Getting Started

Quick Start Guide

See the following videos to get started with Intact.Simulation Grasshopper Plugin quickly.
Note: the videos utilize Rhino 7 so there may be some minor discrepancies, but the workflow remains consistent

Download demo files using the link below to use our example.

Link to download
* Legacy * Link to download (for Rhino 7)

A. Setting Up Your First Simulation

Step 1: Load your model in Rhino 3D

Open Rhino 3D and load your design
For this quick guide, start with a B-rep (surface meshes like STL require a slightly different Step 2)
You can also open the “Bracket.3dm” file (in the demo files linked above).

Step 2: Prepare the model for simulation

Make copies of faces that have boundary conditions to be applied
Note that the steps here are for a CAD file (Polysurfaces in Rhino).

Step 3: Launch Grasshopper and Intact.Simulation

Get started by launching Grasshopper. Type “Grasshopper” in the Command entry box
You can also open the “video demo.gh” file (in the demo files linked above) within Grasshopper.

Step 4: Add a component (Geometry and Material)

Create a component from the design geometry and specify the appropriate material
Note you can also add blocks by double clicking on the canvas (See Tips and Tricks)

Step 5: Specify Boundary Condition

Step 5a: Restraint

Specify the faces that are fixed

Step 5b: Load

Specify the faces that are loaded as well as load type and load magnitude (pressure load in this case)
Loads are in MKS unit system (Pa for Pressure)

Step 6: Specify Simulation Resolution

Specify the number of elements for simulation.

B. Executing Simulation and Viewing Results

Step 1: Run Simulation

Execute simulation to solve the structural finite element problem defined previously

Step 2: View Results

Visualize the results such as displacement and stresses as the colormap

Step 3: Post-process (deflection)

Scale the deformation to see the deflected shape

Table of Contents