*genericimpactor

Creates and manages generic impactor design points for safety analysis, including marking, positioning, and export functionality.

Syntax

*genericimpactor mode=<int> ?option1=<value1>? ?option2=<value2>? … ?optionN=<valueN>?

Type

HyperMesh Tcl Modify Command

Description

Creates and manages generic impactor design points for safety analysis. This command supports multiple modes of operation including point creation (marking), positioning for impactor placement, and export of solver decks. The command can handle manual point placement, CSV import, and automated raster mesh generation. The following requirement must be met before executing the command:
  1. Target surface components must be available for point projection.
  2. For positioning mode: impactor components, impactor system, and design points must be created.
  3. For export mode: valid file paths must be specified and accessible.

Inputs

mode
The operation mode controlling which functionality to execute. It can be combined using bitwise operations:
  • 1: Create/Mark impact points
  • 2: Position impactor at design points
  • 4: Review positioning results/ duplicate impactor entity and place at design point
  • 8: Export solver decks
For example, if set to 6, both positioning (2) and review (4) will be executed. Valid modes are 1, 2, 6, 10, 14.
aimingpoint
The direction for impactor aiming when using angle-based positioning. Valid values are:
Contact - Aim along surface normal. (default)
Target - Aim along transformed impactor x-axis.
csvpath
The path to CSV file containing impact point data. Required when method is set to Import_from_file.
CSV format should include the following columns: PointX, PointY, PointZ, and optionally PivotX, PivotY, PivotZ, NormalX, NormalY, NormalZ, PositioningMethod, XAngle, YAngle, ZAngle, MoveBack, AimingPointMethod, Active, PointName, Comment.
designpointids
The list of design point IDs to be positioned or exported. Required for positioning and export modes.
dpnamesfordirandincludes
The export option to use design point names for directories and includes. Default is true.
exportcsv
The export options to export CSV summary file. Default is true.
exportpath
The directory for exported solver decks. Required for mode 8.
folderforeachdp
The export option to create separate folder for each design point. Default is true.
headformfilepath
The impactor model file path. Required for mode 8.
headformids
The list of component IDs representing impactor geometry. Required for positioning and export modes.
headformsystemid
The system ID defining impactor coordinate system. Required for positioning mode.
impactpoints
The list of coordinates in a flat list format (x1, y1, z1, x2, y2, z2, ..., xN, yN, zN) for manual point placement. Required when method is set to Manual.
mainfilepath
The main model file path. This will be duplicated and required includes/groups will be added to this. Required for mode 8.
method
The method for creating impact points when the mode includes marking (1). Valid values are:
Manual - Use manually specified coordinates from impactpoints. (default)
Import_from_file - Import points from CSV file specified in csvpath.
Raster - Generate regular grid pattern using raster parameters.
movebackdistance
The distance in model units to move the impactor back from the contact point. Default is 0.0.
nameprefix
The prefix string for generated entity names. Default is GenericImpact.
origin
The x, y, z coordinates of the origin point for raster mesh generation. Default is (0.0, 0.0, 0.0).
posmethod
The positioning method for impactor placement. Valid values are:
Normal_to_target - Position impactor normal to target surface. (default)
Target/Angles - Position using specified rotation angles.
Read_from_property - Use existing values from structural properties.
resetmarking
The reset option to clear existing entities before operation. Delete existing marking entities. Default is false.
resetpositioning
The reset option to clear existing entities before operation. Delete existing positioning entities. Default is false.
targetids
List of component IDs representing target surfaces for point projection, normal calculation, and collision detection. Mandatory except for when method is set to Import_from_file.
xangle, yangle, zangle
The rotation angles in degrees around x, y, and z axis respectively. Used when posmethod is set to Target/Angles. Default is 0.0.
xaxis, zaxis
The direction vectors defining the raster mesh coordinate system. Default is (1.0, 0.0, 0.0) for xaxis and (0.0, 0.0, 1.0) for zaxis.
xspacing, yspacing
The pacing between points in x and y directions for raster mesh. Default is 50.0.
xplanewidth, yplanewidth
The total width of the raster mesh in x and y directions. Default is 200.0.

Examples

To create impact points using the manual method:
*genericimpactor mode=1 method=Manual targetids={2000554 2000894} impactpoints={-1710.19 -743.2607 930.9553} posmethod=Target/Angles xangle=0.5 yangle=0.3 zangle=0.4 aimingpoint=Contact movebackdistance=5.9
To create impact points using the Ratser method:
*genericimpactor mode=1 method=Raster targetids={2000896 2000900 2000901} origin={-2124.25 -678.62 723.05} xaxis={0 0 1} zaxis={0 -1 0} posmethod=Normal_to_target movebackdistance=2.6 xspacing=20.0 yspacing=25.0 xplanewidth=151.0 yplanewidth=151.0

Errors

Incorrect usage results in a Tcl error. To detect errors, you can use the catch command:
if { [ catch {command_name...} ] } {
   # Handle error
}

Version History

2026