script to automatically feed data to ABAQUS model from a separate file for numerous simulations

[OverWorked453]

Hello everyone


So I know only basics about ABAQUS/CAE - enough to make things work, but never in an efficient manner.

Right now I have time-varying loads being applied to a robotic arm at various locations. There are three separate parts. In each Part, different time-varying loads are defined at about 30 locations. Also, the loads are defined by tabular amplitudes, about 5000 data points for each load.

The simulation works fine and runs fast but a huge problem in efficiency has emerged. As stated above, there are about 100 loads defined overall, each with a different amplitude and data set. This took about 90 minutes to copy/paste the data into ABAQUS (into the Amplitudes in ABAQUS). But more (much more) different trials will need to be done and more data will be given to me, and I will need to input the data into the simulation. Obviously there is probably a way to right a code to automate this process (and save hours/days of unneeded data entry).

Is there anyway I could right a Python code that imports this data from a .mat or .txt file and assigns it to the correct amplitude (so I do not have to repeat this process 500 times and risk human error in the process)? I'm guessing the answer is probably a 'yes'. If so, how do I go about doing this since I have no experience with Python (nor C++ nor FORTRAN)? Any advice or python commands to get me started?



Thanks!

 

[OverWorked453]

Any ideas? Basically, all I want to do is pull up my .odb script, find where the amplitudes are applied in the scripts (I already did this) and write some command that automatically imports this tabular data from a specific location on a matrix on a .mat or .txt file. This way, I can just run the script, which automatically imports the tabular amplitudes (instead of manually adding the amplitudes every time new data is given to me)?

I'd really appreciate any advice on how to import data into tabular amplitudes, rather than manually add it all the time. THanks!

 

[burningDiesel]

You can either look into Macro's, or start using the input file.
Everything you do in abaqus gets recorded in a .rpy file (in either your work or home directory). From this file (which is just a list of python commands) you can easily make a macro to automate repeatable tasks.

If you start using the input file, you can use any programming language you know to change the contents. For python use the os library:

http://docs.python.org/2/library/os.html