Being More Productive Using Ansys Mechanical

Summary

This 'Ansys How to' video tutorial offers insights on enhancing productivity with Ansys Mechanical, a powerful simulation tool for engineering problems. It covers ease-of-use features, task automation, data organization, and efficient modeling techniques. The video demonstrates practical applications, such as organizing assemblies, assigning materials, applying loads, and utilizing Ansys Mechanical's automated features for contact detection and bolt pretension. It also highlights the use of drag and drop for preprocessing and postprocessing, along with the importance of the worksheet view and viewports for a comprehensive analysis.

Takeaways

• 🛠️ Ansys Mechanical is a powerful simulation tool designed for solving large assembly engineering problems, enhancing decision-making in engineering.
• 🔧 The software offers ease-of-use features and automation to streamline the modeling process of large assemblies, making it faster and more efficient.
• 🖱️ Basic mouse controls like rotation, panning, zooming, and box zooming are fundamental for navigating and working with models in Ansys Mechanical.
• 📁 The outline tree can be organized by grouping components, such as bolts, into separate folders for better data management.
• 🔠 Double-clicking selections in Ansys Mechanical cycles through options, streamlining repetitive tasks and reducing manual work.
• 🌐 Material assignment can be applied to multiple parts simultaneously, saving time compared to individual assignments.
• 📐 Selection planes and extend features simplify the selection process for applying boundary conditions, such as internal pressure.
• 🔄 The triad tool facilitates fast reorientation of the model, improving the efficiency of model setup and analysis.
• 🔩 Ansys Mechanical automatically detects and creates contact pairs, with options to modify and rename them for better identification.
• 🔍 The 'Contact body view' helps in inspecting connections by displaying contacting bodies in different colors, aiding in analysis accuracy.
• 🛠️ Meshing can be automated or manually adjusted for specific parts, with visual cues indicating element size for clarity.
• 🔄 The Object Generator is a useful tool for applying bolt pretension to multiple bolts simultaneously, leveraging named selections for efficiency.
• 📈 Drag and drop functionality simplifies preprocessing and postprocessing tasks, such as adjusting mesh size or retrieving reaction forces.
• 📊 The worksheet view and viewports are valuable for verifying assignments, settings, and displaying multiple results for comprehensive review.

Q & A

What is the main purpose of the 'How to be more productive using Mechanical' video?

The video aims to demonstrate how to use Ansys Mechanical more effectively and productively by showcasing various features and techniques that simplify the modeling and analysis of large assemblies.

What are the key ways in which Ansys Mechanical can help users become more productive?

The key ways include ease-of-use features, automation of repetitive tasks, and organizing and managing data efficiently.

How many parts does the rear axle assembly in the example consist of?

The rear axle assembly consists of 55 individual parts, including 4 main parts and 51 bolts.

What are some of the basic mouse controls in Ansys Mechanical that can help users work easily on the model?

Basic mouse controls include using the middle mouse button to rotate, middle mouse button + CTRL to pan, shift + middle mouse button to zoom, and scrolling the mouse wheel to zoom in and out.

How can users quickly access isometric view controls and standard views in Ansys Mechanical?

Users can access these controls by right-clicking with the RMB and accessing the context menu that appears in the graphics window.

What is a convenient feature in Ansys Mechanical for cycling through drop-down selections?

Double-clicking the current selection in a drop-down list cycles to the next item without needing to click on the down arrow.

How can users organize the outline tree in Ansys Mechanical?

Users can organize the outline tree by grouping parts, such as using Shift-Click to select all bolts and right-mouse clicking to group them in a separate folder, which can then be renamed.

What material is assigned to the four main parts of the rear axle assembly in the example?

The four main parts are made from Aluminum Alloy, and the material is assigned to all four parts at once for efficiency.

How does Ansys Mechanical assist in applying internal pressure to the center part of the axle?

Ansys Mechanical uses selection planes and selection extend features to make the selection process easier, and the internal pressure can be applied to the selected faces.

What is the visual representation of the element size in Ansys Mechanical, and how does it help users?

The visual representation is a circle with a plus sign next to the mouse pointer, which shows the element size and helps users to conveniently visualize and define mesh sizes.

How does Ansys Mechanical handle automatic contact detection and creation?

Ansys Mechanical automatically detects and creates contact pairs, with the option to modify the contact type and rename the contact names for easy identification.

What is the purpose of the Object Generator in Ansys Mechanical?

The Object Generator is used to apply settings or loads to multiple objects at once, such as bolt pretension, by using a template and generating multiple new loads based on a named selection.

How can users take advantage of the drag and drop feature in Ansys Mechanical for preprocessing and postprocessing?

The drag and drop feature allows users to easily move objects like contacts or joints to different branches in the model tree, which automatically inserts related settings or loads, simplifying the process.

What are some of the Ansys productivity tools mentioned in the video for preprocessing and postprocessing?

The productivity tools mentioned include the worksheet view for verifying assignments and settings, multiple viewports for displaying different results, and the Contact Body view for defining connections.