Reuse Part Connection

Allows you to quickly apply existing connection definitions from a part to all its instances

The Reuse Part Connection tool can save you a significant amount of time, especially when working with models that contain many identical components.

For this tool to work, both the selected part from which you are reusing the connection, and the adjacent connected part must be instances of their respective components. The connections from the selected part will be automatically applied to all its instances in the model by following the below steps. This even works with custom contact conditions you have defined in the subcase level.

  1. Open the Reuse Part Connections tool in one of the following ways:
    • In the Project Tree, right-click on the part that contains the connections to reuse, and select Reuse Part Connection.
    • In the modeling window, right-click on the part that contains the connections to reuse, and select Reuse Part Connection.
    The selected part and its connections will be displayed in a dialog box.
  2. In the dialog, select the Reuse for part instances option.
    The connections for all eligible instances of the part will be created and populated in the dialog, along with their part names.
    Note: If the instances have different relative positions (for example, orientation or alignment), a warning message will appear.
    • Selecting Yes will prompt SimSolid to find connections for all instances using the regular connection method, with the gap/penetration values from the reference part.
    • Selecting No will ignore the operation for the mismatched instances, creating connections only for those that have the same relative position as the original part.
  3. Optional: If you have applied any custom contact conditions, they can be reused for all eligible subcases within a design study by repeating steps 1 and 2.
  4. Click OK.

Important Considerations and Behavior

The reuse functionality has specific rules to ensure accuracy:
  • Instance-Based Mapping: Connections can only be reused for parts that are exact instances of the selected part.
  • Orientation and Alignment: The connections will not be mapped if the instances are oriented at a different angle or are aligned differently from the original part.
By understanding these behaviors, you can efficiently use the Reuse Part Connection feature to streamline your model setup.