Overview of connectors in Nastran

Connectors are used to replace some CAD portion of your geometry with a finite element analysis (FEA) simplification. Connectors can be applied to reduce the overall mesh size while still representing the strength and stiffness of the part that’s been removed. As the name applies, this simplified connector element representation can either:

• Connect to a single CAD body. An example of this would be applying a lumped mass – to represent a part not modeled – using a rigid body connector. The rigid body connector transmits the mass from the lumped mass’s location (usually the c.g.) to the distribution points on the CAD body that is digitally modeled. 
• Connect multiple CAD bodies together. An example of this would be connecting multiple CAD bodies together with the use of the bolt connector in lieu of some CAD representation of the bolts. 

Rod, Spring, Rigid, and Bolt connector types will be reviewed.