topic Re: Create Beams using the API in Moldflow Insight Forum

Create Beams using the API

_JoThu_ — Fri, 18 Dec 2020 13:53:36 GMT

Hello,

I want to use the API to create some beam elements and to assign all elements that have been created to a certain layer. But besides of creating beams, the feature also creates curves and nodes, which I cannot access.

Below you can find simplified code to get a better understanding:

'Create layer Set TestLayer = Synergy.LayerManager.CreateLayerByName ("Test Layer") 'Prepare beam creation Set Vector = Synergy.CreateVector() Vector.SetXYZ 0, 0, 0 Set Vector_1 = Synergy.CreateVector() Vector_1.SetXYZ 0, 0, 150 Set MeshEditor = Synergy.MeshEditor() Set Prop = MeshEditor.FindProperty(40420, 1) 'Create beams -> Output: EntList with created beam elements Set EntList_Beams = MeshEditor.CreateBeamsByPoints(Vector, Vector_1, 10, Prop) 'Assign beam elements to layer Synergy.LayerManager.AssignToLayer EntList_Beams, TestLayer

So far, everything works fine.

As the code shows, the return of CreateBeamsByPoints is a EntList with created beam elements, which makes it very easy to assign them to a layer. Unfortunately the curves and nodes which are created during this process as well, are not part of this EntList.

Do you have an idea how to get a EntList with these curves and nodes?

Thanks in advance for your support and

best regardes

Jochen

Re: Create Beams using the API

M.Brassel — Thu, 07 Jan 2021 09:00:04 GMT

Hello @_JoThu_ ,

I think you could create a layer and make it active. So the new end nodes should be created in the active layer.

Here is a workflow that might help:

Also you could examine your highest node ID or curve ID.
So you know the IDs of all your newly created nodes, depending on the number of elements you created. The number of curves depends on how often you repeat your step of creating beams.

Then you could create an entity list containing these node IDs or curve IDs. Here are some examples:

EntList.SelectFromString "N18 N23"

Set Predicate1 = PredicateManager.CreateLabelPredicate("N23:N100")
EntList.SelectFromPredicate Predicate1

Then you could assign these nodes or curves to a specific layer as you did with the beams before.

I wish you fun and success with your programming task.

Re: Create Beams using the API

_JoThu_ — Tue, 26 Jan 2021 14:25:18 GMT

Hello @M.Brassel ,

thanks for giving me a new approach to solve this.

I will test it and come back to you.