Exercise 3 - Wireframe Geometry Creation and Editing - Rev A

Exercise 3 – Wireframe Creation and Editing
Introduction
The purpose of this exercise is to learn basic wireframe geometry
creating and editing. The resulting geometry will be used to
create 3D surfaces and solids in later workshops.
In this exercise you will:
 Manipulate Workplanes
 Create and edit lines, arcs and splines
 Create ellipses for the start and end of a surface.
The preferences and units used in this exercise are:

Solid Geometry Scale Factor: Millimeters
CT2060 Femap 101 for Femap v11 – Student Workbook – Rev A 3-1
© Siemens AG 2013 All rights reserved. Siemens PLM Software
Exercise 3 – Wireframe Geometry Creation and Editing
Step 1: Start Femap and manipulate the Workplane
Start Femap.
 Start Femap. This will automatically open a new model file.
Modify and display the Workplane.
 Press the F2 hotkey. This activates the command, Tools,

Workplane.
 In the Workplane Management dialog box, click the Draw

Workplane check box.
 In the Workplane Management dialog box, click the Snap

Options button.
 In the Snap To dialog box, under the Grid and Ruler

Spacing group, set the following:
o Click the Nonuniform radio button.
o Set X Grid to 1.
o Set Y Grid to 1.
o Set Ruler Labels to 5.
o Set Divisions to 5.
 Set the Grid Style to Lines.
 Click OK.
 Your graphics view should appear as below.
Step 2: Create and edit a 2D sketch
Activate the Lines and Circles toolbars.
 Select the command, Tools, Toolbars, Customize.
 In the Customize dialog box, select the Toolbars tab.
 Check the check boxes for Lines and Circles.
 Click OK to close the form.
 Position the toolbars as you prefer.
Note: As an alternative, Right-click in an area near the

command bar, outside of the toolbars, then, select
Lines from the pop-up menu.
To activate the Circles toolbar, repeat the same step,

except select Circles from the pop-up menu.
Create a rectangle, 87.5 X 37.5 in size.
 On the Lines toolbar, click the Rectangle icon.
This activates Geometry, Curve-Line, Rectangle command.
 In the Locate – Enter First Corner of Rectangle dialog box,

leave the coordinates as X = 0, Y=0 and Z=0 and click OK.
 For the second point, enter X = 87.5 and Y = 37.5, then click
OK.
 Since the default Femap option to Autorepeat Create

Commands is enabled, click Cancel or press the Esc key to
exit the command.
 Press the Ctrl+a key combination to fill the view.
This executes the View, Autoscale, Visible command.
Note how the workplane rescales with the geometry.
Create a circle at the right end of the rectangle
 Click the Circle-Center-Point icon on the Circles toolbar.
This activates the Geometry, Curve - Circle, Radius

command.
 In the Locate – Enter Location at Center of Circle dialog box,

click the Methods^ button and select Midpoint from the
menu.
 Select the right edge of the rectangle, then click OK.
 Again, click the Methods^ button in the dialog box, and

select Locate (note, the check mark indicates the current
setting).
CT2060 Femap 101 for Femap v11 – Student Workbook – Rev A 3 - 10

 Since the default Snap Mode is to select off the screen, set
the new Snap Mode by right-clicking in the graphics pane
(outside of the dialog box), and select Snap to Point from
the menu.

 In the Locate dialog box, click the upper, right corner of the
rectangle. Note how the dialog box shows the location as
the x, y and z coordinates of the point. Click OK to confirm
the selection and to create the circle.
 Click Cancel or press the Esc key to exit the command.
Fill the view with the sketch.
 Press the Ctrl+a key combination to fill the view with the
sketch.

Turn off the display of the workplane.
 On the View Toolbar, select the View Style, Workplane

command.
Note that when the View

Style menu is selected,
the Workplane icon is
shown with a border and
a filled background:
This indicates that the

Workplane visibility
option is enabled.
When an option is
disabled or turned off,
the icon’s border will not
be displayed and the
background appears
without fill:

Your model should appear as below.
Split the circle at the midpoint of the circle
 Select the command, Modify, Break.
 Select the circle you just created, then, click OK.
 In the Locate – Enter Location to Break At dialog box, click

the point on the lower right corner of the rectangle, then,
click OK to break the circle.

