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Polygon-editing Software
Version 12.1 for Windows
IMEdit is a trademark of InnovMetric Software Inc.
This manual, as well as the software described in it, is furnished under license and may be
used or copied only in accordance with the terms of such license. The content of this
document is furnished for informational use only, and is subject to change without notice.
InnovMetric Software Inc. assumes no responsibility or liability for any errors or inaccuracies
that may appear in this document.
Except as permitted by such license, reproduction in whole or in part in any way without
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Contents
22 1. Getting Started
23 1.1 Starting IMEdit
23 1.1.1 Starting IMEdit from the Workspace Manager
25 1.1.2 Starting IMEdit from the Windows shortcut
26 1.1.3 Starting IMEdit from a command line
27 1.2 About IMEdit
27 1.3 Using the Support Assistant
27 1.4 Exiting IMEdit
28 1.5 Getting help
28 1.5.1 The Reference documentation
29 1.5.2 Related documentation
29 1.5.2.1 Topics not yet documented
29 1.5.3 Finding what’s new in IMEdit
30 1.5.4 V11 to V12 menu correspondences
31 1.6 Getting technical support
32 2. Fundamentals
33 2.1 Supported polygonal model formats
33 2.1.1 Definitions
34 2.1.2 Information extracted from polygonal files
34 2.2 IMEdit: An object-oriented polygon-editing tool
34 2.2.1 Polygonal models
34 2.2.2 NURBS models
35 2.2.3 Curves
35 2.2.4 NURBS patches
36 2.2.5 Solid Features
36 2.2.6 Surfaces
36 2.2.7 Primitives
36 2.2.8 Cross-sections
36 2.2.9 Point clouds
37 2.2.10 Legacy curve networks
37 2.3 Navigating
37 2.4 Modes used to visualize, select, and edit
38 2.4.1 Basic visualization mode
38 2.4.2 Entering Select Elements mode
38 2.4.3 Editing operations performed on triangles and vertices
39 2.4.4 Performing interactive operations
39 2.4.5 Undoing operations
61 4. Managing Projects
62 4.1 Introduction
62 4.2 Creating new projects
62 4.3 Opening existing projects
63 4.4 Saving projects
65 4.5 Opening recent projects
66 5. Importing Objects
67 5.1 Importing files
67 5.1.1 Importing through the Import menu
68 5.1.2 Importing objects using the From File creation method
69 5.2 Importing point clouds
70 5.2.1 Import parameters
70 5.2.1.1 Project-related parameters
70 Object units
71 5.2.1.2 File-related parameters
71 Text files
72 5.3 Importing polygonal models
73 5.3.1 Import parameters
73 5.3.1.1 Project-related parameters
74 Object units
74 5.4 Importing CAD models
75 5.4.1 Import parameters
75 5.4.1.1 Project-related parameters
75 Tessellation tolerance
76 5.5 Importing objects from projects
76 5.5.1 Importing objects from an IMEdit project
77 5.5.2 Importing objects from an IMInspect project
80 5.5.3 Importing objects from an IMSurvey project
82 5.6 Importing recent files
186 11.2.3
Filling holes
186 11.2.3.1 Filling holes and gaps automatically
189 11.2.3.2 Filling holes interactively
190 Filling holes
194 Cleaning holes
195 Cleaning and filling holes
197 11.2.3.3 Manually triangulating an area containing holes
198 11.2.3.4 Filling holes using surfaces
199 11.2.3.5 Anchoring new vertices over surfaces and triangulating
199 11.2.3.6 Creating surfaces to fill holes from a rectangle
200 Parameters in the dialog box
202 11.2.3.7 Creating surfaces to fill holes from user-picked points
202 11.2.4 Filling holes left by optical markers
206 11.2.5 Automatic topology correction tools
206 11.2.6 Propagating the orientation of a set of triangles
207 11.2.7 Reorienting inverted surface normals
208 11.2.7.1 Inverting the orientation of a set of triangles
208 11.2.7.2 Automatic correction of inverted surface normals
209 11.2.8 Merging vertices
209 11.2.8.1 Merge Vertices
210 11.2.8.2 Merge Close Vertices
210 11.2.9 Permuting the edge between two adjacent triangles
211 11.2.10 Intersecting sets of triangles
212 11.3 Optimizing polygonal models
212 11.3.1 Reducing the number of triangles
214 11.3.2 Subdividing the triangles of a selected area
215 11.3.2.1 Setting the subdivision type and related parameters
217 11.3.2.2 Generating new vertices using Linear or Cubic algorithms
217 11.3.2.3 Understanding equiangularity optimization
219 11.3.2.4 Application #1: Machining a small object at a larger scale
220 11.3.2.5 Application #2: Improving the aspect ratio of a triangulation
220 11.3.3 Optimizing triangles for better curvature descriptions
222 11.3.4 Improving the equiangularity of polygonal model triangles
222 11.3.5 Resampling a polygonal model using fitted NURBS patches
the 3D scene
331 13.12.5 Constraining curves to a symmetry plane
331 13.13 Editing objects using fitted NURBS patches
332 13.13.1 Creating a polygonal model from NURBS patches
332 13.14 Rendering NURBS patches
332 13.14.1 Setting NURBS patch display options in the IMEdit Options dialog box
332 13.14.2 Customizing interface colors
333 13.14.3 Using the NURBS Patch Display Options dialog box
334 13.15 Using the property sheet of NURBS patches
334 13.15.1 The NURBS patch tab
335 13.15.2 The Fit tab
336 13.15.3 The Fitting error tab
337 13.16 Shortcut menus for NURBS patches
337 13.16.1 In the tree view menu for the NURBS Patches branch
337 13.16.2 In the tree view menu for NURBS patches
338 13.16.3 In the 3D scene
338 13.17 Exporting fitted NURBS patches to external formats
586 19.2.7
Selecting triangles and vertices using planes
586 19.2.7.1 Selecting triangles with respect to planes
586 19.2.7.2 Selecting vertices with respect to planes
587 19.2.7.3 Selecting triangles/vertices enclosed within a set of planes
587 19.2.8 Exporting planes to external formats
587 19.2.9 Shortcut menus for points
587 19.2.9.1 In the tree view
587 19.2.9.2 In the 3D scene
588 19.2.10 Exporting points to external formats
588 19.3 Menus specific to primitives
728 Glossary
734 Index
This chapter explains how to start IMEdit as well as access the help that is available for users.
4. Click PolyWorks.
To start the IMEdit module from the PolyWorks/Workspace Manager, while specifying
an input file/project in the active workspace on startup, do one of the following:
Drag a valid object (i.e., IMAlign project, polygonal model, IMEdit project, point cloud
(types that are importable into the module)) onto the Start IMEdit button on the
Modules toolbar.
Select a polygonal model or an IMEdit project and click in the Wizard pane on a
phrase preceded by the IMEdit icon.
Right-click over an IMEdit project and click Open in IMEdit on the shortcut menu.
Right-click over an IMAlign project, a polygonal model, or a point cloud (types that
are importable into the module) and click Import in IMEdit on the shortcut menu.
To open the IMEdit module without specifying a file on start up, proceed as follows:
Right-click over the IMEdit Projects branch and click Create using IMEdit on the
shortcut menu.
Right-click over the Point Clouds branch in the active workspace and click Import in
IMEdit on the shortcut menu.
Select the top level object in the active workspace, make choices in the Wizard
window, and click a phrase that is preceded by the IMEdit icon.
To start IMEdit using the Windows shortcut that is created at installation, proceed as
follows:
4. Click IMEdit.
If the PolyWorks/Workspace Manager was not already open, it opens and the IMEdit
module starts. The Workspaces area contains an empty, untitled workspace with an
empty IMEdit project. If the PolyWorks/Workspace Manager was already open, the
IMEdit module starts with an empty IMEdit project in the active workspace.
IMEdit may be invoked from a command line. A general call to IMEdit has the following
format:
[-fi model_format]
[-verbose]
An input polygonal model file on disk can be directly specified on the command line.
An IMEdit project within a PolyWorks workspace can also be specified; in this case, the
IMEdit project name is case sensitive. The -pwk parameter specifies the name of the
workspace. The workspace is read into the Workspace Manager and becomes the active
workspace.
The -fi parameter can be used to specify the input file format when an input model
file has been specified.
UserconfigDirectory\.innovmetric.version\macro\ApplicationName\
PolyWorksInstallationDirectory\macro\ApplicationName\
If the PolyWorks/Workspace Manager was not already open, it opens and the IMEdit
module starts. If the PolyWorks/Workspace Manager was already open, only the IMEdit
module starts.
On choosing the command, a splash screen is displayed that displays the software’s
version and build number. The build number helps InnovMetric Software’s
development team track the precise source code used to compile the module.
If the No button is pressed, the Support Assistant tool can always be accessed from the
Help menu of the PolyWorks/Workspace Manager, or the Help menu of the module.
The Support Assistant can also be invoked by way of a command line, executed from
the bin subdirectory of the PolyWorks installation directory. A general call to the
Support Assistant has the following format:
The system_report_filename parameter specifies the file name and location for the
created report.
The -p parameter specifies that the system report should display in a Notepad
application.
These two parameters are optional. If they are not specified, the report appears directly
in the Command Prompt window.
For technical support, send this report directly to your PolyWorks provider, or to the
InnovMetric Software technical team by e-mail at support@innovmetric.com.
If the current IMEdit project has been modified, a message is displayed to prompt
saving the project. Press the Yes button to specify saving the project, the No button to
specify not saving the project, or Cancel to end the operation and return to IMEdit. If
saving the project is specified and the associated workspace is untitled, the PolyWorks/
Workspace Manager prompts for a workspace name, which is used to save the project.
The Help > Reference Guides menu offers commands that provide access to the
InnovMetric Software manuals related to IMEdit. These manuals consist of Adobe PDF
files which require that Adobe Reader be installed on your system:
IMEdit
Loads the IMEdit Reference Guide into Adobe Reader. This is the document that
the IMEdit dialog boxes link to when the ? symbol on their title bar is clicked.
IMCompress
Loads the IMCompress Reference Guide into Adobe Reader. IMCompress is a
polygon reduction tool.
Translators
Loads the Translators Reference Guide into Adobe Reader. This manual provides
additional information on the file format translators offered by InnovMetric
Software. The polygonal format conversion tool, IMConvert, is also presented.
Commands
Loads the Command Reference Guide in a Web browser. This document presents
the application commands that are specific to the module as well as the elements
of the Macro Script Command Language.
Macro Script
Loads the Macro Script Reference Guide into Adobe Reader. This document
explains how to create basic macros by saving and editing macros using the Macro
Script Editor. It also describes the Macro Script Command Language that enables
users to add programming functionalities to macros.
PolyWorks SDK
Loads the PolyWorks SDK Reference Guide into Adobe Reader. This document
provides information concerning plug-ins and COM architecture. Many samples
are provided.
A custom document is available for each standard PolyWorks plug-in offered from a
module’s Tools > Plug-ins menu. Each document provides information concerning
device setup and requirements, and describes specific parameters offered in the
device-related dialog boxes.
The following documents offered in PDF format, available from the Help > Reference
Guides menu of the PolyWorks/Workspace Manager, offer related information:
The PolyWorks® Reference Guide presents the PolyWorks software suite, including the
PolyWorks/Workspace Manager, and explains how to customize the user interface by
means of visual layouts. It also explains how to invoke modules from the PolyWorks/
Workspace Manager. Finally, appendixes describe the installation procedure for both
node-locked and floating licenses.
On clicking the question mark on the title bar of an IMEdit dialog box, the PDF
version of the appropriate reference guide, or other appropriate document, opens to
the related section. Pressing the F1 key performs the same operation with respect to a
dialog box, and displays the appropriate Wizard when in an interactive mode if the
Wizard is not already displayed.
Topics not yet documented will be available shortly in the documentation of upcoming
major and intermediate releases of PolyWorks 12.1.
Summary information on this topic may be found in the “What’s New in IMEdit”
document, available under the Help menu of the PolyWorks/IMEdit module, or in a
learning video.
For immediate information on this subject, please contact your technical support
personnel.
The Help > What’s New submenu of the IMEdit module offers documents that
summarily explain what is new in the major and intermediate releases of PolyWorks:
Figure 1.3 The V11 to V12 menu correspondence displayed in a tooltip (a) and in a window (b).
(a)
(b)
The “What’s New in IMEdit V12.0” document is useful for users who have worked with
previous versions of this module. It contains a summary of what is new in the latest
major release of IMEdit.
A summary of what is new in all modules is available under the Help > What’s New
submenu of the PolyWorks/Workspace Manager.
The “Intermediate Release Notes” document provides the list of fixes and
enhancements in each intermediate release of PolyWorks since the last major release
of PolyWorks. It is also available under the Help > What’s New submenu of the
PolyWorks/Workspace Manager.
In version 12, the menu structure of IMEdit has been improved. To help the transition
between V11 and V12, a menu correspondence item is offered on the Help menu.
On choosing the Help > V11 to V12 Menu Correspondence command, a V11 menu bar is
displayed, allowing users to navigate within the V11 menu structure. When the pointer
is over a menu item, a tooltip is displayed to indicate the new item name and position
within the V12 menu structure (see Figure 1.3 (a)). If the menu item is clicked, the new
item name and position are displayed in a window (see Figure 1.3 (b)), which allows
users to view the menu correspondence while navigating within the V12 menus.
This chapter provides an overview of the IMEdit module. It describes the types of polygonal models that can
be processed. It then describes the concept of an IMEdit project, the objects in a project, the basic modes
offered by IMEdit, and an approach as how to perform operations. Finally, this section explains how to undo
operations.
2.1.1 Definitions
Polygonal models
A polygonal model file contains a set of polygons written in the file using a specific file
format. All vertices that define a particular polygon should lie on a common plane in 3D
space. Polygons should also be specified in counterclockwise order, unless the file
format allows the specification of polygons defined in clockwise order. Polygons input
to IMEdit are all converted to triangles.
Materials
Color-per-vertex information
Texture-mapped models
Groups of polygons
Several file formats support the definition of groups of polygons. A group definition is
useful to specify global properties for a set of polygons, such as:
A group label.
A material definition.
A texture image.
The last two types cannot be mixed into one model file. If such a case occurs, texturing
information would be preserved first.
The currently edited polygonal models. Each polygonal model consists of a set of
triangles and vertices, with optional color/texture information. If a model contains
texture information, certain restrictions are placed on those operations that create new
triangles or change triangle grouping. Each model has one category of child objects:
Triangle Groups: The triangles of a polygonal model are arranged into groups of
triangles. Triangle groups are children of a polygonal model, and provide
information about each triangle group; for complete information, see Section 6.6.3
Creating groups of triangles.
IMEdit also offers tools that allow creating and editing NURBS models. A NURBS model
may be created from NURBS surfaces which result from fitted NURBS patches.
Editing Project
• Polygonal models
• Triangle groups
• NURBS models
• Curves
• NURBS patches
• Solid features
• Surfaces
• Primitives
• Points
• Planes
- Axis
• Cross-sections
• Point clouds
• Legacy curve networks*
2.2.3 Curves
Bézier curves. Curves can be used for a variety of polygonal-editing purposes, such as
inserting character lines, reconstructing edges and corners, creating esthetic
boundaries, and trimming contours. Curves are also used to define NURBS patches.
NURBS patches are objects created from magnetic curves that are magnetized at curve
intersections. They are used to fit NURBS surfaces (G0-, G1-, and G2-continuous) on
polygonal models. The NURBS surfaces can be used to create NURBS models and can
be exported to IGES or STEP format.
The Solid Features branch contains 2D sketches. A sketch may contain entities with
relational constraints. Sketches may be imported in solid modeling CAD software and
used to create features by means of standard operations, such as Extrude and Sweep.
2.2.6 Surfaces
Bézier surfaces. Surfaces can be used for a variety of polygon-editing purposes, such as
automatically filling in small holes, filling in holes in complex free-form objects,
reshaping polygons, and filtering.
2.2.7 Primitives
Primitives can be extracted and fit on polygonal models. For every extracted or fitted
geometric entity, a primitive object is created. There are two categories of primitives:
Planes: Plane primitives. A plane primitive can have one child object:
Primitives are used by some editing operations that apply to triangles, coordinate
systems, curves, surfaces, and cross-sections.
2.2.8 Cross-sections
Point cloud objects contains a set of points from which a polygonal mesh may be built.
Curve networks used in versions V10 of IMEdit and earlier to generate NURBS surfaces
and NURBS models. Legacy curve network objects are only displayed in the Tree View
when projects of previous versions of IMEdit are imported and include one or more
curve networks. Legacy curve networks can still be used in IMEdit to perform a limited
number of operations.
2.3 Navigating
IMEdit has three basic modes, Default, operation, and Selection. IMEdit starts in the
Default mode, and all other modes, on finishing normally or on pressing the ESC key,
ultimately return to the Default mode. In the Default mode, the 3D scene can be viewed
and translated/rotated.
The operation mode refers to the operations invoked to edit the polygonal models.
Some operations depend on a preselection, others offer picking or anchoring modes,
and some permit to go to the Interrupt mode to rotate/translate the 3D scene.
The Select Elements mode refers to a mode that allow selecting elements (e.g.,
triangles and vertices of polygonal models).
The schema in Figure 2.2 shows how to navigate between the three main modes. Note
that depending on the context, the SPACEBAR can be used to go to Select Elements
mode or to the Interrupt mode. The ESC key can be used at any time to exit or cancel an
operation mode.
Figure 2.2 The navigation between the basic modes. The button shown is found on the
Selection toolbar. Note that the ESC key exits any mode and returns to Default mode.
End Invoke
Operation Select Elements
modes mode
Invoke
Interrupt
SPACEBAR mode SPACEBAR
When IMEdit is started, it is initially set to the basic visualization mode. In this mode, the
pointer consists of an arrow, rotations and translations can be performed on visible 3D
objects in the 3D scene. For a complete description of visualization capabilities, see
Chapter 8 Controlling the Display.
3. Apply the editing operation to the selected polygonal model elements by choosing
a menu command, pressing a button, or typing a shortcut.
We have found that for automatic editing algorithms, the “Select first, then Edit”
philosophy eases the task of modifying a polygonal model by reducing the need to
undo operations. There is an immediate visual feedback of the selection operations.
Therefore, the output of the next editing operation can more easily be predicted.
In addition to Select Elements mode, IMEdit offers several interactive operations that
are all performed as follows:
3. Exit the specific operation mode. Some operations exit as soon as a user’s action
completes its execution. Other operations need to be explicitly terminated. In all
cases, the ESC key can be used at any time to exit or cancel an operation mode.
The Edit menu offers commands that allow undoing certain operations (i.e., object
creation cannot be undone) that were previously performed:
operation that will be undone if the Undo command is chosen. The following types
of operations can be undone in the module:
Operation Description
Redo
Reperforms the last undone operation. The Redo command does not indicate the
last editing operation that was performed. The Redo operation must be done
immediately after the Undo operation. It becomes unavailable once another
operation is performed, including translation/rotation operations in the 3D scene.
Note that it is possible to remove the last transformation operations and return to
the last editing operation.
Remove Undos
A submenu that offers two commands:
Transformation
Removes all rotation/translation operations from the Undo stack.
All
Removes all operations from the Undo stack. This may be useful if system
memory is low. On choosing All, a confirmation window is displayed.
Press the Yes button to continue, or the No button to end the operation.
New instances of modules use that unit by default for the Length option of the Units
section on the General page of their options dialog box. The Length option can be
changed to other systems of units. All objects in a project must be expressed in the
same units of length. The units of length can be changed, and all objects in the project
are converted to the new units of length.
Objects that are imported into a module fall into three categories:
Objects containing units information, and those units are the same as the project’s
units of length.
Objects containing units information, and those units are not the same as the
project’s units of length. These inconsistent units must be resolved. This is explained
in Section 2.5.1 Importing objects with inconsistent units.
Note that in the case of an object in a project that is expressed in the incorrect units, the
Units Conversion method of the Scale Objects dialog box, available on the Edit menu,
can be used to convert the object to the correct units of length.
When an object is imported that contains units information which is different from a
project’s units of length specification, the object is automatically converted to the
project’s units of length.
For these few cases that do not yet respect these standards, the Inconsistent Units
message window, shown in Figure 2.3, is displayed, indicating the units of length and
the object’s units, and asking the user to confirm converting the object to the project’s
units of length:
On pressing the Yes button, the object is converted to the project’s units of length.
The object retains its Original units information and its Units factor property
reflects the conversion operation. For example, Working units is set to feet and an
IGES file import operation has detected that the IGES file’s units information reads
millimeters. Once imported, its Original units property is set to millimeters and its
Units factor property is set to .00328.
On pressing the No button, the object is imported but not converted. Its Original
units property is the same as the project’s units of length and its Units factor
property is set to 1.
Figure 2.3 Inconsistent units are detected when an object on import has units information
different from the project’s working units of length. The user is prompted to convert
the object to the current working units of length.
The import parameters determine the units of imported objects that do not contain
units information. Its use is configured on the General page of the IMEdit Options
dialog box (see Section 22.1 General options).
3.1 Introduction
As shown in Figure 3.1, the user interface offers a menu bar, a Standard toolbar, other
toolbars, a status bar, and several main dockable panes. The Tree View pane offers a tree
view where each object is represented. The 3D Scene pane hosts a 3D rendering
window where 3D objects are displayed. Here, mouse-based rotations/translations are
applied globally to all objects. The status bar displays messages about the status of the
application and the name of interactive modes invoked by the user.
The graphical user interface elements (e.g., menu bars, toolbars, dockable panes, macro
scripts) are completely customizable by way of visual layouts offered on the Tools >
Visual Layout submenu.
Menu Description
Standard
toolbar
Status bar
Status of operations
and menu helpers Selection
Current mode, selection stack, and toolbar
project status and management area
Menu Description
NURBS Offers operations that allow creating and editing NURBS patches.
Patches
Menu Description
This menu offers all the secondary tools that are not part of the main
module workflow, such asIt offers basic measurement tools that
provide information on typically polygonal models, which is useful
for certain editing operations. It also offers operations that allow
applying transformations to polygonal models and other objects. It
offers as well commands that allow recording macro scripts, using
the Command History pane, and modifying and saving visual
layouts.
Tools
The menu offers standard PolyWorks plug-ins and allows
customizing the plugins menu directory using standard Windows
techniques.
Finally, it allows modifying the options of the module, which include
general options (e.g., units, browsers, using wizards), project
settings, default names, display options, object-specific options,
managing floating keys, and selection options. It also allows
modifying the user configuration.
3.4.1 Contents
The Standard toolbar offers operations that allow loading and saving projects, undoing
operations, and more.
The area to the left displays tooltips and the status of operations (e.g., Ready).
The area to the right is the Notification Area. It displays icons that have their own
infotip. An icon may display information (e.g., the current mode or the current units of
length) and certain items may be clicked to access shortcuts to tools for those items
(e.g., access to the General page of the IMEdit Options dialog box that allows defining
the units of length for the project). See the table that follows for a description of the
icons that may appear to the right on the status bar, a short description of the item, and
a reference to where complete information can be found.
Content of the first three levels of the selection stack. For more
information, see Section 7.3.3.2 Selecting other elements.
Objects created appear in the Tree View pane. They are placed in logical categories, the
topmost object being the project itself. As a result, objects can be rapidly located and
easily selected to be managed (e.g., hidden) or as input for certain operations. Object
indices, which represent the sequential order of objects under their branch, may be
displayed as a prefix to the object name. For more information on displaying indices,
see Section 22.3.2 Tree view display options. Shortcut menus are offered by right-
clicking most objects and branches in the tree view, making it easy to apply operations
to specific objects, or those objects grouped under a branch. Standard Windows-based
selection operations can be used to select objects in the tree view.
3.6.1 Introduction
The Tree View pane is a central and hierarchal object management unit.
Each object is represented by an item in the Tree View pane. Items are displayed using a
tree view, and consist of an icon and an object name.
To select an object, click over it. Other selected objects are automatically deselected.
Click the first object, press and hold the SHIFT key, and then click the second
object.
Drag a selection rectangle in the tree view. As soon as any part of an object name
is included within the rectangle, the object is selected.
To select a set of nonconsecutive objects, press and hold the CTRL key while clicking
the objects.
Objects may be selected in the tree view using the arrow keys.
When a child object is selected, use the left arrow key to selected the parent object.
When a parent object is selected and the branch is expanded, use the right arrow key
to select the child object.
The arrow keys can also be used to expand and collapse branches, as explained in
Section 3.6.8 Expanding and collapsing branches.
It is possible to provide values for certain items in dialog boxes by dragging an object
over them. For example, the coordinates of a vector endpoint may be obtained from
the center of a circle. While dragging objects over items allowing them to be dropped,
the object’s icon and name are displayed. When an item does not allow objects to be
dropped, or when an object does not have the required geometrical properties, a No
sign is superimposed on the normal object icon.
Object names can be changed interactively in the tree view by selecting an object and
clicking it a second time within a short period of time, or by pressing the F2 key. The
name of branches cannot be changed.
The order of objects within a branch can be modified by dragging selected objects.
Objects can also be transferred into objects that allow this operation (i.e., object
groups).
While dragging objects, the tree view automatically scrolls up or down as required and
a visual indication shows where the object selection will be relocated in the branch. See
the table that follows for examples.
Releasing the mouse button on the red line relocates the selected objects at that
location, and releasing it on the highlighted object transfers the selected objects into
that object.
When an item does not allow objects to be inserted or transferred, the item is not
highlighted and a No sign is superimposed on the normal object icon.
When an object changes position within its branch, its index changes as well to
represent its new position. By default, the object index number is not displayed. For
more information, see Section 22.3.2 Tree view display options.
The visibility status of an object can be changed by middle-clicking the object in the
tree view. The visibility status can also be changed for more than one object at a time:
For a selection of objects, hold down the SHIFT key and middle-click. The current
object selection is maintained.
For the objects that are located in the same branch, middle-click the branch:
If at least one object in the branch is visible, all objects in the branch will be
hidden when middle-clicking.
If all objects in the branch are hidden, they will become visible when middle-
clicking.
Changing the visibility status of a parent object changes visibility status of its children.
Changing the visibility status of child objects has no effect on the visibility status of the
parent objects.
Note that object selection in the tree view is maintained while middle-clicking.
Branches of the tree view can be expanded and collapsed using the following
operations:
Click the plus (+) sign to expand a branch or the minus (-) sign to collapse a branch.
Select an object contained in a branch and use the left arrow key to collapse the
branch, or select a collapsed branch and use the right arrow key to expand the
branch. Note that using the left arrow key on a branch will collapse the entire tree
view.
The arrow keys can also be used to select child or parent objects, as explained in
Section 3.6.3 Selecting objects using the arrow keys.
Shortcut menus provide a subset of key operations that are related to the selected or
clicked objects. Shortcut menus are offered for objects in the Tree View pane and
objects in the 3D Scene pane.
The tree view’s shortcut menus add functionality to this object management tool. The
shortcut menus provide a wide range of functions without offering all of the operations
available using the main menus. On the other hand, they may offer some items that are
not found on the main menus; for example, a branch menu typically offers selection
operations for only objects under its branch. This guide follows primarily the menu bar
organization, but also documents those shortcut menu items that are not offered on
the main menus.
Right-click an object. The menu that is displayed offers the most common operations
for that object including, at the bottom, the shortcut menu(s) of the branch(es)
between parentheses. When clicking an object, any current selection in the tree view
is deselected.
Right-click a branch to display a branch menu. Operations are offered that are
specific to the object type. They include creating and importing objects and
selection operations. See Figure 3.2 (a).
If a branch is right-clicked with the CTRL key pressed and held down, a menu is
displayed offering operations that will be carried out on the clicked object,
regardless of the current selection in the tree view; see Example 1 that follows. The
current selection is preserved, unless a dialog box operating on the clicked object
needs to be displayed; see Example 2 that follows. This is referred to as the Focus
mode. The first item on the shortcut menu indicates the name of the focused object.
See Figure 3.2 (c).
A shortcut to the Focus mode exists when only one object is to be selected – select
the object and right-click over the object.
Note that the focused object is enclosed within a red rectangle, indicating a focus.
Create Duplicate
Duplicates the selected objects.
View
A submenu that provides four commands that allow modifying the visibility status
of selected objects:
Hide
Hides all selected objects.
Restore
Makes visible all selected objects.
(a) A branch shortcut menu offers operations specific to its object type. If the branch has a
parent branch, its menu items are also offered as the submenu at the bottom of the menu.
(b) To the left, a shortcut menu for a selection of same-type objects, including the shortcut
menu for the branch. To the right, a shortcut menu for a selection of not same-type objects;
only operations available for all of the types of objects are offered.
Keep
Displays only the currently selected objects; all nonselected objects are
hidden.
Toggle Visibility
Makes selected hidden objects visible and selected visible objects hidden.
Edit
A submenu that provides tools used to edit objects. See Chapter 6 Editing Objects
and Elements for additional information.
Properties
Displays a property sheet that allows modifying, in a single operation, properties
common to all selected objects.
Figure 3.3 Tree view icons provide a visual representation of certain object properties.
As mentioned previously, all of the properties of an object selected in the tree view can
be viewed by choosing Edit > Object Properties. In addition, several basic object
properties are represented directly in the tree view, as shown in Figure 3.3. The
following is a list of the object properties, along with the visual feedbacks used to
represent their values, displayed within the tree view:
Property Description
Certain objects may have different statuses (e.g., fitted/unfitted) and this information is
useful to the user in understanding the current state of the project. For this reason, the
status of certain objects is displayed in the tree view by way of special object icons or
by overlaying standard object icons with additional icons. The following statuses are
displayed in the tree view:
The icon is different for fit and unfitted NURBS patches. See Figure 3.4 for an
illustration of the icons.
For complete information on how to dock/undock panes, see the section Section 4.3.1
Customizing the docking panes in the PolyWorks Reference Guide.
The 3D Scene pane contains the main graphical window. It is used to view and edit
visible objects, anchor on objects, select objects/elements, and so on. Shortcut menus
are available for visible objects as well.
ALT+right-click to access the shortcut menu by object type for objects visible in the 3D
scene. The name of the clicked object appears at the top of the menu. For an example,
see Figure 3.5.
The 3D Scene pane features a PolyZoom window (see Figure 3.6). The PolyZoom
window consists of a second graphical window embedded in the main graphical
window that zooms on the location pointed by the mouse pointer. It is used as follows:
The PolyZoom window is enabled/disabled by pressing the Z key when the 3D Scene
pane has the focus.
The PolyZoom window can be dragged by holding the Z key down and moving the
mouse pointer.
The PolyZoom window can be stretched by picking one of the three stretching
arrows. The + and - buttons increase/decrease the zooming factor.
The X button in the title bar dismisses the window (as does pressing the Z key).
Any operation performed in the main graphical window, such as selecting and picking,
can also be performed in the PolyZoom window. Within an interactive picking mode,
points can be picked alternately in both windows. A key benefit of the PolyZoom
window is to reduce the number of zooming operations needed to pick an elongated
feature, such as a Curve. The user can look at the 3D scene from a global perspective,
move the mouse pointer to a location, press the Z key, and pick a point, without having
to zoom in and out.
Shortcut menus are offered for visible objects in the 3D scene. They can be accessed as
follows:
Enter Pick Objects mode, configure the Picking Context dialog box, and right-click
over a visible object.
Decrease zoom
Increase zoom
Close window
Drag window
In Default mode, or an interrupted mode that allows it, ALT+right-click over a visible
object. Note that the first button on the 3D Scene toolbar must be selected in order
to allow using the ALT key.
The shortcut menu offers object-specific commands, some of which may not be
available elsewhere. They are documented at the end of the chapter that describes the
specific object. Note the following:
The selection in the tree view is not affected unless a command is executed that
requires an object selection (e.g., Edit > Object Properties).
In some situations, clicking an object results in more than one object being found. In
these cases, the shortcut menu will first propose the list of objects and for each a
submenu with the list of available operations.
3.7.1.4 Visibility
The Dialog Zone pane is an area where most dialog boxes are displayed. By default, it
appears tabbed with the Tree View pane in order to allow maximum space for the 3D
Scene pane. In certain circumstances, the Tree View pane is automatically brought on
top of the Dialog Zone pane. For example, when a dialog box is closed and the Dialog
Pane becomes empty, the Tree View pane is brought on top of it.
Figure 3.7 The Macro Script Editor allows recording, editing, enhancing, and running macro
scripts.
In the Dialog Zone pane, if two dialog boxes are open at the same time, they become
tabbed. Parts of a dialog box that are partially hidden can be viewed by using the
pane’s scroll bars or by holding down the middle mouse button and dragging the
dialog box.
The Macro Script Editor pane, shown in Figure 3.7, can be used to record each of your
actions in the software as commands and save them as a macro script to a Unicode text
file. A macro script can then be edited, enhanced by a simple but powerful
programming language, and assigned to toolbar buttons for execution. Refer to the
Macro Script Reference Guide for complete documentation on the Macro Script Editor
and the macro script programming language. Note that Chapter 24 Plug-ins and
Macros also provides some summary information.
Note that this pane cannot be used when certain operation modes are active (e.g.,
Point Cloud Organizer).
The Command History pane echoes the commands that result in actions given by way
of menus, interfaces, and toolbars, as well as those executed by macro scripts.
It also offers a command line area that allows the user to give individual commands to
see what they do. Echoed commands may be copied and pasted to the command line
area, and the TAB key can be used to complete partial command words to create
commands more quickly.
For more information on using this pane, see Section 2.1.2 The Command History pane
of the Macro Script Editor Reference Guide.
Several commands on the View menu allow displaying the module’s dockable panes:
Dialog Zone
Displays a dockable pane of the same name that contains most dialog boxes. For
more information, see Section 3.7.2 The Dialog Zone pane.
Tree View
Displays a dockable pane of the same name that offers a tree view. For more
information, see Section 3.6 The Tree View pane.
Note that the 3D Scene pane is always visible. These panes can be moved to any
desired location, unless the Lock docking windows check box is enabled. The check
box is located on the Options tab of the Customize Visual Layout dialog box. For more
information, see the section Section 4.3.2.14 Customizing options of the PolyWorks
Reference Guide.
1. Specify a location, and specify an output file name in the File name text box.
2. Specify a format in the Save as type list box. Choose from: Microsoft’s Bitmap Files
(*.bmp), JPEG Files (*.jpg; *.jpeg), SGI Files (*.rgb), and TIFF Files (*.tif).
3. Press the Save button to launch the operation, or press the Cancel button to end
the operation.
The background color used for the snapshot is defined by the Snapshot Background -
Bottom and the Snapshot Background - Top colors, which are white by default. The
colors can be edited; for more information, see Section 22.3.3 Interface color display
options.
4.1 Introduction
The File menu offers operations that allow creating new IMEdit projects, opening
existing IMEdit projects, saving IMEdit projects, as well as opening recent IMEdit
projects.
If the current project does not contain unsaved changes, it is simply closed and
removed from the module.
On choosing the command, the file browser shown in Figure 4.1 is displayed to specify
an existing IMEdit project. The left part of the browser window offers two shortcuts,
Open Workspaces and PolyWorks, to allow easily locating the IMEdit projects. The
first shortcut gives access to the open workspaces, while the second one gives access to
all workspaces in the PolyWorks folder. The path associated with this folder is specified
on the General page of the PolyWorks/Workspace Manager Options dialog box.
When a project is selected in the file browser and the browser preview pane is
displayed, the preview image of the project appears in the right part of the browser.
If a project is already open in the module when the command is given, and it has
unsaved changes, a message window is displayed indicating the situation and asking
to save the changes. Press the Yes button to save the changes and to continue, or press
the No button to continue without saving.
On opening the selected project, the nonignored polygonal models are examined for
topological anomalies. If any are found, a confirmation window is displayed asking to
delete all topological errors. For more information on correcting topological anomalies,
see Section 11.1.1 Inspecting and correcting the topology of a triangulation.
Browse in open
workspaces, or
workspaces in the
PolyWorks folder
Note that the File > Open Project command allows opening IMEdit projects contained in
workspaces (i.e., V9 and higher). Projects created in a previous version can only be
opened using the correct application command given in the Command History pane or
executed from a script; for more information, see the Macro Script Reference Guide.
Save Project
Saves the current IMEdit project to its associated workspace.
If the project has never been saved, see the procedure described in the following
topic (Save Project As).
Save Project As
Saves the current IMEdit project in a specified workspace.
Figure 4.2 The dialog box used to save the current IMEdit project as a new project.
The project is automatically associated to the active workspace. This setting can be
changed by browsing in the list of existing workspaces.
When the workspace is specified, the dialog box shown in Figure 4.2 is displayed
to allow specifying a file name. Specify a project name manually. Note that the
following characters cannot be used in the name of a project: /, \, :, *,?, “, <, > and |.
Press the Save button to launch the operation, or the Cancel button to end the
operation.
The current IMEdit project will be assigned the specified name and be saved to the
workspace. If a workspace other than the currently associated workspace is
specified in the address bar, the project is copied to the new workspace. The
workspace where the project is copied becomes the active workspace, and the
instance of the IMEdit module doing the saving is associated with the active
workspace.
On choosing the command, a list of recently processed IMEdit projects (name and its
workspace) is displayed. Clicking a project name opens it in IMEdit. For more
information, see Section 4.3 Opening existing projects.
Point clouds
Polygonal models
CAD models
For information, see Section 5.1.1 Importing through the Import menu.
Note that certain objects (i.e., curves, points and planes) can be created by importing
text files. This creation method is called From File and is available from the Tools menu.
For information, see Section 5.1.2 Importing objects using the From File creation
method.
The File > Import menu offers commands to import point clouds, polygonal models,
CAD models, objects from other non-IMEdit projects, and from IMEdit projects.
Choosing a command on the File > Import menu displays the file browser shown in
Figure 5.1. Files can be selected in folders or within PolyWorks workspaces. To quickly
locate the PolyWorks workspaces, two shortcuts are offered in the left part of the
browser (see Figure 5.1 (a)):
Open Workspaces: Contains a shortcut for each workspace that is currently open in
PolyWorks. This shortcut points to a subdirectory (called Open Workspaces) of the
PolyWorks directory.
PolyWorks: Contains the above-mentioned directory (Open Workspaces) and the list
of all workspaces previously saved in the PolyWorks subdirectory.
Multiple file selection is possible and a file type filter is offered (see Figure 5.1 (b)). When
required, import options are offered during the import process, either through the
Options button in the window browser (see Figure 5.1 (c)) or once the import
operation is launched.
Note that importing objects in IMEdit does not create any objects in the associated
workspace. In fact, copies of selected objects are used for import operations, and any
editing applied to these objects does not affect the original objects. All objects in an
IMEdit project are saved within the project.
Figure 5.1 The file browser used to importfiles from folders and PolyWorks workspaces.
(a) Browse in
open workspaces,
or workspaces in
the PolyWorks
folder
See the following sections for information on the commands used to import objects
from the File > Import menu:
Curves, points or planes can be created by importing text files. To use this creation
method:
For curves, choose the Tools > Curves > Create > Standard Curves command, or
press the appropriate button on the Curves toolbar. Then, choose the From File
creation method in the dialog box displayed.
For points, choose the Tools > Points > Create > From File command.
For planes, choose the Tools > Planes > Create > From File command.
For information on this creation method, see the appropriate chapter (Chapter 17
Curves or Chapter 19 Points and Planes).
Riegl (.3dd)
Text Files (.asc, .ascii, .pc, .pt, .xyz, .txt) Perceptron (.bin)
IGES Files (.igs, .iges)
LAS Files (.las)
Laser Design (.scn)
Point clouds in workspaces may also be imported into the module, depending on the
format.
By default, all point cloud formats are viewed. However, a filter may be set for the
browser window using a list box. The browser window also provides access to import
options through the Options button, which displays the Point Clouds page of the
IMEdit Options dialog box. For more information, see Section 22.9 Point cloud options.
Note that if the file does not have a known file extension (e.g., .abc), this is detected on
opening the file, and a dialog box displays (see Figure 5.2), which offers all available
formats. Choose the correct format and then press the OK button to continue the
import operation, or the Cancel button to cancel the operation.
The point clouds are saved as separate objects under the Point Clouds branch of the
tree view.
Figure 5.2 If the file type cannot be determined, a new file type may be specified using the dialog
box shown here.
Once the file selection is made and the Open button is pressed, a dialog box may
display. The parameters offered in this dialog box are composed of project-related
parameters that depend on import option specifications, and file-related parameters
that depend on the file types in the file selection. See Figure 5.3 for an example of
parameters for ASCII text files.
If the Unknown units option on the General page of the IMEdit Options dialog box
has been set to Specify at import, the following items are offered in the Import
Parameters dialog box for files with unknown units:
Figure 5.3 The import parameters for unorganized point cloud files.
Project-related
parameters
File-related
parameters
Object units
A list box that allows specifying the units of length for the imported files. Choose
from: Nanometers, Microns, Millimeters, Centimeters, Decimeters, Meters,
Kilometers, Micro-Inches, Mils, Inches, Feet, US Survey Feet, and Miles. The
default value is Millimeters. Press the OK button to continue, or the Cancel button
to end the operation. On pressing the OK button, the following occurs:
If the object units and the module’s units of length are the same, the objects
are imported and their Original units property is set to the specified units.
If the object units and the module’s units of length are different, the objects
are scaled to the module’s units of length, which becomes the objects’ Units
factor property, and their Original units property is set to the specified
units.
Note that if multiple files of different formats are imported and they do not have
unit information, only one dialog box is displayed to allow specifying the unit for
the objects (i.e., the unit will apply to all imported files). To import multiple files
with different units, one import process must be performed for each unit that
needs to be specified.
The Text files section of the Import Parameters dialog box offers items specific to
unorganized point cloud files:
Template
A list box that allows choosing a context-specific template used to read text files,
including ASCII point clouds. To access other standard templates, or to define
custom templates, press the Templates button. See Section 5.3.1 Importing from
text files of the PolyWorks Reference Guide for more information on templates
used in reading text files.
On choosing theFile > Import > Polygonal Modelscommand, a file browser similar to the
one shown in Figure 5.1 is displayed to specify polygonal model files. The table that
follows provides the list of supported file formats.
By default, all polygonal model files are viewed. However, a filter may be set for the
browser window using a list box.
Note that if the file does not have the correct file extension (e.g., .abc), this is detected
on opening the file, and a dialog box displays (see Figure 5.4), which offers all available
formats. Choose the correct format and then press the OK button.
The input polygonal model file is examined for topological anomalies. If any are found,
a confirmation window is displayed asking to delete all topology errors. For more
information on correcting topological anomalies, see Section 11.1.1 Inspecting and
correcting the topology of a triangulation. It is not the original polygonal model file
that is loaded into the module, but a copy, which is then transformed into an internal
format to which subsequent editing operations are applied.
Polygonal models are saved to the Polygonal Models branch of the tree view.
Figure 5.4 If the file type cannot be determined, a file type may be specified using the dialog box
shown here.
Figure 5.5 The dialog box used to specify the units of length.
Project-related
parameters
Once the file selection is made and the Open button is pressed, a dialog box may
display. The parameters offered in this dialog box are composed of project-related
parameters that depend on import option specifications. See Figure 5.5 for an example
of parameters.
If the Unknown units option on the General page of the IMEdit Options dialog box
has been set to Specify at import, the following items are offered in the Import
Parameters dialog box for files with unknown units:
Object units
A list box that allows specifying the units of length for the imported files. Choose
from: Nanometers, Microns, Millimeters, Centimeters, Decimeters, Meters,
Kilometers, Micro-Inches, Mils, Inches, Feet, US Survey Feet, and Miles. The
default value is Millimeters. Press the OK button to continue, or the Cancel button
to end the operation. On pressing the OK button, the following occurs:
If the object units and the module’s units of length are the same, the objects
are imported and their Original units property is set to the specified units.
If the object units and the module’s units of length are different, the objects
are scaled to the module’s units of length, which becomes the objects’ Units
factor property, and their Original units property is set to the specified
units.
Note that if multiple files of different formats are imported and they do not have
unit information, only one dialog box is displayed to allow specifying the unit for
the objects (i.e., the unit will apply to all imported files). To import multiple files
with different units, one import process must be performed for each unit that
needs to be specified.
On choosing the File > Import > CAD Models command, the file browser shown in Figure
5.1 is displayed. By default, all supported CAD models are viewed. However, a filter may
be set for the browser window using a list box. The browser window also provides
access to import options through the Options button, which displays the NURBS
Models page of the IMEdit Options dialog box. For more information, see Section 22.5
NURBS model options.
Note that if the file does not have the correct file extension (e.g., .abc), this is detected
on opening the file, and a dialog box displays (see Figure 5.6), which offers all available
formats. Choose the correct format and then press the OK button.
When the CAD model is imported, it is added to the NURBS Models branch of the tree
view.
Figure 5.6 If the file type cannot be determined, a file type may be specified using the dialog box
shown here.
Once the file selection is made and the Open button is pressed, the Import Parameters
dialog box may be displayed. It offers project-related parameters that are present as a
result of import option specifications made in the IMEdit Options dialog box. See Figure
5.5 for an example of parameters.
When the Confirm at import option has been selected under the Tessellation group
label on the NURBS Models page of the IMEdit Options dialog box, the Import
Parameters dialog box offers the following item:
Tessellation tolerance
A text box that allows specifying the maximum chordal deviation between an
imported NURBS surface and its polygonal representation. Valid values are greater
than zero. The default value is 0.050 mm.
project-related
parameter
On choosing the File > Import > From Project command, a browser is displayed to specify
the projects from which to import objects. If the browser preview pane is displayed, the
preview image of the last specified project appears in the right part of the browser.
Once a project is read, a tree view is displayed, containing the importable objects.
Select the objects to import using standard Windows selection techniques, then press
the Import button, or press the Cancel button to cancel the operation.
When importing from workspaces and several projects are selected, a tree view dialog
box is displayed for each selected project consecutively.
Objects may be imported from a project that is currently open. In this case, the open
project becomes unavailable until the import operation is complete, as the import
operation uses the last-saved project on disk. If the project contains new objects not
yet saved to disk, they do not appear in the list of importable objects.
When importing objects from an IMEdit project, an object tree view like the one shown
in Figure 5.8 is displayed.
The imported objects keep their original name and status (e.g., ignored, hidden). Same-
name conflicts are resolved by adding a number between parentheses after the name
of the imported object.
Figure 5.8 The dialog box containing an object tree view, used to import objects from an IMEdit
project.
The table that follows provides information concerning specific aspects of the import
operation:
When importing objects from an IMInspect project, an object tree view like the one
shown in Figure 5.9 is displayed, containing the importable objects. If the project
contains more than one piece, a list box is displayed on top of the tree view to allow
choosing the piece from which the objects will be imported.
Figure 5.9 In (a), the dialog box used to import objects from an IMInspect project. As the project
contains more than one piece, a list box is displayed to allow choosing the piece from
which the objects will be imported. If polylines and planar curve-based primitives are
selected, the dialog box shown in (b) is displayed to specify conversion-to-curve
parameters.
(a) (b)
The imported objects keep their original name. Same-name conflicts are resolved by
adding a number between parentheses after the name of the imported object.
The object types included in the table that follows can be imported. Certain objects are
converted to object types supported in the receiving module.
When importing planar primitives (i.e., circles, ellipses, rectangles (with round corners),
slots) and polylines, the dialog box shown in Figure 5.9 (b) is displayed; specify the two
items that follow and then press the OK button:
Note that this item is only present when the selection contains one or more
polylines.
When importing objects from an IMSurvey project, an object tree view like the one
shown in Figure 5.10 is displayed.
The imported objects keep their original name. Same-name conflicts are resolved by
adding a number between parentheses after the name of the imported object.
The object types listed in the table that follows can be imported. In some cases, it is
necessary to convert the imported object into an object supported by the IMEdit
module.
Figure 5.10 The dialog boxes used to import objects from an IMSurvey project.
When importing planar primitives (i.e., circles, rectangles (with round corners)) and
polylines, the dialog box shown to the top right in Figure 5.10 is displayed. Specify the
two items that follow and then press the OK button:
Note that this item is only present when the selection contains one or more
polylines.
On choosing the command, a list of files recently imported is displayed, which indicates
the file name and location (i.e., workspace or standalone directory). Clicking a file name
imports it. For details on the import operation that is invoked, see the following
sections:
To be imported successfully, the selected recently imported file must be at the location
of the previous import.
Undo operation_name
Undoes the last undoable operation. The name of the operation to undo forms the
last part of the command (e.g., Undo Create (Duplicate Object)).
Redo operation_name
Redoes the last redoable operation. The name of the operation to redo forms the
last part of the command (e.g., Redo Create (Duplicate Object)).
Some operations are not redoable. In addition, certain operations require clearing the
undo stack, such as deleting a polygonal model object. When an operation affects the
undo stack, a message is displayed to inform the user.
The Edit > Delete > Objects command removes all of the objects selected in the tree
view from the current editing project.
If the selection contains objects for which the deletion cannot be undone, a
confirmation window is displayed; press the OK button to continue and delete the
selected objects without the possibility of recovering them and remove all undos as
well, or press the Cancel button to end the operation. Objects for which the deletion
cannot be undone include polygonal models, NURBS models, and point clouds.
The Edit > Delete > Elements command deletes all selected object elements (does not
apply to surface control points).
The Edit > Delete > Last Selection Level command deletes the contents of the last
selection of triangles or vertices. When a vertex is deleted, all triangles sharing this
vertex are also deleted. Note that the last selection corresponds to the first level of the
selection stack.
Deleted NURBS patches are kept in memory to prevent them from being recreated
automatically when dynamic NURBS patch creation is enabled. This allows deleting
NURBS patches that could be created over the holes of a polygonal model without
having to delete them over and over again when editing the curves close to the hole.
Deleted NURBS patches can be recovered at all times using a special interactive mode.
To recover deleted NURBS patches, choose the Edit > Recover Deleted NURBS Patches
command, or press the corresponding button on the NURBS Patches toolbar, shown to
the right. The dialog box shown in Figure 6.1 is displayed. A text string indicates the
number of recovered NURBS patches with respect to the total number of deleted
NURBS patches.
In the 3D scene, the contours of all the deleted NURBS patches that can be recovered
are marked by red outlines. Recovered NURBS patches are displayed in yellow. See
Figure 6.1.
To recover all deleted NURBS patches at once, press the Recover All button. This also
cancels the interactive mode and closes the dialog box.
To recover an individual NURBS patch, move the pointer within the contour of a
deleted NURBS, which is highlighted, and click.
Middle-click and drag a selection rectangle over the desired NURBS patches. All
NURBS patches included partially within the selection rectangle are considered
selected.
Figure 6.1 Selecting a deleted NURBS patch for recovery (a), and the recovered NURBS patch (b).
(a) (b)
On releasing the mouse button after the drag, the selected NURBS patches are
recovered.
If desired, press SPACEBAR to temporarily exit the mode and change the view in the
3D scene. Press SPACEBAR to return to the recovery mode.
The Edit > Recover Deleted Elements submenu offers two operations that allow
recovering the deleted elements of selected cross-sections and point clouds:
Cross-Section Segments
Recovers deleted segments of selected visible cross-sections.
Other elements, like the surfaces of NURBS models or the triangles and vertices of
polygonal models, can only be recovered by undoing all of the operations up to and
including the operation that deleted the elements to recover. This approach allows
returning the state of the parent object to the exact state when the deletion occur ed.
The Edit > Duplicate Objects operation allows duplicating selected objects. A name that
is unique within the project is assigned to each new object.
Some objects cannot be duplicated: plane axis, boundary, and patch objects. The
duplicate of a magnetic curve is made nonmagnetic; this is done to avoid creating
NURBS patches that are superimposed.
The Edit > Invert Object Orientation command inverts the orientation of all selected
objects that have an orientation (i.e., NURBS models, curves, planes, surfaces, and those
point clouds that have point normal information).
The Edit > Mirror Objects command displays the dialog shown in Figure 6.2 that allows
mirroring selected objects. This operation is applied to the whole object.
Type
A list box that offers two types of mirroring: About Origin (scale by -1), and About
Plane (mirror about a plane).
Mirror plane
A list box that specifies the mirror plane. Choose from Standard (in which case a
standard plane defined in the Standard planes group box would be used as a
mirror plane) or an existing plane. This item is only available when Type is set to
About Plane.
Standard planes
A group box that is available when Mirror plane is set to Standard. It offers the
following items:
XY, YZ, ZX
Three option buttons that allow choosing a plane parallel to the specified
plane. By default, ZX is selected.
When the check box is selected, the mirroring operation results in the creation of
new objects.
Preview
A button that offers a preview of the mirroring of the selected objects in the 3D
scene. On pressing the button, an interactive mode is launched. The mode uses a
special pointer consisting of an arrow and a capital V (for View). In this mode, it is
possible to select other objects in the tree view. Press the Preview button again to
preview the mirroring of the newly selected objects.
Note that hidden selected objects are made visible when previewing the
mirroring operation. When the Preview button is pressed, the Apply button
becomes the Confirm button. Press the ESC key to exit the mode.
Figure 6.3 The dialog box used to scale objects. It offers several scaling types.
When no preview has been displayed, the Apply button performs the mirroring
operation. When a preview has been displayed, the Confirm button applies the
mirroring operation. The new objects appear under the same branch as the selected
objects in the tree view.
Objects can be scaled. The selected objects must be used and transformable.
To scale selected objects, choose the Edit > Scale Objects command. The dialog box
shown in Figure 6.3 is displayed. It is used as follows:
Uniform – Scale all selected objects uniformly (i.e., equally applied to the x, y,
and z coordinates). All scaling operations, including successive operations, apply
to the objects’ original dimensions. To return any 3D object to its original
dimensions after a uniform scaling operation, apply a scaling Factor of 1 (100%).
Units Conversion – Convert an object from its original units to different units.
This operation affects an object’s Original units and Units factor properties, but
does not affect its Uniform scaling factor property.
For example, an object is imported into a project whose units of length are
millimeters. The object’s Original units and Units factor properties are
millimeters and 1, respectively. The user knows however that the object was
measured in centimeters. A centimeters to millimeters conversion could be
performed. The new Original units and Units factor properties would be
centimeters and 10, respectively, and the object would be expressed in
millimeters in the project.
Along Axis – Scale selected objects ) along a standard axis, or a plane’s axis.
If Along Axis is chosen, choose in the Axis list box from X, Y, Z, and available
planes.
If Units Conversion is chosen, specify a unit in the From list box. The initial value
is the Original units value of the selected object(s), if they are identical for all
objects; otherwise choose a unit. The To list box is unavailable and set to the
project’s units of length (see the Units section on the General page of the IMEdit
Options dialog box).
3. Specify a value in the Factor text box that is applied to the objects’ original
dimensions.
4. When available, the Reset button allows setting the Factor to 1 and the From list
box to the project’s units of length.
The properties of an object can be viewed by means of its property sheet, which can be
accessed by selecting the object and choosing the Edit > Object Properties command or
by double-clicking the object in the tree view. For an example of a property sheet, see
Figure 6.4.
The selection within the tree view can be modified with the property sheet open. The
Previous and Next buttons also allow modifying the selection within the tree view to
display the properties of the previous or the next object within the current set of
objects. These buttons are disabled when multiple objects are selected.
It may be possible to edit certain object properties through the property sheet. To
return to the previous values after having made modifications, press the Revert button.
To transfer the values of the modified properties to the application, press the Apply
button. If the Auto-apply check box is selected, pressing the Previous or the Next
button also transfers the values of the modified properties to the application. The
Close button dismisses the dialog box.
If several objects of the same category are selected, the property sheet only displays
common properties whose values are shared by all selected objects, leaving a blank
when the values throughout the set are different.
Property Description
Two other properties are common to all objects except plane Axis objects:
Property Description
To view the properties of a triangle group, select it in the object tree and choose the
Edit > Object Properties command. The property sheet shown in Figure 6.5 is displayed.
The area at the top shows the Name and the Type of the object. The Triangle group
tab provides the following items:
# Group triangles
A text box that indicates the number of triangles in the triangle group.
Material
A button that displays a dialog box that allows editing the material definition
associated with a triangle group. See Section 12.20.3 Editing the material
definition of triangle groups for more information.
The property sheet for point clouds, shown in Figure 6.6, indicates the file name and
type, the Original # of points, the Current # of points, and the # of Displayed points.
The current number of points is the original number of points minus the number of
deleted points.The number of points displayed is the current number of points minus
the number of hidden points. A Color check box that indicates whether the point cloud
contains color information.
Note that deleted points can be recovered by selecting the point cloud in the tree view
and choosing the Edit > Recover Deleted Elements > Point Cloud Points command.
Other objects are described completely in sections dedicated to them. The table that
follows provides a reference to the sections that describe their properties:
Object Section
NURBS patch Section 13.15 Using the property sheet of NURBS patches
Object Section
NURBS model Section 16.5 Using the property sheet of NURBS models
The Edit > Ignore Objects command allows ignoring objects (except plane axis objects).
The command specifies to temporarily not display, and to set aside, the selected
objects from the current editing project, without deleting them. When an object is
ignored, a No sign is superimposed on its normal icon.
Ignored objects are not considered by most operations, except those specifically for
ignored objects (e.g., Select > Objects > Ignored). For example, ignored objects are not
used in alignment operations, they cannot undergo the majority of the editing
operations, they cannot be used to create other primitives (e.g., extract curve from
intersection of triangles with plane), and so on.
Note that while ignored objects are not displayed, they are not considered to be hidden
by the module.
The Edit > Use Objects operation allows removing the ignored status from the selected
objects. Selected objects that are not ignored are not affected. The objects that are no
longer ignored are now considered part of the current project, and their display is no
longer prohibited.
Groups of same-type objects, called object groups, can be created manually. This
allows unburdening the tree view, and provides quick access to the grouped objects.
For example, selecting the object group automatically selects all of the objects in the
object group, and ignoring the object group ignores all of the objects within the object
group.
Objects can only belong to one group at a time. Furthermore, it is not possible to create
empty object groups. Consequently, object groups that become empty are
automatically deleted.
Some operations that automatically create multiple objects place them in object
groups with a name that refers to the object creation operation.
The icon of an object group shows the status of the objects in the group when all of the
objects in an object group have one or more similar properties. For example, when all
of the objects in an object group are hidden, the icon of the object group is hidden as
well. This may communicate helpful information quickly, without having to open the
object group branch.
Object groups do not have their own property sheet. Rather, they offer a property sheet
configured for the state of the objects within the group. Changes made and applied to
the property sheet are applied to the objects in the group.
Two operations on the Edit menu allow the grouping and ungrouping of objects.
The Edit > Group > Objects operation allows grouping selected same-type objects under
their branch. The selection may consist of objects as well as object groups. When an
object group is selected, its objects are transferred to the new object group, and the
original group is deleted. Note that objects may be dragged from one group to another
within the same branch in the tree view.
Grouping objects may change their index number (index numbers are sequential
within the branch). As a result, macro scripts that make use of an object index may be
affected by object grouping.
This subsection presents the editing operations related to triangle groups, which are
located on the Edit > Group submenu.
6.6.3.1 Introduction
On loading a polygonal model file, if the model does not already have triangle groups, a
triangle group called default is automatically created that contains all of the triangles of
the polygonal model.
By default, the Grouping policy option is set to preserve existing triangle groups (see
Section 22.1 General options), in which case new triangles are added to existing
triangle groups. However, the grouping policy may be set so that specific operations,
such as hole filling or curve insertion, also create triangle groups with significant names
that allow easily identifying and manipulating the newly created groups of triangles.
Finally, the user may also add triangles to a triangle group, or create new triangle
groups, and the triangle group inventories are updated accordingly.
Note that not all polygonal formats support the specification of groups of triangles.
Refer to the Translators Reference Guide to determine which formats support grouping
information.
The Edit > Group > Triangles operation allows manually creating a new group of
triangles from all of the triangles located in the selection stack. Such a new triangle
group has the name default <number>, where <number> is an automatically
incremented integer.
The default material properties specified in IMEdit are used to specify a new triangle
group’s material.
This command automatically manages the transfer of the selected triangles from their
previous triangle groups to the new triangle group.
The Edit > Ungroup > Objects operation allows ungrouping selected objects located
within object groups. Objects may also be ungrouped by dragging them out of their
group, within their branch.
The ungrouped objects are distributed under their branch in order of their object
indices. Empty object groups are automatically deleted.
Each new piece contains a layer, layer 1, that is, by default, the active layer. New layers
may be created and made active - only one layer can be active at a time. Normally, new
objects are added to the active layer on creation, or when importing objects. The active
layer is shown on the status bar (see Figure 6.8 (a)). Note the following:
When creating a child object (e.g., rotation axis of planes), it belongs to the same
layer as its parent, even if it is not the active layer.
When importing objects from an project, they are added to the active layer.
It is possible to manually change objects from one layer to another. If changing a parent
object’s layer, its children automatically follow the parent and change layer as well.
The layer that an object belongs to is an object property, and appears on its property
sheet, except in the case for child objects, as they always belong to the same layer as
their parent.
Layers in a project are managed using the Layers dialog box. It offers creation and
activation operations, as well as selection and visualization operations that apply to the
objects contained within selected layers.
Figure 6.8 The active layer is shown on the status bar (a). The split button displays the existing
layers and allows activating a different layer. Clicking the active layer button displays
the layers management tool (b) that lists the layers, and offers various operations,
including creating layers and activating a layer. The Layers dialog box, which is the
same, is shown in (c).
(a) (c)
(b)
The Edit > Layers > Change Object Layer operation allows changing the layer with which
selected objects are associated. Any selected child objects are ignored by the
operation. On choosing the command, the Change Object Layer dialog box shown in
Figure 6.9 (a) is displayed. It offers the following item:
Layer
A list box that allows specifying the new layer for the selected objects. Choose
from the list of layers in the piece. The default value is the active layer.
Press the Apply button to launch the operation. Make a different object selection and
repeat, if desired. Press the Close button to dismiss the dialog box.
The layers of selected objects can also be changed by using the Layer list box offered
on the property sheet. Note that the property sheet is automatically configured for the
object selection. Figure 6.9 (b) shows a property sheet configured for a selection of
objects that are not of the same type.
Figure 6.9 In (a), the dialog box used to change the layer of selected objects. The layer of selected
objects can also be changed by means of the property sheet, as shown in (b).
(a) (b)
The Edit > Layers > Manage Layers command opens the Layers dialog box shown in
Figure 6.10.. The list area displays the existing layers and offers operations, by means of
check boxes, buttons, and a shortcut menu, that allow creating, activating, deleting,
and renaming layers, as well as operations that allow controlling the selection and
visibility status of objects in selected layers. The order of a layer in the list may be
changed by dragging it.
The list area offers four columns per layer. Each column offers the following items per
line:
Object Selection
A tri-state check box that allows changing the selection status of the objects of a
layer. When the check box is selected, all of the objects are selected. When the
check box is deselected, all of the objects are deselected. When the check box is
grayed, it means that objects in the layer have different selection statuses. On
selecting or deselecting the check box, the respective selection status is applied
immediately to the objects of the layer. If the layer contains no objects, the check
box is not available.
Object Visibility
A tri-state check box that allows changing the visibility of the objects of a layer.
When the check box is selected, all of the objects are visible. When the check box
is deselected, all of the objects are hidden. When the check box is grayed, it means
Figure 6.10 The dialog box used to manage layers, and the shortcut menu for layers.
View objects
Select
objects
Color
A color box that displays the current color of the layer. Clicking the color box opens
a tool that allows specifying a different color.
Name
The name of the layer. It can be edited. The name of the active layer is displayed in
bold.
A shortcut menu, shown in Figure 6.10, is also available, offering the operations that
follow. Most operate on a selection of layers, while a few commands operate on the last
clicked layer. The main operations also have a button located at the bottom of the list
area (see to the right in Figure 6.10).
Create
Creates a new layer, which contains no objects. A color is automatically assigned
for the first ten layers, after which new layers are all pale gray; a color box in the list
area allows specifying a different color. The default name for new layers is layer
<number>, where <number> is an automatically incremented integer. This
operation is also offered by the button located at the bottom of the list area.
Activate
Activates the last clicked layer. This operation is also offered by the button
located at the bottom of the list area. A layer can also be activated by double-
clicking it in the list area.
It is also possible to activate another layer using the Layer split button on the
status bar. The active layer is the one that is selected. Click another layer to make
it the active layer.
Delete
Deletes the selected layers. The active layer cannot be deleted. Objects in a
deleted layer are transferred to the active layer. This operation is also offered by
the button located at the bottom of the list area.
Rename
Renames the last clicked layer.
It is also possible to rename a layer by double-clicking the name in the list, which
enters an editing mode, and typing a new name.
Hide Objects
Hides the objects of the selected layers.
Restore Objects
Restores the visibility of the objects of the selected layers.
Keep Objects
Makes visible the objects of the selected layers, and makes the objects of the other
layers hidden.
Select Objects
Selects the objects of the selected layers. This object selection is added to the
current selection in the tree view, if any.
Deselect Objects
Deselects the objects of the selected layers.
The Options section of the Layers dialog box offers the following item:
The selection operations are offered on the Select menu of the main menu, on branch menus in the tree
view, and on shortcut menus offered in the 3D scene.
The tree view offers standard Windows-based techniques used to select objects:
Select a range of objects by clicking over the first object, pressing and holding the
SHIFT key, and then clicking over the last object.
Pressing and holding the CTRL key while selecting objects with the mouse allows the
selection of a set of objects that are not contiguous.
Several methods are offered on the Select > Objects submenu to select objects:
All
Selects all objects.
Invert
Switches the current selection status of the objects. Selected objects become
unselected while unselected objects become selected.
None
Deselects all objects.
Interactively
Allows selecting objects in the 3D Scene pane by object type by picking or using
a selection rectangle.
Hidden
Selects all hidden objects.
Ignored
Selects all ignored objects.
From Elements
Selects objects to which selected elements belong.
A tool on the Select > Objects submenu makes a link between object selection and the
3D scene:
The Select > Objects > Interactively command enables the interactive Select Object
mode that allows selecting objects in the tree view by picking or by dragging a
selection rectangle in the 3D scene. Selected objects are highlighted in the 3D scene.
