A reference point is a point that you create on an ABAQUS native part or on an orphan mesh part. You can also create reference points on the assembly. You can position a reference point anywhere in space, and a reference point is useful for creating a point in your model where a vertex is not available; for example, at the center of a hole. In contrast to a vertex a reference point is ignored by the Mesh module when the mesh is generated.

You can use the Reference Point toolset in the Part module to create a reference point that is associated with a part by selecting ToolsReference Point from the main menu bar. When you create the assembly, the reference point appears on each instance of the part in the assembly. A part can include only one reference point, and ABAQUS/CAE labels the reference point RP. ABAQUS/CAE asks you if you want to delete the original point if you try to assign a second point.

Alternatively, you can use the Reference Point toolset in the Assembly, Interaction, or Load modules to create a reference point on the assembly by selecting ToolsReference Point from the main menu bar. The assembly can include more than one reference point, and ABAQUS/CAE labels them RP-1, RP-2, RP-3, etc. For more information, see “Creating a reference point,” Section 46.3. If desired, you can turn off the display of the reference point symbol and the reference point label; for more information, see “Controlling reference point display,” Section 50.7.