Different element sizes for meshing

[Boosted7]

Hey everyone,

I'm fairly new with Solidworks and I just started using Cosmosworks at work.

I was wondering if there was any way to make specific parts of an object (in an assembly drawing) have fine or coarse sized elements when meshing.

I know how to make the entire assembly coarse or the entire assembly fine, but is there a way to pick specific parts?

Thanks! Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Chris

 

[ctopher]

What version are you using?
I don't have it loaded yet, but I think I heard you can do this now in 2006, not sure.

Chris
Sr. Mechanical Designer, CAD
SolidWorks 05 SP3.1 / PDMWorks 05
ctopher's home site (updated 06-21-05)
FAQ559-1100
FAQ559-716

 

[Boosted7]

Hey Chris,

Thanks for responding.

I'm using Solidworks 2005 right now.

 

[cbrn]

Hi,
you can do it regardless of the version.
When you mesh, there is a global setting you assign for the default mesh size. Then, you can add as many mesh refinements as you want, and if you select a component as the target, the refinement will affect the whole component relatively to the default size; you can specify an "importance factor" (i.e. low=coarser mesh, high=finer) or input an exact value to be applied on the component.

Regards

 

[ctopher]

I just tried it. After you mesh, go back to "Apply Control". You can select the component or face.

Chris
Sr. Mechanical Designer, CAD
SolidWorks 05 SP3.1 / PDMWorks 05
ctopher's home site (updated 06-21-05)
FAQ559-1100
FAQ559-716

 

[Boosted7]

Oh, I got it! Thanks everyone for the quick replies.

 

[jdesouza]

You can also apply a mesh control to a specified, sketched region... create a sketch on a surface or plane and then use the Split Line command. This will create a separate region on the model. Forces, restraints, mesh refinement can all be applied to these region.

I just learned this last week myself!

 

[ShaggyPE]

ctopher,
the mesh control must be done prior to creating the mesh. Typically when you make a change after meshing, you will get a warning that the model has changed and needs remeshing.

-Shaggy

 

[ctopher]

In CW05 we tried it. We meshed first, but before we went further went to the mesh control...no errors.

Chris
Sr. Mechanical Designer, CAD
SolidWorks 05 SP3.1 / PDMWorks 05
ctopher's home site (updated 06-21-05)
FAQ559-1100
FAQ559-716

 

[jdesouza]

What I like about the mesh control is you can specify the exact dimensions of the elements. This allows you to take your data from a curve/line, export it to Excel, and query from any position along the curve in a repeatable way.

When you make a change to your model in between iterations, you can grab the data from the same positions and tab through Excel and see the graphs change and analyze trends in a visual manner.

Now I have to convince my boss to upgrade us from Office 95 to 2003...