On choosing this command, the Picking Context dialog box, shown in Figure 7.1 is
displayed to configure what objects can be picked in the 3D scene. Check boxes
represent the pickable objects in the order that they appear in the tree view: Polygonal
models, NURBS models, Curves, NURBS patches, Solid features, Surfaces, Points,
Planes, Cross-sections, and Point clouds. The Do not show this window check box,
when selected, disables the display of this window. The window may be made available
again when in this mode by choosing the View > Contextual Parameters command.
The mode offers two selection methods. An object can be selected in the 3D scene by
clicking over a screen pixel belonging to the object. Or, the middle mouse button can
be used to drag a rectangular selection zone. Visible objects partially or completely
enclosed within the rectangular selection zone, are then identified.
If the CTRL key is up when a selection operation is successfully performed, all other
items in the tree view are deselected, and the picked object or objects is/are selected. If
the CTRL key is down, tree view selections are preserved and the selection status of the
picked object or objects is/are switched. The interactive mode is exited by pressing the
ESC key.
This mode can also be invoked by using the CTRL + SHIFT + SPACEBAR shortcut, or by
pressing the Select Objects button on the Selection toolbar.
It is possible to select only same-type objects using tree view menus. Right-click over a
branch, point Select, and click All, Invert, None, Hidden, or Ignored on the shortcut menu.
These operations will apply only to the objects under the branch.
Figure 7.1 The dialog box used to configure the picking context in the Pick Objects mode.
The interactive selection of elements is possible when in Select Elements mode. There
are three ways to enter Select Elements mode: choose the Select > Elements >
Interactively command, click the Select Elements button on the Selection toolbar (see in
the right margin), or press the SPACEBAR. For the SPACEBAR shortcut to work, the
3D Scene pane should have the focus. The pointer becomes a cross in Select Elements
mode. It should be noted that it is not possible to rotate or translate the current object
when Select Elements mode is activated.
When a selection is performed that is not of a global nature (i.e., not global like the
Select > Elements > All or the Select > Elements > Invert operations), the result, or the
selection status of all identified elements, is determined by the status of Selection
mode options on the Selection toolbar. By default, Toggle and Front and Back are set.
Toggle changes the selection status of selected elements. This is handy in that the user
may select an unselected element, change his mind, reselect the same element, and it
becomes unselected once again. Front and Back indicates that all front-facing and
back-facing triangles are used by the surface-based selection technique; this setting is
ignored for volume-based selection. Related items on the Selection toolbar are
presented in detail in Section 7.3.3 The interactive selection mode. The Selection mode
is described in the next section.
The Selection mode controls the selection status of elements when a selection is
performed.
The Selection Mode menu button on the Selection toolbar (located to the right of the
3D Scene pane) provides three modes that apply to all elements:
The Selectable Faces menu button on the Selection toolbar (located to the right of the
3D Scene pane) allows further specifying the Selection mode for elements that have
faces (i.e., triangles of polygonal models and surfaces of NURBS models):
The Selection page of the IMEdit Options dialog box offers options that allow growing
or shrinking the result of a selection operation and that enable the permanent
selection of all selected triangles and/or vertices. For complete information, see Section
22.10 Selection options. To access the IMEdit Options dialog box, choose the Tools >
Options command.
All polygonal model element selections (triangles and vertices) are kept track of by
means of a selection stack. When a triangle or vertex selection operation has been
performed, the set of newly selected triangles or vertices is pushed onto the selection
stack. Editing operations use the selection stack to determine which triangles or
vertices are going to be processed.
Feedback about the selection stack in provided in two different ways. First, different
colors are used to render the first four levels of the selection stack:
The first stack level corresponds to the latest selection operation. Polygonal model
elements in this level are rendered using the Selection color.
Polygonal model elements in the second stack level are rendered using the 2nd
Level color.
Polygonal model elements in the third stack level are rendered using the 3rd Level
color.
Polygonal model elements in the fourth stack level and all subsequent levels are
rendered using the 4th Level color.
The 2nd Level and 3rd Level colors are linearly interpolated from the Selection and
4th Level colors. By default, the Selection color is red and the 4th Level color is
yellow. These two colors can be edited; for more information, see Section 22.3.3
Interface color display options.
Secondly, the contents of the first three levels of the selection stack are displayed in the
rightmost section of the status bar, as shown in Figure 7.2.
The type and number of selected polygonal model elements are displayed on the
status bar, the 1st (top) stack level occupying the rightmost position. The symbol
refers to triangles, while the symbol refers to vertices. In the example shown in Figure
7.2, the contents of the selection stack would be as follows:
1st 2351
2nd 336
3rd 386
The three dots to the left of the contents of the selection stack indicate that there are
more than three stack levels.
Figure 7.2 Four region-based triangle selections have been made, each displayed with its own
color. The contents of the first three levels of the selection stack are displayed in the
rightmost section of the 3D scene’s status bar.
The Select > Elements submenu offers standard selection tools that apply to all visible
elements. Note that the specifications made for the Selection mode do not apply to the
first three tools, as they are of a global nature.
All
Selects all visible elements.
Invert
Inverts the selection status of the visible elements if at least one element is
selected.
None
Deselects all selected elements.
Figure 7.3 An illustration of the Shrink N and the Shrink All N operations when boundary
elements are included in the selected areas.
Interactively
Enables the mode that allows selecting elements interactively.
Three operations on the Select > Elements submenu allow growing and shrinking visible
triangles and vertices included in the last selected area:
Grow N
Adds N layers of triangles and vertices to the last selected area.
Shrink N
Subtracts N layers of triangles and vertices from the last selected area. For each
individual layer subtraction, an element can only be deselected if it is connected
to a valid unselected, visible element.
Shrink All N
Subtracts N layers of triangles and vertices from the last selected area.
The result of the Shrink N and the Shrink All N operations only differ if boundary
elements are selected. For an example, see Figure 7.3.
The value of N can be modified by choosing the Tools > Options command and editing
the Number of element layers option on the Selection page of the IMEdit Options
dialog box.
Figure 7.4 The Selection Info dialog box provides information concerning selected triangles and
vertices, as well as commands to modify their selection status.
The Select > Elements > Selection Information operation displays the dialog box shown
in Figure 7.4 that contains information about selected triangles and vertices, as well as
commands that allow modifying the selection for triangles and for vertices. It offers the
following items:
Triangles
A group box that offers information about selected triangles as well as commands
that modify the selection:
Number selected
A text box that displays the number of selected triangles.
Three buttons affect the triangle selection: All, Invert, and None. These buttons
perform the same operations as the three same commands on the Select >
Triangles submenu, which are described in Section 7.5.1 Selecting triangles.
Vertices
A group box that offers information about selected vertices, as well as commands
to modify the selection:
Number selected
A text box that displays the number of selected vertices.
Three buttons affect the vertex selection: All, Invert, and None. The three buttons
perform the same operations as the three same commands on the Select > Vertices
submenu, which are described in Section 7.5.2 Selecting vertices.
On entering Select Elements mode, the Selection Context dialog box, shown in Figure
7.5, is displayed. Its purpose is to:
Indicate the mouse buttons involved in making selections, for example surfacic or
volumetric region selections.
The Elements to select group box allows specifying the selection of only certain types
of elements by way of the following check boxes: Cross-section segments, curve
control points, polygonal model triangles/vertices, NURBS model surfaces, point
cloud points, and Surface control points.
The Surface/Volume selection (Shift) item is a reminder that the middle mouse
button alone performs a surfacic region selection, and that used in combination with
the SHIFT key it performs a volumetric selection. The adjacent status label shows
Surface and not pressed when the SHIFT key is not used, and shows Volume and
pressed when the SHIFT key is used. The middle button is disabled when the Polygonal
model triangles/vertices check box is cleared, as all other elements require a
volumetric region selection. The behavior of this button is controlled by the
application, and serves to provide the user with a visual feedback relative to his/her use
of the SHIFT key.
The Freeform/Polygonal contour (Ctrl) item is a reminder that the middle mouse
button performs a freeform region selection, and that used in combination with the
CTRL key performs a polygonal region selection. The adjacent status label shows
Freeform and not pressed when the CTRL key is not used, and shows Polygonal and
pressed when the CTRL key is used. The behavior of this button is controlled by the
application, and serves to provide the user with a visual feedback relative to his/her use
of the CTRL key.
The dialog box’s Do not show this window check box allows controlling the display of
the dialog box. When it is not displayed, its current settings are applied to the
operation. To redisplay the dialog box when in this operation mode, choose the View >
Contextual Parameters command.
The Advanced button displays advanced selection mode options in the dialog box,
showing four items. The first list box affects all elements, and the three others influence
the selection of vertices/triangles. For more information on controlling the selection
process for all elements and the front and/or back of vertices/triangles from the first
two list boxes, see Section 7.3.3 The interactive selection mode.
The Advanced section of the dialog box also offers the two following options:
Figure 7.5 (a) The dialog box that is displayed when an interactive selection of elements is
required. The top part allows specifying what elements to select. The middle part is a
reminder of the control keys available that affect your selection. The bottom part is
displayed on pressing the Advanced button. It provides items to specify the selection
mode that affects all element selections (b), or triangles or vertices selection (list
boxes c and d).
(a)
(b) (c)
(d)
Changes made in the list boxes of the Advanced section of the dialog box are
immediately transferred to the application.
Note that closing the dialog box cancels the Select Elements mode.
There are several interactive (i.e., mouse-based) methods that allow selecting elements
of polygonal models.
Right-clicking a polygonal model selects a single triangle. If the SHIFT key is pressed
when the right mouse button is clicked, a menu is displayed that provides access to
additional triangle selection operations. See Section 7.3.3.1.1 Selecting triangles
interactively for more information.
Clicking a polygonal model selects a single vertex. If the SHIFT key is pressed when
the left mouse button is clicked, a menu is displayed that provides access to
additional vertex selection operations. See Section 7.3.3.1.2 Selecting vertices
interactively for more information.
See Figure 7.6 for a mapping of these methods onto the mouse.
The two triangle selection methods provided by the right mouse button proceed
similarly: place the pointer over a triangle of interest and right-click. The position of the
screen pixel pointed by the pointer is then memorized. If the SHIFT key is not pressed,
the triangle enclosing the pointed screen pixel is selected. If the SHIFT key is pressed, a
menu is displayed that offers the following selection operations:
Select All
Selects all visible triangles.
Select Invert
Inverts the selected status of visible triangles.
Select None
Deselects all visible triangles.
Select Boundary
Selects all of the visible triangles that belong to the boundary. The x, y, z location
under the mouse pointer is projected onto the closest boundary vertex, and uses
this vertex as a seed for the boundary selection operation. Visible triangles on both
sides of the seed vertex are identified. If the boundary contains no hidden vertices,
all of the visible triangles that belong to the boundary are selected. If the
boundary contains hidden vertices, the selection finds all the visible triangles that
belong to the boundary up to the first hidden vertex in each search direction.
The x, y, z location under the mouse pointer is projected onto the closest
boundary vertex, and the vertex and the boundary connected to it are
highlighted.
Specify the side of the boundary to select by moving the pointer near the
side to select. Only one side, will be highlighted, depending on the position
of the pointer. When the desired side is highlighted, click to confirm the
boundary.
Note that any hidden boundary vertices may modify this behavior. This operation
is affected by the Toggle/Mark/Unmark option selected for the selection mode
from the Selection toolbar (see Section 7.3.3 The interactive selection mode).
Figure 7.6 A mapping of the element selection methods over the mouse buttons. The right
mouse button is used to select triangles or object elements, while the left mouse
button is used to select vertices or object elements. The middle mouse button is used
to select regions (polygonal model and object elements) – the polygonal model
elements identified as a result of a region selection operation may consist of either
triangles or vertices depending on the selection context.
surface-based
Vertex freeform Triangle
None
1 element N/A for element 1 element
Shift
volume-based
+
polygonal
Ctrl
Select Island
Selects all of the visible triangles connected to the triangle underneath the
pointer, up to the visibility boundary.
Select Model
Selects all of the visible triangles that belong to the picked polygonal model.
Select up to Curves
Selects all of the visible triangles connected to the triangle underneath the pointer
up to all visible curves. This tool works well if the region surrounding the mouse
pointer is completely enclosed within a set of curves. On the other hand, if there is
a gap in the surrounding curves, the selection tool will extend its selection beyond
these curves.
Select up to Planes
Selects all visible triangles that are completely on the same side of all the visible
planes as the picked point is.
The two vertex selection methods provided by the left mouse button proceed similarly:
place the pointer over a triangle to which the vertex of interest belongs and click. The
position of the screen pixel pointed by the pointer is then memorized. If the SHIFT key
is not pressed, the triangle enclosing the pointed screen pixel is found, and the triangle
vertex nearest to the pointer is selected. If the SHIFT key is pressed, a menu is displayed
that offers the following commands:
Select All
Selects all visible vertices.
Select Invert
Inverts the selected status of visible vertices.
Select None
Deselects all visible vertices.
Select Boundary
Selects all of the visible vertices that belong to the boundary. The x, y, z location
under the mouse pointer is projected onto the closest boundary vertex, and this
vertex is used as a seed for the boundary selection operation. A search is
performed on both sides of the seed vertex for visible vertices. If the boundary
contains hidden vertices, the selection finds all the visible vertices that belong to
the boundary up to the first hidden vertex in each search direction.
The x, y, z location under the mouse pointer is projected onto the closest
boundary vertex, and the vertex and the boundary connected to it are
highlighted.
Specify the side of the boundary to select by moving the pointer near the
side to select. Only one side will be highlighted, depending on the position
of the pointer. When the desired side is highlighted, click to confirm the
boundary.
Note that any hidden boundary vertices may modify this behavior. This operation
is affected by the Toggle/Mark/Unmark option selected for the Selection mode
from the Selection toolbar (see Section 7.3.3 The interactive selection mode).
Select Island
Selects the vertices of all of the visible triangles connected to the triangle
underneath the pointer, up to the visibility boundary.
Select Model
Selects all of the visible vertices that belong to the picked polygonal model.
Select up to Curves
Selects the vertices of all of the visible triangles connected to the triangle
underneath the pointer up to all visible curves. This tool works well if the region
surrounding the mouse pointer is completely enclosed within a set of curves. On
the other hand, if there is a gap in the surrounding curves, the selection tool will
extend its selection beyond these curves.
Select up to Planes
Selects all visible vertices that are on the same side of all the visible planes as the
picked point is.
The two region selection methods provided by the middle mouse button proceed
similarly. As shown in Figure 7.7, the user delimits a 2D area in the 3D scene while the
middle mouse button is pressed. Once the middle mouse button is released, the set of
selected polygonal model elements is found.
If the SHIFT key was not pressed at the beginning of the selection operation, a
surface-based selection method is used. This selection method finds the set of visible
triangles enclosed within the delimited 2D area. A triangle is visible if it encloses at
least one screen pixel. Therefore, this selection method should be used when the
Figure 7.7 A region selection operation is performed by delimiting a 2D area in the 3D scene
while the middle mouse button is pressed. Once the middle mouse button is released,
the set of selected triangles or vertices is automatically determined.
region of interest is sufficiently close to the user, so that the triangles boundaries are
clearly visible in the 3D scene.
The result of the surface-based selection method may consist of triangles or vertices.
If the Selection mode specifies a triangle output, no conversion is necessary. If a
vertex output is requested, all vertices belonging to the visible triangles found by the
selection method are selected.
If the SHIFT key is initially pressed, a volume-based selection method is used. This
selection method finds all polygonal model vertices whose projections lie within the
2D contour. The resolution of the method is independent of the resolution of the
3D scene. This selection technique should be used to rapidly select a part of a
polygonal model and isolate it in the 3D scene by choosing the View > Keep
> Elements command.
The result of the volume-based selection method may consist of triangles or vertices.
If the Selection mode specifies a vertex output, no conversion is necessary. If a
triangle output is requested, all triangles whose three vertices were found by the
selection method are selected.
To define a polygonal contour to delimit a selected area, press and hold the CTRL key.
Each middle-click then generates a vertex of the polygonal region. A right-click
indicates the last vertex.
One color is used for the region selection operations. The Pencil color, yellow by
default, is used to render the 2D contours generated by the user. This color can be
edited; for more information, see Section 22.3.3 Interface color display options.
As mentioned in the introduction to this section, the Select Elements mode also allows
selecting elements that belong to objects. It is enabled by pressing the Select Elements
button on the Selection toolbar, or by pressing SPACEBAR. To select elements, proceed
as follows:
Use the left or right mouse button to select one element at a time.
Use the middle mouse button to select all elements within a region (volumetric
selection only).
Use the left or right mouse button in conjunction with the SHIFT key to display a
menu and perform context-sensitive selection operations. The contents of the menu
depend on the element over which the click was performed.
See Figure 7.6 for a mapping of these functions over the mouse keys.
While in Select Elements mode, the following elements can be selected by left- or right-
clicking them:
A line segment of a cross-section. The cross-section must use the Polyline display
mode.
In Select Elements mode, selecting elements using the middle mouse button proceeds
similarly to selecting polygonal model elements (see Section 7.3.3.1.3 Selecting
triangles or vertices interactively using regions):
Press and hold the SHIFT key. The region selection methods will be volume-based,
and will select all elements whose projections lie within a 2D contour.
If the CTRL key is up, a 2D area is delimited in the 3D scene by drawing a freeform
contour while the middle mouse button is down.
application automatically connects the first and the last vertex of the selection
polygon.
The Element Select submenu offers the All and the None commands that specify
selecting all or no elements of the picked object, and the Invert command that
switches the selection status of the selected elements.
When the click occurs over a control point of a curve, the shortcut menu offers a
submenu with selection operations (see Section 17.9.2 In the 3D scene for the other
submenus):
The Ctrl Pt Select submenu offers the All and the None commands that specify
selecting all or no control points of the picked curve, and the Invert command that
switches the selection status of the selected control points. The Endpoints command,
available when the picked curve is an open curve, selects the two curve endpoints.
When the click occurs over a control point of a surface, the shortcut menu offers a
submenu with selection operations (see Section 18.10.2 In the 3D scene for the other
submenus):
The Ctrl Pt Select submenu offers the All, the Invert, and the None commands that
select, respectively, all the control points, invert the selection status of the control
points, or deselect all the control points of the picked surface. The Col and the Row
commands select the entire column or row to which the clicked control point
belongs.
Figure 7.8 The dialog box used to select triangles using planes.
The Select > Triangles submenu provides several selection operations that apply only to
visible triangles. The first three operations are global operations, and do not make use
of the specification for the Selection mode.
All
Selects all visible triangles of visible models.
Invert
Switches the selection status of visible triangles. Selected triangles become
unselected, while unselected triangles become selected.
None
Deselects selected triangles.
Connected
Selects all triangles connected to the last selected set of triangles.
From Vertices
Converts the last vertex selection into a triangle selection. The operation selects all
triangles whose three vertices are part of the last selection. Note that selected
vertices input to the routine are deselected.
Using Planes
Displays the dialog box shown in Figure 7.8 to select visible triangles with respect
to selected planes. It offers the following items:
Select triangles
A group box that offers three options used to specify which triangles to
select with respect to the selected planes. Choose from Above, Below, or
Above & below.
Using
A group box that offers two option buttons that specify how to use the
selected planes in the selection process. Choose from Cropped planes
(as they appear in the 3D scene) or Infinite planes.
The Apply button performs the operation and the Close button dismisses the
dialog box.
Advanced
Displays the dialog box used to perform an advanced selection, with the Select list
box set to Triangles. For more information, see Section 7.5.5 Performing advanced
selections.
The Select > Vertices submenu provides several selection operations that apply only to
visible vertices. The first three operations are global operations, and do not make use of
the specification for the Selection mode.
All
Selects all visible vertices of visible models.
Invert
Switches the selection status of visible vertices. Selected vertices become
unselected, while unselected vertices become selected.
None
Deselects selected vertices.
From Triangles
Converts the last triangle selection into a vertex selection. The operation selects all
vertices that belong to the triangles that are part of the last selection. Note that
selected triangles input to the routine are deselected.
Figure 7.9 The dialog box used to select vertices using planes.
From Boundaries
Selects all vertices that belong to visible solitary edges.
Using Planes
Displays the dialog box shown in Figure 7.9, which is used to select visible vertices
with respect to selected planes. It offers the following items:
Select vertices
A group box that offers three option buttons that specify which vertices
to select with respect to the selected planes. Choose from Above, Below,
or Above & below the selected planes.
Using
A group box that offers two option buttons that specify how to use the
selected planes in the selection operation. Choose from Cropped planes
(as they appear in the 3D scene) or Infinite planes.
The Apply button performs the operation and the Close button dismisses the
dialog box.
Using Surfaces
Displays the dialog box shown in Figure 7.10 to configure selecting visible vertices
with respect to surfaces that are selected and visible. It offers the following items:
Figure 7.10 The dialog box used to select vertices using surfaces.
Select vertices
A group box that allows specifying selecting vertices Above (along the
surface normal), Below (along the inverted surface normal), or Above &
below the selected surfaces.
The Apply button performs the operation and the Close button dismisses the
dialog box.
Using Curves
Displays the dialog box shown in Figure 7.11 to configure selecting vertices with
respect to selected and visible curves. It offers the following items:
Select vertices
A group box that offers three option buttons. Specify selecting vertices
on the Left side, the Right side, or the Left & right sides of the selected
curves.
The Apply button performs the operation and the Close button dismisses the
dialog box.
Advanced
Displays the dialog box used to perform an advanced selection, with the Select list
box set to Vertices. For more information, see Section 7.5.5 Performing advanced
selections.
Figure 7.11 The dialog box used to select vertices using curves.
The Select > Holes operation displays the dialog box used to perform an advanced
selection, with the Select list box set to Holes, which allows selecting the vertices that
belong to hole boundaries. For more information, see Section 7.5.5 Performing
advanced selections.
The Select > Shells operation displays the dialog box used to perform an advanced
selection, with the Select list box set to Shells, which allows selecting the triangles that
belong to shells. For more information, see Section 7.5.5 Performing advanced
selections.
The Advanced Selection tool allows selecting vertices that form hole boundaries,
triangles that belong to shells, and triangles and vertices that meet geometric criteria,
such as the area of a triangle or the dihedral angle between two adjacent triangles.
A hole is defined by vertices along its boundary, and a shell is composed of a group of
connected triangles that is disconnected from any other triangles. Shells may occur
following a meshing operation on a point cloud with noisy data.
The following subsections explain how to make advanced selections using the dialog
box. Examples are provided.
Figure 7.12 The Advanced Selection dialog box shown for each selection type. The With list box
offers selection filters that are shown above for each selection type.
(a)
(b)
(c) (d)
The Advanced Selection dialog box, shown in Figure 7.12, can be used as follows:
2. Specify a selection filter in the With list box (see Section 7.5.5.2 The filters for each
selection type).
In the next list box, specify an operator for the filter. Choose from: Between, Greater
than or Equal to, and Less than or Equal to.
In the next row of the dialog box, enter a value in the left text box, or two values
defining a range in the left and right text boxes.
Note that the Junction geometric property of the Vertices selection type requires
no values. As a result, the rows that serve to specify an operator and values are made
unavailable.
The table that follows provides the list and the description of the filters available for
each selection type, offered in the With list box. When the selection type is Triangles or
Vertices, the filters are geometrical properties (i.e., dihedral angle, aspect ratio).
TRIANGLES
Area Selects a triangle based on its area.
Edge Length Selects a triangle based on the length of one of its edges.
Max Inner Angle Selects a triangle based on its largest inner angle.
Min Inner Angle Selects a triangle based on its smallest inner angle.
VERTICES
Selects vertices based on minimum and maximum
surface curvature radius criteria. The first time this
selection is performed, an analysis of the nonignored
Curvature Radius polygonal models is performed, which is a long
operation. However, if a subsequent search is performed,
for example the maximum surface curvature radius
criteria is modified, the selection results are immediate.
HOLES
Number of Vertices Selects a hole based on its number of boundary vertices.
SHELLS
Number of Triangles Selects a shell based on its number of triangles.
Examples of specifying selection criteria are provided in the dialog boxes shown in
Figure 7.12:
In (a): Select all Triangles for which the Area is Between 5 and 15 mm2.
In (b): Select all Vertices for which the Number of Connected Triangles is Less than
or Equal to 15.
In (c): Select all Holes for which the Number of Vertices is Less than or Equal to 20.
In (d): Select all Shells for which the Number of Triangles is Less than or Equal to
80.
To select sketch outline segments, a sketch must first be selected. Then, proceed as
follows:
1. Choose the Select > Sketch Outline Segments command, or press the appropriate
button (shown to the right) on the Sketches toolbar.
2. Select the segments using one of the methods that follow. If required, press ESC to
exit the mode, or press the SPACEBAR to temporarily exit the mode and perform
translations and rotations.
Middle-click while pressing the CTRL key to select the segments inside a
polygonal contour. Right-click to close the contour.
Right-click an outline segment to display its shortcut menu. The following menu
items are offered:
Select All
Selects all segments of the outline.
Select Invert
Inverts the selected status of the segments.
Select None
Deselects all segments of the outline.
Select Attached
Selects all the segments attached to the current selection.
1.
Note that deleting and adding new triangles removes all previous selections from the
undo stack.
The mode in which several of the objects are displayed in the 3D scene can be
configured per object category. The display mode can also be customized for individual
objects of or groups of same-category objects.
For most objects, two display modes need to be specified. The Static display mode is
the standard mode used to draw a set of objects. The Dynamic display mode controls
the rendering when the user changes the position and orientation of the 3D scene. It is
a good idea to specify a coarse subsampling factor for 3D models, point clouds, and
cross-sections in the Dynamic display mode in order to increase the display rate when
the 3D scene is moving. When the movements stop, the application switches back to
the Static display mode to draw a more accurate graphical representation of the scene.
Note that planes do not have separate Static and Dynamic display modes, rather they
have one mode, called Static & Dynamic, that serves both when the object is static and
when it is being moved in the 3D scene.
Certain objects (i.e., polygonal models, NURBS models, curves, surfaces, planes, cross-
sections, point clouds) have a default Static display mode and a default Dynamic
display mode. When a new object of one of these categories is added to an IMEdit
project, its Static and Dynamic display modes’ drawing type and subsampling factor
are automatically set to Default, which means that they will be rendered using the
default Static and Dynamic display modes for the object.
It is also possible to modify the default Static and Dynamic display modes for 3D
objects; see Section 8.1.2 Specifying display options. Any changes to these modes
modify the display modes of all 3D objects whose mode is set to Default.
The display mode of individual objects (i.e., polygonal model, NURBS model, curve,
surface, plane) or a set of same-type objects can also be manually set to specific values,
such as Static Flat, Dynamic Point, Static 1/1, or Dynamic 1/64. This can be done
from a shortcut menu or from a property sheet (see Section 8.6 Viewing using zebra
mapping). When a 3D object’s drawing type and/or subsampling factor is set to a
specific value, it will not be affected by changes made to the default display modes for
3D objects. See Section 8.1.2 Specifying display options for more information.
Objects can be grouped into three categories to understand how their display modes
may be specified:
Object types with a default Static and a default Dynamic polygonal models
display mode that apply to newly created objects and NURBS models
having the possibility of specifying for existing objects
individual Static and Dynamic display modes that can be curves
different than the default specifications; note that the NURBS patches
Static and Dynamic display modes for planes are always the surfaces
same.
planes
The Display page of the IMEdit Options dialog box, and its subpages, offer options that
control the default display of objects, and allows configuring interface colors, the
display in the 3D scene, and editing lighting and material definitions. For complete
information, see Section 22.3 Display options. To access the IMEdit Options dialog box,
choose the Tools > Options command.
The display modes of the following objects can be modified: polygonal models, NURBS
models, curves, surfaces, planes, and point Clouds.
To modify the Static/Dynamic display mode of a set of same-type objects, using object
shortcut menus, proceed as follows:
2. Right-click and set the drawing type, subsampling factor, and other object-specific
display mode parameters for the Static and Dynamic display modes through the
tree view shortcut menu View > Static or View > Dynamic.
Note that for plane objects, the tree view shortcut menu is View > Static & Dynamic.
A list of possible Static/Dynamic display mode parameters for the particular object
category is displayed. Specify the new Static/Dynamic display mode for the selected
objects.
Note that the Static and Dynamic display mode parameters can also be set to Default.
When an object is displayed using the Default drawing type, it is drawn using its object
type’s default drawing specifications.
For a description of the display mode parameters and default settings of the different
object categories, see the sections indicated in the table that follows.
Visibility Operations
Object Element(s)
On Object On Elements
cross-section segments
point cloud points
NURBS patch
plane
point
a. The visibility of the control points of surface objects is controlled by the
visibility of the surface to which they belong.
The View menu offers a number of operations that allow manipulating the visibility
status of objects and their elements. They are located on the following submenus: Hide,
Restore, Keep, and Toggle Visibility.
Note that the objects to which elements belong must be visible in order to be able to
control the visibility of their elements.
The View > Hide submenu offers operations that hide the selected objects or elements:
Objects
Hides the selected objects.
Elements
Hides the selected elements (does not apply to surface control points).
Triangle Groups
Hides the triangles of the selected triangle groups.
The View > Restore submenu offers operations that restores the visibility of selected
hidden objects or elements:
Objects
Restores the visibility of selected objects.
Elements
Restores the visibility of the hidden elements of selected objects.
Triangle Groups
Restores the visibility of the hidden triangles of selected triangle groups.
The View > Keep submenu offers operations that keep only selected objects and
elements visible:
Objects
Keeps only the selected objects visible, hiding all other objects.
Elements
Keeps only the selected elements visible, hiding all other elements (does not apply
to surface control points).
Triangle Groups
Keeps only the triangles of selected triangle groups visible, hiding the triangles of
all other triangle groups.
The View > Toggle Visibility submenu offers operations that allow inverting the visibility
status of objects or elements:
Objects
Inverts the visibility status of selected objects. Visible objects are hidden, and
hidden objects are made visible.
All Objects
Inverts the visibility status of all objects. Visible objects are hidden, and hidden
objects are made visible.
All Elements
Inverts the visibility status of the elements of selected objects. Visible elements are
hidden, and hidden elements are made visible.
The View > Standard Views submenu contains a set of standard operations related to
rigid transformations and projection types. If the operation is offered on the 3D Scene
toolbar, its icon appears below in the right margin as part of its description.
View +X
Centers visible objects in the 3D scene and makes the positive X axis point toward
the user.
View -X
Centers visible objects in the 3D scene and makes the negative X axis point toward
the user.
View +Y
Centers visible objects in the 3D scene and makes the positive Y axis point toward
the user.
View -Y
Centers visible objects in the 3D scene and makes the negative Y axis point toward
the user.
View +Z
Centers visible objects in the 3D scene and makes the positive Z axis point toward
the user.
View -Z
Centers visible objects in the 3D scene and makes the negative Z axis point toward
the user.
The View > Custom Views submenu contains operations that allow saving a view of the
3D scene and then loading it at a later time:
Load
Loads a pose file containing a 4x4 rigid transformation matrix and a projection
type. This transformation and projection is applied to the current set of objects.
Choosing this command results in the display of a standard file browser. Specify a
file name and location, and press the Open button. Press the Cancel button to end
the operation.
Save
Saves the pose of the object to a file. The pose consists of a 4x4 rigid
transformation matrix and a projection type. Choosing this command results in
the display of a standard file browser. Specify a file name and location, and press
the Save button. Press the Cancel button to end the operation.
The View > Normal View operation uses the normal of a selected cross-section, plane, or
sketch to specify a new orthogonal viewpoint.
The View > Center submenu offers other operations that center objects in the 3D scene:
Objects
Centers selected objects in the 3D scene.
Element
Centers the last selected polygonal model element in the 3D scene. The last
selection must consist of a single vertex or a single triangle.
Figure 8.1 The dialog box used to specify the model orientation when orienting using curvature.
All Objects
Centers visible objects in the 3D scene.
The View > Rotate submenu offers operations that allow rotating the 3D scene:
The View > Orient using Curvature operation activates an interactive picking mode that
allows picking a point on a model, and displays the dialog box shown in Figure 8.1 that
allows configuring the mode.
The 3D scene is reoriented so that the picked point remains at exactly the same place,
the normal at the picked point points outside of the screen, and the direction of
minimum curvature is oriented either horizontally or vertically, depending on the
specification made by the user. If the SHIFT key is not held down when picking, the
orientation is horizontal; if it is held down, the orientation is vertical.
The View > Mirror View submenu offers operations that allow mirroring the current
view:
Figure 8.2 The dialog box used to configure the Zebra Mapping mode.
Mirror about XY
Mirrors the current view about the standard XY plane.
Mirror about YZ
Mirrors the current view about the standard YZ plane.
Mirror about ZX
Mirrors the current view about the standard ZX plane.
The View menu offers an operations that allows mirroring the lights in the 3D scene:
Mirror Lights
Mirrors the light sources about the 3D scene’s vertical axis.
The View > Zebra Mapping command activates the Zebra Mapping visualization mode.
On choosing this command, the dialog box shown in Figure 8.2 is displayed. Any
specifications made are applied immediately in the 3D scene. It offers the following
items:
Stripe orientation
A group box that offers options to configure the stripe orientation:
Figure 8.3 NURBS surfaces displayed using the Zebra Mapping visualizing mode.
Horizontal
An option button, selected by default, that specifies a horizontal stripe
orientation.
Vertical
An option button that specifies a vertical stripe orientation.
Stripe size
A slider that specifies the stripe size. Settings range from Thin through Thick.
Choose among 8 different slider positions to set the stripe size. The default value
is a medium-sized stripe thickness setting, which is located at the center of the
slider.
Press the ESC key to exit the Zebra Mapping visualizing mode.
G0 continuity: The stripes on either side of the common boundary will not be
continuous in position.
G1 continuity: The stripes on either side of the common boundary will be continuous
in position but will have an orientation discontinuity.
G2 continuity: The stripes on either side of the common boundary will be continuous
through the boundary.
See Figure 8.3 for an example of the Zebra Mapping visualizing mode.
The View > Contextual Parameters command controls the display of special contextual
dialog boxes (e.g., additional dialog boxes to help users) that have been hidden by the
user. The command is only available if the current mode has a special contextual dialog
box. Such dialog boxes offer a Do not show this window check box to enable disabling
their display.
When a contextual dialog box is hidden by the user, selecting the Contextual
Parameters command displays the hidden contextual dialog boxes and clears the
dialog box’s Do not show this window check box.
The View menu offers operations to show individual panes that are hidden. If the pane
is displayed, the operation has no effect.
Dialog Zone
Displays the Dialog Zone pane.
Tree View
Displays the Tree View pane.
Note that the color mode can be used by more than one functionality and object
display. However, the color mode use is exclusive. Enabling the color mode in a context
disables it in another context.
The scale can be modified when using one of the rotation/translation modes (i.e., the
pointer icon is the arrow or a variant of the arrow) by right-clicking anywhere on the
scale, or over an approximate value, and choosing from the following shortcut menu
commands:
Figure 8.4 The above example represents the curvature of an object. Its display mode is based
on the color scale located in the right part of the 3D scene.
triangles with respect to the rest of the polygonal model. The Highlight mode allows
clearly distinguishing those triangles that are highlighted. In this mode:
The triangles in the highlighted set are displayed using a rendering technique that
fills the screen pixels enclosed within their boundaries. The highlighted triangles are
displayed using either the Flat or the Smooth drawing type. If Smooth is specified
in the Static or Dynamic display mode, the highlighted triangles are displayed in
Smooth; otherwise, they are displayed in Flat.
The rest of the polygonal model is displayed using a method that does not fill the
triangles. The triangles that are not highlighted are displayed using either the Point
or the Wireframe drawing type. If Point is specified in the Static or Dynamic display
mode, the triangles that are not highlighted are displayed in Point; otherwise, they
are displayed in Wireframe.
The 3D scene is automatically set to the Highlight mode when a new set of triangles is
inspected. Within a given inspection, it is possible to switch the Highlight mode on and
off using a check box offered in the dialog box.
All six degrees of freedom needed to reach any desired position and orientation in 3D
space can be accessed using the mouse in a very intuitive manner. Object-centered
methods allow moving freely in 3D space. The mouse allows picking a 3D object and
then rotating and translating the object. Using only the mouse, three translations and
two rotations may be performed. One further rotation may be performed using the
SHIFT key. Each operation is described in the subsections that follow.
In the default mode, several choices under the Mouse Button Behavior menu button
on the 3D Scene toolbar are available to specify the allowed transformations in the 3D
scene using the mouse, as shown in Figure 8.5. Note that these toolbar buttons are not
available when the current mode does not allow transformations of the 3D scene.
The subsections that follow describe how to transform the 3D scene when all of the
possible mouse-based transformations are allowed. If only one transformation was
specified (e.g., translation), then when reading that subsection remember that any
mouse button can be used and that references to control keys (e.g., SHIFT) do not
apply. Note also that the X,Y,Z axes referred to pertain to the screen coordinate system
only.
Figure 8.5 A menu offered on the 3D Scene toolbar, available in the default mode and other
specific modes, that controls the transformations permitted in the 3D scene using the
mouse.
The first button allows access to all of the standard mouse-based rotation/translation/
zoom operations. The other buttons assign one same operation to all of the mouse
buttons, which is useful for new users who have not yet mastered the standard mode.
To rotate about the X axis and the Y axis viewing axes, click and hold the left mouse
button inside the 3D scene. Rotations are performed by moving the mouse in the
desired directions. See Figure 8.6 (a). When a click occurs over a screen pixel belonging
to a 3D surface, the (x, y, z) coordinates of the point are computed. The 3D scene is then
rotated about the 3D location. If the click occurs over a background pixel instead of a
surface pixel, the rotations are performed about the center of the bounding box. While
rotating about the X axis and the Y axis, the pointer icon changes to the one shown to
the right.
To translate along the X axis and the Y axis, click and hold the middle mouse button.
Translations along the X axis or the Y axis are performed by moving the mouse in the X
or Y directions respectively, inside the 3D scene. See Figure 8.6 (b). While translating
along the X axis and the Y axis, the pointer icon changes to the one shown to the right.
Figure 8.6 Using the left and middle mouse buttons to change the position and orientation of a
3D object. In (a), the left mouse button is used to rotate the 3D object about the X axis
and the Y axis. In (b), the middle mouse button is used to translate the 3D object along
the X axis and the Y axis.
y
z
(a) -x (b) +y
-y +y -x +x
+x -y
Note that in the case of a mouse that has a wheel button as the middle button:
Rotating the wheel forward and backward will cause the 3D scene to, respectively,
zoom in and zoom out using the center of the 3D scene.
Pushing and holding down the SHIFT key while rotating the wheel forward and
backward will cause the 3D scene to, respectively, zoom in and zoom out using the
current pointer position in the 3D scene.
The pointer does not change when zooming with the wheel button.
Press and hold down the SHIFT key to access this operation. Rotating about the Z axis is
performed by clicking and holding the right mouse button, then moving the mouse in
the right or left direction. See Figure 8.7 (b). While rotating about the Z axis, the pointer
icon changes to the one shown to the right.
It is also possible to rotate the 3D scene by increments of 90 degrees about the viewing
axis. The rotation is performed by holding down the SHIFT key and quickly right-
clicking. If the right mouse button is held down for less than half a second, a
counterclockwise rotation of 90 degrees is applied about the rotation axis. If the right
mouse button is still down after half a second, the standard unconstrained rotation
mode is activated.
In addition to zooming using the Z axis translation method, zooming can be performed
on an object part by delimiting a rectangular area:
A zoom will operate on the delimited area. While zooming on the delimited area, the
pointer icon changes to the one shown to the right.
PolyWorks user interfaces use two display modes. The Dynamic display mode is used
when the 3D scene is rotated and/or translated. The Static mode is applied when the
3D scene is not moved. Applications automatically switch between the Static and
Display modes, depending on the actions of the user. To remain in the Dynamic display
mode for a sequence of rotations and translations, press and hold the CTRL key. When
the actions have stopped, and the CTRL key has been released, the display mode
automatically switches back to the Static mode.
Figure 8.7 Using the right mouse button to change the position and orientation of the 3D
object. In (a), the right mouse button is used to translate the 3D object along the Z
axis. In (b), the right mouse button enables rotation about the Z axis when the SHIFT
key is pressed.
y
x
z
+z + Shift key
(a) (b)
-z +z
-z
The Edit > Undo Transformation (Description) command allows undoing operations on
the View menu as well as user transformations. The Description field specifies the exact
operation to undo. For example, Undo Transformation (Pose Center).
Polygonal models, as well as their elements, triangle groups, texture, and alignment
can be edited:
Transformation operations are provided on the Tools > Align submenu, and are
documented in Section 15.1 Aligning objects.
For more information on the Undo operation, see Section 2.4.5 Undoing operations.
Polygonal models can later be exported and their triangles transformed into
quadrilaterals, for simulation purposes for example. For more information on
transforming the triangles of polygonal models into quadrilaterals, see Section 23.4
Exporting polygonal models as quads.
To create polygonal models, choose the Polygons > Create Polygonal Models command.
The dialog box shown in Figure 10.1 is displayed. It is a standard dialog box with
common and contextual parameters. It is used as follows:
From NURBS Models (see Section 10.1.3 Creating polygonal models from
selected NURBS models).
From NURBS Patches (see Section 10.1.4 Creating polygonal models from
selected NURBS patches).
When using the From Triangles/Vertices method, selected triangles are removed
from their current polygonal model and used to create a new polygonal model from
them.
When using the From NURBS Models method, either a single polygonal model for
all selected NURBS models, or one polygonal model per selected NURBS model is
created.
Figure 10.1 The dialog box used when creating a polygonal model from (a) selected triangles
and/or vertices and (b) selected NURBS models.
(a) (b)
A polygonal model can be created from selected triangles. Note that when a vertex
selection has been performed, all triangles that share at least one of the selected
vertices are considered selected. When the From Triangles/Vertices method is
specified, the dialog box is configured as shown in Figure 10.1 (a). The Advanced
subsection offers the following items:
Merging distance
A text box that specifies a distance value used to merge vertices of selected
triangles when creating a polygonal model. Vertices that are closer than the
specified distance are merged. The default value is 0.000001 mm.
Selected triangles with texture information keep their texture information and a
default texture is applied to all of the other selected triangles. Any color-per-vertex
information is dismissed.
When the From NURBS Models method is specified, the dialog box is configured as
shown in Figure 10.1 (b). Specify the following items in the Parameters section:
The specified value has an effect on the quantity of triangles generated in high
curvature zones. The greater the value, smaller the number of generated triangles.
For example, when generating a polygonal model for simulation purposes, Min
edge length should be set to a value greater than 0 to control the number of
generated triangles.
Tessellation tolerance
A text box that specifies a tessellation tolerance to be applied to the NURBS model
surface. The tessellation tolerance represents the maximum chordal deviation
between a NURBS surface and its polygonal representation. The default value is
0.01 mm.
Note that the Min edge length setting has priority over the Tessellation
tolerance setting. As a result, when Min edge length is set to a value other than
0, the Tessellation tolerance parameter may not always be applied.
triangles for more information on triangle groups). NURBS surface boundaries are
preserved in the generated polygonal model. The triangle groups created are
named surface, followed by a value. By default, this check box is selected.
High-quality polygonal models can be created from selected fitted NURBS patches.
Note that the quality of the generated polygonal models is dependent on the quality of
the selected NURBS patches. Important gaps between NURBS patches or neighbored
NURBS patches with opposite orientations may generate topology errors or unwanted
holes. The topology of the resulting polygonal models can be analyzed; for more
information, see Section 11.1.1 Inspecting and correcting the topology of a
triangulation.
When the From Fitted NURBS Patches method is specified, the dialog box is
configured as shown in Figure 10.1 (b). Specify the following items in the Parameters
section:
The specified value has an effect on the quantity of triangles generated in high
curvature zones. The greater the value, smaller the number of generated triangles.
For example, when generating a polygonal model for simulation purposes, Min
edge length should be set to a value greater than 0 to control the number of
generated triangles.
Tessellation tolerance
A text box that specifies a tessellation tolerance to be applied to the NURBS patch
surfaces. The tessellation tolerance represents the maximum chordal deviation
between a NURBS surface and its polygonal representation. The default value is
0.01 mm.
Note that the Min edge length setting has priority over the Tessellation
tolerance setting. As a result, when Min edge length is set to a value other than
0, the Tessellation tolerance parameter may not always be applied.
Figure 10.2 The dialog box used to wrap a polygonal mesh onto point clouds.
This operation offers the following complementary options: outlier rejection, noise
reduction, and point subsampling. On choosing the command, the Wrap Mesh dialog
box shown in Figure 10.2 is displayed. It offers the following items:
Reject outliers
A check box, cleared by default, that enables rejecting outlier points. When
selected, a group box is made available that offers parameters used to reject
outlier points:
Reduce noise
A check box, cleared by default, that enables noise reduction. When selected, a
group box is made available that offers a parameter that controls the noise
reduction:
Tolerance
A text box that allows specifying the maximum distance by which a point
can be moved with respect to its original position. The larger the value,
the smoother the resulting surface is. Valid values are greater than 0. The
default value is 1.0 mm.
Curvature-based subsampling
A check box, cleared by default, that enables curvature-based subsampling of the
points. When selected, a group box is made available that offers a parameter that
controls the subsampling:
Percentage
A text box that allows specifying the percentage of the current number
of points as the target to achieve. In this case, points are deleted based
on surface curvature until the number of points in the selected point
clouds is equal to the target number of points. Valid values range from
5.0% (i.e., target is 5% of the points) to 100.0% (i.e., target is 100% of the
points). The default value is 50.0%.
Wrap mesh
A group box that offers a parameter related to the polygonal mesh:
Preview
A button that offers a preview of the triangulation operation on a selection of
points (i.e., three points or more). On pressing this button, the specified
parameters are applied to the selected points and the resulting mesh is displayed
in the 3D scene. For each creation process, the parameter values may be changed
and a new preview may be applied.
The Apply button launches the operation. The specified parameters are applied in the
order in which they appear in the dialog box to the selected point clouds. Once the
triangulation is complete, a new polygonal model is added to the tree view for each
selected object, with a name composed as follows: <object_name> -mesh-.
The Display > Polygonal Models page of the IMEdit Options dialog box offers options
to specify the global display mode of polygonal model objects. For complete
information, see Section 22.3.8 Polygonal model display options. To access the IMEdit
Options dialog box, choose the Tools > Options command.
The Display modes tab, as shown in Figure 10.3 (a), allows editing the Static and
Dynamic Model drawing types, as well as the subsampling factor in the Dynamic
display mode. The display modes for polygonal models are presented in Section 10.3
Setting polygonal model display options in the IMEdit Options dialog box.
The Model tab, shown in Figure 10.3 (b), offers the following items:
# triangles
A text box that displays the number of model triangles.
# displayed triangles
A text box that displays the number of displayed triangles. The value is calculated
as the number of model triangles minus the number of hidden triangles.
Original units
A text box that displays the original units of the object. These units were read in
the original file on import or determined on import using the Unknown Units
(a) (b)
Wizard. This wizard is described in relation with the General page of the IMEdit
Options dialog box; for more information, see Section 22.1 General options.
Units factor
The factor applied to an object’s original units to convert the object to the project’s
units of length. For more information on the Length option of the Units section,
see the General page of the IMEdit Options dialog box.
Color
A check box that, when selected, indicates that the model has color-per-vertex
information.
Texture
A check box that, when selected, indicates that the model has texture information.
See Section 12.19 Editing texture for information on how to remove texture
information from a polygonal model.
The Model tab allows specifying a virtual thickness that is used only when performing
morphing operations:
Note that constraining points anchored on the original surface can be switched to
the equivalent location on the virtual surface, at the specified thickness value (see
Section 12.11 Morphing polygonal models for more information on morphing
polygonal models).
The table that follows illustrates the thickness virtual surfaces of polygonal
models:
Thickness
original surface
Normal: opposite original
+ thickness
surface
Location: in the direction of virtual surface
the normal
The Bounding box tab displays the bounding box dimensions of the polygonal model.
Four types of symbolic topological problems, illustrated in Figure 11.1, can be found in
a surface triangulation:
Degenerate triangles – When two or three vertices of a triangle are equal, the
triangle becomes an edge or a single point and is therefore degenerate.
Duplicate triangles – This problem arises when there are several instances of the
same triangle in a polygonal model.
Commands are available to allow correcting topology errors. For information, see
Section 11.1.1.2 Using the interactive topology correction technique and Section
11.2.7.2 Automatic correction of inverted surface normals.
Topology correction may also be invoked by choosing the Polygons > Analyze Topology
command. During a topology correction session, a specific dialog box is offered for
each kind of anomaly detected in the polygonal model, and a Next Step button allows
proceeding from one type of detected anomaly to the next (see Figure 11.2). The
information area at the top of the dialog box identifies the number of anomalies of a
certain type that have been found.
The correction of the four types of anomalies is addressed in a sequential manner. The
following correction order is recommended and should be followed:
Figure 11.1 Four types of symbolic topological anomalies arising in a triangulation. In (a), the
triangle is degenerate since two vertices are equal. In (b), a triangle has been
duplicated. In (c), an edge is degenerate since three triangles share a common edge.
Finally, (d) illustrates two adjacent triangles having an inconsistent orientation.
(a) Degenerate (b) Duplicate triangles (c) Degenerate edge (d) Inconsistent edge
triangle
1. Degenerate triangles.
2. Duplicate triangles.
3. Degenerate edges.
4. Inconsistent edges.
This order should be used to avoid possible ambiguities resulting from the presence of
several anomalies in a local area. The two following examples illustrate this point.
Example 1 – A triangle is written twice in a file and the three edges of the triangle are
degenerate. Which problem should be solved first? In this case, the second instance of
the triangle should first be deleted. This might modify the status of the degenerate
edges.
Example 2 – Three triangles share a common edge. The edge is also inconsistent since
triangles 2 and 3 have opposite orientations. In this case, deleting triangle 2 or 3 will
simultaneously solve both problems.
Solving the anomalies in the suggested order ensures that time is not wasted in the
correction process.
This is the easiest part of the correction process. The application offers to automatically
delete degenerate triangles in step 1 and to automatically delete duplicate triangles in
step 2. Just press the button that starts with the word Delete (see to the left in Figure
11.2) when at the appropriate step.
Figure 11.2 During a topology correction session, (a) steps 1 and 2 deal with duplicate and
degenerate triangles and offer a button to delete them, while (b) steps 3 and 4 deal
with degenerate and inconsistent edges and offer buttons to view them.
(a) (b)
Degenerate and inconsistent edges are two types of anomalies that cannot be
automatically corrected. When three triangles or more share a common edge, it is
difficult to tell which triangles should be deleted. Similarly, it is not possible to
automatically determine which triangle is incorrectly oriented when a pair of adjacent
triangles have an inconsistent orientation. As a result, an interactive walkthrough
approach is used for the correction of degenerate and inconsistent edges, which are
steps 3 and 4 of the topology correction session. It consists in the following:
Each individual anomaly is shown using the Highlight mode (described in Section 8.9
Using the Highlight mode).
To help in visualizing the anomaly, this mode can be switched on and off by
selecting/clearing the Highlight check box in the topology correction dialog box or
by using the CTRL+H keyboard shortcut (see Figure 11.2).
Note that the Highlight mode also affects the algorithm that selects individual
triangles and vertices. In the Highlight mode, highlighted triangles are given a
selection priority higher than the rest of the polygonal model. As a result, a
highlighted triangle, hidden by other triangles in the normal rendering mode, can
always be selected in the Highlight mode.
The application finds the triangles belonging to a given anomaly, then zooms on the
inspected area, and finally highlights the triangles of the first anomaly with respect
to the rest of the polygonal model.
For degenerate edges, all triangles sharing the edge are highlighted.
For inconsistent edges, the two adjacent triangles having opposite orientations
are highlighted.
It should be noted that only anomalies located in the visible part of the polygonal
model are displayed.
Figure 11.3 Following a boundary inspection, this dialog box is displayed if boundary triangles
are found.
The Previous Edge and the Next Edge buttons allow navigating between
anomalies.
The viewpoint changes to focus on the new anomaly. To specify not changing the
viewpoint, select the Lock pose check box.
Once the anomaly has been precisely displayed in the 3D Scene, the user is
responsible for correcting the problems:
Once an anomaly has been corrected, proceed to the following anomaly, until all
topological anomalies have been corrected.
A surface polygonal model is closed if none of the four anomalies described previously
are present and if all triangles have three adjacent triangles. To help close surface
polygonal models, the application uses the same walkthrough approach as for
topology correction.
Select a visible polygonal model, and then choose the Polygons > Analyze > Boundaries
command. The dialog box that is displayed, shown in Figure 11.3, features an
information area at the top that indicates the number of boundary triangles, a
Previous and a Next button to navigate between boundary triangles, a Highlight
check box to enable the Highlight mode (described in Section 8.9 Using the Highlight
mode), as well as a Lock pose check box that allows keeping the same pose when
navigating between boundary triangles.
Each displayed triangle that does not have three adjacent triangles is presented in
sequence. As in the topology correction process, the Highlight mode is offered to
highlight the triangle with respect to the rest of the polygonal model. Proceed to the
following boundary triangle by pressing the Previous and Next buttons. Press the ESC
key to exit the mode.
If the surface polygonal model is not closed, new triangles that provide three adjacent
triangles to a highlighted triangle may need to be added, or, in some cases, an isolated
triangle may need to be deleted.
The Polygons > Analyze > Watertightness command determines if the visible part of the
selected polygonal model is watertight; the object must be visible. This operation looks
for any topological anomalies or boundary triangles. If either exist, an appropriate
message is displayed (see Figure 11.4). If there are none, a message window is
displayed to confirm that the polygonal model is watertight.
To access the tool, choose the Polygons > Analyze > Deviations from NURBS Model
command. The dialog box shown in Figure 11.5 is displayed offering the following
items:
Figure 11.5 The dialog box used to compare polygonal models to NURBS models.
Polygonal model
A list box that specifies the polygonal model that will be compared to the NURBS
model. It lists all the nonignored polygonal models under the polygonal models
branch of the tree view.
NURBS model
A list box that specifies the NURBS model to which the specified polygonal model
will be compared. It lists all the non ignored NURBS models available under the
NURBS Models branch of the tree view.
Sampling step
A text box that defines the vertical and horizontal point spacing for the grid of
comparison points applied to the NURBS model. The default value is 1.0 mm.
Max distance
A text box that controls the maximum distance measured between the NURBS
model and the polygonal model. The default value is 4.0 mm.
Max angle
A check box that makes available an adjacent text box to specify a maximum angle
in degrees between the normal vector of the comparison point on the NURBS
model surface and the polygonal model’s normal vector at the surface point
closest to the comparison point. The angle eliminates from the comparison results
the polygonal model’s surface points that have an orientation incompatible with
the comparison point. The default value is 45.0 degrees.
Press the Compare button to launch the comparison. A grid of temporary comparison
points is created on the specified NURBS model. These comparison points are used to
calculate the deviations between the polygonal model and the NURBS model and
display these deviations on the NURBS model surface using an error color map. The
comparison points used are displayed using the color corresponding to the deviation
error between the polygonal model and the NURBS model, as shown in Figure 11.6.
Figure 11.6 The polygonal model (gray part) and the NURBS model (blue part) in (a) are
compared in (b). The comparison results are displayed using the error color map and
the comparison point grid (c).
(a)
Polygonal model
NURBS model
(b)
(c)
Note that when comparison is performed, the polygonal model is automatically hidden
and the Compare button becomes the Reset button.
The comparison results displayed are temporary. Snapshots of comparison error color
maps can be made (see Section 3.10 Generating snapshots of the 3D scene). Press the
Reset button to erase the color map and perform another comparison. Press the Close
button to cancel the operation and close the dialog box.
Figure 11.7 (a) A thin shell polygonal model. (b) The surface normals must be valid to compute
the area of a slice or the volume of a set of triangles. (c) The surface normals of pairs
of surfaces must also be opposite to compute the same measurements when surfaces
are included within other surfaces (e.g., a thin shell object).
(a)
(b) (c)
11.1.5 Measuring the area and the perimeter of a slice, and the volume of an
open or a closed surface
The area of a slice or a volume can be measured for a single surface or between several
pairs of surfaces. For example, a thin shell polygonal model, like the one shown in
Figure 11.7. Thin shell polygonal models consist of pairs of polygonal model surfaces
included one within the other (see Figure 11.7 (a)).
Note that for all area or volume measurements, the polygonal models’ surface normals
must be valid (see Figure 11.7 (b and c)). When thin shell polygonal models are
involved, the normal orientations of surface pairs must also be opposite (see Figure
11.7 (c)).
A thin shell polygonal model can be created by offsetting a polygonal surface. For more
information, see Section 12.3 Offsetting a polygonal surface.
The Polygons > Analyze > Volume command displays the dialog box shown in Figure
11.8 to calculate the volume of a set of visible triangles. An example of volume
Figure 11.8 The dialog box used to compute the volume of a set of visible triangles.
measurements is provided in Figure 11.9. The set of triangles must have valid surface
normals (see Section 11.1.5.5 Measuring the perimeter of a slice for details). If there are
triangle selections in the selection stack, they are used for the operation. If there are
none, all visible triangles of polygonal models are considered. The dialog box offers the
following item:
Press the Apply button to launch the operation, and press the Close button to dismiss
the dialog box. When the operation is launched, the volume of the selected set of
triangles is computed. When the selection is watertight (i.e., made of closed surfaces
only), the volume is measured exactly, as shown in Figure 11.9. When a selection has
surfaces with holes, with topological errors, that are self-intersecting, or are not in
themselves watertight, the resulting measurement value is an approximation with an
error margin that is roughly proportional to the amount of surface missing or self-
intersecting. Note that the user is only notified when the selected set of triangles is not
watertight.
Once this operation is performed, all triangle selections are removed from the selection
stack. For more information on the selection stack, see Section 7.3.3.2 Selecting other
elements.
The Polygons > Analyze > Area command computes the area of the set of triangles
located in the first level of the selection stack (see Section 7.3.3.2 Selecting other
elements).
Once this operation is performed, the most recent selection is removed from the
selection stack. For more information on the selection stack, see Section 7.3.3.2
Selecting other elements.
Figure 11.9 Measuring the volume of a set of visible triangles. In (a), a single-surface polygonal
model is measured. In (b), a thin shell polygonal model is measured. In both cases, all
visible triangles were selected. A watertight triangle selection results in an exact
measurement. An open triangle selection produces an approximate measurement.
The Polygons > Analyze > Slice Area command calculates the area of a slice created from
the intersection of a selected plane and a set of visible triangles with valid surface
normals (see Section 11.1.5.5 Measuring the perimeter of a slice for details). If no
element selection is made, all visible triangles of polygonal models are considered.
Notes:
If there are triangle selections in the selection stack, they are used for the operation.
If there are none, a message window is displayed asking to use all visible triangles of
all visible and used polygonal models. Press Yes to continue or No to cancel the
operation. See Figure 11.10 for an example.
If there is only one used plane and it is not selected by the user, it is considered to be
selected by the application for these measurement operations.
Figure 11.10 Measuring the area of a slice obtained from the intersection of a set of visible
triangles and a selected Plane. In (a), a single surface polygonal model is sliced. In (b),
a thin shell polygonal model is sliced. In both cases, all visible triangles were selected.
A watertight slice results in an exact measurement. An open slice produces an
approximate measurement.
The intersection between the set of triangles and the plane can consist of closed and/or
open contours. When the slice is watertight (i.e., made of closed contours only), the
area is measured exactly. When a slice has open contours or is self-intersecting, the
resulting measurement value is an approximation, with an error margin that is roughly
proportional to the amount of surface missing or self-intersecting in the slice. Note that
the user is only notified when a slice has open contours.
Once this operation is performed, all triangle selections are removed from the selection
stack. For more information on the selection stack, see Section 7.3.3.2 Selecting other
elements.
Figure 11.11 The dialog box used in computing the outline area of a selected set of triangles.
The Polygons > Analyze > Outline Area command displays a dialog box, shown in Figure
11.11, to compute the outline area of a selected set of triangles (i.e., all of the triangles
in the selection stack); if no selection is made, all visible triangles of polygonal models
are considered. A selected plane object is required for this operation. The outline
operation projects all selected triangles onto the selected plane, and finds the outline –
or boundary contour – of the projection. The outline can consist of several closed
contours if there are multiple nonoverlapping objects or topological holes. The outline
area dialog box offers the following items:
Outline area
A text box that shows the computed outline area.
Resolution
A combo box that sets the grid resolution for the operation. The combo box can
be set to Automatic. A value can also be entered manually.
The operation is launched by pressing the Apply button. To dismiss the dialog box
press the Close button. Once this operation is performed, all triangle selections are
removed from the selection stack. For more information on the selection stack, see
Section 7.3.3.2 Selecting other elements.
The progress window that is displayed features a Cancel button that allows
interactively stopping outline area computations.
The Polygons > Analyze > Slice Perimeter command calculates the perimeter of a slice
created from the intersection of a selected plane and a set of visible triangles. See
Figure 11.12 for an example.
If there are triangle selections in the selection stack, they are used for the operation.
If there are none, all visible triangles of polygonal models are considered.
If there is only one used plane and it is not selected by the user, it is considered to be
selected by the application for these measurement operations.
The total perimeter of several sliced surfaces can be measured, as in the case of a thin
shell object. For an example, see Figure 11.12 (b). The intersection between the set of
triangles and the plane can consist of closed and/or open contours. The total perimeter
of the slice is measured exactly. When the perimeter is not watertight, the user is
informed, which allows correcting the situation if appropriate.
Figure 11.12 Measuring the perimeter of a slice obtained from the intersection of a set of visible
triangles and a selected plane. In (a), a single-surface polygonal model is sliced. In (b),
a thin shell polygonal model is sliced. In both cases, all visible triangles were selected.
All triangle selections result in exact measurements. An open slice is indicated to
inform the user in case the slice is meant to be watertight.
Once this operation is performed, all triangle selections are removed from the selection
stack. For more information on the selection stack, see Section 7.3.3.2 Selecting other
elements.
The Polygons > Analyze > Boundary Length command computes the length of a selected
polygonal model’s boundary.
A boundary is selected by entering Select Elements mode (press the Select Elements
button on the Selection toolbar), holding the SHIFT key, clicking over a boundary
triangle, and choosing the Select Boundary command.
A partial boundary may be defined by entering Select Elements mode, selecting two
boundary vertices, holding the SHIFT key, clicking over a boundary triangle, and
choosing the Select Boundary up to Vertices command.
For more information on selecting vertices with the left mouse button, see Section
7.3.3.1.2 Selecting vertices interactively.
The Polygons > Analyze > Element Bounding Box Diagonal command computes the
bounding box of the last selected set of triangles or vertices, and displays the length of
the bounding box diagonal.
The Polygons > Analyze > Vertex Coordinates command displays the (x, y, z) coordinates
of a selected vertex located in the first level of the selection stack.
Once this operation is performed, the most recent selection is removed from the
selection stack. For more information on the selection stack, see Section 7.3.3.2
Selecting other elements.
To smooth all selected vertices, or the vertices of all selected triangles, choose the
Polygons > Repair > Smooth Vertices command, or press the corresponding button on
the Polygons toolbar, shown to the right. The dialog box shown in Figure 11.14 is
displayed.
The Method section of the Smooth Vertices dialog box offers two methods to smooth
vertices:
– Selected Elements
A button that allows smoothing selected elements. When the Selected Elements
method is selected in the Smooth Vertices dialog box, the dialog box is configured
as shown in Figure 11.13. The default method is Selected Elements.
Figure 11.13 The Smooth Vertices dialog box for the Selected Elements method.
– Paint
A button that allows selecting regions by moving a brush over regions to smooth
them. When the Paint method is selected in the Smooth Vertices dialog box, the
dialog box is configured as shown in Figure 11.14.
Generally, the Selected Elements method is used first to apply a global smoothing,
and then the Paint method is used over specific regions to finalize the work.
The Parameters section of the Smooth Vertices dialog box offers items that allow
controlling the smoothing algorithm. The following items are available:
Brush
A group label (available only when the Paint method is selected) that offers
options to specify the brush parameters:
Shape
A list box that allows specifying the shape of the brush. Choose from
Round or Square. The default value is Square.
Diameter (pixels)
A text box that allows specifying the diameter. This item is available when
the selected shape is Round. Valid values range from 1 to 400 inclusively.
The default value is 70 pixels.
Smoothing level
A group label that offers options to specify the smoothing level:
By radius
An option button that allows specifying that the smoothing level is
defined using the radius. It makes available a text box that specifies a 3D
distance around a vertex for the smoothing filter. The point at the center
of the smoothing radius will move towards a function of the average
position of the other points within the smoothing radius. A larger radius
increases the smoothing effects and allows more noise reduction; this is
appropriate for eliminating heavy noise from flat or slightly curved
surfaces. A smaller value should be used to filter areas that are
significantly curved. Valid values are greater than zero. The default value
is 3.0 mm.
By intensity
An option button, selected by default, that allows specifying the
smoothing’s level of intensity. It makes available a slider that allows
selecting a percentage. This function automates the calculation of the
radius by analyzing the polygonal model to determine the useful values
to be represented by the slider. Settings range from 5% to 100%, by
multiples of 5. The default value is 30%.
Preserve features
A check box that enables preserving the model’s features, such as fillets. The check
box is selected by default. Do not select it when it is required to eliminate
undesired features or heavy noise over specific regions. Otherwise, it is
recommended to leave it selected.
Optimize curvature
A check box that enables optimizing the mesh with relation to the curvature. The
check box is selected by default.
Figure 11.14 The Smooth Vertices dialog box configured for the Paint method.
Max displacement
A check box that makes available an adjacent text box that specifies a maximum
3D deviation between a smoothed vertex and its original position. Valid values are
equal to or greater than zero. The default value is 0.05 mm. The check box is
cleared by default.
Figure 11.15 Vertices smoothed using a square-shaped brush with the Paint method, without the
displacement color map (a), and with the displacement color map (b).
(a) (b)
Max displacement
An uneditable text box that indicates the absolute value of the maximum
displacement of the latest smoothing operation.
Average displacement
An uneditable text box that indicates the absolute value of the average
displacement of the latest smoothing operation.
Standard deviation
An uneditable text box that indicates the absolute value of the displacement’s
standard deviation of the latest smoothing operation.
When the Selected Elements method is selected, press the Smooth button to launch
the operation. If no elements are selected, all of the visible elements of the nonignored
polygonal models are considered. Pressing the Yes button launches the operation, and
pressing the No button ends the operation.
