automate lines from keypoints, then areas from keypoints

[GeorgeEllwood]

Hello,
I'm building a model using shell and beam elements.
I'd like to try some optimistation and try different numbers and placements of beam elements.
At the moment I start by defining keypoints, then create lines and then create areas from the lines manually.
Is there a way of automatically creating lines from the keypoints?
Maybe using the ksel command to select the keypoints in a plane and then getting lines drawn between them?
If possible I'd like to do the same when creating areas from lines.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
George

 

[jiligeo]

Hi, you can define an Area or a Line by keyponits (A & L commands).

 

[GeorgeEllwood]

Hi Jiligeo,
Thanks for replying, I'm already using the L & A commands to create the lines and the areas. But I'm having to select the keypoints manually to create each line, and then manually select the lines to create the areas.
What I would like is a way to automatically select the keypoints to create the lines, and then automatically select the relevant lines to create the areas.
It's quite time consuming to do it manually and doesn't lend itself to a changeable model.
Thanks
George

 

[jiligeo]

Hi, you can use the keypoint numbers for defining a line or an Area (instead of selecting).

/prep7
k,1,
k,2,1,
k,3,0,1
k,4,1,1
a,1,2,4,3

hope that helps.