Activity 1: Setup a new Structural Buckling analysis

In this activity you create a new study, Study 1 - Structural Buckling, and select a material to determine whether it is strong enough to resist buckling under load. The displaced shape from buckling is based on vibration modes. To set up the study, you

• Set the number of vibration modes to 3

• Select the desired units system

• Change the model material to plastic

  By default, the simulation study material is the same as the material defined in the Design workspace.

Browser when model is first imported (left). Browser after creating a new Structural Buckling study (right).

Prerequisites

• Fusion is started.
• Data file location: Samples > Basic Training > 11-Simulation > Plastic Table.

Steps

1. Open the starting shape model, Plastic Table, in the Z up direction from the Basic Training folder in the Data Panel.

   1. If the Data Panel is not currently shown, click Show Data Panel at the top of the screen.
   2. The top level (home view) of the Data Panel is divided into two subsections: ALL PROJECTS and SAMPLES. Scroll down until you reach SAMPLES.
   3. Double-click the Basic Training folder to open it.
   4. Double-click the 11 - Simulation folder to open it.
   5. Double-click the Plastic Table model to open it in the canvas.
   Note: The sample model is read-only, so you must save a copy of it to a personal project.

2. Identify a personal project in which to save the starting shape models.

   1. Click File > Save as.
   2. Enter a name, such as Plastic Table, in the name field.
   3. Expand the arrow button next to the Location field.
   4. Locate and click on an existing project, or click New Project to start a new project.

3. Identify or create a folder in which to save the starting shape models.

   1. Double-click on a folder in the project to select it, or create a new folder.
   2. To create a new folder, click New Folder.
   3. Type a name, such as Plastic Table for the folder.
   4. Press Enter.
   5. Double-click the folder to make it the current file saving location.
   6. Click Save.

4. Create a new Structural Buckling simulation study.

   1. Click on the Change Workspace drop-down menu at the top left end of the toolbar and select Simulation.
      
      
   2. In the New Studies dialog box, select Structural Buckling.

5. Confirm that the Number of Modes is 3. The default of 3 is typically enough.

   1. In the upper right corner of the large thumbnail image, click the Settings icon to access the Settings dialog.
      
      
      
      The General settings appear initially.
   2. In the General settings, confirm that the Number of Modes is set to 3.
   3. Click Back to return to the New Study dialog.
   4. In the New Study dialog, click Create Study to create the study and close the dialog.

6. Change the default units system to U.S. (in).

   1. In the Browser, hover over Units: Custom then click Edit.
   2. In the Units Settings dialog, choose U.S. (in) from the Default Unit Set drop-down list.
   3. Click OK to accept the change and close the dialog.

7. Change the material for the plastic table to Plastic.

   Note: Materials defined in another workspace in Fusion are applied automatically to the Simulation workspace. For a Structural Buckling analysis, materials are required to have linear properties.
   1. Click (Simulation workspace > Setup tab > Materials panel > Study Materials) to open the Study Materials dialog.
   2. In the Study Materials dialog, click Select All in the bottom-left corner to select all components.
   3. Change the Study Materials for one of the drop-down menus to Plastic.
   4. Click OK to close the Study Materials dialog.

Activity 1 summary

In this activity, you created a Structural Buckling simulation study to determine whether plastic is strong enough to resist buckling under an applied load. To define the study parameters you

• Set the number of vibration modes to 3
• Selected the desired units system
• Changed the model material to plastic.