When the Paint method is selected, it launches the interactive mode (if the interactive
mode is disabled, press the Paint button to enable it).
This mode allows selecting regions by moving the brush. Triangles covered by the
brush are shown in red. Use the mode as follows:
Use the SPACEBAR to temporarily exit the mode and perform rotations/translations
in the 3D scene.
Drag the brush with the left mouse button to delimit the vertices to smooth. Release
the left mouse button to perform the smoothing.
To proceed, select the areas to reconstruct on the polygonal model using the
interactive Select Elements mode (see Chapter 7 Selecting Objects and Elements for
more information on selecting elements). Then, choose the Polygons > Repair >
Reconstruct command or press the corresponding button on the Polygons toolbar,
shown to the right. The areas will automatically be reconstructed on choosing this
command.
Holes and gaps in a set of selected triangles can be automatically detected and filled by
triangulating the surrounding vertices. The tool considers a selection of elements; if no
selection is made, all visible triangles of polygonal models are considered.
Choose the Polygons > Repair > Fill Holes > Automatic command, or press the
corresponding button on the Polygons toolbar, shown to the right. The Fill Holes dialog
box shown in Figure 11.16 is displayed, offering the following items:
Target
A group box that offers two options to specify the type of hole to fill:
Figure 11.16 The dialog box used to automatically fill holes and gaps in polygonal models.
Max distance
A text box that specifies a distance. Vertices that are located
further than this distance apart will not be meshed. The default
value is 20.
Closed holes
An option button that specifies using a basic hole-filling algorithm to fill
in closed holes. When selected, the associated group box becomes
available. An item is offered to identify the holes that should be filled:
Filling
A group box that offers a choice of hole-filling methods, which control the
distribution of triangle vertices within the hole:
Curvature-based
An option button that specifies that vertices will be smoothly
interpolated in order to close the holes by extending the surrounding
surfaces and preserving curvature as much as possible. When selected,
an item is available to specify an average edge length:
Flat
An option button that specifies that the vertices of surrounding hole
boundary edges will be connected without adding new vertices. This
may be useful for small holes or for models with a low resolution.
Shell deletion
A group box that offers an item to delete objects that exist in the area to be filled,
or that may be created by the hole-filling operation:
The Current filling zone indicates which zone is processed. Zones are
ordered from the largest number of triangles to the smallest, as usually the
worst automatic results would be obtained over large zones. Therefore, the
zones for which hole filling is more difficult are presented first.
The automatic results obtained for the current filling zone are rejected by
clicking the Delete button. The Undelete button brings back a deleted
result.
The blue contour of the currently processed zone can be hidden by clearing
the Highlight current zone (R-Click) check box. It is useful in visualizing the
smoothness of the automatic solution. The right mouse button can be used
as well.
To launch the fill operation, press the Apply button. To dismiss the dialog box, press the
Close button.
An interactive hole filling tool is offered that automatically detects hole boundaries on
polygonal models and offers interactive modes that allow selecting the boundaries of
the holes (e.g., of a single hole, multiple holes, only partial boundaries) in order to clean
and/or to fill them. Hole boundaries are displayed in orange, and when the pointer is
close to a boundary, the boundary is highlighted (i.e., blue or turquoise). In some cases,
the pointer’s position is displayed on a boundary as a dot.
To launch the operation, choose the Polygons > Repair > Fill Holes > Interactive
command or press the corresponding button on the Polygons toolbar, shown to the
right.
The top-down contextual dialog box shown in Figure 11.17 is displayed. Three
operations are offered:
Operation
A group label that offers distinct operations related to hole filling:
Fill
An option button that specifies filling the holes neighboring the selected
boundaries.
Clean
An option button that specifies cleaning the selected hole boundary by
removing a specified number of layers of triangles.
Figure 11.17 The dialog box used when filling holes interactively.
Each operation is described below with its related methods and options.
The Fill operation offers several hole-filling methods that offer either flat and
curvature-based filling, or only the latter. The dialog box offers the items that follow for
this operation.
Method
A group label that offers the following hole-filling methods:
– Gap Filling
A button that launches an interactive mode that allows filling gaps.
Instructions for each interactive mode are provided in the table that follows.
The Options section offers method-specific items. For the Single Boundary Hole,
Multiple Boundary Holes, Partial Hole Filling, and Gap Filling methods, the
following items are offered:
Filling
A group label that offers the following two options that control the distribution of
triangle vertices within the hole on filling:
Flat
An option button that specifies that the vertices of surrounding hole
boundary edges will be connected without adding new vertices. This
may be useful for small holes or for models with a low resolution.
Curvature-based
An option button that specifies that vertices will be smoothly
interpolated in order to close the holes by extending the surrounding
surfaces and preserving curvature as much as possible. It makes available
the following item:
Automatic
An option button, selected by default, that allows
automatically computing a value for each hole based on
the local vertex density.
Custom
An option button that makes available an adjacent text box
to specify a distance to be used for all holes. The default
value is 0.5 mm.
For the Cylindrical Gap Filling and Fillet and Surroundings Filling methods only the
Curvature-based option is offered.
The How to button offers visual instructions on how to perform the specified hole
filling operation. Press the Close button to dismiss the visual aide. The following table
provides detailed information for each method:
Method How to
The Clean operation consists in removing one or more layers of triangles, starting with
the ones connected to the boundary vertices. The dialog box offers the items that
follow for this operation.
Method
A group label that offers buttons that launch one of the following filling and/or
cleaning methods, according to the specified hole-filling operation:
– Precise Cleaning
A button that launches an interactive mode that allows performing
specific deletion operations on single, or groups of, vertices or triangles.
Instructions for each interactive mode are provided in the table that follows.
The Options section offers method-specific items. For the Single Boundary Hole and
the Multiple Boundary Holes methods, the following item is offered:
Cleaning
A group label that offers the following item:
Number of layers
A list box that specifies the number of layers of triangles to delete when
cleaning holes. Choose from: 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. The default value is 1.
The How to button offers visual instructions on how to perform the specified hole
cleaning operation. Press the Close button to dismiss the visual aide. The following
table provides detailed information for each method:
Method How to
1. Do the editing.
• One vertex: Press and hold the left mouse
button to highlight the underlying polygonal
Precise model vertex. Release the button to delete it
Cleaning or move the pointer away to cancel the
selection.
• One triangle: Press and hold the right mouse
button to highlight the underlying polygonal
model triangle. Release the button to delete it
or move the pointer away to cancel the
selection.
• 2D area: Click and hold the middle mouse
button and delimit a 2D area to delete a
group of triangles. Release the button to
delete the triangles.
2. Press the ESC key to exit the mode.
The Clean and Fill operation combines the two operations described previously. The
cleaning is done first and then the hole filling. The dialog box offers the items that
follow for this operation.
Method
A group label that offers buttons that launch one of the following filling and/or
cleaning methods, according to the specified hole-filling operation:
Instructions for each interactive mode are provided in the table that follows.
The Options section offers the following items for each method:
Filling
A group label that offers the following two options that control the distribution of
triangle vertices within the hole on filling:
Flat
An option button that specifies that the vertices of surrounding hole
boundary edges will be connected without adding new vertices. This
may be useful for small holes or for models with a low resolution.
Curvature-based
An option button that specifies that vertices will be smoothly
interpolated in order to close the holes by extending the surrounding
surfaces and preserving curvature as much as possible. It makes available
the following item:
Automatic
An option button, selected by default, that allows
automatically computing a value for each hole based on
the local vertex density.
Custom
An option button that makes available an adjacent text box
to specify a distance to be used for all holes. The default
value is 0.5 mm.
Cleaning
A group label that offers the following item:
Number of layers
A list box that specifies the number of layers of triangles to delete when
cleaning holes. Choose from: 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. The default value is 1.
The How to button offers visual instructions on how to perform the specified hole
cleaning and filling operation. Press the Close button to dismiss the visual aide. The
following table provides detailed information for each method:
Method How to
Press the Undo button to undo, in the inverse order in which they were carried out, the
actions that were performed on the current polygonal model, if they are not
satisfactory.
To dismiss the dialog box and exit the mode, press the Close button, or right-click or
press the ESC key.
Choose the Polygons > Repair > Fill Holes > Within Elements command, or press the
corresponding button on the Polygons toolbar (shown to the right), to triangulate
holes within a set of selected triangles or vertices. A constrained Delaunay triangulation
algorithm is used to fill the void areas. The Delaunay triangulation is computed from
Figure 11.18 An illustration of the Triangulate operation. Select an area containing one or several
holes. The operation automatically computes the missing triangles.
Triangulate
the 2D coordinates of the vertices mapped on the computer screen. The operation is
illustrated in Figure 11.18.
Once a surface has been best-fitted to a polygonal mesh, choose the Polygons > Repair
> Fill Holes > Using Surfaces command, or press the corresponding button on the
Polygons toolbar (shown to the right) to fill in the polygonal holes underneath the
fitted surface. The Fill Holes using Surfaces dialog box, shown in Figure 11.19, is
displayed, offering two items:
Figure 11.19 The dialog box used when filling holes using surfaces.
Press the Apply button to launch the filling operation. Press the Close button to
dismiss the dialog box.
A whole new set of vertices can be created in areas where there are no triangles
interactively using visible surfaces. Follow this procedure:
1. Choose the Using Surfaces and Anchored Vertices command on the Polygons > Repair
> Fill Holes submenu.
Press the SPACEBAR to temporarily exit the current mode and perform rotations and
translations of the 3D scene. The mode is re-entered by pressing the SPACEBAR
again.
3. Click over each desired vertex location. Repeat using another surface if desired.
4. Once all vertices have been entered, press the right mouse button, the TAB key, or
the Wizard’s Next button to automatically triangulate these vertices with the rest of
the polygons attached to the surfaces.
A rectangle may be used to create surfaces to fill in holes. Follow these instructions:
1. Choose the Polygons > Repair > Fill Holes > Using Rectangular Surfaces command, or
press the corresponding button on the Polygons toolbar, shown to the right.
2. The dialog box shown in Figure 11.20 is displayed to specify fitting and filling
options for the surfaces that will be anchored. See Section 11.2.3.6.1 Parameters in
the dialog box for a description of the dialog box items.
Press the SPACEBAR to temporarily exit the current mode and perform rotations and
translations of the 3D scene. The mode is re-entered by pressing the SPACEBAR
again.
Once the rectangle has been defined, the application automatically subdivides the
surface, fits the surface, and then triangulates the surface.
The dialog box’s Do not show this window check box allows controlling the display of
the dialog box. When it is not displayed, its current settings are applied to the
operation. To redisplay the dialog box when in this operation mode, choose the View >
Contextual Parameters command.
The Fit & Fill Surfaces dialog box offers the following items used in triangulating the
surface:
Patch subdivision
A list box that specifies the subdivision of the surface. Choose from: 1x1, 2x2, 4x4,
8x8, 16x16, 32x32, and 64x64. For more complex holes, it is appropriate to use a
larger subdivision value. The Max snap distance value is used to determine
whether new control points are projected on the polygonal mesh or not.
Keep surface
A check box that enables keeping the surface used for the fit and filling operation.
By default, the check box is selected.
Figure 11.20 The dialog box used to fit and fill surfaces from a rectangle.
operation mode. To redisplay the dialog box when in this operation mode, choose
the View > Contextual Parameters command.
The Advanced button opens a section that offers the following advanced parameters:
The Max snap distance value is also used for fitting purposes. See Section 18.6.1
Fitting surfaces to a polygonal mesh for complete information on fitting surfaces.
# of iterations
A text box that specifies the number of fitting iterations to perform when
the fitting operation is invoked. Valid values range from 1 to 1000. The
default value is 5.
Subsampling
A combo box that is used to subsample the set of mesh vertices onto
which the surface is fitted. Choose from: 1/1 (all vertices), 1/4 (one of
every four vertices), 1/16 (one of every sixteen vertices), or 1/64 (one of
every sixty-four vertices). A subsampling factor can also manually
specified by typing an integer value to the right of the 1/ characters. This
feature is handy when the number of vertices underneath a surface is
very large. Vertices are randomly chosen to meet the user-specified
subsampling factor.
Pick four points around a hole to create a surface that fills the hole. Follow these
instructions:
1. Choose the Polygons > Repair > Fill Holes > Using 4-Point Surfaces command, or press
the appropriate button on the Polygons toolbar.
2. The dialog box shown in Figure 11.20 is displayed, which is described in the
preceding subsection (Section 11.2.3.6 Creating surfaces to fill holes from a
rectangle).
3. Once the parameters are specified, pick four individual points, the first and fourth
ones representing opposite corners, by clicking while the pointer is located over
rendered model polygons and/or valid 3D objects.
Press the SPACEBAR to temporarily exit the current mode and perform rotations and
translations of the 3D scene. The mode is re-entered by pressing the SPACEBAR
again.
Once the rectangle has been defined, the application automatically subdivides the
surface, fits the surface, and then triangulates the surface.
The dialog box’s Do not show this window check box allows controlling the display of
the dialog box. When it is not displayed, its current settings are applied to the
operation. To redisplay the dialog box when in this operation mode, choose the View >
Contextual Parameters command.
Optical 3D digitizing systems that use markers may result in polygonal models with
holes at the marker locations. A method is offered to automatically solve this problem:
A file containing the markers’ positions is read, Bézier surfaces are created and fitted at
each marker location, and the surfaces are used to triangulate the holes left by the
markers.
This method is invoked by choosing the Polygons > Repair > Fill Markers command or by
pressing the corresponding button on the Polygons toolbar, shown to the right. The
two-tab dialog box shown in Figure 11.21 is displayed. The Fill in markers tab offers
the following parameters:
Figure 11.21 The dialog box used to fill in holes left by markers at positions specified in a marker
file.
Marker format
A list box that specifies the type of marker file format. Two options are available,
ASCII (the marker file is an ASCII point cloud file, which includes VDA point cloud
files) and PolyWorks (the marker file is written in a special format developed by
InnovMetric Software). The default value is PolyWorks.
Marker file
A group box that specifies the path of the marker file containing the marker
positions. Either type the path in the text box or press the Browse button to
interactively specify a file.
Pressing the Browse button displays a file browser to specify a file name and
location. If the Marker format is set to ASCII, the marker position may be
extracted from a multicolumn ASCII file by selecting a standard template from the
Template list box offered in the Import Parameters dialog box that is displayed
prior to opening the selected file, or by clicking its Templates button to define a
custom template. See Section 5.3.1 Importing from text files of the PolyWorks
Reference Guide for more information on point-cloud-reading templates.
The browser window offers the File uses Northing, Easting, Elevation (Swap X
and Y) check box that enables swapping the x and the y coordinates of the
incoming points. Press the Open button to launch the file-reading operation.
IMAlign project
A group box that specifies an IMAlign project describing the set of 3D Images that
has been merged into a polygonal model. Specify the project in the Project name
text box:
If the project is in a workspace, press the Browse button and specify the
project. The project name will appear and the name of the containing
workspace will be displayed in the Workspace file name text box.
Select markers
A list box that controls the set of markers that will be filled. Three options are
available: All Markers (considers all markers), All Valid Markers (considers all
markers closer than the Maximum marker size from the polygonal model), and
Unfilled Markers (considers markers for which the center point is not located
above a triangle).
Clean up radius
A combo box that specifies a radius used in removing any polygonal vertices
within a distance from the marker location. The default value is Automatic.
Choose action
A list box that specifies the algorithm to use to process the markers selected by the
Select markers list box when the Apply button is pressed. Choose from: Clean +
Fill, Clean + Fill + Interactive, Clean + Interactive, Fill, Fill + Interactive, and
Interactive. With respect to the available options:
Clean means that the Clean up radius will be applied to the polygonal
model in the neighborhood of the markers.
Note that the cleanup operation first subdivides the triangles in order to
avoid deleting large triangles having a vertex in the neighborhood of a
marker.
Figure 11.22 The Interactive mode tab of the Fill Markers dialog box (a). The display in Interactive
mode (b). Bounding boxes are drawn around each marker. The red bounding box
encompasses the marker with the focus.
(a)
(b)
Marker filling is started by pressing the Apply button. If Interactive is included in the
action option, the Interactive mode tab, shown in Figure 11.22, opens. In the
interactive mode, all markers are surrounded by a bounding box whose dimensions are
set by the Maximum marker size of the Fill in markers tab. The red bounding box
indicates the currently processed marker. The other markers are surrounded by blue
boxes. This interactive filling dialog box can be used as follows:
Use the Previous and Next buttons to navigate between markers, or click directly on
the blue bounding box of the desired marker. The Current marker item shows the
index of the currently processed marker. If the Lock pose check box is cleared, the
Previous and Next buttons center the view about the current marker.
Use the Zoom button to center and zoom on the currently processed marker.
Use the Clean up group box to delete bad points. The View button selects points
within the Neighborhood radius from the current marker’s center, and the Clean
button removes these points. It is possible to remove the points without previewing
them first.
Press the Undo button to undo, in the inverse order in which they were carried out,
the Fill, View, and Clean actions that are performed on the current marker. Note that
undo levels are kept independent for each marker.
Select the Lock pose check box to disable automatic marker positioning and look at
all markers from a fixed viewpoint.
The Done button makes all modifications effective and exits the marker-filling mode.
The Polygons > Repair submenu offers operations that delete triangles. These
operations can be applied to all types of models.
The Polygons > Repair > Propagate Triangle Orientation command propagates the
orientation of a set of selected triangles (i.e., all of the triangles located in the selection
stack) to all triangles that can be reached by a path of adjacencies. If a polygonal model
has some of its triangles oriented in clockwise order, this operation will correctly orient
all the object triangles, as long as all the selected triangles are oriented in
counterclockwise order. The operation is depicted in Figure 11.23.
This operation may fail if the model contains degenerate edges. A degenerate edge is
shared by more than two triangles. Degenerate edges can create a “Moëbius effect”
and prevent any attempt to consistently orient a 3D surface.
Figure 11.23 An illustration of the Propagate Triangle Orientation operation. Select one or several
correctly oriented triangles. The orientation of these triangles is then iteratively
propagated to adjacent triangles until all reachable triangles are processed.
Propagate Orientation
One selected
triangle
Front-facing triangle
Back-facing triangle
The Polygons > Repair submenu offers operations that allow reorienting inverted
surface normals. These operations can be applied to all types of models, including
models with texture and/or color information. For several applications, it is of major
importance that 3D surface models be correctly oriented. In visualization software, for
example, different rendering techniques can be used for the back and the front faces of
the polygons. A polygonal model is correctly oriented if the vertices of all the model
polygons are specified in a consistent manner. In several file formats, for example, the
vertices of the polygons must be given in counterclockwise order. When a polygonal
model is closed and bounds a finite volume, counterclockwise ordering allows one to
unambiguously orient all polygon normal vectors, making them point toward the
exterior of the volume.
There are two operations that allow modifying the orientation of existing triangles. The
orientation of a set of selected triangles can be inverted. It is also possible to select a set
of correctly oriented triangles and to propagate this orientation to all triangles that can
be reached by a path of adjacencies. To efficiently use these two operations, use
different rendering techniques for the front and back faces of the triangles. InnovMetric
Software suggests displaying front faces in the As Is mode and back faces in the Dark
mode (see Section 8.1.2 Specifying display options). With these settings, dark triangles
Figure 11.24 An illustration of the Invert Triangle Orientation operation. Select a set of triangles
and then invert the ordering of their vertices, thereby inverting their orientation.
Three
selected
triangles
Front-facing triangle
Back-facing triangle
The Polygons > Repair > Invert Triangle Orientation command switches the orientation of
a set of selected triangles (i.e., all triangles in the selection stack). The operation is
illustrated in Figure 11.24.
Two macros can be used to reorient inverted surface normals. The correct_orientation
macro is very efficient in correctly orienting the polygons of polygonal models
generated by solid modeling CAD software. The invert_surface macro is very efficient
in correctly orienting the polygons of a polygonal model from a particular viewing
angle and position. See Section 24.4 Standard macros in IMEdit for additional
information on macros.
Figure 11.25 An illustration of the Merge Vertices operation. Select two close vertices to be merged
and the operation displaces the first selected vertex over the second selected one and
unifies the vertex triangulations.
Merge Vertices
First vertex selection
Some third-party polygonal models imported into IMEdit are badly connected – they
may contain thousands of vertices that look like only a small number in the 3D scene,
but that are in reality separated by a very small distance, for example 0.01 mm.
The Merge Vertices and the Merge Close Vertices commands on the Polygons > Repair
submenu allow correcting this problem.
Choose the Polygons > Repair > Merge Vertices command to merge the selected vertices,
unifying the local triangulation. The operation is shown in Figure 11.25. It applies to the
first two levels of the selection stack. Each level must contain a single vertex. Both
vertices must belong to the same polygonal model
The Polygons > Repair > Merge Close Vertices command allows merging two close
vertices. The operation results in less splinter triangles and an overall cleaner polygonal
model.
On choosing this command, the dialog box shown in Figure 11.26 is displayed. If offers
the following item:
Merging distance
A text box that allows specifying a distance. Vertices closer than this distance are
merged to an existing vertex. The default distance is 0.0 mm.
Press the Apply button to launch the operation, which applies to the triangle/vertex
selection. In the absence of a selection, all visible triangles of polygonal models are
considered. Press the Close button to dismiss the dialog box.
Note that the Tools > Measure Distance > Vertex to Vertex command can be used to
determine the distance between two vertices selected separately.
Choose the Polygons > Repair > Permute Edge command to permute the edge shared by
two adjacent triangles. The common edge is replaced by an edge joining the two
noncommon vertices. The operation is depicted in Figure 11.27.
This operation is applied to the first two levels of the selection stack. Each level must
contain a single triangle. Both triangles must belong to the same polygonal model
Figure 11.27 An illustration of the Permute Edge operation. Select two adjacent triangles. The
operation replaces the common edge by an edge joining the two noncommon
vertices.
Permute Edge
The Polygons > Repair > Slice Intersecting Triangles command detects self-intersections
in selected triangles, and subdivides the triangles such that the intersected segments
correspond to triangle edges.
The operation is useful for manually intersecting two sets of triangles in the same
polygonal model and trimming them at the intersection line.
Figure 11.28 In (a), an example of a polygonal model with selected triangles (in orange and
yellow) and selected vertices (in red). In (b), the polygonal model with the preserved
vertices once the triangle reduction operation is performed using the Tolerance
method and a specific tolerance of 0.05 mm.
(a) (b)
Preserved vertices
To access this tool, choose the Polygons > Optimize > Reduce Triangles command, or
press the corresponding button on the Polygons toolbar, shown to the right, and the
dialog box shown in Figure 11.29 is displayed. If no triangle selection was previously
made, all visible triangles of used polygonal models are considered.
This fully automated tool only requires specifying a method and a reduction level. The
dialog box offers the items that follow.
Method
A list box that offers two methods to reduce the number of triangles in polygonal
models. Choose from: Tolerance (the maximum distance between the polygonal
model’s surface after triangle reduction and the polygonal model’s initial surface)
Figure 11.29 The Reduce Triangles dialog box configured for the Tolerance method (a) and
configured for the Number of Triangles method (b).
(a) (b)
When the Tolerance method is selected, the Parameters section offers the following
items:
Tolerance
A group label that allows selecting the mode to specify the tolerance:
Specific
An option button, selected by default, that enables an adjacent text box
that allows specifying the tolerance used for each polygonal model. Valid
values are greater than zero. The default value is 0.05 mm.
When the Number of Triangles method is selected, the Parameters section offers the
following items:
Percentage
An option button, selected by default, that enables an adjacent text box
that allows specifying a percentage of the initial number of triangles to
preserve for each polygonal model. Valid values are greater than 0 and
smaller than 100. The default value is 80%.
Number
An option button that enables an adjacent text box that allows
specifying, for each polygonal model, a targeted number of triangles.
Valid values are greater than zero. The default value is 500 000.
The More subsection offers the following items that control the reduction results:
Press the Reduce button to perform the reduction operation. The Long Operation in
Progress dialog box appears, displaying a progress bar. The Cancel button allows
cancelling the ongoing operation; the partial reduction operation is undone. Press the
Close button to dismiss the dialog box.
A powerful subdivision method can be used to break selected large triangles into
smaller ones, thereby optimizing the triangle aspect ratio. It is possible to select
vertices within the triangle selection, and they will be preserved by all types of
subdivision algorithms, which allows protecting sharp corners in surface boundaries. It
is also possible to protect all of the vertices from removal by selecting the Keep
original vertices check box (description follows).
Choose the Polygons > Optimize > Subdivide Triangles command or press the
corresponding button on the Polygons toolbar, shown to the right. If no selection is
made, all visible triangles of polygonal models are considered. The dialog box used to
subdivide a selected set of triangles while preserving selected vertices within the
triangle selection, shown in Figure 11.30, is displayed. This section explains the
Figure 11.30 The dialog box used to subdivide large triangles into smaller ones.
parameters of the dialog box, and presents two examples demonstrating applications
of the subdivision technique.
By Edge Length – Subdivides the triangles until their average edge length reaches
a specific value. This method aims at producing triangulations that uniformly sample
a surface. It is a powerful aspect ratio optimization tool.
The Into 4 item subdivides a triangle into four smaller triangles. This method does
not change the current aspect ratio of the triangles. Therefore, the typical application
of this method is adding resolution to an already edited polygonal model in order to
scale up its dimensions.
When the Into 4 type is used, up to two additional parameters must be specified:
The New vertices list box may be set to Linear or Cubic (see Section 11.3.2.2
Generating new vertices using Linear or Cubic algorithms).
If New vertices is set to Cubic, specify a Max dihedral angle that is used to correctly
detect and process sharp edges and corners (see Section 11.3.2.2 Generating new
vertices using Linear or Cubic algorithms).
When the By Edge Length type is selected, the following parameters are available:
Figure 11.31 The original mesh (a), subdivided using the Into 4 method (b), and using the By Edge
Length method (c).
(a)
Subdivision Subdivision
Into 4 By Edge Length
(b) (c)
The New vertices list box may be set to Linear or Cubic (see Section 11.3.2.2
Generating new vertices using Linear or Cubic algorithms).
Specify the target average edge length in the Avg. edge length text box.
If New vertices is set to Cubic, specify a Max dihedral angle that is used to correctly
detect and process sharp edges and corners (see Section 11.3.2.2 Generating new
vertices using Linear or Cubic algorithms).
The New vertices list box determines an interpolation method for new vertices created
by the subdivision algorithm. The effects of the Linear and Cubic methods are shown
in Figure 11.32.
If the Linear method is used, new vertices lie on the surface of existing triangles. As
shown in Figure 11.32 (b), the flat-shaded images before and after subdivision are
exactly the same. If the Cubic method is used instead, a cubic surface is fitted onto the
triangle and the new vertices are mapped onto it. As shown in Figure 11.32 (c), the
Cubic method produces a smooth interpolation. Therefore, the Cubic method is
recommended to add resolution to a triangulation when the polygonal model needs to
be scaled up.
When the Cubic method is used, a Max dihedral angle must be specified. This
parameter is used to detect sharp edges and corners, and to apply specific subdivision
techniques to these features. Edges are not only preserved by the subdivision method,
but they are also subdivided themselves using a Cubic method applied to the edge
curve. As for corners, they are preserved through the subdivision process.
When the By Edge Length type is selected, the Optimize equiangularity check box
may be selected to enable an algorithm that aims at producing equilateral triangles
that uniformly sample the surface. The algorithm proceeds as follows:
The selected set of triangles is subdivided until the average edge length reaches a
fraction of the Avg. edge length. This fraction is equal to the Intermediate edge
ratio, available in the Advanced section of the subdivision dialog box. The default
value is 0.5.
For example, if Avg. edge length is set to 2.0 mm, the application would initially
subdivide until the average edge length reaches 1.0 mm (i.e., 0.5 times 2.0).
The fine triangulation is decimated to bring the average edge length up to Avg.
edge length.
The Keep original vertices check box in the Advanced section specifies whether
the original vertices of the unsubdivided polygonal model should be preserved or
not.
For more aspect ratio optimization, the check box should be cleared to allow the
removal of original vertices.
Note that vertices selected within the triangle selection that is input to the
subdivision algorithms are automatically preserved.
Figure 11.32 In (a), the polygonal model before subdivision. Generating new vertices using linear
subdivision in (b), and cubic subdivision in (c) which produces a smooth
interpolation.
Figure 11.33 The mesh in (a) is subdivided using parameters that increase the aspect ratio of the
triangulation. The result preserves the sharp edge (b).
(a) (b)
Note that the Max dihedral angle is required by equiangularity optimization, even
when New vertices is set to Linear. This parameter is used to detect sharp edges and
corners, and to apply appropriate processing to these features.
Car clay models and artistic sculptures often need to be scaled up to machine a larger
version. PolyWorks can be used to produce an optimal polygonal mesh of the object. At
the current object scale the polygonal model may look great, but scaling up may reveal
facets and very small unwanted defects.
Subdivision is a powerful technique that allows preventing these problems. Use the
subdivision method as follows:
This operation will multiply by four the number of triangles, smoothly interpolating
new vertices that follow the curvature of the object. The subdivided polygonal model
may then be safely scaled up and machined at a large scale.
Figure 11.34 The dialog box used to optimize the mesh of a polygonal model.
An example of an aspect ratio optimization process is shown in Figure 11.33. The image
on the left shows a section of a tessellated surface. There are many skinny triangles with
a high aspect ratio. In the image on the right, the triangles are almost equilateral and
have the optimal aspect ratio, and the sharp edge is preserved. Use the subdivision
method as follows:
2. Set New vertices to Linear. Smooth interpolation is not required as the tessellation
tolerance used to produce the triangulation guarantees a user-desired accuracy.
6. In the Advanced section of the dialog box, leave the Intermediate edge ratio at 0.5
and the Keep original vertices at not selected.
Choose the Polygons > Optimize > Optimize Curvature command or press the
corresponding button on the Polygons toolbar, shown to the right. If no selection is
made, all visible triangles of polygonal models are considered. The dialog box shown in
Figure 11.34 is displayed, offering the following parameters:
Sensitivity (degrees)
A text box that specifies the angular difference, in degrees, between the concavity
of a pair of triangles and that of the surrounding area, and controls the point at
which the algorithm will start optimizing by performing an edge swap. The default
value is 1 degree.
The four other parameters of the dialog box are used to prevent an edge swap between
an adjacent pair of triangles when the resulting triangles would not meet the specified
criteria:
It is possible to specify not performing this operation on pairs of triangles that belong
to different triangle groups, thus preserving the triangle group boundaries, by
selecting the Preserve triangle groups check box.
Press the Apply button to launch the operation, and the Close button to dismiss the
dialog box.
The mesh optimization procedure is applied to pairs of triangles. For each processed
pair of triangles, the pair’s neighborhood is analyzed to determine if the region is
concave or convex. If the neighborhood is convex and the pair of triangles is concave,
the common edge shared by the two adjacent triangles is permuted to make the pair of
triangles convex. The same operation is performed if the neighborhood is concave and
the pair of triangles is convex. For more information on permuting triangles edges, see
Section 11.2.9 Permuting the edge between two adjacent triangles.
After the mesh optimization operation, the triangulated mesh is more consistent and
the surface curvature is better described. Note that mesh optimization works best if the
polygonal mesh is relatively smooth. See Section 11.2.1 Smoothing vertices for more
information on smoothing vertices.
Figure 11.35 The dialog box used to improve the equiangularity of the surface of a polygonal
model.
To optimize the equiangularity of model triangles, choose the Polygons > Optimize >
Improve Equiangularity command, or press the corresponding button on the Polygons
toolbar, shown to the right. This tool aims at improving the equiangularity of selected
polygonal model triangles, while preserving the shape of the model and minimizing
the number of added triangles. On choosing the command, the dialog box shown in
Figure 11.35 is displayed, offering the following items:
Note that it is possible to select vertices within the triangle selection, and they will be
preserved by all types of subdivision algorithms; this is useful in protecting sharp
corners in surface boundaries.
Fitted NURBS patches can be used to resample a polygonal model. By default, all visible
elements of polygonal models are considered. It is also possible to apply the operation
using selected elements.
To launch the operation, choose the Polygons > Optimize > Resample using Fitted NURBS
Patches command or press the corresponding button on the Polygons toolbar (shown
to the right) . The dialog box shown in Figure 11.36 is displayed, offering the following
items:
Figure 11.36 The dialog box used to resample the polygonal model using fitted NURBS patches.
Tessellation tolerance
A text box that specifies a tessellation tolerance to be applied to the
NURBS patch surfaces. The tessellation tolerance represents the
maximum chordal deviation between a NURBS surface and its polygonal
representation. The default value is 0.01 mm.
Note that the Min edge length setting has priority over the Tessellation
tolerance setting. As a result, when Min edge length is set to a value
other than 0, the Tessellation tolerance parameter may not always be
applied.
Figure 11.37 Recreating or resampling the polygonal model’s surface mesh using fitted NURBS
patches.
Press the Apply button to launch the operation. The selected NURBS patches are
sampled. Sample points are projected on the polygonal model to recreate a new
polygonal mesh which is inserted into the polygonal model. Press the Close button to
dismiss the dialog box.
The operation consists first in selecting fitted NURBS patches. Then, the NURBS patches
are sampled, forming a regular grid. Sample points within the Max projection
distance are projected to the polygonal model surface. The existing mesh is discarded,
and the sample points are used to recreate a new polygonal mesh which is inserted
into the polygonal model. See Figure 11.37 for an example of a resampled surface
mesh.
To launch the operation, choose the Polygons > Fillet command, or the corresponding
button on the Polygons toolbar, shown to the right. The rolling ball algorithm is applied
to all selected triangles. If no selection is made, all visible triangles of polygonal models
are considered. The dialog box shown in Figure 12.1 is displayed, offering the following
parameters:
Apply to
A list box that specifies if Concavities or Convexities will be processed. When
Concavities are processed, the ball is rolled on top of the surface. When
Convexities are processed, the ball is rolled below the surface.
Radius
A text box that specifies the radius of the rolling ball.
Subdivision step
A combo box that specifies a subdivision factor for the filleted sections of the
polygonal surface. Choose from: 20.0 and 40.0 percent of the radius, as well as No
Subdivision. Another radius percentage can be entered directly in the combo
box.
When the rolling ball algorithm detects an area to be filleted, the neighboring
triangles are subdivided until the average vertex-to-vertex distance reaches the
Figure 12.2 Features before and after a rolling ball filleting operation.
user-specified Subdivision step. A lower step improves the quality of the rolling
ball results at the expense of additional computing time and additional triangles
in the filleted area.
The Advanced button controls the display of the bottom section of the dialog box that
offers one item:
3D neighborhood
A text box that determines the 3D neighborhood considered for the rolling ball
computations. The default value is 180.0% of the radius. The value of the 3D
neighborhood parameter should be increased when the selected area contains
very acute angles.
Filtering is performed by pressing the Apply button. Press the Close button to dismiss
the dialog box. For an example of rolling ball filleting, see Figure 12.2.
The Type list box offers five different methods of extruding selected boundaries; each
one enables the extension of the triangulation in a particular direction:
Along Plane Normal Extends the surface in the direction of Figure 12.4 (a)
a selected plane’s normal vector.
Project onto Plane Extends the surface in the direction of Figure 12.5 (e)
a selected plane’s normal vector, until
the plane’s surface is intersected.
(a) (b)
Normal to surface
Tangent to
surface
In (a), the object surface before extrusion. (b) Arrows indicating the direction of an extrusion
normal and tangent to the surface of a triangle.
Along plane normal – Extrudes the surface along the direction of the plane’s normal vector.
Along tangent – Extends the surface in a direction tangent to the surface. Note that each
extruded triangle is tangent to its related boundary triangle’s surface. To the left, selected
boundary vertices; to the right, a dark line emphasizes the inside edge of the boundary
extrusion.
Normal – Extends the surface in a direction normal to the surface. Note that each extruded
triangle is normal to its related boundary triangle’s surface.
Parallel to plane – To the left the boundary selection and direction of extrusion (the direction
of the darker arrow). To the right, the extrusion outward and parallel to the plane.
-b-
-a-
Project to plane – To the left, the model with the plane, and underneath it the model
projected onto the plane. To the right, the surface is extended downward at -a-, or upward at -
b-, in the direction of the plane’s normal vector, to join the plane’s surface.
2. Display the extrusion dialog box by choosing the Polygons > Extrude Boundaries
command.
3. Choose one of the extrusion methods using the Type list box. Depending on the
method chosen, the following operations must be done:
Method Operations
Project onto Plane Requires that a plane be selected in the tree view.
4. Select the Subdivide check box to subdivide long triangles into smaller ones.
12.2.1 Specifying the extrusion direction for the Parallel to Plane type
When the Parallel to Plane extrusion method is used, the dialog box shown to the
right in Figure 12.3 is displayed to specify the extrusion direction for each selected
boundary. The # of directions determined text box displays the number of directions
determined over the total number of directions to determine. Use the Previous and
Next buttons to navigate through selected boundaries – for each boundary, click one
of the two arrows to indicate the extrusion direction. Once all of the directions have
been specified, press the Done button to perform the extrusion.
To offset a polygonal surface, select the desired triangles and choose the Polygons >
Offset command or press the corresponding button on the Polygons toolbar (shown to
the right); if no selection is made, all visible triangles of polygonal models are
considered. The dialog box shown in Figure 12.6 is displayed, offering the following
items:
Offset
A text box that specifies the offset distance. A positive offset distance indicates
that the polygonal model grows; the offset surface is then be created above the
input surface. Conversely, a negative offset distance indicates that the model
shrinks; the offset surface is then be created below the input surface. The default
value is 10.00 mm.
Type
A list box that controls the type of offset. Choose from: Normal (indicates a true
offset normal to the surface) and Unidirectional (indicates an offset computed in
one direction). A plane must be selected to use the Unidirectional type – the
offset is then computed in the direction of the plane’s normal vector. The default
value is Normal.
Invert normals
A check box that enables automatically inverting the orientation of the offset
surface triangles with respect to the input surface. Normally, the offset surface has
the same orientation as the input surface.
Walls
A check box that enables creating walls joining the input and offset surfaces. Walls
consists of triangles connecting the input and offset surface boundaries. If there
are no boundaries, no walls are generated. Note that wall triangles have the same
orientation as offset triangles. By default, the check box is cleared.
3D neighborhood
A text box that specifies the 3D neighborhood considered for the offset
computations. The default value is 180.0% of the offset. The value of 3D
neighborhood should be increased when the selected area contains very acute
angles.
Offsetting is performed by pressing the Apply button; press the Close button to
dismiss the dialog box. Note the following:
Topological anomalies are not allowed in the input surface. If the application reports
any topological anomalies, see Section 11.1.1 Inspecting and correcting the
topology of a triangulation to correct the anomalies prior to performing the
offsetting operation.
When the offsetting algorithm cannot compute an offset without locally generating
a self-intersection, a message is displayed and holes are left in these areas. A
boundary inspection tool is available that allows detecting holes (see Section 11.1.2
Inspecting boundaries for surface closure).
After having computed an offset surface and walls, two new groups of triangles are
created, one for the offset and one for the walls. Selecting the offset or walls is then
easily achieved by performing an interactive group-selection operation (see Section 7.4
Selecting triangle groups from triangles).
Figure 12.7 An illustration of the process to offset a polygonal surface. In this case, a negative
offset of -2 mm was used to create an offset surface below the input surface, the
offset type was Normal, and the Walls check box was selected.
Wall
The offsetting algorithm will then generate a shrunk version of the input surface whose
orientation points toward the inner part of the object. The input and offset surface
together enclose a thin volume that can be reproduced by a rapid prototyping device.
The offsetting algorithm will generate an offset surface and walls that connect the
offset to the input surface, in order to create a solid object. See Figure 12.7.
2. Define the mirror plane. Only one plane must be selected in the tree view.
3. Choose the Polygons > Mirror Copy command or press the corresponding button on
the Polygons toolbar, shown to the right. Vertices of the selected area lying on the
mirror plane will not be duplicated, and the mirrored part will be connected to the
original part at these vertices.
Choose the Polygons > Create Walls command, or press the corresponding button on
the Polygons toolbar, shown to the right. The dialog box shown in Figure 12.8 is
displayed, offering the items that follow:
Max distance
A text box that allows specifying a maximum distance between the two opposite
surfaces. Valid values are greater than 0. The default value is 0 mm.
Press the Apply button to launch the operation. Repeat if desired. Press the Close
button to dismiss the dialog box.
Walls are built using subdivision between two opposing surfaces that are within the
specified distance.
Using curves, create a closed area delimiting the area where the groove is to be built.
The curves must intersect each other (magnetic curves) and must be inserted into the
polygonal model.
1. Define one groove boundary curve that is magnetic. The boundary curve can be
manually anchored or automatically or manually extracted (see Section 17.2.3
Creating center curves).
2. Create a second curve parallel to the first one. The Curve Offset operation can be
used for this purpose.
3. Create additional magnetic curves, so that they intersect curves previously created.
4. Insert the curves in the polygonal model (see Section 12.9.1 Inserting curves into a
polygonal mesh).
1. Enter Select Elements mode. Select the triangles between the curves by holding
down the SHIFT key and right-clicking within the groove area and clicking the Select
up to Curves or the Select up to Curves & Endpoints operations on the shortcut menu
(see Section 7.3.3.1.1 Selecting triangles interactively).
2. Choose the Polygons > Create Grooves using Curves command. The dialog box shown
in Figure 12.9 is displayed, offering two parameters:
Offset
A combo box that specifies an offset for the triangulation. The triangulation may
be offset above or below the curves by specifying, respectively, a positive or a
negative offset value. Typically, grooves are reconstructed using negative offset
values. The combo box can also be set to No Offset.
Subdivision step
A combo box that specifies a method to use to follow the natural curvature of the
surrounding triangles. Two options are offered:
Note that the triangles of the reconstructed groove are automatically grouped in a new
triangle group, if the grouping policy option allows it.
(a) Four magnetic curves, inserted in (b) The triangles within the groove area
the model, delimit the groove area are deleted to allow reconstruction
Figure 12.11 The dialog box used to cut holes in polygonal models using planar curves.
Choose the Polygons > Cut Holes using Curves command, or press the corresponding
button on the Polygons toolbar, shown to the right. The dialog box, shown in Figure
12.11, is displayed offering the following items:
Polygonal model
A list box that allows selecting the polygonal model in which holes will be cut.
Only the used polygonal models are listed.
Extrusion distance
A text box that allows specifying a distance value by which the selected planar
curve will be extruded. Curves are extruded in both directions, as shown in red in
Figure 12.12. The solid created is used to punch the polygonal model at the
intersection of its surface. The default extrusion distance value is 4.0 mm.
Sampling step
A text box that allows specifying a sampling step value applied to the planar curve,
creating a polyline that will be used to cut the polygonal model. The sampling step
will guarantee a density of vertices in the set of new triangles generated by the
extrusion operation. A smaller value will result in a smooth curve. The default
value is 0.1 mm.
See Figure 12.12 (a) for an example using a large sampling step and Figure
12.12 (b) for an example using a small sampling step.
Figure 12.12 Cutting and extruding holes in polygonal models using (a) a large sampling step or
(b) a small sampling step.
(a) (b)
Extrusion distance = 40 mm
Method
A group box that offers two cutting methods:
Cut
An option button that cuts the polygonal model surface at the
intersection of the extruded curve and the surface. Note that when the
extruded curve intersects both the top and the bottom surface of a solid
polygonal model, both surfaces will be cut. See Figure 12.13 (a) for an
example.
Figure 12.13 An example of (a) a hole cut in a polygonal model and (b) a hole cut and extruded in
a polygonal model.
(a) (b)
Preview
A button that, when pressed, displays a preview of the extruded curve according
to the specified Extrusion distance and Sampling step, as shown in Figure
12.12 (a) and (b).
Press the Apply button to launch the cutting operation. Press the Close button to
cancel the operation and close the dialog box.
Figure 12.14 The dialog box used to slice a polygonal model with a plane.
A surface can be sliced and the objects on each side of the plane can be capped
automatically. An optional dowel creation tool is available to add dowels to the
capped areas. This function is particularly useful for rapid prototyping applications
where a polygonal solid must be divided into several polygonal solids.
Slicing operations are applied to all selected triangles; if no selection is made, all visible
triangles of polygonal models are considered. The slicing dialog box, shown in Figure
12.14, is displayed by choosing the Polygons > Slice > With Plane command or by
pressing the corresponding button on the Polygons toolbar, shown to the right.
It is possible to slice an object with a plane that caps the objects on both sides of the
plane. Capping is possible only if the surface intersected by the plane is closed. The
slicing and capping operation can be used to divide a polygonal solid into several
polygonal solids.
1. Define the slicing plane. Only one plane must be selected in the tree view.
2. Display the slicing dialog box by choosing the Polygons > Slice > With Plane
command, or by pressing the corresponding button on the Polygons toolbar, shown
to the right.
In addition to automatically capping the objects on each side of the slicing plane, it is
possible to create male and female dowels on the capped areas. When an object needs
to be reproduced in several passes by a rapid prototyping machine, dowels allow the
prototypes to be easily reassembled.
1. Define the slicing plane. Only one plane must be selected in the tree view.
2. Display the slicing dialog box by choosing the Polygons > Slice > With Plane
command, or by pressing the corresponding button on the Polygons toolbar, shown
to the right.
3. Select the Cap Inside + Dowels item in the Type list box.
The selected area is sliced, and the dowel-editing dialog box, shown in Figure 12.15,
is displayed.
About dowels:
A dowel consists of a regular polygon lying on the slicing plane and extruded in
3D.
Dowels have a gender. A Male dowel is extruded toward the exterior of the sliced
object, while a Female dowel is extruded toward the interior of the sliced object,
thus removing material from the object. Male dowels are drawn in blue and
Female dowels are drawn in pink.
5. Press the Properties button to hide/show the dowel properties section of the
dialog box. Specify the properties:
3D safety margin
A text box that specifies a 3D distance that must be respected between
dowels on the same capped area, as well as between dowels and any
polygonal model triangle. This parameter guarantees that dowels will not be
too close to the rest of the model.
Radius
A text box that determines the radius of the circle circumscribing the regular
dowel polygon.
Figure 12.16 An example of capping and dowels. The closed polygonal model surface is sliced with
a plane (a). The object is capped and dowels are created (b).
(a) (b)
Depth
A text box that specifies the 3D depth of the dowel (i.e., the extrusion
distance).
Sides
A list box that specifies the number of sides of the dowel’s polygon.
Type
A list box that specifies the dowel’s gender: Male or Female. It is possible to
disable the creation of Mirror dowels by specifying a None type.
To save/load a dowel property file, use the Load and Save commands of the File
menu of the Anchor Dowels dialog box.
6.1 Interactively – click over desired dowel locations on one of the two
capped areas. The pointer may be configured to be shaped like a dowel
(see Section 22.3.1 3D Scene display options). To remove an existing
dowel, click it. A dowel is only created if it is further than the 3D safety
margin distance from neighboring dowels.
6.2 Numerically – Enter (x, y, z) coordinates in the Dowel Position group box
and then press the Create (x, y, z) button.
If the dowels intersect a polygonal model triangle, the application returns to the
dowel-anchoring mode and draws a gray X on the invalid dowels.
If the 3D safety margin distance separating two dowels on the same capped
area is not respected, a red X is drawn on the invalid dowels.
8. Remove invalid dowels, if any, by clicking over them, and press the Done button
again. Repeat if necessary.
In the operations described in the two previous sections, the polygonal model is sliced
and the interior of the sliced objects is filled with new triangles. An operation allows
defining a 3D rectangle enclosing the sliced objects, and filling the space between this
rectangle and the sliced objects with new triangles. This operation is useful to extrude a
polygonal surface for 3-axis machining purposes. To perform this operation:
1. Define the slicing plane. Only one plane must be selected in the tree view.
2. Display the slicing dialog box by choosing the Polygons > Slice > With Plane
command or by pressing the corresponding button on the Polygons toolbar, shown
to the right.
4. Press the Apply button. The dialog box that allows the editing of 3D rectangles,
shown in Figure 12.18, then is displayed.
5. The extrusion algorithm fills the space between a 3D rectangle lying on the slicing
plane and the sliced objects. By default, no new vertices are added to the area,
which may result in elongated triangles. To create better looking triangles, a
sampling step can be entered in the Sampling step combo box. The sampling step
will guarantee a density of vertices in the set of new triangles generated by the
extrusion operation.
6. One or several contours of the sliced object and the 3D rectangle enclosing these
contours are displayed simultaneously. The contours and rectangle are viewed in
orthogonal projection mode and the viewing axis is the slicing plane’s normal
vector.
The 3D rectangle-editing dialog box provides all the tools, in the Rectangle
parameters group box, to specify the rectangle’s position and dimension:
Position
The x, y, and z text boxes specify the 3D coordinates of the rectangle’s center.
It is not necessary to specify a point lying perfectly on the slicing plane. The
point is automatically projected on the plane if necessary.
Width
A text box that specifies the width of the 3D rectangle.
Height
A text box that specifies the height of the 3D rectangle.
Angle, with
The Angle text box allows specifying an angle, in degrees, with respect to
the axis (i.e., x-axis, y-axis, z-axis) specified in the with list box.
Modifications to the position, width, height, angle, and/or axis are applied on
pressing the Set button. The Revert button resets the position, width, height, angle,
and axis to their original values.
It is also possible to translate the rectangle along its width or height through the
Rectangle translations group box. Specify a translation value in the Units text box,
choose width or height in the along list box, and press the Apply button.
The last available slicing operation allows inserting the intersection between the plane
and the object in the object’s polygons. Unlike the previous slicing operations, this
operation does not require a closed surface and does not disconnect the polygonal
model in two parts. The insertion operation is useful to trim away undesirable data.
Triangle and vertex selection techniques allow selecting data above or below a
selected plane (for more information on selection techniques, see Section 7.3.3.1.1
Selecting triangles interactively and Section 7.3.3.1.2 Selecting vertices interactively).
To insert the intersection:
1. Define the slicing plane. Only one plane must be selected in the tree view.
2. Display the slicing dialog box by choosing the Polygons > Slice With Plane command
or by pressing the corresponding button on the Polygons toolbar, shown to the
right.
Figure 12.19 The dialog box used when slicing a mesh with curves.
The Polygons > Slice > With Curves command, or the corresponding button on the
Polygons toolbar shown to the right, invokes a slicing algorithm based on selected
curves. When pressed, the dialog box shown in Figure 12.19 is displayed. Specify a Max
snap distance. Only the part of the mesh beneath the curve, within this distance, will
be sliced. Press the Apply button. If no preselection of triangles is made, all visible
triangles of polygonal models are considered.
The slicing operation cuts the triangles underneath a curve for segmentation and
trimming purposes. Unlike curve insertion, the curve-slicing algorithm is not
concerned by the aspect ratio of triangles and can generate sliver triangles.
To insert selected curves into a polygonal mesh, choose the Polygons > Insert > Curves
command or press the corresponding button (shown to the right) on the Polygons
toolbar. The dialog box shown in Figure 12.20 is displayed, offering the following items:
Insertion method
A list box that allows specifying the insertion method to use for boundary and
edge curves. It offers two choices: Standard, or Type Specific. Standard means
that the insertion of all selected curves will be done using the parameters of the
Standard method group box. Type Specific means that selected boundary and
edge curves will use a predefined insertion method, and that selected standard
curves will be inserted using the parameters of the Standard method group box.
Standard curve/method
A group box that allows specifying insertion parameters that apply to standard
curves, and that also apply to boundary and edge curves if the Insertion method
is set to Standard. It offers three items:
Triangulation option
A list box that specifies rebuilding the deleted mesh. For standard curves,
the mesh may be rebuilt on Both Sides of the curves, or only on the Left
side, or only on the Right side of the curves. For boundary curves, the
mesh is rebuilt on the meshed side of the curve. For edge curves, the
mesh is rebuilt on both the right and the left side of the curve, within the
trim distance.
Sampling step
A group box that offers two option buttons that allow specifying the sampling
step parameters:
Fixed
An option button that makes available a text box to specify the distance
(step) between the new vertices that will be created along the selected
curves. It is suggested to use a value close to the average triangle edge
length of the surrounding triangles. The following methods can be used
to estimate a value:
Variable
An option button that makes available two text boxes to specify a
variable distance (step) between the new vertices that will be created
along the selected curves. The Tolerance text box allows specifying a
maximum value within which each polyline connecting vertices along
the curve must be from the original curve. The Minimum step text box
allows specifying the smallest authorized interval between vertices
created along the curve.
The dialog box also offers the Advanced section that offers the following item:
Fill in holes
A check box that enables the Hole filling distance text box immediately
underneath it. The parts of holes completely within the Hole filling distance from
either side of the selected curves and included in the trim distance will be
reconstructed.
Press the View button to view the curve vertices and the Trim distance lines using the
current specifications. One or more specifications may be changed; press the View
button again to see them applied. A special pointer consisting of an arrow and a capital
V identify the View mode. In this mode, objects in the 3D scene can be moved and
zoomed in on. Press the ESC key to exit the mode.
To insert the selected curves into the polygonal mesh, press the Insert button. To
dismiss the dialog box, press the Close button.
The curve is sampled using the specified Sampling step. For example, if a Fixed
value of 3.0 mm is specified, the curve will be sampled at every 3.0 millimeters. If
variable values have been specified, the curve will be sampled at a variable interval
according to the specified parameters. For each pair of consecutive sample points, a
new triangle edge will be created in the polygonal mesh.
The polygonal mesh is subdivided on the left and the right sides of the curve to
prepare the mesh for the removal of a set of triangles underneath the curve.
An area along the curve is deleted from the polygonal model. For a standard curve,
the defined standard insertion method parameters are used. The area is composed
of a fixed or variable distance along one or both sides of the curve.
If the Insertion method is Standard, all curves use the standard insertion
method parameters.
If the Insertion method is Type specific, standard curves use the standard
insertion method parameters, for an edge curve this corresponds to its left and
right trim distance and for a boundary curve, it is a trim distance to the mesh side
of the curve.
New triangles are computed and added to the polygonal mesh. For a standard curve,
the Triangulation option value is used. In the case of an edge curve, triangles are
inserted on both sides of the curve. For a boundary curve, triangles are inserted on
the mesh side of the curve.
For boundary and edge curves, new triangles are subdivided using cubic
interpolation for a smoother result.
Fitted NURBS patches can be inserted in a polygonal model to edit its surface. By
default, all visible elements of polygonal models are considered. It is also possible to
apply the operation using selected elements.
This operation consists first in selecting fitted NURBS patches. Then, the fitted NURBS
patches are sampled, forming a regular grid. Triangles are created based on the regular
grid, forming a regular polygonal mesh for each NURBS patch. These new triangles are
inserted into the polygonal model, replacing the underlying or overlying polygonal
mesh. See Figure 12.21 for an example of a polygonal surface mesh recreated from
NURBS patches.
Figure 12.21 Recreating the polygonal model’s surface mesh using fitted NURBS patches.
To proceed, select fitted NURBS patches, and then choose the Polygons > Insert > Fitted
NURBS Patches command or press the corresponding button on the Polygons toolbar,
shown to the right. The dialog box shown in Figure 12.22 is displayed, offering the
following items:
Figure 12.22 The dialog box used to insert fitted NURBS patches in a polygonal model.
Tessellation tolerance
A text box that specifies a tessellation tolerance to be applied to the
NURBS patch surfaces. The tessellation tolerance represents the
maximum chordal deviation between a NURBS surface and its polygonal
representation. The default value is 0.01 mm.
Note that the Min edge length setting has priority over the Tessellation
tolerance setting. As a result, when Min edge length is set to a value other than
0, the Tessellation tolerance parameter may not always be applied.
Blending distance
A text box that specifies the distance from which inserted triangles start to blend
into original triangles. The default value is 0.0 mm.
Press the Apply button to launch the operation. The selected NURBS patches are
sampled. A regular polygonal mesh is inserted into the polygonal model. Press the
Close button to dismiss the dialog box.
in the Polygons > Sculpt submenu. There are three different methods of initiating a
sculpting operation:
Select the control points which will be affected by the control point
manipulation methods.
Invoke the sculpting operation by choosing the Polygons > Sculpt > Using
Surfaces command.
A new sculpting surface can be defined by anchoring four points. See Section 12.10.3
Creating surfaces for sculpting purposes from 4 picked points for more information.
The viewpoint is frozen during a sculpting operation. To modify the viewpoint, press
the SPACEBAR, perform rotations and translations, and then press the SPACEBAR again.
A sculpting operation is exited by pressing the ESC key.
It is possible to create surfaces for sculpting purposes from a rectangle. Follow these
instructions:
The Auto-fit check box enables specifying that the surfaces be automatically fit on
creation. When this item is selected, the Show fitting error check box becomes
available to enable displaying the fit results. It is possible to project new rows and
columns onto the polygonal model by selecting the Snap new rows/columns onto
Figure 12.23 An example of a sculpting operation. A surface made of 4 cubic patches is first
defined. (a) The control point pointed by the arrow is selected prior to choosing the
Polygons > Sculpt > Using Surfaces command. (b) The control point is displaced
along the surface normal vector at this location. Note how triangles and vertices
follow the deformation of the surface.
(a) (b)
Figure 12.24 The dialog box used to anchor surfaces for sculpting purposes.
model check box. The Advanced button opens a hidden section of the dialog box
that contains the Max snap distance and fit parameters. See Section 18.6.1 Fitting
surfaces to a polygonal mesh for complete information on fitting surfaces.
Press the SPACEBAR to temporarily exit the current mode and perform rotations and
translations of the 3D scene. The mode is re-entered by pressing the SPACEBAR
again.
Once the rectangle has been defined, the application automatically doubles the
number of rows and columns, attaches the triangles and vertices to the new surface,
and selects the central control point. For more information on sculpting operations, see
Section 12.10 Sculpting operations.
The dialog box’s Do not show this window check box allows controlling the display of
the dialog box. When it is not displayed, its current settings are applied to the
operation. To redisplay the dialog box when in this operation mode, choose the View >
Contextual Parameters command.
It is possible to create surfaces for sculpting purposes from four user-picked points.
Follow these instructions:
The Auto-fit check box enables specifying that the surfaces be automatically fit on
creation. When this item is selected, the Show fitting error check box becomes
available that enables displaying the fit results. It is possible to project new rows and
columns onto the polygonal model by selecting the Snap new rows/columns onto
model check box. The Advanced button opens a hidden section of the dialog box
that contains the Max snap distance and fit parameters. See Section 18.6.1 Fitting
surfaces to a polygonal mesh for complete information on fitting surfaces.
3. Once the parameters are specified, pick four individual points, the first and fourth
ones representing opposite corners, by clicking while the pointer is located over
rendered model polygons and/or valid 3D objects.
Press the SPACEBAR to temporarily exit the current mode and perform rotations and
translations of the 3D scene. The mode is re-entered by pressing the SPACEBAR
again.
Once the rectangle has been defined, the application automatically doubles the
number of rows and columns, attaches the triangles and vertices to the new surface,
and selects the central control point. For more information on sculpting operations, see
Section 12.10.1 Sculpting a polygonal surface.
The dialog box’s Do not show this window check box allows controlling the display of
the dialog box. When it is not displayed, its current settings are applied to the
operation. To redisplay the dialog box when in this operation mode, choose the View >
Contextual Parameters command.
Figure 12.25 The goal is to morph near-perfect polygonal model (b) into polygonal model (a) in
order to create a near copy of model (a) but without the noise.
12.11.1 Introduction
Morphing is a process whereby one or more polygonal models are transformed based
on displacement constraints that are defined for certain of its vertices and hole centers.
When the morphing operation is launched, it determines the displacement to apply to
all of the vertices of the model that (a) respect the constraints while (b) conserving as
much as possible the characteristics of the model.
A typical use of this tool is a user who has a digitized mesh (polygonal model) of a part
that cannot be used in a specific downstream software because it has too much noise.
The user also has a perfect CAD model of the same part. The objective of the morphing
process in this example is essentially to transform the perfect CAD model into a near
copy of the digitized mesh model but without the noise. See Figure 12.25.
First, the digitized mesh model and the CAD model are aligned in another software, like
IMInspect, and imported in IMEdit as, respectively, a polygonal model and a NURBS
model. The rest of the operations and the morphing is done in IMEdit.
Next, the NURBS model is used to create a polygonal model (source polygonal model),
which is the model to which the morphing will be applied. For more information, see
Section 10.1.3 Creating polygonal models from selected NURBS models.
After that, constraining points are determined by picking in a split view mode in the 3D
scene. They allow specifying morphing position constraints for certain vertices or hole
centers. The two polygonal models may be compared before the morphing operation
and again afterward to see the affect of the morphing by way of a deviation color map.
A Preview mode allows visualizing the morphing results.
Finally the morphing is applied to the source polygonal model. The morphing
operation determines the displacement to apply to all of the vertices of the source
polygonal model in order to (a) respect the morphing constraint positions while (b)
conserving as much as possible the characteristics of the model.
Align the digitized mesh polygonal models and the NURBS models.
If desired, create curve-based Features (e.g., circle, slot, ellipse, and rectangle
(with or without rounded corners) on the digitized mesh polygonal models. The
Morph Polygonal Models mode allows the automatic display of geometric curve
centers.
Import the NURBS models and then convert them to polygonal models. They are
the polygonal models to morph, referred to as the source polygonal models.
Import the digitized mesh polygonal models. They are referred to as the
destination polygonal models.
Import the curve-based Features as closed curves for the destination polygonal
models. The curves must describe the following geometric shapes: circle, slot,
ellipse, and rectangle (with or without rounded corners). See Figure 12.26.
4. Choose the Polygons > Morph Polygonal Model command, which enters a special
mode: (a) the Morph Polygonal Models dialog box is displayed offering items
grouped within three sections, (b) the Morphing Constraining Points pane is also
displayed, and (c) an interactive split view mode is activated in the 3D Scene pane.
See Figure 12.27. With respect to the split view mode:
The right viewport shows the selected polygonal models, which are the ones to
morph (referred to as the source models).
Figure 12.26 In the illustration above, closed curves of specific geometries have been imported.
When in the Morph Polygonal Model mode, the geometric curve centers can be
displayed to pick constraining point pairs.
The left viewport shows the remaining visible objects. It is usual to display in the
left viewport the destination polygonal models (e.g., the digitized mesh of the
typical use example), and any other object to use when picking constraining
point pairs. Note that the destination polygonal models are used by the auto-
matched constraining points and for the comparison operation.
5. Compare the source and the destination models using the two items at the top of
the dialog box:
A color scale allows interpreting the results. The maximum values of the color scale
correspond to the largest errors. The color scale can be configured by right-
clicking.
6. Create constraining points (see Section 12.11.5 Creating constraining points), and
specify morphing options (see Section 12.11.6 Specifying morphing options). The
constraining points can be edited (see Section 12.11.7 Using the Morphing
Constraining Points pane).
7. Press the Preview button to preview the polygonal model morphing operation, or
press the OK button to launch the morphing operation without performing a
preview and close the dialog box, or press the Cancel button to end the operation.
Note that when the Cancel button is pressed, the morphing results are lost.
When the Preview button is pressed, the result is displayed in the right viewport.
Auto-match points for which a match could not be found are displayed using a red
Figure 12.28 The Show error map check box compares the destination and source polygonal
models and renders the errors as a color map. This tool allows the visualization of the
morphing operation results and may give hints as to where to add/remove
constraining points in order to obtain better results.
annotation. Note that if there are no nonignored constraining points, the morphing
operation will result in unchanged source polygonal models.
The time to create the preview is a function of the number of triangles in the source
models. The preview time can be lessened by reducing the number of triangles by
a specified percentage (see the Triangle reduction (%) check box of the dialog box,
described in Section 12.11.6 Specifying morphing options).
9. Press the Confirm button to confirm the previewed morphing result. The dialog box
is closed.
When the operation is launched, the specified morphing position constraints are
applied and the new location of all of the other vertices on the source polygonal
models is determined in a manner that allows conserving as much as possible the
original characteristics of the models.
Figure 12.29 The Comparison options section of the Morph Polygonal Models dialog box.
The Comparison options section of the dialog box, shown in Figure 12.29, provides
the following parameters used when comparing the visible destination polygonal
models to the source polygonal models:
Sampling step
A text box that defines the vertical and horizontal point spacing value for the grid
of comparison points applied to the source polygonal models. A value greater
than 0 must be specified. The default value is 1.0 mm.
Max distance
A text box that controls the maximum distance measured between the
destination polygonal models and the source polygonal models. A value greater
than 0 must be specified. The default value is 4.0 mm.
Max angle
A check box, selected by default, that makes available an adjacent text box to
specify a maximum angle in degrees between the normal vector of the
comparison points on the source polygonal model surface and the normal vector
at the destination polygonal model surface point closest to each sampled
comparison point along the comparison point's normal and within the specified
Max distance. The angle eliminates from the comparison results the destination
polygonal model’s surface points that have an orientation incompatible with the
sampled comparison points. The default value is 45.0 degrees.
Effective surfaces
A list box that allows specifying which surface of the source polygonal models is
to be used when performing the comparison operation (see Section 10.4 Using
the property sheet of polygonal models for more information on virtual surfaces).
The following options are offered:
Original – Sets the original surface as the effective surface to use when
comparing.
Both – Sets both the original surface and the virtual surface specified by a
thickness value as the effective surfaces to use when comparing. This option
is selected by default.
Update Comparison
A button that allows updating the comparison using the current values specified
in this section of the dialog box. If the Show error map check box is not selected,
a message is displayed informing the user that it must be selected to perform a
comparison and offers to select it. Press the Yes button to select the check box and
perform the comparison, or press the No button to cancels the operation.
The Constraining point creation section of the dialog box, shown in Figure 12.30,
allows creating constraining points, used to constrain the morphing operation at
specific points. Once a constraining point has been created, it appears in the Morphing
Constraining Points pane where it can be configured, ignored and then used again, or
removed from the list completely.
Type
A menu button that allows specifying a type of constraining point. There are three
types of constraining points:.
Icon Description
Note that the morphing process uses the constraining points in the order listed
previously.
Constraining points are visualized in the 3D scene as yellow points with yellow
numbered annotations that contain one letter used to identify the type of
constraining point: A is for Auto-Matched points, L is for Locked points, and P is for
Point Pairs.
