Creating patterns of attachment points based on edges

From the main menu bar, select ToolsAttachmentPoints Offset From Edges.

Tip: You can also create attachment points by choosing edges and offsets using the tool, located with the attachment tools in the Property module or Interaction module toolbox. For more information on the attachment tools in the toolbox, see Understanding attachment points and lines.

From the current viewport, select the edges on which to assign the attachment points. You can select multiple edges as long as the edges are connected and do not branch. You can click Sets from the right side of the prompt area to use a previously defined set.

If the edge selection forms a closed loop, select the starting vertex for point generation from the viewport.

A red arrow appears to indicate the direction of point generation from the start point.

In the prompt area, click Flip to reverse the direction of point generation, if necessary, and click Yes.

Abaqus/CAE displays the Create Attachment Points Offset From Edges dialog box.

From the dialog box, specify the points along the edges.

• Select by number to define the number of attachment points along the edge selection. Abaqus/CAE automatically spaces the points along the edges.

  1. Enter the number of points along the edges.

  2. Enter the desired offset of the first attachment point from the start point.

  3. Enter the desired offset of the last attachment point from the end point.

• Select by spacing to define the distance between the attachment points.

  1. Enter the spacing between the points.

  2. Enter the desired offset of the first attachment point from the start point.

  3. Specify the number of points along the edges, or select Auto-fit to have Abaqus/CAE determine the number of attachment points. If you specify the number of points, Abaqus/CAE will create only the points between the start point and the end point; any points extending past the end point will not be created.

If desired, define the pattern of rows of the attachment points by specifying the following:

• Enter the number of rows in the pattern. The default value of 1 creates a single row of attachment points.

• Enter a value for spacing to define the distance between the rows of the pattern.

• Enter the offset distance of the first row of the pattern from the edges. The default value of 0 will create the first row of the pattern on the edges.

• Select Orthogonal to faces as the offset method, and click to select an adjacent face on which to position the pattern.

• Select Along direction as the offset method, and click to specify the start and end points of the direction vector.

To project the specified points onto a selected face, display the Projection tabbed page and do the following:

1. Toggle on Project onto faces.
2. Click , and select the faces onto which the points will be projected. The faces can be planar or nonplanar.
3. Select the method for projecting the points.

   • Choose Proximity to allow Abaqus/CAE to draw a vector from each point to the closest point on the selected faces.

   • Choose Direction to define the vector along which to project the points. Click to choose the Start point and End point of the vector.

For more information, see Understanding the projection methods.

By default, Abaqus/CAE creates a set that contains the attachment points. If desired, you can modify the set name. Toggle off Create set with name if you do not want to create a set containing the attachment points.

Click OK to create the attachment points.

Abaqus/CAE displays the attachment points. For information on editing attachment points, see Editing attachment points created by a pattern based on edges.