III.1.1.6 “CoordSys” methods

The “CoordSys” class allows the manipulation of coordinate systems for post-processing purpose. This class is presented in Chapter I.2. One presents below the methods of NastranDb class devoted to the manipulation of coordinate systems.

III.1.1.6.1 “getCoordSysCopy”

The “getCoordSysCopy” method returns a CoordSys object which is a copy of a coordinate system stored in the DataBase. The method has one integer argument which is the index of the coordinate system.

Note that the CoordSys returned by the method may be a “generic” CoordSys as presented in Chapter I.2, or a Nastran coordinate system.

III.1.1.6.2 “addCoordSys”

The “addCoordSys” method is used to add a coordinate system to the DataBase. The argument of the method is the CoordSys object. In the DataBase, the object is referenced by its index.

If a coordinate system with the same index already exists in the NastranDb, it is replaced by the new coordinate system. In that case, the user is responsible for all the modifications involved in the finite element model by the possible modification of the NastranDB coordinate system. Therefore, it is considered as a good practice not to modify a coordinate involved in the finite element model definition.

Note that the coordinate system index must be a strictly positive integer. Also, the CoordSys inserted by the method may be a “generic” CoordSys as presented in Chapter I.2, or a Nastran coordinate system.

III.1.1.6.3 “makeAllCoordSysWrt0”

This method updates the definition wrt 0 (most basic coordinate system) of all the coordinate systems stored in a NastranDB. This operation is necessary when a coordinate system of the NastranDB has been modified, because the definitions of other coordinate systems wrt 0 may be affected.