SimLab Basic Training 201601 v14.0d For Online Training

Altair SimLab 14
Basic Training - ONLINE
Numair Mazgaonkar
nmazgaonkar@altair.com
Copyright © 2015 Altair Engineering, Inc. Proprietary and Confidential. All rights reserved.
Training Format
 Questions can be asked at any time (via chat window)
 Exercises will be done during training and also will be asked to be completed. After
training and they must be attached in: https://ftam1.altair.com/filedrop/~p4EmEx, in
case of doubt out of training, contact by e-mail: nmazgaonkar@altair.com
 Multiple choice questions will be asked to check the understanding of a topic during the
training
 At the end of training a satisfaction survey will be conducted.
 The certificate will only be delivered by 100% attendance and all the exercises
delivered to the instructor
Altair SimLab
Altair SimLab
Why SimLab?
SimLab objectives:
• Reduce the time from CAD to Solver time without compromising the quality
• Easy automation of the CAE Process
•  PROVIDE BETTER RETURN ON INVESTMENT
SimLab strengths:
• Intuitive, Easy to learn
• Robust Tet-Meshing also for complex geometries
• no CAD cleanup or defeaturing needed.
• Efficient control over model size and element quality.
• Repeatibility: Feature-based, Template-based
• Function level (Templates for Meshing, Props, Contacts, Excite modeling, ,…..)
• Process level (CAD to Deck)
• Complete solution: Pre, Solver (OptiStruct integrated), Post, Optimization.
• Solver Neutral
• Physical-Entitiy Based Modeling: knowledge of solver card details not needed
• Solver interfaces: OptiStruct, Abaqus, ANSYS, Nastran, Permas, ADVC, …
• Advanced tools for specific application (Powertrain)
4
Altair SimLab
Modeling Process
1. Import CAD/FEM
2.1 2D Mesh
3. Modify 4. Assembly
2.2 Volume Mesh 5. Cleanup
6. Connections
7. Analysis Setup
8. Post Processing A1. Automation
5
Getting Started
SimLab Installation – CAD Access
• In order to handle CAD files in the native format ProE/Creo, CATIA and UG, SimLab
must have access to a working installation of the CAD Software on the machine.
• Please specify the installation path of the CAD Software. The path can be edited
manually later in the file [Install_Dir]\bin\win64\vp_init.bat .
• Note: The access to CATIA files requires the purchase of an additional reader. Otherwise
please use the option “CAD through translation”.
6
Getting Started
SimLab Installation – Solver Access
• SimLab can invoke directly the solver and visualize the results after computing.
• Please specify the installation path of the Solver executable. The path can be edited
manually later in the file [Install_Dir]\bin\win64\STS_solver_setup.bat .
• SimLab comes with its own solver – OptiStruct, of the platform HyperWorks. The path to
address an existing HyperWorks installation is: [HW_Install_Dir]\hwsolvers\scripts.
7
Getting Started
Initial Settings – View
The first time you are opening SimLab after the installation
or after an application reset, make sure that Selection List
and Output Windows are turned on.
• All the selected (picked) entities will appear in the

Selection List. This will help users to find the selected
entities and correct them before giving as input in any
dialog box or applications.
• Output window is used to display error messages and

information (that can be copy and pasted whenever
needed).%
8
Getting Started
Initial Settings – Edit | Preferences | System
Edit | Preference | System: choose the Set the number of cores to be used
mouse settings which suites to you. for meshing (1 Body for each core)
9
Getting Started
SimLab GUI – Standard Mouse Buttons
Left Button Click

• Selection/ de-selection of geometry, elements and nodes
• +CTRL & drag for zoom
Middle Button
• Roll on the Mouse: Zoom in and out
• Middle Button Click: Model Rotation
Right Button Click

• Panning
Getting Started
SimLab GUI
Menu Bar
Model Browser
• Assembly
Ribbon Area
• Mesh Control
• LBC Selection Toolbar
• Property • Picking mode
• Group • Entity filter
• Results
Graphics Area
Selection List
View Toolbar
Output Window
11
Getting Started
SimLab GUI – Ribbons
12
Getting Started
Single-selection icon
Multiple Choice icon
Multi-selection icon
13
Getting Started
Additional functions
14
Getting Started
SimLab GUI – Customizing the GUI
Custom Toolbar(s):
• Select “+” to create a new toolbar.
• Add icons to a custom toolbar jus by drag-and-drop.
• Right click opens options to Import/Export the custom toolbars.
• Right click on the toolbar name to Rename/Delete.
Browsers Repositioning :
• Browsers can be(un)docked, resized and
repositioned.
• Just drag them into the desired position.
• Browsers can be also overlaid to be visualized
as tabs.
15
Getting Started
SimLab GUI – Model Browser
• The Model Browser lists the entities of the current database.
• Hide/show and other operations can be performed (right click menu).
• Different types of entities are grouped into 6 tabs.
Assembly Mesh Control LBC

tree View
Material &
Property Groups Results
16
Getting Started
SimLab GUI – Entity Selection
Selection
Toolbar
Right-Click
Menu
Selection
List
17
Getting Started
SimLab GUI - Main Shortcut Keys
Ctrl + R - Remove Last Picked Entity F - Fit View

Ctrl + A - Select all the entity Z - Rectangle Zoom
Shft + Z - Scribble Zoom

Ctrl + Z - Undo
Ctrl + Y - Redo
F1 - Help
Ctrl + N - New Window
F5 - Redisplay
Ctrl + O - File Open
F12 - Save as
Ctrl + S - File Save
18
Getting Started
SimLab GUI – Help
• File | Help gives information about the software and the

system.
• File | Help | SimLab… opens the software help in a
dedicated browser.
• Use the keyboard shotcut F1 to open directly the
Help page for the panel you are currently using
Help
19
01 – Importing CAD and FEM

Agenda
1. Importing CAD and FEM:

• Reading Files 1. Import CAD/FEM
• CAD Geometry
2.1 2D Mesh
• Models
• Entities 3. Modify 4. Assembly
• Entity Selection
• Entity Display
• Groups
6. Connections
7. Analysis Setup
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01 - Importing CAD and FEM

Reading Files
Begin your work by importing either CAD or FEM Geometry.
Following possibilities are available:
• SimLab Data: previously saved SimLab database (*.slb and

*.slb.X) can be opened or merged into the current session.
GDA format (graphics data) – also written by SImLab - is
similar to SLB format, but contains elements and topology
information only.
• CAD: direct access to CAD native formats such as Parasolid,
Step, CATIA, ProE, JT, UG, NX.
• CAD: Through Translation: to convert native CAD formats
into Step or Parasolid files when direct access is not available.
• Discrete Models: facet geometry formats such as STL,
VRML, I-Deas.
• Solver Input File: existings deck for the solvers:
• OptiStruct
• Abaqus
• Nastran
• Permas
• Patran
• Ansys
• ADVENTURECluster
• Marc
• Fluent
21

CAD Geometry – CAD Access
SimLab does not actually import CAD Geometry
• The work with traditional preprocessors consists mainly in manipulating

CAD geometry, which has to be imported, i.e. converted into an internal
format. This causes very often problems, because a “clean” CAD
geometry may get corrupted while converting.
• SimLab does not manipulate CAD geometry: all the work is done directly
on the mesh. Therefore, there is no need to convert a file into an internal
format: CAD geometry is read as it is, in its original format.
• SimLab just creates a graphic representation of the geometry

(“tessellation”) but the CAD information are not saved into the SLB
database.
22

CAD Geometry – CAD Access
• Instead of importing CAD, SimLab just creates a

graphic representation of it (“tessellation”).
• Geometry information remain stored in the original
CAD file.
• Therefore, in order to be able to access the CAD for a

new meshing, CAD geometry file needs to be copied
together with the *.slb file when transferring the
database.
Transfer both SLB and CAD files for

later access to CAD features!
23

CAD Geometry – Native Formats – Direct Access
• For the native CAD formats:
• CATIA (*.CATPart and *CATAssembly)
• ProE / CREO (*.prt and *.asm)
• UG NX (*.prt)
SimLab doesn’t have an internal reader: SimLab will use the native “reader” which is the CAD
software itself (direct access).
• Therefore SimLab must have access to a working installation of CATIA, ProE/CREO or UG NX. This
can be linked during the installation of SimLab, or can be entered later manually in
[Install_Dir]\bin\win64\vp_init.bat .
• The licenses of the CAD system will be used by SimLab only when the “reader” is needed, that means
typically only during the meshing process. For the rest of the time the licenses are set free.
• Only for CATIA direct access, an additional reader (CADNexus) is required.
24

