10.3.1 Repairing a part during import

You can import a part and subsequently use the Repair toolset in the Part module to apply any repair operations that might be required to make the part usable by ABAQUS/CAE; see Chapter 47, “The Repair toolset,” for more information. Alternatively, you can import a part and repair the part during the import process, as described in this section.

When you import a part, ABAQUS/CAE scans the contents of the file and displays a dialog box with a Name-Repair tabbed page that allows you to control the following:

Name

The name of the part.

Repair Options

For most of the file formats supported, ABAQUS/CAE automatically repairs the part during the import process. However, ABAQUS/CAE provides the following additional options when you are importing an ACIS-, IGES-, or a VDA-FS-format file:

Convert to analytical representation

Stitch gaps

Convert to precise representation

In most cases, the default settings for these options provide the best results. For more information, see “An overview of repair techniques,” Section 47.2.

Topology

ABAQUS/CAE selects the topology—solid, shell, or wire—based on the entities that it finds in the file. In most cases you should accept the setting selected by ABAQUS/CAE. However, if the topology of the resulting part is not as expected, you can try importing the part again with a different topology selected. In addition, if you are importing an IGES-format file, you can click Entity List on the IGES Options tabbed page to examine the type of entities found in the file.

Part Filter

The following file formats can include several parts in a single file:

ACIS

CATIA V4

Elysium Neutral File (CATIA V5, I-DEAS, or Pro/ENGINEER)

Parasolid

STEP

ABAQUS/CAE imports all of the parts in the file by default. Alternatively, you can toggle on Import part number and enter the number of a single part to import from the file. ABAQUS/CAE indicates if any of the parts have validity or precision problems.

In some cases when you import a solid part into ABAQUS/CAE, the geometry of the part contains additional edges and vertices that serve no purpose. The additional geometry splits faces into additional faces and edges into additional edges, resulting in unnecessary complexity. The additional geometry will influence your mesh unduly, and you should use the Repair toolset to remove the redundant edges and vertices. You can also use virtual topology in the Mesh module to combine small faces and edges and to ignore unnecessary vertices and edges; for more information, see Chapter 49, “The Virtual Topology toolset.”