Chapter 7: Generating the Mesh

The process for generating a mesh of nodes and elements consists of three general steps:

  1. Set the element attributes.

  2. Set mesh controls (optional). A large number of mesh controls are available from which to choose.

  3. Meshing the model.

It is not always necessary to set mesh controls because the default mesh controls are appropriate for many models. If no controls are specified, the program will use the default settings (DESIZE) to produce a free mesh. Alternatively, you can use the SmartSize feature to produce a better quality free mesh.