Realize and Hole Detect Panel

Use this panel to specify details about hole detection, such as dimensions and feature angles, and bolt realization, including washer layers, number of surrounding nodes, and whether or not to fill holes in 2D mesh.

Location: Only accessed from a button located in the Bolt panel's bolt and realize subpanels, which is only available when creating mesh-dependent realizations.

Subpanel Organization

There are two separate subpanels, one for hole detection details and one for bolt realization details.
hole detection details
Choose the minimum and maximum dimensions for holes to be found, and the minimum and maximum feature angle relative to the surface that the hole appears in. Holes that do not meet these ranges are ignored for functions that relate to bolt holes. This allows you to filter out potential holes and focus only on holes with certain characteristics.
realization details
Specify whether or not to fill holes in 2D mesh, whether to change the nodal density around the edges of holes, and specify a new density if desired, and whether or not to create one or two layers of washer elements and how large the washers should be.
You can switch freely between subpanels, or even leave the panel altogether and return, without losing the settings in either one.
  • Set the panel mode by selecting the subpanel appropriate to the type of edit you wish to perform.
  • In the subpanel, use panel options to limit the edges that will be edited, or use the default values. These criteria act as a filter so that you can select multiple edges or surfaces but only edit edges that meet certain qualifications, such as proximity to one another or length restrictions.

Panel Options

Option Action
min dimension= Holes smaller than this are ignored when performing hole detection, as if they did not exist at all.
max dimension= Holes larger than this are ignored when performing hole detection, as if they did not exist at all.
min feature angle= Angle is measured relative to the normal of a solid face; holes with an angle below the specified number (in degrees) are ignored during hole detection.
max feature angle= Angle is measured relative to the normal of a solid face; holes with an angle above the specified number (in degrees) are ignored during hole detection.
fill holes (2D) Close holes in 2D mesh when their bolt connectors are realized.
no. of nodes around Select a method for determining the number of nodes seeded around the edge of a hole during realization.
preserve
Make no changes.
density
Adjust the number of nodes to the value you specify.
elem size
Remesh the area on the hole edge according to the element size that you specify, gaining a corresponding number of seed nodes.
auto
Engineering Solutions decides how many nodes are necessary for the hole to obtain accurate results.
layer 1 Choose a method of determining the washer layer size.
scale (radius)
A factor of the bolt diameter.
For instance, a scale of 0.5 for an 8mm bolt would create a washer layer that extends 4mm from the edge of the hole.
width
Enter a specific width, in measurement units the model was created for.
layer 2 Choose a method of determining the washer layer size when the realization should create a double layer of washer elements.
scale (radius)
A factor of the bolt diameter.
For instance, a scale of 0.5 for an 8mm bolt would create a washer layer that extends 4mm from the edge of the hole.
width
Enter a specific width, in measurement units the model was created for.