Synchronizing Teamcenter model structures with assembly FEMs

Using the CAE Manager application in Teamcenter, you can create, edit, and manage CAE model structures. A model structure contains one or more CAEModel revisions related to CAD product structure by CAE Source and CAE Target relations. You can then populate these CAEModel revisions with datasets that reference the actual data files that comprise your analysis.

A model structure is a hierarchical arrangement of CAEModel revisions. Each CAEModel revision has CAE Source and CAE Target relations to a corresponding CAD item revision, and the root node of the model structure has source and target relations to the root node of a CAD product structure. When you open the root node of a model structure in Pre/Post, the software creates an assembly FEM for the root node, and component FEMs for the child CAEModel revisions. It then maps the new FEMs to the corresponding component parts in the CAD assembly.

For example, the FEM file is stored as a named reference of a CAEMesh dataset with the NX Simulations relation to the CAEModel revision.

You can open model structures created in Teamcenter as new assembly FEMs and component FEMs, and you can update assembly FEMs in Pre/Post to reflect the latest edits to the model structure in Teamcenter. This is similar to the synchronization currently provided for Teamcenter product structures and CAD assemblies.

Using this facility, you can:

• Open empty CAEModel revisions in Pre/Post as new FEMs.

• Automatically import meshes managed as bulk data (for example, .nas files created by the batch mesher) as component FEMs. Bulk data files must be stored in CAEMesh datasets with a FEM_mesh reference type and NX Simulations relation to the CAEModel revision.

• Open model structures created entirely in Teamcenter (with or without datasets) as new assembly FEMs in Pre/Post. You are prompted to create an assembly FEM for the top-level CAEModel revision, and you can use the Manage AFEM Components dialog box to choose which CAEModel revision BOM lines to include as component FEMs in the assembly FEM.

• Add or remove CAEModel revisions to a CAE structure in Teamcenter, and update your assembly FEM to reflect pending changes using the Manage AFEM Components dialog box.

• For non-associative assembly FEMs (assembly FEMs not mapped to a CAD assembly), you can synchronize component FEM positions with the transformation matrices stored in Teamcenter. This means that changes made to CAE structure component transformations are available to the assembly FEM.

• Control if the CAD components position drives the component FEM positioning in the assembly FEM. To override that relationship, clear the check box for Map CAD on the Manage AFEM Components dialog box. The Teamcenter transformation matrix, or the WCS origin will determine the component FEM positioning. You can then use the Move Component command to position the component.

Opening a CAEModel revision in Pre/Post

Pre/Post supports the following scenarios for opening a CAEModel revision created in Teamcenter:

• An empty CAEModel revision (that is, a CAEModel revision with no associated datasets). For example, you can create empty CAEModel revisions associated with CAD item revisions using the datamap or a structure. You can create non-associative CAEModel revisions in the Teamcenter client using File→New→CAE item. For this scenario, you can turn on the Bodies option on the Manage AFEM Components dialog box to allow creating a mesh on polygon bodies based on the master part.

• A CAEModel revision that contains a CAEMesh dataset that references mesh bulk data, such as Nastran .dat file. The CAEMesh dataset must have the NX Simulations relation to the CAEModel revision. The Teamcenter Batch Meshing tool creates datasets with these attributes by default. A Teamcenter administrator can customize Teamcenter to automatically create the correct dataset type and relations when you drag and drop a bulk data file onto the CAEModel revision in the Teamcenter client. For this scenario, you can turn off the Bodies option on the Manage AFEM Components dialog box to create a FEM without creating polygon bodies that contain only imported nodes and elements.

Teamcenter configuration for model structure synchronization

To properly synchronize Teamcenter CAE structures and assembly FEMs, each CAEModel revision in the CAE structure must have a CAE Source relation to the corresponding CAD BOM line in the product structure.

• If you create component and assembly FEMs in Pre/Post, this relation is created automatically.

• If you create CAE structures in Teamcenter using the default data map, leaf nodes in the CAE structure have this relation, but assembly and subassembly nodes do not.

You can create the CAE Source relation manually in Teamcenter as needed, but it is recommended that your Teamcenter administrator modify the default datamapping.xml file to create this relation automatically for all CAE structures created using a data map or structure map.

Quick links

Command reference

Pre/Post video examples

Bulk Entry Descriptions

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Synchronizing Teamcenter model structures with assembly FEMs, Simcenter 3D 2021.1 Series

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