 1900 Student Guide for Femap 101 - v10.3 Rev 010612

The FEA Modeling Process Using Femap

Materials and Properties

Elastomers Hyperelastic, Foam,

Analysis program specific types

CT 1900 Student Guide for Femap 101 - v10.3 Rev 010612

The FEA Modeling Process Using Femap

Creation, editing, highlighting,

Creation, editing, highlighting,

Creation and editing of Body,