New Feat

Whats New in FEMAP
FEMAP 11.2.1 includes enhancements and new features, which are detailed below:
User Interface
Aeroelasticity
Meshing
Output and Post-Processing
Geometry Interfaces
Analysis Program Interfaces
OLE/COM API
FEMAP 11.2 includes enhancements and new features, which are detailed below:
User Interface
Geometry
Meshing
Elements
Element Update
Properties
Aeroelasticity
Loads and Constraints
Connections (Region, Properties, and Connectors)
Groups and Layers
Views
Geometry Interfaces
Tools
Model Merge
OLE/COM API
Preferences
Performance Graphics
Layups
Tools - Element Quality
11.2-2 Finite Element Modeling
User Interface
Model Merge
Geometry
Meshing
Elements
Materials
Modification
Views
Geometry Interfaces
OLE/COM API
Preferences
FEMAP 11.1 includes enhancements and new features, which are detailed below:
User Interface
Model Merge
Geometry
Meshing
Elements
Materials
Properties
Groups and Layers
Views
Geometry Interfaces
Tools
OLE/COM API
Preferences
Whats New for version 11.2.1 11.2-3
Whats New for version 11.2.1
User Interface
General
General
Added dynamic face highlighting during Element Face picking and enabled dynamic highlighting of elements
in the Connection Region dialog if Elements-No Faces is selected
Added Plane Element Offset as an option when using the Model Data Value option for Pick^ in the stan-
dard entity selection dialog box
Added a Cancel button to the OK to Start New Model (No=Add to Current Model)? dialog box which
appears when you drag and drop an analysis model or geometry file into an open instance of FEMAP
Updated the Add Connected Elements option for Pick^ in the standard entity selection dialog box to dra-
matically improve performance
Aeroelasticity
Added support for randomizing colors of the various Aero entities when modifying the color
Meshing
Enhanced performance significantly when using the Mesh, Copy, Element; Mesh, Radial Copy, Element; Mesh,
Scale, Element; Mesh, Rotate, Element; and Mesh, Reflect, Element commands to create copies of existing ele-
ments.
Enhanced performance significantly of the Mesh, Extrude commands to extrude elements, the Mesh, Revolve
commands to revolve elements, and the Mesh, Sweep commands to sweep elements.

Updated View, Advanced Post, Contour Model Data command to allow display of Plane Element Offset on
planar elements
Geometry Interfaces
The following FEMAP interfaces have been updated to support newer geometry formats:
FEMAP Interface Latest Supported Version

Parasolid Parasolid 28.0
Enhanced support for importing geometry files from SolidWorks 2015 by implementing a newer version of the
SolidWorks translator

Several of the analysis program interfaces have been improved. These changes include:
NX Nastran Interface
DYNA Interface
For details, see Analysis Program Interfaces in the FEMAP User Guide.
FEMAP with NX Nastran bundle now includes NX Nastran 10.2
Added support for NX Nastran 10.2 Thermal and Mechanical Strain (op2 data blocks OSTR1ELC,
OSTR1THC, OSTR1EL, OSTR1TH)
Updated default value for the Solid Results in Material CSys option in the NXSTRAT Solver Parameters
dialog box in the Analysis Set Manager to be Off instead of On, which will write a 0 to the ELRESCS field on
the NXSTRAT entry instead of a 1, which is the default value for NX Nastran.
DYNA Interface
Added 20..EQ 13: 1 point nodal pressure tetrahedron as a formulation option for Solid elements to create
ELFO=13
Updated Memory (Megawords) field in the LS-DYNA Analysis Control dialog box, which writes the
*KEYWORD MEMORY entry, to allow values up to 99,999,999, as the previous limit was 2,147
OLE/COM API
New and modified API Objects and Attributes
Added NumberOfLoads and NumberOfConstraints properties to the API Node object
New and updated API Methods
Added GetAllArray2 and GetCoordArray2 methods to Node Object (returns an extra Variant that indicates
which nodes actually exist)
Added GetAllArray2 method to Element Object (returns an extra Variant that indicates which elements actually
exist)
Updated the GetAllArray and GetCoordArray methods for the Node object to automatically zero all memory,
so if you ask for entities that do not exist the values returned will all be zeroed
Updated the GetAllArray method for the Element object to automatically zero all memory, so if you ask for
entities that do not exist the values returned will all be zeroed
The following functions have been added or updated:
feAppSetModel32 (method to supplement the existing feAppSetModel method for programming environments
where 64-bit integers are not available)
feAppGetModel32 (method to supplement the existing feAppGetModel method for programming environ-
ments where 64-bit integers are not available)
Whats New for version 11.2 11.2-5
Whats New for version 11.2
User Interface
General, Menu, Toolbars, Model Info tree, Meshing Toolbox, PostProcessing Toolbox, Charting pane, Entity Edi-
tor, Data Surface Editor, Entity Info, Data Table, API Programming
General
Updated the dialog boxes which are used to select Output Sets and Output Vectors for a number of commands to
have a toggle that allows the output sets to be shown in the list using Analysis Studies or simply as a list of all
Output Sets. When shown using Analysis Studies, a toggle control exists at the top of each study to toggle on/
off all Output Sets in the Analysis Study.
Updated the By Faces and By Output pick methods for elements to follow the Add/Remove/Exclude setting and
not always Add. Also, grayed the Add Connected Elements, Add Connected Fillets, and Add Tangent Surfaces
methods if Add/Remove/Exclude is not on Add.
Updated various Define Element dialog boxes to return the cursor focus back to the first field used to specify a
node after changing the element topology in the dialog box. For example, the first of the Nodes fields will be
active after changing from Triangle to Quad (or vice versa) in the Define PLATE Element dialog box.
Updated the standard Plane Locate dialog box, when using the Surface Normal method, to no longer require
you to specify a point for At Point or Axis Point if a planar surface has been selected for On Surface. If neither
point is specified, the surface CG is used as the location for At Point.
Menu
Added Geometry, Surface, Extract and Geometry, Solid, Extend commands to Geometry menu. Also, removed
Geometry, Solid, Slice Match and Geometry, Solid, Slice Along Face commands, as this functionality has been
consolidated in the enhanced Solid, Geometry, Slice command. See Geometry for more information.
Added Model, Output, Create/Manage Analysis Study command to Model menu. See Output and Post-Process-
ing for more information.
Added Mesh, Connect, Rigid and Mesh, Editing, Rigid Connectivity commands to Mesh menu. See Meshing for
more information.
Added Modify, Update Elements, Midusrface Thickness and Offset command to Modify menu. See Element
Update for more information.
Added List, Output, Freebody Section Cut command to List menu. See Output and Post-Processing for more
information.
Added Group, Operations, Generate Model Data Value and Group, Solid, Type commands to Group menu. See
Groups and Layers for more information.
Toolbars
Added Solid Slice with Plane icon to Solids Toolbar. Also, added Geometry Solid Slice Match and Geometry
Solid Slice Along Face commands to the Additional Commands section on the Commands tab of the Customize
dialog box. These commands can be added to any toolbar or menu and provide access to the legacy Geometry,
Solid, Slice Match and Geometry, Solid, Slice Along Face commands, respectively.
Added Smart Snap as an option for the Snap Mode icon menu in Select Toolbar. Also, added Hide Surfaces and
Show Surfaces commands to the Visibility submenu on the context-sensitive menu for Solids. Also, when using
the Dialog command in the Selector Actions menu, the various picking methods available in the Method^ menu
are now available when a Load or Constraint entity type is set as the active entity type.
Updated Post Data icon on Post Toolbar.
Model Info tree

Added Hide Surfaces and Show Surfaces commands to the visibility check box context-sensitive menu for
Geometry. Hide Surfaces allows you to turn off visibility of the surfaces on the highlighted solids, sheet solids,
or general bodies, while Show Surfaces will display any hidden surfaces again. If a bodys overall visibility is
turned off, then the body is made visible again, the surfaces on the body will always also be visible again.
Added Analysis Study and All Results branches under Results. The Analysis Study branch will contain all Anal-
ysis Studies currently in the model and any output set(s) currently residing in an analysis study will be listed
under the appropriate Analysis Study. The All Results branch simply lists all output sets currently in the model.
Added context-sensitive menu unique to the top-level Results branch. It contains Attach to Results (displays the
Manage Results Files dialog box from the File, Attach to Results command), Delete (does the same thing as
Delete, Output, All command), No Deformation (sets Deformed Style to None - Model Only), and No Contour
(sets Contour Style to None - Model Only) commands.
Added context-sensitive menu for Analysis Studies. It contains Manage (opens the Analysis Study Manager,
same as Model, Output, Create/Manage Analysis Study command), Copy, Edit, List, Renumber (does the
selected operation to any number of selected Analysis Studies), Delete (asks if you want to delete the output
set(s) in the selected Analysis Studies along with the Analysis Studies), Remove Study (Deletes the selected
Analysis Studies, but not the output set(s) in the Analysis Studies), Animate Study (sets Deformed Style to Ani-
mate-MultiSet and uses all output sets in the Analysis Study), and the Envelope Study menu (creates a Max
Value, Min Value, or Max Absolute Value envelope of all output vectors in all output sets in the Analysis Study
and also includes a Create in Database toggle).
Added Add to New Study, Add To Study, and Remove From Study to context-sensitive menu for Output Sets.
Also, added Create in Database toggle to the Envelope submenu on the context-sensitive menu for Output Sets.
Added ability to move the vertical scroll bar up and down when a command dialog box is also open.
Meshing Toolbox
Feature Removal tool - Added Blends to the Feature Type section. When used, prompts you to select an entire
solid, sheet solid, or general body, instead of selecting individual blend (fillet) surfaces, then attempts to remove
all blends. Limit Size restricts removal to blends with a radius less than or equal to specified value.
Here is an example of removing a Blends with and without using Limit Size enabled and set to 0.125 Units:
Original solid geometry with Two
0.125 Unit fillets, One 0.25 Unit fillet Limit Size not used Limit Size set to 0.125 Units
Feature Editing tool - Added Edit to the Operation section. When used, this operation assigns a different size
for cylindrical and spherical surfaces on a solid, sheet solid, or general body and is only available when Selec-
tion Method is set to Surface. Simply specify a Value, which effectively updates the radius of these types of sur-
faces, then select any number of surfaces. Typically, these types of surfaces are used for holes, fillets, and the
outside of cylinders and spheres. If a planar or other non-cylindrical/non-spherical surface is selected, the Value
indicates an offset distance with the direction determined by the surfaces normal. When enabled, Auto Extend
will automatically select any additional surface(s) needed to update an entire feature (for example, both
halves of a cylindrical hole, all surfaces of a fillet chain, or fillet surfaces connected to a planar surface). If
0.0 is entered for Value, you will be prompted to enter a value into a dialog box to use for the selected sur-
Meshing Toolbox 11.2-7
face(s). If you enter 0.0 into the dialog box, then the command will attempt to remove the selected surface(s). If
Value is negative, nothing will happen to cylindrical and spherical surfaces, but other types of surfaces will be
offset that distance inward into the part.
In this example, both the spherical portion and cylindrical portion of the solid have a radius of 1.0 Units:
Select Spherical Surface Select Cylindrical Surface
Original Part Value = 1.25 Units Result of Edit Value = 0.75 Units
Select Planar Surface

Result of Edit Value = 0.75 Units Result of Edit
This shows the difference between using Auto Extend and not using Auto Extend on 0.125 Unit fillets:
Select Fillet Surface Result of Edit is only
Original Part Auto Extend not used one fillet updated
Select Fillet Surface Result of Edit is entire

Original Part Auto Extend enabled fillet chain updated
Feature Editing tool - Added Offset to the Operation section. When used, this operation offsets surfaces on a
solid, sheet solid, or general body and is only available when Selection Method is set to Surface. Simply specify
a Value, which can be entered as positive value to offset outward from the body or a negative value to offset
inward into the body. When enabled, Auto Extend will automatically select any additional surface(s) needed
to update an entire feature (for example, both halves of a cylindrical hole or all tangent surfaces of an internal
cavity/outer boundary). If 0.0 is entered for Value, you will be prompted to enter a value into a dialog box to use
for the selected surface(s).
In this example, both the spherical portion and cylindrical portion of the solid have a radius of 1.0 Units:
Select Spherical Surface Select Cylindrical Surface
Original Part Value = -0.25 Units Result of Offset Value = 0.25 Units
Select Planar Surface

Result of Offset Value = 0.75 Units Result of Offset
This shows the difference between using Auto Extend and not using Auto Extend using a value of -0.125 Units:
Select Planar Surface Result of Offset is only
Original Part one surface updated
Auto Extend not used
Select Planar Surface Result of Offset is entire

Original Part Auto Extend enabled inner cavity is updated
Meshing Toolbox 11.2-9
Geometry Editing tool - Operation set to Pad or Washer, added ability to select either Factor or Distance in the
Offset Type section to set the size of the Pad or Washer.
Geometry Editing tool - Operation set to Extend, added Surface and Surface Auto Curve options to Extend To
drop-down. Both Surface and Surface Auto Curve have two modes for selecting surfaces. When the Single Sur-
face Mode is enabled, toggle on the Entity Select icon and you will be prompted to select a surface, then select a
curve. Depending on which Extend To option you are using, that curve or curves will be extended to only that
surface, then you will be prompted to select a surface and curve again. When Single Surface Mode is disabled,
any number of surfaces on different solids, surfaces, or general bodies may be selected by clicking the ... but-
ton located next to the No Surface(s) Selected button. Once selected, the number of selected surfaces will
appear in the text of the button, which when clicked will highlight the selected surfaces. After surface selection
is completed, choose any number of curves found on surfaces and they will be extended to the selected sur-
face(s). At any time, use the Clear Selection button to reset surface selection.
Example showing how Extend To set to Surface can be used:
Extend To = Surface Select this Select this Curve Selected Curve extended
Single Surface Mode enabled Surface to Selected Surface
Example showing how Extend To set to Surface Auto Curve can be used
Extend To = Surface Auto Curve Select these Select a single curve Both pipes fully extended
Single Surface Mode disabled Surfaces at the end of each pipe to intersect selected surfaces
Geometry Editing tool - Added Project/Move Point to the Operation section. When using Project/Move To set
to Solid, Surface, or Curve, projects a point or points used by a surface, solid, sheet solid, or general body onto
an entity of the selected type, thus modifying the original body. Turn on Edge Aligned to have the command
attempt to follow the curvature of the edge connected to the point instead of simply projecting the point to the
closest location on the target body. When using Project/Move To set to Point, it moves a point or points used by
a surface, solid, sheet solid, or general body to the coordinates of the selected point, thus modifying the original
body. To project multiple points at one time, use the Dialog Select icon after the point, curve, surface, or solid is
selected using the Entity Select icon.
Geometry Editing tool - Added Project Curve to the Operation section.When used, creates a new curve or
curves on the selected surface using a normal projection. Using the Entity Select icon, you will prompted to
select a surface, then a curve to project. To project multiple curves at one time, use the Dialog Select icon after
the surface is selected. There are three different Imprint Options available. When using Imprint, the selected
curve will simply be projected onto the selected surface, creating an imprinted curve. When using Imprint,
Extend, the imprinted curve will be extended to the extents of the surface, but the points of the original
imprinted curve will remain. When using Imprint, Extend, Clean, it simply adds a cleanup step to remove any
redundant points, including the points on the original imprinted curve.
Here is an example of using the three different Imprint Options:

Original Geometry with Result when Result when Imprint Result when Imprint
Curve to be Projected Imprint Options Options set to Options set to
Highlighted set to Imprint Imprint, Extend Imprint, Extend, Clean
PostProcessing Toolbox
Added Select Post Data icon to the toolbar, which displays the Select PostProcessing Data dialog box from the
View, Select command.
Added Complex Results Mode option to both the Deform and Contour tools, which allows you to set overall
Model Option(s) or view-specific override values used to convert complex data to real data, on-the-fly,
when post-processing complex results. See Output and Post-Processing for more information. Also, The Com-
plex Model Options icon button can be used to set the Model Option(s) and the Animation Phase Increment
from the active view will be used for Synchronize Phase, when Style in Deform tool is set to Animate.
Added Section Cut as a Display Mode option for the Freebody Tool. Also, added a number of options which are
used to control Freebody display when using a Section Cut Freebody. See Output and Post-Processing for more
information.
Added Reverse Values option under Nodal Summation in the Freebody Contributions section, which allows you
to treat a solver-calculated nodal imbalance as a contribution. This can be useful when certain forces on a node,
such as glue or contact forces, are not included in the grid point force table and result in an imbalance.
For Total Summation Vector and Nodal Vector(s), added icon buttons to toggle on/off display of Forces and
Moments, Forces Only, or Moments Only. Also, added an icon button to toggle between displaying
Component vectors or a Resultant vector, along with an icon button to specify the location of the Total
Summation Vector.
Toggle on/off Toggle on/off Toggle between
Force Vector(s) Moment Vector(s) Components and
Resultant Vectors
Toggle on/off Set Total Summation
Force and Vector Location
Moment Vectors
Toggle on/off Toggle on/off Toggle between

Force Vector(s) Moment Vector(s) Components and
Resultant Vectors
Toggle on/off
Force and
Moment Vectors
Charting pane
Added Relative to Node/Relative to Element option to the Vector vs. Entity tab of the Chart Data Series dialog
box. Only available when X-Axis Values is set to Position. When enabled, values be calculated relative to the X,
Y, or Z location of the specified node for a nodal output vector or centroid of the specified element for an ele-
mental output vector.
Entity Editor 11.2-11
Added ability to specify a Color for the Major Grid Lines. Also, added the Dim for Dark Backgrounds option,
which selects a complementary color for the Major Grid Lines when using a darker background.
Entity Editor
Added Num Mesh Seeds in the Mesh Attributes section for Curves, showing the number of mesh seeds (Num-
ber of Elements) on the curve currently in the Entity Editor.
Added Orientation CSys for Spring/Damper elements, showing the Orientation Coordinate System for any
Spring/Damper element referencing a CBUSH property currently in the Entity Editor.
Added the MSC Nastran Properties section for Connection Properties, showing values on the MSC Nastran tab
of the Define Connection Property dialog box for the Connection Property currently in the Entity Editor.
Data Surface Editor

Added Result Set Processing Data Surface to Create/Load Data Surface icon menu. See Output and Post-Pro-
cessing for more information.
Added Connection Manager Data Surface to Create/Load Data Surface icon menu. See Connections (Region,
Properties, and Connectors) for more information.
Entity Info
Added Orientation for a Spring/Damper element which reference CBUSH Property. Depending on the method
used for orientation, it will state Node with a node ID, Vector with XYZ coordinates, or Coordinate Sys-
tem with an Coordinate System ID. This information will also appear in the Tooltip for the element.
Data Table
Added Copy Rows - No Headers command on context-sensitive for rows, which copies the content of the
selected rows without including any of the column header information.
Added Add Nastran Element Checks command to the Show/Hide Columns icon menu, which adds a column for
each NX Nastran Element Quality Check available in FEMAP for each element currently in the Data Table.
Added Orientation CSys and CBush Property Orientation columns for Spring/Damper elements being sent to
the Data Table.
Added Num Mesh Seeds column for Curves being sent to the Data Table.
API Programming
Added Save icon to toolbar to allow you to simply save the file instead of always displaying a dialog box to per-
form a save as operation. If file has not been saved before a dialog box will appear to enter a file name.
Geometry
Added Geometry, Surface, Extract command, which extracts the selected surface(s) from any solid, sheet solid,
or general body in which the surface(s) currently reside. When removing surface(s) from a solid, the remaining
surfaces of the solid will be changed from solid into a sheet solid or general body, whichever is more appropri-
ate. If multiple connected surfaces are selected for extraction, then the extracted surfaces will be joined into a
sheet solid or general body, whichever is needed.
Added ability to use Delete, Geometry, Surface to delete individual surfaces from solids. Previously, you would
have needed to use Geometry, Solid, Explode before these surfaces could be deleted.
Added Express option to Geometry, Surface, NonManifold Add command. The Express option in Processing
Method attempts to use a single operation in Parasolid to create a General Body from the selected surfaces,
therefore performance can potentially be greatly improved.
Added Variable Thickness Processing option to Geometry, Midsurface, Automatic command.
When on, Variable Thickness Processing will attempt to create midsurfaces at the middle of faces on solids
which are not separated by a constant thickness. If an appropriate surface is created, it is often useful to then use the
Modify, Update Elements, Midsurface Thickness and Offset command to create elements which follow the varying
thicknesses in the part(s).
Note: If only two surfaces are selected on a solid, then an attempt will be made to create a midsurface between
only those two surfaces. It may be helpful to use this process if selecting all of the surfaces on a solid
did not produce an appropriate midsurface.
Here is an example:
Select these Surfaces, Variable
Original Solid Thickness Processing Enabled Resulting Surface
Added Geometry, Solid, Extend command, which allows you to extend a surface on a solid, sheet solid, or gen-
eral body to a surface on another solid, sheet solid, or general body.
Typically, you would want the extend from body to at least partially intersect with the extend to body, but it is
not required. In the case where no actual intersection between the bodies will take place, the selected surface on the
extend to body will be expanded in all directions and, if possible, the surface of the extend from body will be
extended to the expanded version of the surface on the extend to body.
Note: Regardless of the type(s) of bodies selected, the newly extended body and the extend to body will not
be added together to form a single body after extension. If a single body is desired, simply use either
Geometry, Solid, Add or Geometry, Surface, NonManifold Add at a later time to create a single body.
Here is an example:
Select this Surface Select this Surface From Body extended
Original Solids on the From Body on the To Body to the To Body
For Solids, added Layer, Property, Type (choose from Solid, Sheet, Wire, or General/NonManifold), Using
Curve, and Using Surface options to the Method^ menu in the standard entity selection dialog box.
Updated the Geometry, Solid, Slice command to be a single command which consolidated the functionality
from Geometry, Solid, Slice; Geometry, Solid, Slice Match; and Geometry, Solid, Slice Along Face commands.
This command begins by displaying the Solid Slice dialog box:
The Solid Slice dialog box allows you to select an Operation, either Slice or Cross-Section, to control what type of
entities will be created when the command is completed. The dialog box also allows you to select a Method and
some additional Options to control the type of entities used as the slicing tool(s). Once the Operation, Method,
Geometry 11.2-13
and Options have been specified, press OK or Repeated Slicing to display the standard entity selection box to the
select the solid(s). Depending on the Method, a dialog box will then be displayed to specify a plane or select the
appropriate slicing tool(s). Once changed, Operation and Method will persist in a session until changed again.
If you select OK, then the selection of solids, sheet solids, or general bodies will be followed by specification of a
plane or selection of slicing tool(s), then the command will exit.
If you select Repeated Slicing, then the selection of solid(s) will occur only once, but the specification of a plane or
selection of slicing tool(s) will repeat until you choose Cancel. Also, any additional solid(s) created during a single
use of the command will also be sliced, when appropriate, with each plane or slicing tool.
Note: Three legacy slice commands, Geometry Solid Slice With Plane, Geometry Solid Slice Match, and
Geometry Solid Slice Along Face, can be added to any menu or toolbar. To find them, use the Tools,
Toolbars, Customize command, select the Commands tab, then choose Additional Commands.
Operation
Specifies the type of Operation to be attempted by the command.
Slice - any selected solid will be divided into two or more solids, provided the specified plane intersects the solid(s)
or selected slicing tool(s) pass through the entire solid.
Match Faces Across Slice option - when enabled, an attempt will be made to create matching faces across the slice
on both solids created from the Slice operation. See example below. Enabled/disabled persists in session.
Cross Section - individual surfaces will be created in the interior of each selected solid (i.e., a cross section), pro-
vided the specified plane intersects the solid(s) or selected slicing tool(s) pass through the entire solid. See exam-
ple below.
Example of using Operation set to Slice with the Match Faces Across Slice option enabled.
= +
Example of using Operation set to Cross Section using a plane at the midpoint of one of the curves:.
=
Original Solid Original Solid and Cross Section
Cross Section Surface Surface Only
Method
Controls the Method used to slice the solid(s), which can either be a specified plane or selected slicing tool(s).
With Plane - the selected slicing Operation will be attempt to use a plane specified using the standard Plane Defi-
nition dialog box. For more information on the various methods available for specifying a plane, see Section 4.3.4,
"Plane Definition" in the FEMAP User Guide.
Parallel Planes option (only available when Method is set to With Plane) - when enabled, an attempt will be made
to slice the selected solid(s) using a specified Number of additional planes which are parallel to the specified plane,
with each plane separated by the Offset distance.
Example of using Operation set to Slice and Method set to With Plane showing a single plane and when using the
Parallel Planes option with Number set to 4 (solids shown different colors for clarity):
Original Solid Original Solid sliced Original Solid sliced

