What you'll learn

The basic skills to start using NXOpen in Simcenter 3D
The power of scripting/journaling in Simcenter 3D using NXOpen
Create tools using NXOpen to improve Simcenter 3D analysis workflow for yourself and colleagues
A basic understanding of how NXOpen objects are structured in Simcenter 3D
Create NXOpen scripts/journals in Simcenter 3D by recording and modifying
Creating NXOpen scripts/journals from scratch
Create loads in Simcenter 3D using NXOpen
Create boundary conditions, loadcases and solutions in Simcenter 3D using NXOpen
Postprocess results in Simcenter 3D using NXOpen
Combine NXOpen scripts/journals to create an automated workflow in Simcenter 3D

Course content

13 sections • 56 lectures • 7h 57m total length

Welcome0:44
Welcome message.
About myself0:43
Introducing Frederik Vanhee a.k.a theScriptingEngineer.
Course structure1:09
An overview on how this course is structured.
Why click if you can script2:37
Automation is not the only reason, and might not even be the most important one.
#whyClickIfYouCanScript
Setting up14:31
In this lecture we will install .NET framework, Visual Studio Code and create the boiler plate code so we can run our first "Hello world" application.
Resources5:57
A series of slides with background information and useful references.

Record and replay a journal5:08
The first step in journaling: how to record and play a journal.
Inspect and remove unnecessary code6:23
The structure of a typical recorded journal and explanation of the code we obtain.
Create a mesh collector5:15
Record a journal while creating a mesh collector. This will be the basis for the rest of the section.
Create multiple mesh collectors8:33
Modifying the recorded journal to create multiple mesh collectors.
Improve our code15:03
Improve the code for mesh collector. Handle material for all cases and set the color of the collector.

Create a nodal force8:51
Record and edit a journal to create a nodal force. This approach can be used for any type of force. In a later section we will see how we can pass objects which don't have a name or label.
Improve CreateNodalForce11:16
Introducing idempotency.
Overload CreateNodalForce2:01
Overload the method so you can call it with other inputs.
Create a constraint8:17
Record and edit a journal to create a constraint. This approach can be used for any type of constraint.

Create solutions4:33
Record and edit a journal to create a solution in the sim file.
Create solution improve code11:33
Edit the code to handle non-existing ouput requests.
Create load cases7:32
Create subcases in the solutions.
Adding loads and boundary conditions to load cases7:29
Writing code to add the loads and the boundary conditions from the previous section to the subcases in this section.
Using solversets11:57
An extra on solver sets in NXOpen.
Create a method to get the solution object by name

Combine results - PostInput class14:04
Record and edit a journal for results combinations. Introducing the PostInput class to pass information to the method.
Combine results - Load results9:46
The code to loads results and also how to handle already loaded results.
Learn the difference between Solutions, SimResultReferences and SolutionResult objects and how they relate.
Combine results - Get result types5:12
Move the code code for ResultTypes in a separate method.
Combine results - Delete companion result12:30
Delete and re-create companion results to mimic idempotency.
Combine results - Identifiers and expressions10:32
Write the code for passing identifiers (from the PostInputClass) and handling errors during execution.
Combine results - Check input + user feedback15:39
Adding user feedback and user input checks. This will avoid a lot of questions you might otherwise receive.
Allow the user to choose the solution to add the companion result to

Export results11:48
Write the code for exporting a single result to a universal file. Can be used to interface with other commercial or in-house software.
Note that the model is the same as used in section5.
Export results - units8:50
Handling units in exporting results in NXOpen.
Export results - Import6:44
Some things to know about results in companion results and imported results. Be very carefull when using the non default results with universal files in SimCenter.

Envelope results10:26
Write the code to create a results envelope. Reusing most of the methods from the previous sections.
Note that the model in the resources is the same as used in section5.
Envelope results - ResultParameters12:02
Create a separate method for ResultParameters object, which is also used in displaying results.
Envelope results release NX2021.2 (version 1980) and later versions12:21
Update the deprecated code from NX12 to the latest version. Showing that the NXOpen API's are very stable. (eg. even though the code is deprecated, it still works in SC2022.1.
Create an envelope over all results in a solution

Using arguments7:56
Learn how to pass arguments to a script via the GUI and use them in the code to open a file for example.
Using NX forms6:24
Learn how to create simple NX forms with the NX look and feel.
Using windows forms7:40
Learn how you can create a file selector using windows forms and also create custom forms (which is not advised).
Using groups5:58
Learn how I use CAE groups to pass objects to a journal through a string.
Overload the function/method CreateNodalForce to take a group name as input
Status bar5:15
Learn how to display information through NXOpen to the status bar. Plus a fun example.

Introduction0:47
Learn how to run journals from the command line and an example of generating the project specific code using a spreadsheet.
Run a journal/script in batch mode5:46
Learn how to run your journal form the command line.
Create journal to solve a solution using the solution name as input parameter
Running all journals sequentially9:57
Learn how to run several journals sequentially using a cmd file.
Generating journals5:35
Learn how to generate project specific code using a spreadsheet.

Requirements

To understand how NXOpen is used to automate NX tasks you must have a good working knowledge of SimCenter 3D (aka NX CAE)
Working installation of NX12 or later
Familiar with (C#) basic programming features like conditions, looping, error, methods

Description

SimCenter has a powerfull feature called NXOpen. It is a set of API's which you can use create your own programs or journals as they are called.

In this course you will learn how you can use NXOpen to create your own programs. You don't need any NXOpen experience as we take it from the beginning, but even people with NXOpen experience will benefit from this course. We start by setting up the development environment using Visual Studio Code. I have chose VS Code because it is free, it is popular so a lot of extensions and tutorials exist and (for people in a corporate environment) it can be installed without having admin privileges.

During this course we will create a fully automatic analysis which runs from the command line, step by step. We will use a structural analysis as an example, but the concepts are also applicable to other analysis types. We start by creating loads and boundary conditions followed by solutions and subcases, after which we post-process the results. We will see how we can pass information to the journals without user interaction, before bringing it all together in a single run from the command line. There we will also see how to solve the solutions.

Towards the end of the course there is an additional section on how to handle assemblies and a few example programs. We finish the course with a section on how to easily access and share you programs.

This course is in C#, but even if you are using vb.net or Python you will be able to apply the code and concepts from this course.

Who this course is for:

(Structural) Engineers who have experience with Simcenter 3D (a.k.a NX CAE) and want to start using NXOpen in their daily work.

What you'll learn

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Course content

Introduction and setup6 lectures • 26min

Record and modify5 lectures • 40min

Create forces and boundary conditions4 lectures • 30min

Create solution and subcases5 lectures • 43min

Post processing - Combine results6 lectures • 1hr 8min

Post processing - Export results3 lectures • 27min

PostProcessing - Envelope results3 lectures • 35min

User input5 lectures • 33min

Automate analysis4 lectures • 22min

CAE assembly structures4 lectures • 26min

Requirements

Description

Who this course is for: