About Layers

Before creating a mesh, you must define layer properties and stackings to assign them to concept surfaces. The meshing procedure interprets the layer values and generates the right FE shell elements at the position of the concept surfaces.

See Also
About Properties
Creating and Assigning Layers

A layer feature has the following attributes:

  • Name: Unique name identifier for the Layer.
  • Color: concept surfaces are displayed with the user-defined layer color.
  • Thickness: thickness of the shell elements generated from the assigned faces.
  • Material: Material with PLM material reference applied to the layer.

You can manage the attributes in the Layers Menu.

Name
A unique name is proposed. You can change the name identifier that is verified for its uniqueness. The Concept Structure Engineering app must synchronize the change if this layer is assigned to concept surfaces or is used in a stacking to define a multi-flange layer.
Color
The Concept Structure Engineering app proposes a layer color, which you can modify.
Thickness
The Concept Structure Engineering app proposes a valid default thickness value you can edit. Concept Structure Engineering verifies the validity of the value and prevents invalid values.
Material
The Concept Structure Engineering app proposes a valid default material. You can choose another material from the list of accessible materials in the Concept Materials Menu.
Note: In an empty 3D Shape, the Properties (Properties and Result) element is added to the tree when clicking Layers in the action bar.

For a new layer, the following default values are used:

  • Name: Layer.<number>. The next valid number to get a unique name for the current concept model is used.
  • Thickness: 1mm.
  • Color: a new color not already used by other layers.
  • Material: a default material is used.