with Single Plane with 4 Parallel Planes
Along Face - a face of the solid is selected instead of specifying a plane. The face can be planar or curved.
Example of using Operation set to Slice and Method set to Along Face when selecting a curved surface:
Pick this face
= +
With Sheet Solid - any number of sheet solids (surfaces) can be selected as slicing tool(s) to subdivide the
selected solid(s). Each slicing tool must pass completely through at least one of the selected solid(s) in order to
be used successfully. To delete slicing tool(s) after use, enable Delete Slicing Tool in the Options section.
Example of using Operation set to Slice and Method set to With Sheet Solid with Delete Slicing Tool option enabled
(solids shown different colors for clarity):
=
Original Solid Original solid divided
Orange, Purple, Red, and Yellow into 5 individual solids
Surfaces used as Slicing Tools
With Curve - any number of curves can be selected as slicing tool(s) to subdivide the selected solid(s). Each
slicing tool should be either as wide least one of the selected solid(s) or be a shape that can be used to cut a
shape into the interior of one of the selected solids in order to be used successfully. To delete slicing tool(s) after
use, enable Delete Slicing Tool in the Options section.
Along Curve Normal option (only available when Method is set to With Curve) - when enabled, any curve selected
as a slicing tool, which has a normal direction that can be determined will be extended in both directions along
that normal vector in an attempt to slice the selected solid(s). If a normal vector for any curve cannot be determined
(i.e., non-planar curve) it will be ignored by the command.
Meshing 11.2-15
Vector Direction Only option (only available when Method is set to With Curve) - when enabled, any curve
selected as a slicing tool will only be extended in the specified vector direction in an attempt to slice the selected
solid(s).
Example of using Operation set to Slice and Method set to With Curve with Along Curve Normal enabled (solids
shown different colors for clarity):
Original Solid Orange, Purple, Red, and Blue Original solid divided
Curves used as Slicing Tools into 4 individual solids
(Red Curve ignored)
Options
Controls the color of surfaces created on solids due to the slicing Operation and if slicing tool(s) will be deleted.
Slice Color - when enabled, sets the color of any surface(s) created by a slicing operation to the selected color.
Click the Palette button to select a color from the Color Palette dialog box. Available for either Operation and
when using any Method.
Delete Slicing Tool - when enabled, deletes any Sheet Solid or Curve selected as a slicing tool after it is used for an
Operation. Available for either Operation, but only when Method is set to With Sheet Solid or With Curve.
Hint: This command is extremely useful when importing CAD files of symmetrical parts. Most solid mod-
els in CAD systems will be of the entire model to generate drawings. You can use this command to
slice the part through its plane(s) of symmetry and produce a much smaller and efficient model for
meshing and analyzing. If you need to mesh the entire model due to non-symmetric loading condi-
tions, simply mesh the sliced portion and then reflect the mesh. You will be able to produce a much
better mesh in less time, than if you attempt to mesh the entire part. You will also be guaranteed to
obtain a symmetrical mesh
Meshing
Added Mesh, Connect, Rigid command, which is used to automatically create rigid or interpolation elements.
Simply select any number of source nodes, then the command will use criteria specified in the Connect Rigid
Options dialog box to automatically determine appropriate target nodes for each source node. After creat-
ing the new elements, the command will then ask if you would like to edit the elements before finishing the
command.
Rigid Element Type
Specifies the type of element to create. When Rigid Element Type is set to RBE2, rigid elements will be created and
only Dependent DOF (Target) can be specified in the Rigid Element Options section. When Rigid Element Type is
set to RBE3, interpolation elements will be created and both Independent DOF (Target) and Dependent DOF
(Source) can be specified in the Rigid Element Options section.
Target Node Selection and Rigid Element Options
Target Node Selection offers a choice between Automatic and User Defined options for selection of target nodes,
while the Rigid Element Options section controls degrees of freedom, maximum allowed distance between a tar-
get node and a source node, and maximum number of target nodes allowed for each source node.
When using Automatic, all the nodes in the model are considered for attachment to the selected source nodes, but
determining which target nodes actually get attached to which source node is done using the value(s) specified
for Max Nodes and Max Distance in the Rigid Element Options section. The specified Max Distance value is used
to create a list of nodes which are within that distance from each source node, then, when Limit number of
mapped nodes in enabled, the Max Nodes value limits the target nodes used for each source node to the n
closest nodes.
When using User Defined, click the Select Nodes button beside Nodes to select nodes using the standard entity
selection dialog box. The user may optionally limit the previous node selection to free-edges only by clicking the
Select Elements button beside Limit to Free Edges (Optional) to select elements to use for a free-edge search using
the standard entity selection dialog box. Once nodes and/or elements have been selected, the text on the buttons
will change to be # of selected Nodes or # of selected Elements, respectively. The icon buttons to the right of
these buttons can be used to highlight the selected nodes or selected elements in the graphics window, but only one
entity type can be highlighted at a time.
While the Max Distance value is always used with Automatic, it can be turned off entirely when using User
Defined by simply unchecking the option for Limit number of mapped nodes. When both the Limit number of
mapped nodes and Limit search distance options are on, the target nodes attached to each source node are
determined in a similar manner as when using Automatic, with the lone difference being only the nodes selected in
the Entity Selection section are considered instead of all the nodes in the model.
Note: When Limit number of mapped nodes is turned off, you may encounter some unexpected results,
such as a large number of nodes being included as target nodes because they are all within the
specified Max Distance value. Similarly, when Limit Search Distance is turned off, and Limit num-
ber of mapped nodes is turned on, then nodes from farther than expected may be included as target
nodes because each source node will be connected to the number of nodes specified for Max
Nodes, regardless of distance.
When Rigid Element Type is set to RBE2, only the Dependent DOF (Target) (default is all Translation DOF) can be
specified, while no DOF are specified for the source nodes. When Rigid Element Type is set to RBE3, the DOF
on the target nodes are specified using Independent DOF (Target) (default is all Translation DOF), while the
DOFs used for the source nodes are selected using Dependent DOF (Source) (default is all six DOF).
The default value for Max Nodes is always 10, while the default value for Max Distance is 1/10 of the diagonal of
an invisible box that completely encapsulates all of the source nodes.
Preview Target Nodes option
When the Preview Target Nodes is checked, all potential target nodes will be highlighted in the graphics window
once OK has been pressed in the Connect Rigid Options dialog box. The standard entity selection dialog box will
also be displayed to allow you to add or remove potential target nodes.
In certain cases, some potential nodes may not be able to be paired with a source node. This may happen when a
maximum distance has been specified and a target node is located too far from any source node, or if a maxi-
mum number of pairings has been specified and no suitable source node is found that has less than the maximum
number of pairings. When this happens, a message will appear asking # highlighted target nodes were unable to be
paired with a source node. Update the selector with these nodes?. If you choose Yes all of the unpaired nodes will
be added to the Selection List, while if you click No, nothing with be done with the unpaired nodes.
Toggle Rigid Element Nodes dialog box
At this step in the process, rigid or interpolation elements have been created and a dialog box will appear asking
Edit rigid element connectivity?. Clicking No will simply end the command, while clicking Yes will display the
Toggle Rigid Element Nodes dialog box, which works the same as the new Mesh, Editing, Rigid Connectivity com-
mand.
Added Mesh, Editing, Rigid Connectivity command, which allows you to quickly edit an existing rigid (RBE2)
or interpolation (RBE3) element using the Toggle Rigid Element Node dialog box:
Meshing 11.2-17
To edit the Dependent nodes in a rigid element or the Independent (Nodes To Average) nodes in an interpolation
element, simply select a rigid or interpolation element from the graphics window and it will highlight. When the
Auto Update option is turned on, which is the default, selecting a node that is not currently used by the selected ele-
ment will add that node to the element, while selecting a node which is already being used by the selected element
will remove that node from the element. When the Auto Update option is off, you will need to select a node, then
click the Apply button to add the node to the element or remove the node from the element. If a rigid element only
has a single Dependent node or an interpolation element only has a single Independent (Nodes to Average) node, it
cannot be removed from the element using this dialog box.
Note: The current DOF of the Independent (Nodes to Average) node with the lowest ID currently used
by the selected interpolation element will be used as the DOF for any node added to the element.
Updated the Mesh, Geometry, Hex Mesh from Elements command to allow you to specify Mesh Spacing
options along with number of mesh Layers using the Hex Layers Between Base and Top dialog box. Choose
from Equal, Biased, or Geometric Bias. When using Biased or Geometric Bias, specify a Bias Factor and
choose a location for the Small Elements (at Start, at End, at Center, or at Both Ends). For instance, a Bias Fac-
tor of 2.0 and Small Elements at Start would produce a mesh where the layer of elements closest to the base
region is 1/2 the thickness of the layer of elements closest to the top region.
Updated the Mesh, Geometry, Solids, the Mesh, Geometry, Solids from Surfaces, and the Mesh, Geometry, Sol-
ids from Elements commands to allow you to select a value between 2 and 10 when using the Multiple Tet thru
Thickness option. This option will create the selected number of tetrahedral elements through the thickness of a
solid during tetrahedral meshing. Also, renamed the Multiple Tet thru Thickness option found in version 11.1
to Split Tets With All Corners on Exterior and moved it to the Solid Automeshing Options dialog box, accessed
via the Options button in the Automesh Solids dialog box. Finally, removed the entire Legacy Meshing Options
section (including all the options) from Solid Automeshing Options dialog box.
Updated the first four commands on the Mesh, Connect... menu (Closest Link, Multiple, Unzip, and Coincident
Link) by adding the Line Orientation section, which allows you to select an existing Node, specify a Vector, or
select a CSys (Coordinate System, CBUSH elements only) to orient line elements created during the command.
Updated the Mesh, Editing, Edge Split command to allow you to specify Number of Splits, a Bias Type, a Bias
Factor, and a location for Small Elements.
This process in controlled using the Mesh Edge Splitting dialog box:
Element Edge to Split

This section is simply used to select the From Node and the To Node to define the element edge to split.
Options - Number of Splits
Number of Splits in the Options section must be an integer value. By default, has a value of 1 is used for Number of
Splits per element, which simply splits the element down the middle. If Number of Splits is anything larger than 1,
then the element will be split that many times. For instance, if Number of Splits is set to 3, each element will be
split 3 times, causing there to be 4 elements for each original element.
Bias Type, Options - Bias Factor, and Small Elements
Optionally, a Bias Type can be chosen. If Biased or Geometry Bias is chosen, you must then enter a Bias Factor in
the Options section in order for it to do any sort of biasing. The options in the Small Elements section control the
location of the small elements when biasing. When using At Start, the elements will grow wider based on the Bias
Factor as they move from the From Node to the To Node, so care should be taken in selecting the nodes in the
appropriate order. When using At Center, the element will be thinnest at the middle of the original element and
grow wider as they spread out from the center towards both the From Node and the To Node. Using At Ends is
essentially the opposite of At Center, with the thinnest elements being closet to the From Node and To Node and the
widest elements being at the center of the original element.
Any line, shell, or solid (Hex and Wedge only) element in the split path will be split, as long as the split pat-
terns used in the splitting algorithm create elements with appropriate topology and maintain mesh connectivity.
Example of using Number of Splits set to 4 with Bias Type set to Biased, a Bias Factor of 3.0, and Small Elements
set to At Start:
Nodes Representing
Original Mesh Updated Mesh
an Element Edge
Elements
Added ability to specify an orientation coordinate system and location for a Spring/Damper element refer-
encing a Spring/Damper property with Type set to CBUSH on the element itself, not via the property. Simply set
Orientation to CSys, then select an existing coordinate system from the drop-down control. The option to spec-
ify the orientation coordinate system on the property still exists by setting Orientation to From Property. Simi-
larly, select Location in the Offsets section and enter a value to specify spring/damper location or use From
Property to use the value for Spring/Damper Loc on the Spring/Damper property.
Element Update 11.2-19
Added ability to specify different thicknesses at each corner for Plate elements on the element itself, not only
using the T1, T2, T3, and T4 values on the Plate property. To set the corner thickness values on the element, use
the Modify, Update Element, Adjust Plate Thickness/Offset command and choose Element Thickness in the
Update section of the Update Plate Element Thickness and Offset dialog box instead of Property Thickness.
The only way to edit these thicknesses is via Modify, Update Element, Adjust Plate Thickness/Offset command.
Element Update
Added the Modify, Update Elements, Midsurface Thickness and Offset command to attempts to update the ele-
ment thickness and apply appropriate offsets for elements to better match the original solid used to create the
midsurface(s). Options for selecting the elements and the solids to use for the update are chosen in the Adjust
Thickness and Offset dialog box:
The Select section allows you to specify if you will be selecting Midsurfaces themselves, which will then automat-
ically select the plate elements associated with those midsurfaces, or any number of plates Elements. When the Ele-
ments is selected, there is an additional option to Adjust to Dominant Surface. When enabled, Adjust to Dominant
Surface will adjust the element thickness and offsets of all selected elements based on the surface of each Solid
used to determine the thickness and offsets for the largest number of selected elements.
The Update to Solid section allows you to select how the solids used to determine thickness and offsets will be
selected. When set to Automatic, each misdurface or element will automatically determine which solid to use,
while when set to Solid ID, you will need to specify the ID of a solid or select s solid from the graphics window.
Selection of midsurfaces or elements is then done using the standard entity selection dialog box.
Hint: If selecting the Midsurfaces option does not produce the desired result, it may be a good practice to
undo the command (Tools, Undo or Ctrl+Z), then try it again using the Elements option instead. This
can also be said for trying both the Automatic and Solid ID options to see which yields the best results.
Updated the Modify, Update Elements, Line Element Orientation command by adding the Orientation CSys
option to allow you to select an existing coordinate system from a drop-down control (can only be used for
Spring/Damper elements referencing a Spring/Damper property with Type set to CBUSH). Also, updated the
Radial option. If you select a rectangular or cylindrical coordinate system, the orientation will be updated using
a vector extending from the Z-axis of the selected coordinate system to the first node of each element. If you
choose a spherical coordinate system, the orientation will be updated using a vector extending from the origin
of the selected coordinate system to the first node of each element.
Updated the Modify, Update Elements, Material Orientation command by adding the -X, -Y, and -Z options for
Coordinate Axis in the Material Angle section, which allow you to use the opposite direction of the selected
coordinate system axis to define material angle.
Updated the Modify, Update Elements, Orient Plate Normal/First Edge command by adding four additional
options to the Normal section. The Away From Location and Toward Location options require you to specify a
location in space, then the normals will be adjusted so they will point away from or toward the specified loca-
tion. The Align to Vector option will attempt to align the normals of the selected elements to match a specified
vector, while Align to CSys Direction option will attempt to align the normals of the selected elements to match
the selected axis and coordinate system specified in the Options section. Use the Negative option to align to the
opposite direction of the selected coordinate system axis.
Updated the Modify, Update Elements, Adjust Plate Thickness/Offset command by adding the Element Thick-
ness option to the Update section to specify corner thickness values on the element itself. Also, added the Top
At Face and Bottom At Face options to the offset elements so the top face or bottom face is aligned with the
nodes. Also, added the Reset Element Thickness button to have selected elements revert to the thickness values
on the Plate property and the Reset Element Offset button to set the offset values on all selected elements to 0.0.
Updated the Modify, Update Elements, Linear/Parabolic Order command by adding the Delete Midside Nodes
option, which is turned on by default when Update To is set to Linear. When on, any midside node not used by
another element will be deleted. If a midside node is attached to an element which cannot have midside nodes,
such as a rigid or interpolation element, then the midside node will be removed from the element where is was
a midside node, but remain in the model connected to the element where it was not a midside node.
Properties
Added Surface with Reference Point button which is available when Shape is set to General Section in the
Cross Section Definition dialog box. The Cross Section Definition dialog box is accessed by clicking the Shape
button in the Define Property dialog box when creating or editing Bar, Beam, or Curved Beam properties. If
you push the Surface with Reference Point button, you will be asked to specify a coordinate to use for the Ref-
erence Point after selecting a surface and specifying a vector, and the Reference Point option will also be auto-
matically enabled.
Aeroelasticity
Added PARAM OPPHIPA option to NASTRAN Aerodynamic Data (AEROx, MKAEROx) dialog box, which
when checked writes out PARAM,OPPHIPA,1 and will output the real vibration modes at all degrees of free-
dom, including the aerodynamic degrees of freedom.

Added ability to create ACCEL1 entries for Nastran by creating Acceleration loads on nodes or geometry, then
exporting a model from the Analysis Set Manager using an Analysis Set with Analysis Type set to 1..Static.
Added ability to Model, Load, Nodal on Face to apply a Total Load for Force, Moment, or Heat Flux loads.
When enabled, which is the default, the Total Load option applies loads based on the face area, much like a
geometry-based load. For parabolic faces, the load is expanded using the values and options specified for
Load Expansion on Midside Nodes on the Geometry/Model tab of File, Preferences.
Updated the Model, Load, From Freebody command, when using Multi-Model mode, by adding a Closest Node
option and Max Distance field to the Method section of the Create Load(s) from Freebody dialog box. The
Closest Node method essentially behaves the same as the Match ID method, but instead of searching the target
Loads and Constraints 11.2-21
model for a node with a matching ID, which could be located anywhere, it searches within the specified Max
Distance for the closest node in the target model. If a node is not within Max Distance, then no load will be
created in the target model.
Updated Constraint Equations to allow up to 6,000 terms (nodal DOF). Previously, the limit was 70 terms.
Updated the Model, Constraint, Equation command to use a completely new Create Constraint Equation dia-
log box, which offers a number new options to improve the creation of constraint equations.
Equation coefficients are directly specified in the Create Constraint Equation dialog box:
Toggle Rotation DOF Toggle

Toggle Translation DOF
Sign of
Coefficients
Show
Selected
Nodes
Copy To
Clipboard
Paste From
Clipboard
Toggle
Sign of
Coefficients
ID, Color, Layer, and Title

These fields allow you to specify an ID, select a Color, specify a Layer, and/or provide a constraint definition Title.
Coefficient Definition
The Node ID field is used to specify the ID of an existing node. The TX, TY, and TZ check boxes can be used to turn
on individual translation Degrees of Freedom (DOF) or click the Toggle Translation DOF icon button to turn on/off
TX, TY, and TZ. Similarly, The RX, RY, and RZ check boxes can be used to turn on individual rotation DOF or click
the Toggle Rotation DOF icon button to turn on/off RX, RY, and RZ. When a particular DOF is turned on, the field
below becomes available for you to enter a coefficient for that DOF. The Toggle Sign of Coefficients icon button in
this section will toggle the sign of the value in each of the active Coefficients fields (i.e., positive values will
become negative values and vice versa). As always, the nodal degrees of freedom are in the X, Y and Z directions
defined by the nodal output coordinate systems.
Add Node
Once a Node ID and any combination of DOF and Coefficients has been defined, click the Add Node button to add
a row to the table in the Equation Definition section. If the node ID already exists in the table, you will be asked
OK to Update Coefficients for Node (ID of node)?, answer Yes to update the DOF and coefficients in the table or
No to not change anything.
Note: If you have at least one DOF enabled which has a coefficient defined other than 0.0, then selecting a
single node from the graphics window will add that node and the specified coefficient(s) to the table.
Add Multiple
To apply the current DOF and Coefficients to any number of nodes, click the Add Multiple button and select the
nodes using the standard entity selection dialog box. When you click OK, all of the nodes will be added to the table
in the Equation Definition section with the same DOF and Coefficients.
Delete
Highlight any number of rows in the Equation Definition table (hold down Ctrl to choose multiple rows or hold
down Shift to choose a range of rows), then click Delete to remove the rows from the table.
Delete DOF, Update DOF, Match DOF, Toggle Sign of Coefficients, and DOF check boxes
The Delete DOF, Update DOF, and Match DOF buttons only operate on the DOF that are currently checked, so if
TX and TZ are checked, only those DOFs and/or coefficients will be changed by these buttons. Use Delete DOF to
remove the coefficients in the column corresponding with the selected DOF from the highlighted rows. Use Update
DOF to update the coefficients in the column corresponding with the selected DOF in the highlighted rows. The
Match DOF button can only be used for rows which have a value defined in a single column and will copy that
value into additional columns based on the currently selected DOF. The Toggle Sign of Coefficients icon button will
update the sign of the coefficients in the column corresponding with the selected DOF in the highlighted rows.
Show Selected Nodes, Copy, and Paste icon buttons
The Show Selected Nodes icon button will highlight nodes represented by the rows highlighted in the table using
the current settings for the Window, Show Entities command (See Section 6.3.2.3, "Window, Show Entities..."). The
Copy icon button will copy the entire table to the clipboard. The Paste icon button will paste values created in
another program, such as Excel, into the Equation Definition table.
Link/Average Nodes... button
Opens the Link or Average Nodes dialog box:
Depending on the option selected in the Type section, different controls become available.
When using Link 2 Nodes, select the desired DOF using the check boxes in the DOF section, then enter a node ID
or select a node from the graphics window for both Dependent and Independent. When you click OK, the Depen-
dent node will appear in the table with coefficient values of 1.0 for the selected DOF, while the Independent node
will appear in the table with coefficient values of -1.0 for the selected DOF.
When using Nodal Average, select the desired DOF using the check boxes in the DOF section. First, enter a node
ID or select a node from the graphics window for Dependent, which is typically the middle of a spider, then click
the Independent button to select the nodes to be averaged using the standard entity selection dialog box. When
you click OK, the Dependent node will appear in the table with coefficient values of 1.0 for the selected DOF,
while the Independent node(s) will appear in the table with coefficient values of -1.0/number of selected nodes
for the selected DOF. For example, if 8 Independent nodes are selected, each will be added to the table with a value
of -0.125 for each selected DOF.
Note: Any rows currently defined in the Equation Definition table will be deleted after using Link/Average
Nodes... and pressing OK in the Link or Average Nodes dialog box. Additional rows can then be added.
One Equation Per DOF

When this option is enabled, an individual constraint equation will be created for each DOF column which has
coefficients defined. For example, if Node 1 has coefficient values of 1.0 for TX, TY, and RZ and Node 2 has coef-
ficient values of -1.0 for TX, TY, and RZ, then 3 separate constraint equations will be created. If this option is dis-
Connections (Region, Properties, and Connectors) 11.2-23
abled, then it creates a single constraint equation entity containing all coefficients for all DOF. In both cases, all
constraint equations created by a single use of the dialog box will be placed into the same Constraint Definition.

Added Elements - No Faces to the Output section of the Connection Region dialog box to support contact for
MSC Nastran, which does not require elements faces. Also, added MSC Nastran section with Friction option to
the Connection Region Options dialog box accessed by the Region Options button.
Added MSC Nastran to Define Connection Property dialog box.
Pick the MSC Nastran tab to specify parameters found on the BCTABLE entry written for MSC Nastran.
The name of the parameter which will be written to a specific field in the BCTABLE can be found in parentheses
after the name of the option (i.e., Search (ISEARCH) writes a value to the ISEARCH field of the BCTABLE entry).
General
This section contains inputs which are used for both Linear Contact (SOL 101 Only) and Glued Contact (all sup-
ported solution sequences, SOL 400 and 600 are not currently supported). The values for Touch Dist (ERROR), Int
Closure (CINTERF), Search (ISEARCH), and Initial Coord (ICOORD) are written to the appropriate fields on the
first 2 SLAVE lines of the BCTABLE entry, while the values for Cont Tolerance (BIAS) and Slide Dist (SLIDE),
when non-zero, are written to the FBSH line.
Glue (BCTABLE)
This section is only available when Connect Type is set to 1..Glued. The selected option for Type (IGLUE) is
written to the first SLAVE line of the BCTABLE entry, while the option selected for Separation (JGLUE) is writ-
ten to the second SLAVE line.
Contact (BCTABLE)
This section is only available when Connect Type is set to 0..Contact. The specified values for Friction (FRIC)
and Sep Force (FNTOL) are written to the first SLAVE line of the BCTABLE entry, while the values for Fric
Limit Stress (FRLIM) and Hard-Soft Ratio (HARDS) are written to the FBSH line.
Solid Contact, Shell Contact, and Contact Edges
These sections are used to specify how slave and master surfaces may come into contact. The options selected for
the Master in each section will all be used together to write a particular value to the COPTM entry on the
BCTABLE, while the options selected for the Slave in each section will all be used together to write a particular
value to the COPTS field. For both, the value is determined in the following manner (example shows how COPTS
is calculated for Slave regions, but the same applies to creating the value of COPTM for Master regions):
COPTS value = A+10*B+1000*C
where:
A = the value for Slave option specified in the Solids section (value is 0 or 1)
0 = Slave option is disabled, outside of solid elements in the Slave will not be considered for contact
1 = Slave option is enabled, outside of solid elements in the Slave will be considered for contact
B = the value for options specified in the Shell Contact section (value ranges from 0 to 6):
0 - Slave option is disabled, shell contact will not be considered for contact
1 - Slave option enabled, Faces set to 2..Top and Bottom, Include Thickness option enabled
2 - Slave option enabled, Faces set to 0..Bottom, Include Thickness option enabled
3 - Slave option enabled, Faces set to 0..Bottom, Include Thickness option disabled
4 - Slave option enabled, Faces set to 1..Top, Include Thickness option enabled
5 - Slave option enabled, Faces set to 1..Top, Include Thickness option disabled
6 - Slave option enabled, Faces set to 2..Top and Bottom, Include Thickness option disabled
C = the value for options specified in the Contact Edges Section (value is 0, 1, 10, or 11)
0 - Slave option is disabled, beam/bar or hard shell edges will not be considered for contact
1 - Slave option enabled, Edges set to 0..Beam Edges
10 - Slave option enabled, Edges set to 1..Shell Edges
11 - Slave option enabled, Edges set to 2..Beam and Shell Edges
Advanced Options button
Opens the MSC Nastran Advanced Contact Options dialog box. Options in the Glue Break section are written to
the appropriate fields on the BKGL line of the BCTABLE entry, while options in the Contact section are written
to the appropriate fields on the SEGS line of the BCTABLE entry.
Refer to your MSC Nastran Quick Reference Guide for detailed descriptions of these options.
Added Penalty Autoscale option to the Common Contact (BCTPARM) and Glue (BGPARM) Parameters section
of the NX Linear tab of the Define Connection Property dialog box, which creates the AUTOSCAL field on the
BCTPARM entry and scales the automatically calculated penalty factors PENN and PENT either up or down
and can be used to scale the stiffness of specific contact pairs if convergence issues occur (Default = 1.0).
Connections (Region, Properties, and Connectors) 11.2-25
Removed Avg Method, Adaptive Stiffness, Penetration Factor, and Min Contact Percentage options from the
Common Contact (BCTPARM) and Glue (BGPARM) Parameters section of the NX Linear tab of the Define
Connection Property dialog box, as these options are no longer documented in the NX Nastran Quick Refer-
ence Guide and should no longer be used.
Added Connection Manager Data Surface to the Data Surface Editor, which allows you to manage connections
in your model using an interactive contact table. All or any number of selected connection regions can be
added to the contact table, while at the same time any existing connectors referenced by the connection
regions can also be added. Once in the data surface, editing can take place.
This Data Surface allows you to manage existing connections in a model or possibly create new connections using
an interactive contact table format. For more information about connections (connection property, connection
regions, and connectors), see Section 4.4, "Creating Connections and Regions".
The type of entities included in a Connection Manager Data Surface when it is created and the type of connections
which are allowed in the table are all defined using the Define Connection Manager Data Surface dialog box:
When Include All Connections Regions is on, which is the default, all connection regions in the model will be
added to the Data Surface. When the option is turned off, you need to select the connection regions of interest
using the Select Connection Regions in Data Surface dialog box.
Each connector has a Master (Target) region and a Slave (Source) region which have a connection controlled by
a specified connection property. When Load Existing Connections is on, which is the default, the connection
property used by each connector will be shown as a drop-down control in the cell of the data surface corresponding
to Master (Target) region, Slave (Source) region, while the cell corresponding to Slave (Source) region, Master
(Target) region will contain an arrow symbol pointing in the direction of the Master (Target) region in the table.
If either the Master (Target) region or Slave (Source) region of a connector has not been sent to the data surface,
then no Master (Target) region, Slave (Source) region exists in the table, so it cannot be populated with a connec-
tion property. If Load Existing Connections is turned off, only empty drop-down controls containing the available
connection properties will be shown in the contact table.
The Allow Self Connections option allows self
contact to be defined in the contact table (i.e., a
single connection region can be put into contact
with itself to create a connector). Typically, this
is not desired, but can be done with some solvers
and this option allows you to select a connection
property using a drop-down control at the
region #, identical region # cell in the table,
which is usually not available.
The Allow Reversed Connections option allows
reversed contact to be defined in the contact
table (i.e., in connector A, region 1 is the
Master (Target) region and region 2 is the
Slave (Source) region, while in connector B,
region 2 is the Master (Target) region and region 1 is the Slave (Source) region). Typically, this is also not
desired, but this option allows you to select a connection property for the Slave (Source) region, Master (Target)
region cell instead of the cell showing an arrow symbol pointing towards the Master (Target) region.
After clicking OK in the Define Connection Manager Data Surface dialog box, the data surface will be populated
based on the selected options. Using the defaults values for all options creates a data surface for a model with 3
connection regions and 2 connectors that will appear similar to this:
All connection regions sent to the data surface will be represented by both a column, which represents when the
region is used as the Master (Target) in a connector, and a row, which represents when the region is used as the
Slave (Source) in a connector. By default, the cell in the table which represents the same region as both Master
(Target) and Slave (Source) will be grayed, unless the Allow Self Connections option was used to initially create
the data surface. The cells in the table which contain a connection property already selected in a drop-down control
represent connections loaded from the model. The arrow icon in a cell can be used to swap the Master (Target)
and Slave (Source) regions in a connection. Once all updates have been made, use Create Connections command.
Context Sensitive menus for Connection Manager Data Surface
Additional commands on the context-sensitive menu for column and row headers:
Show All Regions - makes all connection regions currently in the data surface visible.
Hide Selected Regions - temporarily removes both the row and column representing any connection region col-
umn or row currently highlighted in the data surface. Can also be used when cells are highlighted.
Auto Highlight (toggle) - when on, automatically highlights connection regions in the graphics window corre-
sponding to a selected column or row as you select different columns or rows in the table. Also exists for cells.
Highlight - highlights connection regions in the graphics window corresponding to a selected column, selected
row, or selected cells.
Additional commands on the context-sensitive menu for cells:
Show Connected Regions - makes all connection regions which are currently part of any connector visible in the
data surface, while also hiding any connection region(s) which are not currently part of a connector.
Show Regions - allows you to select connection regions to make visible using a selection dialog box.
Revers - swaps the Master (Target) and Slave (Source) regions of the selected cell.
Create Connections - once all updates have been completed in the data surface, use this command to create any
new connectors now defined in the data surface and also delete any connectors no longer defined.
Groups and Layers

Added Group, Operations, Generate Model Data
Value command, which automatically creates
groups of elements using the value each element has
for a selected type of model data, such as specific
type of Element Quality check, a specific type of
Material Data, or a specific type of Property Data.
Some common uses would be to create groups
based on the different thicknesses of plane elements
in a shell model, or the different Youngs Modulus
values of the materials in an assembly model using
solid elements, or the different values for the Aspect
Ratio element quality check throughout the model.
The type of model data is selected using the Model
Data Value Section dialog box:
Simply choose a single Element Quality type or

type of Material Data/Property Data by highlight-
ing a specific value from the tree structure. All Ele-
ment Quality values and most Material Data/
Views 11.2-27
Property Data values in FEMAP should be available for selection, with the major exceptions being the material
values of the materials of the Other Types material type.
There are 5 special cases which are a little more flexible with regard to the type of materials/properties in the
model. For instance, Plane Element Thickness will work for any plane elements which have a thickness, includ-
ing laminates. Others like Bar/Beam/Rod Area will allow you to create groups based on the areas on the proper-
ties referenced by all of the selected Beam, Bar, or Rod elements.
You can use the Group Tolerance to attempt to group entities with similar, but not identical, values together in a
single group. Using the Group All Materials or Properties option simply considers all materials or all properties in
the model, not only the materials and properties referenced by the selected elements.
Added Group, Solid, Type command to add solids of the selected solid type (Solid, Sheet, Wire, or General/
NonManifold) to the active group.
Views
Updated the View, Visibility command by adding a Hide... button to the Coord Sys, Geometry, Material, Prop-
erty, Aero Panel/Body, and Aero Spline/Control Surface tabs, which allows you to select entities in the graphics
window to hide (i.e., turn off visibility) using the standard entity selection dialog box for that entity type.
Updated Element - Coordinate System option in Labels, Entities and Color Category of View, Options
command to with number of different element types. Also, added 2..RGB Line to Color Mode.

