Trim Hole Macro

This function creates a circular hole of a given radius in the mesh at a node specifying the center of the hole. You can also specify a number of layers of washer elements to include.

Clicking Trim Hole opens a nodes selector panel. Pick nodes on your model for the centers of each hole that you wish to create, then click proceed. A dialog opens:

trim_hole_macro_gui

The options in the Mesh Trimming with Circular Holes dialog determine the type of hole that is created at each chosen node:

Hole radius

Each node will receive a hole of this radius, measured from the node.

Number of layers

This is the number of layers of washer mesh elements that you want to surround each hole.

Uniform/Varying

This toggle only applies when the number of layers is more than zero, and specifies whether you want mesh layers to all be the same width, or to vary from one another.

No.

The number of a specific washer layer. If you chose varying width for the layers, the table displays one row for each of the Number of layers that you specified. Otherwise, only one row displays because all layers will be set to the same values.

Scale/Width

Determines the width of the washer layers.

•	Scale: you can specify each layer’s scale relative to the Hole radius. For example, use "0.5" for a washer layer that’s half as wide as the hole radius.

•	Width: specify a fixed width for each layer.

Value

The scale factor or width of the layer(s).

Create rigid spider along the hole

This checkbox will create a rigid spider in each of the new holes created, and enables two more options:

•	Choose individual rigid links to create rigid elements at each node of the new hole.

•	Choose single rigid link to create one rigid element that connects to all of the nodes around the new hole.

Minimum number of nodes around the hole

This determines the mesh density around the new hole(s). Each new hole will be created with at least the number of nodes that you specify in the density field, evenly spaced around its circumference.

Trim

Click this button to create the new hole(s).

Reject

If you do not like the results of the last trim operation, click this button to undo it.

Note:

This only undoes a single click of the trim button, so it can only undo multiple holes if they were created simultaneously during a single trim operation.

Close

Close the Mesh Trimming with Circular Holes dialog.