You can use the ViewPart Display Options or ViewAssembly Display Options menu items to control the lighting of your model. Lights affect the appearance of your model in the current viewport when the Shaded render style is used. You can control the intensity of the ambient and specular light, and you can control the shininess of the model surface; all lighting in ABAQUS/CAE uses white light.

Ambient light is the diffuse lighting in ABAQUS/CAE. Low intensity ambient light creates shadows that distinguish small features and surface contours from the rest of the part. High intensity ambient light removes shadows and may make some model features difficult to see.

Specular light provides a “spotlight” effect. Specular light is projected onto the model from the current viewpoint and illuminates surfaces that are nearly parallel with the computer screen. Specular lighting effects change as you rotate your model view, since different surfaces become parallel to the screen. Specular light works in conjunction with shininess to determine how your model reflects light.

Shininess is the reflectivity of the model surface. A very shiny surface reflects light like a mirror—only surfaces that are nearly parallel to the computer screen (nearly perpendicular to your viewpoint) reflect light back to you. Surfaces that are less shiny reflect light more randomly, so a wider range of surface angles can reflect light to your viewpoint. A very low shininess, or matte, surface reflects light evenly from all surface angles. Like high intensity ambient lighting, low shininess can obscure small features and contours of your model from view.

The combined effects of ambient and specular lighting and shininess can be used to simulate different surface finishes and light conditions on your model. The default moderate intensity specular light works in conjunction with moderate shininess and low intensity ambient light to provide good contrast for viewing all features in most models.