Added ability to show contour plots on line elements, so now it is possible to show results on line elements, pla-
nar elements, and solids elements in a single contour plot.
Added Model, Output, Create/Manage Analysis Study command which creates a new analysis study or activates
an existing analysis study.
An analysis study is a collection of output sets (individual sets of results data) which can be manually created at
any time, then any number of existing output sets can be placed into the study at any time using various commands
in the Model Info Tree dockable pane. See Section 8.5.2, "Model, Output, Create/Manage Set..." for more informa-
tion about output sets.
Alternatively, studies may be automatically created when importing or attaching to results file(s) created by an
analysis solver. This behavior is controlled using options on the Results tab of the Preferences dialog box, which is
accessed by the File, Preferences command. For more information about automatic creation of studies and con-
trolling the titles of those automatically created studies, see Section 2.6.2.8, "Results". Analysis Studies can also be
automatically generated using Add to New Study in the Model Info Tree and/or using the Result Set Processing Data
Surface.
To create a new analysis study, click the New Analysis Study button. In the New Analysis Study dialog box, you can
use the default ID or specify your own ID, assign a Title to the study, select a Solver and Analysis Type for the study
from the drop-down lists, and enter any additional information about the study in the Notes section.
The Date and time will also be automatically recorded when the study is created. The value for Analysis Set will be
Title and the Number Set will be 0 for any study created using the manual method.
To activate an existing analysis study, highlight it in the list. Click None Active to deactivate all analysis studies.
Use Update to change the Title, Solver, Analysis Type, and/or Notes of the analysis study selected in the list, while
Renumber will renumber the selected study. Delete will delete it from the model, but all of the output sets in the
study will remain in the model. Delete All will delete all analysis studies from the model, but again, all of the output
sets in the various studies will remain in the model. Copy will ask you to specify an ID, then create a copy of the
selected analysis study. Only the information from the study itself, not the output sets in the study, will appear in
the copy of the selected study.
When a study is automatically created after a results file has been attached to or imported, the ID, Title, Solver,
Analysis Type, Analysis Set (if analysis model was created in FEMAP), Date, and Number Sets will be populated
using information attained from the results file at the time of attachment or import.
Added Result Set Processing Data Surfaces to the Data Surface Editor, which allows you to create to automat-
ically create any number of new output sets based on existing output sets in the model. The scale factors for
each existing load set may be entered into the Data Surface Editor directly or pasted in from another program,
such as excel.
This Data Surface has some very specific uses, which involve creating new output sets using existing output sets or
updating output sets previously created using this type of Data Surface. These output sets are created or updated
using the Linear Combination, RSS Combination, or Envelope methods also available in the Model, Output,
Process command. See Section 8.5.6, "Model, Output, Process" for more information on these methods.
Any combination of the Linear Combination, RSS Combination, and/or the various Envelope methods may
be used in a single Data Surface to create or update previously created output sets.
Settings for this type of Data Surface are specified using the Define Result Set Processing Data Surface dialog box:
Use the Results Data Creation option to choose the method for creating the output set(s), Create All Immediately or
As Needed/Temporary. When using Create All Immediately the output values will be stored in the created or
updated output set(s). Output sets created with this option will be displayed with a green closed envelope icon.
When using As Needed/Temporary the information about the combination(s) or envelope(s) is stored with the new
or updated output set(s), but the actual output values are calculated on-the-fly from the individual output sets ref-
erenced by the new or update output set(s). Output sets created with this option will be displayed with a yellow
open envelope icon.
Output and Post-Processing 11.2-29
In the Options section, turn the Add Factors To Titles option on to append the title of each new or updated output
set with (scale factor* existing output set ID, etc.) for each existing output set used by the new or updated output
set. If nothing is specified for Title in a particular row and this option is on, then the title will be Type of Opera-
tion (scale factor* existing output set ID, etc.). If no Title is given and this option is off, then the Output Set
title will simply be Type of Operation.
The Initial Number of Rows option is used to specify the number of rows, representing output sets to create, which
will initially appear in the Data Surface Editor after the existing output sets have been selected.
Note: Only rows which have an Operation selected and contain a scale factor in at least one column will
be used to create new output sets. If a row is blank, it will simply be skipped.
After clicking OK in the Define Result Set Combination Data Surface dialog box, select the existing output sets to
possibly use in combinations using the Select Output Sets to Use in Processing dialog box, then click OK. The
Data Surface Editor will now appear like this:
A Set ID, Study ID, and Title may optionally be entered for each row. To include an existing output set in a new out-
put set, simply enter a scale factor on a specific row in the appropriate column. Use 1.0 to simply include the exist-
ing output set with no scaling. Any row which has scale factors defined must also have an Operation selected,
otherwise an error will be issued.
Available options for Operation correlate to different methods available when using the Model, Output, Process
command and include Linear Combination, RSS Combination, Max Envelope, Min Envelope, and MaxAbs Enve-
lope (Maximum Absolute Value). The SetID Max Envelope, SetID Min Envelope and SetID MaxAbs Envelope
options are typically used in conjunction with the envelope Operation of the same type and create output sets
containing only output set IDs, similar to using the Store Set/Location Info option in Model, Output, Process.
If you specify a Study ID for a particular row, then the output set created or updated by that row will be added to the
specified Analysis Study. Once all of the scale factors have been entered, click the right-mouse button in any cell
and choose the Create Processed Results Sets command from the context-sensitive menu to create new output sets
or update existing output sets specified in the Set ID column.
Note: If no values are entered for Set ID, the next available load set ID(s) will be used for the new output sets
when they are created. If any values for Set ID are the same as existing output set IDs in the model, a
question will be asked, Ok to Delete Existing Result Sets? Data Surface references Result Sets that
already exist. Press Yes to Delete and Recreate them, No to Create New Sets. If any values for Set ID
are the same as an output set currently represented by a column in the Data Surface Editor, then a ques-
tion will be asked, Ok to Combine? Combining will delete Result Sets used in this Data Surface and
you may get no Output. Typically, this question should be answered No.
Note: If no values are entered for Study ID and all of the output sets to be process exist in the same Analysis
Study, then any new or updated output sets will also be added to that Analysis Study. If no values are
entered for Study ID and the output sets to be processed exist in different Analysis Studies, then a value
of 0 is used for Study ID and the new or updated output sets will not be added to any Analysis Study.
Context Sensitive menus for Result Set Processing Data Surface

Additional commands on the context-sensitive menu for cells:
Fill All Sets - applies a single user-defined scale factor value to all output sets in all highlighted rows.
Apply to Study - if a data surface contains only output sets from a single Analysis Study, then the Title, Operation,
and scale factors specified for the output sets can potentially be applied to a different Analysis Study. This com-
mand will only be successful when the selected Analysis Study contains the same number of output sets that are
currently referenced by the data surface. When successful, the output set columns currently in the Data Surface
Editor are replaced with the corresponding output sets from the selected Analysis Study. You can then use Create
Processed Results Sets to create new output sets in the selected Analysis Study.
Create Processed Result Sets - used to create the new output sets. All output set processing currently defined in
the Data Surface Editor will be done at the same time.
Additional commands on the context-sensitive menu for column headers:
Add Result Sets - allows you to add columns by selecting any number of output sets using a dialog box
Change Result Set - allows you to update the output set referenced by a particular column
Remove Selected Result Sets - allows you to remove an output set currently represented by a column
Example
This type of Data Surface can be used to create 4 new output sets, each using a different Operation (a Linear Com-
bination, a RSS Combination, a Max Envelope, and a SetID Max Envelope), using 3 existing output sets. Simply
enter scale factor values into various cells. It is typical to simply use 1.0 for envelope operations, but you can enter
other scale factors and those scaled values will then be used to determine the envelope values:
The Set ID and Title fields are not defined, therefore, the next available Output Set IDs will be used along with
Default Titles.
Titles Undefined Titles Undefined
Add Factors To Titles = Off Add Factors To Titles = On
Result Data Creation = Result Data Creation = As Needed/Temporary
Create All Immediately
If all referenced output sets are in the same Analysis Study, then any new output sets created or updated will also be
placed into that Analysis Study, unless a Study ID is defined in the Data Surface Editor. If the referenced output
sets are from different Analysis Studies, then they will only be placed into an Analysis Study if a Study ID is
defined. If an Analysis Study is referenced in Study ID but does not exist, a new Analysis Study will be created.
Added Section Cut as a Display Mode option for the Freebody Tool in the PostProcessing Toolbox. A user-
defined cut plane is used to automatically determine the Freebody Nodes and Freebody Elements to essen-
tially create an Interface Load. The cut plane and path can be defined using one of four methods and the
location of the Total Summation Vector typically moves along a specified path. A number of additional
options are available to control the behavior of the Section Cut, including the ability to select elements on the
reverse side of the plane, control inclusion of elements cut by the cut plane, etc.
Entities (Section Cut) - When Display Mode is set to Section Cut, the Entities section has quite a number of differ-
ent options compared to when Display Mode is set to Freebody or Interface Load:
Display Mode = Section Cut (Entity Selection Mode)
Entity Selection Mode (Section Cut) - allows you to select one of four options from a drop-down list to control
how the plane and/or path for the plane to follow will be specified.
Plane/Normal (default) - allows you specify a plane using the standard plane definition dialog box, then the plane
simply follows a vector normal to the center of the specified plane.
Plane/Vector - allows you specify a plane using the standard plane definition dialog box and also specify a vector
using the standard vector definition dialog box to use as the path at the center of the plane.
Vector - allows you to specify a vector as the path for the plane to follow with the plane being automatically
determined using the specified vector as the normal vector at the center of the plane.
Curve - allows you to select a curve to use as the path for the plane to follow with the plane being automatically
determined using the normal vector calculated at the current location along the selected curve.
Note: Depending on the selected option, a different field or fields will appear below the Include Clipped
option which will allow you to change the specified Plane, specified Vector, or selected Curve ID.
Cutting Plane Tolerance (Section Cut) - allows you to enter a tolerance value which essentially gives the Sec-
tion Cut plane thickness. This thickness extends from the specified plane in the positive direction only. Click-
ing the Calculate tolerance based on model size icon button will return a value of 1/1000 of the overall model
box diagonal. Default value is 0.0.
Note: The Cutting Plane Tolerance is designed to be used in cases where nodes are very close to planar, but
actually do not all lie on the same plane. To include more nodes and elements on the positive side of
the specified Section Cut plane, you should move the plane to a more appropriate location.
Reverse Cutting Plane (Section Cut) - when enabled, reverses the direction of the specified Section Cut plane.
Search Radius (Section Cut) - allows you to only consider nodes and elements within the specified search radius
from the center of the Section Cut plane. Use the Measure icon button to use the measured distance between two
locations as the search radius.
Limit Entities to Group (Section Cut) - when enabled, allows you to only consider nodes and elements found in
the active group or a selected group.
Note: It is recommended to have both nodes and elements in the group, but if no elements are in the group,
then all elements will be considered Peripheral Elements.
Include Clipped (Section Cut) - when enabled, any elements cut by the Section Cut plane will be included in
the calculation of the Interface Load. When disabled, any cut elements will be ignored.
Display Mode = Section Cut (Other Entities Options)
Show Plane
Highlight Elements Offset Plane in

included by Section Cut Negative Direction
Highlight Nodes Offset Plane in

included by Section Cut Positive Direction
Location Slider (Section Cut) - slider control used to change the position of the Section Cut plane from 0% to
100% along the specified path. You can also enter a value directly to the left of the slider control. When the Inter-
mittent Update option is enabled, the values for Total Summation Vector and Nodal Vector(s) will dynamically
update as the slider control is moved to the left or right. When Intermittent Update is disabled, the values for Total
Summation Vector and Nodal Vector(s) will only be calculated once you stop moving and then let go of the slider
control
Note: The Section Cut Location value is determined using a combination of the original location of the
specified plane and/or how the path is specified. It changes as the slider control is moved left or
right, but is not really recommended for the user to enter this value directly.
Summation Location (Section Cut) - allows you to select one of three options from a drop-down list to control to
location of the Total Summation Vector.
Section Cut Path (default) - location of the Total Summation Vector moves along the specified path.
Freebody Node Centroid - location of the Total Summation Vector will be positioned at the centroid of the nodes
automatically selected by the Section Cut plane.
Static Location - location of the Total Summation Vector stays in a single static location and needs to be specified
using the Location field in the Total Summation Vector section.
Align Sums to Path (Section Cut) - aligns the X-component of the Total Summation Vector and Nodal Vector(s) to
the normal vector of the plane for Entity Selection Mode set to Plane/Normal, to the specified vector for Entity
Selection Mode set to Plane/Vector or Vector, or a vector tangent to the curve at the specified location along the
curve when Entity Selection Mode set to Curve. The Y and Z-components are then determined via cross products.
Section Cut Tools (Section Cut) - section contains 5 icon buttons, each with a specific purpose. From left to right,
the icon buttons Show Plane in the graphics window, Show Freebody Elements or Show Freebody Nodes currently
included in the Section Cut by highlighting them in the graphics window, Offset Section Cut Plane in Negative
Direction or Offset Section Cut Plane in Positive Direction using the Plane Offset Percentage value.
Added List, Output, Freebody Section Cut command, which is only available when at least one Freebody entity
with Display Mode set to Section Cut exists in the model (See Section 7.2.3.3, Freebody tool). Creates a list-
ing and sends it to the specified Output Destination, using the selected Freebody entity and additional options
specified by the user in the Freebody Section Cuts dialog box:
Source Data - used to select which freebody entity

and output sets will be used to create the listing
Freebody - Select an existing Freebody entity using
this drop-down. Only Freebody entities with Display
Mode set to Section Cut can be selected.
Output Set(s) - Press the Select button to choose any
number of output sets using the standard Select Out-
put Set(s) dialog box. For more information, see Sec-
tion 8.6.0.1, "Using the Select Output Sets and Select
Results dialog boxes". After output set selection is
complete, the text on Select button will change to be
# Output Set(s) Selected.
Section Cut Locations - offers two different meth-
ods for specifying cut locations. An individual row
with values corresponding to each cut location will
be listed to the Output Destination. The values at all
cut locations will be listed together for each output
set. For example, if 10 cut locations are specified and
2 output sets are selected, the first 10 rows will be the
values at the 10 cut locations using output set 1, then
the next 10 rows will be the values at the 10 cut loca-
tions using Output Set 2.
Equal Spacing - When using this option, the value represents the number of equally spaced instances of the speci-
fied plane to be used as cut locations.
Data Surface - When using this option, use the drop-down to select an existing Along Coordinates Data Surface.
Only the XYZ Location values from the Along Coordinates Data Surface will be used. If the Freebody entity has
Entity Selection set to Curve, then only the values in the X Location column will be used and must be between 0.0
(0% or curve length) and 1.0 (100% of curve length).
Output Destination - used to select where the listing will occur, the Message Window (Messages dockable pane),
the Data Table (dockable pane), or the Clipboard.
When Output Destination is set to Message Window, the listing will use the following format for each cut location:
Output Set, Cut X, Cut Y, Cut Z, Sum X, Sum Y, Sum Z, Fx, Fy, Fz, Mx, My, and Mz.
Here is an example of listing to the Message Window:
When Output Destination is set to Data Table or Clipboard, the listing will use the following format for each cut
location: Set ID (Output Set ID), Cut CS (Cut Location Coordinate System), Cut X, Cut Y, Cut Z, Sum X, Sum Y,
Sum Z, Output CS (Summation Vector Coordinate System), Fx, Fy, Fz, Mx, My, and Mz.
Note: If using Output Destination set to Clipboard, it should be noted that the values will be pasted into indi-
vidual cells in a spreadsheet program like Microsoft Excel.
Updated the View, Select command by adding the Complex Results button to the Select PostProcessing Data
dialog box, which is accessed by clicking the Deformed and Contour Data button. These options enable you to
set overall Model Option(s) or view-specific override values used to convert complex data to real data, on-
the-fly, when post-processing complex results.
In the Model Settings section, when Use Model Options is selected, the current setting for Model Option is dis-
played. To change the Model Option, click the Model Options button to display a dialog box with two options:
Selected Results - Ignore Phase Differences (default) - displays selected results using only the magnitude (i.e.,
ignores phase component).
Synchronize Phase - displays selected results using a specified Static Display Phase Angle and/or Animation
Phase Increment.
Static Display Phase Angle - specified phase angle value used for calculation of results when displaying a
deformed or contour plot. When used, the specified phase angle value will be added to the end of the Post Title for
reference.
Animation Phase Increment - specified phase increment used to effectively creating a range of phase angles, which
are then used to create an appropriate number of animation frames to animate complex results. When used, the
phase angle value used to create each animation frame will be shown at the end of the post title for reference.
These same options are available in the View Override section, only the values specified in this section will only be
used for the current view instead of the entire model.
Note: This functionality is similar to the functionality of the Model, Output, Expand Complex command, but
does not need to create additional output sets, as all values required for displaying the results are calcu-
lated on-the-fly and then displayed. See Section 8.5.13, Model, Output, Expand Complex... for more
information about working with complex results.
Added 3..Material Direction as an option for Output Orientation when transforming output. This can now be
set using the drop-down control for Forces, Stresses, and Strains in Tria3, Tria6, Quad4, and Quad8 sections.
Added Max Threshold and Max/Min Threshold options to Level Mode for the Contour/Criteria Levels option
in PostProcessing Category of View, Options command. Max Threshold will use the value specified for Max-
imum as a threshold value, thus all results above this value are shown using the color of the uppermost band
of the Contour/Criteria Legend, while Max/Min Threshold does essentially the same thing, but uses both the
Maximum and Minimum values as upper and lower threshold values.
Note: Both Max Threshold and Max/Min Threshold require the Contour Fill Mode to be set to Level Col-
ors. Using View Options, this can be set using the Contour Type option (Contour Fill Mode set to
1..Level Colors) or via the Contour Options dialog box, which can be accessed from various places,
including the Select PostProcessing Data dialog box, the Post Options icon menu of the Post toolbar, or
the Contour Type or Contour/Criteria Style options in View Options. It can be also be set via the Post-
Processing Toolbox (Contour Tool - Options - Levels - Continuous Colors option disabled).
Geometry Interfaces 11.2-35
Geometry Interfaces

Solid Edge Solid Edge with Synchronous Technology 7
NX NX 10.0
CATIA CATIA V5-6R2014
ACIS ACIS 24, SP1
SolidWorks SolidWorks 2015
Updated File, Import, Geometry command by adding the Sew Sheets into Manifold Solids option to the Solid
Model Read Options dialog box when import ACIS geometry (*.sat files). This option controls if sheets (sur-
faces) should be stitched into manifold solids. If this option is on, then the surfaces will only be sewn together
into manifold solids. It will only create manifold solids, as ACIS does not support NonManifold Solids
(i.e., General Bodies) like Parasolid. If off, no sewing will occur.
For details, see Geometry Interfaces in the FEMAP User Guide.

FEMAP Neutral File Interface
Nastran Interfaces (NX and MSC/MD)
MSC/MD Nastran Interface
ANSYS Interface
ABAQUS Interface
DYNA Interface

Updated Neutral Read and Write for v11.2 changes
Added GPU Computing option to NASTRAN and Solutions Options dialog box. When enabled, writes
GPGPU=ANY to the command line which instructs NX Nastran to automatically determine if a device with
GPUs exists and, if so, to use it for during the solve.
Added SWPANGLE option to NASTRAN Bulk Data Options dialog box. When enabled, allows you to enter the
angular increment in degrees at which failure indices and strength ratios are computed and output for laminates
in direct frequency (SOL 108) and modal frequency (SOL 111) analysis.
Added MGRID and MDOF option to NASTRAN Bulk Data Options dialog box. When enabled, used to specify
a specific node (MGRID) and degree of freedom (MDOF = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6) to monitor during a direct fre-
quency or direct transient response, plotted in the NX Nastran Analysis Monitor.
Added Use NXN v8.5 Elastic Beam Formulation option to NXSTRAT Solver Parameters dialog box. When
enabled, (BEAMALG = 1), the algorithm for elastic beam formulation from NX Nastran 8.5 is used instead of
the current algorithm for elastic beam formulation.
Added PYR_DETJ option to GEOMCHECK dialog box, which is the Jacobian Determinant for pyramids. Also,
added the Include Parabolic Plate Checks option, which when enabled, includes parabolic element checks
using the same options and values specified for the linear versions of QUAD SKEW (Q8_SKEW), QUAD
IAMIN (Q8_IAMIN), QUAD IAMAX (Q8_IAMAX) and TRIA IAMAX (TA6_IAMX).
Added support for reading ply-by-ply stress and strain output from Direct Transient (SOL 109), Direct Fre-
quency (SOL 108), Modal Transient (SOL 112), or Model Frequency (SOL 111) analysis for laminate elements
created. This output was not available until NX Nastran 10.0.
Added support for reading GPF output for contact from Advanced Nonlinear (SOL 601), which will appear as
the Total Contact Force and Total Contact Moment vectors, plus their components.
A number of bugs were corrected
Nastran Interfaces (NX and MSC/MD)

Added support for reading and writing of the ACCEL1 entry. Also, ACCEL1 entries can be created by applying
an acceleration load to a node or geometry, then exporting a Static analysis.
Added support for reading and writing of element corner thickness (TFLAG, T1, T2, T3, and T4 fields) for the
CTRIA3, CTRIA6, CTRIAR, CQUAD4, CQUAD8, CQUADR, CPLSTS3, CPLSTS4, CPLSTS6, and
CPLSTS8 elements. Element thickness can be updated via the Modify, Update Elements, Adjust Plate Thick-
ness/Offset and Modify, Update Elements, Midsurface Thickness and Offset commands.
Added support for reading both Linear and Nonlinear results from a nonlinear analysis into the same output set.
Previously, you would have to choose one or the other, but now both are read in during a single import or attach.
Added SECOMB option to NASTRAN Bulk Data Options dialog box. When enabled, used to control if output
will be combined for a superelement analysis, has a number of caveats.
Added ALPHA1 and ALPHA2 options to NASTRAN Bulk Data Options dialog box. When enabled, ALPHA1 is
the complex scale factor applied to the mass matrix and ALPHA2 to the stiffness matrix. Used in frequency and
transient response analysis, if PARAM,ALPHA1 and/or ALPHA2 are not equal to complex zero, then
Rayleighs damping is added to the viscous damping.
Added Label field in the Master Requests and Conditions and Analysis Case dialog boxes which can be used to
write the LABEL entry in Case Control.
Updated processing of NASTRAN Include to allow the INCLUDE statement to start in any column. Previously
it had to start in column 1.
Updated File, Import, Analysis Results when importing a XDB file.
After you run Nastran, choose the File, Import, Analysis Results command, select Nastran, and then choose NX
Nastran or MSC/MD Nastran from the drop-down list. FEMAP will display the standard file access dialog box for
you to choose the XDB file you want to read. When you press OK, FEMAP will immediately open the Select Out-
put to Internalize dialog box, which facilitates selection of output sets and vectors. By default, all output sets in the
Output Sets section will be selected and the All Output Vectors option in the Output Vectors section will be enabled,
thus all output from the XDB file will be imported. To only import a subset of the results from the XDB file, simply
select the desired output set(s) and optionally disable the All Output Vectors option to be able to select individual
output vector(s) for import. For more information on using the Select Output to Internalize dialog box see Section
8.6.0.1, Using the Select Output Sets and Select Results dialog boxes in the Commands manual.
Once you click OK, the Results Import Options dialog box will appear:
MSC/MD Nastran Interface 11.2-37
In addition to selecting which output sets and output vectors to internalize, groups limiting output to certain nodes
and/or elements may be selected. The quick group icons next to the drop-down lists can be used to create a new
group or edit an existing group on-the-fly. Depending on which button you select, you will be able to choose
only nodes or elements. If you click the Read More... button, the Select Output to Internalize dialog box will be dis-
played again for selection of additional output set(s) and output vector(s) and this process can be repeated as many
times as needed.
MSC/MD Nastran Interface

