Meshman for Marc On-line Manual

4. Features/functionality

4.1 Features

Meshman has the following feautures:

1. Meshman is an integrated CAE environment that supports you in geometry modeling, setting analysis conditions, mesh generation, analysis through result display.
2. An instructor made by the interface agent technology supports you in performing analyses.
3. Meshman has an automatic mesh generator for the ten-noded tetrahedral element.
4. The mesh generator is capable of controlling node density.
5. You can create various geometry by transforming primitives such as a cylinder, a block etc.
6. Meshman is bilingual and Japanese and English are supported.(Note that MSC.Mentat is a separate program from Meshman.)
7. Meshman is a separate program from MSC.Marc and MSC.Mentat. But it is designed for use with them. MSC.Marc and MSC.Mentat are launched respectively by user's operation thruough Meshman.

4.2 Concept

1. Meshman's goal is to enable a first-time user to create a simple geometry, generate a rough mesh, perform analysis and display result within thirty minutes without human instruction.
2. Agent will not actually operate for you, he just instruct you how to do it. This is to prevent from your losing the feeling that you have all the responsiblity.
3. Agent identify each user. This is to change the way it supports the user according to the user's history of operations.

4.3 Functionality

4.3.1General

1. Block, sphere, cylinder, tube, prism, cone, pyramid, torus and polyhedron are available as primitives. Boolean operation, translation, rotation, cutting operation of these primitives are possible,
2. Of MSC.Marc's analysis capability and MSC.Mentat's result display capability, linear elastic stress analysis and eigenfrequency analysis are supported.
3. You can designate displacement constraint, isotropic material properties, pressure load and node density on the created geometry, and not on the mesh.
4. You can set other conditions for analysis through GUI.
5. From a geometrical model, you can generate an analysis model which is a mesh with analysis conditions. The analysis model is formatted for MSC.Marc.
6. You can launch MSC.Marc through Meshman with the analysis model that you made.
7. Meshman will tell you when MSC.Marc's analysis is over and if it has finished successfully or not.
8. Meshman can instruct you how to display analysis results using MSC.Marc.

4.3.2 Functionality of the interface agent

An interface agetn Duffy with a mesh-like face and his son Duffy Jr. cooperates to instruct you how to use the Meshman and MSC.Menat. The agent has four funcionalities.

1. The agent shows the overview of the total operation process of an user when he/she uses Meshman.
2. When a user answers simple questions about analysis type, result display items etc. the agent generates the operation procedure dynamically and show each step as you go through analysis.
3. When an error occurs during geometry modeling and analysis, the agent search its past data for hints and show them to you.
4. When a user is lost, Duffy Jr. will show you a list of help info items ordered from the viewpoint of necessity.

4.3.3 Support for use of MSC.Marc

You can launch the MSC.Marc using the GUI presented by Meshman. At that time, the input file name for MSC.Marc is selected by Meshman and fixed for each analysis type. Meshman will inform you of the end of analysis and at the same time it will tell you whther the analysis was successful.

4.3.4 Support for user of MSC.Mentat

You can launch the MSC.Mentat using GUI presented Meshman. At that time, the post file name read by MSC.Mentat is selected by Meshman, but you need to type the file name. All the operations to MSC.Mentat will be performed directly by you, but the procedure will be shown and instructed to you by a flow based on the analysis type and result display items you designated in advance.

4.3.5 I/O of DESIGNBASE files

Geometrical model file type specific to DESIGNBASE has an extention 'd'. Meshman can either read and wrrite a DESIGNBASE formatted geometrical model.