Engineering Solutions

Connector Options panel

Connector Options panel

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Connector Options panel

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This panel, accessed from within the Connectors Module or by clicking the options button on the Spot, Bolt, Seam, or Area panels, provides inputs to set general connector options as well as options specific to spots, bolts, seams, or area connectors.  In particular, settings which don’t need to be altered very often reside here.

 

Panel Usage

The panel is organized into subpanels for general options, spot options, bolt options, seam options, area options, apply mass options, and fe config. Each subpanel contains settings appropriate to its connector type.  All input on this panel is persistent; your settings remain (are not cleared) when you switch subpanels, or even exit the entire Connector Options panel.

spot_panel_connector_options

Note:When this panel is accessed from one of the other connector panels, leaving the panel returns you to the Connector panel from which it was accessed. If accessed directly from within the Connectors Module, it returns you to the main menu for the module.

 

Subpanels and Inputs

hmtoggle_arrow1General Options

Fail hexa seam or area connectors, if:

This criteria is saved for individual connectors, so that when a realization is performed from the Connector browser connectors will be considered individually.

•Jacobian.  When selected, hexa seam and/or area connectors will fail if the jacobian value is less than the specified value.
•Aspect.  When selected, hexa seam and/or area connectors will fail if the aspect value is greater than the specified value.
•Equia skew.  When selected, hexa seam and/or area connectors will fail if the equia skew value is greater than the specified value. The default value is 0.8.

 

Consider shell thickness and offset for solid positioning

Enables Engineering Solutions to consider the shell thickness and offset when positioning the connector. When this check box is turned off, the connector is realized to the ideal shell position.

This option influences the ACM realization types. By default, this check box is selected.

 

Shared entity global options

During connector realization, connecting elements are created. In order to create a full functional connection, additional entities and collectors may need to be created. These entities and collectors are usually shared among several connectors, therefore they are named shared entities. The following options can be used to organize shared entities, and remove shared entities when they are no longer needed.

•auto-register during realization, feabsorb and import registers all connector related entities during import or when performing realizations or absorptions. This option must be enabled in order to use one of the cleanup during unrealization or cleanup during deletion options.
•cleanup during unrealization checks if the registered entities of the unrealized connectors are shared among other connectors. If this is not the case, entities that are not shared will be deleted.
•cleanup during deletion checks if the registered entities of the deleted connectors are shared among other connectors. If this is not the case, the entities that are not shared will be deleted.

 

Angle classification for penta (Mig) and hexa (adhesive)

Enables you to specify when a penta (mig) and hexa (adhesive) seam connector becomes a B, L, and T connection.

In the image below, angle classifications have been defined for a hexa (adhesive). A B connection will be created when the hexa (adhesive) has an angle between 0° and 10°, a L connection will be created when the angle is between 10° and 30°, and a T connection will be created when the angle is between 30°and 90°.

angle_classification_penta_mig_hexa_adhesive

 
hmtoggle_arrow1Spot Options

Spot options contains inputs for spot connector projection, link conservation, system definition, and end offset or half-spacing of weld locations.

Input

Description

end offset = / half spacing

First and last weld locations are offset from the ends of the line by the end offset value, or by a value equal to half the distance between weld locations.

non-normal projection

By default this option is deactivated for spots. Typically the link detection requires a valid normal projection to the link candidates (note that an angle of <5° will be considered as normal). If the normal projection is not possible, the realization fails as shown in the example below.

Activating the non-normal projection option waives the requirement for a normal projection, so link candidates only need to be found within the connector tolerance.

In certain cases activating this option may be useful.

spot_panel_nonnormal_projection

system definition

These options allow the creation of coordinate systems along with the creation of simple 1D FE representations. The y-axis is collinear with the 1D element the system is located at.

•No system

No coordinate system will be created.
•Single system

Only one coordinate system will be created, even if it is a multiple layer connection (several 1D elements in a row). The system will be created at one end of the 1D element row.
•1 sys per layer

Along with every created 1D element, one coordinate system is created at one end.
•2 sys per layer

Along with every created 1D element, two coordinate systems are created--one at each end.

spot_panel_system_definition

links conservation

Links conservation defines whether or not extra links should be stored on a spot or seam connector.

•minimum needed links

This is the default setting. During the link detection the link candidates are reduced to the links which are needed to perform a valid projection with respect to the specified number of layers. For example, in a 3-layer spot connector typically three links are established, even though more than three link entities were selected before and are within the given tolerance. For seam connectors this investigation has to be done per each test point, so that typically the number of links is higher than the number of layers.
•re-apply during realizations

This option only appears if minimum needed links is selected for links conservation.

