Creating a Flexible Body in Adams View
When you create a flexible body in Adams View, Adams View reads the Modal Neutral File (MNF) or MD DB defining the body and creates the necessary Adams View geometry for displaying the flexible body. It also creates a mesh on the flexible body representing the flexible body elements and nodes. You can simplify the mesh geometry as explained in Substituting Outline Graphics for the Finite Element Mesh.
Adams Flex places the flexible body so the flexible body's local body reference frame (LBRF) is at the origin of the global coordinate system. The LBRF corresponds to the origin of the FE environment in which the body was originally modeled. You can also set the location of the flexible body as you create the body using options in the dialog box or move the body later as you do any element in Adams View using the Object Manipulation Strip on the Main Menu. Learn more about Moving Objects Using the Move Tools.
After you import an MNF or MD DB into Adams View, you can use the Info tool to examine pertinent data about the flexible body. (Learn about the Info tool.)
Use environment variable MSC_AVIEW_ERROR_ON_MISSING_NODE_ID = yes to abort the swap procedure if the rigid body marker has a node id bigger than the node count of the flexible body generated. Otherwise, the swap procedure is continued by assigning nearest node id to the marker.
To import an MNF or MD DB into Adams View:
1. Click the Bodies tab.
2. From the Flexible Bodies container, select Adams Flex 
.
. The Create a Flexible Body dialog box appears.
3. In the Flexible Body Name text box, enter the name you want assigned to the flexible body.
4. First select whether you want to create flexible body from MNF or MD DB from the dropdown box. Tips on Entering File Names in Text Boxes.
■MNF: In the text box, enter the name of the MNF or browse for one.
Note: | When you use the Browse command to search for a file, it places the absolute path to the file in the text box. When you save the database or a command file, Adams View uses the absolute path in the saved file. If you are sharing the database or command file with other users, you may want to edit the path that the Browse command places in the text box so it is a relative path or remove it altogether if the MNF file is in the current working directory. |
■MD DB: In the Database File Name text box, enter the name of the MD DB file name (*.MASTER) or browse for one. Then click the button right to the "Index" textbox. A dialog will popup to show you all the flexible bodies in the database and their information string. Please select the one you want to use. The index of the body you selected will be display in the index text box.
5. To set the damping ratio to one other than the default:
■Clear the selection of default
■In the Damping Ratio text box, either:
♦Enter the critical damping ratio.
♦Enter a function. To get help building the function, next to the Damping Ratio text box, select the More button 
. The Adams View Function Builder appears. For information on using the Function Builder, see the Adams View Function Builder online help.
. The Adams View Function Builder appears. For information on using the Function Builder, see the Adams View Function Builder online help. 6. Set Generalized Damping to one of the following:
■Off - Disables the generalized damping. - Disables the generalized damping.
■Full - Enables the complete generalized damping matrix, including the effects of a resultant damping force.
■Internal Only - Only enables the portion of the generalized damping matrix corresponding to the modal coordinates (that is, ignore the resultant damping force).
7. Position the flexible body by doing one or more of the following:
■To set its location, in the Location text box, enter the x, y, z coordinate defining the flexible body's location in the default coordinate system.
■To set its orientation, specify either of these three orientation methods:
■You can also set its orientation relative to a reference coordinate system by entering the coordinate system in the Relative to text box. If you leave it blank, Adams View uses the default coordinate system
8. Select OK.