Method
A list box that specifies the creation method. Choose from: Anchor (create
constraining points by clicking objects in the 3D scene) and From Triangles/
Vertices (create constraining points automatically from the vertices contained
within an element selection (i.e., vertices or triangles)); if no selection is made, all
visible triangles of polygonal models are considered. The default value is Anchor.
Point Pairs
Locked Points
Auto-Matched Points
Note that the From Triangles/Vertices method is not available when Type is set
to Point Pairs.
Note that triangles/vertices are selected by pressing the Select Elements button
on the Selection toolbar and selecting elements in the right viewport.
Constrained axes
Three check boxes for each main axis, X, Y, and Z, that specify along which axes the
constraining point will be activated, depending on the type of constraint:
Point pairs on the source polygonal models are constrained to move to their
matching x, y, z location on the destination objects, regardless of the
morphing operation. If an Axis check box is not selected, the morphing
operation will determine the point’s new location in that direction.
Figure 12.31 The Morph Polygonal Model mode displays two viewports in the 3D Scene pane. In
this example, three constraining points (yellow annotations) have already been
created.
Left viewport: Contains the visible objects Right viewport: Contains the polygonal
used to pick constraining point pairs. Visible models to morph. This viewport is also used
polygonal models are used when auto- to display the error color map after a
matching constraining points and for the successful comparison operation.
comparison operation.
point’s normal vector. If an Axis check box is not selected, the morphing
operation will determine the point’s new location in that direction.
Displacement (%)
A text box that allows specifying a displacement factor for the source point,
calculated as a percentage of the total distance (td) from the source point to the
destination point. The default value is 100%, which means to allow a displacement
equal to td. A positive value specifies a displacement of the source point in the
direction of the destination point, while a negative value does the opposite. For
example, 90% would result in the displacement of the source point a distance
of .9*td in the direction of the destination point.
This item allows compensating the source polygonal models for a deviation
measured on the digitized destination polygonal models.
The following items are displayed for the From Vertices/Triangles method only, and
allow reducing the number of automatically created constraining points:
Sample vertices
A check box that enables subsampling the vertices in order to consider a smaller
number of vertices within the selection of vertices/triangles. The check box is
cleared by default. When it is selected, the following item is made available:
Step
A text box that specifies a minimum distance to respect between created
constraining points. The default value is 2.0 mm. Note that no new
vertices are added to the model.
The following options are displayed for the Anchor method only:
Once the specifications have been made, press the button at the bottom of the section.
The button label depends on the specified Method:
The Create button is offered when the method is From Vertices/Triangles. Pressing
the button automatically generates constraining points using the current
specifications. If no selection exists, a message box informs the user and asks if all of
the elements of the source polygonal models should be used. Pressing the Yes
button confirms the selection and the operation proceeds, while pressing the No
button cancels the operation as there are no selected elements.
The Anchor button is offered when the method is set to Anchor. Pressing the button
enables a mode that allows anchoring constraining points in the 3D scene. Proceed
as follows:
In the right viewport, left-click a polygonal model to pick the closest vertex. If
hole picking is enabled, left-click a hole boundary to pick its center.
Anchor Point Pairs only: In the left viewport, left-click an object to define the
matching morphing constraint position.
Press the SPACEBAR to temporarily exit the mode and perform translations and
rotations.
Figure 12.32 The Morphing options section of the Morph Polygonal Models dialog box.
The Morphing options section of the dialog box, shown in Figure 12.32, provides
options that pertain to different aspects of the morphing operation.
Auto-matched points
A group box that offers items that control the automatic matching of constraining
points.
Max distance
A text box that specifies the maximum distance from the source
polygonal model used to find a matching point on the destination
polygonal models. The default value is 4.0 mm.
Max angle
A check box, selected by default, that makes available an adjacent text
that specifies a maximum angle in degrees between the normal vector of
the point anchored on the source polygonal model and the destination
polygonal model’s normal vector at the surface point closest to the
anchored point along the anchored point’s normal and within the
specified Max distance. The angle eliminates from the automatic
matching operation the destination polygonal model surface points that
have an orientation incompatible with the source polygonal model
surface point. The default value is 45.0 degrees.
When more than one polygonal model is selected for the morphing operation, the
application offers the possibility of grouping these polygonal models into assemblies
and morphing them as a single polygonal model. The Morphing options section
provides the following options used when morphing multiple polygonal models:
Assemblies
A group box that offers items that allow creating polygonal model assemblies.
polygonal models that form a temporary assembly will be considered as a single
polygonal model by the morphing operation. Note that thickness virtual surfaces
are always considered when creating assemblies (see Section 10.4 Using the
property sheet of polygonal models for more information on virtual surfaces). The
following items are offered:
Max distance
A text box that controls the maximum distance between the source
polygonal models. When at least one vertex from one model is within the
specified distance from the closest vertex on another model, the two
models are considered for the assembly. A value greater than 0 must be
specified. The default value is 0.5 mm.
Max angle
A check box that makes available an adjacent text box that specifies a
maximum angle in degrees between the pairs of vertices that fall within
the Max distance. The supplementary angle of the difference between
the normal vectors of the pair of vertices must be smaller or equal to the
specified maximum angle for the polygonal models to be considered for
the assembly. This parameter ensures that the appropriate surfaces are
matched for the assembly. The default value is 10.0 degrees.
The last item allows accelerating the processing by compressing the source models:
The reduction is applied to the source models. Constraining points and model
boundaries are preserved. The result of the morphing operation is affected by the
triangle reduction. Similar results would be achieved if the source models had
been compressed previous to the morphing operation.
The Morphing Constraining Points pane, shown in Figure 12.33, contains a list that
provides the following information for each constraining point/column:
Figure 12.33 The Morphing Constraining Points pane and its shortcut menu that applies to
selected constraining points.
(Use/Ignore)
A column that allows swtiching between the used and ignored status of
constraining points by selecting or clearing their respective check box. When a
constraining point is ignored, the row is made unavailable. Ignored points are not
displayed in the 3D scene and are not considered by the morphing operation.
Type
An uneditable column that displays the icon corresponding to the type of
constraining point:
Locked
Point Pair
Auto-Match
Name
An uneditable column that contains the name assigned to each constraining
point. The name allows quickly identifying an item in the list.
Axes
A column that displays the constrained axes for each point. This value may be
edited by double-clicking, or by choosing the Edit command on the shortcut
menu or pressing the pane’s Edit button; see the text that follows.
The coordinates of locked points are the same as the coordinates of the
points anchored on the source polygonal model.
Coordinates for auto-matched points are only displayed once the morphing
operation has been performed because their destination location depends
on the point pair and the locked point constraints which are performed
before the auto-match point operation. If no match is found, No match is
displayed in the list.
Displacement
A column, not displayed by default, that displays the displacement value. This
value may be edited by double-clicking, or by choosing the Edit command on the
shortcut menu or pressing the pane’s Edit button; see the text that follows.
Effective surface
A column, not displayed by default, that displays the effective surface value. This
value may be edited by double-clicking, or by choosing the Edit command on the
shortcut menu or pressing the pane’s Edit button; see the text that follows.
Note that the display and the contents of the Morphing Constraining Points pane can
be modified. The following operations are offered:
Sort the list by clicking the respective column header. By default it is sorted on type.
Move columns within the table by dragging and dropping their header to a new
location.
Add or remove columns to the table by right-clicking the header and selecting or
clearing any of the columns listed.
Edit certain values by double-clicking them, entering a new value, and pressing the
ENTER key.
The Morphing Constraining Points pane also offers buttons (see Figure 12.33) that
allow modifying the list’s content. The operations offered by the buttons are also
available on the shortcut menu displayed up by right-clicking in the list area. The table
that follows describes each button.
Button Description
Select
A button that enables an interactive mode that allows selecting
constraining points directly in the 3D scene, in each viewport. Click
points or their annotations, CTRL+click to add points to the selection, or
use a selection rectangle to perform a multiple selection. Selected points
are highlighted in the 3D scene. Right-clicking in the 3D scene in this
mode displays a shortcut menu which is similar to the one offered in the
Morphing Constraining Points pane (description follows). Press the ESC
key to exit the mode.
Edit
A button that displays the Edit Constraining Point Properties dialog box.
For its description, see the description of the Edit command on the
shortcut menu, which is presented after the table.
Delete
A button that deletes selected list items. This operation cannot be
undone. Selected constraining points can also be deleted using the
DELETE key.
A shortcut menu is also available by right-clicking over a selection in the pane (see in
the middle in Figure 12.33). It offers the following operations:
Edit
Displays the dialog box shown to the bottom left in Figure 12.33 that allows
modifying the properties of the selected constraining points. It offers the
following items: Constrained axes, Displacement (%), and Effective surface,
which are described in Section 12.11.5 Creating constraining points. Note that if a
locked constraining point is selected, the Displacement (%) item is not offered in
the dialog box.
Ignore
Removes the constraining points from the morphing operation.
Use
Allows using the selected constraining points for the morphing operation.
Delete
Deletes the selected constraining points.
Select
A menu that offers a submenu, shown to the bottom right in Figure 12.33, with
commands that allow selecting constraining points by type (e.g., Locked) and by
status (e.g., Ignored), and with standard commands that allow choosing all
constraining points or none, or inverting the current selection of constraining
points.
Figure 12.34 The dialog box that specifies the polygonal models to use for the Union boolean
operation.
Boolean operations intersect the processed triangles of two polygonal models, splitting
them into connected sets of triangles separated by intersection boundaries. A
connected set of triangles is called a part.
The Polygons > Boolean Operations > Union command allows performing a boolean
addition operation. Or, the Union of Two polygonal models button on the Polygons
toolbar can be pressed. The polygonal model to modify plus the polygonal model to
add, without their intersection, become the used set of triangles. Parts that correspond
to the combined volumes of the models are added to the assembled polygonal model.
On choosing the Union command, the Union of Polygonal Models dialog box is
displayed, as shown in Figure 12.34. Follow these instructions:
1. Select the polygonal model to modify and the polygonal model to add.
From the Model to modify list box, select the polygonal model to which to add
another polygonal model.
From the Model to add list box, select the polygonal model to add.
The Hide model to add check box enables specifying that the model to add will be
hidden in the 3D scene once the boolean operation has been completed. By default,
the check box is selected.
Figure 12.35 The union boolean operation, with the model to modify and the model to add, both
displayed in the 3D scene (a), and the modified model resulting from the Union
boolean operation (b). The intersection boolean operation, with the model to modify
and the intersecting model, both displayed in the 3D scene (c), and the modified
model resulting from the Intersection boolean operation (d).
Model 1
Model 2
(a) Model 1 is the model to modify (b) Model 1 after the “Union” operation
Model 1
Model 2
(c) Model 1 is the model to modify (d) Model 1 after the “Intersection” operation
The two selected polygonal models are intersected. The Modifier model is added to
the model to modify. Only the model to modify changes as a result of boolean
operations.
The Polygons > Boolean Operations > Intersection command allows performing a
boolean intersection operation. Or, the Intersection of Two Polygonal Models button
on the Polygons toolbar can be pressed. The polygonal model to modify intersected
Figure 12.36 The dialog box that specifies the polygonal models to use for the Intersection boolean
operation.
with the intersecting polygonal model becomes the used set of triangles. The parts that
define a common volume to both the model to modify and the modifier model are
added to the assembled polygonal model.
1. Select the polygonal model to modify and the intersecting polygonal model.
From the Model to modify list box, select the polygonal model to intersect with
another polygonal model.
From the Intersecting model list box, select the other polygonal model that
intersects (shares parts) with the model to modify.
The Hide intersecting model check box specifies that the intersecting model will
be hidden in the 3D scene once the boolean operation has been completed. By
default, the check box is selected.
The two specified polygonal models are intersected. The parts of the model to
modify which are common with the intersecting model are kept. Only the model to
modify changes as a result of boolean operations.
The Polygons > Boolean Operations > Difference command allows performing a boolean
subtraction operation. Or, the Difference of Two Polygonal Models button on the
Polygons toolbar can be pressed. The modified polygonal model minus the polygonal
model to subtract becomes the used set of triangles. Only the parts from the modified
Figure 12.37 The dialog box used to specify the polygonal models to use for the Difference boolean
operation.
polygonal model that do not intersect the polygonal model to subtract, the parts that
do not define a volume common to both models, are added to the assembled
polygonal model.
1. Select the polygonal model to modify and the polygonal model to subtract:
From the Model to modify list box, select the polygonal model to which to subtract
another polygonal model.
From the Model to subtract list box, select the polygonal model to subtract.
The Hide model to subtract check box specifies that the model to subtract will be
hidden in the 3D scene once the boolean operation has been completed. By default,
the check box is selected.
The two selected polygonal models are intersected and the parts that define a
common volume with the model to subtract are removed from the model to modify.
Only the model to modify changes as a result of boolean operations.
Figure 12.38 The model to modify and the model to subtract, both displayed in the 3D scene (a),
and the modified model resulting from the Difference boolean operation (b).
(a) (b)
Model 1
Model 2
Figure 12.39 The model to modify and the modifier model both displayed in the 3D scene (a), and
the modified model resulting from the Interactive boolean operation (b). Note that
parts from both models have been used to build the assembled model.
(a) (b)
Model 1
Model 2
Figure 12.40 The dialog box used to specify the polygonal models to use when selecting polygonal
model parts for the boolean operations (a) and the dialog box used to specify display
options (b).
(a) (b)
The Polygons > Boolean Operations > Interactive command allows performing boolean
intersection operations interactively. The parts from both polygonal models selected
for the Boolean intersection can be used to build an assembled model.
1. Select the polygonal model to modify and the modifier polygonal model.
From the Model to modify list box, select the polygonal model that to modify.
From the Modifier model list box, select the polygonal model to intersect with the
polygonal model to modify.
The Hide modifying model check box specifies that the modifying model will be
hidden in the 3D scene once the boolean operation has been completed. By default,
the check box is selected.
2. Press the Apply button to start the boolean engine. An intersection of the two
specified polygonal models is performed. The dialog box is automatically closed. Or,
press the Close button to dismiss the dialog box without performing the operation.
The 3D scene is divided into two viewports, as shown in Figure 12.41. The Assembly
parts viewport to the left contains all of the processed triangles split into connected
sets of triangles separated by intersection boundaries. The Assembled model
viewport to the right contains the final set of triangles to keep.
When the engine is started, the dialog box shown in Figure 12.40 (b) controls the
display by way of two display options: Select the Color by parts check box to color
each part, and select the Show boundaries check box to display the boundaries
between the parts using a red line. The display of this dialog box may be disabled by
selecting the Do not show this window check box. To redisplay the dialog box
when in this operation mode, choose the View > Contextual Parameters command.
To modify the viewpoint, use the SPACEBAR shortcut and rotate/translate the 3D
scene. Press the SPACEBAR again to return to the interrupted mode.
3. In the split screen mode, identify the individual assembly parts to keep and transfer
them to the Assembled model viewport. Parts in the Assembly parts viewport can
be made visible or invisible. A used part is one transferred to the Assembled model
viewport.
In either section, click to highlight the visible part underneath the pointer. Right-
click a part in the Assembly parts viewport to display a menu with several
operations, as shown in Figure 12.41.
The two selected polygonal models are intersected, and the parts selected from the
model to modify and the modifier model are assembled. Only the model to modify
changes as a result of boolean operations.
Once the boolean operation engine is started, the 3D Scene is split in two, as shown in
Figure 12.41. The Assembly parts viewport to the left contains all the parts generated
by the intersection operation, separated by intersection boundaries. See Figure 12.42
for an example of parts created as a result of an intersection between two polygonal
models. The Assembled model viewport to the right contains the final set of triangles
to keep.
In the split screen mode, the individual assembly parts to keep are selected in the
Assembly parts viewport and transferred to the Assembled model viewport. Parts in
the Assembly parts viewport can be made visible or invisible, to make easier selecting
parts to be transferred to the Assembled model viewport. A part transferred to the
Assembled model viewport is called a used part.
In either section, click to highlight the visible part underneath the pointer. Right-click a
part in the Assembly parts viewport to display a menu with several operations, as
shown in Figure 12.43 (a). The first four are preset operations:
Figure 12.41 The 3D scene in split-screen mode with both the Assembly parts viewport shortcut
menu and the Assembled model viewport shortcut menu displayed.
Figure 12.42 The intersection of two polygonal models results in four parts. In the figure above, the
parts have been artificially separated to clearly see them.
triangles. Parts that correspond to the combined outer envelopes of both models
are added to the assembled model.
This command operates a union boolean operation on the model to modify and
corresponds to the Union automatic boolean operation (see Section 12.12.1
Uniting polygonal models).
Note that the preceding four predefined operations are available by right-clicking
anywhere in the Assembly parts viewport to show the shortcut menu.
Two operations allow using parts (i.e., adding them to the assembled polygonal
model):
Use Part
Transfers the picked part to the Assembled model viewport.
Figure 12.43 The Assembly parts viewport shortcut menu (a) and the Assembled model viewport
shortcut menu (b).
(a) (b)
Hide Part
Makes the picked part invisible.
Invert Visibility
Inverts the visibility status of parts.
Restore All
Makes all parts visible.
Cancel
Shuts down the boolean engine, discarding the results of any boolean operations.
Note that if a part is not clicked, the Hide Part and Use Part operations are not offered on
the shortcut menu.
Right-clicking a part in the Assembled model viewport enables accessing a menu that
offers the following commands, as shown in Figure 12.43 (b):
Remove Part
Removes the part from the Assembled model viewport and returns it to the
Assembly parts viewport.
Done
Terminates the mode and transfers the Assembled model viewport results to the
application. The parts in the Assembled model viewport replace the polygonal
model selected in the Modified model list box.
Invert Use
Swaps parts between the Assembled model and the Assembly parts viewports.
Reset
Returns all parts to the Assembly parts viewport.
Cancel
Shuts down the boolean engine, discarding the results of any boolean operations.
Note that if a part is not clicked, the Remove Part operation is not offered on the
shortcut menu.
To modify the viewpoint, use the SPACEBAR shortcut and rotate/translate the 3D scene.
When finished, press the SPACEBAR again.
Figure 12.44 An illustration of the blending zone for two superimposed polygonal models.
polygonal model 1
(Receives triangles from
polygonal model 2, and
is also the prioritized
polygonal model)
Surface of polygonal
model 2 that is
rejected
Blending zone
polygonal model 2
The Polygons > Merge Polygonal Models command allows merging two polygonal
models. On choosing this command, the dialog box shown in Figure 12.45 is displayed,
offering the following items:
Model to modify
A list box that specifies the polygonal model to which a second polygonal model
will be merged. Choose from the list of available polygonal models.
Model to merge
A list box that specifies the polygonal model to merge to the Model to modify.
Choose from the list of available polygonal models.
Figure 12.45 The dialog box used to merge two polygonal models.
Model to prioritize
A list box that specifies the polygonal model to prioritize, i.e., the model for which
the maximum of the surface is kept by the merge operation. Choose from the two
polygonal models specified previously. The default value is the Model to modify.
Max distance
A text box that specifies a maximum distance used to detect overlap between the
two polygonal models. The default value is 2.0 mm.
Blending distance
A text box that specifies a distance from the edge of the prioritized polygonal
model over which the blending is performed. The default value is 5.0 mm.
This option allows merging the parts that are not common to two models, in order
to fill holes on one of them or to complete its shape for example, without leaving
disjoint elements. One possible use is to select a digitized model with holes as the
Model to modify and a tessellated CAD model as the Model to merge. In the
merge operation, the holes of the digitized model are filled using triangles from
the perfect CAD model.
Press the Apply button to launch the operation, and press the Close button to dismiss
the dialog box.
When the density of points is different over the blending zone for each of the
polygonal models, a gradual transition is introduced by the operation. This is applied
to the triangles of both polygonal models.
The editing performed on the Model to modify can be undone, but the merged
model deleted by use of the Delete merged model option cannot be recovered.
Merging distance
A text box that specifies a distance value used to merge vertices of selected
triangles when creating a polygonal model. Vertices that are closer than the
distance are merged. The default value is 0 mm.
Note that the merging of triangle groups cannot be performed if the receiving
model has texture information.
Press the Apply button to launch the operation, and press the Close button to
dismiss the dialog box.
Note that objects in the 3D scene should previously be aligned for optimal results.
As a general rule, the texture or color information of the receiving polygonal model is
not affected by this operation. However, the transferred triangles may be assigned a
default texture or color:
Figure 12.46 The dialog box used to transfer a triangle selection to a polygonal model.
If the receiving polygonal model is a colored model, transferred triangles with color
information will keep their color information and a default color will be applied to all
of the other transferred triangles.
If the receiving polygonal model has neither texture nor color information,
transferred triangles will also be without texture or color information.
A part may be scanned and meshed into polygonal model A. Then, an area of the part,
for example the area around a hole in the part, may be rescanned and remeshed
creating a second polygonal model, model B. It is assumed that the scanning was done
both times using the same coordinate system. It is possible to use a curve to trim both
models and then transfer the triangles from polygonal model B to polygonal model A.
More precisely:
2. Using the Insert curves button (shown to the right) on the Polygons toolbar, insert
the curve in polygonal model A, and delete the triangles inside of the curve.
3. Using the same operation, insert the curve in polygonal model B, and delete the
triangles outside of the curve.
4. Select the triangles of polygonal model B, and choose the Polygons > Transfer
Elements command to transfer those triangles to polygonal model A.
Figure 12.47 An illustration of creating a triangle from three vertices. The new triangle is front
facing.
Add Triangle
Choose the Polygons > Create Triangles > From 3 Vertices command to add to a
polygonal model a triangle formed by three vertices individually selected on the
model. The triangle is oriented such that its front face is directed toward the user. The
operation is illustrated in Figure 12.47.
This operation is applied to the first three levels of the selection stack. Each level must
contain a single vertex. The three vertices must belong to the same polygonal model.
It is possible to manually create a new triangle using a curve and two vertices. This
operation is applied to the first two levels of the selection stack. Each level must contain
a single vertex. Both vertices must belong to the same polygonal model.
Proceed as follows:
2. Choose the Polygons > Create Triangles > From 2 Vertices and Curve command.
3. An interactive mode is enabled. Move the pointer over a visible curve. As soon as the
pointer enters the domain of the curve, its position is projected onto the curve at the
nearest location. The new triangle formed by the two vertices and the position on
the curve is displayed. The pointer can be dragged and new triangles are displayed.
Press the SPACEBAR to temporarily exit the current mode and perform rotations and
translations of the 3D scene. The mode is re-entered by pressing the SPACEBAR
again.
4. Click to create a new vertex, used to create a new triangle. The pointer must be
located within the limits of a curve. The (x, y, z) coordinates of the new vertex are
extracted from the curve.
The triangle is oriented such that its front face is directed toward the user.
It is possible to manually create a new triangle using a surface and two vertices. This
operation is applied to the first two levels of the selection stack. Each level must contain
a single vertex. Both vertices must belong to the same polygonal model.
Proceed as follows:
2. Choose the Polygons > Create Triangles > From 2 Vertices and Surface command.
Move the pointer over a visible surface. As soon as the pointer is over the surface,
the new triangle formed by the two vertices and the pointer is displayed.
Press the SPACEBAR to temporarily exit the current mode and perform rotations and
translations of the 3D scene. The mode is re-entered by pressing the SPACEBAR
again.
3. Click to create the new vertex, used to create a new triangle. The pointer must be
located within the limits of a surface. The (x, y, z) coordinates of the new vertex are
extracted from the surface.
The triangle is oriented such that its front face is directed toward the user.
3. Choose the Polygons > Project Vertices > Onto Plane command. The selected vertices
are projected normal to the plane’s surface.
3. Choose the Polygon > Project Vertices > Onto Surfaces command.
4. The dialog box shown in Figure 12.48 is displayed, offering the following items:
Projected vertices
A list box that specifies projecting All or Selected vertices within the zone defined
by the Max projection distance.
Projection method
A list box that offers two vertex projection methods:
Figure 12.48 The dialog box used to project vertices onto surfaces.
distance from the surfaces are projected. If a zero distance is specified, all
candidate vertices are projected.
Threshold distance
A text box that specifies a distance. Candidate vertices farther than this distance
from surfaces are projected onto the surfaces, when using the Farther than
Threshold projection method.
Polygonal vertices can selectively be smoothed by projecting them onto selected fitted
NURBS patches; if no selection is made, the vertices of all visible triangles of polygonal
models are considered.
To launch the operation, choose the Polygons > Project Vertices > Onto Fitted NURBS
Patches command. The dialog box shown in Figure 12.49 is displayed, offering the
following items:
Figure 12.49 The dialog box used to project vertices onto fitted NURBS patches.
option allows creating perfectly symmetrical polygonal meshes. The items in the
group box specify a mirror plane:
Mirror plane
A list box that enables selecting the mirror plane. Choose from a standard
plane (XY, YZ, or ZX), or an existing plane. The default value is XY. If a
plane was preselected, it is already selected in the list box.
x, y, or z
A text box that is made available when the Mirror plane list box
is set to a standard plane (XY, YZ, or ZX). This text box enables
defining the offset that will be applied to the selected plane
along the third axis. The offset can be a positive or a negative
value. The default value is 0.0 mm.
Press the Apply button to execute the operation and the Close button to dismiss the
dialog box.
Individual fitted NURBS patches can selected in order to only process the selected
sections of the surface. NURBS patch selection is best performed by using the Pick
Objects mode.
Figure 12.50 The dialog box used to move vertices along a plane normal.
Selected vertices can be moved in the direction of a plane’s normal vector. The
procedure is as follows:
1. Define a plane. The vertices will be moved in the direction of the plane’s normal
vector. Only one plane must be selected in the tree view.
3. Choose the Polygons > Move Vertices > Along Plane Normal command. On choosing
this command, the dialog box shown in Figure 12.50 is displayed.
4. Specify the distance to move the vertices by in the Move by text box.
Attached vertices can be moved along a visible surface. The procedure is as follows:
1. Define a surface.
2. Choose the Polygons > Move Vertices > Along Surface command.
3. An interactive mode is launched that allows picking and dragging vertices. Pick an
attached polygonal model vertex using the left mouse button and drag it along the
surface to its new position. Repeat to move other vertices. Note that while dragging,
the polygonal model is rendered using its Dynamic display mode.
Note:
Right-clicking moves the pointer to the vertex located nearest the pointer position,
without any editing possibilities.
To see how the triangulation is affected by this operation, it is recommended to set the
Dynamic display mode of the polygonal model to Flat + Wireframe or Wireframe, to
set the subsampling to 1/1, and to disable the rendering of back-facing triangles.
The Polygons > Vertex Color > Edit command allows interactively editing the RGB colors
of the set of vertices enclosed within the last selected area (i.e., set of triangles or a set
of vertices located in the first level of the selection stack).
On choosing the command, the last selection is memorized, deselected, and a color-
editing window is displayed offering to specify a color. The Cancel button cancels the
color editing and assigns the original colors to the selected area. The OK button
confirms the new colors and dismisses the color-editing window. For additional
information on the color-editing window, see Section 5.5 Setting material display
options of the PolyWorks Reference Guide.
To see the colors, the color mode of the static display must be set to Vertex Color. This
can be done by way of the Display > Polygonal Models page of the IMEdit Options
dialog box, or the View > Static submenu of a polygonal model’s shortcut menu.
The Polygons > Vertex Color > Copy operation makes a copy of the RGB colors of a
selected vertex, located in the first level of the selection stack.
This copy is used by the Polygons > Vertex Color > Paste operation (description follows).
The Polygons > Vertex Color > Paste operation pastes the last copied color onto the set of
elements enclosed within the last selected area (i.e., a set of triangles or a set of vertices
located in the first level of the selection stack).
The Polygons > Edit Texture > Optimize for Reduction operation invokes an algorithm that
automatically reorganizes the grouping information of the selected polygonal model in
order to obtain the maximum reduction levels using the IMCompress polygon
reduction algorithm.
The Polygons > Edit Texture > Reset operation removes all texture information from the
selected polygonal model. This operation is useful in removing dummy texture
coordinates. This operation cannot be undone.
The Polygons > Edit Triangle Groups > Add Triangles operation adds a set of selected
triangles to a selected triangle group (i.e., all of the triangles located in the selection
stack).
This operation automatically manages the transfer of the selected triangles from their
previous triangle groups to the selected triangle group. If all of the triangles of a
triangle group are transferred to another triangle group, the initial triangle group is
automatically deleted.
A triangle group’s name may be edited on its property sheet (see Section 6.4.3
Properties of triangle groups).
Modifications to the Name text box are confirmed by pressing the Apply button.
The material definition of one or more triangle groups can be edited using a special
tool. It can be accessed by clicking the Material button on the property sheet for
triangle groups (see Figure 12.51), or by choosing the Polygons > Edit Triangle Groups >
Edit Material command. A triangle group with a new material definition is shown in
Figure 12.52 The dialog box used to edit materials (b), is accessed by pressing the Material button
on the property sheet (a).
(a)
(b)
Figure 12.52. See Section 5.5 Setting material display options of the PolyWorks
Reference Guide for a detailed description of the material-editing process.
It is also possible to copy the material definition of a triangle group and paste it onto
one or more triangle groups using commands on the Polygons > Edit Triangle Groups
submenu:
Copy Material
Memorizes the material of a selected triangle group.
Paste Material
Pastes the last memorized material onto all selected triangle groups.
The Polygons > Edit Triangle Groups > Reset command specifies that all of the triangles of
the selected polygonal model be part of a single group of triangles. As a result, all
current grouping information is deleted. This operation cannot be undone.
Then, the tool used to analyze curves that are candidates for use in the creation of NURBS patches is
described. It flags quality and critical errors that, once corrected, will result in a better set of magnetic curves.
The following subsections explain how to create NURBS patches dynamically or manually from a set of
magnetic curves, and then to fit G0-, G1- or G2-continuous NURBS surfaces to the NURBS patches, and how
to use them to redefine the underlying polygonal mesh. The export of NURBS surfaces to the IGES or STEP
format is also included. The last subsections deal with the properties and rendering of NURBS patches.
The operations used to create NURBS patches that are described in this chapter are available through the
NURBS Patches menu, and the NURBS Patches toolbar, shown in Figure 13.1. The button associated with each
operation is included in the subsection that describes the operation.
NURBS patches have their own branch in the tree view where they can be selected, hidden, deleted, and so
on.
4-sided untrimmed patches: These patches are standard 4-sided patches whose fitted
NURBS surface natural boundary roughly corresponds to the patch boundaries.
N-sided trimmed patches: These patches include all patches with 3 sides or with more
than 4 sides, as well as 4-sided patches that have been trimmed. With these patches,
the fitted NURBS surface natural boundary extends beyond the patch boundaries.
After being fitted, the surfaces are trimmed such that the trim boundary roughly
corresponds to the patch boundaries.
NURBS patches are built from sets of magnetic curves. For more information, see
Section 17.2.6 Recommendations for creating magnetic curves. An example of a
polygonal model covered with a set of magnetic curves from which NURBS patches can
be generated is shown in Figure 13.2.
1. Specify fit options for NURBS patches (see Section 13.3 Setting NURBS patch options
in the IMEdit Options dialog box).
2. Create magnetic curves delimiting desired NURBS patch boundaries on the surface
of a polygonal model. For information on the requirements that apply to the curves,
see Section 13.4 Curve requirements.
The G0-, G1-, or G2-continuity of each curve will determine the continuity between
the NURBS surfaces which result when fitting NURBS patches (see Section 17.8
Using the property sheet of curves).
Figure 13.2 The object’s surface covered by magnetic curves. The magnetized intersections are
displayed in purple. By default, a disk is displayed for each magnetization
intersection zone. In this example, the display of disks has been disabled (Display >
Curves in the IMEdit Options).
3. Analyze the curves for critical and quality errors using the curve analysis tool. Edit
the curves to correct any errors. Repeat until all errors are corrected (see Section 13.5
Analyzing curves).
4. Create NURBS patches from all curves, even ignored ones. Then, create n-sided
NURBS patches (i.e., 5 sides and more) using a special interactive mode (see Section
13.6 Creating NURBS patches).
Note that only 4-sided NURBS patches have the untrimmed status.
NURBS patches are unfitted at the time they are created, and they consist of a
pseudo-surface built directly using curve objects as the boundaries of NURBS
patches. Curves can be edited, and NURBS patches are modified in real time. NURBS
patches can be subdivided interactively by adding magnetic curves to existing
curve boundaries, or interactively assembled to easily create n-sided NURBS
patches.
5. Fit the NURBS patches using a polygonal model, transforming NURBS patches into
NURBS surfaces (see Section 13.10 Fitting NURBS patches).
Fitting or planar constraint properties can be set and edited per NURBS patch or to
groups of NURBS patches. Subsets of NURBS patches or individual ones can be
partially refit.
6. View the fitting errors (see Section 13.11 Viewing NURBS patch fitting errors).
7. Increase the quality of the NURBS surfaces by editing the associated NURBS patches
or by editing curves. Recreate NURBS patches and/or refit them if necessary (see
Section 13.12 Editing NURBS patches).
Create a polygonal model from fitted NURBS patches – See Section 10.1.4
Creating polygonal models from selected NURBS patches.
Insert fitted NURBS patches in a polygonal model – See Section 12.9.2 Inserting
fitted NURBS patches in a polygonal model.
Resample a polygonal model using fitted NURBS patches – See Section 11.3.5
Resampling a polygonal model using fitted NURBS patches.
When the Dynamic creation from curves option in the IMEdit Options dialog box is
selected, NURBS patches are automatically created as valid curves are created by the
user. Curves can be edited and NURBS patches are automatically replaced by new
ones or become invalid and are removed.
Curves and the resulting NURBS patches may be created automatically from the
selected triangles of a polygonal model by using the NURBS Patches > Create > From
Polygonal Model command.
NURBS patch creation: see Section 13.6.1 Creating NURBS patches from curves or
Section 13.6.2 Creating NURBS patches from a polygonal model.
A set of magnetic curves must meet the following requirements prior to NURBS
patch creation:
Each NURBS patch boundary must belong to one, and only one, continuous curve.
See Figure 13.3 (a) for an example. Invalid boundaries will result in holes in the
NURBS patch surfaces.
A boundary cannot be associated with more than two NURBS patches. Invalid
patches will result in holes in the resulting surface.
To be created manually or dynamically, a NURBS patch can only have three or four
boundaries. To create a NURBS patch with five or more boundaries, an interactive
mode that allows creating n-sided NURBS patches must be used. See Section 13.6.3
Creating n-sided NURBS patches for more information.
Note that a curve can be magnetized to itself to define NURBS patch boundaries.
NURBS patches are made of three or more closed boundaries defined by curves and
contain three or more nodes. In the case of T-junctions, the largest NURBS patch can
have multiple nodes attached to one boundary. The boundary is then said to be a
“compound boundary”. Triangular patches are directly supported. A triangular patch is
used when the contour of a NURBS patch is delimited by three boundary curves.
Triangular patches are very useful as they make it easy to interconnect feature curves
into a natural network. Triangular patches typically:
Reduce the number of user operations, making curve set creation quicker.
Edge curves are used to create edge boundaries. Any boundary can subsequently be
defined as a sharp edge boundary. Edge boundaries allow specifying discontinuities in
the set of curves.
The NURBS patch creation process will occur in all parts of curves that terminate with
three or more closed boundaries defined by magnetized intersections.
Figure 13.3 In (a), boundary MN must be created from one, and only one, continuous curve for
the four NURBS patches to be created. If it is created from two curves, patch 1 would
not be automatically created as it would then have five boundaries. In (b), the set of
curves would only create patch 5. Note that loose curve ends are ignored. In (c) and
(d), boundaries defined by one or two magnetized points will not create patches.
(a)
1
M N
2 3 4
Critical errors are errors that either prevent the creation of NURBS patches or that create
very bad ones. They include: discontinuous curves, internal boundaries with a
symmetry plane constraint, and self-intersecting curves. Some critical errors, if present,
must be corrected before other errors can be detected. The self-intersecting curves
critical error type may be very rarely detected. It would be detected only if no critical
errors of the other three types were detected, or after they all had been corrected. So
this is an iterative process: Launch the tool - correct any critical errors, and repeat until
all critical errors have been corrected.
Quality errors fall into two categories: (a) errors that make it difficult to get smooth
NURBS patches with good continuity, and (b) NURBS patches with an invalid number of
sides.
In the subsections that follow, using the tool is explained, then the tool’s options are
described, and finally illustrations of critical and quality errors are provided.
The NURBS Patches > Analyze Curve Network command launches an analysis of all of the
curves, including ignored curves, under the curves branch as candidates for NURBS
patch creation. The tool works as follows:
The tool analyzes the curves. This may be a long operation. The information gathered
is lost on closing the tool.
If the tool finds that the curves could form one or more NURBS patches, they are
analyzed. When the analysis is done, a dialog box is displayed that displays the error
detection results. Any errors found are marked in the 3D scene; more information
follows.
If desired, configure the analysis of certain errors in the Options section of the dialog
box; see Section 13.5.2 Specifying options for more information.
If any of the three types of critical errors are detected, each one is displayed in the
dialog box by type and number and is preceded by a check box that controls its
display in the 3D scene; see to the left in Figure 13.4.
Edit curves to correct the problems and press the Update button to re-analyze the
curves. This step can be repeated until all of the critical errors are resolved.
If no critical errors are found, the analysis continues by looking for quality errors. If
any of the seven types of quality errors are found, each one is displayed in the dialog
box by type and number and is preceded by a check box that controls its display in
the 3D scene. See to the right in Figure 13.4.
Edit curves to correct the problems and press the Update button to re-analyze the
curves. This step can be repeated until all of the quality errors are resolved.
When the analysis tool finds no quality errors, the message No error detected is
displayed in the dialog box.
Press the Close button to dismiss the dialog box. If the analysis process was time-
consuming, a message window is displayed asking to confirm closing the dialog box,
which results in the loss of all of the analysis information.
The analysis tool marks any detected errors in the 3D scene. Errors are encircled by red
markers. Corrections may be made to the curves and, if desired, any marker can be
removed by CTRL+right-clicking over it. As well, the markers associated with a
particular error type can be hidden/redisplayed by selecting/clearing the error type’s
check box in the dialog box. The marker color uses the Curve Analysis Markers color,
which is configurable (see Section 22.3.3 Interface color display options).
Figure 13.4 The dialog box used to display and redetect errors in curves that are candidates to
form NURBS patches. Critical errors have been detected (a). Quality errors have been
detected (b).
(a) (b)
Even if the curve analysis process is successful, NURBS patches may not generated
from some curve boundaries. In this case, make sure that the curves meet the
requirements for the generation of NURBS patches. For more information, see
Section 13.4 Curve requirements.
If NURBS patches are still not being created, a solution may be to subdivide existing
boundaries with additional curves in order to simplify the surfaces defined by the
curves.
It is possible to configure the analysis of certain error types using parameters offered in
the Analyzer options section shown in Figure 13.5:
Figure 13.5 The Analyzer options area of the dialog box. It allows configuring the analysis
operation for certain error types.
T-junctions
A group box that offers an item to configure the analysis for this type of quality
error:
Maximum number
A text box that specifies a number of T-junctions per NURBS patch.
NURBS patches with a greater number of T-junctions are considered to
be in error. The default value is 1.
The illustrations and accompanying text that follow describe the four types of critical
errors:
Critical error: Not allowed for curves that will define internal boundaries between
NURBS patches.
2 3
1 4
Take the curve above. If it was fitted to the displayed surface mesh, it would intersect
itself, as shown to the right.
Quality errors fall into two categories: (a) errors that make it difficult to get smooth
NURBS patches with good continuity, and (b) NURBS patches with an invalid number of
sides. The illustrations that follow provide examples of the quality errors in the first
category:
(1) Small or large angle at NURBS patch (2) NURBS patch boundaries with high
corner. curvature.
Quality errors in the second category, NURBS patches with an invalid number of sides,
include: 2-sided boundaries, 3-sided boundaries (only when the appropriate Analyzer
option has been set to detect them as errors), and 5- or 6-sided boundaries. They are
processed as follows:
2-, 5- or 6-sided boundaries are identified for correction using markers. If the
Analyzer has been set to detect 3-sided boundaries as errors, they are also identified.
5- or 6-sided boundaries can later be used to create valid NURBS patches using the
interactive n-sided NURBS patch creation mode (described in Section 13.6.3 Creating
n-sided NURBS patches).
NURBS patches other than 4-sided are automatically transformed into trimmed
n-sided NURBS patches or can be corrected to create quad NURBS patches which
gives better fit results.
From a set of magnetic curves (see Section 13.6.1 Creating NURBS patches from
curves)
Note that in all creation modes, all curves, even ignored ones, are used or considered.
The concept of NURBS patches is explained in Section 13.1 The concept of NURBS
patches.
Three methods are available for the creation of NURBS patches from curves:
Manual
3- or 4-sided NURBS patches are created manually from curves for which NURBS
patches have not yet been generated, by using the NURBS patch creation from
curves function.
Dynamic
N-sided
Note that all existing curves, including ignored ones, are used to create NURBS patches
dynamically or manually.
Creating NURBS patches from curves is possible when the Dynamic creation from
curves option is disabled. To disable the Dynamic creation from curves option, see
Section 13.6.1.2 Enabling/disabling dynamic NURBS patch creation.
To create 3- or 4-sided NURBS patches from all valid curves (for which NURBS patches
have not been already generated), choose the NURBS Patches > Create > From Curves
command, or press the corresponding button on the NURBS Patches toolbar, shown to
the right.
NURBS patches are created from all valid 3- or 4-sided boundary loops for which NURBS
patches have not already been created.
After creation, all NURBS patches must be fitted. Unfitted 3- or n-sided NURBS patches,
which are all trimmed, are displayed using the NURBS Patch - Unfitted and Trimmed
interface color. Untrimmed 4-sided NURBS patches are displayed using the NURBS
Patch - Unfitted interface color. See Section 22.3.3 Interface color display options for
more information on interface colors.
Note that deleted NURBS patches are not re-created using the NURBS patch creation
from curves tool. Deleted NURBS patches can be recovered. For more information on
recovering deleted NURBS patches, see Section 13.12.2 Subdividing NURBS patches.
N-sided NURBS patches can be created separately with the n-sided NURBS patch
creation tool. For more information, see Section 13.6.3 Creating n-sided NURBS
patches.
The Dynamic creation from curves check box from the NURBS patch options enables
the dynamic creation of 3- or 4-sided NURBS patch from curves. By default, the check
box is cleared. For more information on NURBS patch options, see Section 22.6 NURBS
patch options.
This option can also be enabled or disabled through the status bar. Enabling or
disabling the Dynamic creation from curves option from the NURBS Patch options or
from the status bar automatically updates the setting in the other interface.
1. Make sure the Dynamic creation from curves option is enabled (see Section
13.6.1.2 Enabling/disabling dynamic NURBS patch creation).
The dynamic NURBS patch creation and update rules are as follows:
When adding or deleting valid curves, new NURBS patches are automatically created.
NURBS patches are assigned default fit parameters on creation. For more information
on default NURBS patch fit parameters, see Section 13.14 Rendering NURBS patches.
At all times, when the user edits the curves, the changes are dynamically applied to
the related NURBS patches.
The NURBS patches themselves cannot be edited. The curves that define the
boundary loop of a NURBS patch must de edited to update a NURBS patch.
When a curve modification changes the shape of a NURBS patch boundary loop, if
the NURBS patch is fitted, it becomes unfitted.
When a curve that is part of a planar NURBS patch’s boundary loop is edited, the
planar constraint is removed if the planar NURBS patch is no longer in the plane. See
Section 13.12.5 Constraining curves to a symmetry plane for more information on
constraining a NURBS patch to a plane.
When the Dynamic creation from curves option is disabled, adding or deleting
curves will remove the related NURBS patches without generating new ones.
After creation, 3- or 4-sided NURBS patches must be fitted. Unfitted 3-sided NURBS
patches are displayed in the NURBS Patch - Unfitted and Trimmed interface color.
Unfitted 4-sided NURBS patches that are displayed in the NURBS Patch - Unfitted
interface color. For more information, see Section 13.10 Fitting NURBS patches.
Valid n-sided NURBS patches (3-sided, 4-sided, 5-sided or more) are to be created
separately using the interactive n-sided NURBS patch creation mode (described in
Section 13.6.3 Creating n-sided NURBS patches).
Note that deleted NURBS patches are not recreated in the dynamic NURBS patch
creation mode. Deleted NURBS patches can be recovered. For more information on
recovering deleted NURBS patches, see Section 13.12.2 Subdividing NURBS patches.
NURBS patches can be automatically created from polygonal models. The algorithm
analyzes the curvature of the polygonal surface, tracks the natural lines of curvature,
automatically lays down valid curves, and creates NURBS patches on selected triangles
of a polygonal model.
All triangles must be selected on a single polygonal model. This algorithm uses a
triangle selection. If there is only one used (nonignored) polygonal model, triangles
may be preselected for automatic surfacing; if there is no preselection, all visible
triangles of polygonal models are considered. If there is more than one used
(nonignored) polygonal model, the triangles to be considered by the automatic
surfacing algorithm must be preselected.
Note that curves are created in the operation. The curves are necessary. They define the
NURBS patch boundary loops from which the NURBS patches are created. Existing
curves that are selected prior to launching the process will be integrated to the
automatically generated boundary loops. The created curves are set as hidden.
Choose the NURBS Patches > Create > From Polygonal Model command or press the
corresponding button on the NURBS Patches toolbar, shown to the right. The dialog
box shown in Figure 13.6 is displayed, offering several items that control the automatic
creation of the curves:
Curve-to-mesh tolerance
A text box that defines a tolerance distance between the created curves and the
polygonal mesh. The default value is 0.05 mm.
The remaining items, available on pressing the Advanced button, specify the spacing
between adjacent curves:
Figure 13.6 The dialog box used to automatically create NURBS patches from the selected
triangles of a polygonal model.
NURBS patches created in the automatic NURBS patch creation mode can be edited
using the other NURBS patch creation modes: Dynamic, manual, n-sided, or by adding,
editing, or deleting curves on the polygonal model’s surface.
After creation, NURBS patches must be fitted. The default color of unfitted n-sided
NURBS patches is NURBS Patch - Unfitted and Trimmed, which distinguishes them
from 4-sided NURBS patches that are in the NURBS Patch - Unfitted default display
color. For more information, see Section 13.10 Fitting NURBS patches.
An interactive mode allows creating n-sided trimmed NURBS patches from valid curves.
For example, NURBS patches with 5 sides or more can be created, or several NURBS
patches can be assembled into one. Note that 3- or 4-sided NURBS patches can also be
created using this mode.
To create n-sided trimmed NURBS patches from valid curve boundary loops for which
NURBS patches have not been generated and/or to assemble NURBS patches, choose
the NURBS Patches > Create > N-Sided command, or press the corresponding button on
the NURBS Patches toolbar, shown to the right.
When activating the n-sided NURBS patch creation mode, only curves and NURBS
patches remain displayed in the 3D scene.
Move the pointer over the NURBS patches or curve boundary loop. The selected NURBS
patch or curve boundary loop is highlighted, as shown in Figure 13.7 (a). Click each
desired NURBS patch to select it. Only adjacent NURBS patches can be selected for
assembly. Curve boundary loops without NURBS patches or ignored curves that are
part of boundary loops can also be selected. Deleted NURBS patches cannot be
selected. The surface of the assembled n-sided NURBS patch must be continuous and
without inner holes.
The boundary loop of the n-sided NURBS patch being assembled is shown as a red
outline. Middle-click to undo the selection of NURBS patches, starting from the last
selected NURBS patch, each middle-click deselecting a NURBS patch in the inverse
order of its selection.
When all the selected NURBS patches are constrained to a plane, the resulting n-sided
NURBS patch is also constrained to the same plane.
Once all the desired NURBS patches have been selected, right-click to complete the
operation. Repeat the operation for each desired n-sided NURBS patch.
Curves or curve segments that defined the inner boundaries of assembled NURBS
patches are deleted upon creation of the n-sided NURBS patch.
Note that curves can be created, edited, and deleted in the n-sided NURBS patch
creation mode.
After creation, n-sided NURBS patches must be fitted (see Section 13.10 Fitting NURBS
patches). Unfitted n-sided NURBS patches are displayed in the NURBS Patch - Unfitted
and Trimmed interface color. See Section 13.14.2 Customizing interface colors for
more information on NURBS patch interface colors.
Fitted NURBS patches cannot contain holes. If holes are needed in a NURBS surface, the
corresponding NURBS patches can be first exported to NURBS models, the resulting
NURBS model can be imported in IMEdit, and then holes can be cut in the NURBS
surface using the Tools > NURBS Models > Cut Holes with Curves command (see Section
16.2.1 Cutting holes in NURBS models).
Figure 13.7 Selecting curve boundary loops to create a n-sided NURBS patch (a), and the
resulting 5-sided trimmed and unfitted NURBS patch (b).
(a) (b)
curvature radius threshold used to classify NURBS patches into low-curvature and high-
curvature categories (see Section 22.6 NURBS patch options).
A tool is offered that allows changing the low-/high-curvature status of NURBS patches
using two different approaches:
Specify a new curvature radius threshold – A slider and a text box allow specifying a
new curvature radius value. Existing NURBS patches are then given a new low-
curvature or high-curvature status.
1. Choose the NURBS Patches > Edit Curvature Status command, or press the
corresponding button on the NURBS Patches toolbar, shown to the right.
Note that the mode to edit the low-/high-curvature status of NURBS patches can
only be entered when at least one NURBS patch exists in the IMEdit project.
In the 3D Scene, low-curvature NURBS patches are shown in gray (the NURBS Patch
- Low-Curvature Status color), while high-curvature NURBS patches are shown in
red (the NURBS Patch - High-Curvature Status color), as shown in Figure 13.8. For
Figure 13.8 The dialog box used to edit the low-/high-curvature status of NURBS patches for the
fit operation. In (a), an automatically specified default radius threshold. In (b), a new
radius threshold has been specified using the curvature radius threshold slider.
(a)
(b)
more information on configuring default colors, see Section 22.3.3 Interface color
display options.
2. The dialog box, shown in Figure 13.8 (a), is displayed. It offers the following items:
The exact curvature radius threshold value corresponding to the slider position is
updated in the text box under the slider. The curvature radius threshold value can
be edited from the text box.
Interactive
A button that enables the mode to interactively click visible NURBS patches to
switch their specific curvature category, as shown in Figure 13.9. To enter this
mode, at least one NURBS patch must be used and visible in the IMEdit project.
Place the cursor over the desired NURBS patch; it is highlighted. Click to
switch its low-curvature/high-curvature status.
To rotate/translate the 3D scene, first press the SPACEBAR, then move the
scene, then press the SPACEBAR to return to the original mode.
Note that only visible NURBS patches can be selected to interactively edit the low-
/high-curvature status of NURBS patches. Note also that while the mode is
activated it is possible to change the visibility of NURBS patches using standard
techniques.
Once a NURBS patch's category has been manually edited, the global threshold-
based classification does not consider this NURBS patch anymore, unless its
classification is reset using the Reset button (description follows).
Preview
A button that offers a preview of the classification of NURBS patches into either a
low-curvature or a high-curvature category using the value edited directly in the
Low-/high-curvature radius threshold text box. On pressing this button, the
specified curvature radius threshold value is applied and the resulting NURBS
patch low-/high-curvature classification is displayed in the 3D scene. The Low-/
high-curvature radius threshold slider’s position is also updated. The Low-/high-
curvature radius threshold value may be changed and a new preview may be
applied.
Reset
A button that resets the Low-/high-curvature radius threshold text box value to
the Default low-/high-curvature radius threshold value specified in the IMEdit
Options dialog box, and consequently reclassifies all NURBS patches in the project
into new low-curvature and high-curvature categories. For more information on
the default curvature radius threshold value, see Section 22.6 NURBS patch
options.
Figure 13.9 Using the interactive mode, the low-curvature/high-curvature radius status of
NURBS patches can be switched by picking NURBS patches in the 3D Scene.
2. Choose the NURBS Patches > Constrain to Plane command or press the
corresponding button on the NURBS Patches toolbar, shown to the right.
4. If there are preselected NURBS patches, press Yes to constrain selected NURBS
patches, or press No to directly proceed to the interactive mode.
Figure 13.10 The dialog box used to constrain selected NURBS patches to a plane.
Its color changes from the NURBS Patch - Unfitted color (olive green by default) to
the NURBS Patch - Unfitted and Planar color (light green by default).
The equation of the constraining plane is displayed in the Planar patch group box of
the NURBS patch tab of its property sheet.
When a planar NURBS patch is fitted, the corresponding NURBS surface will be perfectly
flat and co-planar with the constraining plane.
2. Choose the NURBS Patches > Remove Planar Constraints command or press the
corresponding button on the NURBS Patches toolbar, shown to the right.
Unconstrain NURBS patches as follows:
All NURBS patches are created unfitted and need to be fit onto a polygonal model
following their creation. Furthermore, previously fitted 4-sided NURBS patches that
have been trimmed, n-sided NURBS patches, as well as all NURBS patches whose
boundary loop curves have been edited, must also be refitted. The fit operation can be
performed on all, some, or individual NURBS patches.
As explained in Section 13.3 Setting NURBS patch options in the IMEdit Options dialog
box, certain options allow configuring default values for the fit operation. In addition,
prior to performing the fit operation, certain parameters can be customized (see
Section 13.10.1 Editing parameters for the fit operation). Then a fit operation can be
performed on selected NURBS patches using existing or custom fit parameters:
Regular fit – Current NURBS patch fit parameters are used for all regular fit operations
(see Section 13.10.2 Fitting NURBS patches using existing parameters).
Custom fit – Custom fit parameters can be applied to selected NURBS patches during
fit operations. They can also be recorded as the new default fit parameters (see
Section 13.10.3 Custom-fitting NURBS patches).
If desired, fit parameters and the low-/high-curvature status of NURBS patches can be
edited prior to a fit operation.
Default fit parameters are configured in the Fit section of the NURBS Patches page of
the IMEdit Options dialog box (see Section 22.6 NURBS patch options), and are
transferred to NURBS patches on creation. By default, these fit parameters are applied
to all standard fit operations.
If desired, the fit parameters of a NURBS patch can be viewed and modified from its
property sheet (see Section 13.15 Using the property sheet of NURBS patches).
Note that new fit parameters may be assigned to selected NURBS patches when using
the NURBS Patches > Fit > Custom Fit command, described in Section 13.10.3 Custom-
fitting NURBS patches.
When fitting NURBS patches, the existing fit parameters of each NURBS patch are used.
The initial fit parameters of a NURBS patch are assigned at its creation from the default
fit parameters defined in the NURBS patch options (see Section 13.14 Rendering NURBS
patches). NURBS patch fit parameters can be viewed or modified individually or for
groups of selected NURBS patches from the Fit tab on the property sheet prior to fitting
(see Section 13.15 Using the property sheet of NURBS patches). When modifying
NURBS patch fit parameters, fitted NURBS patches become unfitted.
To launch the regular NURBS patch fitting operation, choose the NURBS Patches > Fit >
All command, and then choose one of the following operations, or press the
corresponding button on the NURBS Patches toolbar:
All
Fits all nonignored NURBS patches.
Selected
Fits all selected, nonignored NURBS patches. The nonselected already fitted
NURBS patches influence how the selected NURBS patches will be fitted.
Unfitted
Fits all unfitted, nonignored NURBS patches. The fitted NURBS patches influence
how the unfitted NURBS patches will be fitted.
Selected NURBS patches can be fitted onto the polygonal model using custom fit
parameters. The fit parameters found on the Fit tab of the NURBS patch property sheet
are modified in the operation (see Section 13.15 Using the property sheet of NURBS
patches).
To proceed, select the NURBS patches, and then choose the NURBS Patches > Fit >
Custom Fit command, or press the corresponding button on the NURBS Patches toolbar,
shown to the right. The Custom Fit NURBS Patches dialog box shown in Figure 13.11 is
displayed, offering the following items:
Boundary tolerance
A text box that specifies the 3D tolerance between the boundaries of the fitted
NURBS patches and the surface of any underlying polygonal models. It also affects
Figure 13.11 The dialog box used to custom fit NURBS patches.
the number of control points and overall smoothness of NURBS patch boundaries.
The default value is 0.1 mm.
In the case of a polygonal model with a lot of noise, a larger value produces
smoother surfaces. In the case of long and narrow NURBS patches, a smaller value
is recommended.
Surface rigidity
A slider for interactively specifying a rigidity value that can range from 0% to 100%.
The default value is 100%. Move the slider horizontally to set a more Flexible or
Stiff surface rigidity. The rigidity value is indicated under the slider.
Positional (G0)
A combo box that specifies the maximum positional tolerance between
adjacent NURBS patches. Specify a value or choose from the following
values: 0.001, 0.01, and 0.1. The default value is 0.001 mm.
A very small value may increase the fitting time. Complex patch
configurations may result in a greater angular tolerance; such
configurations can be corrected by modifying certain curves, and then
creating new NURBS patches.
Note that the surface continuity tolerance values defined in this group label
determine the maximum continuity error allowed between NURBS patches. The
Positional (G0) surface continuity tolerance is used for G0-continuous NURBS
patch boundaries. The Positional (G0) and Tangential (G1) (degrees) surface
continuity tolerances are used for G1-or G2-continuous NURBS patch boundaries.
Surface continuity between NURBS patches is defined from the properties of the
curves that make up the NURBS patch boundaries. For more information, see
Section 17.8 Using the property sheet of curves.
Trimmed patches
A group label that offers an option related to trimmed patches:
The Fitting error section shows global fitting statistics for the NURBS patches fitted in
the most recent operation. It offers the following items:
Maximum
A text box that displays the maximum fitting error.
Mean
A text box that displays the mean fitting error.
Std dev.
A text box that displays the standard deviation.
It is also possible to view the fitting error statistics of a single NURBS patch or of several
selected NURBS patches. For more information, see Section 13.11 Viewing NURBS patch
fitting errors.
Press the Make Default button to update the NURBS patch default fit parameters of
the IMEdit Options dialog box to the current custom fit parameter values. For more
information, see Section 13.14 Rendering NURBS patches.
Press the Apply button to launch the operation. The selected NURBS patches are fitted.
Parameter values may be modified and the operation may be repeated to obtain better
results.
Note that if a curve defining a NURBS patch boundary loop is modified after fitting
NURBS patches, the fit is discarded because the shape of the NURBS patch has also
changed. The NURBS patch is then shown as unfitted and needs to be refitted.
For a single NURBS patch: To view the fitting error statistics of an individual NURBS
patch, select it, display its property sheet (choose the Edit > Object Properties
command), and then select the Fitting error tab.
For all NURBS patches: To view the global fitting error statistics of all NURBS patches,
right-click on the NURBS Patches branch in the Tree View pane, and then choose
Fitting Error.
The property sheet’s Fitting error tab shows fitting statistics for the NURBS patch, as
shown in Figure 13.12 (a). The Fitting Error dialog box shows global fitting statistics for
all NURBS patches, as shown in Figure 13.12 (b). The fitting statistics are those of the
most recent fit operation. Both the property sheet’s Fitting error tab and the Fitting
Error dialog box offer the following items:
Maximum
A text box that displays the maximum fitting error.
Mean
A text box that displays the mean fitting error.
Figure 13.12 The Fitting error tab of the NURBS patch property sheet showing the individual
NURBS patch fitting error statistics (a). The dialog box used to show NURBS patch
fitting error statistics for all NURBS patches (b).
(a) (b)
Std dev.
A text box that displays the standard deviation.
Note that the NURBS Patch Custom Fit dialog box also provides the current fit
operation’s fitting statistics for the selected NURBS patches. See Section 13.10.3
Custom-fitting NURBS patches for more information.
Specify the type of boundary continuity between NURBS patch from curves.
Constrain a NURBS patch to a plane in order to fit perfectly planar NURBS surfaces.
Constrain a boundary curve in order to fit perfectly symmetrical NURBS surfaces with
respect to a plane.
Note that editing operations may require that NURBS patches be recreated or refit.
To delete selected NURBS patches, choose the Edit > Delete > Objects command.
Note that deleted NURBS patches can only be recreated by using the Recover Deleted
NURBS Patches recovery mode (description follows).
One or more selected NURBS patches belonging to the same set of curves can be
subdivided. Add curves to the ones already defining the NURBS patch boundary loops.
For more information, see Chapter 17 Curves.
With the Dynamic creation from curves option activated, current NURBS patches are
automatically deleted and replaced by new ones (see Section 13.6.1.3 Dynamically
creating NURBS patches).
In manual NURBS patch creation mode, current NURBS patches are automatically
deleted. New NURBS patches can be created later. For more information, see Section
13.6.3 Creating n-sided NURBS patches.
A NURBS patch continuity list box is available in the property sheet of the curves that
define the boundaries of NURBS patches. Choose from: Curvature (G2) (for curves in
the middle of smooth surfaces), Tangential (G1) (for fillet tangent curves), and
Positional (G0) (for sharp edge curves). See Section 17.8 Using the property sheet of
curves for more information.
The NURBS patch continuity property of a curve can also be modified by choosing
commands on a shortcut menu from the 3D scene (see Section 17.9.2 In the 3D scene).
By default, 4-sided NURBS patches are untrimmed. They can be changed to trimmed or
reset to untrimmed using the following methods:
From the NURBS patch properties — Change the trim status of selected 4-sided NURBS
interactively (see Section 13.12.4.1 Making 4-sided NURBS patches trimmed or
untrimmed from their properties).
From the 3D scene — Change the trim status of individual 4-sided NURBS patches
interactively (see Section 13.12.4.2 Making 4-sided NURBS patches trimmed or
untrimmed from the 3D scene).
Note that all NURBS patches other than 4-sided are always trimmed and cannot be
made untrimmed.
The trimmed status of 4-sided NURBS patches can be edited through their property
sheet using the Trimmed check box on the Fit tab. Note that for 3- or n-sided NURBS
patches, the Trimmed check box is permanently selected and is unavailable.
Note that when changing the trim status of a fitted NURBS patch, the NURBS patch
becomes unfitted. To fit NURBS patches, see Section 13.10 Fitting NURBS patches.
13.12.4.2 Making 4-sided NURBS patches trimmed or untrimmed from the 3D scene
A 4-sided NURBS patch can be made trimmed or untrimmed using menus offered in
the 3D scene. Proceed as follows:
1. Select the desired NURBS patch in the 3D Scene using the Pick Objects mode.
2. Right-click the NURBS patch, and then select the NURBS Patch Edit > Trimmed
command to make the NURBS patch trimmed. Or, select the Untrimmed command
to make the NURBS patch untrimmed.
Note that when changing the trim status of a fitted NURBS patch, the NURBS patch
becomes unfitted. To fit newly trimmed NURBS patches, see Section 13.10 Fitting
NURBS patches.
1. Define a plane.
Create a polygonal model from fitted NURBS patches – See Section 13.13.1 Creating
a polygonal model from NURBS patches.
Insert NURBS patches in a polygonal model – See Section 13.14 Rendering NURBS
patches.
Resample a polygonal model using NURBS patches – See Section 13.14 Rendering
NURBS patches.
A polygonal model can be generated from selected fitted NURBS patches. See Section
10.1.4 Creating polygonal models from selected NURBS patches for more information.
13.14.1 Setting NURBS patch display options in the IMEdit Options dialog
box
The Display > NURBS Patches page of the IMEdit Options dialog box offers options to
specify the global display mode of fitted NURBS patches. For complete information, see
Section 22.3.11 NURBS patch display options. To access the IMEdit Options dialog box,
choose the Tools > Options command.
Interface colors may be customized in the IMEdit Options dialog box. The following
colors are related to curves and NURBS patches:
Control Points
Color used to render standard control points. Set to light green by default.
Curve - G0
Color used to render position-continuous (G0) curves. Set to yellow by default.
Curve - G1
Color used to render tangent-continuous (G1) curves. Set to orange by default.
Curve - G2
Color used to render curvature-continuous (G2) curves. Set to dark blue by default.
Figure 13.13 The dialog box used to configure NURBS patch display options.
For complete information, see Section 22.3.3 Interface color display options.
The NURBS Patch Display Options dialog box, shown in Figure 13.13, allows configuring
the Static display mode of fitted NURBS patches, as well as to globally show or hide
polygonal models, curves, and NURBS patches in the 3D scene. The dialog box offers
the following items:
Static display
A group box that offers the following Static display mode options for fitted NURBS
patches:
Drawing type
A list box that specifies the NURBS patch rendering type for the Static or
Dynamic mode. Choose from: Flat, Flat+Curve, Flat+Wireframe, Point,
Smooth, Wireframe. The default value is Flat+Curve.
Color mode
A list box that specifies a color mode used to display either deviations
between adjacent NURBS patches, curvature, or fitting errors. Choose
from: No Color Mapping, Curvature, Fitting Errors, Positional
Deviations, and Tangential Deviations. The default value is No Color
Mapping.
The drawing types and color modes for fitted for NURBS patches are described in
Section 13.14.1 Setting NURBS patch display options in the IMEdit Options dialog
box.
Hide/Show Curves
A button that allows switching the visibility of curves in the 3D Scene pane.
The NURBS patch tab, shown in Figure 13.14 (a), offers the following items:
Tessellation tolerance
A text box that specifies a tessellation tolerance to be applied to the fitted NURBS
patch surfaces. The tessellation tolerance represents the maximum chordal
deviation between a NURBS surface and its polygonal representation. The default
value is 0.01 mm.
Planar patch
A group box that displays the constraining plane or None otherwise.
Figure 13.14 The property sheet for NURBS patches with the NURBS patch tab shown to the left
and the other tabs shown to the right.
(a) (b)
(c)
The Fit tab, shown in Figure 13.14 (b), offers items that follow; they are described in
detail in Section 13.10.3 Custom-fitting NURBS patches:
Boundary tolerance
A text box that specifies the default 3D tolerance between the boundaries of the
fitted NURBS patches and the polygonal models. The default value is 0.1 mm.
Positional (G0)
A combo box that specifies the default maximum positional tolerance
between adjacent NURBS patches. Specify a value or choose from the
following values: 0.0, 0.001, 0.01, and 0.1. The default value is 0.001 mm.
Trimmed
A check box that makes a 4-sided NURBS patch trimmed. For a 4-sided NURBS
patch, the check box is cleared by default. For NURBS patches of all other types
(3-sided or n-sided), which are trimmed and cannot be untrimmed, the check box
is permanently selected and unavailable.
