Generate Mesh dialog

This panel is used to define and create a finite-element mesh.

To access this panel, click (Mesh tab > Mesh panel > Generate Mesh).

Note: The type of mesh created (Midplane, Dual Domain or 3D) is determined by the mesh type selected at the Mesh node in the Study Tasks pane, or from the Mesh panel. Beam element mesh size is defined on the Curves tab of this dialog and is independent of the global edge length applied to the model.

Tools tab

Dialog element	Explanation
Remesh already meshed parts of the model	If this option is selected and you click Mesh Now, all visible sections of the model will be remeshed. If this option is deselected and you click Mesh Now, only those sections of the model that are visible and have not been meshed already, will be meshed. Note: Remeshing a runner section or cooling channel at a different edge length is done via the Curves tab.
Place mesh in active layer	Places the mesh layer in an active Layer pane after creation.
Mesh Now	Initiates the mesh generation task immediately, either in the Cloud or on the local machine, depending upon your selection.
Preview	Shows the effects of the settings on the meshing process. Edge nodes that will be generated using the set values are shown. This allows the mesh density to be reviewed before you proceed with generating the mesh.
Save Default Values	Saves all items marked with an asterisk as default. To alter the default values used, enter the required values and click Save Default Values Tip: This option is at the bottom of the panel and might be obscured by the Layer panel.
Use Default Values	Restore the Default values. Tip: This option is at the bottom of the panel and might be obscured by the Layer panel.

General tab

Determines what size elements will be created when the part is meshed, that is, the global mesh density.

Note: You can experiment with different values and click Preview to see the results.

Dialog element	Explanation
Global edge length on surface	Enter a value to set the target mesh element length that will be used when generating the mesh. Note: Your edge length setting may be ignored in certain areas of your mesh if the setting is not appropriate. For example, if you specify a long edge length, your target edge length will be used in straight areas of the mesh, but a shorter edge length may be used in curved areas.
Match mesh	Allows you to align the mesh elements on the two corresponding surfaces of a Dual Domain mesh.
Stop after surface mesh generation	When meshing a model in 3D, this option allows the surface mesh to be investigated before proceeding with the meshing of the volume of the part. Critical areas of the part can be reviewed to ensure an appropriate mesh density.
Calculate thickness for Dual Domain meshes (Dual Domain and 3D meshes only)	When meshing a model with the Dual Domain technology, this option allows for the thickness of the mesh to also be calculated.
Apply extra refinement near gates (Dual Domain and 3D meshes only)	A finer mesh surrounding the gate will better capture the heat transfer, high shear rates and other critical properties that can rapidly change in this region. This option will refine the mesh around the gate and also any beam elements that are connected to the part. This is on by default.
Source geometry type (Midplane mesh only)	Specifies the type of geometry that is to be meshed. Note: This option is only available if your part contains NURBS surfaces. In the Study Tasks pane, after specifying a Midplane mesh, there are two possible tasks that the mesher can perform: Mesh/remesh the Midplane geometry Collapse the Dual Domain geometry to a Midplane mesh. In most cases the mesher will know which of these two alternatives apply based on the attributes of the entities, and whether there are free edges in the geometry/mesh. Where ambiguity exists, this option allows you to specify the type of geometry that is to be meshed. The following settings are available: Auto-Detect This is the default setting. The mesher will automatically determine whether the existing geometry is Midplane or Dual Domain based on the attributes of the entities, and whether there are free edges in the geometry/mesh. Dual Domain Select this option to force the mesher to collapse the existing Dual Domain model geometry, that is, to midplane the model, before creating the Midplane elements. Midplane Select this option to instruct the mesher to create Midplane elements directly on the model geometry.

Curves tab

Curves are used to model the pathway of the feed system or cooling channels. Connected straight beam elements then follow this pathway. Factors such as the diameter, type of pathway (feed or channel) and bends within the path can affect the edge length prescribed to a beam element.

