Composite Design > Composite Feature > Working with the Laminate
Working with the Laminate
A laminate is a stack of laminate objects, such as plies and cores.
The Laminate Tree is a list of all the laminate objects in a composite feature. In the Laminate Tree, the order of laminate objects represents the physical order of the laminate objects on the mold, from closest to the farthest.
To show the Laminate Tree, do the following:
• In the Composite Tree, click to display the Laminate Tree.
Color Mapping of Laminate Objects
In the Laminate Tree, different laminate objects are shown in different colors. The laminate objects that share the same material name and orientation are shown in the same color.
To learn how to change the color mapping of laminate objects, see Manage the Color Mapping of Plies.
Laminate Tree Filters
In the Laminate Tree, you can identify the type of a laminate object by the attached icon. By default, consumed laminate objects are not displayed.
To choose the items to display in the Laminate Tree, do the following:
1. Click Tree Filters. The Laminate Tree Filters dialog box opens.
2. Select the laminate objects to display in the Laminate Tree.
Laminate Tree Modes
The Laminate Tree has three different modes. The following table describes each of the Laminate Tree modes:
Laminate Tree Mode
Description
Laminate List
Displays a list of laminate objects. This is the default mode.
Laminate Manager
Displays laminate objects and their properties in a table. Click Tree Columns to select the properties to display.
Use this mode to quickly update the laminate object properties, such as sequence, material, and orientation.
Draping Manager
Displays laminate objects and their drape status in a table. Click Tree Columns to select the columns to display.
The drape status is displayed only after you run draping simulation on the laminate objects.
Saving the Laminate Tree
You can save the information from the active mode of the Laminate Tree in a *.csv file. For example, you can use the *.csv file to create a laminate table that contains the information of laminate objects in a drawing.
On the Laminate Tree, click > Save As CSV to save the laminate tree information to a *.csv file in the specified directory.
Adding a Material Parameter Column to the Laminate Tree
You can add a material parameter column, such as PTC_MTRL_CURED_THICKNESS, to the Laminate Tree. For this, the Laminate Tree must be displayed in Laminate Manager or Draping Manager mode.
1. Click Tree Columns. The Laminate Tree Columns dialog box opens.
2. Select Material Parameters in the Type box.
3. Type the material parameter and click to add the specified column to the Displayed list of columns.
4. Use or to specify the location of the column.
5. Click OK.
The new material parameter column now appears in the Laminate Tree with appropriate information.
Operations on Laminate Objects
In the Laminate Tree, you can perform different operations on laminate objects. The following table describes the steps to perform some common operations on laminate objects:
Operation
Steps to Perform the Operation
Select feature
Right-click a laminate object and select to locate its feature.
Transition plies
Select one or more laminate objects and click Transition Plies on the mini toolbar to shorten or extend the plies.
To learn how to apply transition to laminate objects, see Define Transition between Plies.
Splice plies
Select one or more laminate objects and click Splice Plies on the mini toolbar to splice or dart the plies.
To learn how to apply splicing and darting to laminate objects, see Splice or Dart Plies
Remove plies
Select one or more laminate objects and click Remove Ply on the mini toolbar to remove its geometry and create a feature to consume the plies.
To learn how to remove laminate objects, see Remove Laminate Objects
Run draping simulation
Select one or more laminate objects and click Draping Simulation to run a draping simulation to analyze ply producibility and calculate ply flat patterns.
To learn how to run draping simulation on laminate objects, see Run Draping Simulations.
Export Flat Pattern
Before you export the flat pattern of plies, make sure that the draping simulation of the plies is successful, and the draping simulation feature exists.
Select the plies, right-click, and select Export Flat Pattern to export flat pattern of one or more draped plies.
To learn how to export flat pattern of laminate objects, see Export the Flat Pattern.
Calculate Mass Properties
Select a laminate object, right-click, and select Mass Properties Settings to calculate the mass properties of the laminate object.
To learn how to calculate mass properties of a laminate object or of the whole laminate, see Reporting Mass Properties of the Material.
Export Draping Summary
Before you export the draping summary, make sure that the draping simulation of the plies is successful, the draping simulation feature exists, and the Laminate Tree is displayed in Draping Manager mode. To display the Laminate Tree in the Draping Manager mode, select Draping Manager on the Laminate Tree.
Select the plies, right-click, and select Export Draping Summary.
To learn how to export summary report of draping results, see Export the Draping Summary.
Display Information in Embedded Web Browser
Before you display the information of the laminate object in the embedded web browser, make sure that the value of info_output_format configuration option is set to html.
Right–click the laminate object, and then select Information > Ply Information.
Laminate Object Properties
In the Laminate Tree, you can select laminate objects and edit their common properties.
To edit the laminate object properties, do the following:
1. Select one or more laminate objects.
* 
Make sure not to select a consumed laminate object. Editing properties of consumed laminate objects is not supported.
2. Right-click and select Properties. The Laminate Objects Properties dialog box opens.
3. Edit any of the following laminate properties:
Laminate Object Property
Steps to Change the Property
Material
• In the Material list, select the material.
Orientation
• In the Orientation box, specify the orientation of the objects relative to the X-axis of the rosette.
Drop-off
• In the Drop-off box, specify the drop-off value.
Name
a. Select the Change name option.
b. In the Prefix box, specify the prefix of the new names of the selected objects using a mixture of letters and numbers.
c. In the Start box, specify the starting index for the first object.
d. In the Step box, specify the step between the indexes of consecutive objects.
e. Select the Skip conflicts check box to rename the selected objects and skip renaming objects whose new names conflict with existing names. If you do not select this check box and if a name conflict is encountered, no objects will be renamed.
f. Click Verify Names to check name conflicts with the existing plies.
Sequence
a. Select the Change sequence option.
b. In the Prefix box, specify the prefix of the new sequence of the selected objects using a mixture of letters and numbers.
c. In the Start box, specify the starting index of the first object.
d. In the Step box, specify the step between the indexes of consecutive objects. To apply the same index as specified in the Start box, enter 0 or leave the box empty.
4. Click OK.
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