15

Starting Adams/PostProcessor

Getting Started Using

Adams/PostProcessor
Starting Adams/PostProcessor
16 Getting Started Using Adams/PostProcessor

Overview
We’ve provided a tutorial that steps you through the basics of Adams/PostProcessor. If you follow the
steps in this tutorial, you will learn how to view the simulation results you created in other Adams
products in Adams/PostProcessor. The sections in the chapter are:
• What You Will Do in the Tutorial
• Starting Adams/PostProcessor
• Loading the Simulation Results

The tutorial takes about 20 minutes to complete.

 17
Starting Adams/PostProcessor

What You Will Do in the Tutorial

In the tutorial, you’ll learn how to:
1. View reports.
2. Play an animation of simulation data, including animating the results of a clearance study.
3. Display simulation results as both xy plots and tables.
4. View animations and plots simultaneously.
18 Getting Started Using Adams/PostProcessor

Starting Adams/PostProcessor
You can run Adams/PostProcessor as a stand-alone product or from within other Adams products, such
as Adams/View, or Adams/Car. The following instructions explain how to start Adams/PostProcessor in
stand-alone mode. It also explains how to start any add-ons or plugins to Adams/PostProcessor.
Currently, the only plugin is for Adams/Durability.

To start Adams/PostProcessor stand-alone in UNIX:

1. At the command prompt, enter the command to start the Adams Toolbar, and then press Enter.
The standard command that MSC.Software provides is adamsmdx, where x is the version
number, for example, adamsmdr3 represents MD Adams R3.
The Adams Toolbar appears.
2. Click the Adams/PostProcessor tool .
For more information on the Adams Toolbar, see the online help on Running and Configuring
Adams.

To start Adams/PostProcessor stand-alone in Windows:

• From the Start menu, point to Programs, point to MSC.Software, point to MD Adams R3,
point to APostProcessor, and then select Adams - PostProcessor.
 19
Starting Adams/PostProcessor

Loading the Simulation Results

We’ve provided you with simulation results that you can use to learn the basics of Adams/PostProcessor.
The simulation results are in two files:
• ppt_gs.gra - Graphics file containing information that enables Adams/PostProcessor to animate
a model of a suspension. It also contains time-dependent data describing the position and
orientation of each part in the model.
• ppt_gs.req - Request file containing information that enables Adams/PostProcessor to create
plots of simulation results. It contains information about the various data requested and time
history of all the request values.
In this tutorial, you import these files through the command file ppt_gs.cmd. The command file also
sets up several pages containing animations and plots. In addition, it runs a clearance study as it loads
the files.
The files are located in the directory /install_dir/ppt/examples, where install_dir is the directory
where you installed the Adams products. To get the results into Adams/PostProcessor, you need to copy
the files to your working directory and import the command file.

To copy the files:

• In the directory /install_dir/ppt/examples, copy the following files to your working
directory:
• ppt_gs.cmd
• ppt_gs.req
• ppt_gs.gra
• ppt_gs.html
• ppt_gs.png

Note: By default on Windows, files in the installation directory are read-only. During installation,
your system adminstration can choose to change the permissions so you can write to the
installation directory. If this has not been done, you will need to change the permissions of
the above files when you copy them to your working directory.

To import ppt_gs.cmd:
1. From the File menu, point to Import, and then select Command File.
2. Right-click the File Name box, and then select Browse.
3. Use the Open dialog box to find the file ppt_gs.cmd, and then select OK.
4. In the File Import dialog box, select OK.
The command file that you imported into Adams/PostProcessor creates several pages containing
reports, animations, and plots. It also runs a clearance study.
20 Getting Started Using Adams/PostProcessor

Familiarizing Yourself with Adams/PostProcessor

Adams/PostProcessor has four modes: animation, plotting, reports, and 3D plotting (only available with
Adams/Vibration data). It switches its modes automatically depending on the contents of the active
viewport. For example, the tools in the Main toolbar change if you load an animation or a plot into a
viewport.
The following figure shows the Adams/PostProcessor window. The elements shown are common to all
modes.