Dialog element	Explanation
Use global edge length	Allows you to use the global edge length defined in the General tab for the beams on your curves as well. Alternatively, define a length to diameter ratio.
Ratio of Edge length to diameter for Feed system	A default value of 0.75 for the ratio of edge length to feed system diameter is used for beams with the assigned property of Runner. The larger this ratio, the longer the feed system elements will be. To prevent unrealistic values being used, the ratio used must be between 0.1 and 4.0. Note: As the feed system is usually more critical to an analysis than the cooling system, the default edge length for a Runner beam is shorter than a Cooling circuit.
Ratio of Edge length to diameter for Circuits	The ratio of edge length to cooling circuit diameter is used for beams with a property of Circuits. Values for this ratio must fall between 0.5 and 8.0 with the default value of 2.5 Note: As the cooling circuit is usually less critical to an analysis than the feed system, the default edge length for a Circuit element is longer than a feed system beam element.
Ratio of maximum chord height to chord length	Straight beams are used to emulate a curve that turns, for example, through 90 degrees. Applying an edge length that is suitable for the straight sections of a feed system, could result in an inaccurate representation of the curve. To ensure an appropriate edge length is applied, the cord height (distance 3 to 4 in the following diagram) is divided by the chord length (distance 1 to 2). The default value for this ratio is 0.05 with an available range of 0.02 to 0.3. Shortening the edge length will reduce the chord height and so reduce this ratio. The edge length for the beams in that section of the curve is calculated so that the resulting ratio falls into the allowable range.
Minimum number of elements on each curve for gates	Material entering the cavity is a critical phase of the injection molding simulation. It is recommended that the sections of the curve that represents the gates should be modeled with at least 3 beam elements. This is the default value for this parameter which can be adjusted in integer steps between 1 and 5.
Minimum number of elements on each curve for baffles and bubblers	This value corresponds to the minimum number of beams elements that need to be created on the sections of the curve that represents the baffles and bubblers. 3 beam elements is the default and minimum value, and can be adjusted in integer steps between 3 and 50.

CAD tab

Allows you to set mesh parameters for CAD entities.

Dialog element	Explanation
Use auto sizing	Check this option to automatically set the edge length and chord angle based on the dimensions and curvature. Note: The global edge length defined in the General Tab do not apply when this option is checked.
Scale factor	Allows you to adjust the size of the mesh elements generated with the Use auto sizing by applying a scale factor.
Use global parameters	Check this option to use the global edge length defined in the General Tab.
Chord Angle	When selected, you can control the mesh density of curved features of the model by defining a chord angle.
Percentage of minimum curvature size vs. global size	Use this control to define the default minimum chord length in relation to the specified global edge length. The default is 20% of the global edge length. Note: As you decrease the Percentage of minimum curvature size relative to the global size, you increase the number of mesh elements.
Contact interfaces	There are three options that can be used for meshing assembly contact faces. Precise match When the CAD model assembly has no geometric errors in the contact areas between components, there will be a precise duplication of nodes and elements that are on the contact surfaces. Fault tolerant With the Fault tolerant option, small variations in the CAD model are compensated for, and the mesh is aligned where possible. Ignore contact The assembly components are meshed without considering surface contact. If there is significant mismatch between the contact area meshes, the contact area nodes may need to be manually aligned.

NURBS tab

Allows you to match a Dual Domain mesh or smooth a Midplane mesh to assist post-processing after analyzing the model.

Note: Click the Post processing check box, and then select either Match mesh or Smooth mesh.