Added MSC Nastran Contact Solver Parameters dialog box to Analysis Set Manager for Static analysis.
The MSC Nastran Contact Solver Parameters dialog box contains a number of options which can be specified
when performing an analysis in MSC Nastran, which also includes surface-to-surface contact. All of the items in
this dialog box correspond to items (Params) which can be included on the BCPARA entry. For more information,
see the BCPARA (Contact Parameters - SOLs 101 and 400) entry in the MSC Nastran Quick Reference Guide.
You must check the Enable Contact Parameters box for FEMAP to use any options in this dialog box:
Added Nonlinear Options dialog box to Analysis Set Manager for Static analysis. This dialog box is available
in the Master Requests and Conditions section and individual subcases for static analysis when Analysis Pro-
gram is set to MSC Nastran, but should only be used if the model contains linear contact. In that case, the
Enable NLPARM option must be turned on for the subset of available options to be written to the input file.
Added Contact/Glue Sets section to Boundary Conditions dialog box:
The upper portion of this section allows you to select which connectors in the model will be written to the
BCTABLE entry in the MSC Nastran input file and if they will be used:
All Connectors (default) - simply writes all connectors currently enabled in the model to the input file.
Connection Group - allows you to select a group containing any number of connectors from the drop-down con-
trol, then writes out only those connectors. The Quick Group icon button can be used to quickly create a new group,
then you can choose Edit Group to select connectors in the model to add to the selected group.
None - writes all enabled connectors out to the input file, but does not write BCONTACT to Case Control.
The BCONTACT Options portion controls how the BCONTACT entry is written in Case Control:
Default - for All Connectors, writes BCONTACT=107 and sets ID of BCTABLE entry t to 107, while for Connec-
tion Group, writes BCONTACT=108 and sets ID of BCTABLE entry t to 108. Can be used for either Linear or
Glued contact.
Initial Contact - writes BCONTACT=0 and sets ID of the BCTABLE entry to 0. Only for Linear contact.
All Body - writes BCONTACT=ALLBODY and the BCTABLE is not written at all. Only for Linear contact.
ANSYS Interface
Added reading and writing of linear and parabolic pyramid elements.
Added reading Plastic Strain results from nonlinear analysis.
Updated writing of coordinate systems and nodes to provide a higher level of precision.
A number of bugs were corrected.
ABAQUS Interface
DYNA Interface 11.2-39
DYNA Interface
Added Old Version Import option to potentially use old translator for legacy pre-v970 results files.
Added support for Translational Accel/Gravity and Rotational Velocity body loads allowing them to be func-
tionally-dependent.
Added support for Rate Effect - VP for 24..LS-DYNA Piecewise Linear Plasticity material type, must be a
value between -1 and 1.
Added support for CST (0, 1 or 2) and SCOOR (-3 to 3) for 66..LS-DYNA Linear Elastic Discrete Beam
material type.
Added support to properly read d3plot files which contain SPH nodes.
Tools
Added NX Nastran Element Quality checks to the Tools, Check, Element Quality command, which can be
accessed by clicking the NX Nastran tab in the Check Element Quality dialog box.
There are 22 separate checks on the NX Nastran tab, which are the same quality checks used by the NX Nastran
solver (WARP = Warping, IAMIN = Minimum Internal Angle in degrees, IAMAX = Maximum Internal Angle in
degrees, AR = Aspect Ratio, EPLR = Edge Point Length Ratio, DETJ = Jacobian):
Quadrilaterals - QUAD SKEW, QUAD TAPER, QUAD WARP, QUAD IAMIN, QUAD IAMAX
Triangles - TRIA SKEW, TRIA IAMAX
Tetrahedrals - TETRA AR, TETRA EPLR, TETRA DETJ
Hexahedrals (Bricks) - HEX AR, HEX EPLR, HEX DETJ, HEX WARP,
Wedges - PENTA AR, PENTA EPLR, PENTA DETJ, PENTA WARP
Pyramids - PYR AR, PYR EPLR, PYR DETJ, and PYR WARP
Note: Because the element quality checks on the NX Nastran tab are the same used by the NX Nastran solver,
please see the Element Geometry Checks section in chapter 15. Model Verification of the NX Nastran
Users Guide for more information on how the various element quality checks are performed, as well as
the entry for GEOMCHECK in the NX Nastran Quick Reference Guide.
Updated Tools, Measure, Distance Between Nodes to return the delta coordinates between the nodes rather
than the vector between the nodes, which makes it consistent with Tools, Measure, Distance and is more useful
for non-rectangular coordinate systems.
Updated the Tools, Measure, Distance Between Geometry command to allow you to choose Nodes in the From
section, enabling you to be able to measure the distance between a node and geometric entities.
Updated the Tools, Mass Properties, Mesh Properties command by adding the Create Node at Total Center of
Gravity option to the Check Mass Properties dialog box.
Model Merge
Added Add Related and Associated Entities button to Entity Selection section, which adds entities both refer-
enced by other entity types currently in the Entities to Merge list and entities associated to those entities (i.e.,
mesh associated to geometry or vice versa). For instance, if Entity Selection is set to Group and the selected
group only contains elements which have been sent to the Entities to Merge list, then pressing this button will
add Node, Material, Property, and Layer entity types, and potentially other referenced entities, along with any
associated geometric entities to the Entities to Merge list.
OLE/COM API
New and modified API Objects and Attributes
Added Analysis Study (feAnalysisStudy) object to the API. Also, added Title, AnalysisProg, AnalysisType,
FileTime, Notes, and AnalysisSet attributes to the Analysis Study Object.
Added CaseLabel, ContactOption, ContactSetType, MSCNasCnlConvergenceFlags, and vMSCNasCnlConver-
genceFlags attributes to the Analysis Case Object.
Added NasExtSEOutAssignForm, NasMscCtOn, NasMscCtEnable, NasMscCtDDULMT, NasMscCtRVCNST,
NasMscCtSLDLMT, NasMscCtTAUGMNT,NasMscCtAUGMENT, NasMscCtBEAMB, NasMscCtERRBAS,
NasMscCtFTYPE, NasMscCtIBSEP, NasMscCtICSEP, NasMscCtMAXSEP, NasMscCtMETHOD, NasM-
scCtNLGLUE, NasMscCtNODSEP, NasMscCtSEGSYM, NasMscCtAUGDIST, NasMscCtBIAS, NasM-
scCtERROR, NasMscCtFNTOL, NasMscCtPENALT, NasMscCtSTKSLP, NasMscCtTPENALT,
NasBulkMgrid, NasBulkSwpangle, NasBulkAlpha1, NasBulkAlpha2, NasBulkSwpangleVal, NasBulk-
MdofVal, NasBulkMgridID, NasBulkAlpha1Val, vNasBulkAlpha1Val, NasBulkAlpha2Val, vNasBul-
kAlpha2Val, NasAerobOPPHIPA, NasNXStratBeamalg, NasExecGPU, NasBulkEndTextOutsideBulk,
CaseLabel, ContactOption, ContactSetType, MSCNasCnlConvergenceFlags, and vMSCNasCnlConvergenceF-
lags attributes to the Analysis Manager Object. Also, updated NasMCheckDataTol to be a real number instead
of an integer and also updated vNasGCheckTest2, vNasGCheckTol2, and vNasGCheckMsg2 to allow you to
control the PYR_DETJ option in GEOMCHECK.
Added AxisMajorColor and AxisMajorColorAutoDim attributes to the Chart Object.
Added PositionIsRelative attribute to the Chart Data Series Object.
OLE/COM API 11.2-41
Added Midpoint, Center, GetPrecision, and ResetPrecision attributes to the Curve Object.
Added ExtendEdgeValues attribute to the Data Surface Object.
Added NastranQuadSkewOn, NastranQuadSkewLimit, NastranQuadTaperOn, NastranQuadTaperLimit,Nas-
tranQuadWarpOn, NastranQuadWarpLimit, NastranQuadIAMinOn, NastranQuadIAMinLimit, NastranQua-
dIAMaxOn, NastranQuadIAMaxLimit, NastranTriaSkewOn, NastranTriaSkewLimit, NastranTriaIAMaxOn,
NastranTriaIAMaxLimit, NastranTetraAROn, NastranTetraARLimit, NastranTetraEPLROn, NastranTet-
raEPLRLimit, NastranTetraDetJOn, NastranTetraDetJLimit, NastranHexAROn, NastranHexARLimit, Nastran-
HexEPLROn, NastranHexEPLRLimit, NastranHexDetJOn, NastranHexDetJLimit, NastranHexWarpOn,
NastranHexWarpLimit, NastranPenAROn, NastranPenARLimit, NastranPenEPLROn, NastranPenEPLRLimit,
NastranPenDetJOn, NastranPenDetJLimit, NastranPenWarpOn, NastranPenWarpLimit, NastranPyrAROn,
NastranPyrARLimit, NastranPyrEPLROn, NastranPyrEPLRLimit, NastranPyrDetJOn, NastranPyrDetJLimit,
NastranPyrWarpOn, and NastranPyrWarpLimit attributes to the Element Quality Object.
Added SectionPlaneBase, vSectionPlaneBase, SectionPlaneNormal, vSectionPlaneNormal, SectionCurve, Sec-
tionVectorBase, vSectionVectorBase, SectionVectorTip, vSectionVectorTip, SectionRotateSums, SectionInclu-
deClippedElem, SectionTolerance, SectionSumLocation, SectionLimitToGroup, SectionGroup,
ReverseTotalValues, SectionMode, SectionRadius, SectionReverse, SectionLocation, and SectionVectorTip
attributes to the Freebody Object.
Added InitAsInteger attribute to the Output Object.
Added study and combination_type attributes to the Output Set Object.
Added AssignForm attribute to the Superelement Reference Object.
Added ComplexSyncMethod, ComplexSyncPhase, and ComplexSyncIncrement attributes to the View Object.
Removed API Objects and Attributes
Removed type attribute from the Connection Object.
Removed TetRecoveryMesher, TetPreV10TetMeshing, and TetMaxElemToAllocate attributes from to the
Meshing Object.
New API Methods
Added CountOutputSets, OutputSets, HasOutputSet, AddOutputSets, RemoveOutputSets, RemoveAllOutput-
Sets and Delete to the Analysis Study object.
Added AeroChordXYZ and AeroSpanXYZ to the Aero Panel object.
Added AddNastranElementChecks to the Data Table object.
Added SetPlateThickness to the Element object.
Added GetNastranQuadSkew, NastranQuadSkew, GetNastranQuadTaper, NastranQuadTaper, GetNastran-
QuadWarp, NastranQuadWarp, GetNastranQuadIAMin, NastranQuadIAMin, GetNastranQuadIAMax, Nas-
tranQuadIAMax, GetNastranTriaSkew, NastranTriaSkew, GetNastranTriaIAMax, NastranTriaIAMax,
GetNastranTetraAR, NastranTetraAR, GetNastranTetraEPLR, NastranTetraEPLR, GetNastranTetraDetJ, Nas-
tranTetraDetJ, GetNastranHexAR, NastranHexAR, GetNastranHexEPLR, NastranHexEPLR, GetNastranHex-
DetJ, NastranHexDetJ, GetNastranHexWarp, NastranHexWarp, GetNastranPenAR, NastranPenAR,
GetNastranPenEPLR, NastranPenEPLR, GetNastranPenDetJ, NastranPenDetJ, GetNastranPenWarp, NastranP-
enWarp, GetNastranPyrAR, NastranPyrAR, GetNastranPyrEPLR, NastranPyrEPLR, GetNastranPyrWarp, Nas-
tranPyrWarp, GetNastranPyrDetJ, NastranPyrDetJ, and CheckNastranQuality to the Element Quality object.
Added GetSectionCutSums and SetLocationFromCoord to the Freebody object.
Added AreDuplicate to the Material object.
Added PutCoordArray to the Node object.
Added SetComplexOptions to the Output object.
Added SetCombination, SetStudyCombination, ExpandCombination, and SetComplexOptions to the Output
Set object.
Added AreDuplicate to the Property object.
Added ClearSearch to the ReadFile object.

Added SetComplexOptions to the Results Browsing object.
Added GetSelectedID and Tooltips to the Selector object.
Added Show to the Set object.
Added SheetFacesAsSet, WireCurvesAsSet, and Inside to the Solid object.
feSurfaceNonManifoldAddExpress
feCurveOffsetCurveWasher2
feCurvePad
feFileReadStepOpt2
feFileWriteStep2
feAppMessageClear
feGetRealLength
feModifySurfaceNormal
feMeshEdgeSplit2
feCurveProjectCurvesOntoSurfaces
feSolidExtendEdgesToSurfaces
feSolidRemoveRedundantPoint
feSolidRemoveBlendsBelowRadius
feSolidMovePointOntoGeometry
feSolidRayFire
feSurfaceRayFire
feSolidExtendToSurface
feSolidMidSurfaceManualInput
feGroupsContaining
feMeasureDistanceBetweenNodes2
feMeshUnzip2
feMeasureDistanceBetweenSolids (Corrected Spelling of function)
feMeasureDistanceBetweenGeometry
The following functions have been removed
feOutputTransform
New and updated Global Variables
Added Pref_ElemQualQuadSkew, Pref_ElemQualQuadSkewVal, Pref_ElemQualQuadTaper, Pref_ElemQual-
QuadTaperVal, Pref_ElemQualQuadWarp, Pref_ElemQualQuadWarpVal, Pref_ElemQualQuadIAMin,
Pref_ElemQualQuadIAMinVal, Pref_ElemQualQuadIAMax,Pref_ElemQualQuadIAMaxVal, Pref_ElemQual-
TriaSkew, Pref_ElemQualTriaSkewVal, Pref_ElemQualTriaIAMax, Pref_ElemQualTriaIAMaxVal,
Pref_ElemQualTetAspectRatio, Pref_ElemQualTetAspectRatioVal,Pref_ElemQualTetEPLR, Pref_ElemQual-
TetEPLRVal, Pref_ElemQualTetDetJ, Pref_ElemQualTetDetJVal, Pref_ElemQualHexAspectRatio, Pref_Elem-
QualHexAspectRatioVal, Pref_ElemQualHexEPLR, Pref_ElemQualHexEPLRVal,Pref_ElemQualHexDetJ,
Pref_ElemQualHexDetJVal, Pref_ElemQualHexWarp, Pref_ElemQualHexWarpVal, Pref_ElemQualPenAspec-
tRatio, Pref_ElemQualPenAspectRatioVal, Pref_ElemQualPenEPLR, Pref_ElemQualPenEPLRVal,Pref_Elem-
QualPenDetJ, Pref_ElemQualPenDetJVal, Pref_ElemQualPenWarp, Pref_ElemQualPenWarpVal,
Preferences 11.2-43
Pref_ElemQualPyrAspectRatio, Pref_ElemQualPyrAspectRatioVal, Pref_ElemQualPyrEPLR, Pref_ElemQual-

PyrEPLRVal, Pref_ElemQualPyrWarp, Pref_ElemQualPyrWarpVal, Pref_ElemQualPyrDetJ, and Pref_Elem-
QualPyrDetJVal to set NX Nastran Element Quality values in the preferences.
Added Pref_CreateResultStudy, Pref_ResultStudyTitle, Pref_TabPasteIgnoreDelimeter, Pref_SnapTo,
Pref_RenderMaxMagnification, Pref_StudyAppendFemapTitles to set various preferences.
Added Info_ViewShowNormal, Info_ViewShowTransparent, Info_ComplexSyncMethod, Info_ComplexSyn-
cPhase, and Info_ComplexSyncIncrement.
Added SolidAllowNonManifold to allow bodies to become NonManifold after geometry operations.
Updated Pref_OutputSetTitles to set the Nastran Output Set Title preference.
Updated Info_SnapTo, Info_SnapStyle, Info_MatlAngleDir, Info_ModelSizeX, vInfo_ModelSizeX, Info_-
ModelSizeY, vInfo_ModelSizeY, Info_ModelSizeZ, vInfo_ModelSizeZ.
Preferences
Graphics
Added Max Mag to Graphics Options section
Specifies the maximum displayed magnification factor allowed by the graphics window. By default, the maximum
magnification factor is 10,000. Once the magnification factor reaches the specified value, the level of magnifica-
tion in the graphics window cannot be increased via zooming or by scrolling the mouse wheel. An error message
will be issued to the Messages window when the specified limit has been reached.
Updated what is supported by the Performance Graphics options in the Graphics Options section.
If this option is selected, a new architecture is used to improve graphics performance of both initial draw and
dynamic rotation. This new architecture requires at least OpenGL 4.2 and uses the graphics processors to take on
more of the graphics workload. This drastically reduces the amount of data that has to be transferred to the graphics
card, which reduces transfer times and data creation times, along with removing the requirement to group like enti-
ties, which greatly improves performance for models with a very large number of properties (thousands).
Note: A command to quickly toggle Performance Graphics on/off may be added to any menu or toolbar using
the Tools, Toolbars, Customize command. This command is located in the Additional Commands cate-
gory on the Commands tab of the Customize dialog box.
When displaying nodal contours of nodal results in Performance Graphics, plate and solid element faces are only
contoured if all nodes on that face have nodal results. This is a fundamentally different approach than what is done
using the existing graphics architecture. The advantage of this approach is that contours are only drawn on the faces
where nodal based output, such as contact results, actually exists, and not drawn on the entire element or on ele-
ments which do not have this type of output at all. Due to this different approach, a nodal contour of sparse nodal
vector data, such as constraint force or moment, may not show any contours in Performance Graphics. It is recom-
mended this data be examined by using either Deformed Style set to Vector or Contour Style set to Vector.
For the second full release of Performance Graphics, the following entities, styles, view options, and other capabil-
ities are NOT supported by Performance Graphics:
Entities - Curves, Combined Curves, Surfaces (includes surfaces on solids and volumes), Boundary Surfaces
(includes boundary surfaces on solids), Elements (Rigid - RBE1, RBE2, RBE3, and RSPLINE; Slide Line; Weld/
Fastener), Connections (Connection Regions and Connectors), Other Regions (Fluid, NonStructural Mass, Bolt,
Rotor), Loads (Geometry based Loads on Points, Curves, and Surfaces; Bolt Preload; Body Loads), Constraints
(Geometry based Constraints on Points, Curves, and Surfaces; Constraint Equations), Aeroelasticity entities (Aero
Panel/Body, Aero Spline, Aero Control Surface), and Text entities.
Note: When entity types and element types not supported by Performance Graphics exist in the model, they
are drawn as they have been in previous versions with OpenGL.
Deformed Style - Vector and Streamline
Note: An error will be issued and nothing related to Vector or Streamline will be drawn.
Contour Style - Beam Diagram, IsoSurface, Section Cut, and Vector.
Note: When using Beam Diagram, beam diagrams are drawn using the same method used in older versions,
while an error will be issued and nothing related to IsoSurface, Section Cut, or Vector is drawn.
View Options (Category - Labels, Entities and Color) - Any view option associated with an element type or
entity type not currently supported by Performance Graphics is also not supported. In addition, Element - Orienta-
tion/Shape with Element Shape set to 3..Show Cross Section (cross-sections drawn as they have been in previous
versions with OpenGL) and Constraint when Label Mode is set to 4..Arrows, No Labels, 5..Arrows, DOF,
6..Triangles, No Labels, or 7..Triangles, DOF (only labels will be visible, no symbols).
View Options (Category - Tools and View Style) - Axisymmetric Axes, View Legend, View Axis, Origin, Work-
plane and Rulers, and Workplane Grid are simply drawn as they have been in previous versions with OpenGL.
View Options (Category - PostProcessing) - Post Titles and any view option associated with a Deformed Style,
Contour Style, or PostProcessing Tool not currently supported by Performance Graphics is also not supported. In
addition, Contour/Criteria Style when the Filled (or Line) option is not checked (changes appearance of Contour/
Criteria Legend, but still shows filled contour).
Advanced Post - Commands on View, Advanced Post menu including Dynamic Cutting Plane, Dynamic IsoSur-
face, Dynamic Streamline, and Beam Cross Section.
Note: For Contour Model Data, the Beam Diagram option is not supported, but beam diagrams will be drawn
using the same method used in older versions.
Entity Colors - Pattern/Transparency and Line Style options other than the default setting.
Entity Highlighting - Window, Show Entities command and various Show When Selected icon buttons
Individual Entity Transparency - Modify, Transparency, Surface/Element/Property/Material
Export of JT Files - cannot be written when Performance Graphics mode is enabled. Simply turn the Performance
Graphics option off before using the File, Picture, Save JT command.
User Interface
Added Snap To option to Graphical Selection section.
This option controls which Snap Mode will be used as the default Snap Mode when a model is opened. The avail-
able options are 0..Screen (default),1..Grid, 2..Point, 3..Node, and 4..Smart. See Section 4.2.3, Quick
Access Menu (Right Mouse Button) in the FEMAP User Guide for more information on the various snap modes.
Added Ignore Delimiters if Pasting Tabs option to International Localization/Clipboard section.
The Ignore Delimiters if Pasting Tabs option, on by default, allows the user to ignore delimiters, such as a comma
(or period in certain regions), when pasting from the clipboard, provided there is a tab between the two values. For
example, a spreadsheet contains values in 2 columns, each with a value containing a comma (Row 1, Column 1 =
1,001; Row 1, Column 2 = 5,050), and a tab between the two values when copied to the clipboard. When this
option is ON, the values pasted into FEMAP from the clipboard are 1001 and 5050, while when this option is OFF,
the values pasted into FEMAP are 1 and 1, while the 5,050 value is completely ignored.
Geometry/Model
Updated the Element Quality Preferences dialog box accessed via the Element Quality button to be tabbed to
allow you to enter default values for the FEMAP element quality checks on the FEMAP tab, while allowing
you to enter default values for the NX Nastran element quality checks on the NX Nastran tab. Also, added the
All On and All Off icon buttons to make it easier to turn on/off all quality checks on the current tab. Finally,
added a Restore Tab Defaults button to restore the default values for the current tab.
Updated the Current Output Orientation dialog box accessed via the Output Orientation button by allowing
you to choose 3..Material Direction from the drop-down control for Force, Stress, and Strain in the Tria3,
Tria6, Quad4, and Quad8 sections.
Removed the Pre-v11.1 Tet Meshing option from the Meshing and Properties section.
Preferences 11.2-45
Interfaces
Removed the Output Set Titles drop-down control from the Nastran Options section, as it has been moved to the
File Options section of the Results tab.
Results
Added Create Studies option to File Options section.
When enabled, a Study will be created automatically when results are imported or attached to FEMAP. Each study
will include all output data found in a particular results file (i.e., all subcases from a static analysis, all modes from
a normal modes analysis, all frequencies or time steps from a dynamic analysis, all load steps from a nonlinear
analysis, etc).
Note: Any number of output files may be selected during a single use of the File, Attach to Results command.
If multiple output files are attached at one time, an individual Study will be created for each output file.
Added Study Titles drop-down control to File Options section.

The option is used when the Create Studies option is enabled and is used to specify how automatically created
Studies will be titled. The available options are explained in detail below:
Default - When importing or attaching to an OP2 or XDB file, it will try to use the Nastran Title, if it exists in the
file, otherwise, it will use the File Name. For all other output files, it will use the File Name.
Analysis Set Title - This option is only intended for use when submitting jobs directly from FEMAP to a solver
and will use the name of the Analysis Set currently being solved as the Study title. If importing or attaching to a
results file, the Study title will correspond to the title of the Analysis Set currently active in the Analysis Set
Manager, which may not be useful.
File Name - When this option is selected, the file name of the imported or attached to results file will be used as the
Study title.
Nastran Title - When this option is selected, the TITLE from an imported OP2 file or attached to XDB file will be
used as the Study title. For all other results files, Analysis Study will be used as the Study title.
Added Nastran Output Set Titles drop-down control to File Options section (previously, this option was called
Output Set Titles and was found in the Nastran Options section of the Interfaces tab).
When set to anything other than 0..Standard, specifies which of the various Nastran labeling options will be used
to name output sets created when importing output from or attaching to output in OP2 or XDB results files. Options
available are TITLE, SUBTITLE, LABEL, and SUBTITLE, LABEL (appears as SUBTITLE - LABEL).
Note: This option is not available when importing results from the .f06 results file.
Added Append Femap Title option to File Options section.

When this option is enabled, any value associated with an output set, such as a frequency or time, will be added to
the end of the title of each output set during import or attach of the results file.
Note: When on, the associated value will always be added to the end of the output set title(s), therefore it is
possible that longer output set title(s) may be truncated to accommodate the value. Typically truncation
will only occur if the TITLE, SUBTITLE, and/or LABEL contain a relatively large number of charac-
ters and the option for Nastran Output Set Titles is set to something other than 0..Standard.
Removed the Read Nonlinear Output option from the Auto Answer General Post Read Questions section, as it
is no longer needed due to FEMAP being able to import both the Linear and Nonlinear results from a nonlinear
analysis into the same output set.
Performance Graphics
Added ability to use the Trace Deformation Style when performance graphics was enabled.
Layups
Added Layup Title, Number of Plies, and Total Thickness to the layup representation displayed in the Layup
Viewer.
Tools - Element Quality

Updated how the Jacobian element quality check is calculated for Pyramid Elements. Range varies from 0.0
(Ideal) to 1.0 (Very Poor). If the element returns a value of 2.0, the element has failed the Jacobian element
check completely and is likely invalid. To determine the Jacobian value, the pyramid element is first divided
into two 4-noded tetrahedral elements by dividing the quadrilateral face at corners 1 and 3 (Element A using
corners 1, 2, 3, & 5; Element B using corners 1, 3, 4, & 5), then the pyramid is divided into two different 4-
noded tetrahedral elements by dividing the quadrilateral face at corners 2 and 4 (Element C using corners 1,
2, 4, & 5; Element D using corners 2, 3, 4, & 5). The Jacobian value is calculated for the 4 tetrahedral ele-
ments (A, B, C, and D), then the minimum value is subtracted from 1.0 to determine the Jacobian
value for the Pyramid Element. The Jacobian value is calculated the same way for parabolic elements as
midside nodes are not considered at this time.
Whats New for version 11.1.1 11.2-47
User Interface
General, Menu, Toolbars, Meshing Toolbox, PostProcessing Toolbox, Charting pane, Data Table
General
Updated the multi-select dialog box for titled entities which can be accessed via the standard entity selection
dialog box. The updated version allows you to check any number of entities as well as filter the list of entities
by using the matching text filter.
Toggle Selected On
Clear Filter
Toggle All Off Toggle Selected Off Filter
Toggle All On
Added Distance icon button to a number of dialog boxes which prompt user for a distance or length.
Menu
Added Geometry, Solid, Fill Hole command to Geometry menu. See Geometry for more information.
Toolbars
Entity Display toolbar - Added an icon that will toggle off both Nodes and Permanent Constraints to replace the
Nodes Only icon on the Toolbar. The Nodes Only icon can be added to any Toolbar via Tools, Toolbars, Cus-
tomize, selecting the Commands tab, choosing Additional Commands, then dragging View Node Visibility.
Custom Tools toolbar - Added Stop API Tool command, which will stop an API script which is running. This
command also appears on the Quick Access Menu (right-mouse menu) when an API script is running.
Meshing Toolbox
Mesh Surface tool - Added Use Internal Points as Mesh Locations option to the Advanced Options section.
Locator tool - Added MultiSurface Edges and Adjacent Edges options when Search For is set to Curves.
When on and using the MultiSurface option, the Locator will find any curves which are used by multiple sur-
faces. When on and using the Adjacent Edges option, the Locator will find all curves which overlap, regardless
of curve length, and offers both a Tolerance and Angle Tolerance values which may be modified.
In the Contour Tool:
Added New Element Group icon button beside Show on Groups drop-down. This allows you to quickly create a
group containing only elements and is available for when using any Contour Style. When using this command,
simply enter a Title and different ID for the new Group (both optional), click OK, then use the standard entity
selection dialog box to select elements.
Charting pane
Changed default color for minor grid lines to be a darker color.
Data Table
Added Sort Off option to the context-sensitive menu for Column Headers. This allows you to have entities
listed in the Data Table using the original order of entry into the Data Table (i.e., before any sorting was done).
Model Merge
Updated the File, Merge command to optionally merge geometric entities from one model into another model.
In order to create valid geometry, all of the underlying geometric entities must also be selected. For instance, if
you want to merge in a solid entity, then all of the surfaces, curves, and points used by that solid must also be
selected for merging.
Geometry
Added Geometry, Solid, Fill Hole command.
Allows you to create a solid within another solid by filling a hole. The only input is to select a single curve of the
hole to be filled. While the intent of this command is to fill in a solid which has been at least partially hollowed
out with a new solid, it will also create a new solid in simple cases, such as a bolt hole or hole with a countersink.
Original Solid Select this curve Newly created Solid
filling the hole (Original
Solid hidden for clarity)
Newly created Solid

