XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX''"> 2.6 Module and Preference Setup
Analysis Preferences Setup
You can customize the MSC Nastran,MD Nastran, Marc, Dytran, ABAQUS, ANSYS or other 3rd party Preferences to automatically submit jobs from the Patran analysis forms. Edit the file p3_trans.ini in the Patran installation ($P3_HOME) to point to the correct location and machine name where the solver resides.
There is an entry in p3_trans.ini for each analysis preference, analysis module and version. The following example shows the entry for MSC Nastran:
[Nastran]
Hosttype=Windows
Scratchdir=
Acommand20xx=c:\MSC.Software\MSC.Nastran\bin\nast20xx.exe
Host20xx=LOCAL
This file can be edited using Configuration Tool. Run this tool as part of the installation process or anytime after from
Start>Programs>MSC.Software>Patran 20xx>Configuration Utility
The Browse button on the analysis code subforms will bring up a directory tree dialog box so you can navigate to your analysis code installation. The Locate button will try to find your analysis code installation using information from the registry.
Pro/ENGINEER Access Setup
There are two methods to import Pro/ENGINEER part files. The first involves conversion to a Parasolid file and does not require Pro/Engineer to run in the background. The second method imports Pro/ENGINEER part files by actually running Pro/ENGINEER in the background and executing a Pro/Toolkit program. For this reason, any workstation that will access Pro/ENGINEER part files must be able to execute Pro/ENGINEER (i.e. the software must be executable and have valid licenses) using
this method.
Note: | To use the CAD Access features on Windows 64 machines, the Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 SP1 Redistributable Package (x86) is installed as part of the Patran installation. |
1. During the Patran installation, you will be prompted for the command to run your Pro/ENGINEER software. Enter the path in the dialog box, for example:
/bin/proe
2. Next, you need to configure Patran for use with WildFire 3 and earlier, or WildFire 4. This will configure the MSCP_PROE_PREWF4 environment variable for your installation. Please see the table below for the correct setting for your version of Pro/E:
For WildFire 3 or earlier | YES |
For WildFire 4 | NO |
If you do not know the location of your Pro/E installation or version, you can change or add the environment variables in P3_TRANS.INI after your have finished the installation: The two environment variables are:
MSCP_PROE_CMD=d:\proe\bin\proe2000i.bat
and
MSCP_PROE_PREWF4=YES or NO
See
Environment Variables, 50 for additional information.
The following notes are applicable to the Import to Native Patran Geometry method:
The Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire release introduced the following platform changes:
• IBM AIX platform unsupported. Existing Patran translator is still available for pre-Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire release.
The following is necessary for customers to use the Patran Pro/ENGINEER translator with Pro/ENGINEER after January, 2004:
• PTC Important System Notice - Timeout http://www.ptc.com/go/timeout/
For Pro/ENGINEER 2001:
• Download NMSD.exe and follow PTC instructions.
For Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire:
• Download NMSD.exe and follow PTC instructions.
• Download wildfire datecode 2003490 and follow PTC instructions.
The Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire 2.0 release introduced the following platform changes:
• HP-UX and SUNS supports 64-bit only. Patran translator compatible with pre-Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire 2.0 and Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire 2.0 release. If running Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire 2.0, the HP-UX and/or SUNS platform must be a 64-bit capable machine to run the Patran translator
Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire 3.0/4.0
• Linux is supported for Import to Parasolid
• The p3_ProE and p3_ProENGINEER executables are built using Pro/ENGINEER version 2000i and therefore will not work with earlier versions of Pro/ENGINEER.
Running Pro/ENGINEER Access Remotely
You may convert a Pro/ENGINEER part file into a .geo file outside of Patran by running the p3_proengineer executable directly. This must be done on a system with Pro/ENGINEER installed and requires a FLEXlm license for Pro/ENGINEER Access.
set MSCP_PROE_CMD=d:\proe\bin\proe2000i.bat
2. Execute the p3_proengineer.exe script from the Patran installation.
It is possible to create an installation that contains only the Pro/ENGINEER Access (by selecting only Pro/ENGINEER Access in mscsetup). You may not, however, simply copy the following script since it requires files included in the installation.
$P3_HOME\bin\p3_proengineer +prt<partfile> pro_wait
For example:
$P3_HOME\bin\p3_proengineer +prttest.prt pro_wait
Unigraphics Access Setup
Unigraphics Access requires a UG/Gateway license from Unigraphics Solutions. This is a requirement by Unigraphics Solutions for all 3rd parties using their UG/OPEN Toolkit.
