Can I Write Scripts to Automate StressCheck Professional?

“Hands-off” automation of StressCheck^® Professional pre-processing, solutions and live dynamic processing is available via StressCheck^®‘s COM API. The StressCheck^® COM API includes access to the toolkit of StressCheck^®‘s objects, methods and properties to allow for solutions to repetitious and/or challenging FEA models and the development of Simulation Applications (Sim Apps).

Below is an example of a fracture mechanics Sim App:

Customized functions and subroutines may be written and executed either via scripting or a distributable Sim App product which uses StressCheck^® as its FEA engine. In order to get started with the StressCheck^® COM API, the following are required:

• A complete StressCheck^® installation.
• If using a concurrent license server, enough available licenses for the StressCheck^® modules called during execution of the script (e.g. StressCheck^® Core, Linear Elasticity solver, etc.).
• A scripting platform (e.g. MATLAB by MathWorks, Microsoft Excel VBA, Python, etc.) or Windows development environment (e.g. Microsoft Visual Studio).
• Referencing/importing/using the StressCheck^® COM API (more below).

Scripting with StressCheck^®‘s COM API

The following demonstrates in several programming languages (Excel VBA, MATLAB and Python) how to get started with the StressCheck^® COM API for scripting. Note: in the below examples, the ® character is not required:

Excel VBA: Set StressCheck^® Reference and Initiate a New StressCheck^®.Application

In Excel VBA, it is very easy to automate StressCheck^® because all that is required is an installation of Microsoft Office Excel. The following video demonstrates how to set a reference to the latest StressCheck^® Application Object library in VBA’s References list, and then initiate a new StressCheck^® Application via VBA scripting:

More examples of Excel VBA scripting with StressCheck^®:

• Helpful Hints and Tips: Excel VBA Basic Example
• Helpful Hints and Tips: Excel VBA 3D Automeshed Plate Example

MATLAB: Launch a StressCheck^®.Application COM ActiveX Server

In MATLAB, it is simple enough to create a new ActiveX server StressCheck^®.Application process and save the commands as an M-file (.m):

% Launch StressCheck^® application as a COM ActiveX Server SC = actxserver(‘StressCheck^®.Application’);

For an example of MATLAB scripting with StressCheck^®:

• Helpful Hints and Tips: Matlab COM API Basic Example

Python: Import win32com and use EnsureDispatch to Initiate a StressCheck^®.Application

Before using the StressCheck^® COM API with Python, it is necessary to install the latest Python for Windows and PyWin32 extensions:

• Python for Windows
• PyWin32 (required for COM API’s)

Once these are installed, you may write a Python script (.py) and execute via command line or Pythonwin. Import win32com in the Python script to open a new StressCheck^®.Application:

import win32com.client as win32 sc = win32.gencache.EnsureDispatch(‘StressCheck^®.Application’)

For an example of Python scripting with StressCheck^®:

• Helpful Hints and Tips: Python Example #1

For more information on the StressCheck^® COM API implementation, refer to COM Interface Overview.