Creating Spatial Groups

You can select a point on your model and define the dimensions of a box or a sphere centered on that point. The box or sphere contains all of the mesh entities of the selected type (nodes, element edges, element faces, or elements) in the group.

This task shows you how to:

See Also
About Groups
Group Definition Methods

Create Groups Using Bounding Boxes

You can draw a bounding box and create a group containing the nodes, element edges, element faces, or elements that are inside the bounding box.

  1. Do either of the following:
    • To create a mesh group in the Groups container, select Group > Spatial Group from the action bar.
    • To create a mesh group under a mesh, right-click the mesh in the tree and select Create Group > Spatial Group.
    The Spatial Group dialog box appears.
  2. Optional: Enter a Name for the group.
  3. From the Mode list, select Box.
  4. Select the Type of mesh entity that will be in the group:
    • Select Node to create a group of nodes.
    • Select Edge to create a group of element edges.
    • Select Face to create a group of element faces.
    • Select Element to create a group of elements.
  5. Position and size the bounding box.
    1. Click the 3D shape at the first corner of the bounding box.
    2. Click at the opposite corner of the bounding box.
      The bounding box is displayed, and the Robot is positioned automatically at the selected location.

    3. Use the sliders or the Robot to resize and move the bounding box.
  6. To make the group eligible for use with simulation connections, do not select Include connection elements. This works for both groups in the Groups container and groups under a mesh.

    Note: Connections are defined in the Structural Model Creation app.

  7. Click one of the following:
    • OK to save your selections and to close the dialog box. To generate and visualize the group, you must update it.
    • Update to save your selections, close the dialog box, and update the group.
    • Cancel to cancel the modifications and to close the dialog box.
    If you click OK or Update, the group is created and appears in the tree.

Note: When you use mesh groups as supports, the symbol positioning is intended only to indicate support for the feature. The feature symbols might not cover the mesh region as they do for a similar geometry region.

Create Groups Using Bounding Spheres

You can draw a sphere and create a group containing the nodes, element edges, element faces, or elements that are inside the bounding sphere.

  1. Do either of the following:
    • To create a mesh group in the Groups container, select Group > Spatial Group from the action bar.
    • To create a mesh group under a mesh, right-click the mesh in the tree and select Create Group > Spatial Group.
    The Spatial Group dialog box appears.
  2. Optional: Enter a Name for the group.
  3. From the Mode list, select Sphere.
  4. Select the Type of mesh entity that will be in the group:
    • Select Node to create a group of nodes.
    • Select Edge to create a group of element edges.
    • Select Face to create a group of element faces.
    • Select Element to create a group of elements.
  5. Position and size the bounding sphere.
    1. Click the 3D shape at the center of the bounding sphere.
    2. Click at the edge of the bounding sphere.
      The bounding sphere is displayed, and the Robot is positioned automatically at the selected location.

    3. Use the sliders or the Robot to resize the bounding sphere.
  6. To make the group eligible for use with simulation connections, do not select Include connection elements. This works for both groups in the Groups container and groups under a mesh.

    Note: Connections are defined in the Structural Model Creation app.

  7. Click one of the following:
    • OK to save your selections and to close the dialog box. To generate and visualize the group, you must update it.
    • Update to save your selections, close the dialog box, and update the group.
    • Cancel to cancel the modifications and to close the dialog box.
    If you click OK or Update, the group is created and appears in the tree.

Note: When you use mesh groups as supports, the symbol positioning is intended only to indicate support for the feature. The feature symbols might not cover the mesh region as they do for a similar geometry region.