Scaling vector length for free body cuts

The Scaling options enable you to adjust the length of the vectors displayed in your free body cuts. Abaqus/CAE calculates vector length as a percentage of the size of your model or the size of your viewport. If multiple free body cuts are displayed, Abaqus/CAE uses the largest force vector or moment vector as the basis for length calculations. You can change the percentage value to increase or decrease the size of vectors, and you can choose either the model or the viewport as the basis for the vector length calculation. You can also set different vector scaling values for display of force vectors and moment vectors; the Free Body Plot Options dialog box provides identical (but independent) options for Force and Moment vector scaling.

  1. Locate the Color & Style options.

    Select OptionsFree Body from the main menu bar in the Visualization module, and click the Color & Style tab in the dialog box that appears.

  2. Click the Force tab or the Moment tab to change vector scaling settings for force vectors or moment vectors, respectively. The Scaling options are in the lower third of the page.

  3. From the Basis options, select Screen size or Model size.

  4. Drag the Percent slider to establish the vector length as a percentage of the size of the screen or model.

  5. Click OK to implement your changes and to close the Free Body Plot Options dialog box.

    By default, your changes are saved for the duration of the session and will affect all subsequent free body cuts plots in that viewport. If you want to retain your changes for subsequent sessions, save them to a file. For more information, see Saving customizations for use in subsequent sessions.