Dialog element	Explanation
NURBS surface mesher	Specifies which meshing technique should be used to generate the mesh on imported Non-uniform Rational B-Splines (NURBS) surfaces. The following options are available: Advancing Front This method requires more computational time than the regular meshing method, but generally gives better meshing results for curved surfaces, in particular when used in conjunction with the chord height control option. Legacy This method is faster than Advancing Front, but is not recommended for models with fillets and other highly curved surfaces.
Enable chord height control	Increases the chance of creating a mesh that closely corresponds to curved surfaces. Without chord height control, some surface curves, such as fillets, degrade when meshed. Chord height control is effective only with parts that have curved surfaces. Tip: Keep the value of the chord height somewhere in the range of 5-25% of the global edge length. If the value is below approximately 5%, the resulting mesh tends to contain several long and/or thin triangles. If the value exceeds 25%, the chord height control has little effect. By default the Chord height is a value between 5 and 10% of the global edge length internally. If matching your (Dual Domain) mesh is a higher priority than getting a good curved mesh, use the edge length control instead of the chord height control. A small edge length gives you a mesh that matches well and closely corresponds to curved surfaces.
Optimize aspect ratio by surface curvature control	Adjusts the size of the mesh to the local curvature on NURBS surfaces automatically.
Optimize aspect ratio by proximity control	Detects proximities between boundary curves automatically, and ensures adequate mesh refinement at locations where boundaries are close to one another.
Smooth mesh (NURBS surfaces only)	Allows you to smooth the edges of a Midplane mesh.
Merge tolerance	Sets the minimum distance between nodes that will be targeted when generating the mesh. If adjacent nodes are closer together than this distance, these nodes will be merged together during mesh creation.

Tetra tab

Sets the minimum number of elements that Autodesk Moldflow Insight uses to generate the 3D mesh.

Dialog element	Explanation
3D Mesher	Specifies which meshing technique should be used to generate the tetrahedral mesh. The following options are available: Advancing Layer This meshing method provides a better quality and analysis accuracy than Advancing Front and Legacy. It does not rely on surface matching and offers a better refinement through thickness and near brims. Advancing Front This meshing method benefits from a better control over the size of the elements than the legacy method. It generates more elements in corners and transition regions, and it minimizes the generation of dense node patches on the surface. Legacy This is the meshing method used prior to Advancing Front.
Minimum number of elements through the thickness	Sets the minimum number of elements through the thickness that is targeted when generating a 3D mesh. For plastic parts 10 layers is the default value for plastics parts, but critical analyses may require more layers. Note: Warp analyses can have 2nd order, 10 node tetrahedron layers to reduce computational time. For other components 6 layers is the default value, as six layers should be enough to represent accurately mold cores and other components. Tip: Increasing the number of elements through the thickness increases the total number of elements, which increases computation time. Despite increased computation time, it can be worthwhile to increase the minimum number of elements if you have a very thin part and you need an improved temperature solution. Check that the resultant Aspect Ratios are acceptable and decrease the Global edge length on surface if necessary.

Dialog element

Explanation

3D Mesher

Specifies which meshing technique should be used to generate the tetrahedral mesh.

The following options are available:

Advancing Layer: This meshing method provides a better quality and analysis accuracy than Advancing Front and Legacy. It does not rely on surface matching and offers a better refinement through thickness and near brims.
Advancing Front: This meshing method benefits from a better control over the size of the elements than the legacy method. It generates more elements in corners and transition regions, and it minimizes the generation of dense node patches on the surface.
Legacy: This is the meshing method used prior to Advancing Front.

Minimum number of elements through the thickness

Sets the minimum number of elements through the thickness that is targeted when generating a 3D mesh.

For plastic parts: 10 layers is the default value for plastics parts, but critical analyses may require more layers.
Note: Warp analyses can have 2nd order, 10 node tetrahedron layers to reduce computational time.

For other components: 6 layers is the default value, as six layers should be enough to represent accurately mold cores and other components.

Tip: Increasing the number of elements through the thickness increases the total number of elements, which increases computation time. Despite increased computation time, it can be worthwhile to increase the minimum number of elements if you have a very thin part and you need an improved temperature solution. Check that the resultant Aspect Ratios are acceptable and decrease the Global edge length on surface if necessary.