Creating attachment points by choosing a direction and a spacing

You can position attachment points by choosing a start point and a direction and by specifying the spacing of the points. If desired, you can create the attachment points by projecting the specified points onto a selected face. You can use attachment points to define the location of point-based fasteners. For more information, see About fasteners.

Related Topics
Understanding attachment points and lines
About fasteners

  1. From the main menu bar, select ToolsAttachmentPoints Along Direction.

    Tip: You can also create attachment points by choosing a direction and a spacing using the tool, located with the attachment tools in the Interaction module toolbox or the Property module toolbox. For a diagram of the attachment tools in the toolbox, see Understanding attachment points and lines.

  2. From the current viewport, select a point representing the starting point. You can also enter the X-, Y-, and Z-coordinates of the point in the text field that appears in the prompt area.

    Abaqus/CAE displays the Create Attachment Points Along Direction dialog box.

  3. From the dialog box, use either of the following methods to select a method for specifying the direction along which the points will be created:

    • Choose End point and click to select a point specifying the end point of the direction vector.

    • Choose Straight line and click to select a straight line specifying the direction vector.

  4. Do either of the following to specify the spacing of the points along the direction vector:

    • Choose Number of points between start and end points, and enter the desired number of points. (This option is available only when you select an end point to specify the direction vector.)

    • Choose Spacing, and enter the distance between each attachment point.

      Do either of the following to specify the number of points to create:

      • Choose Number of points along direction, and enter the desired number of points. The attachment points can extend beyond the end point of the direction vector. Click to reverse the direction vector.

      • Choose Auto-fit points between start and end points to allow Abaqus/CAE to determine the number of points that can be created between the start and end points with the specified spacing.

  5. By default, Abaqus/CAE creates additional attachment points at both ends of the direction vector. If desired, toggle off At start point and/or At end point to prevent Abaqus/CAE from creating the additional points.

  6. To project the specified points onto a selected face, display the Projection tabbed page, and do the following:

    1. Toggle on Project onto faces.
    2. Click , and select the faces onto which the points will be projected. The faces can be planar or nonplanar.
    3. Select the method for projecting the points.

      • Choose Proximity to allow Abaqus/CAE to draw a vector from each point to the closest point on the selected faces.

      • Choose Direction to define the vector along which to project the points. Click to choose the Start point and End point of the vector.

    For more information, see Understanding the projection methods.

  7. By default, Abaqus/CAE creates a set that will contain the attachment points. If desired, you can modify the set name. Toggle off Create set with name if you do not want to create a set containing the attachment points.

  8. Click OK to create the attachment points.

    Abaqus/CAE displays the attachment points. For information on editing attachment points, see Editing attachment points created by choosing a direction and a spacing.