Problem when reimporting a model/copying assemblies between projects

[Phil]

Question submitted by a user:

When we reimport a model in a project I found that HyperSizer was not creating components for groups; we’ve found that the reason is that HyperSizer is creating duplicate groups and only one of the duplicates have a component assigned. The groups that have that components are fine, but we don’t want the duplicate [groups] in there (these [groups] are the ones that have no failure criteria associated with them).

In order to keep the groups/component relationship intact we are having to create a new project each time we which to reimport; which causes us to loose our assembly data.

[Phil]

When you say "Reimport" are you hitting the "Reimport FEM" button or are you actually pressing the "Remove FEM" button and then pressing the Import FEM button?

I think that you are doing the second process. When you press "Remove FEM", the existing components are removed from the model, but the groups are not removed. When you then import the model again, it has no way of knowing whether the existing groups are ones you want to keep, so instead of creating new groups with your PCOMPs, it creates new groups and leaves the old ones alone. Remember, groups are not analyzed, components are analyzed. Groups are just where the dimensions and panel bounds are typed in.

There is a way to save your assembly data to go into another project. In the old project, open a sizing form and go to "Options | Generate Projects Setup Batch File". You will get a dialog where you can choose what to put in the batch file. Turn off all options except "Assembly | Script Create" and "Assembly | Script Membership". It will prompt you to create a new file. It doesn't matter where you put the file.

Then create your new project and import your FEM. Go to the Sizing form, and go to "Run | Project Setup Batch File" Browse to and select the batch file you created and run it. It should create the assemblies and assign your components to them.

Let me know if this causes problems.

[SD_Gabe]

It was my original understanding that the "Remove FEM" button removed everything from the project. If it is the case that the groups stay behind, how is that different from "Reimport FEM?"

To sum up what I think is happening: "Reimport" the components get replaced and with "Remove" they do not. I'm not seeing the benefit, or use, of "Remove FEM" if the groups stay behind. Is there something I'm missing with "Remove vs. Reimport functions?"

[Phil]

The purpose of "reimport" is to get FEA changes into the model without losing any settings to components that already exist.  Say that you have added elements to the model, or deleted elements from the model.  Then you do a reimport, so that new components are created, or components that have been removed from the model are removed from HyperSizer.  The components that were not changed in the FEM should not be changed in HyperSizer.

When you "Remove FEM", you are deleting all of the components.  Group data is different, however.  Groups are not tied to the FEM.  You can have a group with one component, ten components or zero components (in which case, the group will do nothing).  So the groups do not get deleted when removing the FEM.  When you then import again from scratch, you can assign the newly imported components into these groups.

If you are using the "Create Groups from PCOMPs" option, what this means is that when you do the import after removing the FEM, the old groups are not overwritten, but new groups are created.

There is additional discussion on reimport and remove FEM in the HyperSizer Pro User Manual.  Search for the label "Updating the Model in HyperSizer"