Home
Pre-Processing
Simcenter STAR-CCM+ solves physics problems on a computational mesh. To provide this mesh, you first define geometry using internal or external tools, and then create a mesh pipeline whose operations generate the mesh in repeatable steps.
3D-CAD
3D-CAD is a feature-based parametric modeler within Simcenter STAR-CCM+ that allows you to build geometries from scratch. The geometries that you create with 3D-CAD are stored as 3D-CAD models, which you can then convert to geometry parts for integration with the meshing and simulation process.
3D-CAD Environment
The 3D-CAD environment provides you with a feature tree from which you can activate all steps for creating and modifying geometry, and a 3D-CAD View scene in which you interact with the geometry. Many of the same feature actions are available for selection in the 3D-CAD View scene.
Geometry Visibility in 3D-CAD
The Visibility toolbar is designed to make working with complex models easier. With this toolbar, you can control how geometry is displayed in the Graphics window as well as what is displayed.
Dynamic Sectioning View
Dynamic Sectioning View allows you to visualise the internals of a geometry using the clipping planes method. You can create and visualise up to three planes at a given time to display a smaller portion of the geometry.

Share

Link: copied

Breadcrumb: copied

Pre-Processing
Simcenter STAR-CCM+ solves physics problems on a computational mesh. To provide this mesh, you first define geometry using internal or external tools, and then create a mesh pipeline whose operations generate the mesh in repeatable steps.
- 3D-CAD
  3D-CAD is a feature-based parametric modeler within Simcenter STAR-CCM+ that allows you to build geometries from scratch. The geometries that you create with 3D-CAD are stored as 3D-CAD models, which you can then convert to geometry parts for integration with the meshing and simulation process.
  - 3D-CAD Environment
    The 3D-CAD environment provides you with a feature tree from which you can activate all steps for creating and modifying geometry, and a 3D-CAD View scene in which you interact with the geometry. Many of the same feature actions are available for selection in the 3D-CAD View scene.
    - 3D-CAD Models
      A 3D-CAD model is a geometry body that is created in Simcenter STAR-CCM+ using the feature-based parametric solid modeler, 3D-CAD. 3D-CAD models can include geometry that you import from elsewhere, for example, an NX part or assembly.
    - Working with the 3D-CAD View Scene
      The graphical user interface within the 3D-CAD environment contains toolbars, menus, and a 3D-CAD model tree that allows you to design and modify 3D-CAD geometry. The model is rendered within the 3D-CAD View scene using tessellated surface data that 3D-CAD generates based on the CAD model.
    - Geometry Visibility in 3D-CAD
      The Visibility toolbar is designed to make working with complex models easier. With this toolbar, you can control how geometry is displayed in the Graphics window as well as what is displayed.
      - Color Mode
        The color mode controls how color is applied to geometry in the graphics window. You can color bodies according to their assigned colors or their body group color. Alternatively, you can distinguish all bodies using random colors, or distinguish all named faces.
      - Model Visibility
        The model visibility controls what is displayed in the Graphics window.
      - Reference Geometry and Sketch Display
        You can choose to hide or display different types of reference geometry and sketches.
      - Dynamic Sectioning View
        Dynamic Sectioning View allows you to visualise the internals of a geometry using the clipping planes method. You can create and visualise up to three planes at a given time to display a smaller portion of the geometry.
        Dynamic Sectioning View Reference
        The following properties are available in the dynamic sectioning view panel.
      - Creating Exploded Views
        When the exploded view mode is active, you can move parts of a 3D-CAD model along coordinate axes for visualization purposes only. You can create exploded views of single or multiple bodies.
      - Selection
        The selection options allow you to control how entities are selected in the graphics window.
      - Using the Measurement Tool
        The measurement tool computes geometric quantities for selected entities in the 3D-CAD model. For example, it lets you compute the distance between two entities, the volume of a solid body, the area of a face or a body, the radius of an arc, and other quantities.
    - Working with Features and the Feature Tree
      Creating geometry in 3D-CAD involves working with features and the feature tree. This section describes how to roll the feature tree back, forward, and to the end.
    - Working with Custom Name Attributes
      In 3D-CAD, custom names for bodies, faces, and edges are time-stamped to improve robustness when modifying the geometry.
    - Viewing the Properties of Geometric Objects
      3D-CAD provides you with geometric and distance data for geometric objects. Information about geometric objects is especially useful when using the Deafeature operation, where for example, you want to know the size of objects that you intend to remove using automatic deafeaturing.
    - Changing Colors of Bodies, Faces, Edges, and Body Groups
      3D-CAD allows you to rename and assign colors to bodies, body groups, faces, and edges. You can also import colors from files that were created in other commercial CAD packages.
    - Creating Design Filters
      In 3D-CAD, you can construct design filters that store a selection of the same geometric entity (that is, body, body group, face, edge, or vertex). These filters provide you with quick access to the selections in other contexts.
    - Metadata in 3D-CAD
      In 3D-CAD, metadata is a variety of text information attached to bodies or body groups. Often this metadata comes from CAD packages whose files you import into 3D-CAD, although Simcenter STAR-CCM+ allows you to add your own.
    - Viewing Dependency Information of Features and Bodies
      Use the dependency viewer to see what features a particular feature, body, or design parameter depends on, and what impact these have on the rest of the geometry. The dependency viewer is especially useful when you want to delete a body or feature.
  - Sketches in 3D-CAD
    3D-CAD supports two types of sketch—2D sketches that are created on a planar surface and 3D sketches that are built from points located anywhere in geometric space. You can use both types of sketch in 3D geometry operations such as extrude, revolve, or sweep.
  - 3D-CAD Geometry Modeling
    Bodies represent the individual objects that make up the 3D-CAD model. Imported CAD geometry appears as bodies in 3D-CAD, and you can also create your own bodies directly using 3D-CAD features.
  - Freeform Surface Modeling
    Freeform surface modeling is a modeling technique in 3D-CAD that allows you to deform existing surfaces for desired shapes.
  - Importing and Exporting Geometry
  - Working with 3D-CAD Models
  - Geometry Repair and Preparation
    Simcenter STAR-CCM+ provides a suite of tools in 3D-CAD that helps you to prepare your CAD geometry so that it is suitable for meshing. CAD that is designed for manufacture can have gaps or inaccuracies that cause problems when trying to generate a watertight mesh.
  - Design Parameters
    Design parameters allow Simcenter STAR-CCM+ to update geometry designs during design exploration studies. Although you define them within the 3D-CAD environment, they are exposed outside 3D-CAD for manual or automatic update.
- Modeling Geometry
  This part of the User Guide describes how to use 3D-CAD, the parametric solid modeler available within Simcenter STAR-CCM+. It also describes the features and tools available for further preparation of the geometry model and its surfaces.
- The Surface Repair Tool
  The Surface Repair tool diagnoses errors in, and provides repair tools for, tessellated surfaces and part curves. The same tool allows you to reorganize discretized geometry by searching for face-based features and attributes then assigning the results to new or existing part surfaces or curves.
- Defining the Regions Layout
  An essential part of the process in setting up your simulation is to define the relationship between geometry parts and regions, boundaries, and interfaces.
- Meshing
  A mesh is a discretized representation of a geometric domain. This domain can include real-world geometry, its content, and its surrounding environment.

