EDEM Creator

EDEM Creator is the pre-processor for creating an EDEM simulation model, including setting up equipment and defining the generation of bulk materials.

Use EDEM Creator to:

Set up simulations quickly and logically using EDEM's intuitive and user-friendly interface
Import equipment Geometry from various CAD files (IGES, STL, STEP, and more)
Assign motion to equipment (linear, rotational, sinusoidal, force, torque driven motions, and so on)
Model particle shapes using Multi-Sphere, Polyhedral, and Sphero-Cylindrical particle shapes
Automatically create complex shapes using the Sphere Fitting tool
Easily create flexible materials and fibers using the Meta-Particle feature
Select an appropriate, highly validated Physics model from a wider range of options

EDEM Creator allows you to set up and initialize your model. It is where you import particles and Geometries and define the other model parameters.

The Creator Tree
The Viewer
The Toolbar and Menu Bar
The Data Browser
The Tree Filter

The Creator Tree

The Creator Tree is displayed on the left side of the EDEM window. It contains information about the Project, Bulk Material, Equipment Material, Geometries, Physics, and Environment.

The Viewer

The Viewer displays 3D representations of your particles, Geometry, and fields (if applicable). You can control the rotation, position, and zoom factor of the Viewer using a mouse. There are a number of animation controls displayed below the Viewer.

The Toolbar and Menu Bar


Icon	Name	Description
	Creator	Opens EDEM Creator
	Simulator	Opens EDEM Simulator
	Analyst	Opens EDEM Analyst
	New	Creates a new model
	Open	Opens an existing model
	Save	Saves an existing model
	Help	Displays the online Help
	Change Time Step Back	Moves to the first Time Step in the simulation
	Change Time Step Forward	Moves to the last Time Step in the simulation
	Start Coupling Server	Starts the Coupling Server
	Coupling Server Disabled	Disables the Coupling Server
	Server Awaiting Connection	Indicates that the Coupling Server has started but is not connected
	Server Connected	Indicates that the Coupling Server is connected
	Stop Server	Stops the Coupling Server
	Filled Display Mode	Displays Geometry as filled
	Mesh Display Mode	Displays Geometry as a mesh
	Points Display Mode	Displays Geometry as points
	Display Particles	Displays or hides all particles
	Display Cylindrical Periodic Boundary Conditions	Displays cylindrical periodic boundary conditions
	Add Bulk Material	Adds Bulk Material to the simulation
	Add Equipment Material	Adds Equipment material to the simulation
	Save Material Block	Saves a block of material for a material bed
	Transfer Material from Database Materials	Transfers materials to and from the Material Database
	Rename Material	Renames the selected material
	Copy Material	Copies the selected material
	Delete Material	Deletes the selected material
	Open GEMM Wizard	Opens the GEMM Wizard
	Add Particle	Adds a particle to the Bulk Material
	Import Particle	Imports a particle
	Export Particle	Exports a particle
	Rename Particle	Renames a particle
	Copy Particle	Copies a particle
	Delete Particle	Deletes a particle
	Add Sphere	Adds a sphere to the particle
	Copy Sphere	Copies a particle Sphere
	Delete Sphere	Deletes a particle Sphere
	Add a Geometry	Adds a Geometry
	Add a Box	Adds a box from the Geometry dropdown list
	Add a Cylinder	Adds a cylinder from the Geometry dropdown list
	Add a Polygon	Adds a polygon from the Geometry dropdown list
	Import a Geometry	Imports a Geometry from a 3D CAD file
	Rename a Geometry	Renames Geometry sections
	Copy a Geometry	Copies Geometry sections
	Delete a Geometry	Deletes Geometry sections
	Merge a Geometry	Merges Geometry sections
	Replace a Geometry	Replaces a Geometry section with an alternative Geometry
	Add a Motion	Click to add a motion from the dropdown list
	Add Linear Translation	Adds linear translation to a Geometry
	Add Linear Rotation	Adds linear rotation to a Geometry
	Add Sinusoidal Translation	Adds sinusoidal translation to a Geometry
	Add Sinusoidal Rotation	Adds sinusoidal rotation to a Geometry
	Add Conveyor Translation	Adds conveyor translation to a Geometry
	Add Conveyor Rotation	Adds conveyor rotation to a Geometry
	Rename a Motion	Renames a motion
	Copy a Motion	Copies a motion and applies to the current Geometry or an alternative Geometry
	Delete a Motion	Deletes a motion
	Move Motion Up	Reorders the motion
	Move Motion Down	Reorders the motion
	Add Force	Adds force to the Geometry
	Add Torque	Adds torque to the Geometry
	Add Factory	Adds a material factory to the simulation
	Import Factory	Imports a factory
	Rename Factory	Renames a factory
	Copy Factory	Copies a factory
	Delete Factory	Deletes a defined factory
	Change Factory	Changes from static to dynamic factory
	Add Material Block	Adds a material block to a Geometry
	Delete Material Block	Deletes a defined material block
	Show Scale Grid	Shows/hides grid while displaying particle shapes
	Show Origin	Shows origin and particles as a mesh when displaying particle shapes
	Highlight Surface/Meta-Particle	Highlights the selected surface of particle shape/selected Meta-Particle
	Add Meta-Particle	Adds a Meta-Particle
	Rename Meta-Particle	Renames a Meta-Particle
	Copy Meta-Particle	Copies a Meta-Particle
	Delete Meta-Particle	Deletes a Meta-Particle

