To define the fastener attachment zone:

1. From the Edit Fasteners dialog box, display the Criteria tabbed page.

2. Choose the Attachment method. In general, a positioning point should be located as close to the surfaces being connected as possible. Abaqus determines the actual fastening points where the fasteners are attached to the surfaces being connected by first projecting the positioning point onto the closest surface. You can choose from the following projection methods:

   • Face-to-Face

   • Face-to-Edge

   • Edge-to-Face

   • Edge-to-Edge

   The method that you should choose depends on how the surfaces are oriented relative to each other. For more information, see “Specifying the positioning points, projection method, and fastening points” in “Mesh-independent fasteners,” Section 35.3.4 of the Abaqus Analysis User's Guide.

3. Choose the method for specifying the distance from the positioning points within which the fastening points must lie.

   • Choose Facet-based default to allow Abaqus to compute a default search radius based on the facet thickness (for shell elements) or characteristic facet length (for non-shell elements) in the vicinity of each positioning point.

   • Choose Specify, and enter the maximum distance from the positioning point within which the fastening points will lie.

   For more information, see “Forming fasteners on surfaces inside a user-specified search zone” in “Mesh-independent fasteners,” Section 35.3.4 of the Abaqus Analysis User's Guide.

4. Choose the maximum number of layers through which the fastening points will be projected.

   • Choose All to allow Abaqus to use the maximum possible number of layers.

   • Choose Specify, and enter the number of layers.