Finite Element Analysis (FEA) is a powerful tool used by engineers to analyze the behavior of complex designs under various loading conditions. At the heart of FEA lies the concept of meshing, which plays a critical role in achieving accurate and efficient simulation results. This article dives into the three main meshing techniques employed in SOLIDWORKS: 1D, 2D, and 3D meshing.

1D MESHING:

• Used for geometries having one of the dimensions very large in comparison to rest of the two (Refer fig.1).

•Element Shape: Line (Refer fig.2)

•Element Type: Rod, beam, Pipe etc,.

• Practical Example: Long shaft, beam, pin joint, Connection elements. In SOLIDWORKS, We use beam element for 1D meshing. Beam elements are capable of resisting axial, bending, shear, and torsional loads.

2D MESHING

• Used for geometries having two of the dimensions very large in comparison to last dimension.

• Element shape: Triangle

•Type of the Element : Thin shell, membrane, plate.

• Practical application: Sheet metal parts, Plastic components like instrument panel

3D MESHING

• Used for all 3D objects.

•Element shape in SOLIDWORKS: Tetragonal.

• Type of the Element: Solid

• Practical application: Gear Box, Engine Block, Crankshaft.

Appropriate meshing:

You can mesh a sheetmetal part with Solid tetrahedral element but meshing a sheetmetal with shell element gives you approximate result and reduce computational effort which will be handy for any simulation engineer. likewise, you should mesh a beam or rod using beam  element.