A single finite element analysis requires several types of information before it can be run on a design model. The most basic information necessary is:

The first thing to do when preparing for an analysis or mesh generation is to create and name a study. For single parts, the study must be associated with the part to be analyzed or meshed. For assemblies, the study must be associated with the assembly containing the parts to be analyzed. This is done using the buttons on the FEA tab in the Study group.

The material that you plan to use in the actual part or structure has specific physical properties. Information about the material and its physical properties must be included in the study information.

Creo Elements/Direct Finite Element Analysis allows you to select pre-defined materials with their properties from a general materials database, a preferred list of materials maintained by you or your company. You can also choose to select from a list of materials used during the current Creo Elements/Direct Finite Element Analysis session.

In order to create the best model for your design, you must define how the object is constrained when it is in use. For example, is it on the floor where it can move along the x and z axes, but not the y axis? Is it welded to the interior of a metal cabinet along one edge? Is it riveted to a support at six points on opposing ends of its length?

The mechanical boundary conditions are the displacement restrictions which define where and how the design model is theoretically supported or fixed to the ground and subject to environmental limitations. In a similar way, the thermal boundary conditions are temperature and heatflow restrictions which define how the design model is theoretically maintained with respect to the environment.

The locations where your model is theoretically supported under operating conditions are called constraints. These are points on the model that prevent it from moving and deforming in all or selected directions and can, for example, represent spot welds or bolt locations. This process is also known as constraining the degrees of freedom.

In the modeling/analysis environment, you should attempt to reproduce the effects of real-life supports when you apply constraints to the model.

Creo Elements/Direct Finite Element Analysis allows you to set constraints on the model at individual vertices, along an edge, or over an entire face.

Once the model has been constrained according to your best estimates of how it will be anchored and the environmental conditions where it will be used, you can begin to apply the simulated loads to the specific areas which will be effected during "normal" use of the part.

A load is composed of three types of information:

When you apply a load in Creo Elements/Direct Finite Element Analysis, you specify the vertex, edge, or surface where the load is to be applied. You then set the value for that load. Finally, in the case of mechanical loading, you set the direction for this applied load relative to the model and the selected coordinate system.

Multiple loads and load types can be applied over the model within a single study. You can repeat the process of selecting a location, a magnitude, and a direction for all possible simultaneous loads that you anticipate for the part or structure.

Another type of load is called an enforced displacement. This is the specification that a certain point, edge, or surface be required to move a specified distance along one or more axes, rather than not at all.

In the case of thermal analysis, you can also apply a free convection loading on a model.

With Creo Elements/Direct Finite Element Analysis you are not required to create or stipulate a particular coordinate system for the entire analysis model, though this may be useful for certain analysis models. However, you must specify a coordinate system when applying loads and boundary conditions.

Three coordinate systems are available within Creo Elements/Direct Finite Element Analysis:

The global coordinate system used by Creo Elements/Direct Finite Element Analysis is taken directly from the Creo Elements/Direct Modeling environment where you created the design model. This coordinate system is the same global Cartesian coordinate system as used in Creo Elements/Direct Modeling.

The global and local coordinate systems are used and manipulated in exactly the same way as in Creo Elements/Direct Modeling. Consult the Creo Elements/Direct Modeling documentation for detailed information.

The cylindrical coordinate system is also available for added flexibility when setting loads and constraints on radial, tangential, and axial coordinates.

Once the material properties, loads, and boundary conditions have been defined, the model is ready to be subdivided, or "discretized", into a collection of finite elements. This process is commonly known as meshing because, when displayed, the result of the discretization process resembles a net or mesh. In Creo Elements/Direct Finite Element Analysis, the meshing process is automatic and transparent to you when an analysis is run. This does not mean, however, that you cannot influence the mesh creation.

The mesh is composed of the finite elements and nodes. Nodes are the geometric points which help to define or demarcate the model geometry and connect the elements. All of your analysis results, such as displacements and reaction forces, are determined at nodes. It is node displacement which forms the basis for the equations used in the finite element method of analysis.

If you have specific locations on your model from which you want to derive analysis results, Creo Elements/Direct Finite Element Analysis allows you to set mesh conditions, such as concentrating elements, at certain points or on specific geometry and defining node locations on vertices, edges, and faces. These node locations are called hardpoints. (Hardpoints are also called seed points or grid points in some FEA systems.)

When Creo Elements/Direct Finite Element Analysis creates the mesh for your design model, it will condition the mesh at any locations you may have specified. This means that the mesh elements will be concentrated in critical areas or be joined at specific hardpoints, rather than located automatically according to the optimum element size and shape for your model.

By specifying mesh conditions, the solver equations and results that are generated will take the specific user-declared refinements into consideration along with the automatically generated nodes.

The purpose of mesh conditioning is to ensure that results derived from the nodes in the model are as precise as possible for the given parameters.