Abaqus Scripting User’s Guide¶

The Abaqus Scripting User’s Guide takes you through the process of understanding the Python programming language and the Abaqus Scripting Interface so that you can write your own programs. It also describes how you use the Abaqus Scripting Interface and the C++ application programming interface (API) to access an Abaqus output database.

This guide is a part of the Abaqus® documentation collection, which describes all the capabilities of the Abaqus finite element analysis technology used in SIMULIA® applications.

The guide consists of the following sections:

• About the Abaqus Scripting Interface
  • Abaqus/CAE and the Abaqus Scripting Interface This section provides an overview of the Abaqus Scripting Interface and describes how Abaqus/CAE executes scripts.
  • Simple examples Two simple examples are provided to introduce you to programming with the Abaqus Scripting Interface.
    • Creating a part
    • Reading from an output database
    • Introduction to Python This section is intended as a basic introduction to the Python programming language and is not an exhaustive description of the language. There are several books on the market that describe Python, and these books are listed as references. Additional resources, such as Python-related sites, are also listed.
    • Using Python and the Abaqus Scripting Interface This section describes the Abaqus Scripting Interface in more detail. The documentation style used in the command reference is explained, and important Abaqus Scripting Interface concepts such as data types and error handling are introduced.
    • Using the Abaqus Scripting Interface with Abaqus/CAE This section describes how you use the Abaqus Scripting Interface to control Abaqus/CAE models and analysis jobs. The Abaqus object model is introduced, along with techniques for specifying a region and reading messages from an analysis product (Abaqus/Standard or Abaqus/Explicit). You can skip this section of the guide if you are not working with Abaqus/CAE.
    • Using the Abaqus Scripting Interface to access an output database When you execute an analysis job, Abaqus/Standard and Abaqus/Explicit store the results of the analysis in an output database (.odb file) that can be viewed in the Visualization module of Abaqus/CAE or in Abaqus/Viewer. This section describes how you use the Abaqus Scripting Interface to access the data stored in an output database. You can do the following with the Abaqus Scripting Interface:
      • Read model data describing the geometry of the parts and the assembly; for example, nodal coordinates, element connectivity, and element type and shape.
      • Read model data describing the sections and materials and where they are used in an assembly.
      • Read field output data from selected steps, frames, and regions.
      • Read history output data.
      • Operate on field output and history output data.
      • Write model data, field output data, and history data to an existing output database or to a new output database.
      • About the Abaqus Scripting Interface
      • Using the Abaqus Scripting Interface
      • The Abaqus Python Development Environment
      • Putting it all Together: Abaqus Scripting Interface Examples
      • Accessing an Output Database