LS-DYNA Utility Menu

The LS-DYNA Utility menu on the Utility tab is automatically loaded when you select the LS-DYNA user profile, and contains shortcuts and tools that can help simplify LS-DYNA tasks. Set the user profile from the User Profiles option of the Preferences menu.

The LS-DYNA user profile sets the FE input reader to DYNA KEY and loads the dyna.key (ver 971) FE output template and LS-DYNA Utility menu. Also, the graphical user interface becomes LS-DYNA focused, renaming or removing some panels and/or options. The entire ALE Setup is available only when the LS-DYNA user profile is loaded.

Tools Menu

The LS-DYNA Utility menu contains a Tools menu in addition to the standard HyperMesh Utility menu. This menu includes special time-saving setup macros and other features that are specific to an LS-DYNA analysis. The following macros are available:

Error Check

Checks the LS-DYNA data deck for errors.

Part Info

Displays statistics of a selected part.

Clone Part

Creates a new part from the properties of an existing part.

Create Part

Creates a new component quickly.

Convert To Rigid

This macro converts a selected portion of elements to rigid. It performs the following:

•	Organizes elements to rigid components

•	Creates and assigns the required *MAT_RIGID cards

•	Converts welds to *CONSTRAINED_EXTRA_NODES

•	See Convert To Rigid Flow Chart and Use the Convert To Rigid macro

Find free

Finds the welds (*Constained_Spotweld), rigids (*Constrained_Node_Sets & *Constrained_Nodal_RigidBody), and rigidlinks (*Constrained_Node_Sets and *Constrained_Nodal_RigidBody), and checks if any of its nodes are free (not connected to any other entities). The display is cleared and then only free 1d elements are displayed.

Find Fix Free

Finds the welds, rigids, and rigidlinks that are free as described above (Find free macro) and corrects them. These elements are corrected as follows:

All 2-noded rigid and weld elements that have one free node are deleted. For the rigidlink elements that have free nodes, those nodes are removed from the rigidlink element. A check is performed for any rigidlinks with only one node and they are deleted.

Fix Incorrect

Finds

•	Rigid elements (rigids, welds) that are connected to other rigids and combines them into one rigid element.

•	Rigid elements that are connected to other xtra_nodes_to_rigidbodies and converts them to xtra_nodes.

•	Rigid elements connected directly to rigid component (MAT 20) will be converted to xtra_nodes.

RLs With Sets

The macro, RLs with Sets, finds all the rigid and rigidlink elements that are not attached to a set and converts them so that they are attached to a set.

Component Table

Displays a tabular list of all the components that exist in the model along with their properties and materials.

Material Table

Create and edit materials.

Tools Menu

See Also: