ABAQUS 2017

PRO/ENGINEER ASSOCIATIVE INTERFACE

USER’S GUIDE
 Pro/ENGINEER Associative Interface User’s Guide

Version 20150320

Last updated July 2015

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 Trademarks and Legal Notices
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© Dassault Systèmes, 2015
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trademarks, copyrights, and licenses, see the Legal Notices in the Abaqus 2016 Installation and Licensing Guide.

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 OVERVIEW

1. Pro/ENGINEER Associative Interface: overview

1.1 About this manual

This manual provides information for systems administrators on how to install and configure the
Pro/ENGINEER Associative Interface. The manual also provides information for end-users on how to
transfer models between Pro/ENGINEER and Abaqus/CAE. The installation instructions require some
familiarity with basic Windows systems administration.

1.2 About the Pro/ENGINEER Associative Interface

The Pro/ENGINEER Associative Interface allows you to transfer the geometry of a Pro/ENGINEER
model to Abaqus/CAE. The translator consists of the following two components:
• The Pro/ENGINEER Associative Interface plug-in. This plug-in allows you to write a
Pro/ENGINEER model as Elysium Neutral (.enf_abq) Files, assembly (.eaf) files, and
parameter (.par_abq) files. You must have Pro/ENGINEER installed and licensed to run the
plug-in. The plug-in can be downloaded from “How to obtain the Pro/ENGINEER Associative
Interface installation files, user guide, and status reports,” which can be found by entering the title
in the Search our Knowledge field at Support - Dassault Systèmes (www.3ds.com/support).
• The Abaqus/CAE CAD Connection toolset. The CAD Connection toolset, which is enabled with
a Pro/ENGINEER Associative Interface license, allows you to import an Elysium Neutral File or
assembly file generated by the Pro/ENGINEER plug-in. The CAD Connection toolset also allows
you to update geometric parameters, such as a hole diameter, in the original Pro/ENGINEER model
from within Abaqus/CAE. The Pro/ENGINEER Associative Interface license is available as an
add-on product from your local sales office.

1.3 What is associative import?

Associative import allows you to easily transfer an assembly from Pro/ENGINEER to Abaqus/CAE;
you can subsequently modify the model in Pro/ENGINEER and propagate these modifications to
Abaqus/CAE without losing any analysis features assigned to the model in Abaqus/CAE. You can also
modify certain geometry features in Abaqus/CAE, then propagate these features back to the original
Pro/ENGINEER model. The Pro/ENGINEER Associative Interface is useful when you are iterating
on the design of a model in Pro/ENGINEER based on the results of analyses conducted in Abaqus.
Figure 1–1 shows the connection between Pro/ENGINEER and Abaqus/CAE using associative import.
When you use associative import to transfer the model from Pro/ENGINEER to Abaqus/CAE,
the model appears in the current Abaqus/CAE viewport. The parts and part instances from
Pro/ENGINEER are stored in the Abaqus/CAE model database and appear in the Model Tree. You

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OVERVIEW

Pro/ENGINEER Abaqus/CAE

Figure 1–1 Using associative import to export a model from Pro/ENGINEER (left) to Abaqus/CAE (right).

can use Pro/ENGINEER to modify the parts or to change the position of instances in the assembly;
when the modifications are complete and the model is ready to be analyzed, perform another associative
import. Every time you import the model to Abaqus/CAE, Abaqus/CAE updates the current viewport
and the Model Tree to reflect the changes.
In addition, associative import retains any features that you added to the model with Abaqus/CAE.
Any of the features that you created in Abaqus/CAE—such as partitions, loads, boundary conditions,
sets, and surfaces—are regenerated each time you import the modified model from Pro/ENGINEER
to Abaqus/CAE. For example, if you partitioned a cell with Abaqus/CAE, the partition is regenerated
each time you import the model from Pro/ENGINEER into Abaqus/CAE. However, the regeneration of
features may fail if the changes that you made with Pro/ENGINEER change the topology of the model.
The Pro/ENGINEER Associative Interface also allows you to modify parameters defining
Pro/ENGINEER geometry features—such as a hole radius or an extrusion length—from within
Abaqus/CAE. The updated parameters are propagated to both the Pro/ENGINEER model and the

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 OVERVIEW

Abaqus/CAE model. Figure 1–2 shows the use of geometry parameter updates in Abaqus/CAE to
synchronize geometry changes in both the Pro/ENGINEER and Abaqus/CAE models.

Pro/ENGINEER Abaqus/CAE

Parameter Update

Associative Import

Figure 1–2 Parameter updates change the dimensions of geometry features in the
Pro/ENGINEER model and the Abaqus/CAE model.

When you import an assembly of part instances, Abaqus/CAE creates parts that correspond to the
imported part instances and maintains the relationship between the parts and their instances. In most
cases Abaqus/CAE retains the names of the parts and the part instances from the Pro/ENGINEER model.
In addition, Abaqus/CAE retains any color coding from the Pro/ENGINEER parts.

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OVERVIEW

1.4 Using the Pro/ENGINEER Associative Interface

The Pro/ENGINEER Associative Interface offers two associative import methods: automatic associative
import and manual associative import.
Automatic associative import
Automatic associative import transfers the geometry of a Pro/ENGINEER model to Abaqus/CAE
in a single step. Sessions of Pro/ENGINEER and Abaqus/CAE must be running simultaneously on
the same computer. Using the CAD Connection toolset, you establish a link between Abaqus/CAE
and Pro/ENGINEER. As soon as an assembly file is created by the Pro/ENGINEER Associative
Interface plug-in, the assembly is imported automatically into Abaqus/CAE. After the model
has been transferred, you can continue to make design modifications in Pro/ENGINEER and
propagate these modifications to the Abaqus/CAE model with a single mouse click. For detailed
instructions on performing an automatic associative import, see “Using automatic associative
import,” Section 5.1.1.

Manual associative import

Manual associative import is a multistep procedure that can be used to perform an associative import
when Pro/ENGINEER and Abaqus/CAE are not running concurrently or are running on different
computers. Using the Pro/ENGINEER Associative Interface plug-in, you can save Elysium Neutral
(.enf_abq) Files, an assembly (.eaf) file, and a parameters (.par_abq) file to the working
directory. Using the CAD Connection toolset, you can import the geometry into Abaqus/CAE or
use the assembly file to update an existing model in Abaqus/CAE at a later time. For detailed
instructions on performing a manual associative import, see “Using manual associative import,”
Section 5.1.2.
After a model has been imported into Abaqus/CAE using manual associative import, you
can modify the dimensions associated with Pro/ENGINEER geometry features from within
Abaqus/CAE. Both the Pro/ENGINEER model and the Abaqus/CAE model can be regenerated
with the modified dimensions using a bidirectional associative update capability. For detailed
instructions on propagating geometry modifications from Abaqus/CAE to Pro/ENGINEER, see
“Updating geometry parameters in an imported model,” Section 5.2.

1.5 Using the Pro/ENGINEER to Abaqus/CAE direct translator

The Pro/ENGINEER Associative Interface also includes a direct translator that allows you to perform
nonassociative imports of Pro/ENGINEER geometry into Abaqus/CAE. The Pro/ENGINEER to
Abaqus/CAE direct translator does not require sessions of Pro/ENGINEER and Abaqus/CAE to be
running concurrently; and, unlike the manual associative import method, only a single file is required
for the import. The direct translator is useful when the geometry of the model is not expected to change
or if you expect to make the changes only in the Abaqus/CAE model.

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 OVERVIEW

Using the direct translator is a two-step process. You first use the Pro/ENGINEER plug-in to write
an Elysium Neutral (*.enf_abq) File with a specified name. You then use Abaqus/CAE to import
the file into Abaqus/CAE. You can import the Pro/ENGINEER model into Abaqus/CAE as either a
single part or as an assembly of part instances. For more information, see “Importing an assembly,”
Section 10.1.4 of the Abaqus/CAE User’s Guide.
For instructions on using the direct translator, see “Using the direct translator to export a file from
Pro/ENGINEER into Abaqus/CAE,” Section 5.3.

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 SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

2. System requirements for the Pro/ENGINEER Associative

Interface
The Pro/ENGINEER Associative Interface plug-in is supported only on theWindows/x86-64 platform.
The plug-in can be installed with Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire 4 and later releases.
To import the assembly (.eaf) files created by the plug-in (using associative import), you
must have Abaqus/CAE 6.6-EF (Extended Functionality release) or higher. To perform bidirectional
associative updates using the geometry parameter update capability, you must have Abaqus/CAE 6.8
or higher. To import the Elysium Neutral (.enf_abq) Files created by the plug-in (using the direct
translator), you must have Abaqus/CAE 6.4 or higher.
The following import techniques are available with the Pro/ENGINEER Associative Interface:
• Automatic associative import.
• Manual associative import.
• Geometry and assembly-level parameter update. (The geometry parameter update feature is not
available if you are using Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire 4 in conjunction with Abaqus/CAE 6.8-EF1 or
earlier.)
• Direct translator.
For a discussion of the various import techniques, see Chapter 1, “Pro/ENGINEER Associative Interface:
overview.”
To use associative import, you must have the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) installed on your
computer. The installation procedure for the Pro/ENGINEER Associative Interface plug-in installs the
JRE if it is not detected on your computer.
For the latest information about which versions of Pro/ENGINEER and which platforms are
supported by the Pro/ENGINEER Associative Interface plug-in and the Abaqus/CAE CAD Connection
toolset, see the Support page at www.3ds.com/simulia.

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 UNITS

3. Units
Pro/ENGINEER allows you to assign units to the dimensions in a model; Abaqus/CAE has no units built
into it. When you import a model using associative import, the dimensions from the units system assigned
in Pro/ENGINEER are translated directly into Abaqus/CAE. Similarly, when you use the direct translator
to import an Elysium Neutral (.enf_abq) File into Abaqus/CAE as an assembly, the dimensions from
Pro/ENGINEER are translated directly into Abaqus/CAE.
The individual parts in an assembly should use the same units system. When you import an assembly
with mixed units into Abaqus/CAE, all of the parts are scaled to a consistent set of units before the import.
However, if you subsequently update the Abaqus/CAE assembly by importing an individual part, the
units for that part are not scaled and may be inconsistent with the existing dimensions in Abaqus/CAE.
If you use the direct translator to import an Elysium Neutral (.enf_abq) File into Abaqus/CAE
as a part, you have the option of scaling the dimensions, as shown in Figure 3–1.

Figure 3–1 Scaling options when importing an Elysium Neutral File as a part.

You can keep the dimensions as they appear in the Pro/ENGINEER model, convert the dimensions to
millimeters from the units assigned in Pro/ENGINEER before translating them into Abaqus/CAE, or
multiply all of the Pro/ENGINEER dimensions by a specified scaling factor before translating them into
Abaqus/CAE. For more details on importing parts from Elysium Neutral Files, see “Importing a part
from an Elysium Neutral file,” Section 10.7.6 of the Abaqus/CAE User’s Guide.

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 INSTALLATION

4. Installing the Pro/ENGINEER Associative Interface

plug-in

4.1 Installing the Pro/ENGINEER Associative Interface plug-in on

Windows systems
The following procedure describes how you install the Pro/ENGINEER Associative Interface plug-in on
Windows systems. You need administrator privileges to install the plug-in.
1. Download the appropriate Pro/ENGINEER Associative Interface installation execution file from
“How to obtain the Pro/ENGINEER Associative Interface installation files, user guide, and status
reports,” which can be found by entering the title in the Search our Knowledge field at Support
- Dassault Systèmes (www.3ds.com/support).
2. Run the Pro/ENGINEER Associative Interface installation execution file.
3. Follow the prompts in the installation process. You must provide the following information:
• The installation destination folder. You can install the plug-in anywhere on your hard drive; it
does not have to be associated with the Pro/ENGINEER directory tree.

Note: If you are overwriting an existing Pro/ENGINEER Associative Interface plug-in, the
space required for the new installation is listed as 0 K.

• The version of Pro/ENGINEER with which the plug-in will be run. You can install the
Pro/ENGINEER Associative Interface plug-in on multiple versions of Pro/ENGINEER
installed on the same system.
• If the installation procedure detects more than one installation for the selected version of
Pro/ENGINEER, it asks you to choose the installation with which you will install the writer.
• If the installation procedure cannot detect an installation of Pro/ENGINEER, you must specify
the appropriate Wildfire installation location.
• To use associative import, you must have the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) installed on
your computer. If the installation procedure does not detect the JRE, you are prompted to
install it (see Figure 4–1).

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INSTALLATION

Figure 4–1 The Windows installation procedure prompts you to install the JRE if it is not detected.

4. The installation procedure copies the translator files to the destination folder and, if necessary,
installs the JRE. Any files in the destination folder from an earlier version of the plug-in are
overwritten.
A Windows Start menu shortcut for the Pro/ENGINEER Associative Interface is created under
Start→Programs→Abaqus/CAE Associative Interface. This shortcut refers to a batch file in
the installation destination folder. You use the shortcut or the batch file to start Pro/ENGINEER
with the Pro/ENGINEER Associative Interface plug-in installed.

4.2 Configuring the files required to run the Pro/ENGINEER

Associative Interface
The following two files must be present in the current Pro/ENGINEER working directory when you run
the Pro/ENGINEER Associative Interface:
• protk.dat
• proe_abaqus.properties
If you start the Pro/ENGINEER Associative Interface on a Windows platform using the shortcut or batch
file, these files will be copied automatically to the current working directory. However, if you change
the working directory from within a Pro/ENGINEER session (using the File→Set Working Directory
option), you must manually copy these files to the new working directory.

4.2.1 Prerequisite Pro/ENGINEER files

To use the Pro/ENGINEER Associative Interface, the Pro/ENGINEER API Toolkits and Interfaces
must be installed as part of your standard Wildfire installation. The following directories should exist
underneath your Pro/ENGINEER root directory:
• Jlink
• modchk

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 INSTALLATION

• prodevelop
• protoolkit
• rbm_rundir
• weblink
If these directories do not exist, you must reinstall Pro/ENGINEER; toggle on the option to install
API Toolkits and Interfaces during the installation procedure.

4.2.2 The Windows batch file

On Windows platforms you should always use the batch file created by the installation procedure
(launch_wfn.bat) or a shortcut referring to this batch file to start Pro/ENGINEER. If you use
the standard Pro/ENGINEER executable to start Pro/ENGINEER, the Pro/ENGINEER Associative
Interface plug-in will not be accessible, regardless of modifications you make to the protk.dat and
proe_abaqus.properties files.
If necessary, you can modify the launch_wfn.bat file to update any directory or file names
that have changed since the Pro/ENGINEER Associative Interface was installed; for example, the path
listing for the Pro/ENGINEER Associative Interface installation directory or the location of the standard
Pro/ENGINEER executable. However, do not change the setting for the LANG variable or the command
that copies the configuration files to the current working directory.

4.2.3 The Pro/ENGINEER Associative Interface data file

The protk.dat file stores configuration information required to perform associative imports.
Typically the contents of this file should not be modified, but the file must be present in the current
Pro/ENGINEER working directory when you are running the Pro/ENGINEER Associative Interface.
The protk.dat file does not exist immediately after the Pro/ENGINEER Associative Interface
has been installed. When you start the Pro/ENGINEER Associative Interface, the data file is generated
from one of two files in the Pro/ENGINEER Associative Interface installation directory:

• protk.wf5.svr.dat
• protk.wf5.std.dat
The generated data file is copied to the Pro/ENGINEER working directory automatically.
If you start the Pro/ENGINEER Associative Interface using the batch file (or a shortcut referring to
the batch file), the protk.dat file is generated from protk.wf5.std.dat. If the Pro/ENGINEER
Associative Interface is started from within Abaqus/CAE by performing a parameter update (see
“Updating geometry parameters in an imported model,” Section 5.2), the protk.dat file is generated
from protk.wf5.svr.dat.

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INSTALLATION

4.2.4 Modifying the properties file

The proe_abaqus.properties file stores configuration settings for the Pro/ENGINEER
Associative Interface, such as the types of entities that get exported and the default settings used during
an import. You can modify the properties file in a text editor. The following parameters in the properties
file may need to be adjusted:
PORT
Set this parameter equal to the port number that Pro/ENGINEER uses to communicate with
Abaqus/CAE during an automatic associative import. By default, Abaqus/CAE uses port number
49178; however, you can select a different port number when you enable the CAD Connection
toolset in Abaqus/CAE (see “Using automatic associative import,” Section 5.1.1).

ABQ_NO_DIALOG
A dialog box is available for the Pro/ENGINEER Associative Interface plug-in that allows you to
select the types of geometric entities that are included in the assembly (.eaf) file during an export.
By default, this dialog box is not displayed, and the entities in the assembly file are determined by
the settings in the properties file. To display the dialog box, set ABQ_NO_DIALOG=false.

EXPORT_SOLID
By default, solid, three-dimensional geometries are exported to the assembly (.eaf) file and into
Abaqus/CAE. To prevent the export of solid geometries, set EXPORT_SOLID=false.

EXPORT_QUILTS
By default, two-dimensional parts and surfaces are not exported to the assembly (.eaf) file. To
include these two-dimensional geometries in the assembly file and import them to Abaqus/CAE as
shell geometries, set EXPORT_QUILTS=true.
Note: Abaqus/CAE combines tangential edges on shell geometries into a single edge, even if they
are partitioned in Pro/ENGINEER. To preserve the partitions from the Pro/ENGINEER geometry,
enter the following command in the Abaqus/CAE Command Line Interface before importing the
model:
os.environ ['CONNECT_TAN_CRV']='0'
To implement this command for future sessions of Abaqus/CAE, add it to your Abaqus environment
file.

EXPORT_ASMFEAT
When you perform the initial import of a model into Abaqus/CAE, any features that are defined
at the assembly level in Pro/ENGINEER (such as an assembly-level cut on a part instance) are
included in the imported model by default. To prevent the import of assembly-level features, set
EXPORT_ASMFEAT=false.

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 INSTALLATION

After the initial import, new assembly-level features or modifications to existing assembly-
level features cannot be propagated to Abaqus/CAE unless the features intersect the instances at
the part level in Pro/ENGINEER. You can modify the intersection properties of an assembly-level
feature by editing the definition of the feature after it is created.

4.3 Determining the version of the Pro/ENGINEER Associative

Interface plug-in
To determine the version of the Pro/ENGINEER Associative Interface plug-in you are using, select
Abaqus→About in the Pro/ENGINEER pulldown menu. The dialog box that appears lists the BuildID
for the plug-in in the following format:

yyyy_mm_dd-n

yyyy_mm_dd represents the date on which the plug-in was created. The final digit in the version
number indicates modifications or enhancements to the plug-in installer that do not impact the features
or functionality of the Pro/ENGINEER Associative Interface. For example, plug-ins with versions
2009_05_10-1 and 2009_05_10-2 have slightly different installation procedures, but the behavior
and capabilities of the two installed plug-ins are identical.

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 USING THE Pro/ENGINEER Associative Interface

5. Using the Pro/ENGINEER Associative Interface to import

a part or assembly from Pro/ENGINEER to Abaqus/CAE
The Pro/ENGINEER Associative Interface includes three techniques for importing models between
Pro/ENGINEER and Abaqus/CAE:
• Associative import
• Geometry parameter updates
• Direct translator
These import techniques are discussed in detail in Chapter 1, “Pro/ENGINEER Associative Interface:
overview.”

5.1 Using associative import to transfer a part or assembly from a

Pro/ENGINEER session to an Abaqus/CAE session
Associative import allows you to transfer model geometry and subsequent design changes from
Pro/ENGINEER to Abaqus/CAE without losing any analysis features that are defined in Abaqus/CAE.
There are two methods for performing associative imports:
• Automatic associative import
• Manual associative import
A comparison of these two methods appears in “Using the Pro/ENGINEER Associative Interface,”
Section 1.4. This section provides step by step instructions on performing associative imports.
Associative import is supported only by Abaqus/CAE Version 6.6 Extended Functionality or later
releases. In addition, the following requirements apply to automatic associative import:
• It is available only on Windows platforms.
• You must have Java Version 1.3 or 1.4 installed (it does not work with Version 1.5).
The proe_abaqus.properties file contains the port number that will be used by
Pro/ENGINEER to communicate with Abaqus/CAE. You can edit this file and change the port number
(see “Modifying the properties file,” Section 4.2.4, for details). This allows you to run multiple sessions
of Pro/ENGINEER and Abaqus/CAE, where each session is communicating using a unique port
number.

5.1.1 Using automatic associative import

Follow the instructions given below to export an assembly from Pro/ENGINEER to Abaqus/CAE using
automatic associative import:

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USING THE Pro/ENGINEER Associative Interface

1. Start Abaqus/CAE, and enter the Assembly module.

2. From the main menu bar, select Tools→CAD Interfaces→Pro/ENGINEER.
3. From the Pro/ENGINEER dialog box that appears, choose Auto-assign port and click Enable.
Abaqus/CAE displays the port number that it assigned in the message area. (If desired, you can
click Specify and enter the port number.)
4. Start Pro/ENGINEER using the Windows Start→Programs→Abaqus/CAE Associative
Interface menu item that was created during the installation of the Pro/ENGINEER Associative
Interface plug-in.
Abaqus appears in the Pro/ENGINEER pulldown menu. If the Abaqus menu item does not
appear, refer to “Configuring the files required to run the Pro/ENGINEER Associative Interface,”
Section 4.2, for troubleshooting tips.
5. Load the model to be exported, and select Tools→Abaqus→Open in CAE from the pulldown
menu.
6. The Pro/ENGINEER Associative Interface plug-in asks if you want to use the default coordinate
system. Do either of the following:
• Enter Y to select the default coordinate system.
• Enter N and select a coordinate system from the Pro/ENGINEER viewport.
The model appears in Abaqus/CAE’s current viewport. If the assembly is open in Pro/ENGINEER,
both the parts and the assembly of part instances are imported into Abaqus/CAE. You can use the
parts and the assembly in an Abaqus/CAE analysis; for example, you can apply sections to the
parts, and you can apply loads and boundary conditions to the assembly. If a single part is open in
Pro/ENGINEER, only the single part is imported into Abaqus/CAE.
Note: If some entities from the Pro/ENGINEER model do not appear in the imported Abaqus/CAE
model, you may need to adjust the settings in the Pro/ENGINEER Associative Interface properties
file; see “Modifying the properties file,” Section 4.2.4, for more information.
When you export the model from Pro/ENGINEER, Abaqus/CAE retains any color coding.
However, the color coding is not saved when you save the model database from Abaqus/CAE.
Therefore, when you open the model database in a new session, the Pro/ENGINEER coloring will
not be displayed. To retain the color coding between sessions, you should save the Pro/ENGINEER
color mappings in a color macro. For more information, see “Saving and restoring custom color
mappings,” Section 77.11 of the Abaqus/CAE User’s Guide.
7. If you modify the model in Pro/ENGINEER, you must select Abaqus→Open in Abaqus/CAE
from the pulldown menu to export the modified model to Abaqus/CAE.
Pro/ENGINEER exports only the modified parts to Abaqus/CAE, and Abaqus/CAE regenerates all
of the features, sets, and attributes of the modified parts. In addition to modified parts, any changes
that you make to the position of instances in the assembly will also be exported to Abaqus/CAE.
Any parts that you suppress or resume with Pro/ENGINEER are suppressed or resumed similarly

