- [Instructor] During this video you'll see
how to customize the results visualization
to be able to understand what the mode shapes represent.
Let's open the file,
and what we want is beam_end.
Let's go to the simulation tab,
beam normal modes analysis.
Let's open up the results, double click on amplitude one.
Now I describe the different types
of mode shape normalization in a previous video.
We know that scaling of each mode shape
is completely arbitrary.
The default normalization method in the analysis
uses mass normalization.
This has the effect of producing unusual numbers
for the apparent level of the displacement.
For example in mode one here a peak value is around .3515.
It's dimensionless and it doesn't mean
0.3515 inches or millimeters.
Now because of this we can force the post processor
to reset the maximum value to one for each mode.
That's useful for visualization purposes
and just reminding us that the scaling is arbitrary.
So let's right mouse click on the result set,
select edit definition.
Now click on the advanced options
and we check the box normalize mode shape,
maximum value equals one.
Now let's check that that's worked properly.
Check okay and the we can see the
maximum deflection is a value of unity.
Unfortunately if I double click on the second amplitude,
mode shape two, we can still see that's fixed on .399.
So it doesn't update each of the plots.
Each one is individual.
Now if you're working with SolidWorks version
earlier than 2018 you're gonna have to change
each of the settings independently for each mode.
So I'll go through and do that now.
Choose advanced options, normalize, done.
Edit definition, advanced options, normalize, check OK.
Advanced options, normalize, check OK.
And one more to do, advanced options, check OK.
Now we're looking at mode six now
and the mode shape is very distorted.
It is difficult to visualize
what this mode really represents.
We can simplify the shape by
scaling back the magnification factor.
Right mouse click on the result and select edit definition.
Current setting is automatic.
The value shown here is 0.46
and that may vary with your model.
Let's try user-defined scale.
Let's try 0.2.
We may have to adjust this several times
until we get a scale that gives us a more useful plot,
something that we're comfortable with.
Usually the simple mode shapes need a larger scaling value.
But then the more complicated shapes like this one
need a smaller scaling value.
So check OK.
And we can see that we've got reduced distortions
so it's a little bit easier to visualize what's happening
with that particular mode shape.
Now I also find the continuous
color contour plot distracting.
So let's right mouse click on result six to settings,
and here we're gonna change the fringe options
from continuous to discrete.
Sometimes the contours just make things more confusing.
And there's an option to switch these off.
So click the definition tab and uncheck show colors.
Check to see the effect of that.
Again, sometimes viewing the mesh is important
to see how it's distorting.
At other times it makes visualization
of the mode shape too confusing.
So let's see how we can adjust that.
Right mouse click on result, select settings,
choose boundary options, and let's choose mesh.
Now we can switch between the mesh view on and off.
So again go to settings
and then we can just go back to model.
None isn't really useful.
It just gives no edge.
So model is what we want to do there.
Now one other option to help visualization
of the mode shapes is to show
the un-deformed part in a translucent mode.
So let's go and choose deformed plot options.
Want to superimpose the model on the deformed shape.
Now the translucent part on the transparency to be
to be offsetting would be say .7.
Click OK.
Now sometimes the translucent image or the part
doesn't appear straight away in the deformed plot.
Switching between the model view
and the study view can trigger that.
Now we can see the transparent un-deformed shape there.
Now if you're using a SolidWorks prior to version 2018
you have to replicate the settings for every mode shape.
This is way too tedious, so I've got a workaround for that.
Now the first part of the workaround
is gonna be used for version 2018.
Now the work around is to delete
result sets one through six.
Now we right mouse click on results
and choose define mode shape amplitude plot.
This essentially gives us a clean sheet.
Select advanced options, normalize mode shape.
Select deform mode shape.
Select user defined.
We set that to .2.
We're going to show the colors this time.
Change the tab to settings.
Change the fringe to discrete.
Change a boundary to model.
Check superimposed model on the deformed shape
and set the transparency to .7 and then check OK.
Let's rename this result set as contour part overlay.
The contour is the type of plot
and we're showing a part overlay.
So this result now acts as a formatting tool
for the sets of results.
We can set up a similar result set for plain view
with no un-deformed part view.
So same idea, right mouse click on results,
define mode shape amplitude plot,
select advanced options, normalize the mode shape,
select deformed shape user defined, set that to 0.2.
Uncheck show colors for this one.
Click OK.
And let's name this one as plain no overlay.
There are two strategies now we can use
to go through all the different modes.
