-
From the Connections section of the action bar,
click Tie
 .
- Optional:
Enter a descriptive
Name.
- Choose an engineering connection method and connection.
| Option | Description |
|---|
| Default | Automatically creates a free engineering connection or selects an existing engineering connection if only one exists. |
|---|
| Select existing | Select an existing engineering connection from a list. |
|---|
Note:
If you select an existing connection, your support selections are limited to the part instances used when the engineering connection was created.
- If necessary, change the supports.
The following supports are valid for tie connections: - Support 1: one or more faces or edges or mesh face or edge groups.
- Support 2: one or more faces or edges or mesh face or edge groups.
Supports cannot include faces that are defined as analytical rigid surfaces. You can use the context menu in the Connection Manager to reuse supports from an existing connection. However, supports can be reused only if they meet the requirements of the current connection type. - Optional: If the geometry supports include surface geometry, click
 to change the sides of the surfaces that will be tied in the connection. - Optional:
To load tie properties from a saved template file:
-
Click
 .
The Object Selection dialog box appears.
-
Select one of the following options:
- Search and select a template document from all the documents stored in the
database.
- Click Import a file to import a document stored on your
computer, and click the check mark in the object selection prompt after the
document has been imported.
The parameters are applied to the current tie definition.
- Optional:
Click
 to save the
parameters of the current tie to a reusable template document, and specify a name for the
document. For more information, see Template Files.
-
Select Tie rotational DOFs if applicable to tie the rotational
degrees of freedom in addition to the translational degrees of freedom.
-
Select Specify constraint ratio to specify the fractional
distance between the main reference surface and the secondary node at which the
translational constraint should act. By default, the simulation attempts to choose this distance such that the translational
constraint acts precisely at the interface.
This option is available only if Tie rotational DOFs is not
selected and the two surfaces to be tied have rotational degrees of freedom.
-
Select Adjust secondary surface initial position to move all
tied nodes on the secondary surface onto the main surface in the initial configuration,
without any strain.
-
Select Specify position tolerance to specify a cutoff distance
that is used to determine which nodes on the secondary surface are tied to the main
surface. Secondary nodes that do not satisfy the position tolerance are not tied to the
main surface.
-
Select Use shell thickness to consider shell thickness effects
in calculations involving position tolerances and adjustments for initial gaps.
- Optional:
Expand the Advanced section, and specify whether
Support 1 represents the main surface or the secondary surface.
- Optional:
Expand the Advanced section, and specify the
Discretization method:
| Option | Description |
|---|
| Analysis default |
Chooses the type of surface discretization used for the tie coefficients
automatically. |
| Node to surface |
Generates the tie coefficients according to the interpolation functions at the
point where the secondary node projects onto the main surface. |
| Surface to surface |
Generates the tie coefficients such to optimize the stress accuracy for the
specified surface type pairings. |
- Click OK.
|