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in Abaqus/CAE. Features that you created in Abaqus/CAE, such as loads and sets, are updated
to account for any parts that you modified with Pro/ENGINEER. Abaqus/CAE will be unable to
regenerate some features if the topology of the part has changed significantly.
8. From the Abaqus/CAE main menu bar, select Tools→CAD Interfaces→Pro/ENGINEER to show
the port number that is being used or to disable the connection with Pro/ENGINEER. For more
information, see “Creating a CAD connection,” Section 60.1 of the Abaqus/CAE User’s Guide.

5.1.2 Using manual associative import

Follow the instructions given below to export an assembly from Pro/ENGINEER to Abaqus/CAE using
manual associative import:
1. Start Pro/ENGINEER using the Windows Start→Programs→Abaqus/CAE Associative
Interface menu item that was created during the installation of the Pro/ENGINEER Associative
Interface plug-in.
Abaqus appears in the Pro/ENGINEER pulldown menu. If the Abaqus menu item does not
appear, refer to “Configuring the files required to run the Pro/ENGINEER Associative Interface,”
Section 4.2, for troubleshooting tips.
2. Load the model to be exported, and select Abaqus→Write EAF File from the pulldown menu.
3. The Pro/ENGINEER Associative Interface plug-in asks if you want to use the default coordinate
system. Do either of the following:
• Enter Y to select the default coordinate system.
• Enter N and select a coordinate system from the Pro/ENGINEER viewport.
Pro/ENGINEER creates a file called assemblyname.eaf in the current directory. Pro/ENGINEER
also creates a separate partname.enf_abq file for each part in the assembly and an
assemblyname.par_abq file (the assemblyname.par_abq file is used to pass model geometry
parameters to Abaqus/CAE, as discussed in “Updating geometry parameters in an imported
model,” Section 5.2).
You can now end your Pro/ENGINEER session. If necessary, copy the assembly (.eaf) file and all
of the Elysium Neutral (.enf_abq) Files to the computer where you will be running Abaqus/CAE.
4. Start Abaqus/CAE, and select File→Import→Assembly from the main menu bar.
5. From the Import Assembly dialog box that appears, select the assembly (*.eaf) file to import,
and click OK.
6. From the Import Assembly from EAF File dialog box that appears, select the assembly to import,
and click OK.
Abaqus/CAE creates parts that correspond to the imported part instances and maintains the
relationship between the parts and their instances. For more information, see “Importing an
assembly,” Section 10.1.4 of the Abaqus/CAE User’s Guide.

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Note: If some entities from the Pro/ENGINEER model do not appear in the imported Abaqus/CAE
model, you may need to adjust the settings in the Pro/ENGINEER Associative Interface properties
file; see “Modifying the properties file,” Section 4.2.4, for more information.
You can use the parts and the assembly in an Abaqus/CAE analysis; for example, you can apply
sections to the parts, and you can apply loads and boundary conditions to the assembly.
When you export the model from Pro/ENGINEER, Abaqus/CAE retains any color coding.
However, the color coding is not saved when you save the model database from Abaqus/CAE.
Therefore, when you open the model database in a new session, the Pro/ENGINEER coloring will
not be displayed. To retain the color coding between sessions, you should save the Pro/ENGINEER
color mappings in a color macro. For more information, see “Saving and restoring custom color
mappings,” Section 77.11 of the Abaqus/CAE User’s Guide.
7. If you modify the model in Pro/ENGINEER, use the following procedure to propagate the changes
to the model in Abaqus/CAE:
a. Repeat Steps 1 and 2 to create updated assembly (.eaf) and Elysium Neutral (.enf_abq)
Files.
b. Open the existing model in the current viewport of Abaqus/CAE.
c. Import the updated assembly file using the procedure in Steps 3–5.
Abaqus/CAE imports only the modified parts. Any changes that you made to the position
of parts in the Pro/ENGINEER assembly will also be imported to Abaqus/CAE. Any parts
that you suppressed or resumed in Pro/ENGINEER are suppressed or resumed similarly in
Abaqus/CAE. Features that you created in Abaqus/CAE, such as loads and sets, are updated
to account for any parts that you modified with Pro/ENGINEER. Abaqus/CAE will be unable
to regenerate some features if the topology of the part has changed significantly.

