Methods for creating solid meshes

Objective:

Learn how to create a solid mesh.

Applies to:

  • Exporting, Manufacturing, Analysis, Topology Optimization

Procedure:

To build a solid mesh you need to start off with a surface mesh. Depending on the complexity of your part, you may want to refine your mesh before converting it to a solid mesh to avoid longer computing times and processing errors. If you are going to be running an FEA analysis, you need to create a solid mesh in order to create an FE mesh. 

Once your part is refined, there are two blocks available to create a solid mesh from, Volume Mesh and Robust Tetrahedral Mesh. 

 

Volume Mesh

Is the preferred method for simple geometry, as it is speedy but less tolerant of defects. Volume Mesh may also work after taking steps to repair input errors. If you get an error while using Volume Mesh, you may want to use the Robust Tetrahedral Mesh instead. 

  Pros   Cons
  • Fast
  • Can only handle simple geometry
  • Not very tolerant of input defects

 

Robust Tetrahedral Mesh

Is exceptionally tolerant of low-quality inputs and ensures FEA quality elements. While this technique is remarkably robust, speed is a tradeoff.

  Pros   Cons
  • Can handle complex parts
  • Slow

 

No matter which solid mesh block you are using, you want to keep the Edge Length the same for the input and the solid mesh if you are using the Remesh Surface block (recommended for easier conversion). This allows the tetrahedrons to be computed faster. 

solidmesh.jpg

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Keywords:

 error mesh volume meshing fe solid refine tetrahedral robust methods 
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