CAD Geometry – Native Formats – Direct Access
• Direct access for native CAD, when available, is the most

complete way of handling CAD Geometry, since it allows to
access all model data and metadata, including:
• Design parameters - model regeneration is allowed
directly in SimLab
• Color and Publications – important for automation
purposes
• Attributes, Assembly structure, Part Instances, …
CAD Regeneration
(CREO Parameters)
25

CAD Geometry – Native Formats – Through Translation
• If no installation of CATIA, ProE/Creo or UG/NX is available, it

is always possible to translate the native formats into exchange
formats (Parasolid, Step) before importing.
• Available options are:
• CAD native to Parasolid (recommended)
• CAD native to Step
• Step to Parasolid.
• A Step or Parasolid file containing the translated geometry
information will be written by SimLab into the original folder and
successively imported.
• For this process, no other installation than SimLab is required.
• This doesn’t allow to use the parametrization of the geometry
eventually implemented in the CAD environment for
regeneration.
26

CAD Geometry – SimLab Philosophy
• SimLab is designed to handle with complex CAD Geometry, for which cleanup and defeaturing
operation would take too long.
• Therefore, CAD cleanup and defeaturing are in SimLab generally not needed and mostly not
even possible.
• SimLab allows basically no operation at all on native CAD geometry (CATIA, Pro-E).
• Some operation are supported only on Step geometry (body rename, repositioning) and
especially on Parasolid geometry (fillets/holes removal, subassembly, imprinting, Boolean
operation, repositioning, partitioning, break body…).
• Following the SimLab-Philosophy, CAD geometry remains almost untouched. It is just imported
and meshed. Cleanup, defeaturing and repairing are performed automatically during the
meshing process or manually later directly on the meshed bodies.
• The word “Geometry” in the SimLab is therefore not to be intended as a synonym of “CAD”.
With Geometry is mostly meant “Shape/topology of the meshed bodies”, since most
geometry operation can be performed on mesh bodies only.
27

Model Structure
Model • Any CAD (or FEM) file read into SimLab will be referred as model.
• If the CAD or the FEM file has multiple parts, each part will be
referred as body.
Bodies
28

Model Structure
FEM Model (*.gda)

• Generated as result of meshing, it contains only
• Shell Mesh Bodies
• Solid Mesh Bodies
• Different kinds of 1D Mesh Bodies
• NO CAD Body!
• Reorganizing fully allowed (Rename, Body Transfer,
Model Merge, SubModel creation…)
CAD Model (same extension of the CAD file)

• Generated as result of importing a CAD file or assembly, it contains
ONLY CAD Bodies - NO FEM Body!
• Sub Models may follow the structure of the CAD Assembly.
• Few operations allowed (delete bodies, regenerate parametric CAD,…)
• Reorganizing only partially allowed:
• Renaming only for Parasolid and Step
• NO Body Transfer between CAD Models
• NO Model Merge, SubModel creation…)
29

Model Structure
Solid Mesh Body
Surface Mesh Body
CAD body
30

Entities – Topology Entities
• SimLab is an Entity Based Tool.

• Entities are organized hierarchically, have an own ID and can be grouped together.
• Geometry Entities, also referred as Topology Entities, can be selected on both

CAD and FEM, and are:
BODY FACE
VERTEX
EDGE
31

Entities – FEM Entities
• FEM entities can only be selected on FEM Bodies, and are:
• Elements
• Element edges
• Nodes
• Loads.
• It can be said that on FEM Bodies, Topology Entities consist of FEM Entities, since:
• Faces consist of Elements
• Edges are particular cases of Element Edges
• Vertices are particular cases of Nodes.
• A mesh in slb or gda format contains the definition of both FEM and Topology
Entities.
• A Solver Input File contains only the definistion of FEM entities. Topology Entities
must be generated
32

Entity Selection
Selection Right-Click
Toolbar Menu
• Quick selection of entities is a fundamental aspect of the work with

SimLab.
• The selected entities populate the Selection List (if active). Once one
operation is confirmed, it applies to all entities that are currently in the
Selection List.
Selection • The entity selection is done according to the active Picking Method and
List Entity Filter.
• These options can be selected in the Selection Toolbar, in the
Selection List and through Right Click Menu in the graphics area.
33

Entity Selection – Picking Method
• The list of the Picking Methods which can be used for the selection of entities is accessible
through the Selection Toolbar and through right click menu in the Graphics Area.
• Available Picking Methods are: Single, Polygon, Intersection, Deselect, Enclose, Visible,
Transparency.
34

Entity Selection – Topology Entities
• Geometry Filters can refer to both CAD and FE:

• Vertex
• Edge
• Circle
• Edge Loop
• Free Edge Loop
• Edge Path
• Face
• Cylinder
• Fillet
• Body
• Note: the selection mode Edge Path works differently from the
others:
• Select the guide edges to define the path
• A preview of the found path is shown.
• Right click co confirm or reject the selection.
35

Entity Selection – FEM Entities
• FEM Filters can refer to FE only:

• Node
• RBE Node
• Element Edge
• Bar Element
• Element
• Loads
• RBE
• Co-ordinate
• RBAR
36

Entity Selection
Following options are available in the Selection

List and through Right click Menu:
• Deselect All
Deselect Geometry
Delesect FEM
to clear the selection list (eventually only
Geometry/FEM filters)
• Previous Selection
to recall the last selected items, for example
if the selection was cleared.
• The Keyboard Shortcut CTRL+R will
remove the last selected entity from the list.
37

Entity Display – Right Click Options
• Isolating and hiding entities is an efficient way of selecting entities.

• Most option for the Show/Hide of entities are accessible through context-sensitive
menus (right mouse button in the Modeling Window).
Standard options, available also when no entity is selected, are:

• Redisplay: cancels hiding of faces and edited entities and display the active bodies.
• Reset: brings all the view to the original state including the view angle.
• Invert: displays all the entities that are not currently displayed and hides all the entities
that are currently displayed.
38

Entity Display – Right Click Options
Following right click options are the most used among the ones
available when geometry entities (Body, Face, Edge) are
selected:
• Hide: hide selected entity
• Reverse Hide: hide not selected entity (i.e. isolate selected)
• Select Features: opens dialog to identify/group features like
fillets, cylinders, discs a. s. o. (more info in the meshing
chapter).
• Select Adjacent: faces which are adjacent to the selected
ones
• Select Adjacent Layers: opens dialog to break-angle based
face selection
• Invert Transparency / Reset Transparency: switches /
resets the transparency status of the selected entities.
39

Entity Display – View Toolbar
View Toolbar |Views : used to View Toolbar |Render Mode : controls how
• Align the view to one of the global axes the model displayed in 3D graphics area,
(other custom views can be defined in Rendering and coloring options for both CAD
the drop down menu View|Views|Create and FEM models are available.
View)
• Rotate the current view of a fixed angle.
40

Entity Display – View Toolbar
View Toolbar |Visibility: View Toolbar | Add/Remove Layer:

• used hide/show categories of expands/reduces the current selection by
objects from the graphics area: selecting/deselecting entity layers.
• Loads
• Mesh Controls
• Results
• All CAD bodies
• All FEM bodies.
• It allows also to activate the
Exploded View
Add
Remove
41

Entity Display – View Toolbar | Cutting Plane
View Toolbar | Cutting Plane:
• Activates and deactivates the Cutting Plane tool, which is used to cut a 3D
solid model and view the interior.
• Cutting plane can be manipulated on screen as follows:
• Use the sphere handles to rotate and orient it.
• Grab the square edges of the 3D tool to translate it to the desired
direction.
• More options are available via right click menu when Cutting Plane is
activated.
42

Groups
• Group Creation can be done directly in the graphics window.

