CAD Analysis

Once the initial body is split into four bodies, you can begin to extract the measurements required such as mass, area, and length.

As an example, you can use the Measure mode.

Procedure

1. Click Measure mode  or select CAD modeling > Measure mode.

Note The Measurements tab on the right of the CAD Import window is now active.

2. Click Create measure .

The Measurement window is displayed.

3. Select Mass in the drop-drown list.

Figure 25: Mass measurement window

4. Select a body in the Scene area and click the Measure button.

Figure 26: Measure body mass

The new measure is added to the Measurements list. The line contains the following information:

The type of measure

The value

The unit

Figure 27: Mass measurement result

5. While the Measurement window is open, you can directly add new measurements in the list. Measure the mass of the remaining bodies.

You should get the following list. Figure 28: Mass measures list

6. In the drop-down list of the Measurements window, select Length as the type of measure

Figure 29: Length measurement selection

7. Pick an edge of a solid body that corresponds to the length you want in the Scene area and click the Measure button.

Figure 30: Edge selection

Note When you hover the cursor over an edge it is highlighted. You can pick only the highlighted entities.

8. Repeat the action for remaining lengths by following the same line.

Figure 31: Measurements list

If you select multiple measures, all are displayed in the Scene area. Figure 32: Multiple selection

The surfaces of contact we need to measure are not directly selectable since they are common to two solid bodies and not visible. A solution is to hide a solid in order to access to the surface and measure the area.

9. Leave the Measure mode by clicking Measure mode .

10. In the Object tree, select the first body.

Figure 33: Bodies list

11. In the Object inspector, uncheck the visible option.

Figure 34: Visible option

The body does not appear in the Scene area. The color of the body name in the Object tree turns from black to grey. Now the surface of contact between the body and the body_1 is visible and you can select it. Figure 35: Engine block with one hidden body

12. Go back to the Measure mode by clicking Measure mode .

13. Click Create measure .

The Measurement window is displayed. Select Area in the drop-drown list. Figure 36: Mass measurement window

14. Pick a face of a solid body that corresponds to the area you want to measure in the Scene area and click Measure.

Figure 37: Face selection

15. Repeat the action for remain surfaces.

At the end you have the following list of measures. Figure 38: Final measures list

Results

At this stage, you have all the measurements that you need to set the submodels parameters in your thermal model. It could be useful to save all the work you did for future reference. CAD Import offers the possibility to save all operations and all measurements in a specific file.

From File > Save project as … you can save your work in a file whose extension is .amecad. The file contains the 3D representation (Parasolid file type), the tree structure of the bodies, and all measurements. The file can be loaded afterwards using File > Load project ….