If this checkbox is checked, unnecessary defined links are removed during realization. Therefore only the links which already exist in the connector are taken into account.
•extra links

This option allows storing more link candidates than necessary on a connector. In addition to the number of layers, extra links can be stored per test point. This means with 5 extra links, a 3-layer spot connector can store up to 8 link candidates or a seam (2-layer) with 6 test points can store up to 42 link candidates.

use normal direction of the closest element to determine links

When there are a lot of small components, the wrong components can be determined links. Select this option to add links to spot connectors based on the normal direction of the closest element.

spot_options_use_normal_dir_closest_elem_to_deter_link

orthogonal faces 1 hexa acm

Creates ACM hexa elements as orthogonal as possible. This option overrules the normal shell gap option.

orthogonal_faces_1_hexa_acm_1

orthogonal_faces_1_hexa_acm_2

If project hexa faces to shell is also enabled, the shell gap will be forced and, at a minimum, the hexa edges for each hexa pointing from one link to the next will be parallel to each other.

orthogonal_faces_1_hexa_acm_3

project hexa faces to shell

In some border cases, during ACM (shell gap) spot realization not all nodes of the appropriate hexa(cluster)-side are positioned exactly on the shell. This is due to some simplifications during the projection routine because it is estimated that the shells will not be too curvy and will be pretty plain. Therefore not every node is individually investigated and projected to the same plane as the first one.

project_hexa_faces_to_shell_1

Select this option to investigate and project each individual node, enabling you to expect and accept penetrations.

project_hexa_faces_to_shell_2

ensure valid projection for shell gap

When enabled, all hexa node projections to a link that are beyond the specified tolerance (0.01*diameter) are marked as an error.

It is recommended that you enable this checkbox when working with connections that use a contact definition.

 
hmtoggle_arrow1Bolt Options

Bolt options Contains inputs for link conservation when creating or realizing bolts.

Input

Description

minimum needed links

This is the default setting. During the link detection the link candidates are reduced to the links which are needed to perform a valid projection with respect to the specified number of layers. This means that, for example, for a 3-layer spot connector typically three links are established, even though more than three link entities were selected before and are within the given tolerance. For seam connectors this investigation has to be done per each test point, so that typically the number of links is higher than the number of layers.

re-apply during realizations

This option only appears if minimum needed links is selected for links conservation.

If this checkbox is checked, unnecessary defined links are removed during realization. Therefore only the links which already exist in the connector are taken into account.

extra links =

This option allows storing more link candidates than necessary on a connector. In addition to the number of layers, extra links can be stored per test point. This means with 5 extra links, a 3-layer spot connector can store up to 8 link candidates or a seam (2-layer) with 6 test points can store up to 42 link candidates.

 
hmtoggle_arrow1Seam Options

Input

Description

discontinuity weld length tol

Defines an upper and lower allowed deviation from the requested discontinuity weld length in %.

•allow weld longer by (%) specifies the upper deviation from the requested weld length
•allow weld shorter by (%) specifies the lower deviation from the requested weld length

links conservation

Defines whether or not to store extra links on a spot or seam connector.

•minimum needed links reduces the link candidates during link detection to the links which are needed to perform a valid projection with respect to the specified number of layers. For example, in a 3-layer spot connector typically three links are established, even though more than three link entities were selected before and are within the given tolerance. For seam connectors this investigation has to be done per each test point, so that typically the number of links is higher than the number of layers. This is the default setting.
-re-apply during realizations removes unnecessary defined links during realization. Only the links which already exist on the connector are taken into account. This option is only enabled when minimum needed links is selected.
•extra links specifies an amount of extra link candidates to store on a connector. In addition to the number of layers, extra links can be stored per test point. This means with 5 extra links, a 3-layer spot connector can store up to 8 link candidates or a seam (2-layer) with 6 test points can store up to 42 link candidates.

link option

Seam connectors are supposed to connect two links at each test point. Use the link option to specify how connectors are linked.

•closest (default).  The two closest link candidates are connected during the realization.

This approach requires the connector be positioned precisely in the middle of the links, especially when there are other close link candidates around.

connector_module_seam_options_link_option_closest

•opposite.  The connector searches for opposite links on both sides of the connector during realization.

