Renumbering elements

Select MeshEdit from the main menu bar to renumber selected elements. You can renumber the selected elements by specifying a starting label and an increment or by offsetting the existing label by a specified value. (See Changing the labels of all nodes and elements, for information on renumbering the elements of an Abaqus/CAE native mesh.)

Related Topics
Changing the labels of all nodes and elements
What can I do with the Edit Mesh toolset?

  1. Enter the Mesh module.

  2. From the Object field in the context bar, select Part and select a part from the list. This tool is available only for working on parts that do not contain any geometry.

  3. From the main menu bar, select MeshEdit.

    Abaqus/CAE displays the Edit Mesh dialog box.

    Tip: You can also display the Edit Mesh dialog box using the tool, located at the bottom of the Mesh module toolbox.

  4. In the dialog box, do the following:

    1. In the Category field, select Element.
    2. From the Method list, select Renumber.

    Abaqus/CAE displays the Element Renumbering dialog box. The Part Label Range displays the range of element labels for the entire part.

  5. Do either of the following to specify the renumbering method:

    • Choose By Start Label, and enter the value of the first element label and the increment that will be used to number subsequent elements.

    • Choose By Offset, and enter the value by which the existing element labels will be offset.

  6. Use one of the following methods to select the elements that you want to renumber:

    Selecting all elements

    • Select All to renumber all the orphan mesh elements.

    Selecting elements using the unordered method

    1. Select Specify and Unordered to select the elements in any sequence.

    2. Click Select to select the elements to renumber.

    3. From the prompt area, choose the selection method and select the elements to renumber. For more information, see Selecting the elements to edit.

    Selecting elements using the directed path method

    1. Select Specify and Directed Path to renumber the elements along an edge from a selected start element to a selected end element.

    2. Click Select to select the elements to renumber.

    3. Select the start element. Abaqus/CAE displays all the elements along the feature edge. If desired, modify the angle to redefine how Abaqus/CAE defines a feature edge.

    4. Select Done from the prompt area.

    5. Select the end element. The start and end elements must lie on the same feature edge.

    Selecting elements using the sequence method

    1. Select Specify and Sequence to renumber the elements based on the sequence in which you select the elements.

    2. Click Select to select the elements to renumber.

    3. Select the start element. Abaqus/CAE displays all the elements along the feature edge. If desired, modify the angle to redefine how Abaqus/CAE defines a feature edge.

    4. Select Done from the prompt area. The start element is displayed in purple.

    5. Select the end element. The start and end elements must lie on the same feature edge.

    The Part Label Range displays the range of element labels for the renumbered elements.

  7. Click OK or Apply to renumber the elements. If you click Apply, Abaqus/CAE renumbers the elements; however, the elements remain selected, and you can continue renumbering them.

  8. Repeat the previous steps as often as necessary to renumber additional elements.

  9. When you have finished renumbering elements, click Cancel to close the Element Renumbering dialog box.