Parametric study on ABAQUS with imported parts (from Solidworks)

[SwimBikeRun4342]

Hello, I have a question regarding parametric studies on ABAQUS. Basically, I want to vary the length of a robotic leg, and run the same model for these different leg lengths.

Previously I would run a parametric study by creating a part on ABAQUS, defining the appropriate problem constraints, and running the job. I would then open the corresponding python script and change the dimensions and run the model again. This was a very easy process since I did not have to manually recreate the model every time I changed a dimension.

However, now I am importing parts from solidworks, and therefor the simple method I described above does not work. Since I import the part and do not define the dimensions explicitly on ABAQUS, the python script (the python script that is automatically created when making a model on ABAQUS) does not contain the information on the dimensions. Therefore I cannot vary the dimensions in they way I previously described.

Is there another simply way to run a parametric study on ABAQUS, without recreating the part. Again, all I want to do is run the same model for varying leg lengths. I am using version 6.9 if that helps.

Thanks you!

 

[rstupplebeen]

Try recording the script starting from importing the SWx geometry. Assuming you do not need to modify the parts for meshing you should be OK. If you need to I try to fix them on the SWx side first with partitions, repairing faces and such. If you are lucky when you change the leg length and rerun the script everything will work out. If not it is because the internal NURBS topology has changed and the numbering is different causing the errors. This typically happens when the number of faces changes on the part. I hope this helps.

Rob Stupplebeen

https://sites.google.com/site/robertkstupplebeen/

 

[SwimBikeRun4342]

Thanks for the helpful reply. I appreciate it.

So what I ended up doing was to import the part and create the model in CAE, in which I assign many different surfaces on the body. The corresponding python code for this basically shows that a .igs part is imported into ABAQUS and then defines surfaces, materials, etc in the way I did when creating the actual model. If I run this python code, it recreates my model, obviously.

However, my plan was to simply vary the dimensions of the leg on solidworks (since this is much harder to do on ABAQUS), save these changes over the imported file, and rerun the python script. In that way, the model would import the leg with the new dimension and rerun the same simulation (re-assign the surfaces, recreate the mesh, etc.) on the leg with edited geometry. I saw no reason why this wouldn't work. But when I change the dimensions on solidworks and re-run the python scripts, the simulation works but all the surface are assigned in the incorrect locations.

Is there any way I can change the dimensions of the imported file and keep the locations of the surface areas constant? I do not understand my the areas of application change. The dimension I am changing is varying the internal thickness (I am slowly hollowing out the part), so the assignments for the surface areas should not change at all

Any help would be greatly appreciated
THanks

 

[DanStro]

There is (or at least was) an addin that allows SW and Abaqus to talk to each other. I've never tried it so I don't know how close it will get you. You should contact you VAR to get the details.

Han primo incensus