Displaying Simulation Content

You can browse simulation content to display results. 3DPlay supports display of content from simulation objects created in any of the Physics Simulation apps.

Specifically, you can do the following:

  • Explore the simulation content
  • Animate the simulation content (if possible)
  • Define the visibility or transparency of simulation objects
  • Display the geometry of simulation objects in a design mode.

There are limitations to the display of smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) content in 3DPlay. Select the SPH surface option when rendering results.

3DPlay does not display hidden geometry when you examine simulation content. Hidden geometry is the components that were hidden from view using the Hide/Show tool when the simulation was created. Hiding components like construction elements or surface bodies that are not critical to the meaning of the results can help you present cleaner simulation results in the interface.

  1. To play a simulation, drag the simulation object from another app in your dashboard, such as 3DSpace or 3DSearch.
  2. To explore the simulation content:
    1. From the action bar, select Choose Content .
      The simulation content appears. A Play control superimposed on the icon indicates that this content can be animated.
    2. If your simulation includes multiple sequences, click one of the boxes that appear above the thumbnails to select an analysis case.
      3DPlay updates the set of available simulation content.
    3. Click a simulation content thumbnail.
      The selected content appears in the work area.
  3. If the simulation content can be animated, click Play .
    1. Click Options to change the animation speed.
    2. Click a specific Speed control factor to increase or decrease the rate of frames in the animation.
      You can select a fractional speed factor of 1/8, 1/4, or 1/2 normal speed, as well as an integer multiplier of 1, 2, 4, or 8 times normal speed.

    By default, the animation plays in a continuous back and forth loop. You can change the loop mode to play forward and repeat or to play once and stop.

  4. Show or hide a portion of the simulation content in the work area by selecting Hide/Show and select the geometry, as prompted.

    A toolbar appears on the right side of the work area with the following actions:

    • Switch All: Switch visibility for all items.
    • Keep Only: Keep only next selection visible.
    • Streamlines: Select streamlines to view or hide.
      Note: This option is present only when streamlines are saved in experience content. Streamlines can be plot-specific or shared. Plot-specific streamlines receive their contours from the specific plot that is active at the time of streamline creation. Shared streamlines are not tied to any plot, are usually color coded, and can be displayed on top of both results and non-results plots.
    • Display All: Show all geometry again (reset).

  5. Show the entire model by selecting Display All from the context toolbar.
  6. Show or hide the legend for a field output plot by clicking Show/Hide Legend in the action bar. The legend is shown by default.

    The legend displays the current output variable, the range of values and contour spectrum, and the deformation scale factor. The current step is also displayed along with the current time or frequency. If an animation is running, this part of the interface is for information only; if no animation is running, you can use this component of the legend to switch the display to a different step and time stamp.

    Note: When the global range is zero (global maximum = global minimum), the user-defined minimum and maximum are not displayed in the legend.

  7. Show or hide the extrema (minimum and maximum) in a plot by clicking Show/Hide Min/Max from the action bar. The extrema are hidden by default.
    1. Click the minimum or maximum marker to display the extrema values of the plot.
    2. Click Reframe on the marker label to reorient the model normal to the minimum or maximum. Click Restore to go back to the previous view.

    The minimum and maximum settings, such as the number of values and tolerance settings, are based on the content in the app that generates these values, so you cannot customize them in 3DPlay.

    Note: When using Show/Hide Min/Max, consider the following behaviors:
    • Show/Hide Min/Max does not display extrema markers during animation.
    • Show/Hide Min/Max does not display extrema markers if the current frame is interpolated. Show/Hide Min/Max is available only for computed frames.
    • Show/Hide Min/Max displays only one global minimum and one global maximum.
    • The minimum and maximum marker visibility is affected by Hide/Show . If the part of the simulation that contains the global minimum or global maximum is hidden, a new minimum or maximum for the visible parts of the simulation is displayed.
      Note: If the global minimum or global maximum occurs over many parts, hiding one part does not result in the use of the dotted icon as the value for the exposed global maximum or global minimum. It is the same as the value for the hidden portion.
    • The minimum and maximum marker visibility is unaffected by Switch Material .

  8. To apply transparency to the object in the work area:
    1. Select the object (or a part of this object) in the work area.
    2. From the action bar, select Switch Transparency .

      A toolbar appears on the right side of the work area with the following actions:

      • Switch All: Switch transparency for all items.
      • Keep Only: Select one or more parts. The selected parts are rendered solid and all others are made transparent. Click Keep Only a second time to disable the command.
      • Restore: Show all geometry as solid again.

    Note: These actions are described in tips that pop up when you click "Select geometry to switch its transparency" in the top bar. Click the tips to dismiss them.
  9. Optional: If you display material content or any results plot other than Plastic Strain, you can switch the material rendering style from a color-coded display suitable for distinguishing between components to one that provides a more realistic view:
    1. Select the object (or a part of this object) in the work area.
    2. From the action bar, select Switch Material .

      A toolbar appears on the right side of the work area with the following actions:

      • Switch All: Switch materials view for all items.
      • Keep Only: Select one or more parts. The selected parts are rendered realistically and all others are color coded. Click Keep Only a second time to disable the command.
      • Restore: Show all materials in color-coded display.

    Note: These actions are described in tips that pop up when you click "Select geometry to switch its material" in the top bar. Click the tips to dismiss them.
  10. Optional: To display information about the selected objects in different tabs of a side panel, select Side Panel.
    The side panel displays details about the content type (mesh, mesh quality, material, scenario, or results) in your simulation and provides a place for comments and feedback between users.
  11. Optional: To save or print a screenshot of your simulation, see Sharing Content.
  12. Optional: To share a 2D screenshot or 3D media with a 3DSwym community or a conversation for collaboration, see Sharing Content.