In the first method edit definition,
and then the first thing we do is to check the little pin.
Now that holds the form open so I can change to mode two,
click, change to mode three, click,
mode four,
and then mode five.
I continue to keep this same view
and go all the way up to mode six.
I'm changing views quite easily.
Now I've reached the limit of six.
It won't let me go any further.
I can uncheck the pin and I can just close this down.
I'll just tidy up.
Let's go back to mode one.
Check OK.
The second strategy copies the master plot settings
and copies each to an individual mode.
So let's select plain overlay.
So copy, and I'm gonna say paste.
So that's copy one.
And let's do that five more times.
I'm gonna cut to the chase,
but I'll leave you to set up six copies in total.
So now we have six copies,
and we can set each mode shape appropriately.
So the first one edit definition,
that is mode one.
Edit definition, mode two.
It's already on mode three.
Edit definition,
mode four.
Edit definition, mode five.
And finally edit definition to mode six.
So now we can step through each mode.
Now you can do the same thing with a contour part overlay.
So we can copy that six times,
and then we can just walk through the modes quite easily.
Now it's a little bit tedious,
and in fact, version 2018 and onwards improves that,
if you're prior to 2018 then this is
pretty well the way you have to operate,
and what I could suggest is that you might want to try
and do the same task with the contour part overlay,
copy that six times and then you can walk through that
with a contoured view seeing the part
overlaid as a transparency.
Now for version 2018 onwards
we can adopt a different approach.
So let's go to the contour part overlay.
You notice these little double headed arrows in here.
Now we can walk through the modes
by using these double headed arrows,
and that allows us to change modes.
And it also inherits the settings
of the master results visualization settings.
So we could change between contoured part
or the plain no overlay and then just walk
up and down the mode shapes.
Now if we try that let's go to plain no overlay.
Unfortunately disabling the colors has also lost the legend,
which means we can't walk up and down the modes.
And that really is a poor user interface design.
However, there is a workaround.
Right mouse click and choose edit definition.
Select show colors, check OK.
Right mouse click and choose chart options.
And now here we can go to color options.
Set the number of contours to two.
Click on user defined.
Set the contour number here to two as well.
And then change each of these colors in turn.
So I click on that one and choose gray.
Click OK.
Check on the other one and choose gray.
Click OK.
Obviously if you wanted a darker color or a different color
you could choose that.
So we still have colors but we forced it
down to just two and they're the same color.
Now if you notice we now have
the mode shape control back again.
So check OK and now I can walk up and down the mode shape.
This is mode shape six, five, four, three, two, one.
With a simple plain view on there.
Now we have the same workflow back
with all SolidWorks versions,
and we're going to look at animation.
And this is an important aspect
of dynamics based processing.
So let's click on copy one mode one.
We can right mouse click and select animate.
At the moment the default number of frames is five,
so let's stop the animation
and set that to my recommendation is 15
and then click run.
And once it's finished buffering
we can adjust the speed to whatever we like.
So I can speed it up,
that's obviously too much.
I could slow it down.
We get to setting that we're comfortable with
for visualization and that's fine for me.
Now you can also say this is an AVI file
that's worth doing as record now that
we've got a good consistent visualization.
Now unfortunately prior to SolidWorks 2018
you have to select each mode in turn.
But the animation settings are remembered.
So let's look at that.
Let's go to mode two.
Right mouse click and animate.
So it remembers this 15 frames,
but we have to go through and animate them
separately like this.
Right mouse click and select animate
and we can see the animation.
Now SolidWorks version 2018 and later
we can walk through the animations
but it's still not quite as slick as I'd like.
Let's go and see what happens there.
Go to contour part overlay.
Right mouse click and select animate.
It's just buffering.
Finishing buffering and now it's animating quite happily.
Now unfortunately we can't flip
between modes whilst this is animating.
So if I click here it's animating.
Even if I stop the animation I don't move on to mode two.
So I've got to come out of the animation,
but at least now once I'm out I can go to mode two.
There's mode two, now I've got to come back
and animate again.
Buffering.
Now it's animating cleanly.
So there's a slight improvement in the workflow,
but obviously it would be great if we could just
flip between animations using these controls.
Hopefully in a future release that will be addressed.
And now we're back with all SolidWorks versions.
Now let's save the file as beam2 end.
And again we want to copy those results files.
So in this video I've put a lot of emphasis
on cleaning up mode shape plots.
They are vital in dynamic analysis
and a consistent and clean visualization really helps.