Preserving Assembly FEM part hierarchy during export

You can preserve part hierarchy data when you export assembly FEMs. In the Export Simulation and Advanced Solver Options dialog boxes, you can use the Output File Structure option in the Assemblies group to do one of the following:

• Ignore the part hierarchy information during the export process.

• Retain the part hierarchy information using Nastran INCLUDE files.

• Retain the part hierarchy information in the output file by grouping the relevant bulk data entries for a particular part together.

Note:

When you export the part hierarchy information, the software writes out connection elements and loads and boundary conditions in the Nastran input file that corresponds to the component file in which they were created.

Exporting the part hierarchy using INCLUDE file statements

Select Retain Part Hierarchy Using Include Files to use Nastran INCLUDE file statements to write each component file (.fem, .afem, and .sim) as a separate Nastran input file.

The software names each input file so that you can identify:

• The associated file type through the file extension File typeExtension of exported fileFEM file (.fem).blkAssembly FEM file (.afm).ablkSimulation file (.sim).dat

• The specific name of the specific file through the file's base name.You can specify the name of the .dat file only. The software assigns the names of all other input files.If there are multiple instances of the same part, the software appends the part ID to the file's name. You can use the Information Window command to display the part ID.

The directory structure of the output files is as follows:

• If you export the part hierarchy from a Simulation file, the software exports the information from the Simulation file to the .dat file that you specify (Output File Name option on the General page).

• If you export the part hierarchy from an assembly FEM file, the software exports an empty Simulation file to the .dat file. The .dat file includes a single INCLUDE statement that points to the assembly FEM .ablk file. The software writes assembly FEM file data to the .ablk file.

• The software creates a directory named after the base name of the .dat file for the top-level assembly FEM. This directory stores the files (.ablk and .blk) for the associated components.

The .dat file is associated to the top-level assembly FEM file. If this top-level assembly FEM file has child component parts, then the .dat file contains one INCLUDE file statement for each child assembly FEM (.ablk) or child FEM (.blk) file.

Note:

Because Nastran limits nested INCLUDE statement levels to 10, the software writes any component part that requires an INCLUDE statement beyond this to a single, organized input file instead.

Each input file begins with a banner that includes relevant information regarding the component part, such as the file name and units, as well as other basic information regarding the export process, such as the time stamp and exported input file name.

Exporting the part hierarchy in a single input file

Select Retain Part Hierarchy in a Single Organized Output File to write out a single Nastran input file with all bulk data entries that pertain to a particular component grouped together. The software inserts a commented header that identifies the associated component before each group. The order of each component group loosely follows the tree order of the assembly FEM hierarchy.

Exporting material data

You can use the Material Data Output option to control how the software writes out library and local material data when you export assembly FEM files.

• Select Default to write out all material bulk data entries as they occur in the assembly FEM to the input file. If the same material is used by multiple component FEMs in the assembly FEM, the software writes the material bulk data entries multiple times.

• Select Compacted to write out the material bulk data entries in a compact format. If the same material is used by multiple component FEMs in the assembly FEM, the software writes identical material bulk data entries only once in the input file of the closest common parent component. This process reduces the overall number of materials exported.

Where do I find it?

Application	Pre/Post
Prerequisite	A FEM or Simulation file as the work part and displayed partSimcenter Nastran or MSC Nastran as the specified solver
Menu	File→Export→Simulation
Location in dialog box	Export Options tab

Quick links

Command reference

Pre/Post video examples

Bulk Entry Descriptions

Simcenter 3D tutorials

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Preserving Assembly FEM part hierarchy during export, Simcenter 3D 2021.1 Series

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