Node XYZ Location

[dnunezHSLXH]

Is there a way to determine the XYZ location (w.r.t. global coordinate system) of specific nodes? 

For context, I am using the bonded contact to simulate two mating faces compressed together by capscrews.  I am aware of the bolted connection feature.  However, I am trying to get away from using a separation contact because I would like to stay with a linear dynamic analysis. 

I am playing around to get some practice with the FNO reader.  I can output the contact forces and their respective nodes easily.  I would like to know the location of the nodes/ forces to estimate the distribution of forces on the capscrews.  I am new to the FNO reader, so perhaps there is a way to find out the node locations from the NAS file using this tool.  I will update this post if I figure it out. 

I switch between Nastran 2024 and 2025.

[John_Holtz · Accepted solution]

Hi @dnunezHSLXH 

If you know where the node is on the model, you can use the Nastran environment to get the coordinates. Right click on Nodes in the model tree and choose Query Display. When you hold the mouse over a node, the coordinate will be shown.

If you know the node number but do not know where it is located on the model, you can get the coordinates from the Nastran file (.nas). You can open the Nastran file with a text editor (like Notepad), or use FNO Reader to export the GRID commands to a text file and get the coordinates. (Exporting makes it easier to read the data in my opinion.)

John

[dnunezHSLXH]

Using the FNO Reader to export the GRID and coordinates did it for me.  Thanks for the help, John!  Also, double thanks for making and sharing the FNO reader.  It is a fantastic tool.