Flexcom > User Interface > Results Examination

Flexcom provides a variety of outputs in order to facilitate examination of finite element results. These include Structural Animations, with associated Stress Contouring, Graphical Output in the form of plot files, text-based Tabular Output, and Spreadsheet Output in the form of an Excel workbooks.

The relevant components of the Flexcom user interface are as follows.

•Plotting presents an overview of the Plotting facility, which allows you to examine Flexcom plot files (.MPLT file extension). In addition to standard features like zooming and panning different areas for detailed inspection, the Plotting facility also allows you to superimpose several plots on top of each other.

•Model View describes the structure display facility. This feature provides both a structure preview facility available during model building, and a way of viewing an animation of the structure response after an analysis has completed. The Model View provides a control system capable of allowing precise inspection of models, allowing you to move freely and examine any region of the model in detail.

•Element Inspector is a very useful utility feature which complements the Model View. It allows you to quickly select an element and examine its geometric, structural, stress and hydrodynamic properties where available as well as start/end nodes. This is very useful feature in terms of Quality Assurance, allowing models to be readily inspected by peer or managerial review.

•AVI Studio presents an overview of the dedicated video creation studio which accompanies the main software. The AVI studio allows you to create customised videos of your finite element models. Video files are an effective means of showcasing innovative designs, and serve as valuable promotional material for engineering teams.

•Unity Plug-In describes the Unity gaming engine plug-in which enables you to transfer results from a Flexcom database into the Unity environment, allowing you to create more advanced visualisations based on the motions derived from the finite element simulation.