• To edit a group, just double click it in the Group Tree.
• Advanced options in the Group Menu.
• Transfer create automatically groups in a FE Model based on
existing groups of a CAD model.
43
TEST
Test 1
(5 Questions)
44

Exercises
Import: Or open
…\Models\1_Import_Models\ D_wheelasy.gda …\Models\1_Import_Models\ D_wheelasy.slb
…\Models\1_Import_Models\D_wheelasy.xmt_txt
…\Models\1_Import_Models\D_wheelasy.fem
What to do :
1. Familiarize with the SimLab GUI:

• Turn on/off components from the Assembly Tree
• Pan / Zoom the part
• Try different Visibility modes and Cutting Plane
2. Familiarize with the SimLab Entities:

• Select different types of entities by exploring different selection modes.
• Create Groups out of the selected entities.
• Edit the groups using the Group Tree in the Model Browser.
• Inspect the Size of the model.
45
02 – Meshing Tools
Agenda
2. Meshing Tools
• Meshing Fundamentals 1. Import CAD/FEM
• Mesh Controls
2.1 2D Mesh
• Preserve Entities
• Mesh Pattern
• Mesh Specification
6. Connections
7. Analysis Setup
46
Overview
Mesh | 2D Create Mesh | 3D Create

Commands for the creation of Commands for the creation of
Shell Mesh Bodies (typically Solid Mesh Bodies (typically
from CAD bodies, but also from Shell Mesh Bodies, but
from Shell Mesh Bodies) also from CAD Bodies)
47
Meshing Fundamentals – 2D Mesh
Mesh | 2D Create | Mesh

• Meshes selected Bodies or Faces (CAD or
FEM) with 2D Elems (Tri/Quad)
• A new Model (Assembly) will be created,

containing the meshed bodies.
48
Meshing Fundamentals – Element Type
Mesh | 2D Create | Mesh

Select Element Type:
• „Tri6 with straight edges“ available under
Advanced Options (or via Body Mesh
Control)
• Even a Tri3 mesh can be used later to
generate a second order Tet10 Solid
Mesh.
• SimLab allows to hide the MidNodes to

simplifying the work with second order
elements. Please check the setting under
Render Mode | FEM Model | Quadratic
Element Display
49
Meshing Fundamentals – Element Size
Avg/Max Mesh Size
Minimum element size
Mesh growth
• 1.5 means that an element can be
max. 50% bigger than its neighbour
50
Meshing Fundamentals – Element Size
Minimum element size:

• SimLab basically doesn’t require geometry cleanup.
• CAD Edges are automatically “suppressed” whenever
they would origin elements smaller than the min size.
• Instead, it possible to specify which entities shall NOT
be suppressed (see Preserve Mesh Control)
51
Meshing Fundamentals – Curvature
Geometry Approximation:
• The mesh approximates the geometry by varying the
mesh size as a function of the curvature.
• Such geometry approximation cannot result in a mesh
size smaller than Curvature Minimum Element Size.
Max. angle 45° Max. angle 30°

• 8 Elems around holes • 12 Elems around holes
• 2 elems across a 90°fillets • 3 elems across a 90°fillets
52
Meshing Fundamentals – Curvature
Example of Geometry Approximation for Fillets:

• Min element size: 0.45
• Max angle per element: 30°
• Curvature min size: 1.5
3 element rows 2 element rows 1 element row Fillets with

• Size ≥ 4.5 (=3x1.5) • 3 ≤ Size ≤ 4.5 • 0.45 ≤ Size < 3 Size<0.45 are
• Angle ≥ 60° • 30°≤ Angle ≤ 60° • Angle < 30° defeatured
53
Meshing Fundamentals – Mesh vs Remesh
54
Meshing Fundamentals – Solid Mesh
Mesh | 3D Create | Solid Mesh

• Fills the water-tight mesh of an empty Shell
Body with Tet elements.
• Inputs:
• Elem Type (Tet4, Tet10)
• Elem Size
• Growth Rate (Internal Grading)
• 2 Quality criteria can be selected
• Solid Mesh Bodies are listed as:
55
Meshing Fundamentals – Solid Mesh – Advanced Options
To maintain the shell mesh bodies

and create Tets in a new model
Generally Solid Mesh does not

modify the mesh on the outer
surface, but in some case some
node could be moved to improve the
element quality.
Activate this option to preserve all Tri
Elems on the surface without
exceptions.
56
TEST
Test 2
(2 Questions)
57
Exercise – Complete Workflow – Quick Mesh
Open Parasolid Geometry:

…\Meshing\A2_Meshing\A_transmissional_housing_v2.xmt_txt
What to do :
• Inspect the model size to decide a suitable mesh size
• Use the tools in the menu Inspect|Distance
or
• Select an edge and read its length in the Output Window
• Mesh the surface of the parts with Mesh|2D Create|Mesh.
• Use second order (Tri6) elements.
• Choose adequate parameters.
• Ensure that Render Mode | FEM Model | Quadratic Element Display is turned on, to visualize the
midnodes.
• Create Tet10 elements with Mesh|3D Create|Solid Mesh
• Activate the Cutting Plane to visualize the elements inside the body.
• In needed, use [Select Body]|RMB|Delete Solid Elements to go back to the shell mesh.
58
Mesh Controls
Mesh Controls (MC)

• The density, the quality and the structure of th mesh can be controlled
by defining Mesh Controls on the geometry.
• Mesh Controls are assigned to topology entities (Body, Face, Edge)

and can refer to particular Features (Fillets, Cylinders) or regions in
space.
• Mesh Controls can be used indifferently on both CAE and on FE

bodies.
• When a body is meshed (2D or 3D), all Mesh Controls defined on

its entities (not on the entities of its CAD-parent or on its FE-
children!) will be considered.
59
Mesh Controls – Browser
Mesh Controls are listed in a dedicated page of

the Model Browser.
• Edit a MC by double clicking on it.
• Empty MCs are marked with Ø
• Hide/Show the MCs by clicking on the icons
• Further options available through RMB.
60
Mesh Controls – Local MCs
• Define new Local Mesh Controls from the MC panel or by Right

Click Menu after selecting the entities.
• Edit existing Mesh Controls by double clicking them in the Model
Browser or via Right Click Menu.
61
Mesh Controls | Body
• Body Mesh Control is defined on (CAE/FE) bodies only

• It defines locally - for each body - the same
parameters which are otherways defined globally in
the 2D Mesh and in the Solid Mesh panel:
• Mesh Size
• Geometry Approximation (curvature)
• Mesh Growth
• …
62
Mesh Controls | Body – Naming
Attention! Characters like spaces, points and commas are not

supported when naming a Mesh Controls!
63
Mesh Controls | Face
• Face Mesh Control can be defined on Face entities

to refine or coarsen the mesh locally.
• Merge selected faces joins the selected faces by

suppressing the edges between them.
64
Mesh Controls | Face – Layers
• Use the Layers option of the Face Mesh Control to require a

minimum number of elements through thin faces.
No Layers
4 Layers
4 Layers + Iso Mesh Pattern
(Requires two different Mesh Controls)
65
Mesh Controls | Face – Selection Tips
• Use the Select Adjacent Layers option (available

on RMB) select the full water jacket at once.
66
Mesh Controls | Edge
• Edge Mesh Control controls the size, the density

and the biasing of the mesh directly on edges.
67
Mesh Controls | Edge – Selection Tips
• Use the Edge Path selection

filter to select quickly edges
along a path.
68
Mesh Controls | Fillet
• Fillet Mesh Control is used to control the mesh over selected fillets,
along the length and the curve direction.
• Typically the number of element rows and the length of the elems
along the fillet are entered.
• Use this option on bodies to apply the MC to all fillets within a

radius range.
• Attention: using this option together with the option Number of
elements along curvature hardly gives good results!
• Prefer in this case Geometry Approximation or control the global
definition of fillets using the parameters of the Body MC.
69
Mesh Controls | Fillet
70
Mesh Controls | Fillet – Selection Tips
• Use Select Features | Fillets (RMB Menu) to identify

convex/concave fillets within a radius range
Surfs to search in (with Fillet Mesh Control

Select Adjacent Layers)
71
Mesh Controls | Cylinder
• Cylinder Mesh Control is used to control the mesh both axially and radially on the
selected cylindrical faces
• Axial size: typically in mm. (Use the Isoline MC to request a given number of elements)
• Elements in circular direction: it is recommended to use a multiple of 4 (8, 12, 16, 20…)
• Use this option on bodies to apply the MC to all cylinders

within a radius range.
72
Mesh Controls | Cylinder – Selection Tips
• Use Select Features | Cylinder (RMB Menu), either on bodies or

on faces, to identify cylindrical faces within a radius range
To isolate the holes in your model, tipically use the options Full
and Closed partial (but NOT the option Open partial).
Check this option to create also a group containing the cylinders.

