Highlights
SimLab 14.2 comes with various changes that improve performance and graphics rendering. In addition to java scripting, python scripting is introduced. The enhancements, new features and critical bug fixes are listed below.
| • | Added a filter in vertical tool list to select the RBE bodies. |
| • | SimLab application setting contents are moved from System App data to .altair folder. |
| • | Added cutting plane support for point cloud entity.. |
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Parasolid
| • | Parasolid version updated to 28.1.194 |
CAD Translator
| • | Step to Parasolid translator version updated. |
CATIA
| • | Added a support to read the points. |
| • | CATIA direct import enhanced to read R25 models |
ProE
| • | Support added to import Creo 3.0 models |
Abaqus
| • | Supported reading of S8R and S8R5 elements. |
Nastran/OptiStruct
| • | Reading of PLOTEL3 and PLOTEL4 element types supported. |
| • | Reading of RFORCE supported. |
| • | Supported reading of property and material names from HM comment cards $HMNAME PROP and $HMNAME MAT. |
| • | Supported create features option in solver import, to create planar and cylindrical features while importing FEM model. |
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| • | Supported selection of all the groups by clicking on the group type header. |
| • | Render Mode > Edge Display > Face Edge option is enhanced to Show/Hide the CAD edges. |
| • | Added an option to display the mesh control in a Group view or Sequential view. Group view display the mesh controls based on type whereas sequential view display the mesh controls in the creation order. |
| • | Support added to set the user defined shortcut keys for bottom toolbar options. |
| • | Render Mode > Edge Display > Free edge boundary option added to display the free and non-manifold edge boundaries without displaying layers. |
| • | Render Mode > Edge Display > Element Free Edge / Element Non-manifold Edge is enhanced to visualize free edge and non-manifold edge in different color for visible bodies. |
| • | Option added in body right click to find and replace body names for selected bodies. |
| • | File > Preferences > System > Reset System Settings option enhanced to have an user control on reset options. |
| • | Cutting plane > Cut layer display enhanced to draw boundary edges. |
| • | Option added under mesh control right click to duplicate the mesh control. |
| • | Support added to show/hide the orphan nodes only for visible model. |
| • | File > Preferences > Application > Auto save option enhanced to specify user defined location to save the database. Also, number of backup database can be specified. |
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Face > Select Connected
| • | “Bodies inner surfaces” option added to identify the inner surfaces. This helps to extract the wetted surfaces of fluid. |
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Mesh > 2D Create > Mesh Controls
| • | Cylinder and Torus attributes information are considered while meshing the facet geometry. |
| • | Grading is supported on the surface where aligned mesh control is assigned. |
| • | Option added to specify model name for surface mesh output. |
| • | Grading, curvature angle and minimum element size are added for 1D bar meshing. |
Mesh > 2D Create > Pipe Mesh
| • | Enhanced the tool to assign material to the pipe mesh. The density of the fluid inside the pipe is dumped into the density of the pipe material. |
Mesh > Verify > Crack
| • | Group connected elements option added to create separate failed element groups based on connectivity. |
Mesh > Verify > Quality
| • | OptiStruct error and warning checks are supported for Tri and Tet elements. |
| • | Option added to generate element quality report in HTML format. |
| • | Performance improved for hex and wedge warpage quality in case of one layer of extruded elements. |
Mesh > Modify > Fill Hole
| • | Performance improved for edge loop based filling. |
Mesh > Modify > Grid Mesh
| • | Performance improved while modifying the mesh with fine mesh size. |
Mesh > Modify > Hex Wedge > Local Refinement
| • | Option added to refine hex elements locally. |
Mesh > Modify > Smoother
| • | Enhanced to support higher order elements |
Mesh > 3D Create > Volume Mesh
| • | Option added to specify model name for volume mesh output. |
| • | Volume Mesh performance improved for large models. |
| • | Hard point mesh control is considered while generating volume elements. |
Mesh > 3D Create > nFX Particles
| • | nFX particle creation for Fluid and Solid volumes is supported |
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Imprint > Edges on Edges
| • | Robustness of this tool is increased |
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Remove > Chamfer
| • | Enhanced to remove chamfer faces with non isomesh pattern. |
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Loads and Constraints > Contact