Original Solid Select this curve filling the hole (Original
Solid hidden for clarity)
Meshing 11.2-49
Meshing
Added Use Internal Points as Mesh Locations option to the Mesh, Geometry, Surface command. When this
option is on, imprinted Parasolid points on the interior of a surface will be used as mesh locations in a similar
manner to mesh location on a surface created using the Mesh, Mesh Control, Mesh Points on Surface command.
When off, imprinted Parasolid points on the interior of a surface are simply ignored during surface meshing.
Added On Surface option and a Midside button to all commands on the Mesh, Editing menu (Interactive, Split,
and Edge Split). When On Surface is turned on, the new nodes created during the splitting process will be pro-
jected onto any underlying surface(s). The Midside button (Midside Nodes button for Edge Split) opens a dialog
box to control how midside nodes will be projected after a parabolic element is split. If Move to Geometry is
On, an attempt will be made to project midside nodes onto underlying geometry. The Max Distortion Angle lim-
its the amount each midside node can be moved during projection, so if projecting a node creates a larger angle
than this value, it will be moved a smaller distance to not violate the tolerance.
Elements
Added Remove from List icon button to the Define Rigid Element dialog box, which will remove the highlight
node(s) from the list. Also, modified the Delete button to bring up the standard entity selection dialog to allow
you to pick nodes to remove from the rigid element from the model instead of needing to know the node IDs.
Added 19..EQ 23: 8-Node Quadrilateral Shell and 20..EQ 24: 6-Node Quadratic Triangular Shell element
formulations to the DYNA Options drop-down in the PLATE dialog box.
Added 18..EQ -1: Fully Integ S/R for Poor Aspect Ratio, Efficiency and 19..EQ -2: Fully Integ S/R for Poor
Aspect Ratio, Accurate element formulations to the DYNA Options drop-down in the SOLID dialog box.
Updated the Modify, Update Elements, Linear/Parabolic Order command by consolidating the different ques-
tions asked by the command into a more user friendly dialog box.
Changes linear elements to parabolic elements and vice versa. Selection of the elements is done using the standard
entity selection dialog box and all options are specified via the Update Element Order dialog box:
The Update To section allows you to specify what the command does by choosing Linear or Parabolic. When
updating linear elements to Parabolic, you also have the option to create Midside Nodes, which is on by default.
The Midside Nodes Options section controls how midside nodes will be projected after updating to parabolic ele-
ments. If Move to Geometry is On, an attempt will be made to project midside nodes onto underlying geometry.
The Max Distortion Angle limits the amount each midside node can be moved during projection, so if projecting a
node creates a larger angle than this value, it will be moved a smaller distance to not violate the tolerance.
You can choose any elements in your model, but this command only recognizes plane and volume types. In addi-
tion, only elements which are currently of the selected order are updated. For example, if you are converting linear
elements to parabolic elements and choose a mixture of linear and parabolic elements, only the linear ones will be
updated.
Materials
Updated 74..LS-DYNA Hyperelastic Rubber and 76..General Viscoelastic in the Other Types dialog box to work
with the current version of LS-DYNA

The Multi-Model portion of the Model, Load, From Freebody command is designed to aid in Global-Local mod-
eling, where loads from a coarsely-meshed Source (Global) Model are applied to a more refined or finely-meshed
Target (Local) Model. The Local model is typically a refined-subsection of interest of the Global model. This tool
will apply Freebody loads from a single Freebody in the source model to a matching mesh in the target model, and
optionally connect the two meshes using rigid interpolation (RBE3) elements.
Note: Global-Local modeling is a broad term used to describe taking results from a coarse Global
model and applying them as loads to a refined Local model in order to get more accurate results on
the Local model. This tool exists solely to aid in application of these results as loads, but engineer-
ing judgment, knowledge of the structures behavior, and specification of appropriate boundary con-
ditions is critical to recovering meaningful results using this technique.
While not typical, Global-Local modeling can also be done within the same model, which can also be handled
via this portion of the command. This section will focus on using multiple models to perform Global-Local mod-
eling. Open the desired Source (Global) and Target (Local) Models simultaneously in the same instance of FEMAP,
then make the desired Target Model the active model. Select the Model, Load, From Freebody command and
immediately click the Multi-Model button to open the Select Source Data dialog box:
Filter Clear Filter
Selected On Selected Off
All On
All Off Clear Filter

Filter
Use the Source Model drop-down to select the Source (Global) Model. The Freebody and Output Set(s) lists will be
populated with Freebody entities and Output Sets information from the Source Model. Only a single Freebody
entity can be selected by highlighting the title in the Freebody list. Any number of Output Sets can be selected from
the Output Set(s) list by checking them individually or highlighting the titles and using the Selected On icon button
to check multiple items. Additional icon buttons exist to perform All On, All Off, and Selected Off operations. The
number of items in either list can be reduced using matching text by clicking the Filter icon button, entering text
in the Title Contains field in dialog box that appears, then clicking OK. Simply click the Clear Filter icon button to
restore the full list.
A unique Load Set will be created in the Target Model for each selected Output Set. The type(s) of loads created in
these new Load Set(s) are controlled by the Use Forces and Use Moments options. When Use Forces is On, any
forces from the selected Freebody in the Source Model above the specified Minimum value will be used to create
force loads in the Target Model. When Use Moments is On, any moments from the selected Freebody in the Source
Model above the specified Minimum value will be used to create moment loads in the Target Model.
The Check for Equilibrium option, when selected, will calculate the total summation of forces/and or moments for
the selected Freebody and each selected Output Set. A warning is written to the Messages window for each Output
Set that exceeds the maximum allowable value(s), along with the total force and moment summation. Forces and/or
moments are checked for equilibrium if the Use Forces and/or Use Moments options are selected, respectively. The
maximum allowable value(s) for equilibrium are the same as the specified Minimum values for Use Forces and Use
Moments. Should any freebody / output set combination fail the equilibrium check, you may choose to continue,
however extreme care should be taken when validating the results.
Note: Minor deviations from equilibrium should have minimal impact on the overall results, however
major deviations may create artificial load concentrations around the constraint points. The allow-
able level of deviation is up to the discretion of the user.
Once everything desired is selected in the Select Source Model dialog box, click the Next button to display the Cre-
ate Load(s) from Freebody dialog box:
The Target Model is simply a reference to the name of the active model and cannot be changed. There are two dif-
ferent methods to choose from in the Methods section, Match ID (1 to 1) and Rigid Element (1 to many), which is
the default. In all cases, Freebody Forces/Moments refer to the Freebody entity selected in the previous dialog box.
The only options available regardless of the selected Method and Entity Selection option are located in the General
Options section. At any time, check the box beside Source Nodes and enter a value for ID Offset to offset the IDs of
the Source Nodes by a specified value or click the Show Source Nodes button to see their locations in the Target
Model. Simply click the same button, which now says Hide Source Nodes to turn off the locations.
Match ID (1 to 1)
When using Match ID (1 to 1), the only unique option available is Create New next to Match ID (1 to 1). The
Match ID method simply creates loads in the target model and is intended for use when the user either has existing
matching source nodes in the target model, or wishes to simply create the source nodes in the target model and
manually edit connectivity later.
Match ID (1 to 1) method, Create New turned On - New nodes will be created in the Target Model using the loca-
tions of the nodes having Freebody Forces/Moments in the Source Model. An attempt will be made to use the same
Node IDs as the Source Model in the Target Model whenever possible. If a Node ID already exists in the Target
Model, this warning will appear, The highlighted nodes conflict with one or more source node IDs. Renumber
using next available node ID? If you click Yes, then the new nodes with ID conflicts will simply be renumbered
using the next available ID(s) in the Target Model. If you click No, only nodes with non-conflicting IDs will be cre-
ated in the Target Model. Loads will be applied in the Target Model on both the newly created nodes as well as the
existing nodes that have conflicting IDs with Source Nodes. Because the loads applied to nodes with conflicting
IDs do not take into account the position of those nodes relative to the desired Source Nodes, you must employ cau-
tion when using this method as the results may not be valid for the given model. Clicking Cancel will simply exit
the command. Any nodes created using this method not will be attached to the Target Model in any way.
For example, Freebody Forces on Node 10 in the source model would create nodal forces on a newly created Node
10 in the target model. If Node 10 already exists in the target model, clicking Yes to the warning message would
result in loads being created on a node at the same location of Node 10 in the source model, but with a different ID.
Clicking No would result in loads being created in the Target Model representing the Freebody Forces on Node 10
in the Source Model, regardless of where Node 10 exists with respect to the matching Source Node.
Match ID (1 to 1) method, Create New turned Off - New nodes will be created in the Target Model on nodes with
the same ID as the Freebody Forces/Moments in the Source Model, regardless of where these node IDs are located
in the target model. If a matching node ID does NOT exist in the target model, the following warning will appear,
The target model does not contain all of the requested source nodes. OK to continue? If you click Yes to con-
tinue, no loads will be created on the nodes that do not exist in the target model, while clicking No will simply exit
the command. Be aware, choosing Yes to the previous question may invalidate any previous equilibrium checks.
For example, Freebody Forces on Node 10 in the source model would create nodal forces on Node 10 in the target
model. If Node 10 does not exist in the target model, this would result in no loads being created in the target model
representing the Freebody Forces on Node 10 in the source model.
Rigid Element (1 to many)
When using Rigid Element (1 to many), the intent is to create new nodes in the target model using the locations of
nodes with Freebody Forces/Moments in the source model (Source Nodes), then connect these newly created
source nodes to other nodes in the target model (Target Nodes) using rigid interpolation elements (RBE3 ele-
ments). Because more is being done with this method, there are more options available than for Match (1 to 1).
The Entity Selection section offers both Automatic and User Defined options for selection of Target Nodes, while
the Rigid Element Options section is used to specify options which control how the rigid interpolation elements
connecting the Source Nodes to the Target Nodes will be created. Regardless of the Entity Selection method, the
Degrees-of-Freedom (DOFs) used for the Target Nodes are selected using Independent DOF (Target) (default is all
Translation DOFs), while the DOFs used for the Source Nodes are selected using Dependent DOF (Source)
(default is all six DOFs). Also, the default value for Max Nodes is always 10, while the default value for Max Dis-
tance is 1/10 of the diagonal of an invisible box that completely encapsulates all of the Source Nodes.
When using Automatic for Entity Selection, all the nodes in the Target Model are considered for attachment to the
Source Nodes, but determining which Target Nodes actually get attached to which Source Node is done using the
values specified for Max Nodes and Max Distance in the Rigid Element Options section. The specified Max Dis-
tance value is used to create a list of nodes which are within that distance from each Source Node, then the Max
Nodes value limits the Target Nodes used for each Source Node to the n closest nodes.
When using User Defined, click the Select Nodes button beside Target Nodes to select nodes using the standard
entity selection dialog box. The user may optionally limit the previous node selection to free-edges only by clicking
the Select Elements button beside Limit to Free Edges (Optional) to select elements to use for a free-edge search
using the standard entity selection dialog box. Once nodes and/or elements have been selected, the text on the but-
tons will change to be # of selected Nodes or # of selected Elements, respectively. The icon buttons to the right
of these buttons can be used to highlight the selected nodes or selected elements in the graphics window, but only
one entity type can be highlighted at a time.
While the Max Nodes and Max Distance values are always both used with Automatic, either option can be turned
off entirely when using User Defined by simply unchecking the option for Limit number of mapped nodes or Limit
search distance, but not both. When both options are on, the Target Nodes attached to each Source Node are deter-
mined in a similar manner as when using Automatic, with the lone difference being only the nodes selected in the
Entity Selection section are considered instead of all the nodes in the Target Model.
Note: When Max Nodes is turned off, you may encounter some unexpected results, such as a large number
of nodes being included as Target Nodes because they are all within the specified Max Distance
value. Similarly, when Max Distance is turned off, nodes from farther than expected may be included
as Target Nodes because each Source Node will be connected to the number of nodes specified for
Max Nodes, regardless of distance.
When the Preview option beside Target Nodes is checked, all potential Target Nodes will be highlighted in the
graphics window once OK has been pressed in the Create Load(s) from Freebody dialog box. The standard entity
selection dialog box will also be displayed to allow you to add or remove potential Target Nodes.
If any potential Target Nodes have IDs conflict with any Source Nodes, a message will appear asking The high-
lighted nodes conflict with one or more source node IDs. Renumber using next available node ID?. If you click
Yes, then the new nodes with ID conflicts will simply be renumbered using the next available ID(s) in the target
model. If you click No, then nothing is renumbered and loads are only applied to nodes in the Target Model which
have a matching ID in the Source Model, while clicking Cancel will simply exit the command.
In certain cases, some potential nodes may not be able to be paired with a Source Node. This may happen when a
maximum distance has been specified and a target node is located too far from any source node, or if a maximum
number of pairings has been specified and no suitable source node is found that has less than the maximum number
of pairings. When this happens, a message will appear asking # highlighted target nodes were unable to be paired
with a source node. Update the selector with these nodes?. If you choose Yes all of the unpaired nodes will be
added to the Selection List, while if you click No nothing with be done with the unpaired nodes.
At this point, rigid interpolation elements have been created and a dialog box will appear asking Edit rigid element
connectivity?. Clicking No will simply end the command, while clicking Yes will display the Toggle Rigid Ele-
ment Nodes dialog box which may be edit the rigid interpolation elements:
To edit the Independent (Nodes To Average) nodes in a rigid interpolation element, simply select an element from
the graphics window and it will highlight. When the Auto Update option is turned on, which is the default, selecting
a node that is not currently used by the selected element will add that node to the element, while selecting a node
which is already being used by the selected element will remove that node from the element. When the Auto
Update option is off, you will need to select a node, then click the Apply button to add the node to the element or
remove the node from the element. If a rigid interpolation element only has a single Independent (Nodes to Aver-
age) node, it cannot be removed from the element using this dialog box.
Added the ability to choose Load Definitions to expand loads using the Model, Load, Expand command. A sim-
ilar option was added for expanding Constraint Definitions when using Model, Constraint, Expand.
Added capability to Geometry, Copy...; Geometry, Scale..., Geometry, Rotate...; and Geometry, Reflect... com-
mands to properly copy and transform geometric loads with the new geometry.
Added capability to Geometry, Copy...; Geometry, Scale..., Geometry, Rotate...; and Geometry, Reflect... com-
mands to properly copy geometric constraints that either reference DOF in a specific coordinate system or that
allow sliding along a specified direction.
Loads can now be rotated or otherwise modified along with other entities when using the Modify, Move To,
CSys; Modify, Move By, CSys; Modify, Rotate By, CSys; Modify, Rotate To, CSys; or Modify, Align, CSys com-
mands. For this to occur, the Rotate Loads in Modify Rotate/Align CSys options must be turned on in the Geom-
etry/Model tab of the File, Preferences command.
Added a From Set drop-down control which allows you to select a Load Set when using List, Model, Load Defi-
nition; Delete, Model, Load Definition; or Modify, Renumber, Load Definition commands. A similar control
was added to allow selection of a Constraint Set when using the List, Model, Constraint Definition; Delete,
Model, Constrain Definition; or Modify, Renumber, Constraint Definition commands.

Updated the Connect, Automatic command to allow selection of Edge Regions Output. This setting controls
how edge regions will be exported.
On the LS-DYNA tab in the Define Connection Property dialog box, added 13..Tied Shell Edge To Surface
Beam Offset option to the Type drop-down in the General section.
Modification
Added Between Coordinate Systems method to all commands on the Modify, Align... menu and also made
Between Coordinate Systems the default method.
Views
Performance Graphics now displays material direction on planar elements and element directions on planar
elements (Right-Hand Rule, Normal Vectors, and Right-Hand Rule First Edge options only).
Geometry Interfaces


Analysis Set Manager Enhancements
Nastran Interfaces (NX and MSC)
MSC Nastran Interface
NEi Nastran Interface
ANSYS Interface
DYNA Interface
Analysis Set Manager Enhancements 11.2-55

Added Temperature drop-down in the Boundary Conditions dialog box. This allows you to select a Load Set to
and will write TEMP(LOAD) in the Nastran input file.
Updated MultiSet to use a single consolidated dialog box to automatically created subcases using every combi-
nation of the selected Load Set(s) and Constraint Set(s).
The MultiSet button displays the Select Load and Constraint Sets for Analysis Cases dialog box.This command will
create an individual case (subcase) for every combination available using the selected Constraint Sets and Load
Sets. Any number of existing Constraint Sets can be selected from the list on the left side of the dialog box by
checking them individually or highlighting the titles and using the Selected On icon button to check multiple items,
while any number of existing Load Sets can be selected from the list on the right side in a similar manner. Addi-
tional icon buttons exist for both lists to perform All On, All Off, and Selected Off operations. It is possible to have
no Constraint Sets or no Load Sets selected. Also, the number of items in each list can be reduced using a match-
ing text filter by entering text in the field above the list, then clicking the Filter icon button to show only items
containing the entered text. Simply click the Clear Filter icon button to restore the full list.
Toggle Selected On
Toggle All Off Toggle Selected Off Clear Filter
Toggle All On Filter
In addition, Clear Master Case Loads and Clear Master Case Constraints options exist which, when on, will
remove any Constraint Set and/or Load Set currently specified in the Master Case. For example, if zero Constraint
Sets are selected and four Load Sets are selected, it may be beneficial to toggle off the Clear Master Case Con-
straints in order to have a constraint set selected in the Master Case.
Updated Delete to use a single consolidated dialog box to automatically created subcases using every combina-
tion of the selected Load Set(s) and Constraint Set(s).
Delete
Use Delete to remove any number of analysis sets from the Analysis Set Manager or any number of analysis cases
from a single Analysis Set. The Delete command will only be available when the Analysis Set: line is selected at
the top-level of an Analysis Set or any Case: line is highlighted inside an Analysis Set. The Select Analysis Set(s)
to Delete dialog box appears when the top-level Analysis Set: line is highlighted, while the Select Analysis
Case(s) to Delete dialog box appears when a Case: line is highlighted. In both cases, the highlighted Analysis Set
or Analysis Case with be checked in the appropriate dialog box
Toggle Selected On
Toggle All Off Toggle Selected Off Clear Filter
Toggle All On Filter
Any number of existing Analysis Sets or Analysis Cases can be selected from the list by checking them individually
or highlighting the titles and using the Selected On icon button to check multiple items. Additional icon buttons
exist to perform All On, All Off, and Selected Off operations. Also, the number of items in each list can be reduced
using a matching text filter by entering text in the field above the list, then clicking the Filter icon button to show
only items containing the entered text. Simply click the Clear Filter icon button to restore the full list.

Added support for writing TEMP(LOAD) by selecting a load set using the Temperature drop-down in the
Boundary Conditions dialog box. This is very helpful for including temperature loads using a different Load
when using Nastran LOAD Combinations for structural loads.
Added support for reading forces, stresses, and strains for CBUSH elements when importing the .f06 file. Ran-
dom output (PSDF, RMS, CRMS) is not supported when reading from the .f06 file.
Improved support when reading a Buckling input files by reading the EIGB entry and limiting the number of
subcases created to the appropriate amount.
Improved support to handle a variety of multi-line, multi-token INCLUDE statements.
MSC Nastran Interface 11.2-57

Added support for import of contact results from SOL 400 analysis, specifically, for the OFCON3D and
OFCON3D0 data blocks.
Added support for import of results from a Random Response analysis, specifically for the OAGRMS1,
OVGRMS1, OAGNO1, and OVGNO1 data blocks.

ANSYS Interface
Added support for reading TARGE170, CONTA173 and CONTA174 as connection regions. Also creates con-
nections and connection properties from other data in the file.
Added support for reading NSEL, ESEL, CM entries to create Groups.
DYNA Interface
Added support to write *PART_COMPOSITE for Laminate properties.
Added support to write all of the entries needed to run an analysis to run using the implicit solver.
Added support to write *CONTACT_TIED_SHELL_EDGE_TO_SURFACE_BEAM_OFFSET entry.
Added support to write EQ 23 and EQ 24 element formulations for plate elements.
Added support to write EQ -1 and EQ -2 element formulations for solid elements.
Added support to write negative values for Thickness Overrides (used in Tied Contact).
Added support to write the G command line option, which specifies where the d3plot files will be written. By
default, it will always be the same directory as the input file.
OLE/COM API
Added ability to stop a API script while it is running with the Stop API Tool command on the Custom Tools
Toolbar or the Quick Access Menu (right-mouse menu). This will work even if the interface has been locked
using the appropriate API calls. Also, the Stop button in the API Programming pane can also now be used when
the interface has been locked using API calls.
New API Objects and Attributes
Added TrackData Object
Added BeamCalculator Object. Also, added Element, Position, MeshFactor, IncludeAxialForce, IncludeShear-
ForceY, IncludeShearForceZ, IncludeMomentY, IncludeMomentZ, and IncludeTorque properties.
Added read-only ScaleFactor property to Point Object
Added read-only ScaleFactor property to Curve Object
Added read-only ScaleFactor property to Surface Object
Added read-only ScaleFactor property to Solid Object
Added read-only Visible and Locked properties to Data Table Object

New and Updated API Methods
Added Clear, Start, StartGeometry, StartMesh, Stop, StopAll, Created, and Deleted to TrackData Object
Added GetElementProperties, GetMeshInfo, CalculateStress, CalculateStressFromForces, and FindMaxMinSt-
ess to BeamCalculator Object
New and Updated Global Variables
Added Pref_LoadModifyRotate
feVectorRotate
fePlaneRotate
feSolidFillCavity
feOutputTransform2
feSolidEmbedMultiple
feAlignBetweenCSys
feMeshSizeCurveMatchNodes
feMeshSizeCurveMatchXYZ
Preferences
Geometry/Model
Added preference to Rotate Loads in Modify Rotate/Align CSys. When on, the loads will be rotated along with
other entities when using the Modify, Move To, CSys; Modify, Move By, CSys; Modify, Rotate By, CSys; Modify,
Rotate To, CSys; or Modify, Align, CSys commands. When off, the loads will not be rotated when using these
commands.
Interfaces
Changed Improve Single Field Precision option to Improve Real Number Precision in Nastran Solver Write
Options section. This option now works to improve precision in both Small Field and Wide Field formats.
Results
Removed the Auto Answer Post Questions button and moved all of options from the Auto Answer Post Read
Questions dialog box to the top-level of the Results tab.
Whats New for version 11.1 11.2-59
Whats New for version 11.1
User Interface
General, Menu, Toolbars, Model Info tree, Meshing Toolbox, PostProcessing Toolbox, Charting pane, Data Sur-
face Editor, Data Table
General
Added Performance Graphics mode to improve performance of dynamic rotation and regeneration of large
models. Performance Graphics may be turned on in File, Preferences on the Graphics tab. See Preferences for
more information.
Added Layers/Groups in Tooltips option to include Layer and Group information in Tooltips and Rotate View
About submenu to specify View Center options from the quick access menu (right-mouse click menu).
Enhanced Modify, Renumber... commands which allow Coordinate renumbering to allow the user to specify the
Order using the +/- X, Y, or Z locations of each entity.
Enhanced the performance of Combo and List Boxes with lists of entities that have a large number of items.
Also, enhanced performance of the Visibility dialog box. Previously, the dialog box could take longer than
expected to appear when models had large numbers (50K-100K) of properties, materials, etc.
Implemented Query and Front picking for Coordinate Systems. Only works for coordinate systems themselves,
not selecting nodes or points referencing coordinate systems.
Menu
Added File, Merge command to File menu. See Model Merge (NEW for FEMAP 11.1!) for more information.
Added Tools, Measure, Distance Between Geometry command to Tools menu. See Tools for more information.
Added Geometry, Curve - Line, Between Geometry; Geometry, Solids, Sweep; and Geometry, Solids, Sweep
Between commands to Geometry menu. See Geometryfor more information.
Consolidated all Point commands in Modify, Project submenu into the Modify, Project, Point command and
all Node commands in Modify, Project submenu into the Modify, Project, Node command. See Geometry for
more information. Also, added Modify, Renumber, Load Definition and Modify, Renumber, Constraint Defini-
tion command to Modify menu. Finally, added Modify, Update Elements, Rigid DOF command to Modify
menu. See Elementsfor more information.
Added List, Output, Contoured Results to Data Table command along with the List, Output, Freebody Nodal
Summations and List, Output, Freebody Nodal Summations to Data Table commands to the List menu. See Out-
put and Post-Processing for more information.
Added Group, Operations, Generate Freebody Entities; Group, Curve, in Connection Region; Group, Surface,
in Connection Region; Group, Node, in Connection Region; Group, Element, in Connection Region; and Group,
Property, in Connection Region commands to the Group menu. See Groups and Layers for more information.
Added Help, FEMAP User Community option to Help menu, which links to the official FEMAP Community
website, hosted by Siemens PLM Software. Removed Help, Using Help command, as it no longer applied.
Toolbars
Added Distance Between Geometry icon to Measure icon menu of View Toolbar.
Added Layers/Groups in Tooltips icon to Selector Mode icon menu of Select Toolbar.
Added Renumber command to context-sensitive menus for Solids, Connection Properties, Regions, Connec-
tors, Coordinate Systems, Materials, Properties, and Layups. In all cases, a dialog box appears requesting ID
and selected entities will be renumbered using the Original ID method of the Modify, Renumber... commands.
Updated Next Output Vector and Previous Output Vector icons on the Post Toolbar to increment all 3 pos-
sible contour vectors if they are defined. Previously only the primary vector was incremented.
Model Info tree

Added ability to toggle on/off the current count of various entity types using the Show Entity Counts icon in the
Model Info toolbar.
Added ability to scroll through entities using the middle mouse button while the cursor is over the Entity
Icons or Visibility check boxes now available while in another command, except View commands.
Added Renumber command to context-sensitive menus for Coordinate Systems, Geometry, Connection Proper-
ties, Regions, Connectors, Aero Panels/Bodies, Aero Properties, Aero Splines, Aero Control Surfaces, Materi-
als, Properties, Layups, Load Sets, Load Definitions, Constraint Sets, Constraint Sets, Functions, Analysis Sets,
Output Sets, Groups, and Layers. In all cases, a dialog box will appear starting ID and the selected entities will
be renumbered using the Original ID method of the Modify, Renumber... commands.
Added Attach to Results command to context-sensitive menu for Results, which displays the Manage Results
Files dialog box from the File, Attach to Results command.
Meshing Toolbox
Locator tool - Added With Poles option when Search For is set to Surfaces. When on, the Locator will find
any surface which contains a pole. Typically only spherical or conical surfaces and planar surfaces of revolu-
tion around a point can have a pole.
Geometry Editing tool - Added Split at Closest option to the Edge to Edge Operation. When on, will
attempt to create the shortest possible curve using the two locations on the selected curves closest to one
another. Also, added Pad Alignment and Add Washer options to the Pad Operation.
In the Contour Tool:
Added No Average, Centroid Only option for Data Conversion in the Options section when Style is set to Con-
tour. Simply allows all possibilities currently available through the menus and dialog boxes.
In the Freebody Tool:
Added ability to display freebody results in nodal output coordinate system. Only nodal vectors and quantities
will be displayed in the nodal output coordinate system. Interface loads will still be in the freebody coordinate
system.
Added Allow Alternate Vector option in the Freebody Contributions section for the Applied, Reaction, and Mul-
tiPoint Reaction contributions. When on, attempts to use alternate vectors if the Grid Point Force Balance vec-
tors are not available for a particular contribution.
Added option to List Nodal Sums when using the listing commands in the Freebody Tools section. When used,
summed values for Fx, Fy, Fz, Mx, My, and Mz at each node will be added to the listing using **SUM** as the
Source.
Added Freebody Validation icon to Freebody Tools section. Model debugging tool that can be used to help
determine if results requested for a given freebody exist in the database for the selected set of elements and/or
nodes. It does not indicate that the results of a freebody calculation are a valid idealization of the structure being
analyzed, as that is up to the individual user to determine.
Charting pane
Reorganized the Chart Data Series dialog box into a tabbed format and added the Vector vs. Vector option as a
tab. See Tools for more information.
Added ability to set the Font Size for the Legend, Chart Axis Labels, and Labels in the Chart.
Changed Show Tooltips icon into icon menu and added several options for syncing up the active graphics win-
dow to the data point currently showing the Tooltip and ability to control what is shown in the Tooltip. See
Tools for more information.
Data Surface Editor 11.2-61
Changed Copy Chart to Clipboard icon into icon menu offering three options, Copy Chart Image, Copy Chart
Data, or Copy Chart Image and Data. The most recently used option will remain the default option for the cur-
rent instance of FEMAP.
Moved the Title field from the Chart Title tab to the top of the in the Charting dialog box.
Added List Data command to Data Series context-sensitive menu to list the data from the Data Series to the
Messages window
Added Show (Element/Node ID) in Active View command to Marker context-sensitive menu to highlight the
entity in the active view using the current Show When Selected options, except always displays label.
Data Surface Editor