73
Mesh Controls | Washer
• Washer Mesh Control is used to create rings around a circle

• It is typically used to create the imprinting of a bolt head on a surface.
• Select circular edges; use one of the three methods to define the washer radius
Number of “element rings” around the hole
74
Mesh Controls | Washer – Selection Tips
• Use Select Features | Circles (RMB Menu) to identify, isolate or group

circular edges on selected faces.
75
Mesh Controls | Isoline – for Cones / Cylinders
• Isoline is an advanced Mesh control to create mapped mesh on

• Full or Partial Cylindrical faces
• Full or Partial Conical faces
• Hollow Discs
• Isoline typically replaces Cylinder MC in case of:

• Open/Partial Cylinders
• Conical Holes
• A given number of elems required in axial direction
• Remeshing (since Cylinder MC only works on CAD).
76
Mesh Controls | Isoline – for Hollow Discs
• Isoline may replace Washer MC on existing hollow disc faces,

although Washer MC remains the recommended option in many cases.
77
Mesh Controls | Include Mesh
• Include Mesh allows an existing mesh to be used over a portion of the body being meshed
78
Mesh Controls | Region - Refinement
• If the Break Option is off, the Region Mesh Control is used to apply a local refinement within a
defined shape (cuboid/cuboid/cylinder/sphere)
79
Mesh Controls | Region - Break
• If the Break Option is on, the Region Mesh Control is used to break the face/body
along the boundary of the chosen shape (cuboid/cylinder/plane/cone)
Note: bodies can be broken also after

meshing using Geometry | Body | Break
80
Mesh Controls | Other Mesh Controls
• Please consult the help (F1) for information about further Local Mesh Controls.
Hard Points Symmetry
Valve Seat
Circle Imprint
81
Mesh Controls | Volume Layer
• Volume Layer Mesh control generates layers of Tet elements along thin regions.
• It can be applied to entire bodies or locally to faces.
• Important: Volume Layer MC is applied on the surface mesh bodies before
solid meshing, NOT on the CAD geometry!
82
Preserve Entities
• The automated meshing process can collapse sliver edges and faces which
would violate the minimum element size.
• The mesher will decide which one to preserve and which one to collapse.
• Using Preserve Entities Mesh Control, the user can control the features to
be preserved while meshing.
?
83
Preserve Entities | Face shape
• Mesh Control | Preserve Entity | Face shape retains the shape of the face
(typically planarity / cylindricity).
• The nodes will not get moved out of the face, although this will not prevent
narrow faces and edges from getting collapsed.
• Preserve Entity | Face shape is typically used on assembly faces (contact
faces, join faces)
84
Preserve Entities | (Face) Edges
• Mesh Control | Preserve Entity | Face edges (or Edges) are used to retain all
the edges of a face (or selected edges).
• Tiny edges and faces will be preserved and not get collapsed, although this will
not prevent internal nodes to be moved out of the face.
• For example, Preserve Entity | Face edges can be used to keep the edges of a
logo (to be removed) separated from the geometry edges.
Without Preserve Edges With Preserve Edges

85
Preserve Entities | Mesh
• Mesh Control | Preserve Entity | Mesh is used

to maintain the existing mesh in the face/
topological edge during the local remesh.
• It has to be applied on FE-Bodies, not on CAD.
86
Mesh Patterns
• Mesh Control | Mesh Patterns defines the manner in which elements are
arranged in a face.
• Available patterns are: Iso Mesh, Free Mesh, Union Jack.
• In particular, use Iso Mesh on a four-sided face to obtain a mapped

mesh (90 degree triangulation)
87
Priorities
For each geometry type the mesh size is determined as follows:
Edge
1. Edge Mesh Seed
2. Region Mesh Size
3. Edge Mesh Size
4. Smaller of the face mesh size on the faces connected to it.
5. Feature Mesh Size
6. Body Mesh Size
7. Global Mesh Size (Size defined in the Surface Meshing dialog box)
Face
1. Region Mesh Size
2. Face Mesh Size
3. Feature Mesh Size
4. Body Mesh Size
5. Global Mesh Size (Size defined in the Surface Meshing dialog box)
Body
1. Region Mesh Size
2. Body Mesh Size
3. Global Mesh Size (Size defined in the Surface Mesh dialog box)
Mesh Specification
• Mesh control created can be

saved in an external file, called
Mesh Specification, to be
imported back into other SimLab
sessions.
• This is very useful when meshing
models of similar types, to reuse
the Mesh Controls which have
been created.
89
Mesh Specification – Mesh Templates
Four different types of Mesh Specification are available:
• Template: Mesh Controls are exported without any

information about the entities they refer to. After importing
into a new file, the Mesh Control Tree will be populated
by empty Mesh Controls (marked with the Ø icon).
• Geom ID: entity IDs are exported for each MC. Can be
applied automatically back to the same Model, or to other
versions having same IDs.
• Face color: can apply automatically to other models with

the same color convention. Colors can be read together
with the CAD or assigned in SimLab.
• Body/Group Name: can be used in automations which

use a name convention. Mesh Controls are applied
automatically to bodies or to face/edge groups with the
same name.
90
Test 3
91
Exercise – Complete Workflow – Mesh Controls – 1/2
Import Parasolid Geometry:
…\2_Meshing\A2_Meshing\A_transmissional_housing_v2.xmt_txt
What to do :
• Import the empty Mesh Specification: ..\A2_Meshing\A_Mesh_Template.xml
• Assign the Body Mesh Controls (Carrier: coarsen; Cover: fine).
• Assign the Cylinder Mesh Control to the holes of the bolt connection on both Cover and Carrier.
Use Select Feature to identify the cylinders.
• Assign the Washer Mesh Control (representing the imprinting of the bolt heads) to the circles on
the upper side of the Cover. Use Select Feature to identify the circles.
92
Exercise – Complete Workflow – Mesh Controls – 2/2
• Assign the Fillet Mesh Control to designed fillets in the pockets of the Carrier.
Use Select adjacent layers and Select features to select the fillets.
• Assign the Preserve Mesh Controls to the Faces with the Logo and to the faces which have to
remain planar (contacts).
• Shell Mesh both components.

• Solid Mesh
• Optional: Export a Mesh template containing
Save the model to be able to go on working on it in the next chapter.
93
03 – Modify Geometry
Agenda
3. Modify Geometry:
• Create/modify geometry 1. Import CAD/FEM
• Remove/modify features
2.1 2D Mesh
6. Connections
7. Analysis Setup
94
Overview
Commands allowing the modification/editing of existing FE-geometry are

spread among different SimLab ribbons, in particular Geometry, Features
and Assembly.
95
Geometry
The Geometry ribbon and the submenues Edge|Create,

Face|Create, Face|Modify and Body|Create contains all
commands to create, combine and modify geometrical
entities such as:
• Edges
• Faces
• Bodies
96
Geometry | Edge | Create
Edge | Create | Edge offset

• Creates edges inside a face by offsetting
the boundary edges.
Edge | Create | Element Edge • Can be used to trim washer or welding
• Converts Element Edges („black faces.
edges“) into Geometry Edges („white
edges“)
• Can be used to split Faces.
Face1 Face2
97
Geometry | Edge
Edge | Chain
Edge | Split • Useful for breaking a face into smaller
• Splits an edge into two portions to apply locally constraints or loads,
or more edges by or for introducing a pretension surface for a
adding vertices solid bolt (option Create face) .
Edge | Merge
• Merges two or more
edges into a single
edge by removing
vertices.
98
Geometry | Face | Create
New face – from existing

Elements:
New face – coordinate • Converts Element Edges
based into Geom Edges,
• Rectangle trimming a new face
• Cylinder
New face – from existing edges