5.2 Updating geometry parameters in an imported model

The parameter update capability allows a bidirectional associative import, in which you modify the
dimensions of certain geometric features in an imported model in Abaqus/CAE, then propagate these
modifications to the original Pro/ENGINEER model. Using parameter updates, you can work exclusively
in Abaqus/CAE after importing a model while keeping the Pro/ENGINEER model up to date with any
geometric changes.
To modify a dimension using parameter updates, that dimension must be defined in a
Pro/ENGINEER part at the feature level and in terms of parameters; for example, the radius of a hole
feature should be specified using a variable parameter, not a specific numerical value. Assembly-level
geometry features and features contained in groups cannot be modified using parameter updates.
During an associative import, the Pro/ENGINEER Associative Interface passes a list of parameters to
Abaqus/CAE. You can use the CAD Parameters dialog box in Abaqus/CAE to modify the values
assigned to each parameter, then pass the updated values back to the Pro/ENGINEER model; the
geometry of both the Pro/ENGINEER and the Abaqus/CAE model is updated based on the new

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parameter values. Geometric modifications made to the Abaqus/CAE model using standard Part module
and Assembly module tools are typically retained in Abaqus/CAE between updates and imports, but
they cannot be propagated to the Pro/ENGINEER model.
Bidirectional import via parameter updates is supported only by Abaqus/CAE Version 6.8 or
later running on Windows platforms. To update geometry parameters, Pro/ENGINEER and the
Pro/ENGINEER Associative Interface plug-in must be installed on the computer where you are
running Abaqus/CAE. If sessions of Abaqus/CAE and Pro/ENGINEER are running concurrently, you
should close the original Pro/ENGINEER model before performing a parameter update. Abaqus/CAE
automatically runs a background session of Pro/ENGINEER to update the original model’s geometry; a
currently open session of Pro/ENGINEER is not affected by the update process, and geometry changes
are not applied in this session.
Follow the instructions given below to update the model geometry using bidirectional import:
1. Load the model to be exported in Pro/ENGINEER.
2. If necessary, redefine the dimensions for the desired geometry features in terms of parameters.
The following procedure is one method that can be used to define parameter relations in
Pro/ENGINEER:
a. Create a relation by selecting Tools→Relations from the Pro/ENGINEER pulldown menu.
b. In the Look In field, select Feature, and pick the appropriate geometry feature from the model.
c. Define a relation that sets a specified dimension ID in the feature equal to a parameter name;
for example, d1=ABQ_CHANNEL_DEPTH. You can review the Info for a feature to see a list
of dimension IDs associated with that feature.
d. Define the parameter used in the relation definition (Parameters→Add Parameter), and set
it equal to an appropriate value for the initial dimension of the feature. The parameter value
must be an integer or real number.
Figure 5–1 shows two dimensions on an extrusion feature in the Pro/ENGINEER part named ARM
defined in terms of parameter relations. For example, a feature dimension (d1) is set equal to a
parameter (ABQ_CHANNEL_DEPTH), which is in turn set equal to a real number (1.3). Refer to
the Pro/ENGINEER documentation for more information about defining relations and parameters.
Only those parameters whose names start with the string ABQ_ are passed to Abaqus/CAE and can
subsequently be modified using bidirectional import. Each parameter should be referenced only
once within a feature definition. In addition, to avoid overwriting an existing parameter with the
same name, each parameter name must be unique.
3. Import the model to Abaqus/CAE using one of the associative import methods described in “Using
associative import to transfer a part or assembly from a Pro/ENGINEER session to an Abaqus/CAE
session,” Section 5.1.
When the Pro/ENGINEER Associative Interface plug-in creates the assembly (.eaf) and Elysium
Neutral (.enf_abq) files, it also creates an XML-format parameters (.par_abq) file. If you are

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Figure 5–1 Defining dimensions in terms of parameters in Pro/ENGINEER.

copying files from one computer or directory to another as part of a manual associative import, you
must perform the following additional steps:
a. Copy the parameters file and the original Pro/ENGINEER part (.prt) files along with the
assembly file and Elysium Neutral Files.
b. Edit the parameters file to update the File attribute for each Part element; for example:
<Part Name="part name" File="new path to .prt file">
When performing a parameter update, Abaqus/CAE identifies the Pro/ENGINEER part files
that must be updated by first looking in the current working directory and then looking in the
path specified in the parameters file.