 Click the Cancel button or press the Esc key to exit the Edit,
Break command.
Delete the extra arc and right vertical line.
 Select the command, Delete, Geometry, Curve.
 Select the right vertical line and the arc extending beyond
the intersection. Press the Preview button ( ) in the
Entity Selection dialog box to highlight your selection.
 Click OK to confirm your selection.
 Click OK to confirm deletion of the curves.
Note that end points and midpoint of the deleted arc as well
as the endpoints of the deleted line are retained. The center
point of the deleted arc is also retained.

Delete the points.
 Select the command, Delete, Geometry, Point.
 In the Entity Selection dialog box, click Select All.
Note that even though all points were selected to be deleted,

Femap only deletes the points that are not attached to
curves such as the arc center and line and arc end points as
shown in the snapshot of the Messages pane below.
Similarly, you cannot delete points on surfaces and solids
and curves on surfaces and solids.
Create a circle at the center of the arc.
 Click the Circle-Center-Radius icon on the Circles toolbar.
This activates the Geometry, Curve - Circle, Center

command.

 Select the center of the arc, then, click OK.
 For the Radius of the circle, enter 6.25, then click OK to

create the arc.
Your model should now appear as below.

Merge coincident points. This is an important step when

wireframe geometry is used to create surfaces in that the
curves must intersect at a common location.
 Select the command, Tools, Check, Coincident Points.
 In the Entity Selection dialog box, click the Select All button,
then, click OK.
 In the Check / Merge Coincident dialog box, click the

Preview button.

 This highlights any coincident points within the tolerance

setting.
 Click OK to merge the points.
Save your model.
 Click the Save Model icon on the Model toolbar.
 Save the model in your training class Exercises folder as

Ex3-Wireframe.

Step 3: Create ellipses for the start and end of a surface
Rotate the view.
 Outside of any command, click and hold the left mouse

button and rotate the view so that it is oriented similar to
below.
Modify the workplane location.
 Press the F2 key to execute the Tools, Workplane command.
 In the Workplane Management dialog box, check the Draw

Workplane check box.
 Click the Select Plane button.

 In the Plane Locate – Define Model Workplane dialog box,

click the Methods^ button and select Global Plane from the
menu.

 In the Global Plane – Define Model Workplane dialog box,

set the Direction to Positive, YZ Plane, then, click the
Preview button.
 Move your cursor into one of the Base fields, then press the
Ctrl+z key combination.
 If the In the Locate dialog box, click the Methods^ button,

then, select Midpoint from the menu.

 Select the left vertical line, then, press OK.
The coordinates of the midpoint of the vertical line will be

displayed in the Locate dialog box as shown below.
 Set the Base X coordinate to -25.
 Click OK to position the workplane.
The view should now appear similar to below. Since there is

no geometry on the workplane, it will be scaled down to
show a minimal vertical size.

Create an ellipse with a major radius of 50 and a minor radius

of 17.5. The ellipse will be represented by four (4) spline
segments. A second ellipse will be used to create surfaces and
sheet body solids in subsequent exercises.
 Select the command, Geometry, Curve – Spline, Ellipse.
 In the Locate dialog box, click the Method^ button, and

select Locate in Workplane from the menu.
 In the Locate dialog box, set X = 0. and Y = 0., then, click

OK to locate the center of the ellipse.

 In the Vector Locate – Enter a Vector Along the Principle

Axis of Ellipse dialog box, click the Methods^ button and
select Global Axis from the menu.

 In the Vector Global Axis dialog box, select the Direction

radio buttons:
o Positive
o Y Axis
 Press the Preview button.
 Click OK to confirm the direction of the ellipse’s principal

axis.
The X, Y and Z coordinate values shown in the dialog box

above are from the previous location. If the coordinates
differ in your dialog box, you can either enter them manually.
The critical values for the location in this case are X = -25
and the direction of the Positive Y Axis.

 In the Radii of Ellipse dialog box, set:

o Vector Radius = 50
o Other Radius = 17.5
 Click OK to create the ellipse.
Your model should appear similar to below.
Note how this creates four (4) separate splines. You will
delete the lower two (2) splines in a later step.

Create a second ellipse with a major radius of 25 and a minor

radius of 12.5.
 Press the Ctrl+y key combination. This repeats the previous

command, Geometry, Curve – Spline, Ellipse.
 In the Locate in Workplane dialog box, set X = 0. and Y = 0.,

then, click OK to locate the center of the ellipse.
 In the Vector Global Axis dialog box, select the Direction

radio buttons to:
o Positive
o Y Axis
 Press the Preview button.
Click OK to confirm the direction of the ellipse’s principal axis.
 In the Radii of Ellipse dialog box, set:

o Vector Radius = 25
o Other Radius = 12.5
 Click OK to create the ellipse.
Your model should appear similar to below.
Your model should now appear similar to below.