Unigraphics UG NX 6.0 Access is recommended for this version of Patran and is installed by default if you use the Full installation option. It is not recommended that both UG NX 4.0 and 5.0 both be installed. This configuration has not been tested and could lead to stability issues. If you intend to use UG NX 4.0 or earlier, you will need to choose the User Selectable option from the installation window and select UG NX 4.0 Access for it to be installed. You also need to set the environment variable:
setEnv('MSC_Pre_NX5_License','YES');If you have an existing UG/Gateway FLEXlm license, you must point to that license server or file with the UGII_LICENSE_FILE (UG NX 4.0 or earlier) or UGS_LICENSE_SERVER (UG NX 5.0) environment variable. If you do not have an existing UG/Gateway license, you must purchase it from your local UG sales office.
Note: | The Pre-NX5 binaries are not compatible with the 64-bit Patran database. A work-around is to perform the import using the 32-bit Patran and then open the database with 64-bit Patran. The limitation with this work around is that the interoperability with editing features will not work. If this functionality is desired, you will need to continue using the 32-bit version of Patran. |
An alternate solution is to export Parasolid files from Unigraphics and import them into Patran. This method does not require UG/OPEN and the associated UG/Gateway license. Use of this method does not, however, allow access to UG assembly import or parameter and feature update.
Caution: | If a UG installation exists on the same machine as Patran, the UG environment variables can cause problems with Patran UG Access. To avoid this, place the following in the $P3_HOME/site_setup.pm file: setEnv('UGII_BASE_DIR','','OverWrite');setEnv('UGII_ROOT_DIR','','OverWrite');setEnv('UGII_SCHEMA','','OverWrite');setEnv('UGII_OPTION','','OverWrite'); |
I-deas Access Setup
I-deas Access requires Patran and a UGS I-deas 12 NX installation on the same machine. Ideas must be started from:
Start>program>I-DEAS 12>I-DEAS Command Prompt
for Patran to be able to import the Ideas model. Ideas import only works with Interop R18 sp3 installed.
To import an I-deas model file (.mfi) into Patran, you must first run I-deas 12 in OpenBatchDesign mode (possibly also known as Master Modeler mode).
%IDEASROOT%\bin\ideas -n OpenBatchDesign
Then you can run Patran and initiate the I-deas import. Please, ensure the IDEASROOT environment variable has set proper value before executing Patran.
IDEASROOT is the path to the I-deas-12 installation,
e.g. IDEASROOT = C:\UGS\IDEAS12
Note: | Please ensure that the IONA directory is installed under IDEASROOT. |
Patran Thermal Setup
The following are the only supported compilers for Patran Thermal:
Windows (32 bit) platforms:
• Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 SP1
• Intel Fortran, Version 9.1, build 034 or later build
Windows (64 bit) platforms:
• Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 SP1 (X64 Compilers and Tools feature must be selected
during install)
• Intel Fortran Compiler for EM64T-based applications version 9.1 Build 20070109 Package ID: W_FC_C_9.1.034
64 bit Version
Assuming that the compilers are installed in each manufactures default location, to execute the 64-bit version of Patran Thermal from the 32-bit version of Patran, define the environment variable RUN64 with a value of “yes” (lower case). Any other value will not invoke the 64-bit Patran Thermal executables.
setenv RUN64 yes
The compilers and appropriate libraries are referenced n the Patran Thermal shell scripts. If you wish to place compilers and/or libraries in different locations, their paths and references in the Patran Thermal shell scripts will need to reflect these changes. The RUN64 environment variable is the test switch that selects the appropriate compiler, linker, and path options.
Note: | The above environment variable is not necessary when running Patran Thermal from the 64-bit version of Patran. Only the 64-bit version of Patran Thermal is accessible when running from the 64-bit version of Patran. |
Microsoft Internet Explorer
Installation of the compiler may require Microsoft (MS) Internet Explorer (IE).
MSDN
If you will be installing MicroSoft .NET 2005 only as a requirement for using Patran Thermal then it is not necessary to install MSDN. The request to install MSDN is made near the end of compiler installation. MSDN may be installed as an option any time should the compiler be used also as development tool.
General Installation Notes
It is generally simpler, if space allows on the C: drive, to select the default locations for the compiler installations. Both compilers will then be located in the same parent directory which is a requirement for the usage of the Patran Thermal preference.
