10.3.1 Repairing a part during import

You can import a part and subsequently use the Geometry Edit toolset in the Part module to apply any repair operations that might be required to make the part usable by Abaqus/CAE; see Chapter 69, “The Geometry Edit toolset,” for more information. Alternatively, you can import a part and repair the part during the import process, as described in this section.

When you import a part, Abaqus/CAE scans the contents of the file and displays a dialog box with a Name-Repair tabbed page that allows you to control the following:

Name

The name of the part.

Repair Options

For most of the file formats supported, Abaqus/CAE automatically repairs the part during the import process. However, Abaqus/CAE provides the following additional options when you are importing an IGES- or a VDA-FS-format file:

Convert to analytical representation
Stitch gaps

In most cases, the default settings for these options provide the best results. For more information, see “An overview of editing techniques,” Section 69.2.

Part Filter

The following file formats can include several parts in a single file:

ACIS
CATIA V4
Elysium Neutral File (CATIA V5 or Pro/ENGINEER)
Parasolid
STEP

Abaqus/CAE imports all of the parts in the file by default. If you import all the parts in the file, you can create individual Abaqus parts for each of them or you can combine them together into a single Abaqus part; in addition, if you combine these parts, Abaqus/CAE enables you to stitch these imported parts together using a user-specified stitching tolerance value. Alternatively, you can toggle on Import part number and enter the number of a single part to import from the file. Abaqus/CAE indicates if any of the parts have validity or precision problems.

In some cases when you import a part into Abaqus/CAE, the geometry of the part contains additional edges and vertices that serve no purpose. The additional geometry splits faces into additional faces and edges into additional edges, resulting in unnecessary complexity. The additional geometry will influence your mesh unduly, and you should use the Geometry Edit toolset to remove the redundant edges and vertices. You can also use virtual topology in the Mesh module to combine small faces and edges and to ignore unnecessary vertices and edges; for more information, see Chapter 75, “The Virtual Topology toolset.”