About Importing Fasteners

There are two methods for importing fasteners into your finite element model. You can import the fasteners from a model itself if the fasteners have previously been defined in the Fastening app. You do not need a license for the Fastening app to import fasteners for use in a simulation. Alternately, you can import the fasteners that are defined in an xml file. appears if fasteners are detected in the product structure. You can import line fasteners, spot type fasteners, assembled spot fasteners, and rivet type flexible fasteners from the Fastening app. The import considers all fasteners detected in the model. You do not need a license for the Fastening app to import fasteners for use in a simulation.

For line fasteners, the XML file can specify the fastener widths and layers to be fastened. The fastener locations can be defined using an existing lines in the model, or with a series of coordinates.

For point fasteners, you can import fastener placement locations, which parts are connected, fastener diameter, and material assignment.

During the import operation, you can add properties that were not specified in the XML file or model definition, and you can overwrite properties to fit the purpose of a simulation. For example, you can set the construct (rigid, spring, etc.), coupling type (distributing or kinematic), or projection distance. You can also use the fastener property editor to open a template of predefined fastener properties.

When you edit the properties of a beam or solid hex construct fastener, you can select a material to apply. This material assignment does not override any assignment made in the XML file, however—the imported XML file takes precedence.

Fasteners imported from the Fastening app are independent of the original source. In other words, they are not updated for any subsequent model changes made in that app.

However, you can repeat the import process to update previously imported fasteners with new data, for example, to change their type from rigid to spring. If you reimport the same XML file, existing fasteners are identified by the ID attribute. As a result, only additions or changes to existing fasteners are imported. You can also reimport the same set of fasteners; Reimport requires that connections are created with the option One engineering connection per connected parts.

If there is no specified geometry publication for any connected part in the point fastener group, the Structural Model Creation app looks for mesh parts to select the feature support.