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4. After the model has been imported, display the list of modifiable parameters in Abaqus/CAE:

• In the Part module, select Tools→CAD Parameters from the main menu.
• In the Assembly module, select Tools→CAD Interfaces→CAD Parameters from the main
menu.
The CAD Parameters dialog box appears, as shown in Figure 5–2. Clicking on a parameter name
highlights the portions of the model affected by that parameter in the viewport.
5. To modify a parameter value, click the appropriate cell in the Value column and enter a new value.
6. When you have changed all of the necessary parameter values, you can update the model geometries,
generate a new parameters file, or reset the parameters to their initial value:

• To update the geometries, click Update. The model features are regenerated based on the
new parameter values, and the geometry of the model is updated in Abaqus/CAE and in the
saved Pro/ENGINEER part (.prt) files. The model is updated in the coordinate system
that you selected when you originally exported the part or assembly from Pro/ENGINEER to
Abaqus/CAE. The original parameters (.par_abq) file and Elysium Neutral (.enf_abq)
Files are not updated.
• To generate an updated parameters file, click mouse button 3 on the CAD Parameters table,
and select Write to File from the menu that appears. If you are currently in the Part module,
only the parameters associated with the current part are included in the file; if you are currently
in the Assembly module, all parameters associated with the model are included in the file.
The model geometries are not updated when you write a new parameters file. You can use
the new parameters file to verify the parameters that are being passed to Pro/ENGINEER, or
you can use it to manually perform subsequent parameter updates using the Abaqus Scripting
Interface.
• To reset all parameters to their initial values, click Defaults. The default values reflect the
values in the current Abaqus/CAE model geometry.

5.3 Using the direct translator to export a file from Pro/ENGINEER

into Abaqus/CAE
Using the direct translator is a two-step process:

1. Export the file from Pro/ENGINEER in Elysium Neutral (*.enf_abq) File format using the
Pro/ENGINEER Associative Interface plug-in.
2. Import the Elysium Neutral File into Abaqus/CAE.
The following sections provide detailed instructions for each of the steps.

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Figure 5–2 Modifying Pro/ENGINEER geometry features in Abaqus/CAE.

5.3.1 Exporting an Elysium Neutral File from Pro/ENGINEER

Follow the instructions given below to export a Pro/ENGINEER model in Elysium Neutral File format:
1. Start a session of Pro/ENGINEER with the Pro/ENGINEER Associative Interface plug-in
installed (see Chapter 4, “Installing the Pro/ENGINEER Associative Interface plug-in,” for more
information).
2. Load the part or assembly to be exported, and select File→Export to ABAQUS from the pulldown
menu in Pro/ENGINEER. Pro/ENGINEER displays the Menu Manager dialog box, as shown in
Figure 5–3.

Figure 5–3 The Menu Manager dialog box.

3. From the Exchange Level options, toggle on the desired types of entities to export to the Elysium
Neutral File.
4. Click Done Select.
Pro/ENGINEER displays the following prompt:

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Enter output file Name [./partname.enf_abq]

5. Enter the name of the part or assembly to export.
Pro/ENGINEER tries to create a file called partname.enf_abq in the current directory.
6. Enter Y when Pro/ENGINEER asks if you wish to create a new file called partname.enf_abq or
to overwite an existing file called partname.enf_abq.
7. Enter Y when Pro/ENGINEER asks if you wish to continue.
When Pro/ENGINEER finishes exporting the part or assembly, it displays a summary in the
Information Window dialog box of the entities converted along with the total processing time. If
you are exporting an assembly, Pro/ENGINEER stores all of the parts in the assembly in the single
partname.enf_abq file.

5.3.2 Importing the Elysium Neutral File into Abaqus/CAE

You can use Abaqus/CAE to import the Elysium Neutral File as either separate parts or as the assembly.
Part
To import a part into Abaqus/CAE, select File→Import→Part from the main menu bar. From the
Import Part dialog box, select the Pro/ENGINEER Elysium Neutral (*.enf*) File to import. You
can import all of the parts in the assembly, or you can import only a specified part.

Assembly
To import an assembly into Abaqus/CAE, select File→Import→Assembly from the main
menu bar. From the Import Assembly dialog box, select the Pro/ENGINEER Elysium Neutral
(*.enf*) File to import. You can import all of the parts in the assembly, or you can import only
specified part instances. Abaqus/CAE creates parts that correspond to the imported part instances
and maintains the relationship between the parts and their instances.

For more information, see “Importing an assembly,” Section 10.1.4 of the Abaqus/CAE User’s Guide.

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Appendix A: What’s new?

This guide is intended for use with version 20150320 of the Pro/ENGINEER Associative Interface plug-
in, built in March 2015. To check the version number of the plug-in you are using, see “Determining the
version of the Pro/ENGINEER Associative Interface plug-in,” Section 4.3. The following new capabilities
are available with this version of the plug-in:
Support added for Abaqus/CAE 2016
The Pro/ENGINEER Associative Interface plug-in supports Creo Parametric 1, Creo Parametric 2, Creo
Parametric 3, Wildfire 4, and Wildfire 5 and Abaqus/CAE 2016 and later releases.

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