Defining the assembly

Each part that you create is oriented in its own coordinate system and is independent of the other parts in the model. Although a model may contain many parts, it contains only one assembly. You define the geometry of the assembly by creating instances of a part and then positioning the instances relative to each other in a global coordinate system. An instance can be classified as either independent or dependent. Independent part instances are meshed individually, while the mesh of a dependent part instance is associated with the mesh of the original part. For further details, see Working with part instances. By default, part instances are dependent.

Context:

For this problem you will create a single instance of your overhead hoist. Abaqus/CAE positions the instance so that the origin of the sketch that defined the frame overlays the origin of the assembly's default coordinate system.

  1. In the Model Tree, expand the Assembly container and double-click Instances in the list that appears.

    Abaqus/CAE switches to the Assembly module, and the Create Instance dialog box appears.

  2. In the dialog box, select Parts to choose parts from the current model.
  3. Select Frame and click OK.

Abaqus/CAE creates an instance of the overhead hoist. In this example the single instance of the frame defines the assembly. The frame is displayed in the 1–2 plane of the global coordinate system (a right-handed, rectangular Cartesian system). A triad in the lower-left corner of the viewport indicates the orientation of the model with respect to the view. A second triad in the viewport indicates the origin and orientation of the global coordinate system (X-, Y-, and Z-axes). The global 1-axis is the horizontal axis of the hoist, the global 2-axis is the vertical axis, and the global 3-axis is normal to the plane of the framework. For two-dimensional problems such as this one Abaqus requires that the model lie in a plane parallel to the global 1–2 plane.