Create the Part

Defining the part geometry is generally the first step in the development of a finite element model.

Here, the plate geometry is sketched and extruded to generate a solid part.

1. Open Abaqus/CAE. Some of the screenshots presented in this tutorial were taken from older versions of Abaqus. Consequently, results may differ slightly for other versions of CAE.
2. With Abaqus/CAE open, select the File > New Model Database > With Standard/Explicit Model.
3. In the Model Tree, double-click the Parts container or click Parts > Create from the main toolbar.
4. In the Create Part dialog box that appears, name the part Composite_Plate and accept the default selections of 3D, Deformable, Solid, Extrusion. Adjust the Approximate Size to 1.
5. Using the Create Lines: Rectangle tool , create a rectangle with the starting corner at coordinates 0, 0 and the opposite corner at coordinates 0.254, 0.381.
6. Using the Create Circle: Center and Perimeter tool , create a circle with the center point at coordinates 0.127, 0.1905 and the perimeter point at coordinates 0.127, 0.2286. The section sketch is now complete and is shown below with dimensions.
7. Click the button followed by the button to finish the sketch.
8. In the Edit Base Extrusion dialog box that appears, enter a value of 0.001016 m in the depth field since there are 8 plies with thickness 0.000127 m. Click OK.