Dynamic Sectioning View

Dynamic Sectioning View allows you to visualise the internals of a geometry using the clipping planes method. You can create and visualise up to three planes at a given time to display a smaller portion of the geometry.

The following screenshot shows how the dynamic sectioning view appears in the graphic window for the YZ plane:

To use dynamic sectioning, do one of the following:
- In the toolbar at the top of the 3D-CAD view scene, click Display Cut Parts using Multiple Planes.
- In the graphics window, select a planar or revolved face, then right-click and select Create Section. You can also apply dynamic sectioning to reference planes.
The Dynamic Sectioning panel appears on the left of the graphics window.
In order to view the internals of the geometry, activate Turn On Clipping.
In the Dynamic Sectioning panel for a chosen section, you can select from four types of plane:
- ZX Plane - plane normal is the Y axis.
- XY Plane - plane normal is the Z axis.
- YZ Plane - plane normal is the X axis.
- Reference Plane - allows you to select a planar surface to act as the clipping plane.
Once you select your preferred plane, you have two options to control the plane:
- You can move the plane at various positions or angles by clicking and dragging the plane widget in the Graphics Window.
- Alternatively, you can use the Offset option in the sectioning panel to manually define the distance between the cutting plane and the origin.
To reverse the side of the geometry that is clipped by the plane, activate the Reverse Plane Normal option:
In order to visualise inside solid bodies, deactivate Show Cap.
The clipping plane appears without the cap color.
To adjust the Cap Color Option, you can choose from the following options:
- Specified Color - allows you to choose your preferred cap color.
- Body Color - cap color is the same as the body color.
Click Close in the Dynamic Sectioning panel.
To reactivate the dynamic sectioning scene, select the Toggle Section View icon in the toolbar.

To expose more of the model than one plane permits, you can activate up to three clipping planes simultaneously.

As an example, suppose that you are working on a truck chassis and want to view the chassis profile along two sections. You can set properties as follows:

Section 1 - select XY Plane and Red for Cap Color.
Section 2 - select ZX Plane and Blue for Cap Color.