Figure 1 Adams/PostProcessor Window

Page Viewports
Menu bar
Main toolbar

Treeview

Property editor
Dash-
board

Status toolbar
The elements in the Adams/PostProcessor window are:
• Menu bar - Contains the headings of each menu.
• Main toolbar - Displays commonly used tools for working with animations, plotting results, and
reports. It changes depending on whether you are viewing animations, plots, or reports.
• Treeview - Displays a hierarchical list of the models and pages. The tree is especially useful for
selecting and identifying objects.
• Property editor - Lets you change the properties of selected objects.
• Status toolbar - Displays information messages and prompts while you work.
• Page - Displays the current page. Each page can display up to six rectangular areas or viewports
in which you can place animations and plots.
• Viewports - Rectangular areas that display different views of plots, animations, or reports.
• Dashboard - Provides functions for controlling animations or plotting results.
 15
Working with Adams/PostProcessor

Working with Adams/PostProcessor

16 Getting Started Using Adams/PostProcessor

Overview
This chapter steps you through working with three of the Adams/PostProcessor modes: reports,
animations, and plotting:
• Displaying Reports
• Working with Animations
• Working with Plots
• Viewing Plots and Animations Simultaneously
• The Next Step
 17
Working with Adams/PostProcessor

Displaying Reports
The first page, which Adams/PostProcessor displays by default, is a page p1_report, which displays
a report of the pages that the command file you imported created. As you can see from the report, you
can use simple HTML tags and bitmapped images to display information about the animations and plots
in Adams/PostProcessor. You can also display reports of clearance studies. For more information on
displaying reports and the HTML tags that Adams/PostProcessor supports, see the Adams/PostProcessor
online help.
18 Getting Started Using Adams/PostProcessor

Working with Animations

Now you’ll review the animation you loaded with the clearance study results that Adams/PostProcessor
just performed. You’ll view the animations in different ways, including interactively setting the speed at
which Adams/PostProcessor runs the animations.

Viewing an Animation
The animation that you will view is stored on the page named p2_clearance.

To select the animation page:

• In the treeview, select p2_clearance.
• Adams/PostProcessor switches to animation mode and displays the first frame of the animation.
All the elements in the dashboard change to those for controlling animations. The pull-down
menu at the top of Adams/PostProcessor to the right of the toolbar also changes to Animation to
indicate the current mode.
• Notice the red and green lines in the animation:
• The green line tracks the distance between the right wheel (PART_21) and the steering wheel
(PART_10).
• The red line tracks the distance between the left wheel (PART_22) and the steering wheel
(PART_10).

To run the animation:

• At the top of the dashboard, select the Play tool.

Notice that Adams/PostProcessor continuously plays the animation. You can also set
Adams/PostProcessor so that it plays the animation only once or plays the animation forward and then
backward.

To set the animation to play only once:

1. On the dashboard, select Animation, if necessary.
2. Set Loop to Once.

Interactively Playing the Animation

To help you investigate the results of a simulation, you can play animation frames forwards and
backwards, rewind to an earlier frame, or play only a portion of the animation. In this tutorial, you’ll
interactively play the animation by dragging the animation slider.

To interactively play the animation:

1. To rewind the animation, select the Reset tool.
 19
Working with Adams/PostProcessor

2. At the top of the dashboard, drag the slider bar back and forth to watch how the animation plays
backwards and forwards at the speed at which you drag the slider.
20 Getting Started Using Adams/PostProcessor

Working with Plots

Adams/PostProcessor also plots the results of simulations so you can interpret the performance of your
design. In this section, you’ll view pages with plots on them, modify the plots, and create your own plots.

Viewing Pages of Plots

A page, called p3_plots, already exists that contains several plots that you will view. You’ll first view
all the plots and then you’ll quickly zoom in on just one of the plots. Notice that p3_plots in the lower
left corner is a plot that Adams/PostProcessor has displayed as a table. In the treeview, it is still listed as
a plot.

To view the plotting page:

1. In the treeview, select p3_plots.
Adams/PostProcessor switches to plotting mode and displays the plots.
2. Click the plot in the upper right corner of the window and, from the Main toolbar, select the
Expand View tool.
Adams/PostProcessor displays only the selected plot.
3. To return to viewing all the plots, select the Expand View tool again.

Modifying Plotting Objects

You can tailor the appearance of plots to help you identify the information in the plot more effectively or
to make the plot ready for a presentation. In this section, you’ll turn off the grid lines and change the line
style of the curves of one of the plots.

Displaying the Table as a Plot

Before you begin to change the look of plots, you’ll change the plot displayed as a table (plot_4) back
to being an xy plot.