If the compilers are installed prior to the installation of Patran Thermal then the Patran installation wizard will automatically modify the scripts which specify the location of the compilers. If compilers are not installed prior to the installation of Patran Thermal a warning will be issued to the installer that the compilers need to be installed before the Patran Thermal module can be used.
Flightloads and Dynamics Setup
Flightloads and Dynamics supports separate “interactive” and “batch” locations of the MSC Nastran executable. Interactive MSC Nastran is used for spline verify, aero model import and loads extraction from aerodynamic/aeroelastic databases. Batch MSC Nastran is used for running analyses. The interactive MSC Nastran executable must be on the local machine (i.e. the system running Flightloads).
1. Create an environment variable under Control Panel/System/Environment as follows:
MSCP_FLDS_MSG_FILE=$P3_HOME/flds.msg
2. Edit
p3_trans.ini file in the Patran $P3_HOME directory. For additional information on setting values in this file see
Environment Variables, 50.
3. In the p3_trans.ini file define Alocalcommandxxxx to point to the MSC Nastran command program for interactive processes. This must be a local installation of MSC Nastran Version xxxx, for example:
Alocalcommand200n=c:\msc\bin\nast200n.exe
4. Set the Acommandxxxx environment variable to point to the MSC Nastran executable for batch processes (and non-Flightloads MSC Nastran execution):
Acommand200n=c:\msc\bin\nast200n.exe
5. Create a new shortcut either as a desktop icon or in your Start menu. Under Properties\Shortcut for this new item, set “Target” to:
$P3_HOME\bin\patran.exe -ifile init_fld.pcl.
Substitute $P3_HOME with the actual installation directory path. Use this shortcut to start MSC.Flightloads. This icon can be created at the time of installation by answering Yes to the prompt for creating a Flightloads icon.
Analysis Manager Setup
Below is a brief overview of the process for installing and configuring the Analysis Manager for a typical, standard installation. The Remote and Queue Manager services will be installed automatically by the install program.
2. No other programs should be running when Analysis Manager is installed.
3. Select the location where you want the Analysis Manager installed.
4. Review the installation information and click on Next.
5. If you have MSC Nastran installed, click on browse to point Analysis Manager to it’s location.
6. If you have Marc installed, click on browse to point Analysis Manager to it’s location.
7. Choose whether or not you want Analysis Manager configured automatically, or if you would like to configure it manually.
Manually configuring Analysis Manager
These services generally should not be run as the LocalSystem!
1. Change the Log On account of the services. This step is optional but highly recommended. Under the “Start” menu select “Settings | Control Panel | Administrative Tools | Services”. Find the MSCRmtMgr_20xx and MSCQueMgr_20xx named services and right-click on each and select "Properties". Then select the "Log On" Tab. Turn ON the "This account" toggle and then enter the non-administrator account and password that will manage the configuration. Do this for both services. Then right-click on each service and select "Stop". Then right-click on each service and select "Start". Now the services are running as the user/account you have chosen. Network resources such as shared folders are sometimes not accessible by the default LocalSystem account so it is necessary to change the MSCRmtMgr_20xx service account to another user if Analysis jobs access network shares via include files or any other means. The MSCQueMgr_20xx service only writes to local files in the AM install path (unless it is installed over a network share) so it isn't as sensitive to which account it runs as.
3. Choose the machine that will act as the “Master Host.” On this system must install and start a Queue Manger service, which schedules analysis jobs.
4. Configure the Analysis Manager. Login to the “Master Host” machine and execute the Analysis Manager.
$P3_HOME/bin/p3analysis_mgr
When the interface appears, double click on the Administration tree tab. You may get a message saying no configuration files exist. Ignore this! Enter an Administrator account name.
5. Choose “Applications” to add an application definition. This will typically be MSC Nastran, Marc, or ABAQUS.
6. Choose “Physical Hosts” to define the machines that will run analyses (“Analysis Hosts”).
7. Choose “AM Hosts” to define the application paths on the physical hosts. Note that each physical host may have multiple “AM Host” definitions (i.e. one for MSC Nastran, one for Marc, one for ABAQUS, or one for each different version of these programs that are to be accessible).
8. Choose “Disk Space”. Click on each AM Host definition under this tree tab. The defaults are c:\tmp. Change them if you need to. The analyses are run in these directories.
9. Save the configuration files under “Queue | Save Config Settings.”
10. Stop and start the Queue Manager ( “Queue | Stop/Start QueMgr”).
11. Test the configuration by selecting “Administration” in the tree tab and pressing the “Test Configuration” button. If all the tests passed, the Analysis Manager should now be able to successfully run from within Patran.
