Showing Contact Between Objects

Use this tool in the Validate group on the Prepare tab to display a preview of topology sharing. Show Contact lets you see - before sending to ANSYS - exactly what topology would be shared.

  1. Click the top level assembly component in the Structure Tree
  2. In the Properties panel, locate the Share Topology property
  3. Click in the property input panel

  4. Open the dropdown menu and choose

    • None (default) does nothing to geometry during transfer to ANSYS/Workbench

    • Merge is used for Baffles:

      • It merges surfaces with solids and trims away any parts of the surfaces outside of the solid
      • Faces do not need to intersect
      • Surfaces that are completely inside a solid are merged with that body
    • Share imprints and merges all bodies in the components the result to ANSYS as a multi-body part
    • Group groups all bodies in a component into a multi-body part, but does NOT merge or share faces and edges of the bodies with each other
  5. Click the Show Contact button in the CAE group on the Prepare tab. Any shared topology displays on the model with blue lines.

To further define your share topology, and to help you identify any failed or missing connections or parts, you can use the Edges and Vertices toggle check boxes in the Options panel to hide or show edge junctions, laminar edges, free beams, and beam junctions and ends. This allows you to get an isolated preview of the model's face, edge, and vertex connections.

Show Contact settings in the Options Panel Display color Description
Edge Options Edge options control the display of connected and disconnected paths (edges, sketch curves, Beam paths).
Show Edge Junctions Blue Shared edges of solids or surfaces and Beams
Show Laminar Edges Red Edges of surface bodies that are not connected to anything
Show Free Beams Orange Beams that are not entirely connected (coincident to an edge or embedded within a face).
Vertex Options Vertex options control the display of connected endpoints (Beam endpoints and intersections).
Show Beam Junctions Blue Shared points on Beams (shared endpoints or interior intersections).
Show Beam Ends Red Non-shared endpoints of Beams.