Preparing the solid model

The solid model that you use to create your machine design file may be well-suited to the simulation task, or it may have characteristics that make it difficult to work with in simulation. Many solid models are provided by machine tool builders, and probably were not specifically created for simulation purposes. Before trying to set up the relationships needed for simulation, it is a good idea to spend the time to prepare your solid model for the task. The next few topics provide some guidelines.

Note: It may be tempting to skip these steps because some of them do not seem relevant to the simulation of the machine. However, we strongly recommend you carry out as many of these tasks as early as possible. The reason is that the rest of the machine design definition can be easily lost or destroyed when renaming or replacing solids in the machine design file. So you could end up having to re-do all the work anyway.