Home
Multibody Modeling
MotionView is a general pre-processor for Multibody Dynamics.
MotionView Overview
MotionView is a general pre-processor for Multibody Dynamics.
Create Deformable Surfaces from FEM
The Create Deformable Surface From FEM macro enables you to quickly create a matrix of explicit markers to be used in defining a deformable surface.

Welcome
What's New
View new features for Altair HyperWorks 2024.1.
Get Started
Learn the basics and discover the workspace.
Tutorials
Learn more about the Altair HyperWorks suite of products with interactive tutorials.
Startup Procedures and Customizations
Start and configure the applications.
Tool Finder
View a list of deprecated panels and their newer, equivalent workflows.
Manage Files and Data
Create, open, import, and save models.
Sessions and Report Templates
Set up sessions and create report templates.
Interface with External Products
Solver interfaces supported in HyperMesh.
Entities and Solver Interfaces
A solver interface is made up of a template and a FE-input reader.
Browsers
Browsers provide a structured view of model data, which you can use to review, modify, create, and manage the contents of a model. In addition to visualization, browsers offer features like search, filtering, and sorting, which enhance your ability to navigate and interact with the model data.
Sketching
Create and edit 2D parametric sketch geometry.
Topology
Create, edit, and cleanup geometry.
FE Geometry
FE geometry is topology on top of mesh, meaning CAD and mesh exist as a single entity. The purpose of FE geometry is to add vertices, edges, surfaces, and solids on FE models which have no CAD geometry.
Meshing and Elements
Explore the different types of mesh you can create in HyperMesh and create and edit 0D, 1D, 2D, and 3D elements.
Model Build and Assembly
Create, organize and manage parts and subsystems.
Composites
HyperMesh composites modeling.
Connectors
Create connections between parts of your model.
Morph
Rapidly change the shape of the FE mesh without severely sacrificing the mesh quality.
Skeleton Modeling
Create a reduced ordered model to facilitate optimization at the concept phase.
Design Space
Workflow to support topology optimization model build and setup.
Optimization
Setup an Optimization in HyperMesh.
Design Explorer
Multi-disciplinary design exploration and optimization tools.
Validate
Validate the model built before running solver analysis.
Analyze
Models require loads and boundary conditions in order to represent the various physics and/or physical equivalents to bench and in-use testing.
Axisymmetry
Reduce a full 3D model with axisymmetric surfaces while accounting for imperfections.
Concept Modeling
Tools and workflows that are dedicated to rapidly creating new parts for specific use cases, or amending existing parts. The current capabilities are focused on stiffening parts.
Crash and Safety
Tools used for crash and safety analysis.
Airbag
Use airbag folder utilities and export a resulting airbag in a Radioss deck.
Aerospace
Essential utility tools developed using HyperMesh-Tcl.
Aeroelasticity
Import an aeroelastic finite element model with Nastran Bulk Data format.
Certification
Framework to plug certification methods to assess margin of safety from the model and result information.
PhysicsAI
Use PhysicsAI to build fast predictive models from CAE data. PhysicsAI can be trained on data with any physics or remeshing and without design variables.
Results Data
Results data can be post-processed using both HyperMesh and HyperView.
Developer
The Developer ribbon contains tools for automation and customization.
Plot Data
HyperGraph is a data analysis and plotting tool with interfaces to many file formats.
Multibody Modeling
MotionView is a general pre-processor for Multibody Dynamics.
- MotionView Overview
  MotionView is a general pre-processor for Multibody Dynamics.
  - End User Workflow
    A multibody system study generally involves the following broad steps. The following sections give a brief introduction on using MotionView and the related products to conduct such a study:
  - Model File Management
    Open and save model files, import/export models, and import/export a solver deck.
  - Model Entities
    Learn more about MotionView model entities.
  - Container Entities
    MotionView supports and encourages a modular model building approach. Different entities can be aggregated into containers, thereby arranging a model into a collection of different assemblies or sub-systems.
  - Collectors
    A collector is a yellow button on a panel that enables you to select an entity type either graphically or from the topics/motionview/collectors_select_entity_dialog_r.html.
  - Data Entry
    Explore data entry in MotionView.
  - Use the Expression Builder
