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Entities and Solver Interfaces
A solver interface is made up of a template and a FE-input reader.
Collectors and Collected Entities
Collectors are named organizational containers for collected entities. Collected entities are nameless entities which must reside within one, and only one, collector. Collected entities are mutually exclusive to a collector.
Vector Collectors and Vectors

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.
- Collectors and Collected Entities
  Collectors are named organizational containers for collected entities. Collected entities are nameless entities which must reside within one, and only one, collector. Collected entities are mutually exclusive to a collector.
  - Include Files and SolverSubmodels
  - Assemblies
    Assemblies collect and organize sub-assemblies and components into hierarchical data structures which are intended to reflect the data structure of the product being modeled.
  - Components and Geometric/FE Entities
  - Load Collectors, Loads and Equations
  - Part Assemblies and Parts
  - System Collectors and Systems
  - Vector Collectors and Vectors
  - Beamsection Collectors and Beamsection
  - Bags
    Bags collect and organize entities.
- Named Entities
  Entities which are given a name but are not collected or organized into containers.
- Morphing Entities
  Entities used for morphing the shape of FE model.
- Optimization Entities
  Entities used to set up optimization problems.
- Control Cards
  Control card entities create solver control cards such as results file I/O options, CPU and memory limits, and others.
- Undefined Entities
  Undefined entities are entities that will not be written to the solver deck.
- Solver Encryption Entities
  The encryption of solver entities is used to translate entity data into an undisclosed language.
- Element Property and Material Assignment Rules
  Element property and material assignment rules are based on the current user profile (solver interface).
- Supported Cards
  Supported cards organized by solver.
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.
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

Vector Collectors and Vectors

Vector Collectors

Vector collectors collect and organize vectors.

Nastran Cards

Vectors can be used to define orientation directions for some 1D elements and forces, or to define the SNORM card. For orientation vectors, it is not necessary to load any card image data onto the vector collector. For SNORM vectors, you must load the SNORM card image onto the vector collector. Once this is done, all vectors organized into that vector collector will write out as SNORM vectors to the Nastran bulk data file.


Card	Description
SNORM	Defines a surface normal vector at a grid point for CQUAD4, CQUADR, CTRIA3, and CTRIAR shell elements. Note: There is no card image associated with the collector. In order to view the actual SNORM cards, each vector must be individually card edited. Loading the SNORM card image onto the collector assigns the SNORM type onto all of the vectors contained in that collector.

PAM-CRASH Cards


Card	Description
ADAPT /
PICK /
SUBDF /	Substructure definition

Vectors

Vector entities allow for the definition of a vector in 3D space. Vectors can be created using the following methods: base & magnitude, two nodes, cross-product, line tangent, or surface normal.

LS-DYNA Cards


Card	Description
*DEFINE_SD_ORIENTATION	Define orientation vectors for discrete springs and dampers.
*DEFINE_VECTOR	Define a vector by defining the coordinates of two points.