47.2.3 An overview of the methods for repairing entire parts

When you choose Part from the Geometry Repair Toolset dialog box, the Tool list displays the following methods for repairing entire parts:

Stitch

If a part is imported as a group of disconnected faces, you can stitch the resulting small gaps. Similarly, you can stitch the resulting gaps after you remove small faces or small slivers from a part. This is a global operation during which ABAQUS/CAE stitches all gaps in the part; however, this operation should be used for small gaps only and can be lengthy. For more information, see What is stitching?, Section 47.3. You can use the Query toolset to highlight any free edges. For more information, see Using the geometry diagnostic tools in the Part module, Section 11.28.

Solid from shell

You can create a solid region from a three-dimensional shell region if all the faces in the region form a closed cell. You must select the faces from the part. If you select a single face, you must choose the direction in which to add the solid material to change the region from a shell to a solid. If you select more than one face, ABAQUS/CAE chooses the direction in which to add the solid material.

Repair face normals

You can repair the face normals of shell and solid imported parts. The part must be a manifold, meaning that an edge is shared by only one or two faces. The tool has different uses for solid and shell parts.

Solid

In rare cases the Query toolset reports that the volume of an imported solid part is negative because the face normals indicate it was inside out in the CAD system from which it originated. The Repair face normals tool will flip the normals and turn the solid right side out.

Shell

An imported shell part can contain faces that have normals pointing in opposite directions. The Repair face normals tool will align all the normals on a shell part. If the face normals are already aligned, this tool will flip all the normals so that they remain aligned but point in the opposite direction. Select Shell/membrane normals from the Query dialog box to check the orientation of the face normals.

Convert to analytical

ABAQUS/CAE tries to change the internal definition of edges, faces, and cells into a simpler form that can be represented analytically. For example, a face that is nearly planar will be converted to an equation that represents the plane. Converting to an analytical representation usually provides the following advantages:

  • Processing of the part is faster.

  • The converted entity is available during feature operations. For example, the extrude operation requires a planar face and a linear edge.

  • The geometry is improved.

  • If you subsequently need to stitch the part, the stitching operation is more likely to be successful.

Convert to precise

When you select this option, ABAQUS/CAE tries to change neighboring entities so that their geometry matches exactly. Converting to a precise representation usually results in precise geometry; however, this operation can be lengthy and increases the complexity of the imported part, which means that processing of the part is slower. Moreover, if the part contains many complex surfaces, converting to a precise representation is likely to fail. If possible, you should return to the CAD application that generated the original file and increase the precision.