The Strain Scaling Factor (SSF) is a calibration factor used to account for differences in machines and materials that you may use to improve the accuracy of your simulations. This value is a direct multiplier to the predicted strain values. Using a value of 1 will result in strain magnitudes as calculated by the solver. Some material and geometry combinations result in bulging/expansion rather than shrinkage and so a negative SSF is possible. Values between -1 and 1 will reduce displacement and stress while values outside of that range will amplify them. Using a value of 0 will result in no strain and the final displacement will match the input geometry. The default Strain Scaling Factor is 1.

You should use the default SSF of 1 for your first simulation in Additive and then work from there to calibrate the best value of SSF. Because these are single data point values and there can be variations even from batch to batch of material, we recommend that you calibrate for SSF for each specific machine and material combination. See the Additive Print and Science Calibration Guide.

It is not necessary to perform this calibration if you are conducting a trend analysis, that is, if you will be examining the effects of variable changes on stress or distortion relative to each other.