• Use Edges for the most general case.
New face – from

• In case of Planar Faces consider using existing nodes
Mesh|Modify|Fill Holes|Edge|Single Face • 4 Nodes (Rectangle)
• N Nodes (Polygon)
99
Geometry | Face | Merge
Merge Faces:
• In general, the possibility to suppress an edge is not provided in SimLab (with the exception of
floating edges). Instead of this, we can perform the equivalent operation of face merging.
• The options Merge, Preserve and Split by angle determine what happens with the boundary edges
(i.e., the external edges which are not suppressed) of the merged face.
100
Geometry | Face | Split
Split Faces:
• This panel is used to divide automatically face(s) into more faces by creating edges
based on a breaking angle (By an angle) or on the face shape (By feature).
• Split Faces can be used every time edges/faces definition is missing, for example in
case of a mesh imported from a solver deck.
• By an angle: this option is used to break faces using the specified feature angle, i.e.
the but angle between adjacent elements. You can choose to create closed edge loops
only, or to accept also floating edges (i.e., open loops internal to a face).
• By feature: this option is used to extract the planar and cylindrical faces. It can be
used only on whole bodies in which some feature is already present.
By angle
45° By feature
101
Geometry | Face | Break
Break Faces:
• Allows to split one face into two faces by drawing a new edge between two nodes (or
verteces) or between an edge and a node (or vertex).
• Typically requires remeshing to improve the mesh quality after splitting.
• Consider also using Geometry | Body | Break on faces as an alternative in some cases.
102
Geometry | Face | Replace
Replace Faces:
• Replaces a face or set of faces in
a body (even in a solid body) with
new faces.
• The option Free edge boundary
allows to insert faces were missing.
• It requires three nodes to be defined
on both new and old geometry to
define the transformation.
• Boundary edges between current
and new faces must match.
However, the mesh on the boundary
between the new and current faces
can be similar or dissimilar.
103
Geometry | Face | Modify
Face|Modify:
• Advanced tools to edit surfaces
• Some of them useful for shell modeling
• See help for further infos
Flatten: tools to align and remove tiny faces

Tools to remove thin faces: adjacent to a base face. It can be used to
• Collapse elements of a thin face to its remove features such as fillets and
midline or to a selected edge (for chamfers (see section about defeaturing)
example, it can be used for the thin faces
on top of ribs).
• Merge tiny FEM faces, those with a width
less than the user-specified value
104
Geometry | Body | Create | Primitives
Coordinate-based tools for creating shell bodies for geometric primitives such as:
• Blocks (cubes)
• Cylinders
• Spheres (also Hex solid body)
• Cones
105
Geometry | Body | Create | Extrude and Revolve
Entity-based tools to extrude, revolve and sweep faces and egdes in order to create:
• Solid (Hex/Wedge) Bodies (by extruding faces)
• Shell Bodies (by extruding edges)
It is possible to choose among different methods, depending on which entities have to be
dragged, direction/profile of sweeping, start/end, entities to match etc.
106
Geometry | Body | Create | Extrude and Revolve
Extrude Revolve Sweep
107
Geometry | Body | Create | From Existing Entity
Entity-based tools to create bodies from existing entities (elements, faces)

• Entities are copied to a new body or simply moved
• Use Create|From Faces | Duplicate and make shared faces to obtain a shell
body containing membrane elements from the outer surface of a solid body.
Membrane Elements
108
Geometry | Body | (Un)Merge
• Merge/Unmerge: option used to merge two or more bodies in to a single body, and viceversa.
• Equivalente to the Merge/Unmerge options accessible via Right Mouse Button while bodies are selected.
Merge
Un-
merge
109
Geometry | Body | Break
• Break is used to break bodies (or sets of faces) using tools such as: plane, cylinder, box,
polygon and cone.
• It works for shell bodies and for Parasolid CAD bodies
• Options allow to create internale faces and to organize the entities into bodies
• Similar results are obtained by using the Region Mesh Control while meshing
Break | Plane
Geometry | Body | Break
Break | Cylinder
111
Features
The Features ribbon contains all commands to

• Create
• Remove (defeature)
• Modify
geometrical features such as
• Logos
• Holes/Cylinders
• Fillets
• Ribs/Thickness
• Circle/Radius
etc.
112
Features | Create Rib
Create Rib
Tool to create 2D or 3D ribs in order
to bolster the structure (Tri3 only)
113
Features | Modify FIllet
Features|Transform|Modify Fillet changes the radius of a fillet and

allows to adapt the number of element rows .
Use the Fillet selection mode!
114
Features | Transform | Translate / Rotate
Features|Transform|Translate and |Rotate are used to move a group

of faces without breaking the connectivity with the adjacent faces.
Local Remesh may help in case of big displacements.
115
Features | Transform | ChangeRadius / ChangeThickness
Features|Transform|ChangeRadius and |ChangeThickness are used

to change the radius of a hole or the thickness of a rib without
breaking the connectivity with the adjacent faces. Local Remesh
may help in case of big displacements.
116
Features | Remove Fillet
Features|Transform|Remove Fillet removes

a fillet face defeaturing the geometry.
Use the Fillet selection mode!
117
Features | Defeaturing Fillets
Features|Transform|Remove Fillet is not always the most efficient tool for defeaturing. For
example, in some cases more robust solutions are Geometry|Face|Modify|Flatten Face
and, in case of plane faces, Assembly|Align|Plane
Moreover, an opportune selection of the Mesh Control parameters could allow the defeaturing of some
small fillets directly by meshing:
• All fillets smaller than Minimum element size (Body Mesh Control) will be removed.
• Setting angle per element=90° in the Fillet Mesh Control may help to remove fillets in particular cases.
118
Features | Remove Chamfer
Tool used to remove chamfers faces by projecting to the adjacent (planar) faces
• Select a chamfer loop with one click using the fillet selection mode
• Select many chamfer at once using [RMB]|Select Features|Cones
119
Features | Remove Logo
• Tool used primarily to remove logos, part numbers and part names in a model.
• It can remove effectively also blind holes, sockets and all kind of “interruption” on the surfaces.
• Before meshing, preserve the interested faces using Mesh Controls|Preserve Entities|Face Edges.
120
Features | Remove Hole
• The Tool removes solid holes in the body. (Not to be confused with Mesh|Fill Holes, which works on surface holes!)
• It fills both blind and through holes, including chamfers (Remove cones) and closed partial cylinders
• It is possible to select a body and a radius range, or the hole faces (1 face for each hole is enough).
121
Test 4
122
Exercise – Complete Workflow – Modify
Open file: .. \3_Modify\A3_Modify\A3_Housing_2DMesh.slb
Modify the geometry of the 2D Mesh. Make sure to try at least once each of following operations:
1. Remove the part number with Features|Remove|Logo.
2. Remove some chamfers using Features|Remove|Chamfer or Geometry|Face|Modify|Flatten Face.
3. Change the diameter of a non-bolt hole using Features|Transform|ChangeRadius (or Assembly|Align|Cylinder).
4. Remove a the small hole hole (2.5<R<2.6) using Features|Remove|Hole.
5. Optional: Create a washer face around a hole using Geometry|Edge|Create|Edge Offset (Consider Remeshing).
6. Solid Mesh the Carrier part.
1. 2. 3.
7.
4. 5. 123
04 – Assembly
Agenda
4. Assembly:
• Modify Intersections 1. Import CAD/FEM
• Connect Bodies
2.1 2D Mesh
• Imprint Entities
6. Connections
7. Analysis Setup
124
04 – Assembly
Modify | Intersections
Assembly|Modify|Intersections: tool to check and resolve overlaps and

intersections between bodies, before they are assembled.
Featured operations:
• Show Intersection
• Delete intersection
• Convert overlap to penetration (useful for example before Boolean
operation)
125
Assembly | Align
• Use the Assembly | Align feature to move nodes by projecting

