Gmsh import tracking as Shell (M3) instead of 3D Solid in Mecway

marcosprojetos

Hello everyone,

I am having an issue when importing a 3D solid skid model from Gmsh into Mecway. Even though my model is a solid, Mecway treats the mesh as a shell/membrane and keeps asking for a thickness.

As shown in my screenshots:
1. In Gmsh, I open my STEP file, generate the mesh (1D, 2D, and 3D), and then save it normally using "Save Mesh" (Ctrl + Shift + S).
2. When I open this mesh file in Mecway, all 174,278 elements go into a single "Default" component.
3. Mecway flags it with a "What's wrong?" error because the geometric property is set to "Shell / membrane" instead of "Solid".

If I check the element properties in Mecway, the shape is listed as "M3" (triangles). This means it is only reading the surface/skin as shells, instead of actual 3D solid volume elements (like tetrahedra).

What am I missing in Gmsh during the mesh generation or setup so that the mesh is saved as a true 3D solid volume that Mecway can recognize right away without asking for thickness?

Thank you!