To change the table to a plot:

1. In the viewport, select plot_4.
2. In the property editor, clear the selection of Table.

Turning Off Grid Lines

In Adams/PostProcessor, plots contain primary and secondary grid lines that serve as visual guides for
inspecting curves. Primary grid lines appear at all major unit sections. Secondary grid lines appear at
specified intervals between the primary grid lines. In this section, you’ll turn off the visibility of the grid
lines in one plot. You’ll do this by selecting the plot and then editing its properties in the Property Editor.
 21
Working with Adams/PostProcessor

To turn off primary lines:

1. Click the border of the plot in the upper right corner.
Notice that the viewport border turns red to indicate that you’ve selected it. In addition, the
treeview highlights the plot. You are now ready to edit the properties of the selected plot.
2. In the property editor, select Grid.
3. Clear the selection of Visible.
4. In the property editor, select the right arrow key to display more tabs.
5. Select 2nd Grid.
6. Clear the selection of Visible.

Changing Color and Line Style of All Curves

Now you’ll use the treeview to learn how to modify a group of common objects all at once. In this
example, you’ll change the line styles of all the curves in the plots on page p3_plots.

To change all curves:

1. To expand the treeview so it displays all plots on the page p3_plots, in the treeview, click the plus
sign (+) in front of the page p3_plots.
2. Now click the plus sign (+) in front of each plot on the page p3_plots to see all the objects in the
plots.
3. In the treeview, hold down the Ctrl key, and select each curve on page p3_plots.
4. In the property editor, from the Line Style box, select Dash.
All the curves change to dashed lines.

To reset the filter to show all objects:

• Right-click the background of the treeview, point to Type Filter, and then select All.

Creating New Plots

You can also create your own plots as shown in the next steps.

Creating a Page
Before you can create a plot, you need to create a page for it.

To create a page:
• On the Main toolbar, select the New Page tool.
• Because you are in plotting mode, Adams/PostProcessor displays plots on which to add data. If
you were in animation mode, Adams/PostProcessor would display empty viewports for loading
animations.
22 Getting Started Using Adams/PostProcessor

To set the layout of the page so it contains two viewports:

• In the Main toolbar, right-click the Page Layout tool stack, and then select .

Adding Data to the Plot

Now that you have a new page, you can display some curves on it. In plot mode, the dashboard contains
the numeric results of loaded simulation results. It displays the objects, measures, requests, and result sets
from Adams simulations and any results from clearance studies. The results that you have available
depend on the output that you requested from your Adams product. For information on the different
results you can generate, see your Adams product online help.
In this tutorial, you’ll use requests, which provide standard displacement, velocity, acceleration, or force
information that will help you investigate the results of your simulation. Requests also let you define
other quantities (such as pressure, work, energy, momentum, and more) that you want generated during
a simulation.

To add a curve to the plot, select the following from the dashboard:
1. In the dashboard, in the Request box, select REQ1080 TOE CASTER CAMBER (FRONT).
2. In the Component box, select X, Y, and Z.
3. Select Add Curves.
4. Now add more curves by selecting different data from the dashboard and selecting Add Curves.

Surfing Through Data

In the previous section, for each request you selected, Adams/PostProcessor added new curves to your
plot. You can also plot your data without accumulating curves on your plot. This is called surfing. It is
convenient for quickly looking at different data.

To quickly add data without creating new curves:

1. Select the plot on the right.
2. In the dashboard, select Surf.
3. Select the data that you’d like to view, as explained earlier.
You’ll notice that each time you select data, Adams/PostProcessor replaces the existing curves
with new curves.

Modifying a Curve
Not only can you view data in Adams/PostProcessor, but you can also change and enhance it. In this
tutorial, you’ll change the mathematical expression that creates a curve.

To change a curve:
1. Click a curve on the plot on the left.
2. At the top of the dashboard, select Math.
 23
Working with Adams/PostProcessor

The dashboard displays the mathematical expressions used to calculate the curve.
3. In the Y Expression box, change the mathematical expression, and then select Apply. You can
change it in different ways. For example, enter a negative sign (-) in front of the expression to
invert the values or multiply the expression by 3.
24 Getting Started Using Adams/PostProcessor

Viewing Plots and Animations Simultaneously

You can place plots and animations together on the same page, and you can also run the animation and
see Adams/PostProcessor track the corresponding data on the plot as the animation plays.

To view plots and animations together:

1. In the treeview, select the page p4_combined.
Adams/PostProcessor displays a page containing both animations and plots.
2. At the top of the dashboard, select the Play tool.
Adams/PostProcessor plays the animation and displays a line on the plot at the same data point
that the animation is displaying.
 25
Working with Adams/PostProcessor

The Next Step

You completed a few of the most common operations in Adams/PostProcessor for working with
simulation results. Now use the Adams/PostProcessor online help as a reference to the many features of
Adams/PostProcessor.
26 Getting Started Using Adams/PostProcessor