(“aligning”) faces or edges to shapes such as planes, cylinders,
spheres, circles, straight lines and so on.
• The Assembly | Align operation is especially useful before assembly

operations, which are usually based on feature shapes, such as
plane, cylinder, disc, and so on, to make the faces conform to these
shapes if some nodes are offset slightly.
Notes:
• Similar functions can also be found in the panel FEM | Node | Move.
The main difference between the two panels is that, while Align modifies the mesh by reshaping features
such as faces and edges, Move Node operates directly on the single nodes, even when they are not
grouped in faces.
• Consider also the tools of the panel Features | Transform for particular cases, such as changing a hole
radius, or a thickness, or if you need to translate/rotate faces within a body.
126
Assembly | Align | Cylinder
Assembly | Align | Cylinder:

• Reshape oval or polygonal faces to cylindrical.
• Change radius (on-screen manipulation of the cylinder tool by
dragging of the transparent faces).
127
Assembly | Align | Plane
Assembly | Align | Plane
Planar, not aligned
Not planar
Planar, aligned
128
Assembly | Align | Line / Circle
Assembly | Align | Circle
Assembly | Align | Line
129
04 – Assembly
Modify | Align
Different components are usually assembled through feature shapes, such as plane, cylinder,
disc, and so on. So, if the faces of a mesh body do not conform to these shapes since few of the
nodes are offset slightly, then they can be aligned properly before calling the Assembly functions.
Since Assembly|Align functions are intensively used also for the modification of the geometry, these tools are
described in the Modify Geometry chapter.
130
04 – Assembly
Connect – Matching Mesh
The Assembly|Connect ribbon provides the tools to connect FE-Bodies by creating matching
nodes – i.e. shared faces and edges.
• Join – creates automatically matching mesh (shared entities) between selected bodies
• Semi-Auto: allows to select faces or bodies, and to specify the face type.
• Auto: identifies automatically joining and overlapping faces
• Separate – converts shared entities into pairs of identical entities with congruent mesh
• Shared – looks for shared entities between the selected bodies.
131
04 – Assembly
Connect | Join |Cylindrical faces
• Join|Cylindrical Faces – identifies and joins automatically matching

pairs of cylindrical faces within tolerance.
• After joining, the faces will preserve the cylindrical mesh pattern.
• Mesh size or no.of mesh divisions can be specified.
Show Join
132
04 – Assembly
Connect | Join |Planar faces
• Join|Planar Faces – identifies and joins pairs of planar faces.

• Shape: this option will modify the mesh of both sides.
• Mesh: Entities selected under Preserve faces will be preserved
as much as possible. This is important in case of slightly different,
non aligned borders, to decide which edge should be preserved
from collapsing.
Show Join
133
04 – Assembly
Connect | Join
• Join|Auto: fully automatic way of identifying and joining the

overlapping faces. (The output will come in as a new model).
• Join|General Faces: to identify and join overlapping faces which don't
participate in the standard options (cylinders, hollow discs, matching,
planar and partial). However, a cylindrical face pair joined with
General could loose the cylindrical mesh pattern.
• In case of complex geometry, like for example in Molded parts, it could be quite
difficult to obtain good matching with Join|General. A recommended workflow
could be:
• With Geometry|Face|Replace, create a congruent mesh on both sides you
wanto to join.
• Create the shared faces using Join|Matching Faces.
134
04 – Assembly
Connect | Re-meshing Shared Faces
Re-meshing Shared Faces:

• After joining, the remeshing of the shared faces can be done quickly in the Mesh|Re-mesh panel just
be selecting the whole bodies. Thus, only the shared faces will be remeshed.
• if you used the option Preserve Mesh in the Assembly|Join panel, you may have to provide the faces
with a Preserve Mesh Control to avoid the collapsing of small edges while remeshing. This is important
in case of slightly different faces with non aligned borders.
135
04 – Assembly
Connect | Separate
• Assembly|Separate: tool used to separate shared entities (Faces/Edges/Vertices)

between the bodies
• After separating the entities each body will have its own entities. Nodes will be
coincident, i.e., different nodes with different IDs but in the same place.
• Using Separate after Join is a quick way to obtain congruent not shared mesh.
136
04 – Assembly
Connect | Shared Entities
• Assembly|Shared: review shared faces of a body or between selected bodies.
137
04 – Assembly
Imprint
The Assembly|Imprint ribbon provides tools to imprint single or multiple

entities on other faces or edges, in order to obtain coincident mesh (as
shared faces or as a pair of congruent entities).
138
04 – Assembly
Imprint | Face on Face
• Assembly|Imprint|Face on Face and Assembly|Imprint|Gasket creates congruent

mesh on overlapping faces within a tolerance.
• If the faces are not overlapping, and the gap between them must be preserved, you can
first project a copy of the reference face on the target face, for example using
Geometry|Transform|Translate or Offset.
139
04 – Assembly
Imprint | Edge
• Different tools in Assembly|Imprint allow the creation of new

edges on faces or for the imprinting of existing ones.
140
Test 5
141
04 – Assembly
Exercises
Import the following geometry:
.. \4_Assembly\Join\A_engine_model1.xmt_txt
To do:
1. 2D Surface mesh the assembly with a mesh size of 500mm
2. Go to Assembly>>Join>> By Feature.
1. Join all Cylindrical Faces, Hollow Disc Faces, Planar Faces (By Mesh), Partial cylinders and General
Faces
3. Remesh the Faces which have poor mesh (mesh size: 500mm)
4. Check for Shared Faces in the Assembly
5. Select all the bodies of the assembly and click on Separate.
6. Again Check for Shared Faces.
Optional
Import the following geometry:
.. \Models\4_Assembly\ B_wheelasy.xmt_txt
1. 2D Surface mesh the assembly with a mesh size of 3mm. Repeat the above steps 2-6.
A_engine_model1.xmt_txt B_wheelasy.xmt_txt
142
04 – Assembly
Exercises (Optional)
• Flushing Gaps
Import the following GDA file:
.. \4_Assembly\Boolean\E_Boolean.gda
Go to Assembly ribbon.
Boolean
Intersections Select the Target Body and the
Intersections
Convert the Tri-Tri Overlap for Tool Body/Bodies and
Check for Tri-Tri Overlap for a
a tolerance of 0.6 to Combine them using different
tolerance of 0.6
penetration options. Use Local Remesh if
needed
143
05 – Cleanup and Repair

Agenda
5. Cleanup and Repair:

• Local Remeshing 1. Import CAD/FEM
• Topology Verification
2.1 2D Mesh
• Topology Repair
• Manual Cleanup
• Element Quality Cleanup
6. Connections
7. Analysis Setup
144

Overview
The ribbons Mesh and FEM contain the tools to repair

the topology and fix the quality of the elements.
Following operations can be performed:
• Quality improvement through local remesh
• Verification and fixing of the mesh topology
• free edges,
• non-manifold edges,
• Intersections
• Element/Node based local mesh modification
• Element quality check and cleanup
145

Local Remeshing – Re-mesh
• Local remeshing through Mesh|Re-mesh is typically used:

• for the cleanup after operations like defeaturing, body joining, face
merging, body/face breaking and so on;
• to refine/coarsen the mesh locally.
• Preserve boundary edges determines if the adjacent faces will
be affected or not.
• Note: Re-mesh works on Surface Mesh only. In case of solid body, please
select the body, then RMB|Delete Solid Elements
Preserve boundary edges: ON Preserve boundary edges: OFF
146

Local Remeshing – Re-mesh
Re-mesh - Remarks:
• The local remesh does not consider any Mesh Control defined on the CAD bodies!
Only Mesh Controls assigned to the FE Bodies take effect. You can:
• add the interested faces to the Mesh Control you want to use;
• use the option Transfer in the Mesh Control Panel to recreate the Mesh Controls on the mesh.
• For the Re-mesh of cylindrical holes, use the Isoline Mesh Control (instead of the Cylinder
Mesh Control) and turn off Preserve boundary edges.
• To remesh the shared faces after using Assembly|Join, just pick directly the bodies
and SimLab will remesh only the faces in common between them.
• Remember that if you used the option Preserve Mesh in the Assembly|Join panel, you may
have to use a Preserve Mesh Control to avoid the collapsing of small edges while remeshing.
147