Added Load Set Combination Data Surface to Create/Load Data Surface icon menu. See Loads and Con-
straints for more information.
Data Table
Added Significant Digits options to Show/Hide Columns icon menu. Simply allows you to specify the number
of significant digits to be displayed for values in the Data Table. The number of significant figures will persist
until the Data Table is closed.
Added Sum Selected Rows command to context-sensitive menu for column headers. Displays a dialog box with
the Minimum Value, Maximum Value, and Sum using data from the rows currently highlighted.
Model Merge
NEW for FEMAP 11.1! The File, Merge command allows entities from any model currently open in the same
instance of FEMAP to be merged with the active model. At least two models must be open for this command to
be available. To facilitate bringing entities into the active model, a number of overall Renumbering and Duplicates
Strategy, Entity Selection, and Model Orientation options are available in the Model Merge Manager dialog box
and will be described in detail later in this section. In addition, the top portion of the dialog box, the Entities to
Merge list can be used to choose which entity types to merge into the active model using the check marks in the
Entity Type column.
If more than two models are open in the same instance of FEMAP, use the From Model drop-down to select the
desired open model. The Entities to Merge list will update whenever a different model is selected using the From
Model drop-down. The To Model field is always gray and simply displays the name of the active model.
Entities to Merge list
Contains a list of the entities to merge into the active model with columns for Entity Type, Current IDs, Merge IDs,
Renumber To, and Renumbering. Use the All On or All Off buttons to check/uncheck all of the Entity Type check
boxes for all entities in the list.
Once the Entities to Merge list is filled, the row(s) must be highlighted for any of the options in the Renumbering
and Duplicates Strategy and/or Entity Selection sections to take effect. Multiple rows may be selected for update
(Hold the CTRL key when you click to choose multiple entity types one at a time or the SHIFT key to choose a
range of entity types). The Select All and Select None buttons are used to select/de-select all of the different entity
types in the list. Once the desired rows are selected, choose the appropriate options and then click the Update
Selected button and review the updated information in the columns. Alternatively, use the Update All button to
update all entity types with the current settings for the various options.
Entity Type - column simply contains the name of the entity type and a check box which allows you to include
or not include that entity type when merging.
Current IDs - column lists the IDs for each entity type in the active model. If the active model does not have
any entities of a certain entity type, then this column will be blank.
Merge IDs - column lists the IDs found in the model selected using the From Model drop-down. The options in
the Entity Selection section are helpful when trying to limit the IDs in this column.
Renumber To - column lists the new IDs for the entities found in the Merge IDs column. These IDs are based
on the settings in the Renumbering and Duplicates Strategy section.
Renumbering - column lists the number of entities which will be renumbered. When they occur, this column
will also list the number of Conflicts and Overwrites which will occur using the current settings in the
Renumbering and Duplicates Strategy section.
Renumbering and Duplicates Strategy
This sections is used to specify how entities will be renumbered and how to handle duplicates.
None - specifies that entities should not be renumbered. This option can only be used effectively when the
Overwrite Duplicates option is also selected.
Minimal Renumbering - specifies that renumbering should occur using the lowest IDs possible. If unused IDs
exist within the range of Current IDs, this renumbering strategy will use those IDs. This is the default setting.
Optionally, you can enter a value into the Renumber To field to specify a different starting ID. If the stating ID
is not available, the next available ID will be used instead. For instance, if there are 20 elements in the active
model and the elements are numbered 1-10 and 31-40, Minimal Renumbering would place the 30 elements
found in the From Model into element IDs 11-30 (20 elements with the lowest IDs in the From Model) and 41-
50 (remaining elements in the From Model).
Block Renumbering - specifies that renumbering should be done using a block of IDs, based on the largest
value for Current IDs. Optionally, you can enter a value into the Renumber To field to specify a different start-
ing ID, but if the specified value is in the range of Current IDs, it will be updated to the lowest available ID out-
side the range. For instance, if there are 20 elements in the active model and the elements are numbered 1-10
and 31-40, the block of Current IDs would be from 1 to 40. Block Renumbering would place the 30 elements
found in the From Model into element IDs 41-70, leaving element IDs 11-30 empty.
Offset Renumbering - specifies that renumbering should be done using the original Merge IDs plus a value
specified using the Offset By field. For instance, if there are 20 elements in the From Model and the elements
are numbered 1-10 and 31-40, using Offset Renumbering and entering an Offset By value of 100 would renum-
ber these elements to 101-110 and 131-140.
Compress - specifies the Merge IDs should be compressed in an attempt to remove any gaps in the ID range of
the From Model. Optionally, you can enter a value into the Renumber To field to specify a different starting ID.
If the stating ID is not available, the next available ID will be used instead. For instance, if there are no elements
in the active model and the elements in the From Model are numbered 1-10 and 31-40, Compress would renum-
ber the 20 elements found in the From Model into element IDs 1-20.
Model Merge 11.2-63
Renumber Duplicates - when this option is selected, any duplicate entity IDs will be renumbered to available
IDs based on the selected renumbering option.
Overwrite Duplicates - when this option is selected, any entity ID in the active model which is also found in the
From Model will be overwritten by the entity in the From Model.
Note: Great care must be taken when using the Overwrite Duplicates option. For instance, importing an ele-
ment with the same ID, but of a different type could create a model which is invalid.
Entity Selection
This section is used to limit the entities which appear in the Merge IDs column for each entity type. The Merge IDs
are then used to populate the Renumber To and Renumbering columns based on the options set in the Renumbering
and Duplicates Strategy section. In all cases, the desired rows should be selected before setting this option and
clicking wither Update Selected or Update All.
None - specifies that no entities should be in the Merge IDs column. This option is really only used to clear col-
umns in the selected rows.
All In Model - specifies that all entities in the model should be used to populate the Merge IDs column. This is
the default.
From Group - specifies that only entities in the selected group should be used to populate the Merge IDs col-
umn. If an no entities of a specified entity type are in the group, the Merge IDs column for that entity type will
be empty.
ID Range - specifies an ID range to use for all entity types (rows) currently selected in the Entities to Merge
list. For instance, if Node and Element are selected in the Entities to Merge list and an range is entered From 1
To 100, then the Merge IDs column for both nodes and elements would show 1..100 (or 1..highest existing ID
under 100).
Select - allows selection of Merge IDs for a single entity type using the standard entity selection dialog box. If
multiple entity types are highlighted in the Entities to Merge list, only the entity type closest to the top of the list
will be updated.
Add Referenced Entities button - adds entities referenced by other entity types currently in the Entities to
Merge list. For instance, if Entity Selection is set to Group and the selected group only contains elements which
have been sent to the Entities to Merge list, then pressing this button will add Node, Material, Property, and
Layer entity types, and potentially some others, to the Entities to Merge list.
Model Orientation
This section is used to orient the From Model in the active model. In addition, options in the section control behav-
ior of transferred groups, optionally create of a new group in the active model, optionally create parent coordinate
systems for the merged model, and optionally limit certain entity types.
Create Group for Merged Model - when on, creates a group containing all of the entities merged from the From
Model into the active model.
Create Parent CSys for Merged Model - when on, creates a parent Coordinate Systems in the active model
for the entities found in the From Model. The number of parent coordinate systems created varies from one to
three and depends on how many of the Basic Coordinate systems are using in the From Model. When only the
Basic Rectangular coordinate system is referenced by entities, a single rectangular coordinate system located at
the origin (0, 0, 0) will be created. If the Basic Cylindrical and/or Basic Spherical coordinate system is refer-
enced by entities, then a single rectangular coordinate system located at the origin will be created along with a
cylindrical and/or spherical coordinate system referencing the newly created rectangular coordinate system.
Condense Transferred Groups - when on, any groups brought into the active model from the From Model will
be condensed. See "Group, Operations, Condense..." in Section 6.4.3.2, "Group, Operations Menu" for more
information.
Limit Loads, Constraints and Contact to Merged Entities - when on, will only transfer loads, boundary condi-
tions, and connection entities from the From Model when the entities referenced by these entity types are also
being merged into the active model. For instance, if a load set contains nodal loads on node 1 and node 10, but
only node 1 is being brought into the active model, then only the load on node 1 will be transferred to the active
model.
Note: The Limit Loads, Constraints and Contact to Merged Entities option should only be turned off when
merging a model which is very similar or identical to the active model. Otherwise, loads, constraints,
and/or contact entities may be applied to random entities in the active model.
Transform Merged Model - when on, the entities from the From Model will be transformed using the From
coordinate system found in the From Model to the To coordinate system found in the active model.
Note: When using Transform Merged Model, the Output Set entity type must NOT be selected. If it is, the com-
mand will issue a message stating Unable to transfer results when transforming a model during merge.
Duplicates to the Data Table button - only available when the Data Table is open. When pressed, sends a listing of
duplicate entities currently found in the Entities to Merge list to the Data Table. Each duplicate entity is listed in a
single row with Entity Type, Entity ID, and Renumber To columns.
Geometry
Updated Geometry, Midsurface, Automatic command to use Parasolid face pairing technology.
Attempts to use face pairing technology in the Parasolid modeling engine to automatically create a midsurface rep-
resentation of a solid part or between selected surfaces. The command requires you to select the surfaces, specify a
Target Thickness (midsurface tolerance), and optionally set some additional settings
You may want to click the Distance icon button to use the measuring tool to specify an effective Target Thickness.
Any surfaces with a distance between them less than the Target Thickness will have a midsurface generated.
Note: The resulting midsurface created by the Parasolid face pairing algorithm will always be an constant off-
set from one face or the other. In some cases, this will require the user to do some additional modifica-
tion of the geometry or mesh to account for non-constant offset regions in the model.
When on, the pre-V11.1 Midsurface Method runs the three steps of semi-automatic midsurfacing (Generate, Inter-
sect, and Cleanup below) at once instead of using the more advanced face pairing technique. Also, when using pre-
V11.1 Midsurface Method, none of the other options are available.
When on, Combine Midsurfaces simply performs a Geometry, Surface, NonManifold Add on the newly created sur-
faces in an attempt to create a general body, which usually aids when trying to create a mesh.
The Face Pairing Options can be used in an attempt to create a more accurate midsurface representation:
Combine Tangent Surfaces - collects all connected tangent faces, based on the Angle Tolerance specified, finds all
faces opposite these faces, then creates a larger face pair set. By doing so, sheet metal parts and similar will mid-
surface faster and more accurately with the additional connection information implied by the larger face pairing.
Reverse Face Pairs - simply reverses the two opposite faces or sets of faces in the face pairing algorithm. Turning
on this option sometimes helps in achieving a better midsurface on complicated parts with a high level of curvature.
If you are not satisfied with midsurface results, this option may help.
Geometry 11.2-65
Added Geometry, Curve - Line, Between Geometry command

Creates a three-dimensional line by using the minimum or maximum distance (or both) between two sets of
selected geometric entities. For more information, see "Tools, Measure, Distance Between Geometry...".
In the Distance to Find section, choose from Minimum, Maximum, or Both to select distance to use when creating
the line(s).
Select an entity type in the From section of the dialog box from Point, Curve, Surface, or Solid, then select the
same entity type or a different entity type in the To section. Geometric entities for From and To will be selected
using the standard entity selection dialog box later in the command.
The Overall Only option found in both sections is on by default. When on in both the From and To sections, the
command will only create a line between the two geometric entities used to calculate the Minimum and/or Maxi-
mum distance. If Overall Only is off in both sections, then lines will be created between ALL geometric entities
in the From section to ALL geometric entities in the To section, based on the Distance to Find setting. If Overall
Only is only on in one of the sections, then lines will be created between ALL of the geometric entities selected
in the section where the option is off to the appropriate geometric entity where the option is on.
Upgraded Geometry, Surface, NonManifold Add command to use new tolerant modeling capabilities avail-
able to create General Bodies when using the Parasolid Geometry modeling kernel.
The Tolerance value now works much like a stitching tolerance and can now make slight alterations to the geom-
etry in order to bring geometry together in general bodies. For instance:
Before NonManifold Add After NonManifold Add
Also, the new Incremental Checking option will check the body is valid after each sheet solid or solid is added to
the general body. If adding a sheet solid or solid causes the general body to become invalid, the command will
revert one step to before the particular sheet solid or solid was added, then skip it and try to add the next one.
Added Geometry, Solid, Sweep command.
Allows creation of solids by moving or sweeping one or more boundary surfaces and/or surfaces along a continu-
ous path defined by any number of curve. The required input for this command is minimal. You simply select the
boundary surface(s) and/or surface(s) that define the cross section(s) that you want to sweep, using the standard
entity selection dialog box. Then with a second entity selection dialog box, you select the curves that make up the
continuous path along which you will sweep the cross section.
Selecting the Path

Even though you choose it after the surface(s) to sweep, it is important to understand the implications of choosing a
path before you select the surface(s). The curves that you select for the path must form a single continuous loop -
either closed (the end is also connected to the start) or open. They must not branch, or have any gaps. They do not
have to be connected to the same points, but must have coincident end points.
If, in addition to being coincident, all curves along the path are also tangent at their end points, the sweeping oper-
ation will maintain a constant cross section as it traverses the path. On the other hand, if you include non-tangent
curves, the corners will be automatically mitered to the half angle between the tangents of the curves. This, how-
ever, will result in a nonuniform cross section, and in some cases a cross section that is somewhat distorted.
Choosing Splines in the Path
You can use any type of curves in the path; however, if you are using the standard FEMAP geometry engine, this
command cannot create a single swept surface along a spline. If you choose splines in the path, they will be broken
into multiple line segments, and the cross section will be swept along these segments rather than the true spline.
This will result in multiple surfaces. You can control the number of line segments by setting the mesh size along the
spline prior to sweeping using the Mesh, Mesh Control, Size Along Curve command.
Selecting the Cross Section
Just as for the path, you can choose any curves that you want for the cross section. You do have to be aware, how-
ever, of the relationship between the path and the cross section.
Here are some general rules to follow:
1. The boundary surface(s) and/or surface(s) must be positioned in space at the appropriate location relative to the
path. This command simply extrudes and revolves the cross section along vectors which are defined by the
curves you select as the path. It is up to you to properly locate the starting position of the cross section. The sol-
ids created by this command will be located wherever you start the cross section. All offsets from the path to the
cross section will act as rigid links as the cross section is swept around a curve.
2. If your path contains arcs, make sure that your cross section does not protrude further than the arc radius to the
inside of the path. If it does, the resulting solid(s) will be twisted as they are swept around the arc.
3. Typically you will want to create the cross section surface in a plane that is normal to the ending tangent of the
path. If you do not, the cross section that you sweep will be a projection of the true cross section
4. If the cross section that you choose contains arcs or circles, and your path contains curves that are not tangent to
one another, the arcs and circles will be converted to equivalent splines before they are swept. This is not a pre-
cise representation, but it is fairly accurate. It is required because of the automatic mitered corners that will be
generated between the non-tangent curves. The cross section at those corners will no longer be circular, it will be
elliptical (which must be represented by a spline)
Front View - Before Isometric View - Before Front View - After Isometric View - After
Cross Section Surface

Mitered corner where
Path Curves path was not tangent
Path Curves
Added Geometry, Solid, Sweep Between command.

Geometry 11.2-67
Allows creation of a solid between two selected surfaces. A single point on each surface is also selected and used as
a reference. The selected points are used by the command to determine which curves on each surface should be
matched. The Sweep Type (path) used to create the solid may be Linear or Splined.
The number of curves on the two selected surfaces do not need to match, but a similar number of curves tends to
create a solid with a more predictable shape.
Note: A solid cannot be created between surfaces if either selected surface has any interior loops.
When Sweep Type is set to Linear, ruled surfaces are simply created from each curve on the From surface to a
matching curve on the To surface (From and To points shown as black squares):.
Original Solids From Surface To Surface New Solid
When Sweep Type is set to Splined, a Blend Factor may also be used to control the shape of the solid. By specifying
number larger than 1.0, the solid will closely follow the tangents of the normal vector at the centroid of each sur-
face for a larger distance, typically causing more curvature near the center of the solid. Smaller numbers make the
tangency weaker, therefore, most of the curvature will be near the original surfaces. The figure shows some possi-
bilities (From and To points shown as black squares)
Original Solids From and To Blend Factor = 1.0 Blend Factor = 1.25 Blend Factor = 0.75
Surfaces
Added Add Washer option to Geometry, Curve - From Surface, Pad command.
When the Add Washer option is selected, the same overall sizing of the pad will be used, but a washer will be
added around the hole and extend to half the distance of the overall pad.
Original Surface Normal Pad Pad with Add Washer
Updated Mesh Sizes, Loads, Constraints... option in various Geometry, Copy/Scale/Rotate/Reflect commands to
now also include regions of all types.
Replaced Modify, Project commands for points with single Modify, Project, Point command.
This command updates the locations of points by moving them onto a selected curve or surface or onto a specified
vector or plane. When you project points, any entities that reference those points may also be moved.
The following dialog box is used when projecting points:
There are two sections in the dialog box, Project Onto and Direction. The Project Onto section allows the user to
select the destination of the projected points. The Project Onto destination options may be any number of selected
Surface(s) or Curve(s), a single Vector, or a single Plane.
The Direction section controls the approach used to project the points onto the destination.
Closest/Normal - generally uses a vector normal to the curve, surface, vector, or plane that is selected as the
destination. Actually, this moves the points to the closest location on the curve, surface, vector, or plane.
Along Vector - allows the user to select a vector to project along. This option will almost always result in the
points actually being located on the destination entity, even if a secondary projection is required. One excep-
tion, if the projected vector from a point location does not intersect the selected surface(s), then nothing will
happen.
Project Onto - Surface(s)
Moves one or more points onto any number of selected surfaces.
The standard entity selection dialog box is used to choose the points to project. Then, simply select the surface(s).
You can choose any number of surfaces, and the selected points will be projected onto them based on proximity and
specified Direction.
When Direction is set to Along Vector, the Both Directions option is available. When on, the points will be pro-
jected in both the positive and negative direction of the specified vector. This allows you to attempt to project
points which lie above and below a surface using a single command.
Geometry 11.2-69
For Example:
Original Points
Projected Points
Surface
Project Onto - Curve(s)

Moves one or more points onto any number of selected curves.
The standard entity selection dialog box is used to choose the points to project. You then must select the curve(s).
You can choose any number of curve(s) and the selected points will be projected onto them based on proximity and
specified Direction.
When Direction is set to Closest/Normal, the Extend Curves option is available. When on, the curves extend past
their endpoints toward infinity, or in the case of an arc, they extend a full 360 degrees. When off, the points will
be projected using the extents of the actual curve, which many times results in the projected points being located on
the end point(s).
For example:
Original Locations Projected Locations
Points projected onto

extended curve
Original
Locations Projected Locations
Point projected onto

extended arc
Project Onto - Plane

Moves one or more points onto a single 2-D plane specified by the user.
The standard entity selection dialog box is used to choose the points to project. You then must specify the plane
using the Plane Locate dialog box and the points will be projected onto it based on proximity and specified Direc-
tion. If Direction is set to Along Vector, the vector is specified before the plane.
Project Onto - Vector
Moves one or more points onto a single vector specified by the user.
The standard entity selection dialog box is used to choose the points to project. You then must specify the vector
using the Vector Locate dialog box and the points will be projected onto it based on proximity and specified Direc-
tion. If Direction is set to Along Vector, the vector to project along is specified before the project onto vector.
Meshing
Added several new options to the Mesh, Geometry, Solids command to improve tetrahedral meshing.
In the Automesh Solids dialog box:

Multiple Tet thru Thickness
When on, the tet-mesher will attempt to place at least 2 elements through the thickness throughout the model. This
will not split any elements on the outer surfaces, so if you need at least 2 elements through the thickness every-
where, try and size the solid so the surface mesh has at least 2 elements from one side of each surface to the other.
Tet Sliver Removal
When on, which is the default, attempts to remove tetrahedral elements considered slivers near the boundary. A
sliver is defined as a tetrahedral when at least one angle less than 5 degrees. In most cases this will improve mesh
quality and should only be turned off if there is a problem.
Tet Optimization
Sets an optimization level (mesh quality vs. speed) for the tetrahedral mesher. Using a higher value does not guar-
antee improved mesh quality. 3..Default is the best compromise between speed and quality, while choosing
0..None will simply not use do any optimization. Setting to 1..Minimal will potentially create a lower quality
mesh in less time, while 5..Maximum will potentially create a higher quality mesh, but take longer.
In the Solid Automeshing Options dialog box:
Quadratic Mesher/Jacobian Correction
When this option is on, the tetrahedral mesher will add the midside nodes during the meshing operation instead of
midside nodes being added after the tetrahedral mesher has created 4-noded tetrahedral elements. The Jacobian
Correction option is only available when using the Quadratic Mesher and, when on, will attempt to create elements
with the best possible Jacobian element quality.
Desired Edge Length - Min and Max
Allows you to enter values for minimum (Min) and maximum (Max) desired edge length. Based on geometry, these
values may not be attainable, but the tetrahedral mesher will attempt to use them as a guideline.
Pre-v11.1 Tet Meshing
The tetrahedral meshing in FEMAP has dramatically changed for version 11.1. This switch allows you to use the
pre-v11.1 tetrahedral meshing if you feel more comfortable with this mesher and associated default values.
Added Copy Method section to Mesh, Copy, Element command, with the default Copy Method being Along
Vector which was previously the only option. The Normals and Normals with Thickness Correction options
were added for planar elements only and work in the same manner as when extruding or offsetting elements.
Added Along Vector to Surfaces option to Mesh, Extrude, Curve; Mesh, Extrude, Element; and Mesh, Extrude
Element Face commands.
Elements 11.2-71
For the Along Vector to Surface method, you will be asked to specify the extrusion vector using the standard vector
dialog boxes. The vector can be located anywhere but must have the direction that you want for the extrusion. You
will also be prompted to select any number of surfaces to project the curves onto along the specified vector.
Surface
Mesh Size
along curves
Extrusion
Vector
Original Curves Extruded Elements
For the Along Vector to Surface method, you will be asked to specify the extrusion vector using the standard vector
dialog boxes. The vector can be located anywhere but must have the direction that you want for the extrusion. You
will also be prompted to select any number of surfaces to project the elements onto along the specified vector.
Extrusion vector
Extrude as Plates Extrude as Solids
8 elements
8 elements along length
along length
Original Line Elements Original Plate Elements
Replaced Modify, Project commands for nodes with single Modify, Project, Node command. Has all the same
options as the Modify, Project, Point command, described in the Geometry section.
Elements
Added Pyramid as an Element Shape for Solid Element Type.
May only be created manually using the Model, Element command or imported in from an analysis input file.
Both the 5-noded linear pyramid and 13-noded parabolic pyramid are supported.
Linear and Parabolic Pyramid elements are only supported for NX Nastran and MSC Nastran.
Added Modify, Update Elements, Rigid DOF Command
Allows you to change the Dependent and/or Independent degrees-of-freedom for existing rigid elements in your
model. First select the Rigid elements to update, then the Update Rigid Degrees of Freedom dialog box will appear
to select DOF.
The dialog box has two sections, one for the Dependent DOFs and one for the Independent DOFs. Both sections
contain an Update DOF check box, which must be on for those DOFs to be updated, and check boxes representing
the 6 DOFs available for update. When modifying RBE2 elements, only the Update DOF option in the Dependent
section will be used, while both sections will be available for RBE1 and RBE3 elements.
Note: If a mixture of RBE2 and RBE1/RBE3 elements are selected, then the selected element with the lowest
ID will be used to set the default state of the dialog box.Any non-rigid element is simply skipped.
Added Along/Between Path option to Modify, Update Elements, Material Orientation command.
The Along/Between Path(s) option can be used to align the orientation angle to any number of selected curves
based on the specified Project Method, which controls how the centroid of each element is projected onto each
curve. Essentially, the center of the element is projected to the path, then the tangent to the path at that location is
used as the orientation vector. When Project Method is set to 0..To Closest Location on Path, the normal vector is
determined by projecting the center of each element onto the curves. When Project Method is set to 1..Specified
Direction the supplied vector is used as the normal vector. Entering a value for Angle From Path simply rotates
the determined orientation vector around the element normal by the specified angle value.
Materials
Added 606..MSC.Nastran Fluid Material (MAT10) to Other Types.
Properties
Added Nastran Elbow/Pipe Options section to Curved Tube property.
There are Nastran specific options in the NASTRAN Elbow/Pipe Options section, which, when used, will write
additional fields using alternate form of the PBEND entry for Elbows ans Curved Pipes.
When the Flexibility/Stress Intensification, FSI is set to 1..Default, only the Internal Pressure, Radial Offset, and
Perpendicular Offset additional fields may be specified. Selecting any other option and entering the available val-
ues will populate other additional fields on the PBEND entry. Please consult the documentation for your version of
Nastran to determine which FSI options are available as well as review information on specifying appropriate val-
ues.

