InStep - Help

Configurations

The Settings dialog box allows the user to configure different aspects of the application. These settings can have a strong influence on the behavior of the application and the resulting data or just help in making the workflow more comfortable.

- General: Icon Size

Changes the icon size on the display.

- General: Max Processes

Allows parallel processing for some of the task. Default is '1'. for some cases using the number of physical processors of a machine in this box can accelerate functions but may make the application less stable. This is still a beta feature and it is suggested that the user leaves this setting at '1' for regular use.

- General: Error Checking

Determines if the loaded data is to be checked for errors automatically during the loading process or if the error checking is to be done manually only. Default is 'Auto'.

- Import/Export: Multi-Body Check

Determines if the application performs a check for body/facet connectivity during load. If the Basic (or higher) license is not available, only the largest body will be loaded.

- Import/Export: Export All Data

Determines if all data of a multi body data set is exported to STEP format or only valid bodies. If invalid bodies are exported, loading of the data by a CAD application may fail or take longer to process. If set to 'Valid Data" (Default) and no bodies exist without errors, no data will be exported. During export the user is informed if there are invalid bodies and asked about overriding this setting.

- Import/Export: *Units

The different file formats do not natively store the units used to construct the data. For this reason the application needs to be told in what units the data is provided otherwise the scale of the resulting bodies will be wrong. If the incorrect scale is chosen, the data may overflow the bounds and errors could occur (for instance if the data for a car is provided in millimeters and the import is set to meters, the data will be scaled by a factor of 1000 for an export to millimeters. This may cause numbers that are too large to fit the allocated space).

-Import/Export: Decimal Delimiter

This allows for manual replacement of delimiters used in countries that do not use the point as a decimal delimiter. This setting should be left at "Auto".

-Import/Export: Remove overlapping Facets

Some formats keep facets where two volumes touch. The application can usually not distinguish between which facet belongs to which body, therefore it is recommended that this option is left at "Auto".

- Import/Export: Exclude Degenerate Facets

This option removes degenerate data during the loading stage. Some formats are not consistent with the facet representation and can include zero-area facets that can cause issues during export. This option should be left at "Auto".
Note that some applications generate zero area triangles to match vertices with edges. During loading these vertices may get 'nudged' to prevent this degeneracy. the resulting hole needs to be patched before the body can be used without issues.

- Import/Export: Volume Midside Nodes

Gives the option to remove element midside nodes for FE meshes. CFD applications generally do not support/use midside nodes so linearizing the elements can reduce the data. This option is only partially implemented at this point.

- Import/Export: Surface Mesh

Once a FE mesh is loaded, geometric representation can be automatically extracted for use in displaying the data. It is recommended that larger models do not automatically display the data since this can drastically increase the load time. The options allow shell elements to be used for the display (2D to surfaces), only Shell elements to be loaded and used for display (2D surface only) or the extraction algorithm used to extract exterior surfaces from the volume mesh for use in the display (compute from 3D). Default is 'None' (=do not generate a display set from Volume mesh)

- Import/Export: Nastran Format/Extension

These two options allow the extension of the exported Nastran format to be selected as well as what format the data should contain. The usual format is the "Long" format that applies to the BDF format.

- Numerics: Flip Normals

If multiple bodies are loaded, this option allows the normals of all bodies to be flipped or only those of the currently selected body.

- Numerics: Round Values

This field determines the number of decimals used during import to account for data discrepancy. Changing this value can have an effect for applications that generate very small facets or where numerical issues arise. It is suggested that different values are used in this field if issues arise for otherwise solid bodies.

- Numerics: Use Large File Converter

This is an item still in development. It is only used to load very large GEO files and does not work on any other items. This option should be left deactivated ("No").

- FE Meshes

This option is not yet implemented. The values set have no effect on the application.

- 3D Motion Settings

These items allow for a fine tuning of the user interface to reverse the direction (negative values) or increase/decrease the sensitivity of the mouse or optional 3D input device. A spaceball can be enabled under these settings provided that the driver has been previously installed.

- Custom Lighting options

The lights used in the display can be modified by the user. As a default, there are four basic lights defined. The syntax of the data is provided and should be considered an advanced option only applicable to fine tuning of the application. The Shading model can be selected to be either flat or Gouraud which is a more gradual shading model.

- License Activation/Deactivation

The application comes with a default free version that is limited in its capabilities. Depending on the use of the application, a license may be purchased that unlocks different options. A license is considered non-transferable and a single user may only activate a key on onemachine at a time. If a user wants to deactivate a license on one machine in order to activate it on a different machine, he/she is required to first deactivate it before reactivating. Deactivation will release the key on the local machine and a request will be sent to the server to release the key from the machine that it is being used on. If the release is approved (frequent switching is discouraged), the key will be released within approximately three business days.