Local Remeshing – Grid Mesh (MxN Meshing)
Mesh | Grid Mesh is an important remeshing tool to obtain a mapped mesh (90 degree
triangulation) with a given number of elements (“MxN”).
• The surface doesn’t need to be a 4-sided face; anyway, if the face can not be reduced univocally to a
4-sided shape, the input of 4 nodes for the direction will be requested.
• Grid Mesh requires a single face input. Please use Merge Faces to apply it to more faces at once.
• Use Project to the input face to better approximate the shape of the original face
• Note: the Mesh Controls to use to obtain the “MxN”-structure directly from CAD are: Mesh Pattern|Iso
Mesh, IsoLine, and of course Fillet and Cylinder.
Merge Grid
148

Local Remeshing – Layers
Use Mesh | Layers to change the number of layers of elements present in isomeshed faces such
as cylinders and hollow discs (and also in 2.5D solid map meshed bodies)
Cylinder
Hollow Disc
149

Local Remeshing – Exercise
Open file: .. \_Complete_Workflow\A_Transmissional_Housing\A3_Modify\A3_Housing_2DMesh.slb
1. Realize an Isoline-mapped mesh on selected faces by using

• Face Merge + Grid Mesh or
• Isoline Mesh Control + Re-mesh
2. Change the number of element layers on a washer and on cylinders with Mesh|Layers
3. If something goes wrong, mesh the interested CAD faces and replace the damaged FE-faces using
Geometry|Face|Replace
150

Topology Verification
The Topology Verification tools in the Mesh ribbon are used to verify if a 2D shell
mesh fulfills all the topological requirements to allow the solid meshing:
• Mesh enclosure (“Water tightness”): checked with Mesh|Verify|Edges
and Mesh|Verify|Folds
• Non-Manifold Edges (allowed only in case of shared faces and internal
faces): checked with Mesh|Verify|Edges
• No self-intersecting or self-overlapping mesh: Mesh|Verify|Intersection
151

Topology Verification – Free Edges
Mesh|Verify|Edges locates and isolates topological issues in an

outer-surface mesh: Non-manifold edge
Free Edge
• Free Edges (displayed in orange): element edge belonging to
one shell element only. Never allowed in solid modeling!
• Non-Manifold Edges: (displayed in yellow): element edge
belonging to three or more shell elements. Allowed only in case of
internal/shared faces.
• In the Free-Edge view, the element patches containing errors are isolated.
The patches disappear in real time as soon as they are fixed.
• Enlarge/reduce the patch size with Right Mouse Button | Add/Remove Layer
• Exit the Free-Edge View with RMB | Redisplay.
152

Topology Verification – Intersection
Mesh|Verify|Intersection locates and isolates the self

intersection and the self overlapping of a outer-surface mesh
which has to be filled with a solid mesh. Intersections are
highlighted in orange.
• In the Intersection view, the element patches containing errors are

isolated. The patches disappear in real time as soon as they are fixed.
• Exit the Intersection View with RMB | Redisplay.
• The panel Mesh|Intersection should not be confused with the other

panel Assembly|Modify Intersections:
• Mesh|Verify|Intersection: used to find self-intersections within
a shell body, to allow the solid meshing
• Assembly|Modify Intersections: mainly used to find and
modify the overlapping between different bodies to allow
assembly operations
153

Topology Repair – Fill Holes
• Mesh|Fill Holes is the tool to repair the breaks (holes) in the outer surface of a body.
• If the option Body or Faces is selected, all free edge loops within the body or the set of
faces will be filled.
• Use Mesh|Verify|Edges to check residual open loops.
• Note: Mesh|Fill Holes is a repairing tool of the shell mesh, and should not be confused with
Feature|Remove Hole, which is a defeaturing tool to remove design holes like for example bolt
connections or lubrications channels.
154

Topology Repair – Fill Holes
• Mesh|Fill Holes with the option Edge|Single Face gives a practical way
to recreate missing (preferably planar) faces.
• Pick the external free edge loop and any internal edge loop, which will be
subtracted from the created face.
• With Fill Partial Loop it is possible to create (planar) faces also from a
not-closed loop of edges.
External Loop
Internal
Loops
155

Topology Repair – Fill Cracks and Slots
• Mesh|Fill Cracks allows to fill cracks and slots of selected faces or bodies.
• Cracks are defined as a closed loop of free element edges with an angle smaller than 30°.
Cracks are filled by equivalence the free edge nodes, but no new element is created.
• Slots are cracks with a minimum angle of at least 30°. In this case, if the minimum edge length
allows it, new elements are created, otherwise the slot is closed just by collapsing edges and
equivalence nodes.
Crack Slot
156

Manual Repair Tools – Mesh | Modify
Tools for the manual editing of elements
Swap Edge Collapse Edge Equivalence Node
157

Manual Repair Tools – Mesh | Modify
Split Edge Quad to trias

Trias to quads
158

Manual Repair Tools – Create Element
Create Element
Note: the panel doesn’t allow to create Tri6, but you can simply fill holes in a second order
mesh with first order elements (Tri3). This will not be seen as a free edge: SimLab will just
convert everything to linear or quadratic as soon as a solid mesh is created.
159

Manual Repair Tools – FEM Ribbon
The FEM Ribbon features additional FE-entities-based tool to check

and fix manually the mesh, like:
• FEM|Create Node by coordinate, in an arc center, in the
centroid of a geometrical entity…
• FEM|Delete (Orphan) Nodes
• FEM|Move Node
• FEM|Equivalence Nodes to stich together free nodes (different
selection options available).
• FEM|Show (Free) Nodes to identify free nodes.
• FEM|Separate Nodes
160

Manual Repair Tools – Update Model
• When you work directly with FE-Entities like Elements and

Nodes, topology entities like vertices, edges and faces are
NOT always created, and you may have nothing more than
new element edges and nodes.
• Before you continue your work it could be useful to use
Update Model (right click on the model name in the
Assembly Tree): the topology is thus updated, free element
edges are converted into topology edges, IDs of new faces
are defined, and so on.
161

Element Quality Check & Cleanup
Quality Check
• SimLab generates mesh that can be used for different analysis types. For each of
these analysis mesh should meet certain quality criteria
• Since the definition of these quality measures can differ from one software to
another, see SimLab Help to understand how these criteria are calculated
F1-Help
162

Element Quality Check & Cleanup
Element Type
A body must be
selected
Clean Up:
automatic element
Compute: failed clean up for the
elements for the selected criteria.
Display: isolate failed
selected body
elements and create
element group
163

Find Element by ID
• If you need to identify an element (or a node) with a particular ID,

please use Search by ID (right click on the model name in the
Assembly Tree)
• To isolate the found element, create an element group containing the
element and than select it on the Group Tree.
164
Test 6
165

Exercise
Import file: .. \5_Cleanup_Repair \Manual_cleaning.gda
1. Import the GDA part.

2. Verify elements using Free Edge and Elem intersection
3. Clean the part using Create element, Split, Swap, Collapse, Equivalence and Combine
4. Clean the part using Fill Cracks and Fill holes
166
06 - Connections
Agenda
6. Connections:
• Connectors 1. Import CAD/FEM
• 1D Bolts (NVH Bolts)

2.1 2D Mesh
• 3D Bolts (Solid Bolts)
• Contacts 3. Modify 4. Assembly
6. Connections
7. Analysis Setup
167
06 - Connections
Overview
Connectors Contact Bolt Modeling

• RBE Definition • 1D Bolts (NVH Bolts)
• MPC • 3D Bolts
• Bar • Pretension
• Spring
• …
168
06 - Connections
Connectors
Automatic, semi-automatic and manual creation of

connectors for structural and thermal analysis:
• Rigid (RBE2, RBE3, RBAR)

• Bar Element
• Bush, Spring, Damper
• MPC
• Joint
• Gap Element
• Plot Element
• Matrix Element
169
06 - Connections
Connectors – Rigids (RBE, RBAR)
RBE2/RBE3 “One-to-many” (Spider)

• Select Body, Face or Edge  centroid as central node
or
• Select central node (also through arc edge) and search
within tolerance
RBE2 “One-to-one”
• Select Node Pair
or
• Select Faces/Edges with congruent mesh
170
06 - Connections
Connectors – MPC (Equations)
MPC
• Creates multi-point constraint equations between two sets of
nodes (typically between groups of identical faces)
• Use Cyclic Symmetry to link opposite faces in models with
angular pattern repetition
171
06 - Connections
Connectors – Special Connectors
172
06 - Connections
Bolt Modeling – Method Overview
Bolt Modeling
Menu: Advanced | Bolt Modeling
1D Modeling (NVH Bolt) 3D Modeling (Solid Bolt)

