Connectors

New Features

Attachments
Attachments with RBE3 or RBE3 (stuck node) support weight factor calculation methods (inverse distance, normal distribution, constant value) with the normalization option applied are now available. In the Abaqus solver interface, these new options are available and applied on the constraint entities that are being created.
Point Connectors
The new Weld (Imprint) realization has been added. It is a new type of point connector, and it is supported in the LS-DYNA solver interface. This new realization creates constraints and has imprint capabilities.
Figure 1.


Connector types that realize RBE3s now support a new option to set the weight factors equal to a constant value based on your input.
Fastener Connectors
Solid type fasteners now support the following:
  • The new Pattern 6, which creates a bolt with double-sided head and washers. A preview schematic with all the dimensions is also available.
    Figure 2.


  • The Nastran solver interface. Contacts and pretension definitions are added to match Nastran’s requirements.
  • Automatic calculation of a bolt’s shaft length and diameter.
  • New options for refined mesh areas for evaluation near the bolt’s head and shaft length offset based on shell thickness.
Hole type fasteners now support body extensions. Two new options have been introduced to account for the length of the bolt’s head and nut or thread.
The Auto Fastener tool now supports the new "Only two layers" option. This option limits the links to two. The "Only two layers" option facilitates the automatic workflow as it eliminates the need for tolerance fine tuning in cases where only two links are desired.
Clip type fasteners now support new patterns. You can use these options to choose the type of clip you would like to realize the connector on, based on its configuration. Previews of the each pattern are also available.
Figure 3.


Figure 4.


Figure 5.


Line Connectors
Line connector types that realize contacts now support the creation of heat affected zones (HAZ). In particular, Contact, Hexa (Contact), and Beam (Contact) now offer a new HΑΖ option in the controls. For Hexa (Contact) and Beam (Contact), the HAZ option is only available when local contact is selected.
Area Connectors
The new "Auto-trim" option in area controls has been added. When it is enabled, all the areas that fail to find a projection are trimmed from the connector when realizing.
Rigidlnk (midnode): a new type has been introduced for the Radioss solver interface. This type will realize RBODY elements with their independent node located in the middle.
Miscellaneous
A locking capability has been introduced for connectors. With the locking capability, connectors can be realized and locked to prevent them from unrealizing. Already realized connectors can be locked and unlocked on demand. A locked connector is indicated in the Connector Browser with the icon.
The RBE3 tool now supports weight factor calculation methods. These include the inverse distance and normal distribution with normalization options. An option to set the weight factors as a constant value has also been introduced. These options are located in the tool’s guide bar options menu.
A new option to organize the RBE3s manually has been introduced for the RBE3 tool. Using this option, you can use the guide bar to choose the component or part (only for the Abaqus solver interface) and where the created RBE3s are going to be stored.

Enhancements

Attachments
The Auto Attachments and Auto Connect tools have been introduced as satellite options on the Connectors ribbon. These tools can be used to create attachments based on hole recognition and connect them automatically.
Figure 6.


Creating attachments without an assigned control is no longer bound to holes. Attachments can now be created on arbitrary locations. This improves performance and facilitates attachment creation.
Point Connectors
Spring (rigid) type fasteners have been enhanced so that the realized RBE3 elements attach to all nodes of second order elements instead of only corner nodes.
Fastener Connectors
The Colinearity option has been relocated from the Preferences options to the Hole type control. This way it can work locally on the connector level instead of globally.
Line Connectors
Seam Quad:
  • Previously, connectors with the "Use Extension" option enabled would create a poorly structured mesh. The process has been improved and the resulting mesh is well structured.
  • Snapping options have been added to the control. As a result, fine tuning the realization near free edges has been improved.
  • Automatic weld recognition has been enhanced to identify cases with mixed T and L welds.
  • The control has additional LTH and LTV options for weld size dependent realizations. In particular, the "t1/2+wh" and "wh" options have been introduced for LTH and the "wv" option has been introduced for LTV.
  • Realizations have been improved to be able to realize tabs and slots use cases. This additional logic also supports imprinting and HAZ creation.
    Figure 7.


    Figure 8.


Miscellaneous
The connector state icons have been redesigned to enable more intuitive workflows and improved accessibility.
Figure 9. Realized
Figure 10. Unrealized
Figure 11. Failed
Figure 12. Modified
The default XML format when saving a connector representation has been updated from XML2.0 to xMCF.
The "Consider only selected or displayed for absorb" connector preference option has been added. This option is enabled by default. When the option is enabled, only the elements manually selected and/or displayed will be considered for connector absorption. In the case of missing elements, either from the realization or the links, the absorption will fail. This option results in better performance, but requires a correct setup. When the option is disabled, the entire model will be scanned; thus, greater flexibility is achieved at the cost of performance.

Resolved Issues

  • The Seam Quad control has been fixed so it does not show any HAZ related options when the Connectivity option is set to imprint/no HAZ.
  • Seam Quad line connectors that were shaped as closed loops are now fixed and the realization issues have been addressed for this use case so that the realization is successful.
  • Shape type attachments have been fixed so their interface node ID respects the Include’s ID range when they are realized, if applicable.
  • The "Ensure Projection" option for point, line, and area connectors has been fixed to equivalence coincident nodes.
  • The "Update" option now applies only to realized connectors or realized connectors with post errors.
  • Hexa (Contact) area connectors in the Radioss solver interface have been fixed to use PENTA6DG elements. Property-element incompatibilities have been fixed.
  • An outdated connector XML text block is no longer written in the solver deck file during export.
  • Issues with exporting connector files using xMCF format have been fixed. Export now should work as expected for all solver interfaces.
  • During solver deck export, redundant warning messages are consolidated into one for cases when files contain connectors with incorrect pitch-to-length values.
  • Unsuccessful realizations of fasteners that link attachments resulted from applying scenarios are now resolved. Now, when using the apply all option from the Scenario Manager, attachments will be first in the queue followed by connectors.