Modeling example: creating and meshing a flat plate

The following procedure illustrates basic modeling functionality:

  1. Creating a new project and Creating a new study
  2. Click Create Line (Geometry tab > Create panel > Curves > Create Line) to open the Create Line dialog.
  3. Enter 0 0 0 in the FirstCoordinates (x,y,z) box and 0 100 0 in the SecondCoordinates (x,y,z) box, then click Apply.
  4. Repeat the previous step for the following coordinates: 100 100 0, 100 0 0, and 0 0 0.
  5. Click Close to close the Create Curves-Create Line dialog.
  6. Click Zoom All Zoom All, then click Orbit Orbit to rotate the model to a suitable viewing angle.
  7. Click Region by Boundary (Geometry tab > Create panel > Regions > Region By Boundary) to open the Region by Boundary dialog.
  8. Click on one of the sides of the plate. It will turn red to indicate that it is selected.
  9. Whilst holding down the Ctrl key, click on each of the remaining 3 sides of the plate going around the periphery in a consistent sequence.
  10. Click Apply to create the region and then click Close to close the Region by Boundary dialog. You will now assign a thickness to the plate.
  11. Click Select, Viewer toolbar Select, then click on the plate. The plate will turn red to indicate that it has been selected.
  12. Right-click in the Model pane and select Properties . If a message is displayed indicating that no properties have yet been assigned to the part, click Yes to assign a new property.
  13. If a Select Entity dialog appears, click on Region and then OK.
  14. In the Part Surface tab, specify a thickness of 2 mm, enter 2 mm part surface in the Name box and click OK. The Part Surface property will now be listed in the Change Property Type To dialog. Click OK to accept the changes and close the dialog.
  15. In the Study Tasks pane, double-click on the Create Mesh task and then click Mesh Now.

This completes the modeling task. You should now continue with other tasks in the Study Tasks pane to set up and run an analysis on the plate.