Rigid/Bar Tet/Hex
Quick Advanced Automatic CAD Pattern/ Face/Group

Pretensioned Head + Template Based Based Template Based
Thread + Based
Connection
173
06 - Connections
1D Bolts (NVH Bolts) - Modeling
Picture: Prof. Dr. Dieter H. Pahr
• 1D Bolt Modeling lowers the model complexity

• Bolt Head: RBE Spider
• Prefer RBE3 elems to transfer load without increasing stiffness
• Use RSpider= (RHead+RHole) /2
• Bolt Shaft: Bar Elements
• Assign Property / Section / Material
• Use at least 2 bar elements
• Define Pretension Load between the bars to simulate Bolt Tension
174
06 - Connections
1D Bolts (NVH Bolts) – Overview
Quick 1D Bolt
Automatic 1D Bolt
Advanced / Multiple 1D Bolt
175
07 – Analysis Setup
Agenda
7.1 Analysis Setup:

1. Import CAD/FEM
• Loads
• Constraints 2.1 2D Mesh
• Load Mapping
• Load Step
• Material 2.2 Volume Mesh 5. Cleanup
• Property
• Export Solver Deck 6. Connections
7. Analysis Setup
176
07 – Analysis Setup
Overview
Loads Thermal Load Case

Constraints
• Pressure • Flux Creation
• Fixed
• Force • Convection
• Enforced
• Moment
• Temperature
• …….
177
07 - Analysis
Coordinate System
Create Local coordinate system

• Rectangular
• Cylindrical
• Spherical
Transform: Translate or Rotate in any

direction
Assign: coordinate system to nodes to define

their position or displacement behavior
178
07 - Analysis
Loads – Pressure
Pressure: To apply uniform or varying pressure loads on

Solid element faces or on shell element faces
Represented by
Yellow arrow
179
07 - Analysis
Loads – Temperature
Temperature: This option is used to apply uniform or varying

temperature load on a Body or Face
Represented by
Pink markers
180
07 - Analysis
Loads – Force and Moment
Force and Moment: This option is used to

apply force or moment on a node in Global
or Local Coordinate system
Represented by
Pink arrow
Represented by
Orange arrow
181
07 - Analysis
Loads – Body Force
Body Force: This option is used to apply centrifugal force,

accelerations/gravity and rotational velocities on a body
182
07 - Analysis
Constraints
Constraints: This option is used to apply on a node or edge

(nodes) or face (nodes)
• Fixed: To define fixed displacement and rotational constraints
• Enforced: To define enforced translational and rotational displacement
constraints
• Velocity: To define velocity constraints for implicit/explicit motion or dynamic
analysis
Represented by
Green marker
Represented by
Blue marker
183
07 - Analysis
Mass
Mass: This option is used to add mass to a node or to define mass element.
This tool also has option to calculate mass, centroid and moment of inertia
of meshed models which have property defined.
Represented
by Blue marker
Calculated Mass
Properties
184
07 - Analysis
Sets
Sets: This option is used to create node or element sets either by

selecting the entities or automatically through groups/mesh controls
Manual Set Creation

• Select the Set Type eg: Node
• Select the Input entity eg: Face
• Click Apply.
All nodes on that Face will be
added to a Set
Input Entities Face Element Body Edge Vertex Node Region RBE
Node sets      
Shell Element sets   
Solid Element Face sets   
Solid Element sets    
Rigid Body Element (RBE) sets 
Membrane element sets   
Nastran/OptiStruct ASet      
185
07 - Analysis
Material
Material: This is option is used to define materials.

Material definitions can be created for elastic, plastic, acoustic, rubber,
gasket and fluid structures.
Click on Material, select Category,

select Type, select Model, Enter
material properties and click OK.
Material information can be exported

and imported as xml files.
186
07 - Analysis
Property
Property: This option is used to apply solid, shell,

Beam or Bar and rigid body properties.
Click on Property, select Category, select

Type, select Material, Enter material
properties, select Element type, select the
body on which the property has to be
applied and click OK.
187
07 - Analysis
Load Case
Loadcase: This option is used to organize the defined loads and constraints into
Nastran/OptiStruct sub cases or Abaqus load steps. Each Sub Case or Load Step
can have different analysis type, solution control parameters and output requests.
188
07 - Analysis
Export
Export and Solve: This option is used to export

solver decks and also solve them directly.
Different analysis are supported for different
solvers.
Load case: This is an option to export only a
specific load case or all the load cases (default).
Write option: This option is used export the
solver deck as a single file (default) or separate
files.
• While exporting the solver deck, only the

visible bodies and LBC are exported.
In SimLab numbering is done as per • If property is not defined for any visible
models. So, when there is than one body in the database, SimLab will define
meshed model in the database, default material (Steel) and property for that
renumber it appropriately before or body during export of solver deck.
during export of solver deck. • If no Load Case has been defined, SimLab
will create a default load case containing
the defined loads and boundary conditions.
189
Exercises
Exercise are in 6_Analysis_Setup Folder.
Please follow the PDF to complete the exercises
E-Books
Books with contents of FEM theory, Structural optimization, Crash analysis and
MultiBody Simulation that can be freely downloaded by students, teachers and users.
Download link:
http://www.altairuniversity.com/free-study-guide-book/
Satisfaction Survey
192
Thank you!
Numair Mazgaonkar
nmazgaonkar@altair.com
Hotline numbers
U.S. - 2486142425 hwsupport@altair.com
Canada - 4164476463 support@altairengineering.ca
193

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Altair SimLab 14

Basic Training - ONLINE

 Questions can be asked at any time (via chat window)

 At the end of training a satisfaction survey will be conducted.

2.2 Volume Mesh 5. Cleanup

8. Post Processing A1. Automation

• All the selected (picked) entities will appear in the

• Output window is used to display error messages and

Left Button Click

Right Button Click

Multiple Choice icon

Assembly Mesh Control LBC

Ctrl + R - Remove Last Picked Entity F - Fit View

Shft + Z - Scribble Zoom

• File | Help gives information about the software and the

01 – Importing CAD and FEM

1. Importing CAD and FEM:

8. Post Processing A1. Automation

01 - Importing CAD and FEM

• SimLab Data: previously saved SimLab database (*.slb and

01 - Importing CAD and FEM

SimLab does not actually import CAD Geometry

• The work with traditional preprocessors consists mainly in manipulating

• SimLab just creates a graphic representation of the geometry

01 - Importing CAD and FEM

• Instead of importing CAD, SimLab just creates a

• Therefore, in order to be able to access the CAD for a

Transfer both SLB and CAD files for

01 - Importing CAD and FEM

01 - Importing CAD and FEM

• Direct access for native CAD, when available, is the most

01 - Importing CAD and FEM

• If no installation of CATIA, ProE/Creo or UG/NX is available, it

01 - Importing CAD and FEM

01 - Importing CAD and FEM

01 - Importing CAD and FEM

FEM Model (*.gda)

CAD Model (same extension of the CAD file)

01 - Importing CAD and FEM

Solid Mesh Body

Surface Mesh Body

01 - Importing CAD and FEM

• SimLab is an Entity Based Tool.

• Geometry Entities, also referred as Topology Entities, can be selected on both

01 - Importing CAD and FEM

• FEM entities can only be selected on FEM Bodies, and are:

01 - Importing CAD and FEM

• Quick selection of entities is a fundamental aspect of the work with

01 - Importing CAD and FEM

01 - Importing CAD and FEM

• Geometry Filters can refer to both CAD and FE:

01 - Importing CAD and FEM

• FEM Filters can refer to FE only:

01 - Importing CAD and FEM

Following options are available in the Selection

01 - Importing CAD and FEM

• Isolating and hiding entities is an efficient way of selecting entities.

Standard options, available also when no entity is selected, are:

01 - Importing CAD and FEM

01 - Importing CAD and FEM

01 - Importing CAD and FEM

View Toolbar |Visibility: View Toolbar | Add/Remove Layer:

01 - Importing CAD and FEM