Technical Support Bulletin: Analysis Library
By Bob McGaughey

Analysis Library: Creates templates of commonly used analysis specifications such as loads, supports, and contact conditions. Users can simply drag and drop the templates to create loads/supports on any model.

When you define an analysis library and set its path appropriately, the program creates an analysis library folder identified by the SolidWorks Simulation Software icon  in the SolidWorks Task Pane. The Analysis Library folder is located on the disk in <SolidWorks Simulation Software _install_directory>\Data\Analysis Library.

The following folders are included in the Analysis Library folder:

• Supports: Contains documents with support library items
• Loads: Contains documents with load library items.
• Environment: Contains library documents with groups of loads, supports, study properties, contact, mesh controls etc (this feature is not supported in the current release).
• Analysis Suite: Contains library documents with multiple studies (this feature is not supported in the current release).
  

You can use analysis library folders to perform the following tasks:

• Display the analysis library features and the subfolders that contain library features.
• Preview of the analysis library feature parts.
• Insertion of the library features in part or assembly documents
  

You can set the path to existing analysis library folders using the Library locations tab of the SolidWorks Simulation Software Options dialog box.

Creating Analysis Library Features

To create analysis library features, you first create a study in which you define the analysis features that you want to include in the analysis library. You can create analysis libraries from part (with multi-bodies) and assembly documents. The analysis libraries have the *.sldalprt or *.sldalasm extensions.

To create an analysis library feature:

1. Open a part or an assembly document.
2. Click File, Save As.
3. In the Save As dialog box, set Save as type to Analysis Lib Part (*.sldalprt) if the active document is a part document or Analysis Lib Assembly (*.sldalasm) if the active document is an assembly document.
4. Click Save.
   
   The program saves the document and adds the appropriate extension.
   
5. Click the SolidWorks Simulation Software Manager tab  .
   
   SolidWorks Simulation Software automatically creates two new folders in the SolidWorks Simulation Software Manager: Library References and Library Values. Values under these folders will be populated based on the item you add to the library.
   
6. Create a study.
   
   You can create analysis library features using static, frequency, buckling, thermal, and nonlinear studies.
   
7. Define the loads and restraints that you want to add to the analysis library.
8. In the SolidWorks Simulation Software Manager tree, right-click the item that you want to add to the library, for example, Restraint-1 and select Add to Library.
   
   The Restraint-1 icon changes from  to  indicating that this item has been added to the library. You can continue adding features to the library as needed.
   
9. Click File, Save.
   

Adding Analysis Library Features to a Document

You can add analysis library features to a study in a part or assembly document by dragging the library features from the Analysis Library to the part or assembly document.

To add library features to a study in a part or assembly document:

1. Open the target part or assembly document.
2. Activate or create the study in which you want to insert analysis library features.
3. Click the Design Library tab  on the Task Pane.
4. Select the Analysis Library folder  .
5. Browse to locate the analysis library you want to insert.
6. Select the desired library from the lower panel, drag it to the document window.
   
   The Library Feature Property Manager appears.
   When you highlight an item in the References group, the corresponding reference highlights in the library preview window.
   
7. In the graphics area, select the faces (or other entities such as edges, planes, axis etc) in the part/assembly document that correspond to the faces or other entities highlighted in the preview window.
   
   This defines the library feature in the active study.
   
   As you use library features in the active study, the exclamation marks appearing in the References group change to check marks.
   
8. Under Values, click to check Override library values to edit the library values if desired.
9. Click the Value cell of the feature that you want to modify and type in a new value.
10. Click OK.
    
    

Note that you have to insert all features in the library into your active study for a successful use of the library.