static analysis: managing contacts

[maker9876]

I'm performing static analysis on a file that has a couple of Drawn Cup Needle Bearings inserted in it. Each of those components contains lots of contacts!

A few observations:

1) Initially I generated Automatic Contacts & the default setting was Bonded. That was obviously not a good strategy so I switched the default to "separation and sliding" but then regenerating Automatic Contacts didn't change the type. Discovered was unable to delete the automatic contacts. So instead used UNDO to step back in time. Then changed the default Automatic Contact setting once again. And generated Automatic contacts once again. Then OK.

2) Having set all contacts to "separation + sliding" obviously want I want / need to do is to step through them all to find those that should be set manually to "bonded" or other. However stepping through is a total nightmare. You can't select the top one in the list and use the arrow key to cruise down whilst watching to see what's highlighted in the model. Nor can you read a meaningful contact description in the list. You have to mouseover each contact in turn and read the text / scan the model. Virtually impossible in a large list.

Personally I'd like to be able to select a component and then see just the contacts that relate to that component in the list. That would make things much more manageable.

Indeed in the present model I feel unable to check whether I've got all the contacts "right" or not.

3) Sometimes one runs a static analysis having ONLY changed, for example, a load parameter. Nothing has changed in the CAD model. So it's kind of annoying to have to sit through a lengthy generation of the mesh.

[innovatenate · Accepted solution]

For Item 1: 

Since the contacts have already been generated, modifying the default contact type will not modify the existing contacts. The default contact type only applies the first time contacts are created. As an easy work-around, you may leverage the SHIFT + Select (Command + Select on Mac) to select multiple contacts at one time in the browser. With multiple contact selected, select edit from the right click menu and then you can modify multiple contacts at one time.

To select contact types associated with a component or body, select the Select Related Contact command from the right click menu in the browser. 

One really neat tool I like in the Simulation environment is the DOF viewer:

This tool can help you to quickly find out how many degrees of freedom are available based upon the existing constraints and contacts in the analysis. 

3. I'm not aware of an easy work-around for this with the current given functionality. There is a lot of development going on in this area at the moment. From our May update on the roadmap blog, you can get more detail about the work that is going on. 

https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/fusion-360-product-roadmap/roadmap-check-in-may-2016/ba-p/6323238

The best thing to do for this is to post on the Fusion 360 Ideastation and let the Product Management team know that you would like to be able to solve multiple load cases simultaneously.

https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/ideastation-request-a-feature-or/idb-p/125

I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks,

[maker9876]

super helpful!

tx.

ps posted to the ideas forum