Note that when the trim status of a fitted NURBS patch is changed, the NURBS
patch becomes unfitted and must be fitted again (see Section 13.10 Fitting NURBS
patches).
When the check box is selected, the following item is made available:
The parameters that are found on the Fit tab are first set at NURBS patch creation time.
NURBS patch default fit parameters are configured from the IMEdit Options dialog box
and are transferred to each new NURBS patch. For more information, see Section 22.6
NURBS patch options.
The Fitting error tab, shown in Figure 13.14 (c), displays statistics resulting from fitting
NURBS patches:
Maximum
A text box that displays the maximum fitting error.
Mean
A text box that displays the mean fitting error.
Std dev.
A text box that displays the standard deviation.
13.16.1 In the tree view menu for the NURBS Patches branch
Right-clicking the NURBS Patches branch in the tree view displays a shortcut menu that
includes commands that are specific to NURBS patches:
When only NURBS patches are selected in the tree view, right-clicking displays a
shortcut menu that includes commands that are specific to NURBS patches:
Figure 13.15 shows the display of exported NURBS model surfaces that are re-imported
in another PolyWorks module.
Figure 13.15 The exported NURBS surfaces imported as an IGES file in another PolyWorks module.
Operations related to sketches are located on the Solids menu, and sketches are saved to the Solid Features
branch of the tree view.
14.1 Overview
If the digitized part (i.e., polygonal model) has a base plane, it is common practice to
align this plane on the XY plane at the z=0 position. The IMInspect or IMInspect Probing
modules may be used to perform this alignment step. For more information, see
Section 14.2 Aligning the polygonal model to a standard plane.
Creating a sketch is done through a three-step workflow (see Figure 14.1 for an
example of each step):
1. Define a sketch plane for the polygonal model either from one of the standard
planes or a user-defined plane, or from a cross-section.
2. Extract a sketch outline from the polygonal model by extracting geometry and
projecting it on the sketch plane.
This step is only required when the sketch plane is defined from a plane. In this case,
the geometry can be extracted using a single cross-section or multiple cross-
sections for a noisy part, or using a silhouette edge. A draft angle may be specified.
Once extracted, the sketch outline can be edited by deleting undesired sketch
outline segments.
This step is described in Section 14.4 Extracting and editing a sketch outline.
3. Guided by the sketch outline, create geometric entities and relational constraints
between these entities (e.g., tangency, perpendicularity).
This step is described in Section 14.5 Creating and editing sketch entities.
This three-step process (described in the following subsections) has been optimized
such that one step leads immediately into the next. Once the workflow is over, the
result is a 2D sketch of the polygonal model, or an area of the polygonal model,
containing an outline used to define geometric entities with relational constraints.
Note that in the absence of a polygonal model, it is possible to simply define a sketch
plane and define sketch entities with relational constraints directly on the sketch plane.
Step 1: A sketch plane has been defined for the polygonal model.
Step 2: A sketch outline is extracted from the Step 3: Based on the sketch outline, entities (e.g.,
polygonal model. In the sketch edit mode, arrows circles, arcs, lines, splines and rectangles) have
are displayed to represent the sketch local origin. been created along with their relational
constraints. Entities are displayed in yellow, and
relational constraints are represented as symbols
beside the entities.
2. Align the object to the desired standard plane (e.g., XY, YZ, ZX) using one of the
IMInspect alignment tools (e.g., Align > Feature-Based > Plane, Axis, Center Point).
Save the IMInspect project.
3. In IMEdit, import the polygonal model from the IMInspect project using the Import
> From Project command.
2. Choose the Solids > Create Sketch command, or pressing the appropriate button on
the Sketches toolbar. The dialog box shown in Figure 14.2 is displayed.
3. Specify a name for the new sketch in the Name text box, or accept the default name
sketch <number>, where <number> is an automatically incremented integer for
sketches.
4. Choose a method by pressing one of the following buttons, and specify the related
parameters in the Parameters section. Two creation methods are available:
The sections mentioned above describe all items offered in the Parameters section
of the dialog box for each method.
5. To continue with the sketching workflow, click Continue to create a sketch object in
the tree view having the specified plane. It is also possible to launch the operation
by right-clicking in the 3D scene or pressing the TAB key.
A new dialog box is displayed that allows extracting a sketch outline from the
polygonal model (see Section 14.4 Extracting and editing a sketch outline), or if no
polygonal model is visible in the 3D scene, for creating sketch entities (see Section
14.5.2 Creating sketch entities).
6. To end the sketching workflow, simply click the X on the dialog box’s title bar.
Figure 14.2 The dialog box used to define a sketch plane for a new sketch, configured for the From
Plane method.
Sketches can be created from existing or standard planes. When the From Plane
creation method is selected in the Create Sketch dialog box (by pressing the button
shown to the right), the dialog box is configured as shown in Figure 14.2.
Specify values in the Parameters section. The following items are offered:
Plane
A list box that enables selecting the plane to use to create the sketch. Choose from
a standard plane (i.e., XY, YZ, ZX), or an existing nonignored plane. The default
value is XY. If a plane was preselected, it is already selected in the list box.
The selection can also be made using the adjacent Pick Plane button, which
launches an interactive picking mode. Note that the ESC key can be used to exit
the mode.
If required, press the SPACEBAR to temporarily exit the mode and perform
translations and rotations.
The standard planes are deduced from the orientation of the part in the
coordinate system and are made visible (see Figure 14.3).
Figure 14.3 In this mode, the standard planes are displayed. The figure below shows visible
existing planes as well as the standard planes. The XY standard plane is displayed in
a grid rendering mode since it is the current selection.
YZ plane
ZX plane
XY plane
A visible
plane in the
project
Sketches with a sketch plane and a sketch outline can be created from a cross-section.
When the From Cross-Section creation method is selected in the Create Sketch dialog
box (by pressing the button shown to the right), an interactive mode is enabled and the
dialog box is configured as shown in Figure 14.4.
Specify values in the Parameters section. The following items are offered:
Cross-section
A list box that enables selecting the cross-section to use to create the sketch. The
default value is the selected cross-section.
The selection can also be made using the adjacent Pick Cross-Section
button, which launches an interactive picking mode. Note that the ESC key can be
used to exit the mode.
Figure 14.4 The creation dialog box configured for the From Cross-Section creation method.
If required, press the SPACEBAR to temporarily exit the mode and perform
translations and rotations.
Note that an hidden cross-section can only be selected using the Cross-
section list box.
To go to the next step in the workflow, sketch entity creation, click Continue,
right-click in the 3D scene, or press the TAB key. For information on the next
step, see Section 14.5.2 Creating sketch entities.
Note that this step does not apply in the following cases:
In these cases, sketch entities with relational constraints can be created immediately
after the sketch plane definition.
The outline is extracted for a polygonal model visible in the 3D scene, based on the
defined range. If triangles are selected in this range, the outline will be extracted for this
selection only.
Note that the extract outline operation is only required when the sketch plane is
defined from a plane.
A top-down dialog box with common and contextual parameters is available for the
extraction of sketch outline. Use the dialog box as described below.
1. To extract sketch outline, choose the Solids > Extract Outline command, or press the
appropriate button on the Sketches toolbar. The Extract Sketch Outline dialog
box, shown in Figure 14.5, displays.
The content of the contextual dialog box is determined by the extraction method
chosen in the Method section. Three extraction methods are available:
From Silhouette Edge – Extracts the outline of the polygonal model, which is
included in a 3D box and parallel to the sketch plane. Only the outer boundaries
of the polygonal model are projected onto the sketch plane. This method is
described in Section 14.4.5 Extracting a sketch outline from a silhouette edge.
Figure 14.5 The Extract Sketch Outline dialog box that contains the parameters used to extract
an outline from the polygonal model. In this example, the dialog box is configured to
create an outline from the projection of a single cross-section on the sketch plane.
The sections mentioned above describe all items offered in the Parameters section
of the dialog box for each method.
The Preview button presents the extracted outline in the 3D scene. Note that the
outline is drawn in the color defined in the IMEdit options (see Section 22.3.3
Interface color display options). If a change is made in the extraction parameters or
the extraction method, a new preview may be applied.
When the preview functionality is used, the Create button becomes the Confirm
button.
4. Press the Confirm/Create button to create the outline. The Create Sketch Entities
dialog box is displayed (see Section 14.5.2 Creating sketch entities).
Note that the Confirm button creates the outline as it appears in the 3D scene when
the preview has been applied. If a change has been made since the last preview, it
will not be taken into account. The preview must be re-applied to include the
change.
When choosing the From Single Cross-Section extraction method, the Extract Sketch
Outline dialog box is configured as shown in Figure 14.5. It allows specifying a slicing
plane from which a cross-section, describing the desired model geometry, is obtained.
As soon as the From Single Cross-Section extraction method is chosen, a slicing plane
anchoring mode is enabled. Users can modify the extraction parameters in the dialog
box (see below for the list of parameters), then move the cursor to the 3D scene to
anchor the temporary cross-section.
Offset
A text box that allows specifying a signed distance between the sketch plane and
the slicing location used to extract the sketch outline. A positive value means that
the cross-section is located above the sketch plane, while a negative value means
that the cross-section is located below the sketch plane. The default value is
0.1 mm. The Anchor tool that follows allows specifying a value interactively.
Anchor
A button that launches an interactive mode that allows anchoring a slicing
location, parallel to the sketch plane. The interactive mode is enabled as soon as
the extraction method is chosen. However, if the mode is disabled, the Anchor
button must be used to re-enter it.
If required, press the SPACEBAR to temporarily exit the mode and perform
translations and rotations.
Draft angle
A check box that allows specifying a draft angle that will be considered between
the model walls and the extrusion direction (sketch plane normal). Based on the
draft angle and the offset direction (see below Offset outward), a growing or
shrinking operation is applied to the cross-section before projecting it on the
sketch plane.
When the check box is selected, the adjacent text box is enabled. Enter the angle
(in degrees) that will be considered between the model walls and the extrusion
direction (sketch plane normal). Valid values range between 0 and 90 degrees. The
default value is 3.0 degrees. Use the Measure Draft Angle tool that follows to
specify a value interactively.
If required, press the SPACEBAR to temporarily exit the mode and perform
translations and rotations.
The draft angle is automatically calculated and displayed in the text field
that precedes the button. More than one measurement can be taken. In this
case, the value displayed in the text field represents the average of these
measurements.
Offset outward
A check box that specifies the offset direction. By default, this check box
is cleared, which means that the cross-section will shrink before being
projected on the sketch plane. When the check box is selected, the cross-
section grows before being projected on the sketch plane.
When choosing the From Multiple Cross-Sections extraction method, the Extract
Sketch Outline dialog box is configured as shown in Figure 14.6. Using this method,
the outline is extracted from the projection of multiple temporary cross-sections on the
sketch plane. These cross-sections can be merged to form a unique outline.
The Sub-method group label offers options to determine slicing locations: Anchor
individually and Create uniformly spaced.
Anchor individually
An option button, selected by default, that launches an interactive mode. Users
can modify the extraction parameters in the dialog box (see the text that follows
for the list of parameters), then move the cursor to the 3D scene. The cursor
becomes a pencil, and allows picking the location where the temporary cross-
sections will be created. The interactive mode is used as follows:
If required, press the SPACEBAR to temporarily exit the mode and perform
translations and rotations.
Right-click to exit the mode and execute a preview of the extracted outline.
The Extract Sketch Outline dialog box offers the parameters specific to the chosen
sub-method. Some parameters are common to both sub-methods, while others are
contextual:
Sampling type
A group box that allows choosing the sampling type of slicing. This group box is
only available when the Create uniformly spaced sub-method has been selected.
It offers the following items:
Step
An option button, selected by default, that allows specifying the distance
between temporary slicing planes. The number of cross-sections will be
computed accordingly. An adjacent text box allows entering the value.
The default value is 5.0 mm. This is a dummy default value, as a
meaningful value must be specified for each polygonal model.
Number of cross-sections
An option button that allows specifying a number of temporary cross-
sections that will be uniformly distributed inside the specified range (see
below Start offset and End offset). The step will be computed
accordingly. An adjacent text box allows entering the value. The default
value is 5. This is a dummy default value, as a meaningful value must be
specified for each polygonal model.
Range
A group box that allows specifying the information needed to determine the
range in which temporary slicing planes are distributed. This group box is only
available when the Create uniformly spaced sub-method has been selected. It
offers the following items:
Start offset
A text box that allows specifying at which distance from the sketch plane
the offset begins. The default value is 0.1 mm. This is a dummy value, to
be replaced with a value appropriate for the model. The Anchor Range
tool that follows allows specifying a value interactively. Positive values
Figure 14.6 The extraction dialog box configured to create an outline from the projection of
multiple cross-sections on the sketch plane. To the left, the dialog box is configured
for the Anchor individually sub-method. To the right, it is configured for the Create
uniformly spaced sub-method.
End offset
A text box that allows specifying at which distance from the sketch plane
the offset ends. The default value is 5.0 mm. This is a dummy value, to be
replaced with a value appropriate for the model. The Anchor Range tool
that follows allows specifying a value interactively. Positive values
represent distances above the sketch plane and negative values
represent distances below the sketch plane.
Note that if the Sampling type is Step, the first slicing plane starts at the
distance specified at the Start offset text box. Then, starting from this
point, the slicing planes are uniformly distributed within the range.
Anchor Range
A button that launches an interactive mode that allows manually
anchoring points in the 3D scene to determine the Start offset and End
offset values. When the Start offset check box is cleared, the Anchor
Range button is renamed Anchor End of Range.
Draft angle
A check box that allows specifying a draft angle that will be considered between
the model walls and the extrusion direction (sketch plane normal). Based on the
draft angle and the offset direction (see below Offset outward), a growing or
shrinking is applied to the cross-sections before projecting them on the sketch
plane.
When the check box is selected, the adjacent text box is enabled. Enter the angle
(in degrees) that will be considered between the model walls and the extrusion
direction (sketch plane normal). Valid values range between 0 and 90 degrees. The
default value is 3.0 degrees.
If required, press the SPACEBAR to temporarily exit the mode and perform
translations and rotations.
The draft angle is automatically calculated and displayed in the text field
that precedes the button. More than one measurement can be taken. In this
case, the value displayed in the text field represents the average of these
measurements.
Offset outward
A check box that specifies the offset direction. By default, this check box
is cleared, which means that the cross-section will shrink before being
projected on the sketch plane. When the check box is selected, the cross-
section grows before being projected on the sketch plane.
The More subsection offers the same items for both sub-methods:
Merge cross-sections
A check box that allows merging together temporary cross-sections after they
have been projected on the sketch plane. If this check box is cleared, the outline is
composed of all cross-section projections, which may create duplicated
information. Note, however, that the merge functionality can be disabled when
the cross-sections do not overlap each other.
By default, the check box is selected, which means that the parts of the cross-
sections that are located within the maximum distance will be averaged together
to create an outline that correctly represents this part of the model.
Tolerance
A text box that allows specifying the acceptable distance between the
computed merge and the perfect theoretical merge in order to smooth
the resulting outline. For example, if two cross-sections are projected on
the sketch plane, the perfect theoretical result of the merge is an outline
located at an equal distance between the two projected cross-sections.
The default value is 0.01 mm.
Max distance
A check box that enables specifying the maximum distance that two
cross-sections must have to be merged. By default, the check box is
selected, and the adjacent text box is enabled. Enter a maximum
distance. The default value is 4.0 mm.
When the check box is cleared, the maximum distance is based on the
cumulative bounding box of the cross-sections to be merged.
When choosing the From Silhouette Edge extraction method, the Extract Sketch
Outline dialog box is configured as shown in Figure 14.7. Using this method, the
extracted outline is the boundary of the projection of the volume on the sketch plane.
The volume contains either the whole polygonal model or a part of the polygonal
model defined by two planes parallel to the sketch plane.
Figure 14.7 The extraction dialog box configured to create an outline from the projection of a
silhouette edge on the sketch plane.
Range
A group box that allows specifying the information needed to determine the
range for the silhouette edge.
Custom
An option button that allows setting parameters related to the range of
the 3D box used to extract the outline.
Start offset
A text box that allows specifying a distance from the sketch plane.
When the text box is cleared, there is no offset from the sketch
plane. The default value is 0.0 mm. This is a dummy value, to be
End offset
A text box that allows specifying at which distance from the
sketch plane the offset ends. The default value is 5.0 mm. This is a
dummy value, to be replaced with a value appropriate for the
model. The Anchor Range tool that follows allows specifying a
value interactively.
Anchor Range
A button that launches an interactive mode that allows manually
anchoring points in the 3D scene to determine the Start offset
and End offset values. When the Start offset check box is
cleared, the Anchor Range button is renamed Anchor End of
Range.
Tolerance
A text box that allows specifying the maximum deviation allowed
between the polygonal model and the extracted outline. The default
value is 0.01 mm.
Once extracted, a sketch outline can be edited, in particular to delete the segments that
are not required. This operation is performed on a selection of segments.
1. Choose the Select > Sketch Outline Segments command, or press the appropriate
button (shown to the right) on the Sketches toolbar.
2. Select the segments using one of the methods that follow. If required, press ESC to
exit the mode, or press the SPACEBAR to temporarily exit the mode and perform
translations and rotations.
Middle-click while pressing the CTRL key to select the segments inside a
polygonal contour. Right-click to close the contour.
Right-click an outline segment to display its shortcut menu. The following menu
items are offered:
Select All
Selects all segments of the outline.
Select Invert
Inverts the selected status of the segments.
Select None
Deselects all segments of the outline.
Select Attached
Selects all the segments attached to the current selection.
Most of the time, the outline of a polygonal model is used to guide the sketch entity
creation. The deviation between the entities and the sketch outline can be viewed
using a color map. Once created, sketch entities can be edited, either to modify, move,
or delete them. Sketch corners can also be rebuilt, e.g., to replace rounded corners by
sharp corners.
The order along which entities are created is critical. When anchoring a new entity, the
form, position, and orientation of previous entities are kept unchanged. Therefore,
users should identify the initial sketch entities, the ones that should be fitted as close as
possible to the outline, and whose form, position, and orientation should remain
unchanged. These entities should be anchored first.
Once initial sketch entities have been created, other sketch entities may be anchored.
By means of auto-relations, these new entities can be made tangent or perpendicular
to existing entities by snapping a new entity endpoint onto an existing entity endpoint.
When such a case occurs, a special constrained fitting algorithm simultaneously fits the
new entity to the outline while creating the relation between the new and existing
entity. To facilitate this constrained fitting process, the endpoints of existing lines and
arcs are allowed to move on the entity itself, a process that does not modify the form,
position, and orientation of the existing entity.
A visual preview of fitted and constrained entities is shown in the 3D scene while
anchoring a new entity to guide users in their entity creation process.
By strategically distributing initial entities along the sketch outline perimeter, users can
minimize the impact of 3D digitizing uncertainties by evenly distributing sketch
deviations to the outline.
To create sketch entities, parameters must first be set in the contextual dialog box (see
Figure 14.8), which is displayed when creating a sketch. Since sketch entities can be
created at any time, the contextual dialog box can also be displayed by choosing the
Solids > Sketch Entities > Create command, or pressing the appropriate button (shown to
the right) on the Sketches toolbar.
Figure 14.8 In (a), the Create Sketch Entities dialog box that contains the parameters used when
anchoring entities on the sketch outline. In (b), the legend for each button that
represents the different types of entities.
(a)
(b) Multiple
Lines
Circles
Arcs
Splines
Rectangles
A sketch must have been defined (see Section 14.3 Defining a sketch plane).
When the sketch entity creation mode is launched, only the selected sketch is displayed
in the 3D scene. By default, the sketch outline is displayed in white. To customize the
sketch outline color, see Section 14.6.2 Customizing related interface colors). Note that
the sketch local origin is represented as shown to the right.
Five types of entities can be created: lines, circles, arcs, splines and rectangles. The
creation dialog box varies from one type of entity to another, and is contextual to
the selected creation method.
Note that there is a Multiple entity creation type that allows creating fitted lines,
circles, or arcs without switching from one creation mode to another (for example,
from the line creation mode to the arc creation mode). When this method is used,
the current position and the sketch outline are analyzed to automatically determine
the type of entity that should be created. The type of entity can be overridden by the
user, if desired. Additional information is provided later on in this subsection.
2. Choose the creation method, if necessary. See the table below for the creation
methods of each type of entity.
a. These creation methods automatically fit the entity to the sketch outline
(see the Fit to outline parameter in the following explanations).
3. Specify values in the Parameters section (available for all entity creation types,
except for Rectangles). The following parameters are offered:
Close spline
A check box (available for the Splines entity creation type only) that enables
creating a closed spline. By default, the check box is cleared.
Fit to outline
A check box that enables adjusting the entity geometry by best-fitting it to the
selected sketch outline, according to the following parameters. By default, the
check box is selected.
Note that this check box is not available for all creation methods since certain
methods (see the footnote of the previous table) allow creating fitted entities only.
Max distance
A text box that enables specifying a maximum distance from the entity
within which to locate an outline segment to use for the fit operation.
Valid values are greater than 0. If the value is not valid, the text box
reverts to the previous value. The default value is 1.0 mm.
This parameter does not prevent from creating sketch entities if they are
not located within the specified maximum distance, except when using
a creation method that allows creating fitted entities only. In the latter
case, note that lines can be created anyway.
Tolerance
A text box (available for the creation of spline entities only) that enables
specifying a maximum 3D deviation value between the entity being
created and the sketch outline. Valid values are greater than zero. If the
value is not valid, the text box reverts to the previous value. The default
value is 0.1 mm. Note that this text box is made available when the Fit to
outline check box is selected.
Build corners
A check box (available for the Multiple, Lines and Arcs entity creation types only)
that enables automatic corner fitting during the entity creation process. By
default, the check box is selected. When selected, IMEdit identifies the closest
entity endpoint within the distance specified in the text box below, and
automatically extends the existing entity and entity under creation to create a
corner point. A real-time preview of the extended entities is shown in the 3D
scene.
When the creation interactive mode is enabled and the mouse pointer is
moved to the 3D scene, the maximum distance is represented as a white
transparent circle centered on the mouse pointer. It can also be modified
directly in the 3D scene using the scroll wheel. Scroll up to enlarge or
scroll down to reduce the radius of the circle (increments of 5 when the
distance is lower than 100; increments of 10 when the distance is higher
than 100).
4. In the More subsection (available for all entity creation types, except for
Rectangles), specify the values for the following parameters:
Replace entities
A check box that enables specifying that the entity being created will replace one
or more existing entities if these ones are located within the distance specified in
the text box below. If the endpoint of the new entity is snapped on an existing
entity, the existing entity will be cut at the snapped point and both entities will be
linked at this point.
Max distance
A text box that enables specifying the maximum distance used to find
entities to replace. Valid values are greater or equal to zero. The default
value is 0.5 mm.
5. Move to the 3D scene. Since the interactive mode is enabled, the pointer changes to
a pencil (see in the right margin), and the Anchor Options dialog box is displayed in
the Dialog Zone pane located to the left of the 3D scene. This dialog box contains
the following parameters:
Arc: the TAB key has been pressed and the type of entity that will be created
is an arc.
Circle: the TAB key has been pressed and the type of entity that will be
created is a circle.
Line: the TAB key has been pressed and the type of entity that will be created
is a line.
Pressing the TAB key allows switching from one type of entity to another.
When this option is enabled and the pointer is within the snap distance from the
tracked position, the tracked position appears highlighted to indicate the current
snap point, and the pointer jumps to that point when the left button is released.
Depending on the options set in the IMEdit Options dialog box, the snap point can
be located on:
an entity endpoint
Note that Object snaps is not available in the Anchor Options dialog box if the
corresponding option has been cleared in the IMEdit options. For more
information, see Section 22.11 Object snap options.
Auto-relations (Shift)
A reminder that the SHIFT key can be used to enable/disable the functionality that
helps create relational constraints between sketch entities, such as horizontal,
vertical, perpendicular and tangent constraints. Constraints are displayed as
symbols beside the entities as they are created (see Section 14.5.2.1 Sketch entities
in an edit mode to view the description of each symbol). Note that this
functionality does not apply to circles and rectangles.
Note that Auto-relations is not available in the Anchor Options dialog box if the
corresponding option has been deselected in the IMEdit options. For information
on the different options that allow controlling the behavior of the auto-relation
functionality, see Section 22.7 Sketch options.
6. In the 3D scene, anchor the points that will be used to create the entity. The number
of anchored points depends on the selected creation method (see the table above).
If the pointer is no longer a pencil, click the Anchor button in the Create Sketch
Entities dialog box.
Note that the deviation between the entities being created and the sketch outline
can be displayed using a color map, as shown in Figure 14.9. For more information
on this option, see Section 22.3.12 Sketch display options.
Figure 14.9 The sketch entities and the sketch outline are compared. The comparison results are
displayed using the color map shown to the right.
If required, press the SPACEBAR to temporarily exit the current mode and
perform rotations and translations of the 3D scene. The mode is re-entered by
pressing the SPACEBAR again.
If required, use the scroll wheel to enlarge (scroll up) or reduce (scroll down) the
radius of the circle used to create a corner point. This is required only when the
Build corners check box is selected in the Create Sketch Entities dialog box.
Left-click to anchor points. The pointer is displayed with the icon that represents
the type of entity that is currently created (see the example to the right, which
represents a line entity). In addition to this icon, other symbols may be displayed
in the 3D scene. Here is the list of these symbols:
If required, press the TAB key to change the type of entity that has been
automatically detected by IMEdit (available for the Multiple entity creation
type only). The current choice can be changed only by pressing the TAB key
again.
If required, press and hold the CTRL key to disable object snaps.
If required, press and hold the SHIFT key to create sketch entities without
auto-relations.
A preview of the anchored entity is drawn when the number of anchored points
is sufficient. The preview takes into account any existing entity that will be
modified due to the auto-relation functionality. The preview color is orange.
Right-click after the last picked point to end the entity creation (for spline entities
only; the other types of entities are created as soon as the number of points
required by the creation method is picked).
When sketch entities are created, they are displayed in an edit mode. See the following
subsection for more information.
When sketch entities are created, they appear in yellow (see Figure 14.10 for an
example). This is the default color. To customize the sketch entity color, see Section
14.6.2 Customizing related interface colors).
When entity endpoints are linked, they appear as dots. Otherwise, they appear
as small circles.
If relational constraints have been created between sketch entities, they are displayed
as symbols beside the constrained entities. Here is the list of possible symbols:
Note that the sketch outline is no longer displayed in the 3D scene when the sketch
edit mode is closed and sketch entities have been created. It reappears the next time
that a sketch edit mode is enabled, i.e., when creating or editing sketch entities, or
when rebuilding sketch corners.
Once the sketch is created, it can be exported in different formats that can be imported
in a CAD modeling software (see Section 23.12 Exporting sketches for information on
how to export sketches).
Sketch entities can be modified or deleted by choosing the Solids > Sketch Entities > Edit
command, or pressing the appropriate button on the Sketches toolbar. When this
command is selected, an interactive mode is enabled, and the Sketch Entity Properties
dialog box displays as well as the Anchor Options dialog box.
1. Select an entity using one of the following methods. Once selected, the entity is
highlighted in red.
Note that if the CTRL key is pressed while using one of the following left-click/
middle-click methods, the selection status of the entity is changed. For example,
pressing the CTRL key while left-clicking a selected entity will unselect it.
In the 3D scene:
Single selection
Multiple selection
Left-click a relation to select the entities constrained by this relation. Note that
relations are displayed in a green square. An example is shown to the right.
Middle-click and drag from left to right to select the entities inside the selection
rectangle, or from right to left to select all entities inside or partially inside the
selection rectangle.
Right-click an entity to display its shortcut menu and choose a command that
allows selecting/deselecting a group of entities:
Select All
Selects all sketch entities.
Select Invert
Inverts the selected status of the sketch entities.
Select None
Deselects all sketch entities.
Select Attached
Selects all the sketch entities attached to the current selection.
Drag the selected entity to move it (see Section 14.5.3.1 Moving an entity).
Replace rounded corners by sharp corners (see Section 14.5.4 Rebuilding sketch
corners).
If many entities are selected, only the last one can be deleted by right-clicking
this entity and choosing Delete in its shortcut menu.
Press the SPACEBAR to temporarily exit the current mode and perform rotations
and translations of the 3D scene. The mode is re-entered by pressing the
SPACEBAR again.
Press the ESC key to exit the mode. If the ESC key is pressed while dragging an
entity, the drag operation will be canceled without exiting the mode.
To move an entity, the sketch entity edit mode must be enabled (see Section 14.5.3
Editing sketch entities). Note that the entities are moved with respect to their relational
constraints
To move an entity:
1. Hold down the left button and drag the entity to the new location. During the drag
operation, the pointer changes to a hand (see in the right margin).
When object snapping is enabled and the pointer is within the snap distance from
the tracked position, the tracked position appears highlighted to indicate the
current snap point, and the pointer jumps to that point when the left button is
released. Depending on the options set in the IMEdit Options dialog box, the snap
point can be located on:
an entity endpoint
at any point on neighboring entities (except entity endpoints and center points)
Note that the Object snaps option is displayed in the Anchor Options dialog box of
the Dialog Zone pane. However, it is not available if the corresponding option has
been cleared in the IMEdit options. For more information, see Section 22.11 Object
snap options.
To reshape a spline, the sketch entity edit mode must be enabled (see Section 14.5.3
Editing sketch entities).
Figure 14.11 Example of a selected spline. Its shape can be modified by dragging the handles
displayed in gray.
When a spline is selected, its handles are displayed in gray (see Figure 14.11 for an
example). Left-click and drag these handles to change the spline points location as well
as the tangent direction and weight.
To edit the sketch entity properties, the sketch entity edit mode must be enabled and
the entity must be selected (see Section 14.5.3 Editing sketch entities). Information
about the selected entities is displayed in the Sketch Entity Properties dialog box:
If only one entity is selected, the property sheet displays the properties of the
selected entity (see Figure 14.12 (a)). Its name appears in the Name text box.
If more than one entity is selected, the property sheet displays the properties
common to the selected entities (see Figure 14.12 (b)). Their name appears in the
Name text box in the order they were selected.
1. In the Parameters section, click the value of the parameter to change. Then, enter
the new value. The value is automatically validated, and applied to the entity. If the
value is not valid, a sound is played and the text box reverts to the previous value.
Note that the parameters vary according to the selected entity. For more
information on the list of parameters and the possible values, see the following
tables.
Figure 14.12 Examples of property sheet for one entity (a), and for more than one entity (b).
(a) (b)
From 0 to 360
Angle of opening
degrees
Predefined values
Index number of the current spline point
in the list box
2. In the Relations section, add or delete relations, if required. If more than one entity
is selected, only the relations shared by all selected entities are displayed.
Adding or deleting relations can be made using one of the following buttons. Note
that only the buttons relevant to the current selection are displayed
Button Description
Button Description
3. In the More subsection, specify the value for the following parameter:
For construction
A check box that enables specifying that the selected entities are no longer
relevant, but will be kept for future use. They will be displayed with a dotted line.
By default, the check box is cleared.
4. Press the Close button to dismiss the dialog box and exit the sketch entity edit
mode.
Once the sketch is created, it can be exported in different formats that can be imported
in a CAD modeling software (see Section 23.12 Exporting sketches for information on
how to export sketches).
It is possible to replace rounded corners by sharp corners using a rebuilding mode. This
mode is activated by choosing the Solids > Sketch Entities > Rebuild Corners command,
or pressing the appropriate button (shown to the right) on the Sketches toolbar.
On choosing the command, the Rebuild Sketch Corners dialog box is displayed, and an
interactive mode is launched.
The dialog box is shown in Figure 14.13. It allows specifying the action to perform
when an entity is detached from the sketch after a corner has been rebuilt.
The interactive mode allows clicking the sketch entities that will be used to rebuild
the corner. The mode operates as follows:
If required, press the SPACEBAR to temporarily exit the mode and perform
translations and rotations.
Note that only lines and/or arcs can be used to rebuild corners.
Depending on the sketch entities and their relative position to each other, the
software extends or trims each entity to join them, thus creating the sharp
corner. The beep sound is played when the operation cannot be completed (e.g.,
when the entities cannot intersect).
Figure 14.13 The Rebuild Sketch Corners dialog box that contains the parameters for entities that
are no longer relevant when the corners have been rebuilt.
If the Keep as construction entities check box is selected in the Rebuild Sketch
Corners dialog box, the entities that are no longer relevant when the corners have been
rebuilt will be kept for future usage. They are displayed with a dotted line. If Delete is
selected, irrelevant entities are removed from the sketch.
See Figure 14.14 for examples of sketch corners that have been rebuilt.
Once the sketch is created, it can be exported in different formats that can be imported
in a CAD modeling software (see Section 23.12 Exporting sketches for information on
how to export sketches).
14.6.1 Setting sketch display options in the IMEdit Options dialog box
The Display > Sketches page of the IMEdit Options dialog box offers options that
globally set the display mode for sketches. For complete information, see Section
22.3.12 Sketch display options. To access the IMEdit Options dialog box, choose the
Tools > Options command.
Figure 14.14 Examples of entities used to rebuild corners. Entities in red have been selected with
the Rebuild Sketch Corners tool. The result is shown to the right.
Interface colors can be customized in the IMEdit Options dialog box. The following
colors are specific to sketch entities:
For information on customizing interface colors, see Section 22.3.3 Interface color
display options.
The Tools menu also offers auxiliary tools, such as tools that allow creating, editing and manipulating
objects, and a tool that allows customizing the module options. They are described in separate chapters:
Chapter 17 Curves
Chapter 18 Surfaces
Chapter 20 Cross-Sections
This set of functions has been designed with the assumption that rotations,
translations, and scaling should be performed sequentially as opposed to
simultaneously. Thus, the proper way to edit a coordinate system is to first deal with the
orientation of the object. Once the object is properly oriented, it can be translated to its
desired location. As for scaling, it can either be performed before or after the rotations,
but preferably before the translations.
Several operations described in this section use planes. For additional information on
creating and manipulating planes, see Section 19.2 Using planes.
A manual alignment tool allows applying translations and rotations to selected objects.
Note that the selection may be modified while using the tool.
The alignment mode is activated by choosing the Tools > Align > Manual Alignment
command. On choosing the command, the dialog box shown in Figure 15.1 is
displayed. It allows specifying rotations/translations in text boxes, or launching an
interactive mode to perform rotations/translations in the 3D scene using sliders.
When finished, press the Close button or the ESC key to dismiss the dialog box. Note
that zooming on the object automatically terminates the interactive mode.
In the Manual Alignment dialog box, press the Interactive button to activate the
interactive manual alignment mode. When activated:
A vertical slider is displayed to the right of the 3D scene and a horizontal slider at the
bottom of the 3D scene that allow performing vertical and horizontal translations.
When the x, y, or z check boxes in the 3D rotation group box are selected,
corresponding sliders are automatically displayed that allow performing 3D
rotations about the corresponding axis.
Place the mouse pointer over a slider to display the type of slider, its step, and the total
rotation/translation of that type (e.g., Rotation about X) performed using that slider.
A slider can be used by dragging the slider, clicking the slide bar, or by clicking the
slider’s arrow buttons. Each click of a slider arrow button translates the selected 3D
objects by a positive or a negative step value. To change the step value, click a slider’s
icon. The dialog box shown in Figure 15.2 (b) is displayed to specify a new step. Press
the OK button to transfer the value to the application.
Figure 15.2 (a) shows the display in the 3D scene when performing an interactive
manual alignment.
Operations may be performed interactively using the sliders or the mouse, which are
applied immediately. In addition, there are two methods that allow applying discrete
rotations/translations in the dialog box and pressing either the Apply button or the
ENTER key:
When the Apply button is pressed, all of the rotations/translations specified in the
dialog box are globally applied in the following order: the 3D rotation, the 3D
translation, and 2D translation.
Figure 15.2 The display in the 3D scene when using the interactive manual alignment mode. The
three sliders at the top are activated by selecting the corresponding check boxes at
the top of the Manual Alignment dialog box.
(a)
Display of total
translations/
rotations applied to
currently selected 3D
objects
Rotation center
(b)
When the ENTER key is pressed, the mouse pointer is located, and only the
transformation specified in the group box identified by the pointer location is
applied.
To reset all of the angular rotation or displacement values to 0, press the Reset button.
The 3D rotation group box is used to apply a 3D rotation about the X axis, the Y axis,
and the Z axis, or the horizontal, vertical, and viewing vectors, and proceeds as follows:
1. Specify the type of axes in the Rotate about list box. Two choices are offered: the X,
Y, Z axes, or Horiz., Vert., View (the horizontal, vertical, viewing vectors which
correspond to the axes of the display screen).
The choice will determine the labels displayed for the three check boxes below and
to the left:
When Horiz., Vert., View is chosen, the labels displayed are Ht, Vt, and Vw. To
simplify the text that follows, the x, y, and z labels will be used when referring to
the check boxes.
To rotate about a major axis, first select the x, the y, and/or the z check box
related to this axis.
To rotate about a screen viewing vector, first select the Ht, the Vt, and/or the Vw
check box related to this vector.
Press the Pick Center button. This enables an interactive mode that allows
picking a rotation center in the 3D scene. Once a rotation center is picked, the
sliders are reset to their middle position and their total translation/rotation value
is reset to zero.
Enter values in the text boxes under the Rotation center label. If a rotation in x
is specified, provide the (y, z) coordinates of the rotation center. If a rotation in y
is specified, provide the (x, z) coordinates of the rotation center. Finally, if a
rotation in z is specified, provide the (x, y) coordinates of the rotation center. If
two or three rotation axes are specified, provide all three coordinates of the
rotation center.
Note that a rotation center may be converted to a point by pressing the Create
Point button. After this operation, it may be necessary to reselect in the tree view
the objects to be manually aligned.
Specify an angle for each of the chosen axes, under the Angle label. If two or
three rotations are combined in the same operation, they are performed in the
following order: x, y, and z.
Use the sliders in the 3D scene. There is one for each axis check box that is
selected.
The 3D translation group box offers x, y, and z text boxes that allow specifying a 3D
translation along the X axis, the Y axis, and the Z axis.
Specify values in the Horizontal and/or Vertical text boxes of the 2D translation
group box and press the ENTER key.
In the interactive manual alignment mode, drag in the 3D scene (using either the left
or the middle mouse buttons).
Use the horizontal and the vertical sliders that are superimposed on the 3D scene
and that allow horizontal and vertical translations.
To undo the translation/rotation operations stored in the Undo stack, use the Edit >
Undo command, or give the focus to the main user interface and use the CTRL+Z
shortcut.
The Tools > Align > Transform Using Matrix command allows applying a transformation
matrix to selected objects. A browser is displayed to select a transformation matrix file.
A transformation matrix computed by another InnovMetric Software product can be
used in IMEdit.
Figure 15.3 The dialog box used to specify a Plane to which selected objects will be translated.
The Tools > Align > Rotate Plane A to Plane B command allows defining a rotation using
two planes, and applying the transformation to selected objects.
On choosing the command, the dialog box shown in Figure 15.3 is displayed, offering
the following items:
Plane A
A list box that specifies the first plane.
Plane B
A list box that specifies the second plane.
Press the Apply button to launch the operation, and the Close button to dismiss the
dialog box.
The transformation is defined as the minimal rotation that brings Plane A onto Plane B,
and aligns the normal vector of Plane A to the normal vector of Plane B. The rotation is
performed about the center of the processed objects’ bounding box.
This operation is useful in bringing an object’s plane to a plane aligned with the XY, the
YZ, or the XZ axes. For example, a plane may be first fitted to the elements of an object,
and then a second plane can be defined as being a XY plane. The Rotate Plane A to Plane
B operation precisely transforms the object such that the fitted plane is made parallel to
the XY plane.
The Tools > Align > Translate to Plane operation allows translating selected
transformable objects (i.e., all objects except NURBS patches) above a plane, keeping at
least one point of one object exactly in contact with the plane.
Figure 15.4 The dialog box used to rotate objects using two planes.
On choosing this command, the dialog box shown in Figure 15.4 is displayed to allow
the specification of a plane. Press the Apply button to launch the operation. The
translation is performed in the direction of the plane’s normal vector. Press the Close
button to dismiss the dialog box.
The Tools > Align > Align in IMInspect Probing command allows launching the IMInspect
Probing™ module automatically through IMEdit using the IMEdit licence key. IMInspect
Probing offers a wide range of alignment operations and allows probing features used
by certain alignment operations. However, IMInspect Probing cannot be launched
using the IMEdit licence key when:
The user has a license key for PolyWorks/IMSurvey™ but not for PolyWorks/
IMInspect™.
The user has a license key for IMInspect Probing but not for PolyWorks/IMInspect. In
this case, IMInspect Probing can only be launched using the PolyWorks/Workspace
Manager.
See Appendix C of the IMInspect Reference Guide for more information on IMInspect
Probing.
Figure 15.5 The Measure Distance submenu (a) offers several ways to evaluate distances. Results
are displayed in a message box (b).
(a)
(b)
When a measurement tool uses a polygonal model element (e.g., vertex or triangle), it
must often be the most recent selection in the selection stack, and it is removed from
the selection stack after the operation has been performed. For information concerning
the selection stack, see Section 7.3.3.2 Selecting other elements.
The Tools > Measure Distance > Curve to Polygonal Models operation allows computing
the signed distance along the curve normal direction between a point on a curve
visible in the 3D scene and the surface of a polygonal model.
1. As soon as the pointer is located within a curve, the pointer position is tracked and
mapped onto the curve, and the point that would be used is displayed.
The Tools > Measure Distance > Point to Point operation computes the distance between
two point primitives selected in the tree view.
The Tools > Measure Distance > Vertex to Curve operation allows computing the distance
between an individually selected vertex, which must be the most recent selection, and
a curve selected in the tree view.
Once this operation is performed, the most recent selection is removed from the
selection stack. For more information on the selection stack, see Section 7.2.3 The
selection stack.
The Tools > Measure Distance > Vertex to Plane operation computes the distance
between an individually selected vertex, which must be the most recent selection, and
a selected plane.
Once this operation is performed, the most recent selection is removed from the
selection stack. For more information on the selection stack, see Section 7.2.3 The
selection stack.
The Tools > Measure Distance > Vertex to Vertex operation measures the 3D distance
between two vertices located in the first two levels of the selection stack.
Once this operation is performed, the two most recent selections are removed from the
selection stack. For more information on the selection stack, see Section 7.2.3 The
selection stack.
Figure 15.6 The Measure Angle submenu (a), offers several ways to evaluate angles. Results are
displayed in a message box (b).
(a)
(b)
In most cases, the results are displayed within message boxes which can be closed by
pressing their OK button. For an example, see to the right in Figure 15.6.
15.3.1 Measuring the angle between two vectors formed by three vertices
The Tools > Measure Angle > From 3 Vertices command computes the angle between
three individually selected vertices located in the first three levels of the selection stack.
The angle is measured between a vector joining vertex 2 to vertex 1 and a vector
joining vertex 2 to vertex 3.
Once this operation is performed, the three most recent selections are removed from
the selection stack. For more information on the selection stack, see Section 7.2.3 The
selection stack.
The Tools > Measure Angle > From 2 Planes operation computes the angle between the
normal vectors of two selected planes.
Directory
The Directory text box specifies a file directory. A Browse button displays a
directory browser that allows specifying a directory interactively.
File pattern
The File pattern text box specifies a pattern that will be matched against all
potential files. If the match is successful, the file will be part of the batch process.
The standard Windows file name substitution strategy can be used. The following
expressions are allowed in a file pattern:
Expression Description
The Recursive check box enables a recursive search for files. If the Recursive
check box is selected, all files located in the subdirectories under the startup
directory are considered for the batch process.
Format
The Format list box optionally specifies a common file format for all input files. By
default, the format is set to Auto, which indicates that the format will be
automatically extracted from the extension of the file names.
The Macro group box specifies the processing that will be applied to all extracted files:
Macro name
The Macro name text box specifies the macro that will process all extracted files.
A Browse button displays a macro browser to specify a file name. The name of an
existing macro or a new file name may be specified. Pressing the Open in Macro
Editor button loads the specified macro in the Macro Script Editor. If a new file
name is specified, the file is automatically created and initially contains a macro
template specifically designed for batch processes.
The macro template is designed in three parts. The first part opens the input file.
The second part, containing your geometric processing commands, processes a
model. Finally, the third part offers four different methods that can be used to save
the processed model. One of these methods may chosen, or a new file-saving
method can be designed.
On pressing the OK button, the batch process is started. To cancel a batch process,
choose the Cancel command located on the Macro Script Editor’s Macro menu, or press
the ESC key. The Macro Script Editor is documented in the Macro Script Reference
Guide.
15.5 Commands
The Commands menu offers the following commands:
Command History
Displays the Command History pane which displays the commands invoked by
the user.
Start Recording
Starts the recording of commands invoked by the user.
Stop Recording
Stops the recording of invoked commands.
The last three commands are also found on the Tools menu of the Macro Script Editor.
For complete information on the Command History pane, the Macro Script Editor tool,
and the scripting language, see the Macro Script Reference Guide. It is offered on the
Macro Script Editor’s Help menu and the module’s Help > Reference Guides submenu.
For complete information on the Macro Script Editor tool and the scripting language,
see the Macro Script Reference Guide. It is offered on the Macro Script Editor’s Help
menu and the module’s Help > Reference Guides submenu.
Manufacturing
Loads the Manufacturing system visual layout.
Surveying
Loads the Surveying system visual layout.
All Applications
Loads the All Applications system visual layout.
Note that new system visual layouts can be added by either saving or copying a visual
layout to the visual_layout subdirectory of the PolyWorks installation directory. This
customized system visual layout then appears at the end of the system visual layouts
list available under the Tools > Visual Layouts submenu of the corresponding module.
The submenu also offers the following commands that allow performing operations on
existing visual layouts:
Load
Loads a visual layout from an external file.
For more information, see Section 4.2.4 Loading a visual layout of the PolyWorks
Reference Guide.
Save
Saves a visual layout to an external file.
For more information, see Section 4.2.3 Saving a visual layout of the PolyWorks
Reference Guide.
Backups
Loads a backed up visual layout file from a list of layout files. A layout file is
identified by the date and hour it was backed up.
For more information, see Section 4.2.1 Understanding the visual layout
mechanism of the PolyWorks Reference Guide.
For more information, see Section 4.2.6 Importing macro scripts from visual
layouts of the PolyWorks Reference Guide.
Customize
Starts the visual layout customization mode.
Customizing toolbars, menu bars, menu item shortcuts, options, and macro scripts is
done using a module’s Customize Visual Layout dialog box, shown in Figure 15.8. For
complete information, see Section 4.3 Customizing an application’s visual layout of the
PolyWorks Reference Guide.
The Customize Visual Layout dialog box offers the following tabs:
Toolbars
A tab that offers the list of toolbars available in the application. It allows showing
and hiding toolbars, as well as creating, renaming, and deleting custom toolbars.
It also offers the Reset button to reset the selected toolbars to their initial state.
Commands
A tab that lists all the of the commands in the application. Choose a main menu
command or a toolbar in the Categories list box, and all of the available
commands for the selected category appear in the Commands list box. To add a
command to a toolbar or menu, select it in the Commands list box and drag in on
the desired toolbar or menu.
Keyboard
A tab that allows assigning a keyboard shortcut to any command available in the
application.
Options
A tab that offers allows locking the docking windows, setting the size of toolbar
buttons, and defining the screen tips and animation type.
Macro Scripts
A tab that allows managing the macro scripts in the current visual layout and
assigning them to a toolbar or menu.
NURBS models are objects that have their own branch in the tree view, where they can be selected, hidden,
ignored, and so on. Basic NURBS model creation and editing tools are also offered.
NURBS model are located under the NURBS Model branch of the tree view. The elements of a NURBS model
are called NURBS model surfaces.
NURBS models can be created from NURBS surfaces which result from fitting NURBS
patches.
Select one or more fitted NURBS patches (see Section 13.10 Fitting NURBS patches for
more information on fitting NURBS patches). Then, choose the Tools > NURBS Models >
Create > From NURBS Patches command or click the appropriate button on the NURBS
Models toolbar, shown in the right margin.
A NURBS model is automatically created and added to the NURBS Model branch of the
tree view.
16.1.2 Creating NURBS models from the extension of fitted NURBS patches
NURBS models can be created by extending the selected boundaries of selected fitted
NURBS patches. Fitted NURBS patches result in NURBS surfaces.
Before creating a NURBS model by extension, select all fitted NURBS patches of the
model to create, not only the ones to extend. At least one or more available fitted
NURBS patches must be selected (see Section 13.10 Fitting NURBS patchesfor more
information). The selected NURBS patches must contain at least one open boundary.
Choose the Tools > NURBS Models > Create > From NURBS Patch Extension command, or
press the corresponding button (shown to the right) on the NURBS Models toolbar. If
no fitted NURBS patches are selected, a message window is displayed to inform the
user to select at least one fitted NURBS patch.
Extension distance
A text box that allows specifying the extension distance. Valid values are greater
than zero. The default distance is 1.0 mm.
Extension type
A list box that allows specifying the type of extension. Choose from:
Figure 16.1 The dialog box used to create NURBS models from the extension of fitted NURBS
patches.
Along Tangent – Extends the selected open boundaries of the fitted NURBS
patches in a direction tangent to the surface at the boundary location. For
an example, see Figure 16.2 (a).
Preview
A button that offers a preview of the NURBS model after the extension has been
performed. When the Preview button is pressed, the selected NURBS patches and
surface extensions are displayed in the preview color (orange by default, as shown
in Figure 16.2). If the surface configuration and extension parameters do not allow
the calculation and preview of extensions, a message window is displayed to
inform the user.
Create/Confirm
A button that launches the operation, which creates the NURBS model using the
specified parameters. The interactive mode is exited once the NURBS model is
created. If the surface configuration and extension parameters do not allow the
calculation and preview of extensions, a message window is displayed to inform
the user. The model created appears under the NURBS Models branch of the tree
view. When the preview functionality is used, the Create button becomes the
Confirm button.
In the interactive mode, the pointer changes to a hand (see in the right margin) to allow
selecting at least one open boundary of the fitted NURBS patches. The selected
available fitted NURBS patches appear in gray. Other NURBS patches not selected are
not displayed. Open boundaries are drawn in bold green. Red is the default color for
selected boundaries (see Figure 16.2).
Figure 16.2 Selected fitted NURBS patches with selected open boundaries (a), a NURBS model
preview showing an extension of selected boundaries by 5 mm using the Along
Tangent extension type (b), and another extension using the Continuous Curvature
extension type (c).
Use the SPACEBAR to temporarily exit the mode and perform rotations/
translations in the 3D scene.
Drag with the middle mouse button to select using a rectangular area.
Right-click once more to confirm the NURBS model and exit the mode.
Press ESC to exit the mode (or, when no boundaries are selected and no preview
is shown, right-click to exit the mode).
NURBS models can be created by offsetting the NURBS surfaces fitted on NURBS
patches.
Select one or more fitted NURBS patches (see Section 13.10 Fitting NURBS patches for
more information on fitting NURBS patches). Then, choose the Tools > NURBS Models >
Create > From NURBS Patch Offset command or click the appropriate button (shown to
the right) on the NURBS Models toolbar. The dialog box, shown in Figure 16.4, is
displayed offering the following items:
Method
A list box that specifies the type of offset creation method. Choose from:
Add Thickness – A creation method, shown selected in Figure 16.4 (a), that
simulates a thickness for the fitted NURBS surfaces, creating a solid model.
This surface is calculated by virtually offsetting the original NURBS surfaces
opposite of their normal. The Add Thickness option is selected by default.
The Add Thickness option makes available the Thickness text box to
specify a thickness value. The default value is 10.0 mm.
Create Offset – A creation method, shown selected in Figure 16.4 (b), that
offsets the fitted NURBS surfaces. It makes available the Offset distance text
box to specify an offset value. An offset is normal to the NURBS surfaces. A
positive offset is above the NURBS surfaces, while a negative offset is below
the NURBS surfaces. The default value is 10.0 mm.
When this method is selected, the Delete original surfaces check box is
made available. Selected by default, this item enables deleting the original
fitted NURBS surfaces upon creation of the NURBS model. The check box is
selected.
Offset tolerance
A text box that specifies an offset tolerance value. This tolerance value specifies
the tolerated distance variation between the offset surface and the original
surface with respect to the Thickness or Offset distance value. The specified
value must be smaller than the Thickness or Offset distance value. The default
value is 0.1 mm.
Press the Create button to create the offset NURBS model. Press the Close button to
dismiss the dialog box.
NURBS models can be created from selected NURBS model elements. Select NURBS
model surfaces (see Section 16.4.1 Basic NURBS model element selection operations for
more information). Then, choose the Tools > NURBS Models > Create > From NURBS
Model Surfaces command. A NURBS model is automatically created and added to the
NURBS Model branch of the tree view.
Figure 16.4 The dialog box used to create offset NURBS models (a) by adding a thickness and (b)
using an offset.
(a) (b)
It is possible to cut holes in NURBS models using selected closed planar curves. Planar
curves are obtained by importing planar primitives from an IMInspect project (see
Section 5.5.2 Importing objects from an IMInspect project for more information).
Choose the Tools > NURBS Models > Cut Holes using Curves command, or click the
appropriate button (shown to the right) on the NURBS Models toolbar. The dialog box
shown in Figure 16.5 (a) is displayed, offering the following items:
NURBS model
A list box to select the NURBS model in which holes will be cut. Only the used
NURBS models are listed.
Extrusion distance
A text box that specifies a distance value by which the selected planar curve will
be extruded (see Figure 16.5 (b)). Curves are extruded in both directions. The
NURBS model is cut at the intersection of the extruded curve and the surface (see
Figure 16.5 (c)). The default value is 4.0 mm.
Preview
A button that displays a preview of the extruded curves according to the specified
Extrusion distance.
Figure 16.5 The dialog box used to cut holes in NURBS models using curves (a). The preview of a
hole to be cut in a NURBS model using a planar closed curve, with the extrusion
distance shown in red (b), and the resulting hole (c).
(a)
(b) (c)
Press the Apply button to launch the cutting operation. Surface polygonal models are
cut at the intersection of the extruded curve and the surface. Solid polygonal models
are cut at the intersection of the extruded curve and the surface, and walls are created
inside the hole in the polygonal model.
Areas of a NURBS model can be reconstructed using the NURBS patches created on a
polygonal model. The NURBS model surfaces can be reconstructed to match more
closely the polygonal model, to add to the NURBS model a feature found only on the
polygonal model, or to remove a feature from the NURBS model. The NURBS model
reconstruction workflow, presented in Figure 16.6, is described in the following sub-
sections.
Figure 16.7 The dialog box used to reconstruct NURBS model surfaces using NURBS patches.
16.2.2.1 Using the Reconstruct NURBS Surfaces using NURBS Patches dialog box
It is assumed that any required pre-alignment has been performed. This can be done in
IMInspect, and the transformation matrix obtained by the alignment can be imported
into IMEdit and applied to the polygonal model to align it to the NURBS model.
1. If desired, choose the Polygons > Analyze > Deviations from NURBS Model command
to compare the NURBS model to the polygonal model and visualize the deviations
between the two (see Figure 16.6 (a)). For more information on the polygonal model
to NURBS model comparison tool, see Section 11.1.4 Comparing polygonal models
to NURBS models.
2. Create NURBS patches to cover the parts of the NURBS model that need to be
reconstructed (see Figure 16.6 (b)).
The sets of selected NURBS patches must be delimited by a single contour. The
contour of the NURBS patches will be used to cut and remove the surfaces to
reconstruct on the NURBS model. See Chapter 13 NURBS Patches for more
information on the NURBS patch creation, fitting, and editing tools.
4. Choose the Tools > NURBS Models > Reconstruct using NURBS Patches command, or
click the appropriate button on the NURBS Models toolbar. On choosing this
command, the dialog box shown in Figure 16.7 is displayed, offering the following
item:
NURBS model
A list box that allows specifying the NURBS model to reconstruct. Choose
from all of the used NURBS models in the project. The default value is the first
NURBS model listed in the NURBS Models branch of the tree view. If a single
NURBS model is already selected, it is automatically selected in the list.
5. Press the Apply button to launch the operation. Press the Close button to dismiss
the dialog box.
Import the original CAD model Import the digitized part as a Deviations between the NURBS
as a NURBS model. polygonal model and align it to model and the polygonal model.
the NURBS model.
(b) Create NURBS patches over Optional: Fit the NURBS (c) Reconstruct the NURBS
the areas that need patches to the polygonal model using selected fitted
reconstruction. model to validate their NURBS patches.
creation.
The NURBS patches do not need to be fitted prior to the NURBS model
reconstruction.
The reconstruction tool operates on connected sets of NURBS patches that have a
single contour. The selected NURBS patches are fitted to the polygonal model using
their individual fitting properties (see Section 13.15 Using the property sheet of
NURBS patches) and their low-/high-curvature status (see Section 13.10.2 Fitting
NURBS patches using existing parameters).
The contour layer of NURBS patches is also blended with the NURBS model surfaces,
using the surface continuity property of each NURBS patch (see Section 13.15 Using
the property sheet of NURBS patches), such that the reconstructed area is smoothly
connected to the surrounding NURBS model surfaces.
Once the NURBS patches are fitted, the NURBS model surfaces are removed
following the contour of the set of fitted NURBS patches and new NURBS surfaces are
created from the fitted NURBS patches.
NURBS patches that were fitted prior to launching the reconstruction operation, are
refitted. If they were not used for the reconstruction and are adjacent to the NURBS
patches used for the reconstruction, they become unfitted.
Note that the reconstruction tool also aims at ensuring positional (G0) and tangential
(G1) continuity with the rest of the NURBS model (see Section 17.8 Using the
property sheet of curves). The G0 and G1 deviations between the reconstructed
NURBS model surfaces and the contour of the set of fitted NURBS patches can be
displayed using the NURBS patch display options (see Section 13.14.3 Using the
NURBS Patch Display Options dialog box).
See Figure 16.6 (c) for an example of a NURBS model reconstruction result.
Once the surfaces of a NURBS model have been reconstructed using the fitted NURBS
patches, the deviations can be displayed in the 3D scene using color maps (see
previous step 1.).
If the surface reconstruction is not optimal on the NURBS model, the fitting properties
(see Section 13.15 Using the property sheet of NURBS patches) and the low-/high-
curvature status (see Section 13.10.2 Fitting NURBS patches using existing parameters)
of the selected fitted NURBS patches can be edited. Then, the NURBS model surface
reconstruction can be relaunched.
To invert the orientation of visible NURBS surfaces based on the current view in the 3D
scene, choose the Tools > NURBS Models > Correct Inverted Surfaces command, or press
the corresponding button on the NURBS Models toolbar (shown to the right). The key
to using the tool is to first make desired objects visible, and then to orient the objects in
the 3D scene such that expected front-facing NURBS surfaces are visible, and that
(a) Before – a ring around the screw has an (b) After – the ring’s orientation
incorrect orientation (is back-facing) has been inverted (is front-facing)
NURBS surfaces with a back-facing orientation to be corrected can be seen (i.e., at least
one NURBS surface belonging to a shell has to be visible). A shell is a group of NURBS
model surfaces topologically connected (for an example, see Figure 16.1).
On choosing the command, for each shell, if the visible area of its back-facing surfaces
is greater than the visible area of its front-facing surfaces, then all surfaces belonging to
that shell will be inverted. For an example, see Figure 16.9.
To invert the orientation of NURBS model shells having at least one selected NURBS
model surface, choose the Tools > NURBS Models > Invert Shell Orientation command, or
click the appropriate button (shown to the right) on the NURBS Models toolbar.
Note that the orientation of all hidden and/or nonselected NURBS model surfaces
belonging to a shell will also be inverted.
The Tools > NURBS Models > Transfer Surfaces command allows transferring selected
NURBS model surfaces to create a new NURBS model object. In the transfer operation,
the NURBS model surfaces are removed from the NURBS models where they were
selected. For more information on selecting NURBS model surfaces, see Section 16.4.1
Basic NURBS model element selection operations.
The Edit menu offers four basic object-editing operations for NURBS models: Delete >
Objects, Invert Object Orientation, Mirror Objects, and Scale Objects. For more information
on these four basic operations, see Section 6.2 Deleting and recovering objects and
elements.
16.3.1 Setting NURBS model display options in the IMEdit Options dialog
box
The Display > NURBS Models page of the IMEdit Options dialog box offers options to
specify the global display mode of NURBS model objects. For complete information,
see Section 22.3.9 NURBS model display options. To access the IMEdit Options dialog
box, choose the Tools > Options command.
Interface colors may be customized in the IMEdit Options dialog box. The following
colors are related to NURBS models:
For more information on customizing interface colors, see Section 22.3.3 Interface color
display options.
Several selection methods are also offered through the object’s branch menu, under
the Select > Objects submenu. The first three methods perform global selection
operations to select All NURBS models, to Invert the current selection status of the
NURBS models, and to select None. The next two selection functions are used to select
Hidden or Ignored NURBS models. Finally, the From Elements method is used to select
NURBS models to which selected elements belong. See Section 7.1.2 Selection
operations on main menus for more information on selecting objects using main menu
items.
NURBS models can also be selected Interactively in the 3D scene. For more
information, see Section 7.1.2.2 Selecting objects interactively in the 3D scene.
The Select > Elements submenu of the NURBS model shortcut menu provides three
selection operations that apply only to visible surfaces:
All
Selects all visible surfaces of the selected visible NURBS models.
Invert
Switches the selection status of visible surfaces. Selected surfaces become
unselected while unselected surfaces become selected.
None
Deselects selected surfaces.
The Display modes tab allows editing the NURBS Model Static and Dynamic drawing
types, as well as their subsampling factor. The display modes for NURBS models are
presented in Section 16.3.1 Setting NURBS model display options in the IMEdit Options
dialog box.
# Surfaces
A text box that displays the number of surfaces in the NURBS model.
Tessellation tolerance
A text box that displays the tessellation tolerance used when creating the NURBS
model. The default value is 0.05 mm. This value is modified when the unit of
measurement for a project is modified. See Section 22.1 General options for more
information on configuring the units of measurement for a project.
Original units
A text box that displays the original units of the object. These units were read in
the original file on import or determined on import using the Unknown Units
Wizard. This wizard is described in relation with the General page of the IMEdit
Options dialog box; for more information, see Section 22.1 General options.
Units factor
The factor applied to an object’s original units to convert the object to the project’s
units of length. For more information on the Length option of the Units section,
see the General page of the IMEdit Options dialog box.
For more information on the properties common to all objects, see Section 6.4
Visualizing object properties.
When only NURBS models are selected in the tree view, right-clicking displays a
shortcut menu that includes commands that are specific to NURBS models:
View > Static View Other commands Directly specify the mode of
> Dynamic selected NURBS models (see
Section 16.3.1 Setting NURBS
model display options in the
IMEdit Options dialog box).
The 3D scene offers, for visible NURBS models, a shortcut menu containing the
commands in the table that follows. Either enter Pick Objects mode and right-click over
a NURBS model or stay in Default mode and ALT+right-click over a NURBS model. The
commands with an * apply only to the picked object.
For more information on the Pick Objects mode, see Section 7.1.2.2 Selecting objects
interactively in the 3D scene.
In Select Elements mode, holding down the SHIFT key and right-clicking a NURBS
model surface in the 3D scene displays a menu offering visualization, selection, and
editing operations specific to the NURBS model surfaces of the picked NURBS model.
See the table that follows:
For information on selecting object elements interactively, see Section 7.3.3 The
interactive selection mode.
The general approach to working with curves involves creating an open or closed curve, having it fit to the
polygonal surface and then inserted into the polygonal mesh. At insertion, the polygonal mesh is modified
so that a sequence of triangle edges describes the curve. To determine the degree of success of the fit,
several fit statistics are displayed.
Curves have their own branch in the tree view where they can be selected, hidden, deleted, and so on.
Curves can also be directly picked in the 3D scene; in the picking mode, the display of a curve changes
whenever the pointer is within a curve's domain.
17.1 Introduction
Curves can be used for a variety of polygonal-editing purposes, such as inserting
feature lines, reconstructing edges and corners, creating aesthetic boundaries, and
trimming contours. Curves are also the foundation of the surfacing process in
PolyWorks. There are five types of curves: standard, boundary, feature center, edge, and
fillet tangent. The table that follows gives a description of each type of curve and shows
an example of each type.
5 Types of Curves
Standard curves
May be anchored anywhere on a polygonal model, usually elsewhere then along a
boundary or a fillet, generally following the underlying shape. They are blue.
Standard curves may be used to divide a surface into areas with the purpose of
creating NURBS patches.
Boundary curves
A boundary curve, drawn in blue, is anchored to the polygonal model boundary, and
follows the shape of that boundary. Boundary curves know on which side is the hole.
This information is used when the curve is inserted in the polygonal model.
A boundary curve (blue) obtained from The hole after the insertion of the
a detected polygonal model boundary. boundary curve.
5 Types of Curves
Since the creation methods vary from one type of curve to another, the following
section (Section 17.2 Creating curves) is divided into subsections that correspond to
each type. The other sections in this chapter are more generic as they apply to each
type of curve.
IMEdit also defines surface normal vectors at each control point of a curve. Although
surface normal vectors do not have any influence on the geometry of the curve itself,
they are important for a number of operations. For example, normal vectors define the
direction of fit used by the curve-fitting algorithm. Normal vectors are also used to
define the left and right sides of a curve on a polygonal mesh. The normal vectors of
control points are automatically extracted from the polygonal mesh when a new curve
is anchored onto it. If a curve is created from a list of points, IMEdit uses the polygonal
mesh to find plausible normal vectors. Normal vectors can be edited interactively if
necessary, as will be shown in Section 17.4.1.2 Reshaping curves using the Reconstruct
method.
To create standard curves, parameters must first be set in the contextual dialog box (see
Figure 17.2), which is displayed either by choosing the Tools > Curves > Create >
Standard Curves command, or pressing the appropriate button (shown to the right) on
the Curves toolbar. The dialog box offers the items that follow.
– Anchor Line – Create curves from pairs of user-picked points. Using this
method, a temporary cross-section is created and converted to one or more curves.
See Section 17.2.1.2 Anchor Line creation method.
– From Curve Offset – Create curves from existing curves. Curves created
using this method are parallel to the curve from which they have been created. See
Section 17.2.1.3 From Curve Offset creation method.
– From File – Create curves from files. See Section 17.2.1.8 From File creation
method.
