NextFEM Designer can handle various type of models coming from other commercial software, such as OpenSees, SAP2000, OOFEM, ADAPTIC, Zeus-NL, Abaqus, CalculiX, Midas GEN. Thanks to its general abstraction classes, NextFEM Designer is the best way to convert a model from a program to another (eg. SAP2000 to OpenSees).
It can easily translate the geometry from one to another; in many cases (if the original software can export results), NextFEM Designer can be used also as a post-processor.
Advanced BIM support – share a 3D model with your collaborators and customers
3D model of a building – Rotate with left mouse button, zoom by scrolling
Here you are a list of supported features for each third-part software.
OpenSees
Pre-processing features:
- Nodes
- UniaxialMaterial (partial reading)
- elastic
- elasticPP
- elasticPPgap
- ENT
- Concrete01
- Concrete02
- Concrete03
- Steel01
- Steel02
- NDMaterial
- ElasticIsotropic
- Section (partial reading)
- Fiber
- PlateFiber
- LayeredShell
- Elements
- ShellMITC4
- quad
- bbarQuad
- enhancedQuad
- quadUP (both)
- ShellDKGQ
- ShellNLDKGQ
- ShellNL (treated as 8-node shell)
- ElasticBeamColumn
- ElasticTimoshenkoBeam
- ForceBeamColumn
- DispBeamColumn
- beamWithHinges
- truss and trussf
- corotTruss
- rotspring2dir
- zeroLength
- zeroLengthND
- zeroLengthSection
- stdBrick
- bbarBrick
- Brick8N
- brickUP
- Brick20N
- 20_8_BrickUP
- Fix, fixX, fixY, fixZ Commands
- GeomTransf Commands
- Uniform Beam Loads
- Nodal Loads
Post-processing features:
- Displacements recorder
- Reactions recorder
- Modal Eigenvectors recorder
- Custom spring data
WARNING: Import from OpenSees could be incomplete. Please always use recorder as complete as possible in DoFs and objects (ex. “recorder Node -file disp.out -time -nodeRange 0 124 -dof 1 2 3 4 5 6 disp”).
Midas GEN®
Pre-processing features:
- Nodes
- Elements
- Beam
- Truss
- Plate
- Wall
- Elastic link
- Frame Sections
- Rectangular
- Circular
- Plate and Wall sections
- Material
- Member assignments
- Constraints
- Frame releases
- Static load cases
- Load combinations
- Distributed beam loads
- Point loads
Post-processing features:
- Not available yet
SAP2000®
To import a model from SAP2000®, click on the Import option in the File menu and choose the SAP2000 text file (*.s2k) option from the file type drop-down list.
The supported pre-processing features are:
- Joint coordinates
- Joint restraint assignments
- Frame connectivity
- Link connectivity
- Area connectivity
- General frame section properties
- Area section properties
- Rectangular
- circular
- General frame release assignments
- Frame section assignments
- Area section assignments
- Basic mechanical material properties
- Joint loads
- Load case definitions
Post-processing features:
- Modal periods and frequencies
- Joint displacements
- Joint reactions
- Frame element forces
- Shell element forces
- Shell element stresses
OOFEM
Pre-processing features:
- Analysis type
- Node
- Rigidarmnode
- Beam3D
- Truss3D
- quad1mindlinshell3d
- mitc4shell
- tr_shell01
- tr_shell02
- LSpace
- LTRSpace
- QSpace
Post-processing features:
- Node displacements
- Node reactions
- Element forces and moments
- Element strains
- Element stresses
ADAPTIC and Zeus-NL
Pre-processing features:
- Materials
- Groups
- Structural Nodal Coordinates (with or without repetitions)
- Non-structural Nodes (with or without repetitions)
- Element connectivity (with or without repetitions)
- CBP3
- CBP2
- LNK3
- JEL3
- IN16 (partitioning supported)
- BK20 (partitioning supported)
Post-processing features for NUM files:
- Nodal displacements
- Nodal velocities (disable by default, check Options)
- Nodal accelerations (disable by default, check Options)
- Reactions
- Frame diagrams for cbp2, cbp3, lnk3 (in global coordinates), jel3.
ABAQUS® and CalculiX
Pre-processing Import features:
- Nodes
- Element
- B22
- B23
- B31
- S3
- CPS3
- S4
- S4R
- CPS4
- C3D4
- C3D10
- C3D8
- C3D20
Post-processing features:
- Not available yet
Dxf drawing
Pre-processing features:
- Points
- Line elements
- WARNING: The correctness of the results is not guaranteed. Check carefully your model after import.
Straus7®
Pre-processing features:
- Units
- Nodes
- Beam
- Beam3
- Quad4
- Beam rotation angles
- Restraints
- Ridig links
- Master-slave links
- Masses
- Beam sections.
BIM files – IFC and IFCxml
Import of BIM models is supported for IFC and IFCxml formats. During import, IfcWall elements are automatically meshed with quad elements in a structured mesh. The mesh dimension can be set in the program options. Therefore, tolerances on position of windows and doors do not exceed the half of mesh size.
The following elements can be read:
- IfcBeam
- IfcColumn
- IfcWall
- Transversal sections stored as SweptSolid, Curve2d and MappedRepresentation.
Export features
ABAQUS®
- Nodes
- Elements
- B33
- CPE2
- CPS3
- S3
- CPE4
- CPS4
OpenSees
- Nodes
- Elements
- elasticBeamColumn
- ShellMITC4
- twoNodeLink (for springs)
- stdBrick
- Brick20N
- Sections
- PlateFiber
- Isotropic Materials
- nDMaterial ElasticIsotropic
- Restraints
- Nodal loads
Midas GEN®
- Nodes
- Elements
- Beam
- Triangular plates
- Quadrilateral plates
- Groups
- Isotropic materials
- Wall and plate sections
- Restraints
- Elastic link
- Nodal masses
- Loads cases
- Concentrated loads
SAP2000®
- Joints
- Frame connectivity
- Area connect
- Basic material properties
- Frame sections
- Area section ( WARNING: thick shells with drilling DOFs)
- Section assignments
- Load cases ( WARNING: Self weight set to zero)
- Restraints
- Linear links( WARNING: not yet supported)
- Concentrated masses
- Concentrated loads
- Groups
OOFEM
- Analysis
- Linear static
- Nodes
- Elements
- Beam3D
- Truss3D
- Tr_shell01
- Quad1mindlinshell3d
- Lumped mass
- LTRSpace
- LSpace
- QSPace
- Sections
- Isotropic materials
- Boundary conditions
- Sets
Dxf
- Points
- Line elements
- Plain elements ( WARNING: triangular and quadrilateral only)
BIM files – IFC e IFCxml
- IfcBeam
- IfcColumn
The correct import of the results from other solvers is not guaranteed.