Note: In addition to the icon system, a series of keyboard shortcuts in the Creator Tree help you perform the same tasks. You can use the Delete key for single and multiple selections.

Menu Bar


File Menu
Open	Opens an existing model
New	Creates a new model
Save	Saves the current model
Save As	Saves the current model with a specific name, or to a specific location
Geometry Transforms	Exports Geometry transforms
Import Config	Imports a config (`*.dfg`) file
Export Config	Exports a config (`*.dfg`) file
Creator	Starts EDEM Creator
Simulator	Starts EDEM Simulator
Analyst	Starts EDEM Analyst
Recent Files	Displays a list of recently opened files
Quit	Exits EDEM

Note: For more information about how to configure and set options, click Tools > Options..., and see Set Options.


View Menu
Show Particles	Select to turn the particle display in the Creator on or off.
Parent-Child Lines	Select to show how Geometries are connected using the Parent-Child hierarchy. Lines will be drawn between connected Geometries.
Geometry Origin Axes	Select to see the axes per Geometry element.
Themes	Select Legacy (default) or Dark Theme for the EDEM interface
Toggle Display Command Line Output	Can be used for debugging. In certain scenarios, this can be used to display specific error warnings.


Displays Menu
Show 1 Display	Shows the EDEM window in a single display.
Show 2 Displays	Shows the EDEM window in two viewer displays to review different view-points of the model within each window
Show 3 Displays	Shows the EDEM window in three viewer displays to review different view-points of the model within each window
Show 4 Displays	Shows the EDEM window in four viewer displays to review different view-points of the model within each window
Split Display Horizontally	Splits the displays horizontally so that simulations may be simultaneously reviewed qualitatively and quantitatively on the same display
Split Display Vertically	Splits the displays vertically so that simulations may be reviewed both qualitatively and quantitatively on the same display


Help Menu
Help	Displays information about the EDEM interface
About EDEM	Displays the current version of EDEM. The EDEM Version and Revision number are useful for EDEM Technical Support when discussing support cases.
About Altair Simulation Products	Displays the Copyright notices, Altair website, License Agreements, and Customer Support information.

The Data Browser

The Data Browser is an .html page that displays detailed information about your model. The information displayed is different in the Creator, Simulator, and Analyst. Right-click the Data Browser and select Save to save the information in an .html file.

The Data Browser comprises the following sections:


Section	Description
Description	Available in the Project section of the Creator Tree
General	Gravity Displays details of the gravity acting in your model as specified in the Creator Tree
	Materials Lists all the materials used in the model and their properties, as specified in the Materials Editor
	Energy Displays the total energy in the model at the current time, which is the sum total of the kinetic energy, potential energy, and the energy in any contacts taking place
Geometry	Domain Lists the dimensions of the domain as specified in the Creator Tree
	Sections Lists each section(model) and its properties
	Geometry Totals Aggregates the details of the number of elements that make up each section of the Geometry
Particles	Particles Lists each particle type used in the model and their properties. This contains either sphere data for Multi-Sphere, and Sphero-Cylinder data or mesh data for polyhedral particles.
	Factories Lists the details of each factory used in the model and their properties as specified in the Creator Tree. The total number of particles created by each factory is also listed.
	Particle Totals Lists the total number of particles in the model at the current time and for each particle type
Contacts	Interactions Lists the interaction types taking place in the model as specified in the Materials Editor
Contacts	Contact Totals Lists the total number of contacts in progress at the current time. The contacts are broken down into contact types. For example, the number of particle A - particle B contacts or number of particle B - surface A contacts. The total number of collisions that have taken place during the Time Step are also listed.

The Tree Filter allows you to filter items in the tree by entering a part of the item name. Within the tree, only items/child items that match the filter will be displayed. All other items are hidden from the view.


Filter Options
Case Sensitive	Select to make string-based comparisons case-sensitive. By default, this option is unselected.
Fixed String	Select to perform string-based matching.
Wildcard	Select to perform string-based matching with wildcard characters. '?' matches a single character. '*' matches one or more characters.