Each method and any related parameters are explained in the subsections
mentioned above.
Curves can be created by anchoring two or more points. When the Anchor Points
creation method is selected in the Create Standard Curves dialog box, an interactive
mode is enabled and the dialog box is configured as shown in Figure 17.2. Note that
this creation method is the default one.
To create standard curves using the Anchor Points creation method, proceed as
follows:
Center on feature
A check box that enables anchoring each picked point on the center of the fillet
along which the curve is being anchored. No point is anchored when no fillet is
detected or when the delay set in the Center-on-feature timeout (seconds) text
box on the Curves page of the IMEdit Options dialog box (see Section 22.4 Curve
options) is passed and no centering could be performed. By default, the check box
is cleared.
Relax curve
A check box that enables creating a curve that can deviate, within a tolerance,
from the anchored points to make it as smooth as possible. By default, the check
box is selected. It makes available the following item:
Figure 17.2 The Create Standard Curves dialog box configured for the Anchor Points creation
method.
Anchoring tolerance
A text box that specifies the maximum distance at which the curve can
deviate from the anchored point. Valid values are greater than zero. The
default value is 0.2 mm.
Tolerance
A text box that specifies a maximum 3D deviation value between the
curve being created and the polygonal model. Valid values are greater
than zero. The default value is 0.05 mm.
In the More subsection, specify the value for the following parameter:
Make magnetic
A check box that enables creating a magnetic curve. By default, the check box is
selected.
2. Move to the 3D scene. Since the interactive mode is enabled, the pointer changes to
a pencil (see in the right margin), and the Anchor Options dialog box is displayed in
the Dialog Zone. This dialog box contains the following parameters:
When this option is enabled and the pointer is within the snap distance from a
curve, the current snap point is highlighted, and the pointer jumps to that point if
the left button is clicked. Depending on the options set in the IMEdit Options
dialog box, the snap point can be located on:
a curve endpoint
a magnetized intersection
Note that Object snaps is not available in the Anchor Options dialog box if the
corresponding option has been cleared in the IMEdit options. For more
information, see Section 22.11 Object snap options.
When two consecutive discontinuous points are created, they are joined by a
straight segment.
Note that discontinuous points are not allowed in magnetic curves. When a
discontinuous point is created, the magnetic curve automatically splits to form
two distinct continuous curves.
3. In the 3D scene, anchor the points that will be used to create the curve. If the pointer
is no longer a pencil, click the Anchor button in the Create Standard Curves dialog
box.
Press and hold the CTRL key to disable object snaps. Note that object snaps must
be enabled to create closed curves.
Proceed as explained in the following table to indicate the end of the curve:
Move the pointer over the first picked point and left-
Closed Curves
click to snap the first and the last points together.
Press the SPACEBAR to temporarily exit the current mode and perform rotations
and translations in the 3D scene. The mode is re-entered by pressing the
SPACEBAR again.
Note that an open curve is bound by the first and the last anchored point.
When the curve is created, it is displayed under the Curves branch in the tree view. By
default, it is named curve <number>, where <number> is an automatically
incremented integer for standard curves.
Curves can be created from pairs of user-picked points. Using the Anchor Line creation
method, an intermediate cross-section is created and converted to one or more curves.
When this method is selected in the Create Standard Curves dialog box, an interactive
mode is enabled and the dialog box is configured as shown in Figure 17.3.
To create standard curves using the Anchor Line creation method, proceed as follows:
Curve-to-section tolerance
A text box that specifies a maximum 3D deviation between the curve being
created and the intermediate cross-section. Valid values are greater than zero. The
default value is 0.05 mm.
Figure 17.3 The Create Standard Curves dialog box configured for the Anchor Line creation
method.
Closure distance
A check box, selected by default, that enables joining, by a straight segment, any
pairs of consecutive points along the intermediate cross-section that are within
the distance specified in the adjacent text box. Any gaps in the cross-section will
be reflected in the conversion-to-curves process.
The adjacent text box specifies the distance. Valid values are greater than zero. The
default value is 1.0 mm.
Discontinuity angle
A check box, selected by default, that enables creating discontinuous points
(nonmagnetic curves) or splitting the curve (magnetic curves) when the angle
specified in the adjacent text box is surpassed. When a magnetic curve is split, the
two new curve endpoints are made coincident and the resulting intersection is
magnetized. Curves created from a split operation retain the name of the initial
curve, to which a numerical extension is added making the name unique.
The adjacent text box specifies the angle in degrees between the surface normal
of two adjacent triangles intersected by the cross-section. Valid values range
exclusively from 0 to 180 degrees. The default value is 45 degrees.
2. In the More subsection, specify the values for the following parameter:
Sampling step
A group label that allows specifying whether the interval between generated
sample points is user defined or automatically defined by selecting the
appropriate option button. The default value is Automatic. If the Custom option is
selected, the default value is 1.0 mm. In this case, valid values are greater than zero.
Make magnetic
A check box that enables creating a magnetic curve. By default, the check box is
selected.
3. Move to the 3D scene. Since the interactive mode is enabled, the pointer changes to
a pencil with a S subscript (see in the right margin), and the Anchor Options dialog
box is displayed in the Dialog Zone. This dialog box contains the following
parameters:
When this option is enabled and the pointer is within the snap distance from a
curve, the current snap point is highlighted, and the pointer jumps to that point if
the left button is clicked. Depending on the options set in the IMEdit Options
dialog box, the snap point can be located on:
a curve endpoint
a magnetized intersection
Note that Object snaps is not available in the Anchor Options dialog box if the
corresponding option has been cleared in the IMEdit options. For more
information, see Section 22.11 Object snap options.
Surface/Volume (Shift)
A reminder that by default the anchoring mode is surfacic, and to press the SHIFT
key for volumetric anchoring mode. If the SHIFT key is up, the adjacent status label
reads Surface and if the SHIFT key is down, it reads Volume.
4. In the 3D scene, anchor the points that will be used to create the curve. If the pointer
is no longer a pencil, click the Anchor button in the Create Standard Curves dialog
box.
Left-click to anchor a point. The default anchoring mode is surfacic (the pointer
has a S subscript).
Press and hold the SHIFT key for volumetric anchoring (the pointer has a V
subscript). Note that clicking the background or a nonselectable part of the
model will automatically lock the volumetric anchoring mode.
This step can be repeated, if desired. Otherwise, right-click or press the ESC key
to exit the mode.
Press the SPACEBAR to temporarily exit the current mode and perform rotations
and translations in the 3D scene. The mode is re-entered by pressing the
SPACEBAR again.
Note that the curve is bound by the first and the last anchored point.
When the curve is created, it is displayed under the Curves branch in the tree view. By
default, it is named curve <number>, where <number> is an automatically
incremented integer for standard curves.
When the From Curve Offset creation method is selected in the Create Standard
Curves dialog box, an interactive mode is enabled and the dialog box is configured as
shown in Figure 17.4:
To create standard curves using the From Curve Offset creation method, proceed as
follows:
Figure 17.4 The Create Standard Curves dialog box configured for the From Curve Offset creation
method.
Offset distance
A group label that offers options to specify the offset distance:
Interactive
An option button, selected by default, that allows dragging a visible
curve in the 3D scene to determine the offset distance.
Custom
An option button that allows specifying an offset value in an adjacent
text box. Valid values are greater than zero. The default value is 1.0 mm.
Tolerance
A text box that specifies a maximum 3D deviation value between the
curve being created and the polygonal model. Valid values are greater
than zero. The default value is 0.05 mm.
2. In the More subsection, specify the values for the following parameters:
Extraction step
A group label that offers options to specify the sampling step along the curve:
Automatic
An option button, selected by default, that lets the application compute
an appropriate value for this parameter.
Custom
An option button that allows specifying a value for the extraction step.
Valid values are greater than zero. The default value is 0.5 mm.
The picked curve is sampled, and the offset is computed at each sample point.
Make magnetic
A check box that enables creating a magnetic curve. By default, the check box is
selected.
3. Move to the 3D scene. An interactive mode is enabled. In this case, the pointer
changes to a hand (see in the right margin). If the mode is disabled, it can be re-
enabled by clicking the Pick button in the Create Standard Curves dialog box.
In the 3D scene, move the pointer near the curve to offset, and it is highlighted. On
clicking, the pointer is placed directly on the highlighted curve. Drag in the offset
direction. The distance is determined by the Offset distance parameter (see the
above-mentioned parameters):
If the offset distance has been set as Interactive, the distance used to drag
the curve in the 3D scene determines the offset distance, i.e., the location of
the new curve.
If the offset distance has been set as Custom, the offset distance has been
previously defined. The drag operation is only used to create the new curve
at the specified distance.
Press the SPACEBAR to temporarily exit the current mode and perform
rotations and translations in the 3D scene. The mode is re-entered by
pressing the SPACEBAR again.
Figure 17.5 The Create Standard Curves dialog box configured for the From Intersection of
Triangles with Planes creation method.
When the curve is created, it is displayed under the Curves branch in the tree view. By
default, it is named curve <number>, where <number> is an automatically
incremented integer for standard curves.
Curves can be created from selected planes that intersect selected triangles or, if there
are none, visible models. The planes are used to section the selected triangles, or the
models, internally creating cross-sections that are used to create curves. After the
operation is completed, the intermediate cross-sections are discarded.
When the From Intersection of Triangles with Planes creation method is selected in
the Create Standard Curves dialog box, the dialog box is configured as shown in Figure
17.5.
To create standard curves using the From Intersection of Triangles with Planes
creation method, proceed as follows:
Curve-to-section tolerance
A text box that specifies a maximum 3D deviation between the curve being
created and the intermediate cross-section. Valid values are greater than zero. The
default value is 0.05 mm.
Closure distance
A check box, selected by default, that enables joining by a straight segment any
pairs of consecutive points along the intermediate cross-section that are within
the distance specified in the adjacent text box. Any gaps in the cross-section will
be reflected in the conversion-to-curves process.
The adjacent text box specifies the distance. Valid values are greater than zero. The
default value is 1.0 mm.
Discontinuity angle
A check box, selected by default, that enables creating discontinuous points
(nonmagnetic curves) or splitting the curve (magnetic curves) when the angle
specified in the adjacent text box is surpassed. When a magnetic curve is split, the
two new curve endpoints are made coincident and the resulting intersection is
magnetized. Curves created from a split operation retain the name of the initial
curve, to which a numerical extension is added making the name unique.
The adjacent text box specifies the angle in degrees between the surface normal
of two adjacent triangles intersected by the cross-section. Valid values range
exclusively from 0 to 180 degrees. The default value is 45 degrees.
2. In the More subsection, specify the values for the following parameters:
Sampling step
A group label that allows specifying whether the interval between generated
sample points is user defined or automatically defined by selecting the
appropriate option button. The default value is Automatic. If the Custom option is
selected, the default value is 1.0 mm. In this case, valid values are greater than zero.
Make magnetic
A check box that enables creating a magnetic curve. By default, the check box is
selected.
3. Select one or more planes that will be used to create the curve.
4. Press the Preview button to preview the curve creation, or press the Create button
to launch the curve creation without performing a preview.
When the Preview button is pressed, the result is displayed in the 3D scene. Press
the Confirm button to apply the curve creation.
Note that curves are bound by the first and the last anchored point.
The group is named curves - plane 1 - IMBase.pol (plane 1 being the plane name,
and IMBase. pol being the polygonal model name). Note that the polygonal model
name is displayed only when there is more than one used (nonignored) polygonal
model.
Curves (and optionally point primitives) can be created from the intersection of NURBS
model shells, or from the intersection of two or more NURBS models. See Figure 17.7 for
an example.
When the From Intersection of NURBS Model Shells creation method is selected in
the Create Standard Curves dialog box, the dialog box is configured as shown in Figure
17.6.
To create standard curves using the From Intersection of NURBS Model Shells
creation method, proceed as follows:
Discontinuity angle
A check box, selected by default, that enables creating discontinuous points
(nonmagnetic curves) or splitting the curve (magnetic curves) when the angle
specified in the adjacent text box is surpassed. When a magnetic curve is split, the
two new curve endpoints are made coincident and the resulting intersection is
magnetized. Curves created from a split operation retain the name of the initial
curve, to which a numerical extension is added, making the name unique.
Figure 17.6 The Create Standard Curves dialog box configured for the From Intersection of
NURBS Model Shells method.
The adjacent text box specifies the angle in degrees. Valid values range from 0 to
90 degrees exclusively. The default value is 15 degrees.
2. In the More subsection, specify the value for the following parameters:
Make magnetic
A check box that enables creating a magnetic curve. By default, the check box is
selected.
3. Select the NURBS models that will be used to create the curves (and point primitives,
if desired).
4. Press the Preview button to preview the curve creation, or press the Create button
to launch the curve creation without performing a preview.
When the Preview button is pressed, the result is displayed in the 3D scene. Press
the Confirm button to apply the curve creation.
Figure 17.7 Extracting curves from the intersection of NURBS model shells. In this example, point
primitives have been created at curve intersections.
Curves can be created from selected cross-sections. The original cross-sections remain
unchanged.
When the From Cross-Sections creation method is selected in the Create Standard
Curves dialog box, the dialog box is configured as shown in Figure 17.8.
To create standard curves using the From Cross-Sections creation method, proceed as
follows:
Curve-to-section tolerance
A text box that specifies a maximum 3D deviation between the curve being
created and the existing cross-section. Valid values are greater than zero. The
default value is 0.05 mm.
Closure distance
A check box, selected by default, that enables joining by a straight segment any
pairs of consecutive points along the cross-section that are within the distance
specified in the adjacent text box. Any gaps in the cross-section will be reflected in
the conversion-to-curves process.
Figure 17.8 The Create Standard Curves dialog box configured for the From Cross-Sections
creation method.
The adjacent text box specifies the distance. Valid values are greater than zero. The
default value is 1.0 mm.
Discontinuity angle
A check box, selected by default, that enables creating discontinuous points
(nonmagnetic curves) or splitting the curve (magnetic curves) when the angle
specified in the adjacent text box is surpassed. When a magnetic curve is split, the
two new curve endpoints are made coincident and the resulting intersection is
magnetized. Curves created from a split operation retain the name of the initial
curve, to which a numerical extension is added, making the name unique.
The adjacent text box specifies the angle in degrees between the surface normal
of two adjacent triangles intersected by the cross-section. Valid values range
exclusively from 0 to 180 degrees. The default value is 45 degrees.
2. In the More subsection, specify the values for the following parameters:
Sampling step
A group label that allows specifying whether the interval between generated
sample points is user defined or automatically defined by selecting the
appropriate option button. The default value is Automatic. If the Custom option is
selected, the default value is 1.0 mm. In this case, valid values are greater than zero.
Make magnetic
A check box that enables creating a magnetic curve. By default, the check box is
selected.
3. Select one or more cross-sections that will be used to create the curve.
4. Press the Preview button to preview the curve creation, or press the Create button
to launch the curve creation without performing a preview.
When the Preview button is pressed, the result is displayed in the 3D scene. Press
the Confirm button to apply the curve creation.
When the curve is created, it is displayed under the Curves branch in the tree view, in an
object group that corresponds to the selected cross-section. There is one object group
for each cross-section that has been used to create curves. Object groups are named
curves - cross_section_name.
The curve is split (magnetic curves). When a magnetic curve is split, the two new
curve endpoints are made coincident and the resulting intersection is magnetized.
Curves created from a split operation retain the name of the initial curve, to which a
numerical extension is added making the name unique.
Curves can be automatically extracted from the boundaries of NURBS model surfaces
to accelerate a NURBS surfacing project.
Figure 17.9 The Create Standard Curves dialog box configured for the From Boundaries of NURBS
Model Surfaces creation method.
When the From Boundaries of NURBS Model Surfaces creation method is selected in
the Create Standard Curves dialog box, the dialog box is configured as shown in Figure
17.9.
To create standard curves using the From Boundaries of NURBS Model Surfaces
creation method, proceed as follows:
Discontinuity angle
A check box, selected by default, that enables creating discontinuous points
(nonmagnetic curves) or splitting the curve (magnetic curves) when the angle,
specified in the adjacent text box, is surpassed. When a magnetic curve is split, the
two new curve endpoints are made coincident and the resulting intersection is
magnetized. Curves created from a split operation retain the name of the initial
curve, to which a numerical extension is added making the name unique.
The adjacent text box specifies the angle in degrees at a junction with the
boundaries of the adjacent surfaces. Valid values range exclusively from 0 to 90
degrees. The default value is 15 degrees.
2. In the More subsection, specify the values for the following parameters:
Make magnetic
A check box that enables creating a magnetic curve. By default, the check box is
selected.
(a) Surfaces are selected on (b) Curves are created along (c) Two of the curves displayed
a NURBS model surface boundaries without the NURBS model
3. Select one or more surfaces on the NURBS models that will be used to create the
curve (see Figure 17.10 (a)).
If no surfaces are selected, all surfaces of the visible NURBS models will be used.
4. Press the Preview button to preview the curve creation, or press the Create button
to launch the curve creation without performing a preview.
When the Preview button is pressed, the result is displayed in the 3D scene. Press
the Confirm button to apply the curve creation.
When the curve is created, it is displayed under the Curves branch in the tree view. By
default, it is named curve <number>, where <number> is an automatically
incremented integer for standard curves.
The curves created using the specified parameters match exactly the NURBS model
surface boundaries, as shown in Figure 17.10 (b). Note that a single curve is created
along consecutive surface boundaries, as shown in Figure 17.10 (c). When the specified
Discontinuity angle is exceeded at a junction with the boundaries of the adjacent
surfaces, a new curve is created.
Note that if adjacent surfaces on the NURBS model are separated by open boundaries,
two curves are created instead of one. Open boundaries on a NURBS model are
displayed using the NURBS Model Open Boundary color. For more information, see
Section 22.3.3 Interface color display options.
Figure 17.11 The Create Standard Curves dialog box configured for the From File creation method.
Curves can be created by importing IGES files, text files, or CogniTens XML files. For
CogniTens XML files, a table (see Figure 17.12) summarizes the list of importable
objects.
When the From File creation method is selected in the Create Standard Curves dialog
box, the dialog box is configured as shown in Figure 17.11.
To create standard curves using the From File creation method, proceed as follows:
1. In the Parameters section, browse the file to be imported. The following item is
offered:
File
A text box that enables specifying a path by using the browse button.
When the path is specified, the following parameters are displayed according to the
type of file imported:
Construction tolerance
A text box that specifies a maximum 3D deviation value between the curve being
created and the curves contained in the file. Valid values are greater than zero. The
default value is 0.05 mm.
Figure 17.12 The list of objects (i.e., measured primitives only) in a CogniTens XML file that can be
imported as nonmagnetic curves.
Object in CogniTens
Object Created in IMEdit Example
XML file
Discontinuity angle
A check box (available for text files and IGES files only) that enables creating
discontinuous points (nonmagnetic curves) or splitting the curve (magnetic
curves) when the angle specified in the adjacent text box is surpassed. When a
magnetic curve is split, the two new curve endpoints are made coincident and the
resulting intersection is magnetized. Curves created from a split operation retain
the name of the initial curve, to which a numerical extension is added making the
name unique. By default, the check box is selected.
The adjacent text box specifies the angle in degrees. Valid values range exclusively
from 0 to 180 degrees. The default value is 45 degrees.
See Figure 17.13 for examples of a curve imported using different Construction
tolerance and Discontinuity angle values.
Figure 17.13 Magnetic curve (a) imported using different tolerance values and discontinuity
angles.
Tolerance
A text box that specifies a maximum 3D deviation value between the
curve being created and the polygonal model. Valid values are greater
than zero. The default value is 0.05 mm.
2. In the More subsection, specify the values for the following parameters:
Make magnetic
A check box that enables creating a magnetic curve. By default, the check box is
selected.
3. Press the Preview button to preview the curve creation, or press the Create button
to launch the curve creation without performing a preview.
When the Preview button is pressed, the result is displayed in the 3D scene. Press
the Confirm button to apply the curve creation.
Figure 17.14 The dialog box used to create boundary curves with the Anchor creation method.
When the curve is created, it is displayed under the Curves branch in the tree view.
Imported curves are named as follows:
Curves imported from an IGES file: <curve_name> as it is specified in the IGES file.
1. Choose the Tools > Curves > Create > Boundary Curves command, or pressing the
appropriate button on the Curves toolbar. The contextual dialog box shown in
Figure 17.14 is displayed.
Anchor – Create curves by anchoring two or more points. See Section 17.2.2.1
Anchor creation method.
From Curves – Create curves from an existing curve. See Section 17.2.2.2 From
Curves creation method.
The contextual parameters offered for each method are described in the
subsections.
When the Anchor creation method is selected in the Create Boundary Curves dialog
box (by pressing the button shown to the right), an interactive mode is enabled and the
dialog box is configured as shown in Figure 17.14. Note that this creation method is the
default one.
To create boundary curves using the Anchor creation method, proceed as follows:
Close curve
A check box that enables creating a closed boundary curve. By default, the check
box is cleared.
Filter radius
A text box that specifies the 2D radius of the rolling ball that is used to trace a curve
along a boundary. A large value results in a smoother curve that eliminates most
of the noise which may be found at the boundary. A small value results in a curve
that follows closely the boundary contour. See Figure 17.15 for examples. Valid
values are greater than zero. The default value is 2.0 mm.
2. In the More subsection, specify the values for the following parameters:
Make magnetic
A check box that enables creating a magnetic curve. By default, the check box is
selected.
3. Move to the 3D scene. If the interactive mode has been disabled, press the Anchor
button to enable it. When the interactive mode is enabled, the pointer changes to a
pencil (see in the right margin) and the boundaries of polygonal models are
displayed in red (i.e., Selection color).
Figure 17.15 Creating a closed curve from a boundary in (a) using three different filter radius
values: 1 mm (b), 2 mm (c), and 5 mm (d). The larger the filter radius value, the
smoother the curve.
(a) (b)
(c) (d)
Press the SPACEBAR to temporarily exit the current mode and perform rotations
and translations in the 3D scene. The mode is re-entered by pressing the
SPACEBAR again.
Bring the pointer near a boundary. When close to the boundary, the boundary is
highlighted in turquoise and the pointer position is tracked on the boundary.
Figure 17.16 The dialog box used to create boundary curves with the From Curves method.
An open boundary curve is bound by the first and the last anchored point. For a
closed boundary curve, the last point along the boundary is automatically
connected to its first point.
When the curve is created, it is displayed under the Curves branch in the tree view.
By default, it is named boundary <number>, where <number> is an automatically
incremented integer for boundary curves.
The From Curves creation method allows converting curves that represent where new
boundaries should be defined for existing holes or gaps, to new boundary curves. In
order to be converted, the original curves must be able to detect existing boundaries
within a search distance. Once converted, the boundary curves may be inserted into
the polygonal model to become the new boundaries of their related holes, by
removing all triangles on the hole side of the boundary curves (i.e., Polygons > Insert >
Curves).
When the From Curves creation method is selected in the Create Boundary Curves
dialog box (by pressing the button shown to the right), the dialog box is configured as
shown in Figure 17.16.
To create boundary curves using the From Curves creation method, proceed as
follows:
Max distance
A text box that enables specifying the maximum boundary search distance. Valid
values must be greater than zero. The default value is 4 mm.
2. In the More subsection, specify the values for the following parameters:
Make magnetic
A check box that enables creating a magnetic curve. By default, the check box is
selected.
3. Select one or more curves that will be used to create the boundary curve(s).
4. Press the Preview button to preview the curve creation, or press the Create button
to launch the curve creation without performing a preview.
When the Preview button is pressed, the result is displayed in the 3D scene. Press
the Confirm button to apply the curve creation.
When the curve is created, it is displayed under the Curves branch in the tree view. By
default, it is named boundary <number>, where <number> is an automatically
incremented integer for boundary curves.
To create feature center curves, parameters must first be set in the contextual dialog
box (see Figure 17.17), which is displayed either by choosing the Tools > Curves >
Create > Feature Center Curves command, or pressing the appropriate button on the
Curves toolbar.
Two creation methods are available. Each method is explained in the subsections that
follow.
Figure 17.17 The dialog box used to create feature center curves with the Automatic Extraction
creation method.
Manual Extraction – Create feature center curves from manual extraction. See
Section 17.2.3.2 Manual Extraction creation method.
When the Automatic Extraction creation method is selected in the Create Feature
Center Curves dialog box (by pressing the button shown to the right), the dialog box is
configured as shown in Figure 17.17.
To create feature center curves using the Automatic Extraction creation method:
Automatic
An option button, selected by default, that lets the application compute
an appropriate value for this parameter.
Custom
An option button that lets enter a value. Valid values are greater than
zero. The default value is 2.5 mm.
2. In the More subsection, specify the values for the following parameters:
Make magnetic
A check box that enables creating a magnetic curve. By default, the check box is
selected.
3. Press the Preview button to preview the curve creation, or press the Create button
to launch the curve creation without performing a preview.
When the Preview button is pressed, the result is displayed in the 3D scene. Press
the Confirm button to apply the curve creation.
When the curve is created, it is displayed under the Curves branch in the tree view. By
default, it is named ftr center <number>, where <number> is an automatically
incremented integer for feature center curves.
When the Manual Extraction creation method is selected in the Create Feature Center
Curves dialog box (by pressing the button shown to the right), an interactive mode is
enabled and the dialog box is configured as shown in Figure 17.18. Note that this
creation method is the default one.
To create feature center curves using the Manual Extraction creation method, proceed
as follows:
Feature tracking
A list box that offers three methods that allow tracking opened and closed
features. Each method requires picking one or more points along the feature and
dragging a distance that encompasses the feature. The distance roughly defines
the curve’s exclusion zone. Choose one of the following options:
Automatic
An option button, selected by default, that lets the application compute
an appropriate value for this parameter. It makes available the following
item:
Figure 17.18 The dialog box used to create feature center curves with the Manual Extraction
creation method.
Custom
An option button that specifies entering a value. Valid values are greater
than zero. The default value is 2.0 mm.
2. In the More subsection, specify the values for the following parameters:
Make magnetic
A check box that enables creating a magnetic curve. By default, the check box is
selected.
3. Move to the 3D scene. Since the interactive mode is enabled, the pointer changes to
a pencil. A symbol precedes the pencil to indicate which Feature tracking mode is
currently used (see the table that follows). Proceed using one of the methods listed
below, depending on the selected feature tracking mode.
Press the TAB key to switch from the 1 Point to the N Points feature tracking
mode.
The SPACEBAR can be pressed to temporarily exit the current mode and
perform rotations and translations in the 3D scene. The mode is re-entered
by pressing the SPACEBAR again.
Figure 17.19 The dialog box used to edit the anchored points and the feature-tracking parameters.
4. Right-click to indicate the last point (N Points feature tracking modes only).
5. Move the mouse with respect to the last anchored point to define an approximate
feature radius; the moved distance is represented graphically in the 3D scene and
quantitatively in a window that is continually updated. Click when the desired
radius is obtained. The application immediately starts tracking the indicated
feature, and then previews the extracted curve.
For difficult features, post-editing functions provide control over the anchored points in
order to improve the feature tracking.
6. In the Post editing section, you can modify and adjust curves precisely using the
following parameters:
Editing type
A group label that proposes editing modes to edit the displayed polyline
anchor points of the polyline:
— Insert Point
A button that allows adding anchor points to the current feature
center curve.
— Delete Point
A button that allows removing existing points from the current
feature center curve.
— Extend
A button that allows extending the polyline by first clicking an
endpoint and then picking additional locations on the polygonal
model. Right-click when done. This mode is not available for
closed polylines.
— Anchor/Release Point
A button that allows toggling the status of a polyline point. If
anchored, the feature curve must pass through this point. If not
anchored, the polyline point is just an approximation and the
application computes the best location. Anchored points are
shown in red, while released points are shown in green.
Feature radius
A text box that allows specifying the radius of the tracked feature. Valid
values are greater than zero. The default value is 1 mm.
Preview
A button that offers a preview of the curve editing process in the 3D
scene.
OK
A button that confirms the curve editing process and exits the submode.
Cancel
A button that cancels the operation and exits the submode.
When the curve is created, it is displayed under the Curves branch in the tree view. By
default, it is named ftr center <number>, where <number> is an automatically
incremented integer for feature center curves.
Figure 17.20 The dialog box used to create edge curves with the Automatic Extraction creation
method.
To create edge curves, parameters must first be set in the contextual dialog box (see
Figure 17.20), which is displayed either by choosing the Tools > Curves > Create > Edge
Curves command, or pressing the appropriate button on the Curves toolbar.
Four creation methods are available. Each method is explained in the subsections that
follow.
Manual Extraction – Create edge curves from manual extraction. See Section
17.2.4.2 Manual Extraction creation method.
From Curve– Create edge curves from an existing curve. See Section 17.2.4.3
From Curve creation method.
From Polygonal Model Sharp Edges – Create edge curves from sharp edges
extracted from the polygonal model. See Section 17.2.4.4 From Polygonal Model
Sharp Edges creation method.
When the Automatic Extraction creation method is selected in the Create Edge Curves
dialog box (by pressing the button shown to the right), the dialog box is configured as
shown in Figure 17.20.
To create edge curves using the Automatic Extraction creation method, proceed as
follows:
Automatic
An option button, selected by default, that lets the application compute
an appropriate value for this parameter. It makes available the following
item:
Custom
An option button that lets enter a value. Valid values are greater than
zero. The default value is 2.5 mm.
2. In the More subsection, specify the values for the following parameters:
Make magnetic
A check box that enables creating a magnetic curve. By default, the check box is
selected.
3. Press the Preview button to preview the curve creation, or press the Create button
to launch the curve creation without performing a preview.
When the Preview button is pressed, the result is displayed in the 3D scene. Press
the Confirm button to apply the curve creation.
When the curve is created, it is displayed under the Curves branch in the tree view. By
default, it is named edge <number>, where <number> is an automatically incremented
integer for edge curves.
When the Manual Extraction creation method is selected in the Create Edge Curves
dialog box (by pressing the button shown to the right), an interactive mode is enabled
and the dialog box is configured as shown in Figure 17.21. This mode allows picking
one or more points on a feature that will be used to track the feature. Note that this
creation method is the default one.
To create edge curves using the Manual Extraction creation method, proceed as
follows:
Feature tracking
A list box that offers the methods that allow tracking opened and closed curves.
Each method requires picking one or more points along the curve and dragging a
distance that encompasses the curve. The distance roughly defines the curve’s
exclusion zone. Choose one of the following options:
Automatic
An option button, selected by default, that lets the application compute
an appropriate value for this parameter. It makes available the following
item:
Custom
An option button that lets enter a value. Valid values are greater than
zero. The default value is 2.0 mm.
2. In the More subsection, specify the values for the following parameters:
Figure 17.21 The dialog box used to create edge curves with the Manual Extraction creation
method.
Make magnetic
A check box that enables creating a magnetic curve. By default, the check box is
selected.
3. Move to the 3D scene. Since the interactive mode is enabled, the pointer changes to
a pencil. A symbol precedes the pencil to indicate which Feature tracking mode is
currently used (see the table that follows). Proceed using one of the methods listed
below, depending on the selected feature tracking mode.
Press the TAB key to switch from the 1 Point to the N Points feature tracking
method.
The SPACEBAR can be pressed to temporarily exit the current mode and perform
rotations and translations in the 3D scene. The mode is re-entered by pressing
the SPACEBAR again.
4. Right-click to indicate the last point (N Points feature tracking modes only).
5. Move the mouse with respect to the last anchored point to define an approximate
feature radius; the moved distance is represented graphically in the 3D scene and
quantitatively in a window that is continually updated. Left-click when the desired
radius is obtained. The application immediately starts tracking the indicated
feature, and then previews the extracted curve.
For difficult features, post-editing functions provide control over the anchored points in
order to improve the feature tracking.
Figure 17.22 The dialog box used to edit the anchored points and the feature-tracking parameters.
6. In the Post editing section, you can modify and adjust the current edge curve
precisely using the following parameters:
Editing type
A group label that proposes the following editing modes to edit the
displayed polyline anchor points:
— Insert Point
A button that allows adding anchor points to the current feature
center curve.
— Delete Point
A button that allows removing existing points from the current
feature center curve.
— Extend
A button that allows extending the polyline by first clicking an
endpoint and then picking additional locations on the polygonal
model. Right-click when done. This mode is not available for
closed polylines.
— Anchor/Release Point
A button that allows toggling the status of a polyline point. If
anchored, the feature curve must pass through this point. If not
anchored, the polyline point is just an approximation and the
application computes the best location. Anchored points are
shown in red, while released points are shown in green.
Feature radius
A text box that allows specifying the radius of the tracked feature. Valid
values are greater than zero. The default value is 1 mm.
Preview
A button that offers a preview of the editing process in the 3D scene.
OK
A button that confirms the editing process and exits the submode.
Cancel
A button that cancels the operation and exits the submode.
Edit Extraction
A button that launches a submode that allows editing extracted curves. The Edit
Extraction dialog box shown in Figure 17.23 is displayed. The editable circles are
displayed in green. The dialog box makes available the following items:
Extraction step
A group label that allows specifying how the extraction step is to be
calculated. Choose one of the following options:
Automatic
An option button, selected by default, that lets the application
calculate the interval (recommended).
At anchored points
An option button that allows specifying the interval at anchored
points only. This method is recommended if the data is especially
bad elsewhere along the curve.
Custom
An option button that allows entering a value. Valid values are
greater than 0. The default value is 1 mm.
Exclusion zone
A group label that offers two group labels for editing extracted curves.
The editable circles are displayed in green.
Editing type
A group label that proposes four editing mode options that allow
editing the radii of the displayed semi-circles. Each editing mode
will apply to one or both sides of the curve as specified below in
the Sides to edit group label.
Sides to edit
A group label that allows specifying the side of the circles to edit.
it offers the following options:
Both sides
An option, selected by default, that specifies editing both
side of the circles.
Preview
A button that offers a preview of the editing process in the 3D scene.
OK
A button that confirms the editing process and exits the submode.
Cancel
A button that cancels the operation and exits the submode.
Adjust Edge
A button that displays the Adjust Edge dialog box (see Figure 17.24 (a)). The dialog
box offers the following items:
Smoothing
A group box that contains two sliders that allow adjusting the
smoothness of the edge curve (not yet extracted, but repositioned)
along the Normal (the average of the normals of the surfaces to the right
and to the left of the feature center curve) and/or the Lateral
(perpendicular to the Normal direction) directions (see Figure 17.24). For
best results, both sliders should be set to the same position. Note that the
smoothing should be done first, as the blending (see the next item) is
applied to the smoothed curve. Valid values range from 0 to 100%. The
default value for both sliders is 50%.
Figure 17.24 The Adjust Edge dialog box (a). The viewing mode for the three renderings shown in
(b, c, and d) is set to Line and Points. In example (d), there has been no adjustment
done to the curve. Notice that the regularity of the amplitude of the curvature vectors
is an indication of a smooth extracted curve.
(a) (b)
(c) (d)
Rendering options
A section that provides items that determine the rendering of the edge curve in
the 3D scene. The following items are offered:
Display mode
A list box that offers five rendering modes: Curve (connecting the edge
points using a composite curve thus providing a preview of the final
edge curve), Line (straight segments that join the edge points), only the
edge Points, Curve and Points or the edge Line and Points. The default
value is Curve and Points.
Superimpose edge
A check box, selected by default, that enables seeing the rendering
above the polygonal model surface at all times.
Show curvature
A check box that enables specifying which curvature component will be
displayed. Choose from: Normal, Tangent, or Tangent and normal. The
default value is Tangent and normal.
OK
A button that confirms the editing process and exits the submode.
Cancel
A button that cancels the operation and exits the submode.
When the curve is created, it is displayed under the Curves branch in the tree view. By
default, it is named edge <number>, where <number> is an automatically incremented
integer for edge curves.
Edge curves can be created from a selected curve (preferably a curve located at the
center of the fillet). Once the selection is made, an exclusion zone to the right and to
the left of the curve is defined, which is ignored when extracting a sharp edge curve.
Green semi-circles are displayed on both sides of the curve, defining the initial exclusion
zone. Select a mode and specify whether it applies to the semi-circles on one side or on
both sides of the curve.
When the From Curve creation method is selected in the Create Edge Curves dialog
box (by pressing the button shown to the right), the dialog box is configured as shown
in Figure 17.25.
If no curve has been preselected or if more than one curve is selected, the pointer
changes to a hand (see in the right margin) to allow picking the curve used for the edge
curve creation. Note that this selection can also be performed in the Create Edge
Curves dialog box.
To create edge curves using the From Curve creation method, proceed as follows:
Curve
A list box that enables selecting the curve for which an edge curve is to be
extracted. The list box contains all nonignored curves.
The selection of curve may also be specified using the picking mode which is
launched by clicking the hand symbol adjacent to the list box and picking a curve
in the 3D scene.
Extraction step
A group label that offers two options for specifying how the extraction step is
calculated. Choose one of the following options:
Automatic
An option button, selected by default, that lets the application compute
an appropriate value for this parameter.
Custom
An option button that allows entering an interval. Valid values are greater
than zero. The default value is 1 mm.
Exclusion zone
A group label that offers two items for editing extracted curves. The editable
circles are displayed in green.
Figure 17.25 The dialog box used to create edge curves with the From Curve creation method.
Editing type
A group label that offers four editing modes that allow editing the radii
of the displayed semi-circles. Each editing mode will apply to one or both
sides of the curve as specified below in the Sides to edit group label.
— Drag One
An option button, selected by default, that specifies a mode that
allows picking and dragging the semi-circles one at a time to a
desired radius in order to edit the exclusion zone.
— Drag Range
An option button that specifies a mode that allows picking and
dragging a range of semi-circles to a desired radius in order to
edit the exclusion zone.
— Drag All
An option button that specifies a mode that allows picking and
dragging all the semi-circles at once to a desired radius in order
to edit the exclusion zone.
— Draw Boundary
An option button that specifies a mode that allows anchoring a
polyline along the semi-circles to delimit the exclusion zone.
Sides to edit
A group label that allows specifying the side of the circles to edit. it offers
the following options:
Both sides
An option, selected by default, that specifies editing both side of the
circles.
2. In the More subsection, specify the values for the following parameters:
Make magnetic
A check box that enables creating a magnetic curve. By default, the check box is
selected.
3. In the 3D scene, delimit the exclusion zone. Proceed using one of the methods listed
in the table that follows, depending on the selected editing type.
Press the SPACEBAR to temporarily exit the current mode and perform rotations
and translations in the 3D scene. The mode is re-entered by pressing the
SPACEBAR again.
For difficult features, post-editing functions provide control over the anchored points in
order to improve the feature tracking.
5. In the Post editing section, you can modify and adjust curves precisely using the
following parameters:
Adjust Edge
A button that displays the Adjust Edge dialog box (see Figure 17.26 (a)).
Smoothing
A group box that contains two sliders that allow adjusting the
smoothness of the edge curve (not yet extracted, but repositioned)
along the Normal (the average of the normals of the surfaces to the right
and to the left of the feature center curve) and/or the Lateral
(perpendicular to the Normal direction) directions (see Figure 17.26). For
Figure 17.26 The Adjust Edge dialog box (a). The viewing mode for the three renderings shown in
(b, c, and d) is set to Line and Points. In example (d), there has been no adjustment
done to the curve. Notice that the regularity of the amplitude of the curvature vectors
is an indication of a smooth extracted curve.
(a) (b)
(c) (d)
best results, both sliders should usually be set at the same position. Note
that the smoothing should be done first, as the blending (see the next
item) is applied to the smoothed curve. Valid values range from 0 to
100%. The default value for both sliders is 50%.
The Rendering options section provides items that determine the rendering of
the edge curve in the 3D scene.
Display mode
A list box that offers five rendering modes: Curve (connecting the edge
points using a composite curve thus providing a preview of the final
edge curve), Line (straight segments that join the edge points), only the
edge Points, Curve and Points or the edge Line and Points. The default
value is Curve and Points.
Superimpose edge
A check box, selected by default, that enables seeing the rendering
above the polygonal model surface at all times.
Show curvature
A check box that enables options that allow specifying the curvature
component to display:
Normal
An option that specifies displaying the normal curvature.
Tangent
An option that specifies displaying the tangent curvature.
OK
A button that confirms the editing process and exits the submode.
Cancel
A button that cancels the operation and exits the submode.
Figure 17.27 The dialog box used to create edge curves with the From Polygonal Model Sharp
Edges creation method.
When the curve is created, it is displayed under the Curves branch in the tree view. By
default, it is named edge <number>, where <number> is an automatically incremented
integer for edge curves.
To identify existing sharp edges in the polygonal model and extract edge curves from
them, choose the From Polygonal Model Sharp Edges creation method in the Create
Edge Curves dialog box. The dialog box is configured as shown in Figure 17.27.
To create edge curves using the From Polygonal Model Sharp Edges creation
method, proceed as follows:
2. In the More subsection, specify the values for the following parameters:
Make magnetic
A check box that enables creating a magnetic curve. By default, the check box is
selected.
3. Press the Preview button to preview the curve creation, or press the Create button
to launch the curve creation without performing a preview.
When the Preview button is pressed, the result is displayed in the 3D scene. Press
the Confirm button to apply the curve creation.
When the curve is created, it is displayed under the Curves branch in the tree view. By
default, it is named edge <number>, where <number> is an automatically incremented
integer for edge curves.
To create fillet tangent curves, parameters must first be set in the contextual dialog box
(see Figure 17.28), which is displayed either by choosing the Tools > Curves > Create >
Fillet Tangent Curves command, or pressing the appropriate button on the Curves
toolbar.
Three creation methods are available (see the list that follows). Each method is
explained in the subsections that follow.
Manual Extraction – Create fillet tangent curves from a manual extraction. See
Section 17.2.5.2 Manual Extraction creation method.
From Curve– Create fillet tangent curves from an existing curve. See Section
17.2.5.3 From Curve creation method.
Figure 17.28 The dialog box used to create fillet tangent curves configured for the Automatic
Extraction creation method.
When the Automatic Extraction creation method is selected in the Create Fillet
Tangent Curves dialog box (by pressing the button shown to the right), the dialog box
is configured as shown in Figure 17.28.
To create fillet tangent curves using the Automatic Extraction creation method,
proceed as follows:
Radius type
A list box that offers options for the extraction of tangent curves bounding the
fillet/feature. Choose Constant if the fillet/feature has a constant radius, Variable
(Linear) when the fillet/feature radius changes linearly from one end to the other,
and Unconstrained to specify computing the best tangent curves without
assuming a fillet/feature model. The default value is Constant.
Automatic
An option button, selected by default, that lets the application compute
an appropriate value for this parameter. It offers the following item:
Custom
An option button that allows entering a value. Valid values are greater
than zero. The default value is 2.5 mm.
Tolerance
A text box that specifies a maximum 3D deviation value between the
curve being created and the polygonal model. Valid values are greater
than zero. The default value is 0.05 mm.
Make magnetic
A check box that enables creating a magnetic curve. By default, the check box is
selected.
3. Press the Preview button to preview the curve creation, or press the Create button
to launch the curve creation without performing a preview.
When the Preview button is pressed, the result is displayed in the 3D scene. Press
the Confirm button to apply the curve creation.
When the fillet tangent curves are created, they are displayed under the Curves branch
in the tree view. By default, they are named fillet <number> tg 1 and fillet <number> tg
2, where <number> is an automatically incremented integer for fillet tangent curves.
When the Manual Extraction creation method is selected in the Create Fillet Tangent
Curves dialog box (by pressing the button shown to the right), the dialog box is
configured as shown in Figure 17.29. This mode allows picking one or more points on a
feature that will be used to track the fillet tangent curve. Note that this creation method
is the default one.
To create fillet tangent curves using the Manual Extraction creation method, proceed
as follows:
Feature tracking
A list box that offers the methods that allow tracking opened and closed features.
Each method requires picking one or more points along the feature and dragging
a distance that encompasses the feature. The distance roughly defines the curve’s
exclusion zone. Choose one of the following options:
On clicking the mouse button, the application starts tracking the curve
under the anchored point.
Radius type
A list box that offers options for the extraction of tangent curves bounding the
fillet/feature. Choose Constant if the fillet/feature has a constant radius, Variable
(Linear) when the fillet’s/feature’s radius changes linearly from one end to the
other, and Unconstrained to specify computing the best tangent curves without
assuming a fillet/feature model. The default value is Constant.
Automatic
An option button, selected by default, that lets the application compute
an appropriate value for this parameter. It makes available the following
item:
Custom
An option button that allows entering a value. Valid values are greater
than zero. The default value is 2.0 mm.
Tolerance
A text box that specifies a maximum 3D deviation value between the
curve being created and the polygonal model. Valid values are greater
than zero. The default value is 0.05 mm.
2. In the More subsection, specify the values for the following parameters:
Figure 17.29 The dialog box used to create fillet tangent curves configured for the Manual
Extraction creation method.
Make magnetic
A check box that enables creating a magnetic curve. By default, the check box is
selected.
3. Move to the 3D scene. Since the interactive mode is enabled, the pointer changes to
a pencil. A symbol precedes the pencil to indicate which Feature tracking mode is
used (see the table that follows). Proceed using one of the methods listed below,
depending on the selected feature tracking mode.
Press the TAB key to switch from the 1 Point to the N Points feature tracking
mode.
Figure 17.30 The dialog box used to edit the anchored points and the feature-tracking parameters.
Press SPACEBAR to temporarily exit the current mode and perform rotations
and translations in the 3D scene. The mode is re-entered by pressing the
SPACEBAR again.
4. Right-click to indicate the last point (N Points feature tracking mode only).
5. Move the mouse with respect to the last anchored point to define an approximate
feature radius; the moved distance is represented graphically in the 3D scene and
quantitatively in a window that is continually updated. Click when the desired
radius is obtained. The application immediately starts tracking the indicated feature
and then previews the extracted curve.
For difficult features, post-editing functions provide control over the anchored points in
order to improve the feature tracking.
6. In the Post editing section, you can modify and adjust the current fillet tangent
curves precisely. This section contains three buttons:
Editing type
A group label that offers the following editing modes to edit the
displayed polyline anchor points:
— Insert Point
A button that allows adding anchor points to the current feature
center curve.
— Delete Point
A button that allows removing existing points from the current
feature center curve.
— Extend
A button that allows extending the polyline by first clicking an
endpoint and then picking additional locations on the polygonal
model. Right-click when done. This mode is not available for
closed polylines.
— Anchor/Release Point
A button that allows toggling the status of a polyline point. If
anchored, the feature center curve must pass through this point.
If not anchored, the polyline point is just an approximation and
the application computes the best location. Anchored points are
shown in red, while released points are shown in green.
Feature radius
A text box that allows specifying the radius of the tracked feature. Valid
values are greater than zero. The default value is 1.0 mm.
Preview
A button that offers a preview of the editing process in the 3D scene.
OK
A button that confirms the editing process and exits the submode.
Cancel
A button that cancels the operation and exits the submode.
Edit Extraction
A button that launches a submode that allows editing extracted curves. The Edit
Extraction dialog box shown in Figure 17.31 is displayed. The editable circles are
displayed in green. It makes available the following items:
Extraction step
A group label that allows specifying how the extraction step is to be
calculated. Choose one of the following options:
Automatic
An option button, selected by default, that lets the application
calculate the interval (recommended).
At anchored points
An option button that allows specifying the interval at anchored
points only; recommended if the data is especially bad elsewhere
along the curve.
Custom
An option button that allows entering a value. Valid values are
greater than zero. The default value is 1 mm.
Exclusion zone
A group label that offers two items for editing extracted curves. The
editable circles are displayed in green.
Editing type
A group label that proposes four editing mode options that allow
editing the radii of the displayed semi-circles. Each editing mode
— Drag One
An option button, selected by default, that specifies a mode
that allows picking and dragging the semi-circles one at a
time to a desired radius in order to edit the exclusion zone.
— Drag Range
An option button that specifies a mode that allows picking
and dragging a range of semi-circles to a desired radius in
order to edit the exclusion zone.
Note: If you press and hold the CTRL key while dragging the
last semi-circle, it will be used as the starting point for a next
range.
— Drag All
An option button that specifies a mode that allows picking
and dragging all the semi-circles at once to a desired radius
in order to edit the exclusion zone.
— Draw Boundary
An option button that specifies a mode that allows
anchoring a polyline along the semi-circles to delimit the
exclusion zone.
Sides to edit
A group label that allows specifying the side of the circles to edit.
it offers the following options:
Both sides
An option, selected by default, that specifies editing both
side of the circles.
Preview
A button that offers a preview of the editing process in the 3D scene.
OK
A button that confirms the editing process and exits the submode.
Cancel
A button that cancels the operation and exits the submode.
Adjust Edge
A button that displays the Adjust Edge dialog box (see Figure 17.32 (a)). The dialog
box offers the following items:
Smoothing
A group box that contains two sliders that allow adjusting the
smoothness of the fillet tangent curve (not yet extracted, but
repositioned) along the Normal (the average of the normals of the
surfaces to the right and to the left of the feature center curve) and/or the
Lateral (perpendicular to the Normal direction) directions (see Figure
17.32). For best results, both sliders should be set to the same position.
Note that the smoothing should be done first, as the blending (see the
next item) is applied to the smoothed curve. Valid values range from 0 to
100%. The default value for both sliders is 50%.
Rendering options
A section that provides items that determine the rendering of the edge curve in
the 3D scene. The following items are offered:
Display mode
A list box that offers five rendering modes: Curve (connecting the edge
points using a composite curve thus providing a preview of the final
curve), Line (straight segments that join the edge points), only the edge
Points, Curve and Points or the edge Line and Points. The default value
is Curve and Points.
Superimpose edge
A check box, selected by default, that enables seeing the rendering
above the polygonal model surface at all times.
Figure 17.32 The Adjust Edge dialog box (a). The viewing mode for the three renderings shown in
(b, c, and d) is set to Line and Points. In example (d), there has been no adjustment
done to the curve. Notice that the regularity of the amplitude of the curvature vectors
is an indication of a smooth extracted curve.
(a) (b)
(c) (d)
Show curvature
A check box that enables specifying which curve component will be
displayed. Choose from: Normal, Tangent, or Tangent and normal. The
default value is Tangent and normal.
OK
A button that confirms the editing process and exits the submode.
Cancel
A button that cancels the operation and exits the submode.
When the fillet tangent curves are created, they are displayed under the Curves branch
in the tree view. By default, they are named fillet <number> tg 1 and fillet <number> tg
2, where <number> is an automatically incremented integer for fillet tangent curves.
Fillet tangent curves can be created from a selected curve (preferably a curve located at
the center of a fillet). Once the selection is made, a data zone to the right and to the left
of the curve is defined, which indirectly influences the extraction of fillet tangent
curves. Green semi-circles are displayed on both sides of the curve, defining the initial
exclusion zone. Select a mode and specify whether it applies to the semi-circles on one
side or on both sides of the curve.
When the From Curve creation method is selected in the Create Fillet Tangent Curves
dialog box (by pressing the button shown to the right), the dialog box is configured as
shown in Figure 17.33.
If no curve has been preselected or if more than one curve is selected, the pointer
changes to a hand (see in the right margin) to allow picking the curve used for the fillet
tangent curve creation. Note that this selection can also be performed in the Create
Fillet Tangent Curves dialog box.
To create fillet tangent curves using the From Curve creation method:
Curve
A list box that enables selecting the curve for which a fillet tangent curve is to be
extracted. The list box contains all nonignored curves.
Figure 17.33 The dialog box used to create fillet tangent curves configured for the From Curve
creation method.
The selection of curve may also be specified using the picking mode which is
launched by clicking the hand symbol adjacent to the list box.
Radius type
A list box that offers options for the extraction of tangent curves bounding the
fillet/feature. Choose Constant if the fillet/feature has a constant radius, Variable
(Linear) when the fillet’s/feature’s radius changes linearly from one end to the
other, and Unconstrained to specify computing the best tangent curves without
assuming a fillet/feature model. The default value is Constant.
Extraction step
A group label that specifies how the extraction step is to be calculated. Choose
one of the following options:
Automatic
An option button, selected by default, that lets the application compute
an appropriate value for this parameter.
Custom
An option button that allows entering an interval. Valid values are greater
than zero. The default value is 1 mm.
Exclusion zone
A group label that offers two items for editing extracted curves. The editable
circles are displayed in green.
Editing type
A group label that proposes four editing mode options that allow editing
the radii of the displayed semi-circles. Each editing mode will apply to
one or both sides of the curve as specified below in the Sides to edit
group label.
— Drag One
An option button, selected by default, that specifies a mode that
allows picking and dragging the semi-circles one at a time to a
desired radius in order to edit the exclusion zone.
— Drag Range
An option button that specifies a mode that allows picking and
dragging a range of semi-circles to a desired radius in order to
edit the exclusion zone.
— Drag All
An option button that specifies a mode that allows picking and
dragging all the semi-circles at once to a desired radius in order
to edit the exclusion zone.
— Draw Boundary
An option button that specifies a mode that allows anchoring a
polyline along the semi-circles to delimit the exclusion zone.
Sides to edit
A group label that allows specifying the side of the circles to edit. it offers
the following options:
Both sides
An option, selected by default, that specifies editing both side of the
circles.
Tolerance
A text box that specifies a maximum 3D deviation value between the
curve being created and the polygonal model. Valid values are greater
than zero. The default value is 0.05 mm.
2. In the More subsection, specify the values for the following parameters:
Make magnetic
A check box that enables creating a magnetic curve. By default, the check box is
selected.
3. In the 3D scene, delimit the exclusion zone. Proceed using one of the methods listed
in the table that follows, depending on the selected editing type.
Press the SPACEBAR to temporarily exit the current mode and perform rotations
and translations in the 3D scene. The mode is re-entered by pressing the
SPACEBAR again.
5. For difficult features, post-editing functions provide control over the anchored
points in order to improve the feature tracking.
In the Post editing section, you can modify and adjust curves precisely using the
following parameters:
Adjust Edge
A button that displays the Adjust Edge dialog box (see Figure 17.34 (a)). The dialog
box offers the following items:
Smoothing
A group box that contains two sliders that allow adjusting the
smoothness of the fillet tangent curve (not yet extracted, but
repositioned) along the Normal (the average of the normals of the
surfaces to the right and to the left of the feature center curve) and/or the
Lateral (perpendicular to the Normal direction) directions (see Figure
17.34). For best results, both sliders should usually be set at the same
position. Note that the smoothing should be done first, as the blending
(see the next item) is applied to the smoothed curve. Valid values range
from 0 to 100%. The default value for both sliders is 50%.
Figure 17.34 The Adjust Edge dialog box (a). The viewing mode for the three renderings shown in
(b, c, and d) is set to Line and Points. In example (d), there has been no adjustment
done to the curve. Notice that the regularity of the amplitude of the curvature vectors
is an indication of a smooth extracted curve.
(a) (b)
(c) (d)
The Rendering options section that provides items that determine the rendering
of the edge curve in the 3D scene.
Display mode
A list box that offers five rendering modes: Curve (connecting the edge
points using a composite curve thus providing a preview of the final
curve), Line (straight segments that join the edge points), only the edge
Points, Curve and Points or the edge Line and Points. The default value
is Curve and Points.
Superimpose edge
A check box, selected by default, that enables seeing the rendering
above the polygonal model surface at all times.
Show curvature
A check box that enables specifying which curve component will be
displayed. Choose from: Normal, Tangent, or Tangent and normal. The
default value is Tangent and normal.
OK
A button that confirms the editing process and exits the submode.
Cancel
A button that cancels the operation and exits the submode.
When the fillet tangent curves are created, they are displayed under the Curves branch
in the tree view. By default, they are named fillet <number> tg 1 and fillet <number> tg
2, where <number> is an automatically incremented integer for fillet tangent curves.
All curve creation methods, explained in Section 17.2 Creating curves, offer a Make
magnetic parameter that controls if the new curve is magnetic or not. By default, new
curves are magnetic.
When a magnetic curve overlaps another magnetic curve within the Magnetization
distance, the curves are made coincident and the resulting intersection is magnetized.
By default, a purple disk is displayed at each magnetized intersection. If two
magnetized intersections are within the Min distance between magnetized
intersections, the disk turns red for each intersection point. The red color is used for
information purposes only. Note, however, that close magnetized intersections may
induce undesirable waviness when NURBS surfaces. See Figure 17.35 for an example of
curves that intersect.
Magnetism is a curve property that can be disabled/enabled at any time through the
curve properties window (see Section 17.8 Using the property sheet of curves). Any
change made to this property is automatically applied and affects the selected curves.
Note that any magnetism-related option is offered in the IMEdit Options dialog box:
To modify the default value of the Magnetization distance and Min distance
between magnetized intersections parameters, and specify how the curves are
imported from an IMEdit project, see Section 22.4 Curve options.
To change the color of disks, see Section 22.3.3 Interface color display options.
When the disks are displayed in the 3D scene, their dimension depends on the
distances specified in the IMEdit options. See the table that follows for more
information, and see Figure 17.36 for an example.
Figure 17.36 In this example, the disk represents a magnetized intersection zone whose total
height is 3.0 mm, and radius is 1.0 mm.
Height =
Magnetization
distance (e.g., 1.5 mm)
This section summarizes the particularities that apply to magnetic curves. If magnetic
curves are used to create NURBS patches, see Section 13.4 Curve requirements to make
sure that the curves are valid for the NURBS patch creation.
When a new magnetic curve is created within the magnetization distance of another
magnetic curve, the new curve is attracted by the existing one, which means that it
moves toward the existing curve to intersect it.
There is an exception, however, for edge curves. To avoid modifying the shape of the
edge obtained by extraction, this type of curve does not move when it overlaps
another curve. Only magnetic curves subsequently created or modified will move
toward the edge curve if they overlap it within the specified distance.
When a magnetic curve is deleted, the magnetized intersections related to this curve
that are no longer relevant are also deleted. This action can be undone; the curve is
redisplayed with the appropriate intersections.
Ignored curves: When magnetic curves are ignored, they are considered to not exist
in the project. As a result, they are not displayed in the 3D scene, and they are not
magnetized to other curves (i.e., they are not considered by curve networks).
When a magnetism-related option is modified in the IMEdit Options dialog box, the
sets of magnetic curves are updated accordingly. For example, if the Min distance
between magnetized intersections is increased, the number of red disks
(magnetized intersections that are too close to one another) could also increase.
Note that an intersection can only be magnetized when both curves have compatible
normal vectors (i.e., normal vectors oriented in the same general direction).
Figure 17.37 The dialog box used to reshape curves with the Drag on Model method.
When creating curves, it may be useful to modify the shape of a curve at a specific
location. Four methods are available to reshape curves. These methods are explained in
the following subsections.
To reshape curves, parameters must first be set in the contextual dialog box (see Figure
17.37), which is displayed either by choosing the Tools > Curves > Reshape command, or
pressing the appropriate button on the Curves toolbar.
Drag on Model– Reshape a curve by dragging a specific point on the curve. This
operation is performed on the polygonal model. See Section 17.4.1.1 Reshaping
curves using the Drag on Model method.
The Drag on Model method allows defining a zone on a curve, and reshaping it by
dragging it on the surface of a polygonal model. G2 continuity is ensured in the zone
and with its vicinity.
When the Drag on Model method is selected in the Reshape Curve dialog box (by
pressing the button shown to the right), an interactive mode is enabled and the dialog
box is configured as shown in Figure 17.37. Note that this method is the default one.
Range (pixels)
A text box that enables specifying, in pixels, the width of the reshaped zone. Valid
values must be greater or equal to zero. The default value is 150 pixels.
Note that the width of this zone can be interactively modified in the 3D scene by
using the scroll wheel on the mouse.
Relax curve
A check box that enables creating a curve that can deviate, within a tolerance,
from the anchored points to make it as smooth as possible. By default, the check
box is selected. It makes available the following item:
Anchoring tolerance
A text box that specifies the maximum distance at which the curve can
deviate from the anchored point. Valid values are greater than zero. The
default value is 0.2 mm.
Tolerance
A text box that specifies a maximum 3D deviation value between the
curve being created and the polygonal model. Valid values are greater
than zero. The default value is 0.05 mm.
2. Move to the 3D scene. Since the interactive mode is automatically enabled, the
pointer changes to a hand (see in the right margin), and the Reshape Options dialog
box is displayed in the Dialog Zone pane located to the left of the 3D scene. This
dialog box contains the following parameters:
a curve endpoint
Note that Object snaps is not available in the Reshape Options dialog box if the
corresponding option has been cleared in the IMEdit options. For more
information, see Section 22.11 Object snap options.
Drag intersection
A reminder that you can use the SHIFT key to enable/disable the option used to
drag multiple curves that meet at a magnetized intersection. When this option is
enabled and the pointer is over a curve network, the intersection of magnetized
curves closest to the pointer is identified and a zone centered on this point is
highlighted on each curve. If the Drag intersection option is disabled, only one
curve can be dragged at a time.
3. In the 3D scene, move the pointer over the curve(s) that you want to reshape. When
the pointer is close to a curve, the closest point of this curve is identified and a zone
centered on this point is highlighted.
The following operations can be performed at any time during the curve-reshaping
operation:
Press the SPACEBAR to temporarily exit the method and rotate or translate the
3D scene. To re-enter the mode, press the SPACEBAR again.
Press the ESC key to exit the mode. To re-enter the mode, click the Drag button
in the Reshape Curve dialog box.
4. Use the scroll wheel to enlarge (scroll up) or reduce (scroll down) the highlighted
zone.
5. Drag the highlighted zone on the surface of the polygonal model to reshape it. The
zone remains tangent to the model at the picked location.
If there are discontinuous points within the reshaped zone, note that these points
will no longer be present after the drag operation.
Note that the curve-reshaping operation does not change the type of curve.
The Reconstruct method allows defining a zone on a curve, then reshaping the zone
by clicking. The reconstruction algorithm interpolates the smoothest curve possible
joining the entry and exit points of the reshaped zone. G2 continuity is ensured in the
zone and with its vicinity.
When the Reconstruct method is selected in the Reshape Curve dialog box (by
pressing the button shown to the right), an interactive mode is enabled and the dialog
box is configured as shown in Figure 17.38.
Range (pixels)
A text box that enables specifying, in pixels, the width of the reshaped zone. Valid
values must be greater or equal to zero. The default value is 150 pixels.
Note that the width of this zone can be interactively modified in the 3D scene by
using the scroll wheel on the mouse.
Figure 17.38 The dialog box configured to reshape curves with the Reconstruct method.
Tolerance
A text box that specifies a maximum 3D deviation value between the
curve being created and the polygonal model. Valid values are greater
than zero. The default value is 0.05 mm.
2. In the 3D scene, move the pointer over the curve(s) that you want to reshape. The
pointer changes to a hand (see in the right margin). When it is close to a curve, the
closest point of this curve is identified and the zone around the point is highlighted.
The following operations can be performed at any time during the curve-reshaping
operation:
Press the SPACEBAR to temporarily exit the method and rotate or translate the
3D scene. To re-enter the mode, press the SPACEBAR again.
Press the ESC key to exit the mode. To re-enter the mode, click the Reconstruct
button in the Reshape Curve dialog box.
3. Use the scroll wheel to enlarge (scroll up) or reduce (scroll down) the zone to
reshape.
Figure 17.39 The dialog box configured to reshape curves with the Anchor Points method.
If there are discontinuous points within the reshaped zone, note that these points
will no longer be present after the reconstruct operation.
Note that the curve-reshaping operation does not change the type of curve.
The Anchor Points method allows explicitly defining on a curve the entry and exit
points of the zone to reshape, then anchoring one or more points (positional
constraints) that can be dragged on the polygonal model. The part of the curve within
the zone is reshaped so that it passes through the anchored points. G2 continuity is
ensured in the zone and with its vicinity.
When the Anchor Points method is selected in the Reshape Curve dialog box (by
pressing the button shown to the right), an interactive mode is enabled and the dialog
box is configured as shown in Figure 17.39.
Relax curve
A check box that enables creating a curve that can deviate, within a tolerance,
from the anchored points to make it as smooth as possible. By default, the check
box is selected. It makes available the following item:
Anchoring tolerance
A text box that specifies the maximum distance at which the curve can
deviate from the anchored point. Valid values are greater than zero. The
default value is 0.2 mm.
Tolerance
A text box that specifies a maximum 3D deviation value between the
curve being created and the polygonal model. Valid values are greater
than zero. The default value is 0.05 mm.
Move to the 3D scene. Since the interactive mode is automatically enabled, the
pointer changes to a pencil (see in the right margin), and the Reshape Options
dialog box is displayed in the Dialog Zone pane located to the left of the 3D scene.
This dialog box contains the following parameters:
a curve endpoint
a magnetized intersection
Note that Object snaps is not available in the Reshape Options dialog box if the
corresponding option has been cleared in the IMEdit options. For more
information, see Section 22.11 Object snap options.
Delete/Discontinuous point
A reminder that you can use the SHIFT key to enable/disable the option used to
create a discontinuous point. When this option is enabled while left-clicking an
object (e.g., a polygonal model), a discontinuous point is created. When a
discontinuous point is created for a magnetic curve, the curve is split to form two
distinct continuous curves.
The SHIFT key is also used to delete anchored points. To do so, press and hold the
SHIFT key while left-clicking an existing anchored point.
2. In the 3D scene, move the pointer over the curve(s) that you want to reshape.
The following operations can be performed at any time during the curve-reshaping
operation:
Press the SPACEBAR to temporarily exit the method and rotate or translate the
3D scene. To re-enter the mode, press the SPACEBAR again.
Press the ESC key to exit the mode. To re-enter the mode, click the Anchor
button in the Reshape Curve dialog box.
3. Delimit the zone to reshape by left-clicking a first point (entry point), then a second
point (exit point) on the same curve. If the curve is closed, left-click the segment to
reshape.
Drag the entry and exit points along the curve to enlarge or reduce the zone.
4. In the 3D scene, anchor one or more points that will redefine the shape of the curve
within the zone. A point is anchored by left-clicking a location in the 3D scene.
5. Reshape the curve by dragging the anchored points to the desired location. The
reshaped zone remains tangent to the model at the anchored points.
Press and hold the SHIFT key while left-clicking an existing anchored point to
delete it. The pointer changes to an eraser (see in the right margin).
If there were discontinuous points within the reshaped zone before the curve-
reshaping operation, note that these points will no longer be present after the
operation.
Note that the curve-reshaping operation does not change the type of curve.
