Abaqus: Additive Manufacturing Plugin (AMModeler)

[Hossein3ds]

Hello everybody,

I am modeling the Laser Powder Bed Fusion Additive Manufacturing process in Abaqus. I started my thermomechanical modeling by using the conventional technique, MODEL CHANGE, but I got different errors due to the inflation of inactive elements prior to their activation. In addition, I discovered the difficulties of structural analysis while attempting to activate elements in various orientations relative to the global coordinate system.
So, I just noticed the AMModeler plugin that Abaqus CAE introduced in 2018. I have reviewed the Abaqus help documentation and also downloaded some of the workshop files from the 3ds website.
I have a few issues with the determination of tool-path intersection and the extraction of g-codes from the ReplicatorG app suggested by Abaqus, converting them into the AMModeler plugin by generateEvent Series.py script.

Can anybody help me in this regard?

Thank you
Hossein.

 

[FEA way]

The model change technique doesn’t make sense for this kind of simulations anymore. It’s too inefficient. Now all the necessary features for AM process modeling are implemented directly in Abaqus. The AM Modeler plugin is built in since Abaqus 2022.

What are the exact issues you encountered ?

 

[Hossein3ds]

Dear FEA way,
Thank you very much for your response.

I would like to consider the laser path rotations in each layer (e.g. 67 degree), activating the elements. It does not make sense for me when I generate the g-codes with ReplicatorG App since I do not know how I can match the generated g-codes to the various paths. Is there any specific step that has to be defined before generating the g-codes to include different scanning strategies, or do I have to generate g-codes first without any pre-determination, followed by matching the results to the AMModeler plugin through the generateEventSeries.py script? That is to say, the challenging issue is how I can define the time and space event series based on different laser path rotations.
Furthermore, I reviewed all the Abaqus help documentation and downloaded the QA000000575 from the knowledgebase article on the 3ds website. I have tried to figure out how to use the generateEventSeries python script file to turn the g-codes into the AMModeler plugin, but I am not sure which part of the script needs to be changed to fit my needs.

I would appreciate your time and help if you could share with me any step-by-step procedure or detailed explanation of this script for modification.

Best Regards,
Hossein