Controlling the display of constraints in the Visualization module

In the Visualization module you can selectively control the display of analysis constraints using display groups and the ODB Display Options dialog box. These controls are useful when debugging models that contain large numbers of constraints. By turning the display of some constraints on and off, you can more easily understand complex models.

Related Topics
Understanding constraints
Creating or editing a display group

There are two levels of controls for showing or hiding constraints:

  • You must first add the desired constraints to a display group for them to be visible in the viewport. You can create and edit display groups to include or exclude different constraints. See Creating or editing a display group, for more information about display groups.

  • Different types of constraints can be selected or hidden in the Constraints tab of the ODB Display Options dialog box. From the main menu bar, select ViewODB Display Options to access these options.

The following types of constraints can be displayed or hidden:

  • tie constraints

  • rigid body constraints (ties and pins only)

  • shell-to-solid couplings

  • distributing couplings

  • kinematic couplings

  • multi-point constraints

Note:

These types of constraints are created in the Interaction module, not the Assembly module. See Understanding constraints for more information.

Table 1 shows how each type of constraint is displayed by Abaqus/CAE.

Table 1. How constraints are shown in the viewport.
Constraint type Display in viewport
Tie Spidering of red lines drawn between the nodes on the master and slave surfaces of the constraint.
Rigid body The rigid body regions (elements, nodes, or surfaces) are highlighted in the viewport.
Shell-to-solid coupling Spidering of yellow lines drawn between the nodes on the shell edge and the solid face.
Distributing coupling Spidering of orange lines drawn between the control point and the coupling points (nodes) in the constraint region.
Kinematic coupling Spidering of purple lines drawn between the control point and the coupling points (nodes) in the constraint region.
Multi-point constraint (Abaqus/Explicit only) The nodes comprising the multi-point constraint are connected with yellow lines.

You can change the default colors of the constraint spider lines in the Color Code dialog box. For more information, see Coloring constraints in the Visualization module.