Figure 17.40 The dialog box configured to reshape curves with the View-based Drag method.
The View-based Drag method offers a dragging tool similar to the Drag on Model
method, which means that it allows defining a zone on a curve, and reshaping it by
dragging a picked location. However, instead of dragging on the surface of a polygonal
model, the picked location is dragged on a plane perpendicular to the screen view (a
constraining plane). The reshaped curve within the zone is interpolated by considering
the entry and exit points of the zone and the repositioned picked location, without
fitting it on a polygonal model. G2 continuity is ensured in the zone and with its vicinity.
When the View-based Drag method is selected in the Reshape Curve dialog box (by
pressing the button shown to the right), an interactive mode is enabled and the dialog
box is configured as shown in Figure 17.40.
Range (pixels)
A text box that enables specifying, in pixels, the width of the reshaped zone. Valid
values must be greater or equal to zero. The default value is 150 pixels.
Note that the width of this zone can be interactively modified in the 3D scene by
using the scroll wheel on the mouse.
Relax curve
A check box that enables creating a curve that can deviate, within a tolerance,
from the anchored points to make it as smooth as possible. By default, the check
box is selected. It makes available the following item:
Anchoring tolerance
A text box that specifies the maximum distance at which the curve can
deviate from the anchored point. Valid values are greater than zero. The
default value is 0.2 mm.
2. Move to the 3D scene. Since the interactive mode is enabled, the pointer changes to
a hand (see in the right margin), and the Reshape Options dialog box is displayed in
the Dialog Zone pane located to the left of the 3D scene. This dialog box contains
the following parameters:
a curve endpoint
Note that Object snaps is not available in the Reshape Options dialog box if the
corresponding option has been cleared in the IMEdit options. For more
information, see Section 22.11 Object snap options.
Drag intersection
A reminder that you can use the SHIFT key to enable/disable the option used to
drag multiple curves that meet at a magnetized intersection. When this option is
enabled and the pointer is over a curve network, the intersection of magnetized
curves closest to the pointer is identified and a zone centered on this point is
highlighted. If the Drag intersection option is disabled, only one curve can be
dragged at a time.
3. In the 3D scene, move the pointer over the curve(s) that you want to reshape. When
the pointer is close to a curve, the closest point of this curve is identified and a zone
centered on this point is highlighted.
The following operations can be performed at any time during the curve-reshaping
operation:
Press the SPACEBAR to temporarily exit the method and rotate or translate the
3D scene. To re-enter the mode, press the SPACEBAR again.
Press the ESC key to exit the mode. To re-enter the mode, click the Drag button
in the Reshape Curve dialog box.
4. Use the scroll wheel to enlarge (scroll up) or reduce (scroll down) the zone to
reshape.
If there are discontinuous points within the reshaped zone, note that these points
will no longer be present after the drag operation.
Note that the curve-reshaping operation does not change the type of curve.
Inverting a curve’s direction does not affect its geometry, it only permutes its left and
right sides.
Visible open curves can be extended interactively by choosing the Tools > Curves >
Extend command, or pressing the appropriate button (shown to the right) on the
Curves toolbar. When Extend is selected, an interactive mode is enabled and the
Extend Curves dialog box is displayed, as shown in Figure 17.41.
1. Specify values in the Extend Curves dialog box. The following parameters are
offered:
Center on feature
A check box that enables anchoring each picked point on the center of the fillet
along which the curve is being anchored. No point is anchored when no fillet is
detected. By default, the check box is cleared.
Relax curve
A check box that enables creating a curve that can deviate, within a tolerance,
from the anchored points to make it as smooth as possible. By default, the check
box is selected. It makes available the following item:
Anchoring tolerance
A text box that specifies the maximum distance at which the curve can
deviate from the anchored point. Valid values are greater than zero. The
default value is 0.2 mm.
Tolerance
A text box that specifies a maximum 3D deviation value between the
curve being created and the polygonal model. Valid values are greater
than zero. The default value is 0.05 mm.
2. Move to the 3D scene. Since the interactive mode is enabled, the pointer changes to
a pencil (see in the right margin), and the Anchor Options dialog box is displayed in
the Dialog Zone. This dialog box contains the following parameters:
Figure 17.41 The dialog box used to specify options when extending curves.
When this option is enabled and the pointer is within the snap distance from a
curve, the current snap point is highlighted, and the pointer jumps to that point if
the left button is clicked. Depending on the options set in the IMEdit Options
dialog box, the snap point can be located on:
a curve endpoint
a magnetized intersection
Note that Object snaps is not available in the Anchor Options dialog box if the
corresponding option has been cleared in the IMEdit options. For more
information, see Section 22.11 Object snap options.
When two consecutive discontinuous points are created, they are joined by a
straight segment.
Note that discontinuous points are not allowed in magnetic curves. When a
discontinuous point is created, the magnetic curve automatically splits to form
two distinct continuous curves.
3. Move the pointer over a curve, near an endpoint. The pointer position is tracked and
mapped onto the curve, and the curve endpoint to be extended is highlighted.
Press the SPACEBAR to temporarily exit the current mode and perform rotations and
translations of the 3D scene. The mode is re-entered by pressing the SPACEBAR
again.
Selected visible curves can be extended to their intersection point by choosing the
Tools > Curves > Extend to Intersection command, or pressing the appropriate button
(shown to the right) on the Curves toolbar. When Extend to Intersection is selected,
the dialog box shown in Figure 17.42 (a) is displayed.
1. Specify values in the Extend Curves to Intersection dialog box. The following
parameters are offered:
Max distance
A text box that defines the maximum distance used to determine if two curve
endpoints are close neighbors and can be extended to their intersection. Valid
values are greater than zero. The default value is 1.0 mm.
Note that when performing the edge reconstruction of a corner, the Project onto
polygonal model check box should be cleared, as the edge curves to be inserted
in the model are typically above and away from the model’s surface.
When the Project onto polygonal model check box is selected, it makes available
the following item:
Figure 17.42 The dialog box used to extend curves to the intersection points along with an
example of curves modified by the Extend to Intersection operation.
(a) The dialog box used to specify options when (b) Five curves are selected to be extended (i.e.,
extending curves to their intersection point two groups of three curve endpoints)
(c) The operation is performed a first time. (d) The maximum distance has been increased,
Endpoint A was outside the specified maximum and the operation is performed a second time.
distance. Now, endpoint A extends to the intersection point
as well.
Max distance
A text box that defines the maximum distance by which a point can be
projected onto the polygonal model. Valid values are greater than zero.
The default value is the number of millimeters that corresponds to
3 percent of the bounding box diagonal of the polygonal model.
2. In the 3D scene, press and hold CTRL while left-clicking the curves to extend. You
can also drag with the middle mouse button to select curves using a rectangular
area.
Press the SPACEBAR to temporarily exit the current mode and perform rotations and
translations of the 3D scene. The mode is re-entered by pressing the SPACEBAR
again.
3. Click Apply in the Extend Curves to Intersection dialog box, or right-click to launch
the operation.
Curves that are within the specified distance at their endpoints are extended to their
intersections (see Figure 17.42). Curves remain selected, so that you can make any
changes in the parameters, and re-apply them without reselecting the curves.
1. Specify values in the Extrapolate Curves dialog box. It offers the following methods
to extrapolate a curve at the picked curve endpoint:
Linear
An option that specifies extrapolating a curve linearly along the curve endpoint’s
tangent direction.
Circular
An option that specifies extrapolating a curve circularly along the osculating circle.
An osculating circle lies below the curve, on the curvature plane, is tangent to the
curve at its endpoint, and its radius corresponds to the radius of curvature
evaluated at the endpoint.
Cubic
An option that specifies extrapolating a curve following the curve’s cubic trend.
Figure 17.43 The dialog box used to specify a method to use to extrapolate a curve.
2. Once the extrapolation option has been specified, move the pointer over a visible
curve, near an endpoint. The pointer position is tracked and mapped onto the curve,
and the endpoint to be extrapolated is highlighted.
Press the SPACEBAR to temporarily exit the current mode and perform rotations and
translations of the 3D scene. The mode is re-entered by pressing the SPACEBAR
again.
Note that in the case of the Onto polygonal model surface extrapolation option, if
the selected curve endpoint is not over the polygonal model from the user’s
viewpoint, the modified curve will only be displayed once the pointer is placed over
the model.
3. Left-click once the endpoint to extrapolate is decided. The curve is modified to allow
visualizing the extrapolation results. The extrapolation is performed when the left
mouse button is released.
Two open curves that are visible in the 3D scene can be joined interactively. To join
curves, choose the Tools > Curves > Join command, or press the appropriate button
(shown to the right) on the Curves toolbar. An interactive curve-picking mode is
enabled and the dialog box shown in Figure 17.44 is displayed.
1. Specify values in the Join Curves dialog box. It offers the following parameters:
Tolerance
A text box that specifies a maximum 3D deviation value between the
curve being created and the polygonal model. Valid values are greater
than zero. The default value is 0.05 mm.
2. Move the pointer over a curve. As soon as the pointer is located near a curve
endpoint, the pointer position is tracked and mapped onto the curve endpoint.
Press the SPACEBAR to temporarily exit the current mode and perform rotations and
translations of the 3D scene. The mode is re-entered by pressing the SPACEBAR
again.
3. Move the pointer over a curve endpoint and click to select it. Do the same for a
second curve endpoint. On the second click, the two curve endpoints are joined,
and the curve that the second selected curve endpoint belongs to disappears from
the tree view. Joining two endpoints of the same open curve results in a closed
curve.
Note that the orientation of the new curve is determined by the order in which the
two points are picked.
Selected open curves can be made closed curves. Follow these instructions:
2. Choose the Tools > Curves > Close command, or press the appropriate button (shown
to the right) on the Curves toolbar.
The closing operation connects the endpoints of an open curve with a cubic segment.
Curves that are visible in the 3D scene can be split interactively. Follow these
instructions:
1. Choose the Tools > Curves > Split command, or press the appropriate button (shown
to the right) on the Curves toolbar.
Since the interactive mode is enabled, the pointer changes to a pencil (see in the
right margin), and the Anchor Options dialog box is displayed in the Dialog Zone.
This dialog box contains the following parameters:
When this option is enabled and the pointer is within the snap distance from the
tracked position (i.e., near a curve discontinuous point or a magnetized
intersection), the tracked position appears highlighted to indicate the current
snap point, and the pointer jumps to that point if the left button is clicked.
Note that Object snaps is not available in the Anchor Options dialog box if the
corresponding option has been cleared in the IMEdit options. For more
information, see Section 22.11 Object snap options.
2. Move the pointer over a curve. The pointer position is tracked and mapped onto the
curve.
Press the SPACEBAR to temporarily exit the current mode and perform rotations and
translations of the 3D scene. The mode is re-entered by pressing the SPACEBAR
again.
The curve is split at the point where it has been clicked. When a closed curve is split,
it becomes an open curve. When an open curve is split, the result is two open curves.
In the latter case, the endpoints of both curves are superimposed. If the initial curve
was set as magnetic, the endpoints are made coincident and the resulting
intersection is magnetized.
Note that the new curves retain the name of the initial curve, to which a numerical
extension is added making the name unique.
Curves can be automatically split at their magnetized points. Follow these instructions:
2. Choose the Tools > Curves > Split at Magnetized Points command, or press the
appropriate button (shown to the right) on the Curves toolbar.
The selected curves are divided into two or more curves at their magnetized points.
The new curves retain the name of the initial curve, to which a numerical extension is
added making the name unique. For each new open curve, a magnetized curve
endpoint is created at each split point. Note that a closed curve will only be split at its
magnetized points if the operation results in more than one open curve.
This tool is very useful when editing sets of magnetic curves used to create NURBS
patches.
Cutting a segment consists in removing a user-defined section from the curve. Sections
of visible curves can be removed interactively. Follow these instructions:
1. Choose the Tools > Curves > Cut Segments command, or press the appropriate
button (shown to the right) on the Curves toolbar.
Since the interactive mode is enabled, the pointer changes to a pencil (see in the right
margin), and the Anchor Options dialog box is displayed in the Dialog Zone. This dialog
box contains the following parameters:
When this option is enabled and the pointer is within the snap distance from the
tracked position (i.e., near a curve endpoint, a discontinuous point or a
magnetized intersection), the tracked position appears highlighted to indicate the
current snap point, and the pointer jumps to that point if the left button is clicked.
Note that Object snaps is not available in the Anchor Options dialog box if the
corresponding option has been cleared in the IMEdit options. For more
information, see Section 22.11 Object snap options.
2. Move the pointer over a curve. The pointer position is tracked and mapped onto the
curve.
Press the SPACEBAR to temporarily exit the current mode and perform rotations and
translations of the 3D scene. The mode is re-entered by pressing the SPACEBAR
again.
3. Click to indicate the beginning of the curve section to remove. Move the pointer to
the end of the curve section to remove and click. If a click occurs on a point that
belongs to more than one curve, a menu is displayed that allows selecting which
curve will be cut.
If the curve is an open curve, the delimited curve section is removed, and a new
curve endpoint will be created at both curve cut positions. If the curve is a closed
curve, a section from the first cut position to the second cut position in the direction
of the curve is highlighted. If this is the section to remove, then click. To remove the
remaining part of the curve that is not currently highlighted, move the pointer near
it (it will become highlighted) and click. Two curve endpoints are then created at the
two cut positions.
When a closed curve is cut, it becomes an open curve. When an open curve is cut, it
becomes two open curves. A curve can be shortened by clicking one of its
endpoints and then anywhere else on the curve.
A visible open curve extending past the edge of a polygonal model can be trimmed
interactively, such that the distance between the curve endpoint and the polygonal
model is less than or equal to the length of a trimming vector. Follow these instructions:
1. Choose the Tools > Curves > Trim command, or press the appropriate button (shown
to the right) on the Curves toolbar.
2. Specify values in the dialog box that is displayed, shown in Figure 17.45. It offers the
following items:
Trim vector
A group box that offers two items to define the trim vector:
Direction
A list box that provides a list of possible directions attributed to the trim
vector. Choose from: +X, -X, +Y, -Y, +Z, and -Z.
Length
A text box that specifies the trim vector length. The default value is 1.0.
The trim vector length specifies the distance between the curve and the
polygonal model surface, indicating where the curve will be trimmed.
Figure 17.45 The dialog box used to trim open curves that extend past the edge of the model.
3. Move the pointer over the first or the last endpoint on the curve to be trimmed. The
trim vector is automatically tracked and highlighted based on the specified
parameters, indicating the location where the open curve will be trimmed.
Press the SPACEBAR to temporarily exit the current mode and perform rotations and
translations of the 3D scene. The mode is re-entered by pressing the SPACEBAR
again.
4. Left-click to trim the curve at that point. A new curve endpoint is created.
Defining the plane that will represent the boundary between both halves of
the model (see Section 19.2.1 Creating planes).
Selecting the curves of the NURBS patches (see Chapter 13 NURBS Patches)
that will be projected onto the plane and that will be set as NURBS patch
symmetry boundary curves.
When the NURBS patches are fitted, the surface will be perpendicular to the
symmetry plane along the NURBS patch symmetry boundary curves, within half of
the angular tolerance (G1). The resulting NURBS surface may then be easily mirrored,
and the NURBS surface and its mirror will have perfect position and tangent
continuity at the symmetry plane.
1. If desired, the curves and an existing plane can be preselected in the tree view.
2. Choose the Tools > Curves > Project onto Plane command, or press the appropriate
button (shown to the right) on the Curves toolbar.
The interactive mode is enabled. Preselected curves are highlighted in the 3D scene.
3. If no curves have been preselected, left-click the curve that will be projected onto
the plane. To perform a multiple selection, press and hold Ctrl when left-clicking, or
middle-click and drag to define a selection rectangle.
Notes:
If you press and hold Ctrl when left-clicking a selected curve, this one will be
deselected.
The SPACEBAR can be pressed at any time to temporarily exit the current mode
and perform rotations and translations in the 3D scene. The mode is re-entered
by pressing the SPACEBAR again.
4. Specify values in the dialog box that is displayed, shown in Figure 17.46. It offers the
following items:
Plane
A list box that enables selecting the destination plane. Choose from a standard
plane (XY, YZ, or ZX), or a plane in the project. The default value is XY. If a plane
was preselected, it is already selected in the list box. Note that the selected plane
is displayed with a shaded contour in the 3D scene.
x, y, or z
A text box that is made available when the Plane list box is set to XY, YZ,
or ZX. This text box enables defining the offset that will be applied to the
selected plane along the third axis. The offset can be a positive or a
negative value. The default value is 0.0 mm.
Projected curves
A group label that offers one item:
Figure 17.46 The dialog box used to project curves onto a plane.
5. Click the Advanced button to open an advanced section of the dialog box, then
specify the value for the following parameter:
Normal orientation
A group box that offers two options related to the normals of the projected curves
(see Section 17.1.1 Normal vectors of a curve). The normal orientation is specially
important when creating NURBS patches or fitting curves.
Lies on plane
An option button, selected by default, that allows projecting the normals
on the plane.
Perpendicular to plane
An option button that allows projecting the normals so that they will be
perpendicular to the plane.
For a NURBS patch symmetry boundary curve, it does not matter which normal
orientation is chosen.
6. Press the Apply button or right-click to launch the operation based on the
parameters set in the dialog box.
Note that a NURBS patch symmetry boundary curve is displayed in green after it has
been projected onto the plane.
8. Press the Close button, or right-click once more, to dismiss the dialog box.
To fit curves, choose the Tools > Curves > Fit command, or press the appropriate button
(shown to the right) on the Curves toolbar. The dialog box shown in Figure 17.47 is
displayed.
1. Specify values in the Fit Curves dialog box. It offers the following parameter:
Tolerance
A text box that specifies a maximum 3D deviation value between the curve being
created and the polygonal model. Valid values are greater than zero. The default
value is 0.05 mm.
2. Click Apply to launch the operation, or click Close to dismiss the dialog box.
1. Specify values in the Fair Curves dialog box. It offers the following parameter:
Tolerance
A text box that specifies a maximum 3D deviation value between the original
curve and the faired curve. Valid values are greater than zero. The default value is
0.1 mm.
2. Click Apply to launch the operation, or click Close to dismiss the dialog box.
17.5.1 Setting curve display options in the IMEdit Options dialog box
The Display > Curves page of the IMEdit Options dialog box offers options that
globally set the display mode for curves. For complete information, see Section 22.3.10
Curve display options. To access the IMEdit Options dialog box, choose the Tools >
Options command.
Interface colors can be customized in the IMEdit Options dialog box. The following
colors are specific to curves:
Surfaces
Color used to render surfaces Set to sky blue by default.
Control Points
Color used to render standard control points. Set to light green by default.
Curve - G0
Color used to render position-continuous (G0) curves. Set to yellow by default.
Curve - G1
Color used to render tangent-continuous (G1) curves. Set to orange by default.
Curve - G2
Color used to render curvature-continuous (G2) curves. Set to dark blue by default.
For more information on customizing interface colors, see Section 22.3.3 Interface color
display options.
Curves can be directly selected in the tree view using standard Windows-based
selection techniques.
1. Click the Select Objects button (shown to the right) on the Selection toolbar.
2. Select the Curves check box in the Objects to select group box of the Picking
Context dialog box.
3. Click a curve in the 3D scene, or middle-click and drag a selection rectangle, and the
specified curves will be selected in the tree view.
If the CTRL key is held down, the current tree view selections are preserved and the
specified curves’ selection status is switched.
Two concepts are common to many of the curve-editing operations. The first deals with
projecting control or sample points to the polygonal model’s surface, and the second
has to do with using sample points.
Curve sample points are used by many curve-editing algorithms to get information at
discreet areas along a curve. For example, they are used when fitting a curve onto a
polygonal mesh, visualizing the deviations between a curve and a polygonal mesh, and
exporting a curve to an ordered text file. The curve is sampled using the specified
Sampling method. As a result, sample points are evenly distributed along the curve, or
in the curve’s parametric space. The distance between sample points is specified in the
Sampling step text box.
This operation inverts the normal vectors of selected curves but does not affect the
curve geometry.
1. Choose the Tools > Curves > Create > Boundaries command.
2. Choose the From Curves creation method in the Create Boundary Curves dialog
box by pressing the button shown to the right.
3. Specify the required parameters. For information on these parameters, see Section
17.2.2 Creating boundary curves.
The Display modes tab shows the curve-rendering mode. From the property sheet for
curves, only the Static and Dynamic display type can be configured. The display modes
for curves are presented in Section 17.6 Selecting curves.
Type
An uneditable text box that indicates the type of curve: standard curves, boundary
curves, feature center curves, edge curves, or fillet tangent curves. Curves are also
qualified as Open or Closed. See Section 17.2 Creating curves for information on
the different types of curves.
# Control points
An uneditable text box that indicates the number of curve control points.
Length
An uneditable text box that indicates the approximate total curve length.
Magnetic
A check box that specifies whether a curve is magnetic or not. See Section 17.2.6
Recommendations for creating magnetic curves for more information.
Modifying the NURBS patch continuity list value of a curve boundary belonging
to a fitted NURBS patch makes the patch unfitted. The NURBS Patch Continuity
property of a curve can also be modified by choosing commands on a shortcut
menu from the 3D scene (see Section 17.9.2 In the 3D scene).
Planar
An uneditable text box that indicates whether or not the curve is planar.
Plane
A group box that is displayed only when the curve is planar. It displays
the A, B, C, D coefficients of the equation of the plane on which lies the
curve.
When only curves are selected in the tree view, right-clicking displays a shortcut menu
that includes commands that are specific to curves:
Text File
The 3D scene offers for visible curves a shortcut menu containing the commands in the
table that follows. Either enter Pick Objects mode and right-click over a curve, or stay in
Default mode and ALT+right-click over a curve. The commands with an * apply only to
the picked object.
Curve Select > All, Invert, and None Operate as explained previously,
Position Continuous but only for a specific type of
(G0), Tangent curve.
Continuous (G1),
Curvature Continuous
(G2), Standard Curve,
Boundary Curve,
Feature Center Curve,
Edge Curve, Fillet
Tangent Curve
For more information on the Pick Objects mode, see Section 7.1.2.2 Selecting objects
interactively in the 3D scene.
Enter Select Elements mode by pressing the Select Elements button on the
Selection toolbar.
Click Select up to Curves or Select up to Curves & Endpoints on the shortcut menu.
The Select > Vertices > Left & Right Sides of Curves command allows selecting visible
vertices based on a maximum 3D distance from selected curves. For more information,
see Section 7.5.1 Selecting triangles.
Curves may be exported to the IGES and text file formats. For complete information, see
Section 23.14 Exporting surfaces.
Surfaces can be used for a variety of polygon-editing purposes, such as automatically filling in small holes,
filling in holes in complex freeform objects, reshaping polygons, and filtering.
Surfaces objects have their own branch in the tree view where they can be selected, hidden, deleted, and so
on. Surfaces can also be directly picked in the 3D scene.
18.1 Introduction
The general approach to working with surfaces involves the following steps:
Fit the surface – Fitting adjusts a surface to the polygonal model. To determine the
degree of success of the fit, fit statistics are displayed.
Manipulating surfaces involves working with surface control points. Examples include
displacing control points, projecting them onto a plane, and constraining control
points. Default colors indicate fixed control points, control points that can be moved,
and selected control points. Note that control point twist vectors can be manipulated
as well.
Figure 18.1 shows one cubic patch created in IMEdit. Such a patch is mathematically
controlled by 48 parameters; a very compact representation compared to a polygonal
description. To accurately describe the same cubic patch, several hundreds of polygons
would be required.
In the Bezier representation, sixteen control points completely describe the geometry
of the surface patch. The (x, y, z) coordinates of these control points provide the 48
parameters mentioned earlier. The 16 control points form a 4 by 4 control point matrix.
A Bezier representation of a cubic patch is displayed in Figure 18.1, where each control
point is represented by a little cube.
Figure 18.1 Example of a Bézier cubic patch displayed in wireframe with its 16 Bézier control
points.
18.2.3 Surfaces
Increase the complexity of the primitive by using higher-order patches, or NURBS, for
instance.
Use several cubic patches arranged into a network to represent more complex
surfaces.
Figure 18.2 The Hermite representation of a cubic patch. To the left, the patch boundaries and its
four Hermite control points are shown. To the right, the eight tangent vectors defined
at the patch corners are superimposed on the image to the left.
InnovMetric Software chose the second alternative for two main reasons. First, the use
of more complex primitives would require more interaction and expertise from the
user. Cubic patches are the easiest parametric surfaces to understand and manipulate.
Second, more complex primitives are very difficult to extract. Fitting a complex
parametric surface may lead to numerical instability that generates undesired
undulations in the generated surfaces.
Note that to perform these five operations, the polygonal model should be rendered in
the Flat, Flat + Wireframe, or Smooth Static display mode.
Figure 18.3 Surfaces created in IMEdit. The surface on the left consists of a 3 by 4 rectangular
network of cubic patches. The surface on the right consists of a 2 by 5 cylindrical
network of patches.
The subsections that deal with creating and editing surfaces make reference to menu
paths, and may contain equivalent buttons found in the Surfaces toolbar, shown in
Figure 18.4. When available, the buttons are included in the right margin.
1. Choose the Tools > Surfaces > Create Rectangular Surfaces > Anchor Rectangle
command or press the corresponding button on the Surfaces toolbar, shown to the
right.
To specify that the surfaces be automatically fit, select the Auto-fit check box. When
this item is selected, the Show fitting error check box becomes available to enable
displaying the fit results. The Advanced button opens a section of the dialog box
that contains the fit parameters. See Section 18.6.1 Fitting surfaces to a polygonal
mesh for complete information on fitting surfaces.
Press the SPACEBAR to temporarily exit the current mode and perform rotations and
translations of the 3D scene. The mode is re-entered by pressing the SPACEBAR
again.
4. Drag a rectangle. The initial and final pointer positions must be located over a model
polygon or a valid 3D object.
The operation will be successful if all four rectangle corners are located over
rendered model polygons and/or valid 3D objects.
If Auto-fit is selected, part of the polygonal model must lie within the surface domain,
within the Max snap distance. The rectangle is then automatically projected onto the
model and valid 3D objects, and a cubic patch is extracted.
The dialog box’s Do not show this window check box allows controlling the display of
the dialog box. When it is not displayed, its current settings are applied to the
operation. To redisplay the dialog box when in this operation mode, choose the View >
Contextual Parameters command.
1. Choose the Tools > Surfaces > Create Rectangular Surfaces > Anchor 4 Points
command or press the corresponding button on the Surfaces toolbar, shown to the
right.
The Auto-fit check box allows specifying that the surfaces are automatically fit on
creation. When this item is selected, the Show fitting error check box becomes
available that enables displaying the fit results. The Advanced button opens a
hidden section of the dialog box that contains the fit parameters. See Section 18.6.1
Fitting surfaces to a polygonal mesh for complete information on fitting surfaces.
3. Pick 4 individual points, the first and fourth ones representing opposite corners, by
clicking while the pointer is located over rendered model polygons and/or valid 3D
objects.
An initial cubic patch is extracted. If the first and fourth selected points do not
represent opposite corners, the initial cubic patch will be twisted.
Press the SPACEBAR to temporarily exit the current mode and perform rotations and
translations of the 3D scene. The mode is re-entered by pressing the SPACEBAR
again.
The dialog box’s Do not show this window check box allows controlling the display of
the dialog box. When it is not displayed, its current settings are applied to the
operation. To redisplay the dialog box when in this operation mode, choose the View >
Contextual Parameters command.
1. Choose the Tools > Surfaces > Create Rectangular Surfaces > Anchor Rows and
Columns command or press the corresponding button on the Surfaces toolbar,
shown to the right.
The Auto-fit check box allows specifying that the surfaces are automatically fit on
creation. When this item is selected, the Show fitting error check box becomes
available to enable displaying the fit results. The Advanced button opens a section
of the dialog box that contains the fit parameters. See Section 18.6.1 Fitting surfaces
to a polygonal mesh for complete information on fitting surfaces.
Pressing the right mouse button, the TAB key, or the Wizard’s Next button after
having entered the last control point of a column completes the creation of the
surface.
Press the SPACEBAR to temporarily exit the current mode and perform rotations and
translations of the 3D scene. The mode is re-entered by pressing the SPACEBAR
again.
The dialog box’s Do not show this window check box allows controlling the display of
the dialog box. When it is not displayed, its current settings are applied to the
operation. To redisplay the dialog box when in this operation mode, choose the View >
Contextual Parameters command.
A cylindrical surface can be created by defining its circular curves (the closed curves
that enclose the axis of the cylindrical shape). Follow these instructions:
1. Choose the Tools > Surfaces > Create Cylindrical Surfaces > Anchor Rings command or
press the corresponding button on the Surfaces toolbar, shown to the right.
The Auto-fit check box allows specifying that the surfaces are automatically fit on
creation. When this item is selected, the Show fitting error check box becomes
available that enables displaying the fit results. The Advanced button opens a
hidden section of the dialog box that contains the fit parameters. See Section 18.6.1
Fitting surfaces to a polygonal mesh for complete information on fitting surfaces.
Press the SPACEBAR to temporarily exit the current mode and perform rotations and
translations of the 3D scene. The mode is re-entered by pressing the SPACEBAR
again.
The dialog box’s Do not show this window check box allows controlling the display of
the dialog box. When it is not displayed, its current settings are applied to the
operation. To redisplay the dialog box when in this operation mode, choose the View >
Contextual Parameters command.
A cylindrical surface can be created by defining its axial curves (the open curves that
roughly define the axis of the cylindrical shape). Follow these instructions:
1. Choose the Tools > Surfaces > Create Cylindrical Surfaces > Anchor along Height
command or press the corresponding button on the Surfaces toolbar, shown to the
right.
The Auto-fit check box allows specifying that the Surfaces are automatically fit on
creation. When this item is selected, the Show fitting error check box becomes
available that enables displaying the fit results. The Advanced button opens a
section of the dialog box that contains the fit parameters. See Section 18.6.1 Fitting
surfaces to a polygonal mesh for complete information on fitting surfaces.
Once the operation has been invoked, anchor a set of control points forming a
first axial curve by successively clicking while the pointer is located over
rendered model polygons and/or valid 3D objects. To indicate the end of the first
axial curve, either press the right mouse button, the TAB key, or the Wizard’s Next
button.
Define other axial curves by anchoring control points on model polygons and/or
valid 3D objects. Pressing the right mouse button, the TAB key, or the Wizard’s
Next button after having entered the last control point of an axial curve
completes the creation of the cylindrical surface.
Press the SPACEBAR to temporarily exit the current mode and perform rotations and
translations of the 3D scene. The mode is re-entered by pressing the SPACEBAR
again.
Surfaces can be directly selected in the tree view using standard Windows-based
selection techniques.
1. To enable the mode, click the Select Objects button on the Selection toolbar.
2. Click a surface in the 3D scene, or middle-click and drag a selection rectangle, and
the surface(s) will be selected in the tree view.
If the CTRL key is held down, the current tree view selections are preserved, and the
picked surfaces’ selection status is switched.
Press the SPACEBAR to temporarily exit the current mode and perform rotations and
translations of the 3D scene. The mode is re-entered by pressing the SPACEBAR
again.
The interactive element selection mode, enabled by clicking the Select Elements
button on the Selection toolbar, or by using the SPACEBAR shortcut, can be used to
select surface control points using two different methods:
Figure 18.6 A cubic patch generated by anchoring four points onto a polygonal mesh. The curve
slightly below the cubic patch is displayed in green, and indicates the lowest row of
a surface. The curve on the left of the cubic patch is displayed in red, and indicates
the leftmost column of a surface.
Red - color
used to
indicate the
leftmost
column of a
surface
Green - color
used to
indicate the
lowest row of
a surface
The middle mouse button used with the SHIFT key provides a volume-based region
selection method much similar to other region selection methods. Delimit an area in
the 3D scene as explained in Section 7.3.3.1.3 Selecting triangles or vertices
interactively using regions, and the selection operation is applied to all control
points whose projection lies within the delimited area.
It should be noted that the Selection mode (Mark, Toggle, Unmark) determines the
output of a control point selection operation. See Section 7.3.3 The interactive
selection mode for additional information on the Selection mode.
Internally, the Hermite control points of a surface are arranged as a matrix of control
points. A surface row consists of a row of the Hermite control point matrix while a
surface column consists of a column of the Hermite control point matrix. As shown in
Figure 18.6, a green curve and a red curve are displayed for each visible surface to
indicate rows and columns.
Once a surface is created, the methods presented in this section can be used to edit the
surface’s rows and columns. New rows and columns can be added to a surface, in which
case new control points are either interpolated or extrapolated. Rows and columns can
also be deleted or constrained. All these methods operate on the rows and columns of
the Hermite control point matrix of the surface.
When a new row or column is added to a surface, parameters for the newly created
cubic patches are computed. Newly created Hermite control points may or may not be
projected onto the polygonal mesh, depending on the setting of the Snap onto
polygonal model check box:
When the check box is selected, the points are automatically projected onto the
polygonal mesh if the polygonal surface is closer than the 3D Max snap distance
from the points. This usually produces better cubic patches.
New rows can be added to visible surfaces interactively. Follow these instructions:
1. Choose the Tools > Surfaces > Add > Rows command or press the corresponding
button on the Surfaces toolbar, shown to the right.
2. Make specifications in the dialog box shown in Figure 18.7. It offers a Snap onto
polygonal model check box and a Max snap distance text box to configure the
snapping of new control points onto the polygonal mesh.
3. Once the options are specified, move the pointer over a surface. As soon as the
pointer is located within a surface, the pointer position is tracked and mapped onto
the surface, and the new curve that would be added to the surface is displayed.
Press the SPACEBAR to temporarily exit the current mode and perform rotations and
translations of the 3D scene. The mode is re-entered by pressing the SPACEBAR
again.
Note that the TAB key allows cycling through the Add row - Add column - Add row
and column operation sequence.
4. Click to add a new row. To add an edge row, press and hold the CTRL key and click.
Repeat if desired.
The dialog box’s Do not show this window check box allows controlling the display of
the dialog box. When it is not displayed, its current settings are applied to the
Figure 18.7 The dialog box that is displayed when adding rows and/or columns to surfaces.
operation. To redisplay the dialog box when in this operation mode, choose the View >
Contextual Parameters command.
New columns can be added to visible surfaces interactively. Follow these instructions:
1. Choose the Tools > Surfaces > Add > Columns command or press the corresponding
button on the Surfaces toolbar, shown to the right.
2. Make specifications in the dialog box shown in Figure 18.7. It offers a Snap onto
polygonal model check box and a Max snap distance text box to configure the
snapping of new control points onto the polygonal mesh.
3. Once the options are specified, move the pointer over a surface. As soon as the
pointer is located within a surface, the pointer position is tracked and mapped onto
the surface, and the new curve that would be added to the surface is displayed.
Press the SPACEBAR to temporarily exit the current mode and perform rotations and
translations of the 3D scene. The mode is re-entered by pressing the SPACEBAR
again.
Note that the TAB key allows cycling through the Add row - Add column - Add row
and column operation sequence.
4. Click to add a new column. To add an edge column, press and hold the CTRL key and
click. Repeat if desired.
The dialog box’s Do not show this window check box allows controlling the display of
the dialog box. When it is not displayed, its current settings are applied to the
operation. To redisplay the dialog box when in this operation mode, choose the View >
Contextual Parameters command.
New rows and columns can be added to visible surfaces interactively. Follow these
instructions:
1. Choose the Tools > Surfaces > Add > Rows and Columns command or press the
corresponding button on the Surfaces toolbar, shown to the right.
2. Make specifications in the dialog box shown in Figure 18.7. It offers a Snap onto
polygonal model check box and a Max snap distance text box to configure the
snapping of new control points onto the polygonal mesh.
3. Once the options are specified, move the pointer over a surface. As soon as the
pointer is located within a surface, the pointer position is tracked and mapped onto
the surface, and the new curves that would be added to the surface are displayed.
Press the SPACEBAR to temporarily exit the current mode and perform rotations and
translations of the 3D scene. The mode is re-entered by pressing the SPACEBAR
again.
Note that the TAB key allows cycling through the Add row - Add column - Add row
and column operation sequence.
4. Click to add a new row and column. To add an edge column and an edge row, press
and hold the CTRL key and click. Repeat if desired.
The dialog box’s Do not show this window check box allows controlling the display of
the dialog box. When it is not displayed, its current settings are applied to the
operation. To redisplay the dialog box when in this operation mode, choose the View >
Contextual Parameters command.
The number of rows in surfaces selected in the tree view can be doubled automatically.
Follow these instructions:
2. Choose the Tools > Surfaces > Add > Double Rows command or press the
corresponding button on the Surfaces toolbar, shown to the right.
Figure 18.8 The dialog box that is displayed when doubling rows in surfaces.
3. Make specifications in the dialog box shown in Figure 18.8. It offers a Snap onto
polygonal model check box and a Max snap distance text box to configure the
snapping of new control points onto the polygonal mesh.
5. Repeat if desired.
The number of columns in surfaces selected in the tree view can be doubled
automatically. Follow these instructions:
2. Choose the Tools > Surfaces > Add > Double Columns command or press the
corresponding button on the Surfaces toolbar, shown to the right.
3. Make specifications in the dialog box shown in Figure 18.9. It offers a Snap onto
polygonal model check box and a Max snap distance text box to configure the
snapping of new control points onto the polygonal mesh.
5. Repeat if desired.
Figure 18.9 The dialog box that is displayed when doubling columns in surfaces.
The number of rows and columns in surfaces selected in the tree view can be doubled
automatically. Follow these instructions:
2. Choose the Tools > Surfaces > Add > Double Rows and Columns command or press
the corresponding button on the Surfaces toolbar, shown to the right.
3. Make specifications in the dialog box, similar to the one shown in Figure 18.10. It
offers a Snap onto polygonal model check box and a Max snap distance text box
to configure the snapping of new control points onto the polygonal mesh.
5. Repeat if desired.
Rows can be removed from visible surfaces interactively. Follow these instructions:
1. Choose the Tools > Surfaces > Delete > Rows command or press the corresponding
button on the Surfaces toolbar, shown to the right.
2. Move the pointer over a visible surface. As soon as the pointer is located within a
surface, the pointer position is tracked and mapped onto the surface, and the row
that would be deleted from the surface is highlighted.
Figure 18.10 The dialog box that is displayed when doubling rows and columns in surfaces.
Press the SPACEBAR to temporarily exit the current mode and perform rotations and
translations of the 3D scene. The mode is re-entered by pressing the SPACEBAR
again.
Note that the TAB key allows cycling through the Delete row - Delete column -
Delete row and column operation sequence.
Columns can be removed from visible surface interactively. Follow these instructions:
1. Choose the Tools > Surfaces > Delete > Columns command or press the
corresponding button on the Surfaces toolbar, shown to the right.
2. Move the pointer over a visible surface. As soon as the pointer is located within a
surface, the pointer position is tracked and mapped onto the surface, and the curve
that would be deleted from the surface is highlighted.
Press the SPACEBAR to temporarily exit the current mode and perform rotations and
translations of the 3D scene. The mode is re-entered by pressing the SPACEBAR
again.
Note that the TAB key allows cycling through the Delete row - Delete column -
Delete row and column operation sequence.
Rows and columns can be deleted in visible surfaces interactively. Follow these
instructions:
1. Choose the Tools > Surfaces > Delete > Rows and Columns command or press the
corresponding button on the Surfaces toolbar, shown to the right.
2. Move the pointer over a visible surface. As soon as the pointer is located within a
surface, the pointer position is tracked and mapped onto the surface, and the two
curves that would be deleted from the surface are highlighted.
Note that the TAB key allows cycling through the Delete row - Delete column -
Delete row and column operation sequence.
Press the SPACEBAR to temporarily exit the current mode and perform rotations and
translations of the 3D scene. The mode is re-entered by pressing the SPACEBAR
again.
1. Choose the Tools > Surfaces > Extrapolate > Rows or Columns command or press the
corresponding button on the Surfaces toolbar, shown to the right.
2. Make specifications in the dialog box that is displayed, shown in Figure 18.11. It
offers a Snap onto polygonal model check box and a Max snap distance text box.
3. Once the operation has been invoked, move the pointer over a visible surface. As
soon as the pointer is located within the surface, the pointer position is tracked and
mapped onto the surface. The boundary row or column nearest the pointer is found,
and the boundary row or column that will be extrapolated is highlighted. Choose a
boundary, press and hold the left mouse button, and drag the mouse in the tangent
plane. The surface is modified to show the extrapolation results.
Press the SPACEBAR to temporarily exit the current mode and perform rotations and
translations of the 3D scene. The mode is re-entered by pressing the SPACEBAR
again.
Note that the TAB key allows cycling through the Extrapolate rows or columns –
Extrapolate rows and columns operation sequence.
4. Release the left mouse button to perform the extrapolation. Repeat if desired.
If the Snap onto polygonal model check box is selected, control points are
projected onto the polygonal model when the polygonal surface is within the Max
snap distance from the control point.
The dialog box’s Do not show this window check box allows controlling the display of
the dialog box. When it is not displayed, its current settings are applied to the
operation. To redisplay the dialog box when in this operation mode, choose the View >
Contextual Parameters command.
New rows and columns outside of visible surfaces can be created interactively by
extrapolation. Follow these instructions:
1. Choose the Tools > Surfaces > Extrapolate > Rows and Columns command or press
the corresponding button on the Surfaces toolbar, shown to the right.
2. Make specifications in the dialog box that is displayed, shown in Figure 18.11. It
offers a Snap onto polygonal model check box and a Max snap distance text box.
For rectangular surfaces, this button extrapolates all boundary curves at once. For
cylindrical surfaces, only the first and last rows will be extrapolated.
Press the SPACEBAR to temporarily exit the current mode and perform rotations and
translations of the 3D scene. The mode is re-entered by pressing the SPACEBAR
again.
Note that the TAB key allows cycling through the Extrapolate rows or columns –
Extrapolate rows and columns operation sequence.
3. Release the left mouse button to perform the extrapolation. Repeat if desired.
Figure 18.12 The dialog box used to create a planar constraint for surfaces.
If the Snap onto polygonal model check box is selected, a control point is
projected onto the polygonal model when the polygonal surface is within the Max
snap distance from the control point.
An entire surface row or column can be forced to become a planar curve. When a planar
constraint is created, the control points and tangent vectors defining the row or
column are automatically projected onto the constraining plane. The planar constraint
will then be preserved during subsequent operations. For example, the surface-fitting
algorithm preserves planar constraints. Note that some control point operations, such
as Pick & Place and Modify Control Points, are not fully available for control points that
are part of a constrained curve.
2. Choose the Tools > Surfaces > Create Planar Constraints command or press the
corresponding button on the Surfaces toolbar, shown to the right.
3. Make specifications in the dialog box that is displayed, shown in Figure 18.12. It
offers a Snap onto polygonal model check box and a Max snap distance text box.
4. Move the pointer over a visible surface. As soon as the pointer is located within the
surface, the pointer position is tracked and mapped onto the surface, and the curve
that would be constrained is highlighted. The operation is initially configured to
constrain a row. To constrain a column instead, press the TAB key.
Press the SPACEBAR to temporarily exit the current mode and perform rotations and
translations of the 3D scene. The mode is re-entered by pressing the SPACEBAR
again.
5. After having identified the row or column that is to be constrained, click to create
the constraint.
If the Snap onto polygonal model check box is selected, the newly constrained
Hermite control points may be snapped onto the polygonal mesh – a constrained
control point is projected onto the polygonal model only if the polygonal surface is
within the Max snap distance from the control point.
The dialog box’s Do not show this window check box allows controlling the display of
the dialog box. When it is not displayed, its current settings are applied to the
operation. To redisplay the dialog box when in this operation mode, choose the View >
Contextual Parameters command.
1. Choose the Tools > Surfaces > Remove Planar Constraints command or press the
corresponding button on the Surfaces toolbar, shown to the right.
2. Move the pointer over the selected surface. As soon as the pointer is located within
the surface, the pointer position is tracked and mapped onto the surface, and the
curve that would be unconstrained is highlighted. Constrained control points are
displayed in gray. The operation is initially configured to remove constraints from a
row. To remove constraints from a column, press the TAB key.
Press the SPACEBAR to temporarily exit the current mode and perform rotations and
translations of the 3D scene. The mode is re-entered by pressing the SPACEBAR
again.
Surface control points can be projected onto a selected primitive. Follow these
instructions:
2. If several control points need to be projected, then preselect them (see Section
18.7.4 Selecting control points for information on selecting surface control points).
3. Choose the Tools > Surfaces > Project Control Points onto Primitive command or press
the corresponding button on the Surfaces toolbar, shown to the right.
4. Selected control points are immediately projected. Afterward, new control points
can be interactively projected by moving the pointer over visible surfaces. As soon
as the pointer is located within a surface, the pointer position is tracked and
mapped onto the surface, and the control point that would be projected is
highlighted.
Press the SPACEBAR to temporarily exit the current mode and perform rotations and
translations of the 3D scene. The mode is re-entered by pressing the SPACEBAR
again.
To fit selected surfaces to a polygonal mesh, by best-fitting surface control points and
tangent vectors, follow these instructions:
2. Choose the Tools > Surfaces > Fit command or press the corresponding button on
the Surfaces toolbar, shown to the right.
3. The dialog box shown in Figure 18.13 is displayed. The following items are available:
# of iterations
A text box that specifies the number of fitting iterations performed when the
fitting operation is invoked.
Subsampling
A combo box that specifies a subsampling factor to use to lessen the set of mesh
vertices onto which the surface is fitted. The following choices are offered: 1/1 (no
subsampling), 1/4 (one of every four vertices), 1/16 (one of every sixteen vertices),
or 1/64 (one of every sixty-four vertices). In addition, a subsampling factor can be
manually specified by typing an integer value to the right of the 1/ characters.
This feature is handy when the number of vertices underneath a surface is very
large. Vertices are randomly chosen in the dataset to meet the user-specified
subsampling factor.
Preview
A button that allows visualizing the actual fitting error of visible selected surfaces,
before modifying the surface. Statistics will be displayed in the Deviation from
polygonal model group box. If the Show fitting error item is not checked,
pressing the Preview button will result in the item being checked, and errors will
be converted to colors and displayed with a color scale.
Maximum
A text box that displays the maximum fitting error.
Mean
A text box that displays the mean fitting error.
Std dev.
A text box that displays the standard deviation of the fitting errors.
Press the Apply button to launch the fitting operation. Press the Close button to
dismiss the dialog box.
Figure 18.14 The structure of the cubic patch control points and vectors. In the Hermite
representation (a), the cubic patch is built from four groups of control points and
vectors related to the four patch corners. Each group contains a control point, two
tangent vectors in the u and v direction, and a twist vector. In the Bezier
representation (b), the cubic patch is also built from four groups of control points
related to surface properties at the four patch corners. Each A, B, C, D group of control
points and vectors in the two representations define the same mathematical
properties.
A B
D
C D C
Figure 18.14 illustrates the internal organization of the Bezier and Hermite surface
representations. In each representation, there are 16 control points and vectors that
define the 48 mathematical parameters that are required to define a parametric cubic
patch. These 16 control points and vectors may be subdivided into four groups related
to surface properties at the four patch corners.
InnovMetric Software has designed control point manipulation routines based on the
Hermite representation. When a control point or tangent vector defined at a cubic
patch corner is edited, the modification is automatically propagated to all neighboring
patches. The Bezier representation may also be used during control point manipulation
routines. The behavior of the manipulation routines is then automatically translated to
a Hermite-based behavior.
To access the Select Elements mode, press the Select Elements button on the Selection
toolbar, or press the SPACEBAR.
The control points of visible surfaces are displayed as little cubes. They can either be
displayed in the Bezier or Hermite mode. In the Hermite mode, a cubic patch is
represented by four control points located at the four patch corners. The other patch
parameters are defined by control vectors and are not displayed in a standard
rendering. In the Bezier mode, a 4x4 matrix of control points is displayed for each patch.
The color of a cube indicates the status of a control point. By default, a green cube
indicates a control point whose position is free to change during the fitting process. A
yellow cube indicates a control point whose position is fixed during the fitting process.
Finally, a red cube indicates a selected control point.
As shown in Section 18.7.4 Selecting control points, the Select Elements mode offers
two methods of selecting surface control points. Individual control points can be
selected by clicking their cubes. Multiple control points can be selected by delimiting a
2D area using the middle mouse button with the SHIFT key held down. This second
operation selects all control points whose projection lies within the 2D area.
In the Hermite mode, the selection technique only considers the Hermite control point
picked by the user. In the Bezier mode, the selection technique considers the complete
group of control points to which the Bézier control point picked by the user belongs
(see Figure 18.14). The Selection mode (see Section 7.3.3 The interactive selection
mode) controls the output of the selection operation.
Five additional control point selection methods are also available on the shortcut menu
provided by the Select Elements mode. To access these operations, hold down the
SHIFT key and right-click over a control point’s cube and point Ctrl Pt Select, which offers
the following commands:
All
Selects all the control points of the current control point’s surface.
Invert
Inverts the selection status of the control points of the current control point’s
surface.
None
Deselects all the control points of the current control point’s surface.
The fitting algorithm computes the optimal surface that best approximates the local
surface area of a polygonal mesh. It takes into consideration the position of Hermite
control points, which may be fixed or free to move. By default, fixed control points are
displayed in yellow, while free control points are displayed in green.
To anchor the position of selected Hermite control points of visible surfaces, follow this
procedure:
6. Hold down the SHIFT key and right-click, point Ctrl Pt Edit, and click Anchor on the
shortcut menu.
The operation will then anchor the position of the specified surface’s selected
control points.
To make selected Hermite control points of visible surfaces free to move, follow these
instructions:
6. Hold down the SHIFT key and right-click, point Ctrl Pt Edit, and click Release on the
shortcut menu.
The operation will then release the position of the specified surface’s selected
control points.
Control points belonging to a visible surface may be deleted. Follow these instructions:
5. Hold down the SHIFT key and right-click over one of the surface’s control points,
point Ctrl Pt Edit, and click Delete.
Note that for each deleted control point, a row and a column are removed from the
surface.
3. Select only Surface control points in the Selection Context dialog box.
7. Point Ctrl Pt Edit and click one of the four commands related to orientation
discontinuities:
Continuous
Makes the surface orientation continuous at selected control points
belonging to the picked surface.
Corner
Creates a corner at selected control points belonging to the picked surface.
The row and column contain a tangent discontinuity at a corner point.
Edge in Col
Makes the column an edge at selected control points belonging to the
picked surface. The tangent discontinuity is added to the row to which the
control points belong.
Edge in Row
Makes the row an edge at selected control points belonging to the picked
surface. The tangent discontinuity is added to the column to which the
control points belong.
Edges are indicated by two small arrows tangent to the surface on both sides of the
control point, as shown in Figure 18.15. Green arrows indicate an edge oriented along
the column direction. Red arrows indicate an edge oriented along the row direction.
Four arrows indicate a corner.
A plane can be created from a control point planar constraint. To modify one or two
existing planar constraints at a control point, follow these instructions:
4. Deselect the surface control points by holding down the SHIFT key and right-
clicking over a control point, point Ctrl Pt Select, and click None on the shortcut
menu.
Figure 18.15 An example of a surface containing an edge. The Edge in Row operation has been
applied to the middle row. Two arrows show the tangent discontinuity added to each
control point’s column.
6. While the pointer is over the control point, hold down the SHIFT key and right-click
to display a menu.
7. Point Ctrl Pt Edit and click Constraints to Planes to transfer the constraining planes to
the Planes branch of the tree view.
The plane-editing dialog box may then be used to modify the planes (see Section
19.2.2 Selecting planes - in the tree view and in the 3D scene). When editing is
complete, the control point’s row/column must be re-constrained with the new
planes.
The three following sections describe methods that allow reshaping a surface. These
methods manipulate the Hermite control points and tangent vectors defined at each
patch corner. While using any one of these methods, the SPACEBAR shortcut may be
used to temporarily exit the method in order to rotate or translate the 3D scene. The
ESC key may also be used to exit any operation. Note that these operations cannot be
fully applied to control points that belong to a constrained column or row. Constrained
control points are displayed in gray.
A first method of reshaping a surface is provided by the Pick and Place interactive
mode. To proceed, choose the Tools > Surfaces > Pick and Place Control Points command
or press the corresponding button on the Surfaces toolbar, shown to the right. The
mode works as follows:
In the Pick and Place mode, pick a control point of a visible surface, and drag the
control point to a new position. This new position will be confirmed once the left
mouse button is released.
When a selected control point is dragged, the drag is applied to all selected control
points of all visible surfaces.
To move only one control point, selected or not, hold down the CTRL key while
dragging.
In the case of a control point with a planar constraint, it can only be dragged along
its constraining plane; this applies only to the picked control point.
In the Bezier mode, the group of control points to which the picked cube belongs is
found. Then, the pointer is automatically moved over the patch corner related to this
group of control points.
During the control point dragging operation, the cube will follow the pointer only if
the pointer is located over a visible portion of the polygonal mesh, with the
exception of control points with planar constraints that can be moved anywhere
along the constraining plane.
The SHIFT + TAB shortcut may be pressed to switch to the Modify Control Points
mode, and pressed again to switch to the Pick Objects mode.
In the simple Pick and Place mode, control points can be freely repositioned on the
polygonal surface. In addition, there are two powerful constrained Pick and Place
methods based on planes selected in the tree view:
If only one plane is selected, move each picked control point on a plane parallel to
the selected plane and co-planar with the control point.
If two planes are selected, move each picked control point in a direction parallel to
the intersection line of the two planes.
There are also nine different methods of editing Hermite control points and tangent
vectors. In order to edit the surface properties at one or several cubic patch corners, the
Hermite control points corresponding to these corners must first be selected. The nine
manipulation methods are then accessed by choosing the Tools > Surfaces > Modify
Control Points command or pressing the corresponding button on the Surfaces toolbar,
shown to the right. If Hermite control points have not been preselected before entering
the Modify Control Points mode, they can be selected by clicking them with the CTRL
key held down. Table 1 summarizes the nine manipulation methods applied to selected
control points.
vector.
This method is accessed by pressing the left mouse button. Little wireframe spheres are
displayed, one for each selected Hermite control point. The surface normal vectors start
from the spheres’ centers and point toward one of the poles. Three vectors are also
displayed. The u tangent vectors are rendered in red. The v tangent vectors are
rendered in green. The surface normal vectors are rendered in blue. Rotations are
performed by keeping the left mouse button down and moving the pointer. The
pointer displacements are then converted into rotation angles.
This method is accessed by pressing the middle mouse button. When a control point’s
cube is not initially picked, the translation operation is performed in the viewing plane,
which can be conceived of as parallel to the flat surface of the monitor. On the other
hand, when a control point’s cube is initially picked, the translation operation is
performed along the control point’s tangent plane. A regular square grid, yellow in
color, is displayed to help perform this translation operation.
This method is accessed by pressing the right mouse button. When a control point’s
cube is not initially right-clicked, the selected Hermite control points are translated
along their respective surface normal vectors. On the other hand, when a control
point’s cube is initially right-clicked, the selected control points are translated along the
surface normal vector of the picked control point. A ruled yellow vector is displayed to
help perform this translation operation.
The u and v tangent vectors can be rotated in their respective tangent planes. These
three methods are accessed by pressing the SHIFT key first, then pressing either the left
(u), middle (v), or right (u and v) mouse buttons. For all three methods, little wireframe
spheres are displayed to indicate the local orientation of the surface. Three vectors are
also rendered in the 3D scene. The u tangent vectors are rendered in red. The v tangent
vectors are rendered in green. The surface normal vectors are rendered in blue. Tangent
vector rotations are performed by translating the pointer along the horizontal
direction.
The u and v tangent vectors can be scaled. These three methods are accessed by
pressing the CTRL key first, then pressing either the left (u), middle (v), or right (u and v)
mouse buttons. For all three methods, little wireframe spheres are displayed to indicate
the local orientation of the surface. Three vectors are also rendered on the screen. The u
tangent vectors are rendered in red. The v tangent vectors are rendered in green. The
surface normal vectors are rendered in blue. Tangent vector scaling is performed by
translating the pointer along the vertical direction.
18.8.1 Setting display options for surfaces in the IMEdit Options dialog box
The Display > Surfaces page of the IMEdit Options dialog box offers options to specify
the global display mode of surface objects. For complete information, see Section
22.3.13 Surface display options. To access the IMEdit Options dialog box, choose the
Tools > Options command.
Interface colors may be customized in the IMEdit Options dialog box. The following
colors are specific to surfaces:
Control Points
Color used to render standard control points. Set to light green by default.
Surfaces
Color used to render surfaces Set to sky blue by default.
The Display modes tab shows the surface-rendering mode and is described in Section
18.8 Rendering surfaces and control points.
The Surface tab displays the Type of Surface (Rectangular Surface or Cylindrical
Surface) and the # Control points.
The Fitting error tab displays information for surfaces that have been fit to a polygonal
model. This includes statistics concerning the surface-to-model deviation: the
Maximum error, the Mean error, and the Std dev. Note that any editing of the
polygonal model results in the values being reset to 0.
When only surfaces are selected in the tree view, right-clicking displays a shortcut
menu that includes commands that are specific to surfaces:
The 3D scene offers for visible surfaces a shortcut menu containing the commands in
the table that follows. Either enter Pick Objects mode and right-click over a surface, or
stay in Default mode and ALT+right-click over a surface. The commands with an * apply
only to the picked object.
Note that right-clicking the planar constraint displays a menu that offers commands
used for the display of the constraining plane:
For more information on the Pick Objects mode, see Section 7.1.2.2 Selecting objects
interactively in the 3D scene.
In Select Elements mode, holding down the SHIFT key and right-clicking a surface
control point in the 3D scene displays a menu offering visualization, selection, and
editing operations specific to the control points of the picked surface. See the table that
follows. The commands with an * apply only to selected control points.
For information on selecting surface control points, see Section 7.3.3.2 Selecting other
elements.
The Select > Vertices > Above & Below Surfaces command allows selecting visible vertices
using selected, visible surfaces. For more information, see Section 7.5.2 Selecting
vertices.
Surfaces may be exported to the IGES format. For complete information, see Section
23.14 Exporting surfaces.
The surface-fitting algorithm adjusts the twist vectors of a surface in order to obtain the
optimal fit. To reset the twist vectors of a surface, follow this procedure:
1. Enable the Pick Objects mode by pressing the Select Objects button on the
Selection toolbar.
3. Point Surface Edit and click Zero Twists on the shortcut menu.
4. The pointer can be moved to other surfaces and the preceding instructions can be
repeated.
Several methods allow creating points. They are offered on the Tools > Points > Create
submenu and on the Points toolbar (see Figure 19.1).
1. Choose the Tools > Points > Create > Anchor command or press the corresponding
button on the Points toolbar, shown to the right.
Press the SPACEBAR to temporarily exit the current mode and perform rotations and
translations of the 3D scene. The mode is re-entered by pressing the SPACEBAR
again.
1. Choose the Tools > Points > Create > Numerically command or press the
corresponding button on the Points toolbar, shown to the right.
2. The dialog box shown in Figure 19.2 is displayed. Specify the coordinates of a new
point in the x, y, and z text boxes.
Specify an object Name for the new point, or let the application generate one.
4. After pressing the Create button, a point-editing dialog box will be displayed,
showing the definition of the newly created point. See Section 19.1.3.1 Editing
points numerically for information on editing points.
2. Choose the Tools > Points > Create > From Intersection of 3 Planes command or press
the corresponding button on the Points toolbar, shown to the right.
2. Choose the Tools > Points > Create > From Vertices command or press the
corresponding button on the Points toolbar, shown to the right.
The coordinates of each selected vertex are used to create new points.
To create points from the points of visible point clouds, follow these instructions:
2. Choose the Tools > Points > Create > From Point Cloud Points command or press the
corresponding button on the Points toolbar, shown to the right.
Point objects are extracted from points selected on point clouds. If there is no
element selection, a message prompts processing all of the visible point cloud
points.
Figure 19.2 The dialog box used to create points from (x, y, z) coordinates.
Note that the points of a point cloud may be selected in Select Elements mode. To enter
the mode, press the Select Elements button on the Selection toolbar. See Section
7.3.3.2 Selecting other elements for more information on the Select Elements mode.
The Tools > Points > Create > From File command allows importing points from ordered
text files. On choosing this command, a file browser is displayed. The browser’s
Template list box offers content-specific templates used to read text files. To gain
access to other standard templates, or to define your own custom template, press the
Templates button. See Section 5.3.2 Exporting to text files of the PolyWorks Reference
Guide for more information on defining templates used to read text files. Press the
Open button to launch the import operation.
Reading each text file results in the creation of one or more point objects. In each text
file, each point must be specified on a single line. The x, y, z values can be separated by
spaces, tabs, or commas. Lines that are not formatted according to the chosen template
are ignored.
Points can be directly selected in the tree view using standard Windows-based
selection techniques. The Points branch’s shortcut menu also offers a Select submenu
with commands that allow selecting points (see Section 7.1.3 Selection operations on
branch menus in the tree view).
2. Select the Points check box in the Objects to select group box of the Picking
Context dialog box.
3. Click Points in the 3D scene, or middle-click and drag a selection rectangle, and the
specified points will be selected in the tree view.
If the CTRL key is held down, the current tree view selections are preserved and the
selection status of the specified points is switched.
Press the SPACEBAR to temporarily exit the current mode and perform rotations and
translations of the 3D scene. The mode is re-entered by pressing the SPACEBAR
again.
Several methods allow editing points. They are offered through the Tools > Points
submenu and on the Points toolbar (see Figure 19.1). Points may be edited numerically
and their color may changed.
2. Choose the Tools > Points > Edit Numerically command or press the corresponding
button on the Points toolbar, shown to the right, shown to the right.
4. Press the Apply button to make the changes effective, or the Revert button to
return to the original values.
Note that the Revert button is only available once a value has changed in the dialog
box.
Property sheets allow viewing, and sometimes editing, the properties of objects. The
property sheet for points, shown in Figure 19.4, offers a Point tab displaying the (x, y, z)
coordinates of the point.
There are several methods that allow creating planes. They are offered on the Tools >
Planes > Create submenu and on the Planes toolbar (see Figure 19.5).
1. Choose the Tools > Plane s> Create > Anchor 3 Points command or press the
corresponding button on the Planes toolbar, shown to the right.
2. Click to anchor three points on visible objects in the 3D scene. Middle-click to erase
the last anchored point.
These three points define the created plane. The orientation of the plane’s normal
vector is not affected by the clicking order and always points toward the user.
Press the SPACEBAR to temporarily exit the current mode and perform rotations and
translations of the 3D scene. The mode is re-entered by pressing the SPACEBAR
again.
Figure 19.6 The dialog box used to specify anchor options when creating planes from 2 picked
points.
19.2.1.2 Creating planes from two user-picked points using the viewing axis
To create planes that are parallel to the viewing axis from two picked points, follow
these instructions:
1. Choose the Tools > Planes > Create > Anchor Line command or press the
corresponding button on the Planes toolbar, shown to the right.
2. The dialog box is shown in Figure 19.6. If needed, click the Parallel to previous
plane check box to anchor a plane parallel to the one just created.
The dialog box’s Do not show this window check box allows controlling the current
and future display of this window. To redisplay the dialog box when in this operation
mode, choose the View > Contextual Parameters command.
3. Click to anchor two points in the 3D scene (2D anchoring) that define the created
plane. Middle-click to erase the first anchored point.
Press the SPACEBAR to temporarily exit the current mode and perform rotations and
translations of the 3D scene. The mode is re-entered by pressing the SPACEBAR
again.
Note that in the interactive picking mode, the scene is viewed in Orthogonal projection
mode.
To create a plane fitted on all selected vertices, or on vertices that belong to selected
triangles, follow these instructions:
2. Choose the Tools > Planes > Create > Fit command or press the corresponding
button on the Planes toolbar, shown to the right.
Note that a plane is fit on the vertices using the fit method specified on the Planes
page of the IMEdit Options dialog box (see Section 19.2.4.1 Setting plane display
options in the IMEdit Options dialog box).
19.2.1.4 Setting the fit type option for planes in the IMEdit Options dialog box
Options that allow configuring the fit method of a plane on vertices are offered on the
Planes page of the IMEdit Options dialog box. For complete information, see Section
22.8 Plane options. To access the IMEdit Options dialog box, choose the Tools > Options
command.
Three methods on the Tools > Planes > Create submenu may be used to create planes
aligned with the coordinate system of the polygonal model. The new planes are
translated to the middle of the scene’s bounding box.
Choose the From XY Plane command or press the corresponding button on the
Planes toolbar, shown to the right.
Choose the From YZ Plane command or press the corresponding button on the
Planes toolbar, shown to the right.
Choose the From XZ Plane command or press the corresponding button on the
Planes toolbar, shown to the right.
To create planes parallel to a reference plane and passing through picked points or fit to
selected elements, follow these instructions:
1. Choose the Tools > Planes > Create > Parallel to Plane command, or press the
corresponding button on the Planes toolbar, shown to the right.
Figure 19.7 The dialog box used to create planes parallel to standard or existing planes.
2. Specify a name for the new plane in the Name text box, or accept the default name
plane <number>, where <number> is an automatically incremented integer for
planes.
3. Choose a method by pressing one of the following buttons. Two creation methods
are available:
Reference plane
A list box that enables selecting the plane to use to create a parallel plane. Choose
from a standard plane (i.e., +XY, -XY, +YZ, -YZ, +ZX, -ZX), or a nonignored plane
Figure 19.8 In this mode, the standard planes are displayed. The figure below contains a visible
existing plane as well as the standard planes. The +XY standard plane is displayed in
a grid rendering mode since it is the current selection.
+YZ plane
+ZX plane
A plane in
the project
+XY plane
already in the project. If a plane has been previously selected, it appears selected
in the list box. Otherwise, the default value is +XY.
The selection can also be made using the adjacent Pick Plane button, which
launches an interactive picking mode.
If required, press the SPACEBAR to temporarily exit the mode and perform
translations and rotations.
2. Move to the 3D scene. The pointer changes to a pencil (see in the right margin). Click
to anchor a point on a visible object in the 3D scene.
Press the SPACEBAR to temporarily exit the current mode and perform rotations and
translations of the 3D scene. The mode is re-entered by pressing the SPACEBAR
again.