SuperModel
SuperModel requires the following:
1. An Patran installation.
2. An installation of the Analysis Manager. See
Analysis Manager Setup, 19. MSC Nastran must be available somewhere on the network and the Analysis Manager configured for proper access.
3. Patran customization tools and the MSC Nastran Preference. These should be selected as part of the standard Patran installation.
4. A File Manager server and client. The server and client can be the same machine or different machines.
Note: | Supermodel is not available with MD Patran. |
A desktop icon is created to launch SuperModel. SuperModel is launched with the following command if done manually from a command prompt:
% $P3_HOME/patran -ifile init_sm.pcl -stdout -synchronize
File Manager Service
You will be asked if you wish to install the file manager service (smdl_fm_server, PowerRPC Portmapper) during the installation procedure. An administrative username is required for this installation. Regardless of whether you install the file manager or the file manager service resides on another machine, you will be required to identify the machine running the service, and it’s assigned number (usually the default is fine unless your system administrator has assigned another number). Fully qualified locations (path) of the file hierarchy directory, local, and remote workspaces are also requested as input for a standard installation. Usually the defaults are fine after the initial hierarchy location is identified. If the initial hierarchy location does not exist, it will be created as well as the other workspaces if necessary. When the file manager service is installed, Patran is run as part of the installation procedure and you should see the following messages among others in the Patran command line for successful installation:
smdl_fm_main_int_database()
$# Initializing the FileManager Database
$#!!!SUCCESSFULLY INITIALIZED FILEMANAGER DATABASE!!!
smdl_fm_main_templates()
$#Initializing Default File Types
$#!!!SUCCESSFULLY ESTABLISHING DEFAULT FILE TYPES!!!
$#!!!SUCCESSFULLY ESTABLISHING DEFAULT FILE TYPES!!!
Quit Patran to compete the installation.
If you need to reinstall the File Manager service, you may need to remove the File Manager repository directory that you specified in the File Manager installation. If you have problems, please consult the SuperModel Installation Guide as previously mentioned or contact your local MSC Application Engineer.
Tutorials (Formerly Acumen)
Acumen is now known as Tutorials and is an integral part of Patran installed automatically and configured to run a standard Acumen demo (hello_world) from the Help | Tutorials menu. No external environment variables need to be set to run the Help | Tutorials application. The integrated Tutorial system is backwards compatible with existing Acumen applications. The ACUMEN_HOME environment variable can be set to P3_HOME or be undefined to allow the application to use the Tutorial system code. Standard Acumen environment variables as documented in Acumen manuals continue to work as advertised.
The Acumen application can still be invoked from the command prompt or the Patran desktop icon properties can be modified as such:
$P3_HOME\bin\patran -iam MSC.ACUMEN
$P3_HOME\bin\patran -iam MSC.ACUMEN_RunTime
$P3_HOME\bin\patran -iam MSC.ACUMEN_RunTime -ifile aa_init.pcl
Patran Enterprise Materials
You will be asked for the hostname and port of the computer hosting the Integrated EMV (Enterprise MVision) client. This information is recorded in a properties file. You can edit this file at any time after installation to make changes.
$P3_HOME\IntegratedClient\config\MscSdmIC.properties
The site_setup.pm file located in $P3_HOME points to the location of this properites file. Locations of the EMV message file and shared library are set in the emv_ic.pm located in $P3_HOME.
Documentation
Patran documentation exists in $P3_HOME in the helpfiles directory. Both PDF and HTML versions exist. The latest available documentation for MSC Nastran and Marc are also available in PDF format if unloaded from the delivery media. Patran’s context sensitive help system is accessed by pressing the F1 key for the currently active form. The HTML based help system should work automatically (in the patran.pl file in $P3_HOME\bin). Check the following variables if not.
Variable | Description |
P3_HELP_MODE | Set this to “2” to indicate the HTML helpfile system is to be used. |
P3_BRW_HELP | Set this to the location of the browser you wish to use, e.g., C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe |
P3_HELP_DIRECTORY | Set this to the location of the HTML helpfile system, e.g., $P3_HOME\helpfiles\html_patran\ To point to a network location on windows, see the example below. |
setEnv('P3_HELP_DIRECTORY','\\\\nighthawk\\product_doc\\Patran\\html_patran\\',overwrite); |
2 Due to royalty license requirements for Parasolid Modeling, a Parasolid Modeling License, available from MSC.Software, is required to access these features.