| • | Supported frictional elastic slip and sliding type parameter in OptiStruct contact. |
| • | Added surface to surface node under support type parameter in Permas contact. |
| • | When Permas contacts are created with springs, the corresponding springs will be deleted on contact deletion. |
| • | Contact manager enhanced to modify elements in master or slave surfaces. |
| • | Added option in Set dialog to create solid element set based on the number of layers specified. |
| • | The loads and constraints listed under load case will be arranged in alphabetical order. |
| • | Supported creation of mapped data as temperature constraint load in mapping dialog. |
| • | Toggle added in preference dialog “Create separate property for each selected bodies” to create separate property for each body when multiple bodies are selected. |
| • | Automatic toggle supported in Plot element dialog for fast creating of plot elements. |
| • | The shear modulus value in the default material created by SimLab is changed to blank. |
| • | The solution parameters and the output request options are supported in separate dialog and this will be listed as items in loads and boundary conditions tree and also stored in database. |
| • | Added option to perform data check in OptiStruct, Abaqus and Permas solvers directly from SimLab. |
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Abaqus
| • | Modal frequency response analysis supported. |
OptiStruct
| • | NLOUT, NLADAPT and CNTSTB parameters supported in OptiStruct nonlinear analysis. |
| • | Option to include direct matrix inputs, stiffness matrix (K2GG), mass matrix (M2GG) and load matrix (P2G) supported in Normal mode analysis. |
| • | Supported STATSUB (STRUCTURE) writing in steady state heat transfer analysis to determine the contact / gap status for heat transfer analysis. |
| • | Supported distributed convection (CONV) table writing. |
| • | Heat source (QVOL) writing supported. |
| • | Supported Simpack analysis type to create condensed CMS super element formulation for Simpack. |
| • | Supported the following options in Excite analysis, |
| - | Option to export the ASET as a separate file. |
| - | Multiple file input support for ASSIGN card. |
| - | GMOT, SMOT and GMOTR options supported in EXCEXB parameter. |
| - | Recovery Matrix option supported in EXCEXB parameter. |
| - | EXCOP2 and EXTOUT parameters supported. |
| • | Supported the following symmetry types in topology design space dialog. |
| • | The following parameters are supported |
OptiStruct/Nastran
| • | If any of the dependent RBE2 nodal DOF is constrained, then that DOF will be skipped in constraint writing. |
Ansys
| • | Supported pressure writing with amplitude table. |
nanoFluidX
| • | Supported exporting hex meshed bodies as nanoFluidX particles. Also the configuration file with the phase details will be exported. |
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Animate
| • | Enhanced to support RBE elements. |
Distortion > Bore
| • | Bug fix done on plotting of different bore distortion order. |
| • | Crash is fixed on export of the selected distortion parameters |
Right Click > Principal Stress
| • | Added support to view principal stress, by doing a right click on the UI. Principal stress will be listed only if stress results are present. |
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Bolt Modeling > 1D Bolt > 1D Bolt Pretension
| • | Previously, only positive pretension force can be specified. Now, negative pretension force can also be given. |
Crank Train
| • | In advanced and no break tools, shared faces present in the input body are preserved. |
Power Train > Bearings
| • | Supported creation of following bearing profiles. |
| - | Radial double ball bearing |
| - | Angular contact ball bearing |
| - | Angular contact double ball bearing |
| - | 4-point contact ball bearing |
Process Automation
| • | Group color is activated while opening the group mapping dialog. This helps in visualization of groups to avoid adding duplicate entities. |
Trials > Wedge thickness
| • | This option is useful after using layered elements option. It is used to identify the node thickness along the extruded direction. It creates a contour plot using the nodes and its corresponding thickness. |
Trials > Layered Elements Validation
| • | Before creating the layered elements , this option is helpful in identifying elements which would not be extruded for the defined thickness.Groups will be created for elements which are less than the given thickness. |
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| • | Project menu redesigned such that options are added to record, pause, stop, cancel and playback the script. This new design helps in recording multiple scripts under same project directory. Also, single script can be recorded by interrupting the process by making use of pause option. |
| • | Script recording supported in following formats in adding to Java script. |
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