Enhanced Load creation to allow the use of Data Surfaces when defining loads of the following types: Force on
Curve, Force Per Length on Curve, Moment on Curve, Moment Per Length on Curve, Force on Surface, Force
Per Area on Surface, Moment on Surface, Moment Per Area on Surface, Nodal Heat Flux on Curve, Nodal Heat
Flux Per Length on Curve, Nodal Heat Flux on Surface and Nodal Heat Flux Per Area on Surface. For the load
types that support it, this capability also works with or without the Total Load option.
Updated load expansion from geometry to a mesh for elemental face-based loads on surfaces (Pressure, Heat
Flux, Convection and Radiation). Previously on large models these could an extended period of time.
Updated Model, Load, Combine command to allow a number of new options.
Now enables you to create multiple load set combinations. Each load set combination will be used to create a new
Standard load set or a new Nastran LOAD Combination load set based upon the following formula
Load = A 1 Load 1 + A 2 Load 2 + + A n Load n
The Combine Load Sets dialog box has five sections, Combine To, Set Type, Options, the From list, and the Load
Set Combinations list, each of which is described in detail later in this section:
Temperature loads will not be linearly combined. FEMAP will simply copy the nodal and elemental temperatures.
If conflicting temperatures exist for the same node or element in the individual load sets, FEMAP will use the last
temperature. Also, If loads exist on the same node or element in different sets that are combined, the resulting set
will simply obtain multiple loads on that node or element, which can then be combined with Tools, Check, Coinci-
dent Loads.
Combine To
This section is used to select how many scale factors can be entered for each load set in the From list, along with
controlling how the Load Set Combinations list is populated and which Options are available.
Single Load Set - only a single scale factor may be set for each load set in the From section. Also, a single load
set may be sent to the Load Set Combinations list and you can choose to send the load to an existing load set,
but you can also choose to create a new load set, which is the default.
Multiple Load Sets - any number of different scale factors may be set for each load set in the From section.
Also, at least two load sets must be highlighted in the From section to allow them to be sent to the Load Set
Combinations list. The Auto Zero Factors and Single Set Combinations options also become available and new
load sets will always be created.
Note: The Multiple Load Sets option should only be used when multiple scale factors need to be set for a
single load set. Otherwise, simply use the Single Load Set option.
From Data Surface - the only item available will be the Data Surface drop-down, which is used to select a
Load Set Combinations Data Surface. New load sets will always be created.
Set Type
This section allows you to select the type of load sets that should be created by the command. All new load sets cre-
ated during one use of the command will be the same Set Type. Choosing Standard will create a normal load set,
while selecting Nastran LOAD Combination will create a load set which creates a LOAD entry when exported to a
Nastran solver. See Creating New Load Sets in Section 4.3.1.1, Model, Load, Create/Manage Set... for more
information on the different types of load sets.
Options
Depending on the Combine To option selected, different options in this section will be available.
To Set - only available when Combine To is set to Single Load Set, Set Type is set to Standard, and there is a single
entry in the Load Set Combinations list. Allows you to add a single load combination to an existing load set instead
of creating a new load set, which is the default.
Title - allows you to enter a title which will be used for all new load sets created by a single use of the command.
Data Surface - only available when Combine To is set to From Data Surface. Allows selection of a Load Set
Combination Data Surface via a drop-down. See "Load Set Combination Data Surface" in Section 7.2.6.1, "Data
Surface Definition Methods" for more information.
Auto Zero Factors - only available when Combine To is set to Multiple Load Sets. When on, adds a 0.0 scale fac-
tor to each load set which has at least one scale factor specified, which creates additional load sets.
For example, if Load Set A has 2 scale factors specified and Load Sets B and C have a single scale factor specified,
and this option is on, the following combinations would be created:
Scale Factor 1*A + Scale Factor*B + Scale Factor*C
0*A + Scale Factor*B + Scale Factor*C = Scale Factor*B + Scale Factor*C
Scale Factor 1*A + 0*B + Scale Factor*C = Scale Factor 1*A + Scale Factor*C
Scale Factor 1*A + Scale Factor*B + 0*C = Scale Factor 1*A + Scale Factor*B
Scale Factor 2*A + 0*B + Scale Factor*C = Scale Factor 2*A + Scale Factor*C
Scale Factor 2*A + Scale Factor*B + 0*C = Scale Factor 2*A + Scale Factor*B
If this option is off, only the following combinations would be created:
Single Set Combinations - only available when Combine To is set to Multiple Load Sets. When on, adds an item to
the Load Set Combinations list containing only a single load set with a scale factor for each load set selected in the
From list, along with adding all of the other combinations. If more than one scale factor is set for a particular load
set, each scale factor times the load set will become an individual entry in the Load Set Combinations list.
From list
When Combined To is set to Single Load Set:
Choose any number of load sets from the From list (Hold the CTRL key when you click to choose multiple load
sets one at a time or the SHIFT key to choose a range of load sets), then enter a Scale Factor (Default is 1.0), then
click Add Factors. If a load set already has a scale factor specified, clicking Add Factors will overwrite the scale
factor for each highlighted load set. Once you have a single scale factor entered for each desired load set in the
From list, you can use the Add Combinations button to add the combination to the Load Set Combinations list.
When Combined To is set to Multiple Load Sets:
Choose any number of load sets from the From list, then enter a Scale Factor, then click Add Factors. If a load set
already has a scale factor specified, clicking Add Factors will add an additional scale factor for each highlighted
load set. You can also use the ... button to enter up to 10 scale factors at once for the highlighted load sets using
the Combine Load Set Factors dialog box (use Clear Multi Factors button to clear the Combine Load Set Factors
dialog box). Once you have the desired number of scale factors entered for each desired load set in the From list,
use the Add Combinations button to add the combination to the Load Set Combinations list. Multiple combinations
will almost certainly be added to the list and depending on the specified Options, the number of new load sets can
vary quite a bit.
The Remove Factors button will remove the entered scale factor(s) for each load set currently highlighted in the
From section, while Remove All Factors will clear all scale factors currently in the From section.
Load Set Combinations list

This section contains a list of all the load set combinations to create after clicking OK in the Combine Load Sets
dialog box. Each item in the list represents a different load set to create. If only one item is in the list, Combine To
is set to Single Load Set, Set Type is set to Standard, and To Set is set to an existing load set, then that load set will
be updated instead of a new load set being created.
The Remove Combinations button will remove the combinations currently highlighted in the Load Set Combina-
tions list (Hold the CTRL key when you click to choose multiple load set combinations one at a time or the SHIFT
key to choose a range of load set combinations), while the Remove All Combinations button will remove all the
combinations from the list.
Added Load Set Combination Data Surface to Data Surface Editor.
This Data Surface has one
very specific use, to cre-
ate new load sets based on
existing load sets. Each
selected existing load set
will appear in the Data
Surface Editor as an indi-
vidual column, while each
new load set to create will
appear as a row.
Use the Set Type to Create
option to choose the type
of load set(s) to create,
Standard or Nastran LOAD Combination load sets. See Section 4.3.1, "Create/Activate Load Set" for more infor-
mation on Load Set Type. Combinations of existing Nastran LOAD Combinations load sets can be created by using
the referenced load sets of each Nastran LOAD Combination at the time of creation in the new Nastran LOAD
Combination load set.
In the Options section, turn the Add Factors To Titles option on to append the title of each new load set with
(scale factor* existing load set ID, etc.) for each existing load set used by the new load set. If nothing is speci-
fied for Title in a particular row and this option is on, then the title will be (scale factor* existing load set ID,
etc.). If no Title is given and this option is off, then the Load Set title will simply be Untitled.
The Initial Number of Rows option is used to specify the number of rows, representing new load sets to create,
which will initially appear in the Data Surface Editor after the existing load sets have been selected.
Note: Only rows which contain a scale factor in at least one column will be used to create new load sets.
If a row is blank, it will simply be skipped.
After clicking OK in the Define Load Set Combination Data Surface dialog box, select the existing load sets to pos-
sibly use in combinations using the Select Load Sets to Use in Combinations dialog box, then click OK. The Data
Surface Editor will now appear like this:
A SetID and Title may optionally be entered for each row. To include an existing load set in a new load set, simply
enter a scale factor on a specific row in the appropriate column. Use 1.0 to simply include the existing load set with
no scaling. Once all of the scale factors have been entered, click the right-mouse button in any cell and choose the
Create Combined Sets command from the context-sensitive menu to create the new load sets.
Note: If no values are entered for SetID, the next available load set ID(s) will be used for the new load sets
when they are created. If any values for SetID are the same as existing load set IDs in the model, a
question will be asked, Ok to Delete Existing Load Sets? Data Surface references Load Sets that
already exist. Press Yes to Delete and Recreate them, No to Create New Sets. If any values for SetID
are the same as a load set currently represented by a column in the Data Surface Editor, then a question
will be asked, Ok to Combine? Combining will delete Load Sets used in this Data Surface and you
may get no Loads. Typically, this question should be answered No.
Context Sensitive menus for Load Set Combination Data Surface

The Create Combined Sets option on the context-sensitive menu for cells is used to create the new load sets. All of
the load set combinations currently defined in the Data Surface Editor will be created at the same time.
Additional commands on the context-sensitive menu for column headers:
Activate - makes the load set represented by the column the active load set in the model.
List Load Set - lists information about the load set represented by the column including individual loads in the
load set.
Sum Forces in Load Set - lists the load summation for the load set represented by the column using the same
format as the Tools, Check, Sum Forces command. See Section 7.4.5.10, "Tools, Check, Sum Forces...".
Add Load Sets - adds load sets selected via the Select Load Sets to Use in Combinations dialog box as new col-
umns in the Data Surface Editor.
Change Load Set - updates load set referenced by the current column in the Data Surface Editor.
Remove Selected Load Sets - removes the current column in the Data Surface Editor.
Additional commands on the context-sensitive menu for row headers:
List Combination - lists information about the potential load set combination represented by the row including
individual loads in the various load sets.
Sum Forces in Combination - lists the load summation for the potential load combination represented by the
row using the same format as the Tools, Check, Sum Forces command. See Section 7.4.5.10, "Tools, Check,
Sum Forces...".
Example
This type of Data Surface can be used to create 5 new load sets from 6 existing load sets. Simply enter scale factor
values into various cells:
Once all the scale factors have been entered, select any cell in the Data Surface Editor, then right mouse click and
choose Create Combined Sets. The following Load sets will be created from the Data Surface shown above:
Titles Defined Titles Defined
Add Factors To Titles = Off Add Factors To Titles = On
Set Type to Create = Standard Set Type to Create = Nastran LOAD Combination
Added ability to renumber Load Definitions and Constraint Definitions using the Modify, Renumber, Load Defi-
nition and Modify, Renumber, Constraint Definition commands. Available methods are Original ID and Type.
Updated dialog box for Model, Load, From Freebody command to include standard multi-select controls with
check boxes and Title Filters.

Updated the Connect, Automatic command
The Auto Detection Options for Connections dialog box now allows you to choose which Connections Types the
command should be trying to identify and create. Any combination of Face-Face, Edge-Face, and Edge-Edge may
be selected in the Connection Types section.
When either Edge-Face and/or Edge-Edge are selected, the Combine Non-Tangent Edge Connections option will
also become available. When on, attempts to consolidate continuous curves located on the same surface or solid
into a single Connection Region, if possible. If curves come together at a 90 degree corner, they will not be placed
in the same Connection Region.
Updated all dialog boxes used to create the different types of regions to use Add to List and Remove from
List icon buttons to add/remove single items from the list of entities. Also, the Delete button in all of these dia-
log boxes is now used to select any number of entities using the standard entity selection dialog box to remove
from the list of entities.
Groups and Layers 11.2-79
Added support for using Solid Elements to define Bolt Regions using Connect, Bolt Region command.
Solid Bolt Options

Only used when Bolt Type is set to Solid. When Defined By is set to Nodes, allows selection of an existing coordi-
nate system and an axis on the selected coordinate system to define the direction of the Bolt Axis. When Defined
By is set to Elements (SOL 601 only), a coordinate system, a direction, and a single node where the bolt plane cuts
through (Ref Plane Node) may be specified. Bolt Axis CSys is written to the CSID field, Dir is written to the IDIR,
and Ref Plane Node (when specified) is written to the GP field of the Nastran BOLT entry.
Groups and Layers

Added Group, Operations, Generate Freebody Entities command, which creates a unique new group contain-
ing only nodes and/or elements for each selected Freebody entity.
Added Group, Curve, in Connection Region; Group, Surface, in Connection Region; Group, Node, in Connec-
tion Region; Group, Element, in Connection Region; and Group, Property, in Connection Region commands to
add entities of the specified type used to define the selected regions to the active group.
Enhanced Group, Operations, Generate Solids to optionally include Connection Regions associated with solids
along with mesh, loads, and constraints.
Enhanced Group, Operations, Generate command to add NonManifold Edges as an available Geometric Break
as well as a Group Expansion section to include Elements Only, Elements and Nodes, or All related entities in
the newly created Groups.
Views
Added Performance Graphics Font button to the Label Parameters option in Labels, Entities and Color
Category of View, Options command. The Performance Graphics Font button allows you to select a font when
using Performance Graphics. The Font dialog box appears allowing you to select a Font, a Font Style, a Size,
along with selecting a Script, if needed.
Added Performance Graphics option in the Tools and View Style Category of View, Options command.
Allows you to specify options when using Performance Graphics mode. These options do nothing when Perfor-
mance Graphics mode is not enabled.
Significant Figures allows you to select the number of significant figures to display for real numbers, while turning
on the Exponent option will show this numbers using scientific notation (i.e, 1.000E+3 instead of 1000.0).
Filled Edge Offset is a value that can be used to bring filled edges of shell and solid elements forward so they dom-
inate any line elements occupying the same space. To have the line elements dominate instead, set this value to a
negative number. You may want to try a few different values until you achieve the desired result and there is no
limit to the values which can be entered.
Finally, the Performance Graphics Font button allows you to select a font while using Performance Graphics
mode.
Added Load and Save buttons to View Manager accessed via View, Create/Manage command. The Save button
simply allows to save the view highlighted in the Available Views - Selected View is Active list to the View
library, while the Load button allows you to load a view from the View library into the model.

Updated the File, Attach to Results command to allow attaching to XDB files from NX Nastran and MSC Nas-
tran (both formats) and Comma-Separated files using a specific format.
When NX Nastran or MSC/MD Nastran is selected, you will be prompted to select *.op2 files and/or *.xdb files.
Note: FEMAP supports attaching to *.xdb files created by MSC Nastran using either the HK or BBBT
format, while File, Import, Analysis Results only supports reading the *.xdb in HK format.
When Comma Separated is selected, you will be prompted to select *.CSV files. In order to attach to CSV files, the
CSV files must use the extended comma-separated table format, which is outlined in Section 8.10.4, The
Extended Comma-Separated Table Format of the FEMAP User Guide.
Updated Model, Output, Transform command to use a dialog box similar to the one used to specify the on-the-
fly transformations with View, Select and PostProcessing Toolbox. Also, this command now works with output
in attached results files.
Allows you to transform output that references global X, Y, Z components (like Total Translation, Reaction Forces,
etc.) into any chosen coordinate system or into the nodal output coordinate system at each node.
You may also transform plate element forces, stresses, and strains into the material direction, a selected coordinate
system, or along a specified vector from the standard output direction.
Solid element stresses and strains can also be transformed into a ca single chosen coordinate system or the current
material direction specified for the solid properties of the selected elements.
When you choose this command, you will see the Transform Output Data dialog box:
There are three separate sections, each used to transform specific output on specific entity types, along with some
additional Options, all of which are described later in this section. Different options can be set in the various sec-
tions and these settings will only affect appropriate output vectors. These specified settings in this dialog box will
persist until changed or this instance of FEMAP is closed.
Once the desired options are selected, click OK to access the Select Output to Transform dialog box. This dialog
box allows selection of any number of Output Vectors in any number of Output Sets. See Section 8.6.0.1, "Using
the Select Output Sets and Select Results dialog boxes" for more information on using this type of dialog box.
Unlike the on-the-fly transformations of output vectors available when using the View, Select command or the Post-
Processing Toolbox, this command creates additional output vectors that will be added to the database. In order to
visualize the transformed output from this command, you must set the Deform and/or Contour vector(s) in the Out-
put Vectors section of the Select PostProcesisng Data dialog box or the PostProcessing Toolbox.
Nodal Vector Output
In the Nodal Vector Output section, you will find these options:
None - no transformation (default)
Into CSys - transforms the nodal output vector into an existing coordinate system.
Into Node Output CSys - transforms the nodal output vector into each nodes output coordinate system.
Plate Forces, Stresses and Strains
The options for Plate Forces, Stresses and Strains are:
Into Matl Direction - transforms output using the predefined material angle specified for each element. You
can set the material angle when creating plane properties (in Define Property dialog box, choose Elem/Prop-
erty Type, then click Element Material Orientation) or at anytime using the Modify, Update Elements, Material
Angle command (for more information, see Section 4.8.3.13, "Modify, Update Elements, Material Orienta-
tion..."), which has several options.
Note: Before using the Into Matl Direction method, be sure to refer to your analysis program documenta-
tion to see how material orientation angles are used and to find any limitations.
Into CSys - transforms the output vector to align the X-direction of output vector to the chosen X, Y, or Z com-
ponent of an existing coordinate system.
Along Vector - transforms the output vector to align the X-direction of output vector to a vector specified by
clicking the Vector button, then using the standard vector definition dialog box.
The other input required for the proper transformation of plate element output is the definition of the original com-
ponent data, which can be selected using the Output Orientation button. Please see the Output Orientation section
below.
Solid Stresses and Strains
Stresses and Strains for solid elements are returned to FEMAP from the solver in a direction specified using the
Material Axes for each solid property prior to running the analysis (for more information, see the Solid Element
Properties heading in Section 4.2.2.3, "Volume Elements").
For Solid Stresses and Strains, you may pick from these options:
Into CSys - transforms the standard component solid stresses and strains into an existing coordinate system.
Into Matl Direction - transforms standard component solid stresses and strains from the analysis into the current
setting for Material Axes for each solid property.
As with plate elements, the other important input needed to properly transform the output is the definition of the
original component data orientation, which can be selected using the Output Orientation button. Please see the
Output Orientation section below for more information.
Each material axis option transformed into a specified coordinate system.
Options
The sections contains options which can be used when transforming the output.
Global Components of Nodal Vectors - when on, the global components used to create the transformed nodal
vectors will also be saved to the model. In the case of transforming T1 Translation or a similar output vector
into Coordinate System 3, having this option on would save four output vectors to the model - T1 Translation
(CSys 3), Global X of T1 Translation (CSys 3), Global Y of T1 Translation (CSys 3), and Global Z of T1 Trans-
lation (CSys 3). When off (default), only T1 Translation (CSys 3) would be saved to the model.
Transform All Nodes/Elements - when on, which is the default, output on all nodes and elements in the model
will be transformed. When off, you will be prompted to select nodes and/or elements based on the output vec-
tors selected for transformation.
Assume Engineering Shear Strain - when on, which is the default, the transformed shear strain is engineering
shear strain rather than actual shear strain. Since shear strain is used to calculate the principal stress/strain val-
ues, its important to specify the shear strain method.
Output Orientation
The Current Output Orientation dialog box contains the default output orientation for both Plane and Solid ele-
ments. For Plane elements, there is an option for each type of output data to transform (Stress, Strain, and Force),
for each Plane element shape that may appear in the model (Tria3, Tria6, Quad4, and Quad8).
There are two options for triangular elements (0..First Edge or 1..Midside Locations) with the default being
0..First Edge, while there are three options for quadrilateral elements (0..First Edge, 1..Midside Locations, or
2..Diagonal Bisector) with 2..Diagonal Bisector being the default.
For Solid elements, there are three orientation options (0..Material Direction, 1..Global Rectangular, or
2..Element) for different material types associated with Solid properties (Isotropic, Anisotropic, or Hyperelastic).
Pressing the Reset button when the Current Output Orientation dialog box is accessed through either the Deforma-
tion Transformation or Contour Transformation dialog box will reset all of the output orientation options to the val-
ues currently set in the Preferences.
For more information about these various orientation options, please see the Output Orientation portion of Section
2.6.2.6, "Geometry/Model".
Consult your analysis programs documentation concerning the original coordinate system definition.
Added List, Output, Contoured Results to Data Table command.
Only available when a Contour Style is currently specified in View Select or the PostProcessing Toolbox and results
are being shown in the active view. Simply lists the values used to make the current Contour, Criteria, Beam Dia-
gram, IsoSurface, Section Cut, or Vector plot in the active view. Depending on the selected Contour Style and
options set in Contour Options and View Options, the listing can include different information.
Also, if the active view is only displaying a portion of the model because of Groups or a Contour Group is being
used to limit how much of the model is displaying results, only those entities will be listed to the Data Table. Enti-
ties not visible because of a Visibility switch or on a Layer which is currently not being displayed, will still be
listed.
Contour - When Contour Type is set to Nodal (or Match Output when looking at a nodal output vector), only a
Node ID and a Value at that node will be listed. When Contour Type is set to Elemental (or Match Output when
looking at an elemental output vector), the listing will consist of an Element ID, Corner number, Node ID
corresponding to the Corner number (0=centroid), Value, and optionally a Location (Top or Bottom for pla-
nar elements). While beam/bar elements cannot be contoured, the value are each end can be listed.
Criteria - Lists only an Element ID and a Value.

Beam Diagram - Only list results on line elements. Listing consists of Element ID, Corner number (1 = End
A, 2 = End B), Node ID corresponding to Corner number, and Value.
IsoSurface and Section Cut - Produces a listing identical to the listing when Contour Style is set to Contour.
Vector - Lists the Element ID or Node ID, Vector ID (1, 2, or 3), overall Value, X value, Y value, and
Z value.
Added List, Output, Freebody Nodal Summations and List, Output, Freebody Nodal Summations to Data Table
commands.
List, Output, Freebody Nodal Summations allows you to list the nodal summation at each node for each selected
freebody using output data from any number of selected output sets. For a Freebody entity with Display Mode set
to Freebody, all nodes referenced by the elements in the Freebody entity will be listed. For a Freebody entity with
Display Mode set to Interface Load only the selected nodes will be listed.
List, Output, Freebody Nodal Summations to Data Table functions identically to List, Output, Freebody Nodal
Summations command, except it sends data to the Data Table instead of the Messages window.
Updated on-the-fly transformations via the Select PostProcessing Data dialog box and PostProcessing Tool-
box to support transformation of Laminate and Solid Laminate Stresses and Strains using the same options
available for transformation of Plate Stresses and Strains.
Updated Next Output Vector and Previous Output Vector icons on the Post Toolbar to increment all 3 pos-
sible contour vectors if they are defined. Previously only the primary vector was incremented.
Geometry Interfaces

Parasolid Parasolid 26
Solid Edge Solid Edge with Synchronous Technology 6
NX NX 9.0
CATIA CATIA V5-6R2013 SP2
ACIS ACIS 24, SP1
Added the ability to write FEMAP Points and Curves to an IGES file. Use the Options button to turn on Points
and/or Curves in the NonSolid Geometry section.
Analysis Program Interfaces 11.2-85

ANSYS Interface
ABAQUS Interface
DYNA Interface
Comma-Separated Interface

Added Design Optimization Options dialog box for NX Nastran and MSC Nastran. Only available for Design
Optimization analysis type. Used to choose either Static and Normal Modes/Eigenvalue and offers a Track
Modes option when set to Normal Modes/Eigenvalue.
Added question to allow user to optionally clear the Loads/Constraints from the Master Case when using Mul-
tiSet to create subcases.
Removed GEOMCHECK and Model Check dialog boxes from the Next/Prev chain for Nastran solvers to
streamline creation of analysis sets. These dialog boxes are still available, but now must be selected via the
Options branch of an analysis set.

Updated Neutral Read and Write for v11.1 changes
Added capability to include element connectivity definitions in the FNO file to create plot-only elements. The
elements must reference existing nodes in the model and can only be lines, triangles or quads.
Added support to write BEDGE entries when edges of axisymmetric elements, CTRAX3, CQUADX4,
CTRAX6, CQUADX8 are used in a Connection Region in Edge-Edge contact.
Added support for ESOPT field on BGPARM entry and PREVIEW field on BGPARM and BCTPARM entries.
Removed subdivide method, RTSUBD, from NXSTRAT as it was removed from version 8.5.
Added support to read ITER and ELEMITER commands from the NASTRAN statement which will select the
appropriate Iterative Solver option in the NASTRAN Executive and Solution Options dialog box.
Added support to request Grid Point Force results in Advanced Nonlinear (SOL 601).
Added support to write BOLT entry using element IDs for Advanced Nonlinear (SOL 601).
Added support to set up the PYR_AR, PYR_EPLR, and PYR_WARP element checks in GEOMCHECK dialog
box for pyramid elements.
Added option to request Relative Enforced Motion Results in Nastran Output Requests dialog box for dynamic
analysis. Adds REL to DISPLACEMENT, ACCELERATION, and/or VELOCITY Case Control entires.
Added support for KDAMP and KUPDATE fields on TSTEPNL entry. For Transient Heat Transfer analysis
these are specified via the Method drop-down and the Include Differential Stiffness in Damping options in the
Stiffness Updates section of the Nonlinear Control Options dialog box. For Nonlinear Transient analysis KUP-
DATE is specified via the Method drop-down in the Stiffness Updates section of the Control Options tab of the
Nonlinear Control Options dialog box, while KDAMP is specified via the Include Differential Stiffness in
Damping option in the Additional Transient Options section of the Advanced Options tab of the Nonlinear Con-
trol Options dialog box.
Added support to read RMS von Mises Stress from a Random Response analysis with RMS output requested.
Updated the NASTRAN Output for Random Analysis dialog box to allow selection of a specific option (Power
Spectral Density Functions, Autocorrelation Functions, Root Mean Square), None, or All for both Nodal and
Elemental results.
Added Bulk Mod Ratio - GAMMA, Bulk Modulus Function, Density Function, Damping Coeff Function, and
Bulk Mod Ratio Function fields to the 506..Nastran Fluid Material (MAT10) Material Type in Other Types.
These fields write the GAMMA, TIDBULK, TIDRHO, TIDGE, and TIDGAMMA fields to the MAT10 entry.

Added support for the pyramid element and now read/write the CPYRAM entry.
Added read support for obsolete ELSTRESS, ELFORCE, ELSTRAIN Case Control entries. Turn on Stress,
Force, and/or Strain output requests in the Nastran Output Requests dialog box.
Added enhanced support for Restarts. New options include the ability to specify a Read Only Restart along with
specifying a Version Number for the file and a Starting Subcase for Nonlinear analysis.
Updated default behavior for auto reading of results when the analysis case is set to 3..Print and PostProcess
which will skip f06 results and only read output from op2 file.
Updated automatic filename convention. Input file name now matches the entire length of model name instead
of only using the first 5 characters of the filename. It also automatically converts characters that are known to
be invalid in Nastran command lines (=, $, #) and converts them to '_'. Also added Base Filename for Analyze
(Blank to Match Model) field in the NASTRAN Executive and Solution Options dialog box so you can specify a
different automatic name, which will be followed by a 3-digit number which automatically increments.

Added read/write support for the SMETHOD Case Control command. When Iterative Solver in NASTRAN
Executive and Solution Options dialog box is set to 1..On, writes SMETHOD=MATRIX. When set to
2..Elemental Iter, writes SMETHOD=ELEMENT.
Added support for the BBBT formatted XDB files and XDB files created by 64-bit version of MSC Nastran via
File, Attach to Results command only.
Added read support for Acceleration and Velocity results in alternate output data blocks (OAG1 and OVG1).
Added support for the MAT10 entry. Specified using 606...MSC.Nastrain Fluid Material when property type
is set to Other Types in the Define Material dialog box.

