SAT Processor Error

[Dave442]

Hi all,

I have carried out some finite element modelling in Abaqus and have used a plug-in to generate a .SAT file from my deformed mesh. I would like to import this .SAT file into Solidworks but encounter the following error:

Error: Part creation may fail as the bounding box is too small.
SAT-out did not complete successfully.
Context: Record ending on line number 1
OR one of its fields.

The part under investigation is approximately 20mm in length. I am new to Solidworks and was hoping to get some insight.

Many Thanks,
Dave

 

[SnowCrash]

You might check here:
SolidWorks: Simulation/FEA (COSMOS) Forum

--
Hardie "Crashj" Johnson
SW 2011 SP 4.0
HP Pavillion Elite HPE
W7 Pro, Nvidia Quaddro FX580

 

[rstupplebeen]

I have never used that plug-in for Abaqus. Do you know if it creates a best fit NURBS surface or is it just a faceted surface of the mesh?

When I have issues importing CAD data into Abaqus I always push back to the CAD guy to see if it comes back into their CAD package clean. I suggest doing the same here. Try reading it back into Abaqus. It could be a version issue.

I hope this helps.

Rob Stupplebeen

https://sites.google.com/site/robertkstupplebeen/

 

[rollupswx]

I suggest doing the same here.

Sounds to me like the OP is trying to do just the opposite - open an ACIS (*.sat) created in Abaqus in SolidWorks.

I would be curious to look at the *.sat file.
Is the geometry actually a solid or is it a surface?

 

[Dave442]

Hi all,

thank you all for the replies. I carried out some FE analyses in Abaqus using an orphan mesh which has no geometrical features. I then used a plug-in to generate a .SAT file of the deformed mesh.

To answer you rstupplebeen, the plug-in generates a faceted surface of the mesh. I wish to carry out some CFD analyses using the deformed geometry and I am currently trying to get the faceted geometry into a CAD package to try to blend / smooth the facetted surfaces.

I managed to get the file into SolidWorks by fiddling with the options when opening the file. In your opinions, is it possible to smooth / blend a facetted surface with thousands of small faces into a small number of smooth surfaces? Another option I could pursue is importing the file into Rhinoceros 3d as a .STL file and trying to regenerate the surfaces there.

As I mentioned I am quite new to the solid / surface modelling side of things and any advice would be appreciated.

Many Thanks,
Dave

 

[rstupplebeen]

"I suggest doing the same here" meant to check if Abaqus could even read it's own file.

I find quite often that CAD packages will right out a file that can not be reread into the original software without errors.

In SolidWorks I believe you need ScanTo3D add-in. I believe Rhino has a drape command but it has been a while.

Reconstructing surfaces from faceted FEA meshes is not a trivial endeavor at all. Please post back with your final solution.

Good luck.

Rob Stupplebeen

https://sites.google.com/site/robertkstupplebeen/