    The expression builder allows you to enter expressions in text boxes without extensive typing and memorization. It can be used to construct mathematical expressions that are a function of the model parameters.
  - SolverMode
    MotionView contains an implicit variable called SolverMode. In MDL, SolverMode can be used in an "if" context to define topology (include Templex templates). MotionView retains the "if" result for both cases so that when you toggle the solver type, the associated text becomes active within the user interface.
  - Select an "Entity" Dialog
    The Select an "Entity" dialog allows you to change the entity in a collector.
  - MotionView in Batch Mode
    Batch mode allows you to generate a solver input model file from an MDL model file and run the solver job without starting the MotionView user interface.
  - Export Data
    The Export Data dialog allows you to export your data to an Excel or text file.
  - Data Summary
    The Data Summary dialog displays model data in a table that can be edited.
  - Methods of Orientation
    Coordinate systems in MotionView can be oriented using a variety of methods.
  - Implicit Graphics
    Implicit graphics can be displayed for all applicable entities, allowing you to visualize their location and orientation.
  - Check Model
    Check Model searches for unresolved references and invalid data in the model. If errors in the model are detected, it is reported in the message window that is displayed when the check is completed.
  - Create Deformable Surfaces from FEM
    The Create Deformable Surface From FEM macro enables you to quickly create a matrix of explicit markers to be used in defining a deformable surface.
  - MotionView Panels/Tools
    Explore the various panels and tools in MotionView.
  - Command Sets
    The Command Sets panel allows you to edit command sets for the solver-command file. The command sets for a model are order dependent, since they define the contents of the solver command file.
  - Forms
    Use the Forms tool to edit general data entry forms.
- Model Browser
  The Model Browser allows you to view the MotionView model structure while providing display and editing control of entities.
- MotionView Ribbons
  The MotionView ribbons allows you to quickly access tools and standard functions, and is located along the top of MotionView.
- MotionView CAD Interfacing
  MotionView supports the importing of several types of CAD and FE formats.
- Flexible Bodies
  MotionView has many pre-processing and post-processing capabilities with regards to flexible bodies, or flexbodies, for multibody dynamics models.
- Functional Mockup Unit (FMU)
  Add an FMU to the model or export a model as an FMU.
- Vehicle Modeling
  Explore the various vehicle modeling tools.
- Tcl/Tk Reference Guide
  Reference material for the scripting interface which is a set of Tcl/Tk commands.
- MDL Reference Guide
  Reference materials for the MotionView MDL Language, Tire Modeling, and the MDL Library.
- MotionSolve Reference Guide
  Reference material detailing command statements, model statements, functions and the Subroutine Interface available in MotionSolve.
- Templex and Math Reference Guide
  Reference material for Templex (a general purpose text and numeric processor) and additional mathematical functions and operators.
- MotionView Python Reference Guide
  Reference materials for the MotionView Python Language.
Media Files
MediaView plays video files, displays static images, tracks objects, and measures distances.
Tabulate Results
Use TableView to create an Excel-like spreadsheet.
Text Files
TextView math scripts reference vector data from HyperGraph windows to automate data processing and data summary.
Publishing and Reporting
Create, define, and export reports.

View All Altair HyperWorks Help

Create Deformable Surfaces from FEM

The Create Deformable Surface From FEM macro enables you to quickly create a matrix of explicit markers to be used in defining a deformable surface.

From the Macros menu, click the Create Deformable Surface From FEM option.
The Deformable Surface from FEM panel is displayed.
Select a body.
- Click the Body collector to activate it and select a body in the modeling window.
- Double-click the Body collector and make your selection in the Model Tree.
Click the System collector to identify the system or container into which the deformable surface will be created.
Select an end type from the drop down menu.
Click the file icon to browse and select the FEM file to be used.
The macro will create a marker at each node location.

Important: This macro requires that the FEM model file have a constant number of nodes in each row.

Note: If the FEM contains a closed surface in any direction, the deformable surface that is created would also be a closed surface.
Enter a value for the maximum number of marker rows and columns.
Click Generate Surface.