Delete the extra ellipses and points.
 Select the command, Delete, Geometry, Curve.
 Select the lower four (4) splines, then, click the Preview icon
( ) in the Entity Selection dialog box.
 Click OK to delete the selected curves.
Delete unused points.
 Select the command, Delete, Geometry, Point.
 In the Entity Selection dialog box, click Select All.

Move the two (2) smaller splines.
 Select the command, Modify, Move By, Curve.
 Select the two smaller splines, then, press OK.

 In the Vector Global Axis – Select Vector to Move Along

dialog box, set:
o Direction = Positive
o X Axis
o Length = 87.5+(37.5/2)+50
o
 Click OK to move the two (2) splines.
 Turn off the display of the workplane.
 On the View Toolbar, select the View Style, Workplane

command.

Your model should now appear like below.
Save your model and exit Femap.


Exercise 3 - Wireframe Geometry Creation and Editing - Rev A

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Exercise 3 – Wireframe Creation and Editing

In this exercise you will:

 Create and edit lines, arcs and splines

 Create ellipses for the start and end of a surface.

The preferences and units used in this exercise are:

Step 1: Start Femap and manipulate the Workplane

 Start Femap. This will automatically open a new model file.

Modify and display the Workplane.

 Press the F2 hotkey. This activates the command, Tools,

 In the Workplane Management dialog box, click the Draw

 In the Workplane Management dialog box, click the Snap

 In the Snap To dialog box, under the Grid and Ruler

 Set the Grid Style to Lines.

 Your graphics view should appear as below.

Step 2: Create and edit a 2D sketch

Activate the Lines and Circles toolbars.

 Select the command, Tools, Toolbars, Customize.

 In the Customize dialog box, select the Toolbars tab.

 Check the check boxes for Lines and Circles.

 Click OK to close the form.

 Position the toolbars as you prefer.

Note: As an alternative, Right-click in an area near the

To activate the Circles toolbar, repeat the same step,

Create a rectangle, 87.5 X 37.5 in size.

 On the Lines toolbar, click the Rectangle icon.

This activates Geometry, Curve-Line, Rectangle command.

 In the Locate – Enter First Corner of Rectangle dialog box,

 Since the default Femap option to Autorepeat Create

 Press the Ctrl+a key combination to fill the view.

This executes the View, Autoscale, Visible command.

Note how the workplane rescales with the geometry.

Create a circle at the right end of the rectangle

 Click the Circle-Center-Point icon on the Circles toolbar.

This activates the Geometry, Curve - Circle, Radius

 In the Locate – Enter Location at Center of Circle dialog box,

 Select the right edge of the rectangle, then click OK.

 Again, click the Methods^ button in the dialog box, and

CT2060 Femap 101 for Femap v11 – Student Workbook – Rev A 3 - 10

CT2060 Femap 101 for Femap v11 – Student Workbook – Rev A 3 - 11

 Click Cancel or press the Esc key to exit the command.

Fill the view with the sketch.

CT2060 Femap 101 for Femap v11 – Student Workbook – Rev A 3 - 12

Turn off the display of the workplane.

 On the View Toolbar, select the View Style, Workplane

Note that when the View

This indicates that the

CT2060 Femap 101 for Femap v11 – Student Workbook – Rev A 3 - 13

Your model should appear as below.

Split the circle at the midpoint of the circle

 Select the command, Modify, Break.

 Select the circle you just created, then, click OK.

 In the Locate – Enter Location to Break At dialog box, click

CT2060 Femap 101 for Femap v11 – Student Workbook – Rev A 3 - 14

Delete the extra arc and right vertical line.

 Select the command, Delete, Geometry, Curve.

 Click OK to confirm your selection.

 Click OK to confirm deletion of the curves.

CT2060 Femap 101 for Femap v11 – Student Workbook – Rev A 3 - 15

Delete the points.

 Select the command, Delete, Geometry, Point.

 In the Entity Selection dialog box, click Select All.

 Click OK to confirm your selection.

Note that even though all points were selected to be deleted,

Create a circle at the center of the arc.