Week 9-Creation of 1D Connectors Challenge

Aim - To create Connectors for the given component.

Theory -

• What are Connectors?

In Hypermesh Connectors are Used to join 2 or different components In an assembly. It defines the mechanics of how 2 or more components are joined together. Connectors help in simulating the defined joinery without actually realizing it in a CAD model. It creates a Simpler model without compromising on the results of the simulation.

Various types of connectors are -

1. Spot weld
2. seam weld
3. Adhesive
4. Bolt Connections

Depending on the model we can use all these options.

• How to identify If a connection is realized or not?

Realizing a connection is a very crucial part of doing connections in an FEA model. If a connector failed to realize then the simulation is going to fail. There are 3 stages of connectors

• Realized Connector - A successful connection is shown with a green color Indicator.

• Unrealized Connectors - Unrealized Connectors are shown with a yellow indicator

• Failed connectors - Failed connectors are shown with a red color indicator.

Quality criteria for meshing

Target Element size - 5 Units

S.N	Quality Criteria	Value
1	Aspect Ratio	5
2	Skewness	45
3	Warping	15
4	Taper	0.5
5	Min. Length	2 Units
6	Max. Length	8 Units
7	Min angle Quad	45
8	Max angle Quad	135
9	Min angle Tria	30
10	Max angle Tria	110
10	Tria %	15

Connector Positions -

1. Right_Rail_2 & Front_truss_1:- Seam-Quad(angled+capped+L)

2. Left_Rail_2 & Front_truss_1:- Quad elements

3. Front_truss_2, Front_truss_1 & Right_Rail_1:- Spot weld with 2 Layers and 5 mm Diameter

4. Front_truss_2, Front_truss_1 & Left_Rail_1:- Hexa (Adhesive)

5. Rear_truss_2 & Right_Rail_2:- Bolt Connector

6. Rear_truss_2 & Left_Rail_2:- Bolt Connector

7. Right_Rail_1 & Right_Rail_2:- Spot-weld with Rigid Elements

8. Left_Rail_1 & Left_Rail_2:- Spot-weld with Spring Elements

9. Rest all the components left Join them with suitable connectors

Model -

Procedure -

• Import the Geometry using the Import Option.
• Create a Mesh on the different components according to the given quality criteria.
• For different types of connections follow the given criteria.

A. Steps to be followed to create Seam - Quad (angled+Capped+L) Weld:

• Select 1D/2D → Connectors → Seam option.
• Now select the location, where the Weld has to be created, by clicking the “node list”.
• Tick the checkbox of the “retain nodes” option, to retain the position of the nodes, while creating and realizing a connector.
• Specify the “spacing” value and select the “comps” option under “connect what”, in order to create the weld between those two components.
• Specify the “tolerance” value, based on the distance between the two components.
• Select the type “seam-quad (angled+capped+L)”.
• Click on the “create” button, to create the seam weld

B. Steps to be followed to create Seam - Hexa Adhesive Weld:

• Select 1D/2D → Connectors → Seam option.
• Now select the location, where the Weld has to be created, by clicking the “node list”.
• Tick the checkbox of the “retain nodes” option, to retain the position of the nodes, while creating and realizing a connector.
• Specify the “spacing” value and select the “comps” option under “connect what”, in order to create the weld between those two components.
• Specify the “tolerance” value, based on the distance between the two components.
• Select the type “Hexa (adhesive)”.
• Click on the “create” button, to create the seam weld

Spot welding is a resistance welding process that is used primarily for welding two or more metal sheets together by applying pressure and heat to the weld area. Heat for the welding process will be obtained from resistance to electric current. Realized spot weld in HyperMesh will represent the connection between the components.

Steps to be followed to create Spot Weld:

• Select 1D/2D → Connectors → Spot option.
• Now select the location, where the Weld has to be created, by clicking the “node list”.
• Tick the checkbox of the “retain nodes” option, to retain the position of the nodes, while creating and realizing a connector.
• Specify the “spacing” value and select the “comps” option under “connect what”, in order to create the weld between those two components.
• Select the number of layers(Number of Components) to be welded, under the “num layers” option.
• Specify the “tolerance” value, based on the distance between the two components.
• Select the type “weld”.
• Click on the “create” button, to create the spot weld

Conclusion -

• Through this project, the knowledge for applying connectors is gained. and information about different types of connectors is acquired.