Working with Assemblies

When working with assemblies, note the following:

• Click Tools > Evaluate > Interference Detection to check interference. Make sure that the Treat coincidence as interference option is unchecked. All parts should be free from interference with each other for proper modeling. The shrink fit contact option requires interfering geometry. The software allows you to mesh components with interfering boundaries unless it encounters difficulty in resolving imprinting components to find the common areas. Components with free contact setting are not imprinted.
• Check the interference again with the Treat coincidence as interference option checked. This shows the common areas shared by different components. A component that does not share common areas with other components acts as if it is completely disconnected unless a connector mechanism is defined to connect it with other components.
• Click Tools > Evaluate > Check to check for invalid faces and invalid edges. Checking for short edges can help in diagnosing meshing problems.
• You can exclude parts from a Simulation study by suppressing them and, then, remeshing the model. If a mesh exists and you do not remesh, all parts of your model are considered in the simulation. Right-click the part icon under the Parts folder, and select Exclude from Analysis. If you select Exclude others from Analysis, only the selected part is included in the simulation.
• You can also exclude from a Simulation study a group of parts (or bodies) which you save in a subfolder under the Parts folder. Right-click the subfolder that includes the selected parts, and select Exclude from Analysis. Select the option Exclude others from Analysis to keep in the simulation the parts of the subfolder and exclude all the other parts of your model.
• You can simplify large assemblies by right-clicking a part in the study and selecting:

  Make Rigid	Available for static, frequency, buckling and nonlinear studies. The solid body cannot deform but can move (translate or rotate). Displacements are computed but results for strains and stresses are not computed. However, its contact interactions are considered in simulation. This option toggles back to Make Deformable.
  Fix	Available for static, frequency, buckling and nonlinear studies only. The solid body can neither move nor deform. Since the entire body is not allowed to move, it is effectively made rigid as well. A fixed body can still transfer contact interactions to touching parts. The option toggles to Float. Treating a solid body as rigid can introduce errors in simulation. See When to Define a Rigid Body for details. To fix a portion of a body, use the Fixed Geometry option in Fixture PropertyManager.
  Float	The body can move to the extent allowed by its fixtures and connections to other parts. A floating body might be either rigid or deformable depending on the Make Rigid/Make Deformable setting.

• You can update the component lists for a study. To update all studies, right-click the assembly document's icon in the Simulation study tree and select Update Components for All Studies. To update one study, right-click the study's icon and select Update All Components.
• Hiding a component does not exclude it from analysis. In other words, the program meshes hidden components. You can hide components and create exploded views for improved selection and viewing during study definition and result viewing.
• Setting component and local contact options is critical to simulate the proper behavior of the model.
• The Contact Sets PropertyManager helps you define contact sets.
• For multibody components, you can assign a different material for each body.