ANSYS Component Manager

This macro displays components and their associated attributes in an interactive table.

You can also configure the table; only configured items are displayed in the table.

With this macro, you can also create components, select components, assign materials to components, change component colors, and change component visualization modes. Most actions are available from shortcut (right-click) menus. You can also find options in the drop-down menus.

Before performing actions such as changing the values of component data, you must select Editable from the Table menu. Once the components are writable, you can modify the values of existing components. The following sections describe how to use the Component Manager in both read-only mode and editable mode.

Use the Component Manager in Read-Only Mode

When you open the Component Manager, existing components are listed in a table using a default configuration. This configuration displays the name, ID number, ET reference number, element type, real set number, material set number, section set number, and number of elements and nodes in each component.

A sum of elements is shown at the bottom of the table. If a component is invalid for any reason and cannot be exported to the ANSYS data deck, its row in the table will appear in red.

The display of the data in the Component Manager can be customized according to your preferences. You can:
  • Change which columns are displayed
  • Change the order of the columns
  • Sort the components by column data, ascending or descending
  • Filter which components are displayed based on column data values (see below)

You can save your settings by creating a configuration file.

From the Table menu, open the Configure submenu and select the Save CFG-File option.
This configuration file saves the set of table configuration options so you can use them again. By default, a configuration file (comptable.cfg) is saved in the working directory for each component table session and settings from this file are applied each time the table is built.

Use the Component Manager in Editable Mode

When you switch the Component Manager from the default read-only mode to editable mode, you can perform all the actions described in the section above, plus edit the attributes of the components listed in the table.

  1. Select Editable from the Table menu.
  2. To change the value of an attribute, select the attribute in the Assign Values drop-down, type the new value in the adjacent field, and click Set.

Filter the List of Components

If you have a long list of components and you want to narrow down the list of components that appear in the table, you can use the filtering feature to specify the criteria for matching components.

  1. Select Filter… from the Table menu.
    The Filter dialog opens.
  2. Type a match value in the box next to the criteria by which you want to filter.

Create a New Component Card with the Component Manager

  1. In the ANSYS Component Manager, click the Action menu and select Create New....
    The Create Component dialog opens.
  2. Type a name for the component in the Component name field.
  3. Select an element type in the Element reference number field.
  4. Select a real set in the Real set number field.
  5. Select a material in the Material reference number field.
  6. Select a section in the Section reference number field.
  7. Click the button in the Color field to select a color for the component that will be used in HyperMesh.
  8. Click Create.
  9. Click Close to go back to the Component Manager.

Edit a Component Card

  1. Click anywhere in the component’s row in the Component Manager table to select it.
  2. If not already in Edit mode, click Table and Editable.
  3. In the Assign Values drop-down, select a field to modify.
  4. In the adjacent field, type or select the new value.
  5. Click Set.
    A new value appears in the table.