Week 3

Objective:

For the given component, check for the geometrical errors and mesh with the given element Quality criteria. After meshing the component, the thickness must be assigned.

Procedure:

The HOOD model consisted of a total of 5 components:

• Outer Body
• Inner Body
• Latch
• Left hinge
• Right hinge

Before starting the process, a few settings were set. Firstly, it was quality criteria. The criteria were set as per the values given in the question. Secondly, the mesh parameters were set. Target size was 5mm.

Started the process with Hinges first:

• Right Hinge
• The topology of the component was check for abnormalities. It was found to be fine.
• The thickness of the component was measured. It was 1.2mm.
• Under TOPO tab, faces-->Surface-->Skin was chosen.
• Offset distance was exactly half of thickness = 0.6mm
• After extracting mid-surface, geometry clean-up was performed.
• A few unnecessary cuts were removed, and some were added to enhance mesh-flow.
• In MESH tab, Perimeters-->Length was chosen to place hotpoints every 5mm.
• Under MESH tab, Mesh Gen-->Best was chosen to generate mesh gradually in all faces of the midsurface.
• Shell mesh-->Improve option was used to get better mesh flow.
• Shell mesh-->Smooth option was used to space out the elements evenly.
• All elements were checked for quality criteria conformance.
• Lastly, thickness was assigned to the midsurface.

• Left Hinge
• The topology of the component was check for abnormalities. It was found to be fine.
• The thickness of the component was measured. It was 1.2mm.
• Under TOPO tab, faces-->Surface-->Skin was chosen.
• Offset distance was exactly half of thickness = 0.6mm
• After extracting mid-surface, geometry clean-up was performed.
• A few unnecessary cuts were removed, and some were added to enhance mesh-flow.
• In MESH tab, Perimeters-->Length was chosen to place hotpoints every 5mm.
• Under MESH tab, Mesh Gen-->Best was chosen to generate mesh gradually in all faces of the midsurface.
• Shell mesh-->Improve option was used to get better mesh flow.
• Shell mesh-->Smooth option was used to space out the elements evenly.
• All elements were checked for quality criteria conformance.
• Lastly, thickness was assigned to the midsurface.

• Latch
• The topology of the component was check for abnormalities. It was found to be fine.
• The thickness of the component was measured. It was 1.2mm
• Under TOPO tab, faces-->Surface-->Skin was chosen.
• Offset distance was exactly half of thickness = 0.6mm
• After extracting mid-surface, geometry clean-up was performed.
• A few unnecessary cuts were removed, and some were added to enhance mesh-flow.
• In MESH tab, Perimeters-->Length was chosen to place hotpoints every 5mm.
• Under MESH tab, Mesh Gen-->Best was chosen to generate mesh gradually in all faces of the midsurface.
• Shell mesh-->Improve option was used to get better mesh flow.
• Shell mesh-->Smooth option was used to space out the elements evenly.
• All elements were checked for quality criteria conformance.
• Lastly, thickness was assigned to the midsurface.

• Outer Body:
• The topology of the component was check for abnormalities. It was found to be fine.
• The thickness of the component was measured. It was 0.75mm
• Under TOPO tab, faces-->Surface-->Skin was chosen.
• Offset distance was exactly half of thickness = 0.375mm
• Since it was a symmetric component, it was decided to mesh one side and reflect it onto the other.
• Therefore, one half of the mid-surface was deleted.
• With the other half, geometry clean-up was performed.
• A few unnecessary cuts were removed, and some were added to enhance mesh-flow.
• In MESH tab, Perimeters-->Length was chosen to place hotpoints every 5mm.
• Under MESH tab, Mesh Gen-->Best was chosen to generate mesh gradually in all faces of the midsurface.
• Shell mesh-->Improve option was used to get better mesh flow.
• Shell mesh-->Smooth option was used to space out the elements evenly.
• All elements were checked for quality criteria conformance.
• Once the mesh was ready, it was reflected to the other side using Transform-->Copy Entities-->Symmetry tab. Use Mirror 3 points plane.
• After mirror, the center was equivalenced using TOPO command.
• Lastly, thickness was assigned to the midsurface.

• Inner Body:
• The topology of the component was check for abnormalities. It was found to be fine.
• The thickness of the component was measured. It was 0.75mm
• Under TOPO tab, faces-->Surface-->Skin was chosen.
• Offset distance was exactly half of thickness = 0.375mm
• Since it was a symmetric component, it was decided to mesh one side and reflect it onto the other.
• Therefore, one half of the mid-surface was deleted.
• With the other half, geometry clean-up was performed.
• A few unnecessary cuts were removed, and some were added to enhance mesh-flow.
• In MESH tab, Perimeters-->Length was chosen to place hotpoints every 5mm.
• Under MESH tab, Mesh Gen-->Best was chosen to generate mesh gradually in all faces of the midsurface.
• Shell mesh-->Improve option was used to get better mesh flow.
• Shell mesh-->Smooth option was used to space out the elements evenly.
• All elements were checked for quality criteria conformance.
• Once the mesh was ready, it was reflected to the other side using Transform-->Copy Entities-->Symmetry tab. Use Mirror 3 points plane.
• After mirror, the center was equivalenced using TOPO command.
• Lastly, thickness was assigned to the midsurface.

Learning Outcome:

This challenge has helped me understand how to perform basic operations in ANSA. It has helped me become familiar with the layout, options and commands available. I can now perform basic 2D meshing for a component using manual midsurfacing.

Conclusion:

The given HOOD component was meshed as per the specified quality criteria and thickness was assigned.