Mesh Control: As Easy as 1-2-3

When is the last time you saw this warning dialog when meshing?  If your primary responsibilities include FEA, chances are it was as recently as yesterday.

As we continue to design and analyze increasingly complex models, our need to access mesh controls will increase proportionally.  Wouldn’t it be nice if accessing those tools were made simple?  Amazingly enough, they already are!  At the conclusion of a failed mesh, just click on the Mesh Failure Diagnostic button.

Yes, it is that simple to access the Mesh Failure Diagnostic tools.  You’ll notice that this opens up the Simulation Advisor in the Task Pane.  The Simulation Advisor is a great tool for beginning and experienced Simulation users, alike.

Here are the 1-2-3’s of using the Simulation Advisor for applying mesh controls.
1. Select one of the parts from the list of ‘failed to mesh’ parts.
2. Click the Mesh Control button.
3. Apply the local mesh control desired to the part by either changing the slider bar or typing a value for the mesh control you wish to apply.

Now click the green check mark to OK your mesh controls.  SOLIDWORKS Simulation will mesh the component you just applied mesh control to.  Notice that you can apply mesh control to several components in one step by adding (clicking) more components to the ‘Selected Entities’ dialog box.  Another nice feature is that the Simulation Advisor window will stay open as long as you have parts that failed to mesh, allowing you to continue applying controls until your entire model has meshed.  Try using the Simulation Advisor the next time you encounter a model that is difficult to mesh!