Added read support for plot only triangle and quad elements representing contact regions from FNO file.
Added option to request Relative Enforced Motion Results in Nastran Output Requests dialog box for dynamic
analysis. Adds REL to DISPLACEMENT, ACCELERATION, and/or VELOCITY Case Control entires.
Updated modal and dynamic analysis methods to always write the EIGRL entry instead of EIGR, unless Real
Solutions Methods is set to Auto and Normalization Method is set to Point in the NASTRAN Modal Analysis dia-
log box.
ANSYS Interface 11.2-87
Updated Advanced Options tab of Nonlinear Control Options dialog box to have all fields blank by default in
the Analysis Set Manager.
ANSYS Interface
Updated Ansys to support V14.5 and 15.0 with new 64 bit pointers and new stress result block format
ABAQUS Interface
DYNA Interface
Added support for Memory (Megawords) and Processor Count to LS-DYNA Analysis Control dialog box. These
fields write *KEYWORD Memory value NCPU = Processor Count value.
Comma-Separated Interface
Added support for the Extended Comma-Separated Format.
The extended comma-separated table format that is supported by FEMAP is a little more complex than the original
comma-separated format, but offers much more control and flexibility. The data is separated into blocks containing
different Table Types, each of which is described in detail below. Repeat blocks in the CSV file for as many
tables as you need.
Note: To attach to output using a CSV files, the files MUST use the extended comma-separated table format.
The general format of the Extend CSV Format Blocks:
Table Type
Result Type Info (Not in Table Type 100, 0=Any, 1=Displacement, 2=Velocity/Acceleration, 3=Force, 4=Stress,
5=Strain, 6=Thermal
Set/Vector ID(s) (0 for Auto)
Title(s)
...
multiple rows of table data, format depends on table type
...
-1 (delimiter indicating CSV Block is finished)
Available Table Types:
100 - Output Set 100

0 (or Output Set ID)
Set Title
Set Value
-1
___________________________________________________________________
NOTE: If this file is read into FEMAP, the Output Set ID is ignored - a new Output
Set will be created for each Table 100 encountered. All other tables that come after
this are added to that Output Set, until another Table 100 is found. All tables except
this one can come in any order, or have as many occurrences as you need.
200 - Nodal Scalar(s) 200

Result Type (0 for Any)
Column1 Vector ID (, Column2 Vector ID, ) (0 for Automatic IDs)
Column1 Title (, Column2 Title, .)
Node ID, Value (, Value, )

Node ID, Value (, Value, )
-1
__________________________________________________________________
NOTE: While multiple columns are possible in this format, for best performance
when using this file as an external attached file, only 1 column should be used.
300 - Elemental Scalar(s) 300
Result Type (0 for Any)
Column1 Vector ID (, Column2 Vector ID, ) (0 for Automatic IDs)
Column1 Title (, Column2 Title, .)
Element ID, Value (, Value, )

Element ID, Value (, Value, )
-1
__________________________________________________________________
NOTE: While multiple columns are possible in this format, for best performance
when using this file as an external attached file, only 1 column should be used.
400 - Nodal Vector 400
(Global Rectangular) Result Type (0 for Any)
Total Vector ID, X Vector ID, Y Vector ID, Z Vector ID (0 for Auto)
Total Title, X Title, Y Title, Z Title
Node ID, X Value, Y Value, Z Value

Node ID, X Value, Y Value, Z Value
-1
__________________________________________________________________
NOTE: Although you specify a vector ID and title for the total values, you do not
actually include those in the data. FEMAP will automatically compute the vector
sum of the components and store that as the total.
401 - Nodal Vector with 401
Rotations Result Type (0 for Any)
(Global Rectangular) Total ID, X ID, Y ID, Z ID, TotalR ID, XR ID, YR ID, ZR ID (0 for Auto)
Total Title, X Title, Y Title, Z Title, TotalR Title, XR Title, YR Title, ZR Title
Node ID, X Value, Y Value, Z Value, XR Value, YR Value, ZR Value

Node ID, X Value, Y Value, Z Value, XR Value, YR Value, ZR Value
-1
__________________________________________________________________
NOTE: Although you specify vector IDs and titles for the total values, you do not
actually include those in the data. FEMAP will automatically compute the vector
sum of the components and store those as the totals.
Tools 11.2-89
500 - Elemental With 500

Corner Data Result Type (0 for Any)
Centroid Vector ID, Corner1 VecID, ,CornerN VecID (0 for Auto)
Centroid Title, Corner1Title, CornerN Title
Element ID, Centroid Value, Corner1 Value, , CornerN Value

Element ID, Centroid Value, Corner1 Value, , CornerN Value
-1
__________________________________________________________________
NOTE: Care must be taken with this format if you are writing data for Tetra or
Wedge elements. For Tetra elements, corners must be 1,2,3 and 5. For wedge ele-
ments, corners must be 1,2,3,5,6,7. In both cases corner 4 is skipped.
If the table contains purely Tetra or Wedge results, specify the Corner 4 VecID = -1,
skip the Corner 4 Title and the Corner 4 Values with ,, like
500
9000000,9000001,9000002,9000003,-1,9000004
Center Stress, Stress C1, Stress C2, Stress C3, ,Stress C5
1, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0,,5.0

501 - Elemental This table has the same format as 500 however, if read into FEMAP, the data will be
With Corner Data skipped during linear combinations.
(not linearly combinable)
502 - Elemental Beam/Bar 502
Data Result Type (0 for Any) , OptionalRevFlag (0 for Auto)
End A Vector ID, End B Vector ID
End A Title, End BTitle
Element ID, End A Value, End B Value

Element ID, End A Value, End B Value
-1
__________________________________________________________________
NOTE: The OptionalRevFlag does not need to be specified. If not, the sign conven-
tion assumes that End B Values need to be reversed in sign for consistent display. If
they should not be, specify OptionalRevFlag=1
503 - Elemental Beam/Bar This table has the same format as 502 however, if read into FEMAP, the data will be
Data skipped during linear combinations.
(not linearly combinable)
Tools
Added Merge Across Output CSys option to Tools, Check, Coincident Nodes command.
By default, nodes which have different output coordinate systems defined will not merged. The Merge Across Out-
put CSys option allows nodes to be merged with different output coordinate systems. When Set Output Csys To is
set to -1..Use Nodal Output System, the coordinate system of the kept node will remain unchanged after the
nodes have been merged. Alternatively, if Set Output Csys To is set to a specific coordinate system, then the output
coordinate system of the kept nodes will be set to the selected coordinate system. Only nodes which had an out-
put coordinate system conflict can have their output coordinate system changed during this operation. When nodes
cannot be merged because of different output coordinate systems, a message, # Node Combinations Not Merged
due to Output Coordinate System conflicts, will be sent to the Messages window.
Reorganized the Chart Data Series dialog box into a tabbed format and added the Vector vs. Vector option as a
tab.
One way to create a new Data Series is to simply select New Data Series in the Chart Data Series Manager. An
additional method is also available via the Add Data Series command found on both the Chart Options icon menu
and the context-sensitive menu for the Chart itself. Both methods access the Chart Data Series dialog box:
Filter Output
Sets
Clear Output
Sets Filter
Clear Output
Vector Filter
Filter Output
Vectors
Vector Info
Like many other entities in FEMAP, each Data Series must have a unique ID and may optionally have a unique
Title which may be entered at the top. The rest of the dialog box is separated into two sections, a tabbed Data Type
section to select appropriate data for different types of Data Series and a Style section which is the same for all
Types. Both sections will be discussed in detail below. Finally, when the Add to Current Chart toggle at the bottom
of the dialog box is on, any newly created Data Series will automatically be displayed on the current Chart once
the OK button has been pressed.
Tools 11.2-91
Data Type
This section is used to select the Type of Data Series by selecting one of the four available tabs. Depending on the
tab selected, different options will be available. The four types are Vector vs Entity, Vector vs. Output Set, Vector vs.
Vector, and Function. Several of the tabs include Filter Output Sets and Filter Output Vectors icon buttons which
can be used to reduce the amount of output data available for selection, while the Vector Info icon button can be
used to bring up the Output Set/Vector Info dialog box. See Making it Easier to Select Output Data - Using the Out-
put Vector Filters and Vector Info for more information.
Vector vs. Entity
Plots XY data as a function of ID number or position of nodes or elements in an axis direction for an Output Vector
in one Output Set.
The X-Axis Values section
offers two options, Entity ID
or Position. When Entity ID
is selected, the node or ele-
ment ID of each data point
will be used as the X value.
When Position is selected,
the X, Y, or Z coordinate of
each node or the centroid of
each element will be used as
the data point X value. The
CSys drop-down can be used
to use the X, Y, or Z coordi-
nates in a selected coordinate
system.
The Data Source section is
simply used to select an Out-
put Set and an output Vector for the Data Series.
The Group section is used to limit the plot of a Data Series to a certain portion of the model. Selecting None will
display data for the entire model. Active will display data for the nodes or elements in the active group, or for the
entire model if no group is active. If Select is chosen, a group must also be selected from the drop-down list.
Vector vs. Output Set
Plots XY data versus the Out-
put Set ID or Output Set
Value for an Output Vector
across several Output Sets.
The X-Axis Values section
offers two options, Output
Set ID or Output Set Value.
When Output Set ID is
selected, the IDs of the speci-
fied output sets will be used
as the X values, while Output
Set Values will use the values
of the specified output sets as
the X values.
used to specify a range of
output sets, an output vector, and a Location for the Data Series. By default, the Use All Output Sets option will be
on, which will simply use all available output sets in the model. If Use All Output Sets option is off, a range of
output sets can be specified using the Start and End drop-downs. Optionally, an Interval value can be specified, so
only every n-th output set in the range will be used.
The Vector drop-down is used to select the output vector of interest, while Location must be the ID of a node or ele-
ment in the model. For Location, a node ID must be specified when a nodal output vector is selected, while an ele-
ment ID must be specified for an elemental output vector. The Select Multiple button can be used to create any
number of new Data Series which all share the same Output Set and Output Vector data, but a different Location
value based on selected node or element IDs.
Vector vs. Vector
Plots XY data for output from an Independent Vector at a specified entity versus output from a Dependent Vector at
a specified entity across any number of Output Sets.
used to specify a range of
output sets, an Independent
Vector (X-axis output vec-
tor), and a Dependent Vector
(Y-Axis output vector) for the
Data Series. By default, the
Use All Output Sets option
will be on, which will sim-
ply use all available output
sets in the model. If Use All
Output Sets option is off, a
range of output can be speci-
fied using the Starting Set
and Ending Set drop-downs.
Optionally, an Interval value
can be specified, so only
every n-th output set in the range will be used. Also, The Sort Data option can be used to display X-values in the
chart in ascending order (lowest to highest), regardless of how the data exists in the range of output sets.
Note: When Sort Data is on, lines will be drawn through the data points based on ascending X-values. Also,
when listing values or sending them to the clipboard, the X-values will be in ascending order.
The Locations section is used to specify an Independent Entity and a Dependent Entity, which must be a node or
element ID in the model. A node ID must be specified when a nodal output vector is selected, while an element ID
must be specified for an elemental output vector. The Independent Entity and the Dependent Entity may be the
same entity.
Function
Plots XY data for a Function.
Not always a Post-Processing
option. To create multiple
Data Series based on func-
Toggle All On tions at once, simply check
Toggle All Off the desired functions in the
Data Source section.
Toggle Selected On It is also possible to highlight
Toggle Selected Off any number of functions
from the Data Source list.
Function Title Filter Holding down the Ctrl key
will enable highlighting of
Clear Function Title Filter multiple output sets. Holding
down Shift while picking a
first, then a last Func-
tion will highlight multiple.
Once highlighting is complete, use the Toggle Selected On or Toggle Selected Off icon buttons to check or uncheck
the highlighted functions. Once multiple functions are selected, click OK to create an individual Data Series for
each selected functions
Tools 11.2-93
Style
This section is used to set options for Labels, Color, and Markers for each individual Data Series.
By default, the Use Chart Settings option is on for all three parts of the Style section, so the options in each sub-
section only become available when Use Chart Settings in turn off. In addition, if the Use Chart Settings or Use
Palette Colors options are on in the Charting dialog box, then the Title of each subsection will be appended with
(Chart Label Settings/Marker Settings/Palette Used).
Note: Alternatively, the Use Chart Settings - All option may be set on both the Data Series Markers or Data
Series Labels icon menu, while Use Palette Colors - All may be set via the Chart Colors icon menu.
Labels - This section controls the display and appearance of Labels for the Data Series. Labels are always the same
color as the associated Data Series. The options in this dialog box only affect Labels for a single Data Series.
Use Chart Settings - When on, all Labels options are controlled by the Chart. When off the settings are used
only for the Data Series currently being created or edited.
Show Labels - on/off toggle controls display of Labels.
Show X Value - on/off toggle for X Value in the displayed label.
Show Y Value - on/off toggle for Y Value in the displayed label.
Max/Min Only - when on, only displays labels at the Maximum and Minimum Y values, otherwise all data
points are labeled.
Color - This section controls the Color and optionally Line Style of an individual Data Series.
Use Palette Colors - When on, all Color options are controlled by Palette in the Chart. When off the Color is
used only for the Data Series currently being created or edited.
Palette button - Used to select the Color and optionally a Line Style from the Color Palette.
Markers - This section controls the display and appearance of Markers for the Data Series. Markers are always the
same color as the associated Data Series. The options in this dialog box only affect Markers for a single Data
Series.
Use Chart Settings - When on, all Markers options are controlled by the Chart. When off the settings are used
only for the Data Series currently being created or edited.
Show Markers - on/off toggle controls display of Markers.
Size - slider bar controls size of Markers, from 1- 10.
Shape - controls shape of Markers, choose from Circle, Square, Diamond, Triangle, Pentagon, Hexagon, or Star.
Changed Show Tooltips icon into icon menu and added several options for syncing up the active graphics win-
dow to the data point currently showing the Tooltip and ability to control what is shown in the Tooltip.
These options are only available when Markers are displayed on at least one Data Series. When on, a label will
dynamically appear as the cursor is placed over a visible Marker and the entire Data Series will be highlighted for
clarity. In addition to the label and highlighting, a horizontal and vertical line will also appear to help determine the
data points location on the axes. Some additional options can also be toggled on/off to dynamically change what is
being displayed in the active view, based on the highlighted marker.
Highlight Entity in View - on/off toggle controls if the node or element associated with the highlighted marker in
the Charting pane will be highlighted in the active View.
Sync Output Set in View - on/off toggle controls if the output set is updated in the active View to match the output
set of the highlighted marker in the Charting pane.
Sync Output Vector in View - on/off toggle controls if the output vector is updated in active View to match the
output vector of the highlighted marker in the Charting pane.
Note: Any combination of the above may used concurrently, so the active view can potentially be highlight-
ing an entity while also changing to show the output set and output vector of the marker currently
highlighted in the Charting pane.
Restore Original View on Exit - when on, the output set and/or output vector(s) which were specified in the
active view before Show Tooltips was turned on will be restored when Show Tooltips is turned off.
Tooltip Options - Used to select what is shown in the tooltip. Available options which can be shown are Value,
Data Series (ID or Title), Output Set (ID or Title), Output Vector (ID or Title) and/or Entity ID.
Added Label with ID option to Preview Coincident dialog box for Tools, Check, Coincident Nodes and Tools,
Check, Coincident Points. This options is always on by default and will simply show the IDs of the nodes or
points being highlighted, regardless of the options currently set for Window, Show Entities or the Show When
Selected icon menus in the Model Info tree or Data Table.
Updated the Tools, Check, Element Quality dialog box. Added All On and All Off buttons and check boxes for
Listing the details of elements that failed the checks as well as listing a new summary of the failed elements.
Also added a Show button that shows all elements that fail the checks. Finally, added option to send the
detailed listing to the Data Table instead of the Message Window.
Updated Tools, Check, Sum Forces to allow you to select whether to Include Body Loads or not, as well as a
Sum option to Sum All Loads, Loads on Selected Nodes and Elements, or Selected Load Definitions.
OLE/COM API
New API Objects and Attributes
Added MapData Object
Added NumberOfElements on Node Object
Added ContourDataSelection, ContourVector1, ContourVector2, ContourVector3, ContourCornerData and
ContourDataConversion to View Object
Added NasNonlinKDAMP, NasNonlinKUPDATE, NasCnlkDAMP, NasRelEMotion, NasExecAnalyzeFile-
name, NasExecRestart, NasExecRestartVersion, NasExecRestartSubcase, NasOptimAnalysisType, NasOptim-
TrackModes, NasGCheckTest2, vNasGCheckTest2, NasGCheckTol2, vNasGCheckTol2, NasGCheckMsg2,
and vNasGCheckMsg2 to Analysis Set Manager Object.
Added NasCnlkDAMP to Analysis Case Object.
Added LabelFontSize, AxisValueFontSize, LegendFontSize, AxisMinorCountLog, vAxisMinorCountLog,
AxisRangePad, vAxisRangePad, AxisMinorCount, and vAxisMinorCount to Chart Object
Added OutputVector2, Location2, and SortData to Chart Data Series Object
OLE/COM API 11.2-95
Added AlternateApplied, AlternateSPC, AlternateMPC, and UseNodalOutputCS to Freebody Object

New and Updated API Methods
Added Clear, Initialize, Count, GetIDs, Remove, RemoveAll, DefineReal, DefineInt, DefineBool, Define-
String, DefineVariant, SetReal, SetInt, SetBool, SetString, SetVariant, GetReal, GetInt, GetBool, GetString, and
GetVariant to MapData Object
Added Reload2, AddAllSavedSetIDs, AddCoordinate2, AddAroundPoint2, AddAroundVector2, and Add-
AroundPlane2 to Set Object
Added SetReal, GetReal, SetInt, GetInt, SetDataType, and GetDataType to Sort Object
Added GetColumn, GetColumns, GetRowsAndColumns, GetRowsAndColumnsByID, and GetColumnSum to
Results Browsing Object
Added GetModel and SetModel methods to the Output Object
Added IsGeneral to Curve Object
Added IsBlend to Surface Object
Added GetNodalSums and GetSumAtNode to Freebody Object
Updated PutCombination for LoadSet and BCSet object to allow combinations using combinations
New and Updated Global Variables
Added Pref_PreV111TetMesh, Pref_Show0To360Angles, Pref_PlaneWheelFactor, Pref_MiddleMouseButto-
nOK, Pref_GeomOptimize, Pref_UseRegionDecimalChar, Pref_ResFontScale, and Pref_PerformanceGraphics
Updated Info_ActiveID to allow you to set the values to 0 to set no active entity
feElemCountOnProp
feMeasureDistanceBetweenGeometry
feFileWriteIdeas
feOutputProcessEnvelopeFromSets
feViewAutoscaleAll
feViewAutoscaleVisible
feWindowSetSize
feCheckSumForces (updated summedForces array to provide all values)
feCheckSumForces2
feCheckCoincidentNode3
feRenumberOpt2
feFileWriteFNO2
feMeshExtrudeElement2
feMeshTetSolid2
feSurfaceOffsetTangent
feSurfaceMidAuto2
feMeshSmooth2
feGroupGenerate2
feFileAttachSave2
feSurfaceNonManifoldAdd3
feSolidSweep
feSolidSweepBetween
feProjectOnto
feCompute3DInvariants
feCompute2DInvariants
feSetFree
feSetFreeNotInSet
feAppColorCreate
feAppColorGetBaseColor
feAppColorGetPattern
feAppColorGetLinestyle
feAppColorGetRGB
Preferences
Views
Added individual fields for Line and Font to the Resolution Options dialog box accessed via the Resolution but-
ton in the Picture Save Defaults section.
In FEMAP, graphics are normally drawn as single-pixel-width lines - that is they are only one dot wide. For high
resolution printers, like typesetters, this type of line may appear very faint due to the small size of each pixel on
these devices. By increasing the value of the Line value, the width of each line is multiplied by this factor to obtain
a print with fatter lines. This option has no effect on screen display. The value should be between 1 and 10 (2 is
Removed Open Views of Existing Models from Options section as it no longer was used.
Graphics (previously Render)
Added Performance Graphics to Graphics Options section.
If this option is selected, FEMAP will use a new architecture to improve graphics performance of both initial draw
and dynamic rotation. This new architecture requires at least OpenGL 4.2 and uses the graphics processors to take
on more of the graphics workload. This drastically reduces the amount of data that has to be transferred to the
graphics card, which reduces transfer times and data creation times, along with removing the requirement to group
like entities which greatly improves performance for models with a very large number of properties (thousands).
Note: A command to quickly toggle Performance Graphics on/off may be added to any menu or toolbar using
the Tools, Toolbars, Customize command. This command is located in the Additional Commands cate-
gory on the Commands tab of the Customize dialog box.
For the first release of Performance Graphics, only the following entities, element view options, and styles are sup-
ported:
Entities - Points, Nodes, Elements (Shear Panel, Membrane, Bending Only, Plate, Laminate, Plane Strain, Plot
Only Planar, Axisymmetric Solid, Solid, Solid Laminates).
Note: When other entity types (geometry, loads & constraints) and unsupported element types exist in the
model, they are drawn as they have been in previous versions with OpenGL.
View Options - Label and Color Mode (supported entities), Plane Element Offsets, Plane Element Fiber Thickness,
and Criteria Values
Note: Element - Directions, Element - Orientation/Shape (except Fiber Thickness), Element - Coordinate
System, and Element - Material Direction are currently not supported.
Model Style - Draw Model, Hidden Line, Free Edge, and Free Face for the supported entities.
Deformed Style - Model Only, Deform, Animate, and Animate-MultiSet
Preferences 11.2-97
Contour Style - Model Only, Contour, and Criteria.
Note: Other Styles are drawn using the same method used in older versions, so there will likely not be any
performance improvement in those styles.
Note: JT Files cannot be written when Performance Graphics mode is enabled. Simply turn the Performance
Graphics option off before using the File, Picture, Save JT command
User Interface
Added Show Angles as 0 -> 360 option to Menus and Dialog Boxes section
Option is off by default, reports values for all angles in cylindrical or spherical coordinate systems from -180 to
+180. When on, reports values for all angles in cylindrical or spherical coordinate systems from 0 to 360.
Added Middle Button Click for OK option to Mouse Interface section
When on, the middle-mouse button may be used to OK any dialog box, but only when the button is pressed and
released with the cursor in the same pixel. If the button is pressed and the mouse moved, then the model will
dynamically rotate. When off, this button can only be used for dynamic rotation.
Added Wheel Factor for Dynamic Planes option to Mouse Interface section
Used to change distance the dynamic cutting plane or the model cutting plane is moved with each mouse scroll. By
default, this value is set to 1.0, which means the increment will be 1.0*1/100 of the model box diagonal (think of
the model box being an invisible box that completely encapsulates every entity in the model). When set to 0.1, it
will be 1/1000 the model box diagonal, while setting it to 10.0 would make the increment equal to 1/10 the
model box diagonal.
Note: Using a different mouse may cause this calculation to slightly change. For instance, one mouse may
have a scroll delta of 120, while another may higher or lower. The scroll delta used by FEMAP is
120, so if the mouse you are using also uses 120, then scrolling will use the values described above.
Added Use Region Decimal/List Symbols option to new International Localization section
The Use Region Decimal/List Symbols option, on by default, is used to determine how real numbers and lists of
numbers will appear throughout the user interface. For instance, in many European and South American countries,
the , is used to display real numbers and the ; used to separate different numbers in a list. The region is deter-
mined by querying the Display Language currently specified for the Windows operating system.
When on, this option affects the graphics window, dialog boxes and tooltips, as well as, the Data Table, Entity Edi-
tor, Data Surface Editor, Model Info, and Charting dockable panes. In addition, the proper format will be copied
to/pasted from the clipboard and used when saving to a file. This includes comma-separated files, which use a ;
instead of , in some regions.
When off, the default values for English - US are used, . for display of real numbers and , between lists of num-
bers, regardless of Display Language.
Database
Updated default Max Cached Label value in Database Performance section to be 99,999,999 on 64-bit operat-
ing systems. Remains 5,000,000 for 32-bit operating systems.
Updated Timed Save options. Saving a model now resets the Timed Save timer and command counter so that
you will get a full interval until the next timed save.
Geometry/Model
Added preference to allow optimizing geometry on import.
When on, imported geometry is run through Parasolid using two additional options designed to repair invalid
geometry and simplify complex geometry.
Note: Turning this option on will likely increase the time needed to import geometry, as each part is cleaned
and optimized individually.
Replaced Pre-V10 Tet Meshing and Pre-V10 Surface Meshing options with single Pre-V11.1 Tet Meshing option
in Meshing and Properties section.
The tetrahedral meshing in FEMAP has changed for version 11.1. The Mesh, Geometry, Solid command shows the
Automesh Solids dialog box. When the Options button is clicked in the Automesh Solids dialog box, you will find a
Pre-v11.1 Tet Meshing option. This preference allows you to always use the Pre-v11.1 Tet Meshing option if
you feel more comfortable with the tetrahedral mesher in v11.0.
Results
Changed Automatically Attach to OP2 Files option to Automatically Attach to Result Files in File Options sec-
tion.
When using NX Nastran bundled with FEMAP, the results are typically imported via the NX Nastran Analysis
Monitor. Based on settings, this process may be automatic or performed using the Load Results button. When
this option is on (off by default), any results in *.op2 file or *.xdb file format accessed through the NX Nastran
Analysis Monitor, whether automatically or using the Load Results button, will be attached instead of imported
(internalized).
Changed Use Memory Mapped OP2 Files option to Use Memory Mapped Files in File Options section.
When on, the Memory Mapped File toggle found in the File, Attach To Results command will be on by default.
In addition, if the Automatically Attach to Results Files preference is on, then the files being automatically
attached will also be Memory Mapped.
Preferences 11.2-99

New Feat

Hochgeladen von

Dokumentinformationen

Copyright

Verfügbare Formate

Dieses Dokument teilen

Dokument teilen oder einbetten

Freigabeoptionen

Stufen Sie dieses Dokument als nützlich ein?

Sind diese Inhalte unangemessen?

Copyright:

Verfügbare Formate

New Feat

Hochgeladen von

Copyright:

Verfügbare Formate

Whats New in FEMAP

Whats New for version 11.2.1

Output and Post-Processing

FEMAP Interface Latest Supported Version

Analysis Program Interfaces

Whats New for version 11.2

Model Info tree

Select Planar Surface

Select Fillet Surface Result of Edit is entire

Select Planar Surface

Select Planar Surface Result of Offset is entire

Here is an example of using the three different Imprint Options:

Toggle on/off Toggle on/off Toggle between

Data Surface Editor

Original Solid Original Solid sliced Original Solid sliced

Element Edge to Split

Loads and Constraints

Toggle Rotation DOF Toggle

ID, Color, Layer, and Title

One Equation Per DOF

Connections (Region, Properties, and Connectors)

Groups and Layers

Simply choose a single Element Quality type or

Output and Post-Processing

Context Sensitive menus for Result Set Processing Data Surface

Highlight Elements Offset Plane in

Highlight Nodes Offset Plane in

Source Data - used to select which freebody entity

FEMAP Interface Latest Supported Version

Analysis Program Interfaces

FEMAP Neutral File Interface

Nastran Interfaces (NX and MSC/MD)

MSC/MD Nastran Interface

Added Contact/Glue Sets section to Boundary Conditions dialog box:

Added ClearSearch to the ReadFile object.

Pref_ElemQualPyrAspectRatio, Pref_ElemQualPyrAspectRatioVal, Pref_ElemQualPyrEPLR, Pref_ElemQual-

Deformed Style - Vector and Streamline

Contour Style - Beam Diagram, IsoSurface, Section Cut, and Vector.

Added Study Titles drop-down control to File Options section.

Added Append Femap Title option to File Options section.

Whats New for version 11.1.2

Tools - Element Quality

Whats New for version 11.1.1

Newly created Solid

Loads and Constraints

Filter Clear Filter

Selected On Selected Off

All Off Clear Filter

Connections (Region, Properties, and Connectors)

FEMAP Interface Latest Supported Version

For details, see Geometry Interfaces in the FEMAP User Guide.

Analysis Program Interfaces

Analysis Set Manager Enhancements

Toggle All On Filter

Nastran Interfaces (NX and MSC)

MSC Nastran Interface

NEi Nastran Interface

Added read-only Visible and Locked properties to Data Table Object

Whats New for version 11.1

Model Info tree

Data Surface Editor

Added Geometry, Curve - Line, Between Geometry command

Before NonManifold Add After NonManifold Add

Selecting the Path