Maximum Element Size—Topology Optimization
Click
Home and then click the arrow next to
Control. Click
Maximum Element Size. The
Maximum Element Size Control dialog box opens. Use this control to control the size of the elements that the mesh generator creates.
Specify the following information in the dialog box:
• Name—Specify a name for the mesh control or use the default name.
• References—Specify the reference type and select the appropriate geometry. If you already selected the valid geometric references before opening the Maximum Element Size Control dialog box, the References collector shows your selections when the dialog box opens. Otherwise, you can select the references after the dialog box opens.
◦ points (maximum only)
◦ edges (maximum only)/ curves
◦ surfaces
◦ volumes
◦ components
• Element Size—Specify the maximum element size. You can select units for the element size from the adjacent drop-down list or accept the default units.
If you enter an unusually small value for the maximum element size, the software might create an extremely large number of elements. To warn you of this situation, the mesh generator compares the specified size of the element with the volume of the meshed part. If the specified element size is very small, the software shows a message. If it cannot generate a mesh with elements that small, the software overrides the value specified in the mesh control with the smallest value it considers acceptable and shows a warning message.
The mesh generator only accepts the Maximum Element Size mesh control if you apply them to unmeshed components. If a component has a mesh, the mesh generator silently ignores these mesh controls.
Creo uses precedence rules when you apply Maximum Element Size mesh controls to geometric references in a model. For more information, see Precedence Rules for Mesh Controls in the Creo Simulate help.