ODB Reducer/Builder

The ODB Reducer/Builder plug-in provides a method to take portions of an Abaqus output database (.odb) file and put them into a new Abaqus output database. The ability to choose among many options for data to include in a new output database makes this tool useful for a number of applications, including:

  • Sharing portions of results files with downstream engineers, other teams, and external partners.

  • Decreasing database load times.

  • Reducing storage footprint by paring down the output database files to store only certain relevant results.

The plug-in offers control of the data to include in the new output database in several categories.

Mesh

Choose which elements and nodes are included in the new database.

Model features

Choose which set or surface definitions, sections, materials, profiles, and datums to include in the new database.

Results features

Choose which steps and frames (and which field output from those steps and frames) to include in the new database. Choose whether or not history output is included.

  1. From the main menu in the Visualization module, select Plug-ins Tools ODB Reducer/Builder.

    The ODB Reducer/Builder dialog box appears.

  2. From the Model Features frame, toggle off Sets to disable the Sets tab and exclude all of the element, node, and surface set definitions from the resulting database. Toggle on Sets to access the options in the Sets tab.
  3. From the Model Features frame, toggle off Properties to disable the Properties tab and exclude all section, material, and profile data from the resulting database. Toggle on Properties to access the options in the Properties tab.
  4. From the Model Features frame, toggle off Datums to disable the Datums tab and exclude all of the datums in the resulting database. Toggle on Datums to access the options in the Datums tab.
  5. From the Results Features frame, toggle off Steps/Frames to disable the Steps/Frames tab and exclude all the steps/frames from the resulting database. Toggle on Steps/Frames to access the options in the Steps/Frames tab.

    Note:

    Because field output and history output are dependent on steps/frames, field and history output data will not be available in the resulting output database when Steps/Frames is toggled off.

  6. From the Results Features frame, toggle off Field outputs to disable the Field Outputs tab and exclude all the field outputs from the resulting database. Toggle on Field outputs to access the options in the Field Outputs tab.
  7. From the Results Features frame, toggle off History outputs to disable the History tab and exclude all the history outputs from the resulting database. Toggle on History outputs to include all the history outputs in the resulting database.

    Note:

    There are no filters for history outputs.

  8. Use the Mesh tab to select which regions of the model to include in the new output database.
    1. Select Currently displayed to include areas of the mesh that are currently displayed in the current viewport.
    2. Select From session file to load a display group from a file. In the Session file text field, use the file selector or type in the name of an .xml file and type in the name of the display group in the Display Group Name text field.
    3. Select Bounding box to include the mesh within or outside a specified box. Specify numerical values for x Min, x Max, y Min, y Max, z Min, and z Max in their corresponding text fields. Choose Inside or Outside from the list to include the mesh lying within the bounding box or outside it.
    4. Select Bounding cylinder to include the mesh within or outside a specified cylinder. Enter three comma-separated numerical values for Origin point and Axis vector and a single numerical value for Radius in their corresponding text fields. Choose Inside or Outside from the list to include the mesh lying within the bounding cylinder or outside it.
    5. Select Bounding sphere to include the mesh within or outside a specified sphere. Enter three comma-separated numerical values for Origin point and a single numerical value for Radius in their corresponding text fields. Choose Inside or Outside from the list to include the mesh lying within the bounding sphere or outside it.
    6. Select Instances, and use the selection box to include the mesh only from the specified part instances.
    7. Select Sets, and use the selection box to include the mesh from the specified sets.

    Note:

    Use the Mesh Preview Toggle button to preview the selection.

  9. When the Sets tab is enabled,
    1. Toggle on Node sets to write node set definitions to the new output database. Select All to include all of the node sets, or use Select to specify a list of node sets add to the new database.
    2. Toggle on Element sets to write element set definitions to the new output database. Select All to include all of the element sets, or use Select to specify a list of element sets to add to the new database.
    3. Toggle on Surface sets to write surface set definitions to the new output database. Select All to include all of the surface sets, or use Select to specify a list of surface sets to add to the new database.
  10. When the Properties tab is enabled,
    1. Toggle on Sections to write section data to the new output database. Select Keep all data to retain all of the information. Nullify All and Nullify selected create the empty containers without data. Use these options to create section names without the section properties.
    2. Toggle on Materials to write material data to the new output database. Select Keep all data to retain all of the information. Nullify All and Nullify selected create the empty containers without data. Use these options to create material names without the material properties.
    3. Toggle on Profiles to write profile data to the new output database. Select Keep all data to retain all of the information. Nullify All and Nullify selected create the empty containers without data. Use these options to create profile names without the profile properties.
  11. When the Datums tab is enabled, select All to include all of the datums, or Select a list of datums from the selection box.
  12. When the Steps/Frames tab is enabled,
    1. Select Match field requests to use the list of steps and frames from the Field Outputs tab.
    2. Select Last frame of last step to include only the last frame of the last step in the output database.
    3. Select Last frame of each step to include the last frame of all of the steps in the output database.
    4. Use Select below to activate the Steps and Frames selection tables and buttons. After selecting the required frames for a particular step, click Update Frame Selection to include the selected frame in the output database. Repeat this process for each step. Use Remove Selected Step or Remove All Steps to exclude all or the selected step from the previously made choices.

      Note:

      A preview of selected steps/frames is shown in the Current individually selected steps/frames box below.

  13. When the Field Outputs tab is enabled,
    1. Select All fields to include all of the field outputs in the output database.
    2. Use Select below to activate the Steps, Frames, and Fields selection tables and buttons. After selecting the required field outputs for a particular step and frame combination, click Update Output Selection to include the selected field outputs in the output database. Repeat this process for each step/frame combination. Click Apply To Step to include the selected field outputs in all the frames within the selected step. Click All Steps/Frames to include the selected field outputs in all of the steps and frames. Use Remove Selected or Remove All under the Steps selection table to exclude all field outputs for all the steps or the selected step from the previously made choices. Use Remove Selected or Remove All under the Frames selection table to exclude all field outputs for all the frames or the selected frame from the previously made choices.

      Note:

      A preview of selected field outputs is shown in the Current individually selected field outputs box below.

  14. If desired, save the settings to a file by clicking Save Settings after specifying a filename in the File text field in the Controls box. You can load the settings later by clicking Load Settings after specifying the filename in the File text field.
  15. Use the ODB name append text field to specify the name of the generated output database.The new database is saved to the same location as the currently open output database, using the original file name but with the specified text appended before the .odb extension.
  16. Click Generate ODB (and close) to generate the output database and close the plug-in. Click Generate ODB (and stay) to generate the output database and keep the dialog box open.

    Check the Abaqus/CAE message area and the replay file for more information about the output database generation. Abaqus/CAE automatically opens the new output database after the process is completed.