Hi Hamish and all.

It is nice to find an other airplane homebuilder here in the forum with interest in FEA.

If we can make such scripts I can write a step by step tutorial how to calculate a framework fuselage
of a little sportplane.

About Z88 and Z88 Aurora: Z88 works with .dxf data, .txt scripts and files from other FEA-Software.
Z88 Aurora handle also .step and .stl like other FEA software will do.
Step parts made in MoI without extra lines and other objekts can be used in Z88 Aurora problemless.
There are a lot of different FEA-types that can be used for volume and surface calculations.

Two types are made for 2D and 3D framework. Type 9 and Type 4.
Normaly we need Autocad .dxf files to prepair a structure for Z88.
It is a complycated way with a lot of layer that is discripted in a extra Z88 tutrial.
It is easy to produce a lot of error and spend a very long time to get the propper file.

It is more easy to filter the needed information from a .dxf file and a special architektural software in a .txt file
and save that in Z88. But not for everybody and it is much to expencive.

My idea was to draw the framestructure in MoI, sample the information in one or more .txt files and build the
input file z88i1.txt from it.

The attachment show a typical structure like a part of a crane ore a tailbeam of a helicopter.
It was made first from lines and than marked with points where the knots of the structure are.

A script like "Save Points" coud give the information of the point-koordinates together with an index of the points.
The ideal form is:
Point-number Dimension of the frame X Y Z

1 3 0 0 0
2 3 520 600 0
and so on.

The next script gives an index of the lines and the startpoint and the endpoint of the lines.
Nice to have is an option to set the number of the "Type" into the text.
For example:
Number of line Type of line
Number of startpoint Number of endpoint

1 4
1 2
2 4
3 5
3 4
2 3
...........

The third script gives the same index for the lines and the true length of each line.
This we need for later calculation of the rigth tube diameter and wall thicknes.

1 453
2 621
3 516
..............

Next time I prepair a z88i1.txt file to show the complete input file.

I hope it is not to much complicated.

Hans