This option is useful when you are confident that the connector will be correctly positioned between the links. The opposite links must be fairly parallel to each other. To control this, specify a normal projection angle deviation. Ideally the two projection vectors are collinear.

connector_module_seam_options_link_option_opposite

Mesh imprint options

Sliver elements at free edges

Sliver elements are small elements that you may not want in your model. In the images below, a perfect perpendicular projection resulted in sliver elements. The Sliver Elements option can be used to manage sliver elements in your model that have an element length less than the value specified in the element length field, and that are located at free edges. In the images below, the red elements represent the HAZ elements.

•allow

sliver_elements_allow

•prevent by moving projection points

sliver_elements_prevent_by_moving_edge

•prevent by moving edge

sliver_elements_prevent_by_moving_projection_points

•delete sliver elements

sliver_elements_delete_sliver_elements

Washer preservation

The washer elements (green marked area) close to seams might be modified, depending on the chosen settings.

washer_preservation

•No washer preservation. Treats washer elements in the same manner as normal elements. Washers are not protected, and could be remeshed along with its surrounding elements.

no_washer_preservation

•Preserve washer, allow remesh.  Only remesh the washer elements so that a washer can still be detected.

preserve_washer_allow_mesh

•Preserve washer, no remesh.  Do not modify the washer during imprint realizations. Note that with this option, nearby seam connectors might fail because of this restriction.

preserve_washer_no_mesh

Don't share zone elements

To generate seam welds with the desired size of imprinted elements, even if the seam welds are close to each other, imprinted elements can be shared among two connectors. Use this option prevent the sharing of zone elements.

dont_share_zone_elements

max quadsize reduction in %

This value describes the maximum deviation from the requested imprint quad element size. By default, this value is set to 30.0%. It can be set from 5.0% to 80.0%.

max_quadsize_reduction_in_percent

max quadskew in degrees

This value describes the maximum deviation from an ideal right angled quad. By default, this value is set to 30.0°. It can be set from 5.0° to 45.0°.

max_quadsize_in_degrees

Feature angle

If the nodes of the mesh are not associated with surfaces, the feature angle is needed to identify the features, which might need to be protected. By default, this value is set to 30.0°. The minimum value is 10.0°. Features will not be protected when they are close to imprint regions.

Corner quads

If seams are not smooth and contain vertices, a different mesh pattern in those corner may be requested.

•double quad corner.  Guarantees each quad weld element is attached at its toe to a separate imprint element.
•single quad corner, angle.  Enables two quad weld elements to share one imprint element at their toes. The angle describes the cases, where this pattern has to be used.

corner_quads

 
hmtoggle_arrow1Area Options

Input

Description

non-normal projection

By default this option is deactivated for areas. Typically the link detection requires a valid normal projection to the link candidates.

Note:An angle of 5 degrees or less will be considered as normal. If the normal projection is not possible, the realization fails as shown in the example below.

Activating the non-normal projection abrogates the requirement for a normal projection, so the link candidates only need to be found within the connector tolerance.

In certain cases activating this option may be useful.

area_panel_options_nonnormalprojection

Link option

Area connectors are supposed to connect two links at each test point. Use the link option to specify how connectors are linked.

•closest (default).  The two closest link candidates are connected during the realization.

This approach requires the connector be positioned precisely in the middle of the links, especially when there are other close link candidates around.

connector_module_area_options_link_option_closest

•opposite.  The connector searches for opposite links on both sides of the connector during realization.

This option is useful when you are confident that the connector will be correctly positioned between the links. The opposite links must be fairly parallel to each other. To control this, specify a normal projection angle deviation. Ideally the two projection vectors are collinear.

connector_module_area_options_link_option_opposite

 
hmtoggle_arrow1Apply Mass Options

Input

Description

Check for missing link

This determines how strict the rerealization criteria are when applying masses.

•When this option is selected, before rerealizing an unrealized connector Engineering Solutions will check the links in the connector.  If any of the links do not exist, the connector will fail.
•With this option deselected, Engineering Solutions will rerealize any unrealized connector if at least 1 of the links still exists in the connector.

 
hmtoggle_arrow1Fe config

In the fe config panel, you can load a custom feconfig.cfg file, and you can unload a feconfig.cfg file that was previously loaded.

If you load a feconfig.cfg file that contains config types with IDs or names that already exist in the current Altair HyperMesh database config list, the duplicated config types will be skipped during the loading process. To overwrite the existing config types with the new config types, select the overwrite if a config ID or name exists check box.

 

 

See Also:

Hexa Positioning for Hexa Adhesives & ACMs