4. Press the ESC key or right-click to exit the interactive anchoring mode.
A plane can be created by making it parallel to a reference plane and fitting on selected
polygonal model elements. To use this functionality, select the Fit to Elements method
in the Create Planes Parallel to Plane dialog box by pressing the button shown to the
right.
1. Select the polygonal model elements to which the plane will be fitted (i.e., one or
more triangles, or three or more vertices). For information on how to select
elements, see Section 7.2 Introduction to selecting elements.
Reference plane
A list box that enables selecting the plane to use to create a parallel plane. Choose
from a standard plane (i.e., +XY, -XY, +YZ, -YZ, +ZX, -ZX), or a nonignored plane
already in the project. If a plane has been previously selected, it appears selected
in the list box. Otherwise, the default value is +XY.
The selection can also be made using the adjacent Pick Plane button, which
launches an interactive picking mode. Note that the ESC key can be used to exit
the mode.
If required, press the SPACEBAR to temporarily exit the mode and perform
translations and rotations.
Left-click a plane in the 3D scene. In this mode, the standard planes are
displayed, centered on the origin and deduced from the orientation of the
part in the coordinate system; see Figure 19.8.
3. Click Create.
To create planes normal to points picked on visible curves, follow these instructions:
2. Choose the Tools > Planes > Create > From Curve Point command or press the
corresponding button on the Planes toolbar, shown to the right.
3. Move the pointer within a curve’s neighborhood. As soon as the pointer is located
within the curve’s neighborhood, the pointer position is tracked and mapped onto
the curve, and the curve point that would be used for the plane-creation operation
is displayed.
Press the SPACEBAR to temporarily exit the current mode and perform rotations and
translations of the 3D scene. The mode is re-entered by pressing the SPACEBAR
again.
The tangent vector at the picked point is extracted and a new plane is created that is
normal to the tangent vector and that passes through the picked point.
1. Select a triangle.
2. Choose the Tools > Planes > Create > From Triangle command or press the
corresponding button on the Planes toolbar, shown to the right.
2. Choose the Tools > Planes > Create > From 3 Vertices command or press the
corresponding button on the Planes toolbar, shown to the right.
Figure 19.9 The dialog box used to create a plane from an equation.
1. Choose the Tools > Planes > Create > Numerically command or press the
corresponding button on the Planes toolbar, shown to the right.
2. Make specifications in the plane-creation dialog box, shown in Figure 19.9. Specify
the parameters of a new plane using one of two equivalent mathematical
representations:
Specify a x, y, z point of the plane in the Origin group box and a x, y, z vector
normal to the plane in the Normal group box.
Specify an object Name for the new plane, or let the application generate one.
After pressing the Create button, a plane-editing dialog box is displayed displaying the
definition of the newly created plane. See Section 19.2.3.1 Editing a plane numerically
for information on editing planes.
1. Enter the Pick Objects mode by clicking the Select Objects button on the Selection
toolbar.
3. Point Curve Edit and click Global Constraints to Planes on the shortcut menu.
The Tools > Planes > Create > From File command allows creating planes from ordered
text files.
On choosing this command, a file browser is displayed. The browser’s Template list box
offers content-specific templates used to read text files. To gain access to other
standard templates, or to define your own custom template, press the Templates
button. See Section 5.3.1 Importing from text files of the PolyWorks Reference Guide for
more information on templates used to read text files. Press the Open button to launch
the import operation.
On reading each text file, plane objects are automatically created. In the text file, each
plane must be specified on a single line. Lines that are not formatted according to the
chosen template are ignored.
Planes can be directly selected in the tree view using standard Windows-based
selection techniques. The Planes branch’s shortcut menu also offers a Select submenu
with commands that allow selecting planes (see Section 7.1.3 Selection operations on
branch menus in the tree view).
1. Enter the Pick Objects mode by clicking the Select Objects button on the Selection
toolbar.
2. Set the Planes item in the Objects to select group box of the Picking Context dialog
box.
3. Click a plane in the 3D scene, or middle-click and drag a selection rectangle, and the
specified planes will be selected in the tree view.
If the CTRL key is held down, the current tree view selections are preserved and the
selection status of the specified planes is switched.
Press the SPACEBAR to temporarily exit the current mode and perform rotations and
translations of the 3D scene. The mode is re-entered by pressing the SPACEBAR
again.
There are several methods that allow editing planes. They are offered on the main Tools
> Planes submenu and on the Planes toolbar (see Figure 19.5).
Several operations allow editing planes: edit numerically, change their color, crop them,
grow & shrink them, and create plane axes.
2. Choose the Tools > Planes > Edit Numerically command or press the corresponding
button on the Planes toolbar, shown to the right.
3. The plane-editing dialog box, shown in Figure 19.10, is displayed. It allows changing
a plane’s Name, its A, B, C, D parameters (see Section 19.2.1.10 Creating a plane by
specifying its equation), its Origin (x, y, z) and its Normal (i, j, k). It also allows
rotating the plane about a vector and translating the plane a number of units along
its normal, using the following items:
The Rotate button is enabled only if a rotation axis has first been created. A
rotation axis is a 3D vector about which a plane rotates. For more
information, see Section 19.2.3.5 Anchoring plane axes.
Distance
A text box that specifies a translation distance in current units.
Translate
A button that performs the translation.
4. Press the Apply button to make the changes effective, or press the Revert button
to return to the original values.
Figure 19.11 Cropping planes. (a) A plane with a picked external contour and two picked internal
contours, and (b) the cropped plane.
(a) (b)
3. Specify a color to assign to the currently selected planes in the color management
dialog box that is displayed.
2. Choose the Tools > Planes > Crop command or press the corresponding button on
the Planes toolbar, shown to the right.
3. Define a first polygonal contour by clicking the plane’s surface. Right-clicking closes
the first contour. Middle-click to erase the last clicked point.
Press the SPACEBAR to temporarily exit the current mode and perform rotations and
translations of the 3D scene. The mode is re-entered by pressing the SPACEBAR
again.
4. Internal contours may then be created in the same way, right-clicking each time
after having closed a contour.
An example of cropping is shown in Figure 19.11. While only the trimmed area of a
plane is used for display, certain operations ask to use the cropped plane (as displayed)
or the plane extended to infinity.
2. Choose the Tools > Planes > Grow and Shrink command or press the corresponding
button on the Planes toolbar, shown to the right.
4. To grow the surface of the selected planes, specify a value in the Grow text box and
press the adjacent Apply button.
5. To shrink the surface of the selected planes, specify a value in the Shrink text box
and press the adjacent Apply button.
Note that the growing or shrinking operation is cancelled if the result would
compromise a contour.
To specify a rotation axis for a selected visible plane, follow these instructions:
2. Choose the Tools > Planes > Anchor Rotation Axis command.
Press the SPACEBAR to temporarily exit the current mode and perform rotations and
translations of the 3D scene. The mode is re-entered by pressing the SPACEBAR
again.
4. Anchor two points on the selected plane. These two points define a 3D vector
forming the rotation axis.
Once the interactive operation has been completed, an Axis object, child of the
selected plane object, is added to the tree view.
Figure 19.12 The dialog box used to grow and shrink planes.
Planes have only one combined display mode – Static & Dynamic. The specifications
made for this mode are used for both static and dynamic rendering. A default display
mode is configured from the IMEdit Options dialog box (see Section 19.2.4.1 Setting
plane display options in the IMEdit Options dialog box). The display mode of individual
planes or sets of planes can also be configured from their property sheet (see Section
19.2.5 Using the property sheet of planes).
19.2.4.1 Setting plane display options in the IMEdit Options dialog box
The Display > Planes page of the IMEdit Options dialog box offers display options for
planes. For complete information, see Section 22.3.14 Plane display options. To access
the IMEdit Options dialog box, choose the Tools > Options command.
Property sheets allow viewing, and sometimes editing, the properties of objects. The
property sheet for planes, shown to the left in Figure 19.13, offers two tabs.
The Display modes tab shows the plane-rendering mode. The display modes for
planes are presented in Section 19.2.4.1 Setting plane display options in the IMEdit
Options dialog box.
The Plane tab displays the A, B, C, D coefficients of the plane’s equation. A plane may
have an Axis child.
Figure 19.13 The property sheet for planes (a), and the property sheet for axes (b).
(a) (b)
The property sheet for Axis objects, shown to the right in Figure 19.13, offers the Axis
tab that displays the (x, y, z) Origin and (i, j, k) Direction of the axis.
When only planes are selected in the tree view, right-clicking is displayed a shortcut
menu that includes commands that are specific to planes:
The 3D scene offers for visible planes a shortcut menu containing the commands in the
table that follows. Either enter Pick Objects mode and right-click over a plane or stay in
Default mode and ALT+right-click over a plane. The commands with an * apply only to
the picked object.
For more information on the Pick Objects mode, see Section 7.1.2.2 Selecting objects
interactively in the 3D scene.
The Facing Plane Orientation and the Using Planes commands on the Select > Triangles
submenu allow selecting triangles using a plane selected in the tree view. For more
information, see Section 7.5.1 Selecting triangles.
The Select > Vertices > Using Planes command allows selecting vertices using planes
selected in the tree view. For more information, see Section 7.5.2 Selecting vertices.
The Select up to Planes command offered on a shortcut menu in the interactive element
selection mode allows selecting triangles or vertices enclosed within a set of visible
planes. For more information, see Section 7.3.3.1.1 Selecting triangles interactively and
Section 7.3.3.1.2 Selecting vertices interactively.
Planes may be exported to the IGES and text file formats. For complete information, see
Section 23.17 Exporting planes.
When only points are selected in the tree view, right-clicking displays a shortcut menu
that includes commands that are specific to points:
The 3D scene offers for visible points a shortcut menu containing the commands in the
table that follows. Either enter Pick Objects mode and right-click over a point or stay in
Default mode and ALT+right-click over a point. The commands with an * apply only to
the picked object.
Points may be exported to the IGES and text file formats. For complete information, see
Section 23.16 Exporting points.
Various techniques allow easily creating a set of parallel or radial cross-sections, or cross-sections along a
curve. Cross-sections may then be used to create curves and exported to various formats.
1. Choose the Tools > Cross-Sections > Create by Anchoring Line command or press the
corresponding button on the Cross-Sections toolbar, shown to the right.
2. The dialog box shown in Figure 20.2 is displayed. Specify a Closure distance. Any
pairs of consecutive points along the cross-section that are within this distance will
be joined by a straight segment.
3. Move to the 3D scene. Since the interactive mode is enabled, the pointer changes to
a pencil with a S subscript (see in the right margin), and the Anchor Options dialog
box is displayed in the Dialog Zone. This dialog box contains the following
parameters:
Surface/Volume (Shift)
A reminder that by default the anchoring mode is surfacic, and to press the SHIFT
key for volumetric anchoring mode. If the SHIFT key is up, the adjacent status label
reads Surface and if the SHIFT key is down, it reads Volume.
Figure 20.2 The dialog box used to create cross-sections by anchoring points interactively.
4. Left-click to anchor two points. By default, the anchoring mode is surfacic. Press the
SHIFT key for volumetric anchoring mode.
There are several methods that allow creating cross-sections numerically. The dialog
box, shown in Figure 20.3, is accessed by choosing the Tools > Cross-Sections > Create
Numerically command, or pressing the corresponding button on the Cross-Sections
toolbar, shown to the right. The Type list box offers the methods that are presented in
Section 20.1.2.1 Creating parallel cross-sections along the X, Y, or Z axis through Section
20.1.2.5 Creating cross-sections along a curve. The Close button allows dismissing the
dialog box.
For all noninteractive methods, cross-sections are computed on the selected set of
triangles. If no triangles are selected, all visible triangles of polygonal models are
considered.
1. Specify X Axis, Y Axis, or Z Axis in the Type list box of the Create Cross-Sections
dialog box to choose one of the coordinate system’s main axes. No planes need to
be created prior to using these methods.
4. Specify the Closure distance. This parameter allows closing holes in a cross-section.
1. Specify Plane Selection in the Type list box of the Create Cross-Sections dialog box.
To create parallel cross-sections using two existing parallel planes, follow these
instructions:
1. Specify Parallel in the Type list box of the Create Cross-Sections dialog box to create
a set of parallel cross-sections; for an example, see Figure 20.4.
4. If a Step is used, define the first cross-section using the Direction list box. The first
tree view plane is used by choosing the 1st Plane -> 2nd item, and the second tree
view plane is used by choosing the 2nd Plane -> 1st item.
5. Specify the Closure distance. This parameter allows closing holes in a cross-section.
Note that there is a special plane-creation method that allows creating a plane parallel
to a selected plane (see Section 19.2.1.6 Creating a plane parallel to another plane).
To create radial cross-sections over 360o using two existing planes, whose intersection
defines a rotation axis, follow these instructions:
1. Specify Radial in the Type list box of the Create Cross-Sections dialog box.
4. The Direction list box is used to specify the first cross-section. The first plane is used
by choosing the 1st Plane -> 2nd item. The second plane is used by choosing the
2nd Plane - > 1st item.
5. Specify the Closure distance. This parameter allows closing holes in a cross-section.
To create cross-sections along a curve using a curve and two points, follow these
instructions:
1. Specify Along Curve in the Type list box of the Create Cross-Sections dialog box.
Figure 20.4 Cross-sections displayed with and without the polygonal model.
4. If a Step is being used, define the first cross-section using the Direction list box. The
first point is used by choosing the 1st Point -> 2nd item. The second point is used
by choosing the 2nd Point-> 1st item.
In the case of an open curve, the set of cross-sections is created along the same
interval along the curve, joining the two selected points, regardless of the specified
direction. In the case of a closed curve, there are two distinct intervals along the
curve: the first interval joins the first point to the second, in the direction of the
curve, and the second interval joins the second point to the first, along the direction
of the curve; in this case, the choice of Direction specifies the interval that will be
used for cross-section creation.
Right-click over the curve in the 3D scene, point Curve Edit, and click Invert
Direction on the shortcut menu.
Or,
Select the curve in the tree view, right-click, point Edit, and click Invert Direction
on the shortcut menu.
5. Specify the Closure distance. This parameter allows closing holes in a cross-section.
When only cross-sections are selected in the tree view, right-clicking displays a shortcut
menu that includes commands that are specific to cross-sections:
The 3D scene offers for visible cross-sections a shortcut menu containing the
commands in the table that follows. Either enter Pick Objects mode and right-click over
a cross-section or stay in Default mode and ALT+right-click over a cross-section. The
commands with an * apply only to the picked object.
For more information on the Pick Objects mode, see Section 7.1.2.2 Selecting objects
interactively in the 3D scene.
When in Select Elements mode, holding down the SHIFT key and right-clicking a cross-
section segment in the 3D scene displays a menu offering visualization, selection, and
editing operations specific to the segments of the picked cross-section. See the table
that follows. The commands with an * apply only to the selected segments:
Figure 20.6 The dialog box used to create curves from cross-sections.
1. Choose the Tools > Curves > Create > Standard Curves command or press the
corresponding button on the Curves toolbar, shown to the right.
2. In the dialog box that is displayed, shown in Figure 20.6, enter a Tolerance value (.05
by default) and a Curve discontinuity angle (30.0 degrees by default).
When the Curve discontinuity angle is surpassed, the application ends the current
curve, and starts a new one. The two newly created curve control endpoints,
occupying the same location, are automatically magnetized. The curves are
automatically optimized so that they match the cross-sections within a specified
tolerance.
3. To specify that the newly created curves can intersect existing curves, first select the
Auto-magnetize check box that activates a group box of the same name. Then,
specify a maximum projection distance in the Distance text box and specify to
Magnetize to Visible curves or Used curves (i.e., nonignored curves).
Other operations allow subsampling a point cloud, deleting some of its elements (i.e., points), and wrapping
a mesh onto a point cloud.
Type
A list box that controls the type of subsampling. When Type is set to Random, a
Percentage of the current number of points as the target to achieve must be
specified. The default value is 50.00. In this case, points are randomly deleted until
the number of points in the selected point clouds is equal to the target number of
points. For example, if 10% is specified, the resulting point cloud will only have 10
percent the number of points as the original point cloud.
When Type is set to Uniform, a Step must be specified; the default value is
1.0 mm. In this case, the selected point clouds are sampled with the goal of
generating uniformly sampled point clouds in which the point-to-point spacing is
equal to the Step.
Percentage/Step
A text box that is labeled Percentage if Type is set to Random or Curvature-
based, or Step if Type is set to Uniform. See the preceding item for the
description of each.
It also offers an Advanced button that gives access to the following item:
Press the Apply button to launch the operation, and the Close button to dismiss the
dialog box.
Subsampling may be undone by choosing the Edit > Recover Deleted Elements
command. For more information, see Section 6.2.5 Recovering deleted elements.
All of the module options are conveniently located in the IMEdit Options dialog box, which is accessed by
choosing the Tools > Options command.
The options are organized as follows: general, project, display related, and object specific. Any changes
made to options, and applied by pressing the dialog box’s OK or Apply buttons, only affect that instance of
the module. To save applied option specifications to the user configuration, choose the Tools > Save User
Configuration command. The options are all documented in this chapter.
Note that information on how to use the options dialog box (i.e., apply changes, interpret error messages) is
provided in Section 5.2 Using a module’s Options dialog box of the PolyWorks Reference Guide.
The Units section offers an option related to the units of measurement for a project:
Length
A list box that specifies the units of length measurement for a project. Choose
from: Microns, Millimeters, Centimeters, Meters, Inches, Feet, and US Survey
Feet. The default value is Millimeters.
When the length specification is changed and the project already contains
objects, all objects are converted to be defined in the new measurement units.
This may be a long operation. For example, color scales and fit statistics are
recalculated.
The Imported files section offers options related to the import process.
Unknown units
A group label that offers the following options when importing files (i.e.,
polygonal model and point cloud files) that do not have unit information. Once
imported, all files must be expressed in the same unit of length as the instance of
the module associated with the project (i.e., working units).
Specify at import
An option button, selected by default, that allows specifying object units
on import for those files that do not contain unit information.
When the option button is selected and a file with unknown units is
imported, parameters are offered in an import dialog box to allow
specifying the units for the files. The parameters are presented in Section
5.3.1.1.1 Object units.
The Browsers section offers an option for file and directory browsers:
Working directory
A check box that enables specifying a directory to which a browser initially refers
when it is displayed. When the check box is selected, a path may be entered
manually in the adjacent text box, or entered interactively by pressing the
adjacent browse button and specifying a path. When the check box is cleared, the
working directory is the last directory used. The check box is cleared by default.
Grouping policy
A list box that specifies the triangle grouping policy. Two choices are offered.
New Triangle Groups – Most operations that create new triangles place
them in new triangle groups whose name reflects the editing operation.
There are, however, two exceptions. The Polygons > Offset operation places
all of the new triangles, corresponding to the new surface, in a new triangle
group. The Polygons > Optimize > Optimize Curvature operation preserves
triangle groups when the operation’s Preserve triangle groups option is
selected.
This list box controls using a project’s application settings on loading into IMEdit.
Choose from Yes, No, and Confirm. The default value is Yes. When Confirm is
specified, a message window is displayed on loading a project asking to use the
project’s configuration. Then, press the Yes button to use the project
configuration or the No button to not use the project configuration. For the new
setting to be made effective, it must be saved to the user configuration (i.e.,
choose the Tools > Save User Configuration command).
Automatic backup
A check box that enables the automatic backup of the project. The check box is
selected by default. It makes available one item:
Delay (minutes)
A text box that specifies the frequency in minutes at which the automatic
backup is performed. Integer values greater than 0 are accepted. The
default value is 30 minutes.
This button is only available once such a check box has been selected, and it
becomes unavailable immediately after it has been pressed.
Font size
A text box that specifies the font size of color scale graduations. Accepted values
range from 2 to 30 inclusively. The default value is 9.
The Surface visualization subsection of the Objects section offers options that allow
controlling the rendering of displayed back-facing and front-facing polygons ofs:
Front face
A list box that specifies the rendering of the front faces of the polygons. Choose
from: As Is (renders front faces using their color information), Dark (renders front
faces using the current definition of the Dark interface color), and None (disables
the rendering of front faces). The default value is As Is.
Back face
A list box that specifies the rendering of the back faces of the polygons. Choose
from: As Is (renders back faces using their color information), Dark (renders back
faces using the current definition of the Dark interface color), and None (disables
the rendering of the back faces). The default value is Dark.
The Display > 3D Scene page of the IMEdit Options dialog box, shown in Figure 22.4,
offers display options for the 3D scene.
Environment mapping
A check box that enables rendering surface-based objects (i.e., models and
surfaces) and fitted NURBS surfaces as if they were perfectly reflective, so that the
colors on their surface are those reflected back from the surroundings. By default,
the check box is not selected. When selected, an adjacent list box offers the
following mapping choices: B/W Stripes (maps black and white stripes onto
objects), Gold (maps a golden pattern onto objects), Piano (maps a concert piano
pattern onto objects), Road (maps a road pattern onto objects), and Silver (maps
a silver pattern onto objects). The default value is B/W Stripes.
Grid
A check box that enables displaying a grid in the 3D scene when the projection
type is set to Orthogonal. The grid is automatically graduated. When the viewing
direction is parallel to a standard view (i.e., +X, -X, +Y, -Y, +Z, -Z), the grid displays
true coordinates, and the message True Grid is displayed in the 3D scene. For all
other viewing directions, the grid is a relative one and should only be used to make
differential measurements, and the message Relative Grid is displayed in the 3D
scene. The check box is cleared by default.
Pointer coordinates
A check box that enables displaying the approximate (x, y, z) coordinates of the
point under the pointer tip in the 3D scene. Pointer coordinates are only made
visible when the pointer passes over a 3D pixel, and are displayed to the right of
the pointer. The check box is cleared by default.
Bounding box
A check box that enables drawing the project’s bounding box. The check box is
cleared by default.
The current definition of the Bounding Box interface color is used to render the
bounding box. It can be changed through the Interface Colors page of the IMEdit
Options dialog box.
Car views
A check box that allows configuring the six standard views (i.e., +X, -X, +Y, -Y, +Z, -
Z) for a standard car. For example, the Z view will be rotated so that the X axis
points up and the Y axis points right (instead of having the X axis point left and the
Y axis point up). The check box is cleared by default.
The Axes section offers options that control the display of axes in the 3D scene:
Origin
A check box that enables displaying the X, Y, and Z axes by means of red, green,
and blue lines at the origin (0, 0, 0) of the coordinate system. The check box is
cleared by default.
Bounding box
A check box that enables displaying the X, the Y, and the Z axes, by means of red,
green, and blue lines respectively, having the same dimensions as the project’s
bounding box. The check box is cleared by default.
Orthogonal
An option button that sets the projection type to Orthogonal. This option is
selected by default.
Perspective
An option button that sets the projection type to Perspective and makes
available the Angle text box to specify a viewing angle, which must be larger than
0 and smaller than 180. The default value is 25.0 degrees.
The Display > Tree View page of the IMEdit Options dialog box, shown in Figure 22.5,
offers display options for the tree view.
The Display > Interface Colors page of the IMEdit Options dialog box, shown in Figure
22.6, allows modifying the default interface colors.
Colors are presented in a table with two columns: Item and Color. The list can be sorted
by clicking the Item column header. Specify a color by clicking the color for an item and
clicking a color in the list that is displayed. The following colors are editable:
Background - Bottom
Color used to define the color at the bottom of the 3D scene. Set to gray by default.
The color is used, with the corresponding top color, to generate a top-to-bottom
gradient background.
Background - Top
Color used to define the color at the top of the 3D scene. Set to black by default.
The color is used, with the corresponding bottom color, to generate a top-to-
bottom gradient background.
Bounding Box
Color used to render the bounding box. Set to white by default.
Control Points
Color used to render standard control points. Set to light green by default.
Cross-Sections
Color used to render cross-sections. Set to light purple by default.
Curvature Vectors
Color used to render curvature vectors. Set to dark gray by default.
Curve - G0
Color used to render position-continuous (G0) curves. Set to yellow by default.
Curve - G1
Color used to render tangent-continuous (G1) curves. Set to orange by default.
Curve - G2
Color used to render curvature-continuous (G2) curves. Set to dark blue by default.
Dark
Color used to render back or front faces of polygons, depending on their rendering
status. Set to dark blue by default.
Edges
Color used to highlight triangle edges for which the dihedral angle is larger than
the value set for the Dihedral angle parameter, situated on the Display >
Polygonal Models page of the IMEdit Options dialog box (see Section 22.3.8
Polygonal model display options). Set to blue by default.
Flat+Wireframe
Color used to render the wireframe representation when the drawing type is set to
Flat + Wireframe. Set to dark green by default.
Pencil
Color used to render 2D contours generated by the user. Set to yellow by default.
Point Cloud
Color used to render point clouds that have no color information, or point clouds
that do have color-per-pixel information but the Color color mode is not specified
for the static or the dynamic display modes. Set to turquoise by default.
Selection
Color used to render selected elements. Set to red by default.
Surfaces
Color used to render surfaces Set to sky blue by default.
The Display > Lights page of the IMEdit Options dialog box, shown in Figure 22.7,
offers options related to the lighting in the 3D scene.
The Display > Material page of the IMEdit Options dialog box, shown in Figure 22.8,
offers options related to material.
The Display > Deviation page of the IMEdit Options dialog box, shown in Figure 22.9
offers display options regarding the deviation of curves with respect to polygonal
models.
Max distance
A text box that specifies the maximum distance in which a deviation can be
calculated between a sample point on a curve and the closest polygonal model
surface (along the curve normal direction at the sample point). Valid values are
greater than 0.0. The default value is 10.0 mm.
Sampling step
A text box that specifies the distance between the sample points along the curves.
Valid values are greater than 0.0. The default value is 0.5 mm.
Scaling factor
A text box that allows scaling the displayed deviation vectors. Valid
values are greater than 0.0. The default value is 10.0.
The Display > Curvature page of the IMEdit Options dialog box, shown in Figure 22.10,
offers options to specify the global display mode of object curvature. The Curvature
color mode is available for the Static or Dynamic display mode of polygonal model
objects, and for the Static display mode of NURBS model objects, NURBS patch objects,
as well as curve objects.
Curvature units
A group label that allows specifying the curvature units. It contains the following
items:
Radians
An option button, selected by default, that specifies using radians as
curvature units.
Degrees
An option button that specifies using degrees as curvature units.
Direction
A group label that allows specifying the direction of curvature. It contains
the following items:
Minimum curvature
An option button that specifies the direction of minimum
curvature. This option is selected by default.
Maximum curvature
An option button that specifies the direction of maximum
curvature.
Curvature component
A group label that offers options that allow choosing the curvature component
(normal and/or tangent) that will be displayed. This component depends on the
curve normal. Three choices are offered:
Tangent
An option button used to show the curvature in the tangent direction
only.
Normal
An option button used to show the curvature in the normal direction
only.
Sampling step
A text box that specifies the distance between the sample points along the curve
used to calculate the curvature. Valid values are greater than 0.0. The default value
is 0.5 mm.
Note that when the Curvature color mode is selected as a display mode for polygonal
models, NURBS models, NURBS patches, or curves, a color scale is displayed in the 3D
scene.
The Display > Polygonal models page of the IMEdit Options dialog box, shown in
Figure 22.11, offers options to specify the global display mode of polygonal model
objects. The rendering of polygonal models includes the possibility of rendering sharp
edges, the default Static and Dynamic display modes, drawing types, and color modes.
Dihedral angle
A combo box that specifies the dihedral angle value in degrees above
which triangle edges are highlighted. Choose from: 30.0, 45.0, and 60.0,
or specify another value. The default value is 45.0 degrees. The highlight
uses the Edges color, which is blue by default. This color can be edited;
for more information, see Section 22.3.3 Interface color display options.
For more information on highlighting triangle edges, see Section 8.9 Using the
Highlight mode.
The Polygonal Models page also provides access to two default display modes for
polygonal models.
The Default static display and Default dynamic display sections offer the following
items that specify the default Static and Dynamic display mode of polygonal models:
Drawing type
A list box that specifies the polygonal model rendering type for the default Static
or Dynamic mode. Choose from:
Bounding Box – Draws only the bounding box of each polygonal model.
For the default Static display mode, the default value is Flat. For the default
Dynamic display mode, the default value is Wireframe.
Note that the Bounding Box drawing type is available for the default Dynamic
display mode only.
Subsampling
A list box that specifies the subsampling factor for the default Dynamic display
mode. Choose from: 1/1 (all polygons), 1/4 (one in four polygons), 1/16 (one in
sixteen polygons), and 1/64 (one in sixty-four polygons). The default value is 1/1.
Note that there is no subsampling in Static display mode, and as a result all
polygons are rendered.
Color mode
A list box that specifies the type of color information used to render the surface
geometry of a polygonal model. Choose from:
Curvature – Displays the polygonal model using colors, for each vertex, that
represent the radius of curvature in degrees or radians. The display options
for this mode are discussed in Section 22.3.6 Deviation display options.
Material Color – Displays the polygonal model using the Default Material
definition as well as the user-defined material of any triangle groups. The
default value is Material Color.
Vertex Color – Displays the polygonal model using RGB colors for each
vertex, when such information is available.
The polygonal model display options use the Flat+Wireframe interface color. This
color can be edited; for more information, see Section 22.3.3 Interface color display
options.
Note that the Drawing type, Subsampling, and Color mode parameters for the
default Static and Dynamic display modes of polygonal models can also be easily
changed using the Object Display Options option menu of the 3D Scene toolbar.
The Display > NURBS Models page of the IMEdit Options dialog box, shown in Figure
22.12, offers options to specify the global display mode of NURBS model objects.
The Default static display and Default dynamic display sections offer the following
options that specify the default Static and Dynamic display mode of NURBS models:
Drawing type
A list box that specifies the NURBS model rendering type for the default Static or
Dynamic mode. Choose from:
Bounding Box – Draws the bounding box of each NURBS model instead of
rendering the individual NURBS models. Available for the default Dynamic
display mode drawing type only.
For the default Static display mode, the default value is Flat. For the default
Dynamic display mode, the default value is Wireframe.
Subsampling
A list box that specifies the default display mode subsampling factor. Choose from:
1/1 (all NURBS model surfaces), 1/4 (one in four NURBS model surfaces), 1/16 (one
in sixteen NURBS model surfaces), and 1/64 (one in sixty-four NURBS model
surfaces). The default value is 1/1.
The Default static display section offers an option that specifies if a curvature map is
shown as part of the default Static display mode for NURBS models:
The control of the rendering is the same as in color-by-point models. A color scale
is displayed in the 3D scene. Surface curvature that is off the scale is displayed in
gray. The Curvature color mode scale can be modified (see Section 8.2 Controlling
the visibility of objects and elements).
The NURBS model display options use interface colors specified for the display of
NURBS models. These colors can be edited; for more information, see Section 22.3.3
Interface color display options.
Note that with respect to setting the default Static and Dynamic display mode of
NURBS models, the Drawing type and Subsampling parameters can also be easily
changed using the Object Display Options menu button of the 3D Scene toolbar.
The Display > Curves page of the IMEdit Options dialog box, shown in Figure 22.13,
offers options that globally specify the display mode for new curves:
Figure 22.14 Curve s displayed without enhanced curve visualization (a) and with enhanced curve
visualization (b).
(a) (b)
When the check box is cleared, only intersection points are displayed. The display
color for these points corresponds to the disk color (purple or red).
See Section 17.2.6 Recommendations for creating magnetic curves for more
information.
The Curves page provides access to two default display modes for curves. The Default
static display and Default dynamic display sections offer the following items that
specify the default Static and Dynamic display mode of curves:
Drawing type
A list box that specifies the curve rendering type for the default Static or Dynamic
display mode. Choose from:
Color mapping
Available in the Default static display section only. A check box that allows
applying a color to each sample point distributed along the curve. This color is
based on a color scale, either for representing the deviation of the curve from
polygonal models or the curvature of the curves. By default, the check box is
cleared.
For more information about the color scale, see Section 8.2 Controlling the
visibility of objects and elements.
Note that the color scale displays values for all visible curves in the 3D scene. It
ranges from the minimum value of the visible curves to the maximum value. For
example, if a new curve is created (and it is visible), the color scale will adjust
accordingly.
Show arrows
A check box that enables the display of small arrows that indicate the direction of
the selected curves. For both display modes (Static and Dynamic), the check box is
cleared by default.
The Display > NURBS Patches page of the IMEdit Options dialog box, shown in Figure
22.16, offers options to specify the global display mode of fitted NURBS patches.
The Fitted NURBS patches section offers the following option that specifies the
default tessellation tolerance to display fitted NURBS patches:
The Static display and Dynamic display subsections of the Fitted NURBS Patches
section offer the following items that specify the Static and Dynamic display modes of
fitted NURBS patches:
Drawing type
A list box that specifies the drawing type. Choose from:
The NURBS Patches - Fitted Surface and the NURBS Patches - Fitted Surface
Boundary colors are configurable. For more information, see Section 13.14.2
Customizing interface colors, as well as Section 22.3.3 Interface color display
options.
The Static display section additionally offers the following item that specifies the Static
display color mode of fitted NURBS patches:
Color mode
A list box that specifies the color mode to use to display deviations between
adjacent NURBS patches, curvature, and fitting errors. Choose from:
Fitting Errors – Displays the fitting error color map for fitted NURBS patches.
The errors are the deviations between the polygonal mesh and the fitted
NURBS patch. This option can be applied to all of the fitted NURBS patches
rendering options except Curve.
Note that if none of the selected NURBS patches have fitted NURBS surfaces, the display
modes for fitted NURBS surfaces are not be available. NURBS patch surfaces are then
displayed as a grid. 4-sided NURBS patches are displayed using the NURBS Patch -
Unfitted color, and n-sided NURBS patches are displayed using the NURBS Patch -
Unfitted and Trimmed color.
The Display > Sketches page of the IMEdit Options dialog box, shown in Figure 22.17.
offers options to specify the global display mode of sketches.
Relations
A check box that enables the display of sketch relations when editing the sketch.
The check box is selected by default.
Plane
A check box that enables the display of the sketch plane when editing the sketch.
The check box is selected by default.
Outline
A check box that enables the display of the sketch outline when editing the sketch.
The check box is selected by default.
Outline deviations
A check box that enables the display of the deviation between the sketch entities
and the sketch outline. The deviation is displayed using a color map, and the
results can be interpreted using the color scale. Note that the maximum values of
the color scale correspond to the largest errors (see Section 8.8 Modifying the
color mode scale for more information on the color scale).
The check box is cleared by default. When selected, it makes available the
following items:
Max distance
A text box that controls the maximum distance measured between the
sketch entities and the sketch outline. Valid values are greater than zero.
The default value is 10.0 mm.
Sampling step
A text box that defines the point spacing value for the computation of
the deviation between sketch entities and the sketch outline. Valid
values are greater than zero. The default value is 0.5 mm.
Deviation vectors
A check box that enables the display of deviation vectors. By default, the
check box is selected. When selected, it makes available the following
item:
Scaling factor
A text box that allows specifying a scaling factor to apply to the
length of the deviation vectors. Valid values are greater than 0.0.
The default value is 5.0. Values less than one decrease the length
of the deviation vectors, and values greater than one increase the
length of the deviation vectors.
The Display > Surfaces page of the IMEdit Options dialog box, shown in Figure 22.18.
offers options to specify the global display mode of surface objects. The Default static
display and Default dynamic display sections offer options that specify the default
Static and Dynamic display mode of surfaces.
Drawing type
A list box that specifies the surface rendering type for the default Static or
Dynamic mode. Choose from:
Outline – Renders surfaces only. For the default Dynamic display mode, the
default value is Outline.
See Figure 22.19 for representations of the four drawing types for surfaces.
Bezier
An option button that specifies displaying Bézier control points.
Flat Outline
Smooth Wireframe
Hermite
An option button that specifies displaying Hermite control points. This
option is selected by default.
The Show control points check box is selected by default. Control points are
drawn as little cubes.
Show edges
A check box that enables the display of small arrows that indicate discontinuous
surface control points. For the default Static display mode, the check box is
selected by default. For the default Dynamic display mode, the check box is
cleared by default.
Show constraints
A check box that enables rendering the set of planes constraining the surface
control points. For the default Static display mode, the check box is selected by
default. For the default Dynamic display mode, the check box is cleared by default.
The Display > Planes page of the IMEdit Options dialog box, shown in Figure 22.20,
offers display options for planes.
The Default static & dynamic display section specifies the default Static and Dynamic
display mode of planes:
Drawing type
A list box that specifies the rendering type for the default Static or Dynamic mode.
Choose from: Flat (renders the plane using flat shading), Wireframe (renders the
plane in wireframe), and Outline (displays a closed polyline bounding the
rendered portion of the plane). The default value is Flat.
The Display > Cross-Sections page of the IMEdit Options dialog box, shown in Figure
22.21, offers options to specify the global Static and Dynamic display mode of all cross-
sections.
The Static display and Dynamic display sections offer the following option that
controls the Static or Dynamic display mode:
Drawing type
A list box that specifies the drawing type. Choose from: Point (renders cross-
sections as 3D points), or Polyline (renders cross-sections as a line).
For the Static display mode, the default value is Polyline. For the Dynamic display
mode, the default value is Point.
The Dynamic display section also offers the following option that control the Dynamic
display mode:
Subsampling
A list box that specifies the display subsampling factor. Choose from: 1/1 (all
points), 1/4 (one in four points), 1/16 (one in sixteen points), and 1/64 (one in
sixty-four points). The default value is 1/4.
The interface color for cross-sections is Cross-Sections. This color can be edited; for
more information, see Section 22.3.3 Interface color display options.
The Display > Point Clouds page of the IMEdit Options dialog box, shown in Figure
22.22, offers options to specify the global Static and Dynamic display mode of all point
cloud objects.
The Static display and the Dynamic display sections both offer the following four
options that control the display modes:
Subsampling
A list box that specifies the Static or Dynamic display mode subsampling factor.
Choose from: 1/1 (all points), 1/4 (one in four points), 1/16 (one in sixteen points),
and 1/64 (one in sixty-four points).
For the Static display mode, the default value is 1/1. For the Dynamic display mode,
the default value is 1/4.
Color
A check box that enables the display of point clouds using color-per-point
information, when available. The check box is cleared by default.
Digitizing vectors
A check box that enables the display, for each point cloud, of the digitizing vector
for each point, when such information is available. In the case of a point cloud
created from an IMAlign project, the surface normal for each point is displayed.
The check box is cleared by default.
Fog
A check box that enables the use of fog to render point clouds. The check box is
selected by default.
The interface color for point clouds is Point Cloud. This color can be edited; for more
information, see Section 22.3.3 Interface color display options.
The Default Names page of the IMEdit Options dialog box, shown in, allows specifying
new default names for objects. It offers a list with the Object Type and Default Name
columns To edit a default name in the list, click it and enter a new name. Press the ESC
key to undo the current editing. The list may feature a scroll bar to navigate the list.
The Standard curve anchoring section offers an option used when creating curves by
anchoring:
The Magnetism section offers the following options used when creating magnetic
curves:
Magnetization distance
A text box that enables specifying a 3D magnetization distance. When a curve
overlaps another curve within the specified distance, the curves are made
coincident and the resulting intersection is magnetized. Valid values are greater
than 0.0. The default value is 0.2 mm.
Note that any changes made to this option is automatically applied to existing
curves.
Note that any changes made to this option is automatically applied to existing
curves.
Make magnetic
An option button that specifies importing curves as magnetic curves.
Make nonmagnetic
An option button that specifies importing curves as nonmagnetic curves.
Tessellation
A group label that allows specifying tessellation options. It offers the following
items:
Tolerance
A text box that allows specifying a tessellation tolerance value. The
tessellation tolerance represents the maximum chordal deviation
between an imported NURBS surface and its polygonal representation.
Valid values are greater than zero. The default value is 0.050 mm.
Confirm at import
A check box that allows accepting or changing the tessellation
tolerance value at import. When the check box is selected, a
dialog box is displayed for each imported file to specify the
tessellation tolerance value. When the check box is cleared, the
value specified in the Tolerance text box is used. By default, the
check box is selected. The dialog box is presented in Section
5.4.1.1.1 Tessellation tolerance.
Note that an automatic loop removal algorithm is applied that gets rid of self-
intersections, which are the result of self-intersecting trim curves, and ensures the
proper tessellation of NURBS surfaces.
Timeout (seconds)
A check box that enables skipping the tessellation of a NURBS surface
that requires more than the specified number of seconds to be
tessellated. The check box is cleared by default. The time, in seconds, is
specified in the adjacent text box. The default value is 60 seconds.
Stitching is performed when the native CAD file does not contain any, or contains
only partial, topological information.
When the check box is selected, and conditions are met that allow creating a
NURBS patch, a patch is automatically created and the new object is added to the
tree view. The status of this option is displayed to the right on the status bar by the
Dynamic NURBS Patch Creation split button, which also allows enabling or
disabling the option. For more information, see Section 13.6.1.2 Enabling/
disabling dynamic NURBS patch creation.
The Fit section offers options and parameters for the fit of NURBS patches:
Figure 22.26 In (a), NURBS patches fitted without using the Optimize smoothness of low-curvature
fitted NURBS patches option. Note the presence of ripples in areas of transition
between low and high curvature areas. In (b), NURBS patches fitted using the option.
Note that a tool is offered that allows specifying a new radius threshold. It also
offers an interactive mode that allows the user to change a NURBS patch’s low-
curvature or high-curvature status; the low-/high-curvature status of these NURBS
patches is no longer determined by the current low-/high-curvature radius
threshold parameter. For complete information, see Section 13.10.2 Fitting NURBS
patches using existing parameters.
The Default fit parameters subsection offers the fit parameters that will be transferred
to NURBS patches on creation; they are described in detail in Section 13.10.3 Custom-
fitting NURBS patches:
Boundary tolerance
A text box that specifies the default 3D tolerance between the boundaries of the
fitted NURBS patches and the polygonal models. The default value is 0.1 mm.
Positional (G0)
A combo box that specifies the default maximum positional tolerance
between adjacent NURBS patches. Specify a value or choose from the
following values: 0.0, 0.001, 0.01, and 0.1. The default value is 0.001 mm.
Trimmed patches
A group label that offers an option related to trimmed patches:
Note that these options are also available from the IMEdit status bar when the anchor
mode of sketch entities is enabled (see Figure 22.27 (b)).
Auto-relations
A check box that enables automatically adding relations when sketch entities are
created. The check box is selected by default. When selected, it makes available
the following items:
Horizontal
A check box that enables adding horizontal relations to sketch lines that
are nearly horizontal. The check box is selected by default.
Angular tolerance
A text box that specifies a threshold below which the anchored
sketch line is set as horizontal. Valid values range exclusively from
0 to 180 degrees. The default value is 1.0 degree.
Figure 22.27 The sketch options available on the Sketches page (a) and from the IMEdit status bar
(b).
(a)
(b)
Vertical
A check box that enables adding vertical relations to sketch lines that are
nearly vertical. The check box is selected by default.
Angular tolerance
A text box that specifies a threshold below which the anchored
sketch line is set as vertical. Valid values range exclusively from 0
to 180 degrees. The default value is 1.0 degree.
Perpendicular
A check box that enables adding perpendicular relations to sketch lines
that are anchored to the endpoint of another sketch line. The check box
is selected by default.
Angular tolerance
A text box that specifies a threshold below which the anchored
sketch line is set as perpendicular. Valid values range exclusively
from 0 to 180 degrees. The default value is 5.0 degrees.
Tangent
A check box that enables adding tangent relations to sketch lines, arcs or
splines when anchoring their endpoint to other line, arc or spline
endpoints. Note that tangent relations cannot be added between two
lines. The check box is selected by default.
Fit type
A group label that offers two methods to fit a plane on vertices:
Best-fit
An option button that specifies that a standard least-squares algorithm
will be applied when a plane is fitted to selected triangles/vertices. This
option is selected by default.
Standard deviation
A text box that specifies the standard deviation of the point cloud data.
The default value is .050 mm.
Perceptron files
A group label that offers the following option for Perceptron files:
The check box is cleared by default. In this case, all selected triangles and/or
vertices used by an editing operation are deselected once the operation has been
completed.
Object snapping allows quickly positioning on specific locations (see Figure 22.31),
based on selected options. These options can be set using one of the following
methods:
Directly in the Object Snaps page of the IMEdit Options dialog box (see Figure 22.32
(a)).
When relevant to the context, through the Object Snaps shortcut menu offered on
the IMEdit status bar. The menu is contextual to the current creation/edition mode
(see Figure 22.32 (b) and (c) for examples of this menu).
When an option is disabled in the Object Snaps page of the IMEdit Options dialog box,
this change is automatically reflected on the Object Snaps shortcut menu, and vice-
versa.
Note that object snapping options are set globally. However, the object snapping can
be temporarily disabled in a specific context (for example, when creating a curve) by
holding the CTRL key. This behavior is explained in Chapter 14 Solids and Chapter 17
Curves.
Figure 22.31 When object snapping is enabled and the pointer moves toward the tracked position,
this position appears highlighted to indicate the current snap point (a), and the
pointer jumps to that point if the left button is clicked (b).
(a) (b)
The Object Snaps page of the IMEdit Options dialog box, shown in Figure 22.32 (a),
offers options related to object snapping when creating/editing curves and sketch
entities.
Object snaps
A check box, selected by default, that enables the use of object snapping. When
this option is selected and the pointer is moved within the specified distance from
an object, the current snap point is highlighted, and the pointer jumps to that
point if the left button is clicked. The point where objects can be snapped depends
on the specifications made in the Curve snaps and Sketch snaps sections that
follow.
Curves
A check box, selected by default, that allows snapping to any point on a curve,
except curve endpoints, discontinuous points, and magnetized intersections (see
below for these specific locations).
Endpoints
A check box that allows snapping to curve endpoints. By default, it is selected.
Discontinuous points
A check box that allows snapping to curve discontinuous points. By default, it is
selected.
Magnetized intersections
A check box that allows snapping to magnetized curve intersections. By default, it
is selected.
Entities
A check box that allows snapping to any point on a sketch entity, except the center
point and the endpoints (see below for these specific locations). By default, it is
selected.
Entity endpoints
A check box that allows snapping to the endpoints of lines, splines, or arcs. By
default, it is selected.
Outline
A check box that allows snapping to a sketch outline. By default, it is selected.
Local origin
A check box that allows snapping to the local origin of a sketch. By default, it is
selected.
To configure getting tokens at startup, select the check box in the Get at startup
column for each token required.
Figure 22.32 The Object Snaps page in the IMEdit Options (a) as well as an example of the Object
Snaps shortcut menus for curves (b) and for sketches (c).
(a)
(b)
(c)
To get tokens immediately for selected modules, press the Get Now button.
The Status column indicates, for each module, whether it is On or Off. The list can be
sorted by clicking any column header.
Figure 23.1 The file browser used to export objects from projects.
23.1 Introduction
Polygonal models can be exported to various file formats. Polygonal models can also be
exported as quadrilateral (quad) polygonal models. In addition, large polygonal models
can be split and the sub-models can be exported to STL files.
Choosing a command displays the file browser shown in Figure 23.1. The Save as type
list box allows specifying the output file type. The Options button is only offered for
specific file types, and offers a dialog box with the export options that correspond to
the export operation to the specified file type.
Figure 23.2 The list of polygonal file formats that can be exported.
On choosing the command, the file browser shown in Figure 23.3 is displayed. Specify a
file name and location, and make the appropriate specifications:
Save as type
A list box that allows specifying the output format type. See Figure 23.2 for the list
of supported formats.
The Options button displays a dialog box, like the one shown in Figure 23.3, that offers
items based on the output file type. One item is offered for most formats, except the
following: InnovMetric PQK, PLY, STL, and binary STL:
See Section 6.6.3 Creating groups of triangles for more information on triangle
groups.
The following items are offered when exporting to the IGES format:
Figure 23.3 An example of the export options offered for polygonal models.
Convert units
A check box, only offered for the IGES file type, that allows converting IGES units
to other units. By default the check box is cleared. When selected, the following
item is made available:
Exported units
A list box that specifies the exported units. Choose from: Microns,
Millimeters, Centimeters, Meters, Inches, and Feet. The default value is
Millimeters.
Press the Save button to launch the export operation. The Cancel button ends the
operation.
Selected models with texture information keep their texture information and a
default texture is applied to all of the other selected models. Any color-per-vertex
information is dismissed.
If no selected model has texture information, selected models with color information
keep their color and a default color is applied to all of the other selected models.
Recommended practice for textured models is to export them to the main directory
from which the textured models were initially imported.
To convert NURBS models into quad polygonal models, first transform the NURBS
models into polygonal models. For more information, see Section 10.1.3 Creating
polygonal models from selected NURBS models.
23.4.1 Introduction
Note that when exporting NURBS models that have been converted to polygonal
models, the triangle groups may correspond to their surfaces. In this case it is easy to
assign a large edge length to planar areas without degrading the quality of the
exported model.
Triangle Group objects are described in Section 6.6.3 Creating groups of triangles.
The 3D Scene pane is split into two viewports, as shown in Figure 23.4 (c). The selected
polygonal models are displayed in the Original polygonal models viewport. Red lines
(i.e., Selection color) are displayed on the models to identify the boundaries of the
triangle groups. The Quad models viewport is empty, initially. A preview of the quad
polygonal models will be displayed after the Preview button is pressed, or later, at the
time of export. The quad polygonal models are displayed using the default drawing
type display settings for polygonal models. If a polygonal model is displayed using a
custom drawing type, its preview will also use that drawing type.
In the Quad edge lengths list area of the Export Polygonal Models as Quads dialog
box, a default entry defines a Target quad edge length parameter of 2.0 mm and color
(Figure 23.4 (a)), which is assigned by default to all of the triangle groups.
Figure 23.4 The dialog box used to export triangle polygonal models as quadrangular polygonal
models. In (c), when in the Export Quads mode, the 3D Scene pane is split into two
viewports.
(a)
(b)
(c)
As seen above, red lines are used to identify the boundaries of the triangle groups,
which are also shown in the Tree View pane. The default Static drawing type display
setting for polygonal models is set to Flat when in the Export Quads mode.
Three buttons, located at the bottom of the list area, are described in the table that
follows.
Button Description
Add
A button that enables adding a new entry at the bottom of the list. The
new entry has a color not already used and the default edge length. For
information on adding new entries, see Section 23.4.3 Creating quad
edge length definitions.
Remove
A button that allows deleting unassigned Quad edge lengths
parameters from the table. Select the desired unassigned parameter, and
then press the Remove button. Table items can also be deleted using the
DELETE key.
Additional Target quad edge length parameters can be defined by pressing the Add
button located at the bottom the list area. On pressing the button, a new entry is added
to the end of the list. The entry may be edited as follows:
To change the color of a table entry, click the color in the Color column to display the
color window shown in Figure 23.4 (b), and then select the desired color.
To set a Target quad edge length value, click the value in the column, and then
specify the desired value. By default, the value for a Target quad edge length
parameter is set to 2.0 mm.
The Assign target edge length to triangle groups button described in the preceding
table enables an interactive mode that allows assigning edge lengths to triangle
groups in the Original polygonal models viewport. The mode works as follows:
Figure 23.5 In the Original polygonal models viewport (left), triangle groups show the color of the
target quad edge length assigned to them. In this example, a preview of the resulting
quad polygonal model is displayed in the Quad models viewport (right). The drawing
type is Wireframe.
3. If desired, press the SPACEBAR to temporarily exit the mode and perform
translations and rotations.
4. All triangle groups are highlighted. When the pointer is within one triangle group,
only that one is highlighted.
5. Click to assign the selected quad edge length to the triangle group.
Press the Preview button to generate a preview of the quad polygonal models in the
right viewport, as shown in Figure 23.5. If the one or more resulting quad polygonal
models are not satisfactory, edit the specifications (see Section 23.4.6 Editing the
specifications to obtain better results) and then generate another preview, as shown in
Figure 23.6.
Figure 23.6 The main window with the split viewport in the 3D Scene pane. A greater Quad edge
lengths parameter has been applied to a large flat triangle group that includes the
logo. A new preview of the quad polygonal model in the Quad models viewport
displays fewer quads for that triangle group.
Editing specifications and the groups of triangles may give better results.
Table entries can be edited as explained in Section 23.4.2 Starting the operation. The
Reset button can be used to reset the dialog box to the default parameters and to
delete the quad models preview. This operation cannot be undone. The new color and
edge length values are automatically updated on the triangle groups of the original
polygonal models to which edited list entries are already applied.
If the triangle grouping must be edited to obtain better results, the Export Quads tool
can be exited. In this case, already assigned quadrangle edge lengths are conserved.
Then, triangle groups can be added to or deleted from the polygonal models. The
Export Quads mode can then be re-entered. New triangle groups are automatically
assigned the default quad edge length value. Triangle groups that are added to an
existing triangle group acquire the quad edge length value already assigned to the
triangle group. Quad edge lengths can be assigned or reassigned as many times as
needed to obtain a satisfactory preview of the resulting quad polygonal models, which
can be exported.
Figure 23.7 The file browser used to export a single polygonal model as a quadrangular
polygonal model.
The quad polygonal models can be exported to the Nastran (.nas) or Wavefront (.obj)
file format. Note that when exporting polygonal models to quad polygonal models, the
triangle grouping information is not preserved in the quad polygonal models during
the conversion process.
1. From the dialog box shown in Figure 23.4 (a), press the Export button to launch the
export operation.
2. When exporting a single file, a file browser is displayed, as shown in Figure 23.7.
Specify a file name and location, and make the following specification:
Save as type
A list box that allows specifying the file type to export the quad models to. Choose
from: Based on extension (*.*), Nastran Files (.nas), and Wavefront Files (.obj).
The default value is Based on extension (*.*).
When the browser is properly configured, press the Save button to launch the
operation or the Cancel button to dismiss the dialog box.
3. When exporting more than one file, the dialog box shown in Figure 23.8 (a) is
displayed. Specify the file type to export the quad models to in the Save as type list
box. Choose from: Nastran Files (.nas) and Wavefront Files (.obj). The default
value is Nastran Files (.nas). Then, press the OK button to launch the operation, or
press the Cancel button to dismiss the dialog box.
From the browser that is displayed, as shown in Figure 23.8 (b), specify the folder
where to save the quad models. Browse for the desired folder, enter an access path,
Figure 23.8 The dialog box (a) and directory browser (b) used to export multiple quad models.
The dialog box allows selecting the export file type and the directory browser allows
specifying the folder that will contain the quad models.
(a) (b)
or create a new folder. Then, press the OK button to launch the operation, or press
the Cancel button to dismiss the dialog box.
Each quad polygonal model is exported to a separate file in the specified directory
using the chosen format. The name of each file is the original polygonal model
name suffixed with the format extension.
This operation creates splitting planes on polygonal models. The intersection of these
splitting planes defines the sub-models that are then exported to STL files. On selecting
this command, the dialog box shown in Figure 23.9 (a) is displayed and the pointer icon
changes to the one shown on the right. The number of sub-models is defined by the
number of splitting planes. These planes are temporary and do not alter the actual
polygonal models. The dialog box offers three group boxes:
Splitting planes
A group box that allows to create and edit splitting planes on the polygonal
models using x, y, z coordinates. To create splitting planes one at a time, press the
Figure 23.9 The dialog box used in splitting and exporting polygonal models into STL files (a) and
the related dialog boxes used to create single splitting planes (b), create parallel
splitting planes (c), and edit splitting planes (d).
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
Create Single button. The dialog box shown in Figure 23.9 (b) is displayed. Specify
the required parameters and press the Create button to create the planes. When
all the planes have been created, press the Done button to exit this creation mode.
To create parallel splitting planes, press the Create Parallel button and the dialog
box shown in Figure 23.9 (c) is displayed. Specify the required parameters and
press the Create button to create the planes. When all the planes have been
created, press the Done button to exit this creation mode.
The splitting plane coordinates appear in the list box in the group box. In the 3D
scene, splitting planes in the X axis appear in red, splitting planes in the Y axis
appear in green, and splitting planes in the Z axis appear in blue. The grid
rendering mode is used to display the planes. A transparent red box indicates the
subsection with the greatest number of triangles in the 3D scene.
Splitting planes can be edited or deleted prior to exporting the polygonal models.
Press the Edit button to edit a selected splitting plane using the dialog box shown
in Figure 23.9 (d). Specify the required parameters and press the Apply button to
apply the changes. When the editing is complete, press the Done button to exit
the editing mode.
Select splitting planes in the list box and press the Delete button to delete these
selected planes.
Export options
A group box that allows defining export options, including a naming scheme for
the new STL files, using the following items:
Base name
A text box that specifies a base name for the naming scheme. By default,
the original polygonal model file name is given as a base name if only one
polygonal model is exported. If multiple models are selected, the name
of the first model is given as a base name.
X label
A text box that specifies an identifier for the X axis The default value is X.
Y label
A text box that specifies an identifier for the Y axis The default value is Y.
Z label
A text box that specifies an identifier for the Z axis The default value is Z.
Export folder
A text box that specifies a folder for the export operation. Enter a path or
specify one interactively using the adjacent Browse button.
Two items are offered at the bottom of the dialog box that provide information on the
area containing the most triangles, which corresponds to the displayed transparent red
box:
Once the planes are created and the Export options are specified, press the Split &
Export button to create and export the sub-models. The newly created sub-models are
saved as STL files in the specified Export folder.
The planes are then removed from the polygonal model. The original polygonal models
remain unaltered.
Press the Cancel button to end the operation and reset the 3D scene to its initial state,
prior to opening the exporting tool.
The File > Export > Polygonal Model Elements as Triangles command allows exporting
selected polygonal model elements to a polygonal file using a file browser.
A triangle is saved if it is selected or if one of its vertices is selected. The output file
name and format are specified in the same way as for the File > Export > Polygonal
Models operation (see Section 23.3 Exporting polygonal models).
The File > Export > Polygonal Model Elements as Points command allows exporting the
selected elements of polygonal models to a text file.
On choosing the command, a file browser is displayed. Specify the text file name and
location. Select from the Template list box a standard template used to export to a text
file. Use the Templates button to display a dialog box used to configure the number-
writing method. The Encoding list box is set to ASCII as this is the only encoding
scheme available.
See Section 5.3.2 Exporting to text files of the PolyWorks Reference Guide for more
information on exporting to a text file.
When the browser is properly configured, press the Save button to launch the
operation or the Cancel button to end the operation.
On choosing the command, a file browser is displayed. Specify a file name and location,
and make the specifications that follow.
Type
A list box that specifies the file format type. Choose from IGES Files (*.igs;*.iges)
and STEP Files (*.stp;*.step). The default value is IGES Files.
Figure 23.10 The dialog box used to specify the method to use to export curves to a text file.
The Options button, offered when the specified type is IGES, displays the dialog box
shown in Figure 23.10, that offers the following items:
Convert units
A check box, only offered for the IGES file type, that allows converting IGES units
to other units. By default the check box is cleared. When selected, the following
item is made available:
Exported units
A list box that specifies the exported units. Choose from: Microns,
Millimeters, Centimeters, Meters, Inches, and Feet. The default value is
Millimeters.
Press the Save button to launch the operation or the Cancel button to end the
operation.
The File > Export > Curves > IGES File command allows saving the Bézier curves of all
selected curves and surfaces to an external IGES file using Entity Type 126.
On choosing the command, a file browser is displayed. Specify a file name and location.
In the Save as type list box, the IGES Files format (.igs, .iges) is selected by default. In
the Units list box, choose from cm (centimeter), feet, inch, meter, micron, and mm
(millimeter). The default value is mm.
Figure 23.11 The dialog box used to specify curve sampling parameters to use to export curves to
a text file.
When the browser is properly configured, press the Save button to launch the
operation, or the Cancel button to cancel the operation. When saved, the file extension
is automatically added to the file.
Note that IMEdit provides methods that allow creating planar Bézier curves, and that
this planarity information is saved in the IGES 126 entities. One NURBS curve is saved for
each IMEdit curve.
The File > Export > Curves > Text File command allows exporting selected curves to the
text file format.
On choosing the command, the dialog box shown in Figure 23.11 is displayed to specify
curve sampling parameters. All selected curves will be sampled using these parameters
and the sample points will be exported to a text file. The following items are offered:
Sampling method
A list box that offers the following methods that allow creating sample points:
Arc Length – A method that creates evenly distributed sample points along
the length of the curves at sampling step intervals. When this method is
chosen, the following item is offered:
Sampling step
A text box that allows specifying the sampling step. Valid values are
greater than 0. The default value is 0.2 mm.
Max deviation
A text box that allows specifying the maximum deviation between
exported polylines and the original curves. Valid values are greater than
0. The default value is 0.05 mm.
Max distance
A text box that allows specifying the maximum distance between two
neighboring points on a polyline. Valid values are greater than 0. The
default value is 5 mm.
Once the items are specified, press the Browse button. A file browser is displayed.
Specify a file name and location. The following items are offered in the file browser:
Template
A list box that offers a content-specific choice of templates used in exporting curve
sample points to a text file. Choose from: Points Only and Points + Vectors.
Templates
A button that displays a dialog box that allows configuring the number-writing
method. See the section Section 5.3.2 Exporting to text files in the PolyWorks
Reference Guide for more information on exporting to a text file.
Encoding
An uneditable list box that specifies ASCII as the only possible encoding scheme.
When the browser is properly configured, press the Save button to launch the
operation, or the Cancel button to cancel the operation.
The File > Export > Curves > JT File command allows saving selected curves to a JT file.
On choosing the command, a file browser is displayed. Specify a file name and location.
The Options button offers a dialog box with the following export options:
Convert units
A check box that enables converting units on export from the current unit of
length to the specified unit. By default, the check box is cleared. When selected, it
makes available the following item:
Exported units
A list box that enables choosing the unit of length. Choose from Microns,
Millimeters, Centimeters, Meters, Inches, and Feet. The default value is
Millimeters.
Press the OK button to apply the specification and dismiss the dialog box, or press the
Cancel button to dismiss the dialog box, cancelling any changes made.
When the browser is properly configured, press the Save button to launch the
operation, or the Cancel button to cancel the operation. When saved, the .jt file
extension (i.e., DirectModel JT Files) is automatically added to the file.
On choosing the command, a file browser is displayed that allows saving to a text file
the circles modeling the fillet radius of all selected tangent curves. The circles have the
following format:
x, y, z (circle center);
radius.
The browser’s Template list box offers content-specific templates used to export
tangent curve circles to a text file. The browser also includes a Templates button that
displays a dialog box that allows configuring the number-writing method. The
Encoding list box is unavailable as ASCII is the only possible encoding scheme.
When the browser is properly configured, press the Save button to launch the
operation or the Cancel button to end the operation.
See Section 5.3.2 Exporting to text files of the PolyWorks Reference Guide for more
information on exporting to a text file.
On choosing the command, a file browser is displayed. Specify a file name and location,
and specify a format in the Save as type list box. Choose from: DirectModel JT Files
(.jt), IGES Files (.igs, .iges), and STEP Files (.stp, .step). By default, the DirectModel JT
Files format is selected. The Options button displays a dialog box with the following
export options (see Figure 23.12):
Convert units
A check box that enables converting units on export from the current unit of
length to the specified unit. By default, the check box is cleared. When selected, it
makes available the following item:
Figure 23.12 An example of the dialog box used to enable the conversion of units when exporting
fitted NURBS patches to the STEP format.
Exported units
A list box that enables choosing the unit of length. Choose from Microns,
Millimeters, Centimeters, Meters, Inches, and Feet. The default value is
Millimeters.
Press the OK button to apply the specification and dismiss the dialog box, or press the
Cancel button to dismiss the dialog box, cancelling any changes made.
When the browser is properly configured, press the Save button to launch the
operation, or the Cancel button to cancel the operation. When saved, the file extension
is automatically added to the file.
When exporting to an external IGES file, selected NURBS patches are saved using
Entity Type 128.
On choosing the command, a file browser is displayed. Specify a file name and location.
By default, the DirectModel JT Files format is selected in the Save as type list box. The
Options button offers a dialog box with the following export options (see Figure
23.13):
Figure 23.13 The dialog box used to enable the conversion of units when exporting curves and
fitted NURBS patches to the JT format.
Convert units
A check box that enables converting units on export from the current unit of
length to the specified unit. By default, the check box is cleared. When selected, it
makes available the following item:
Exported units
A list box that enables choosing the unit of length. Choose from Microns,
Millimeters, Centimeters, Meters, Inches, and Feet. The default value is
Millimeters.
Press the OK button to apply the specification and dismiss the dialog box, or press the
Cancel button to dismiss the dialog box, cancelling any changes made.
When the browser is properly configured, press the Save button to launch the
operation, or the Cancel button to cancel the operation. When saved, the .jt file
extension (i.e., DirectModel JT Files) is automatically added to the file.
Note that the IGES format does not retain relational constraints. Once the sketch is
imported in a CAD modeling software, these will need to be manually assigned in the
sketch.
On choosing the File > Export> Sketches command, a file browser is displayed. Specify a
file name and location, and specify a format in the Save as type list box. The Options
button offers a dialog box with export options that apply to the IGES format (see Figure
23.14). It offers the following options:
Figure 23.14 The options used to export sketches to the IGES format.
IGES type
A list box that allows choosing the IGES type. Choose from Default and CATIA V5.
The default value is Default.
Convert units
A check box that enables converting units on export from the current unit of
length to the specified unit. By default, the check box is selected. When selected,
it makes available the following item:
Exported units
A list box that enables choosing the unit of length. Choose from Microns,
Millimeters, Centimeters, Meters, Inches, and Feet. The default value is
Millimeters.
Press the OK button to launch the export operation, or the Cancel button to cancel it.
On choosing the File > Export> Sketch Outlines command, a file browser is displayed.
Specify a file name and location, and specify a format in the Save as type list box. The
Options button offers a dialog box with the export options that correspond to the file
format that is exported. Note that options are available for the IGES and text file formats
only.
The IGES Export Options dialog box offers the following options:
Convert units
A check box that enables converting units on export from the current unit of
length to the specified unit. By default, the check box is selected. When selected,
it makes available the following item:
Exported units
A list box that enables choosing the unit of length. Choose from Microns,
Millimeters, Centimeters, Meters, Inches, and Feet. The default value is
Millimeters.
The Text File Export Options dialog box offers the following options:
Scientific notation
A check box that enables using scientific notation. By default, the check box is
cleared.
Press the OK button to launch the export operation, or the Cancel button to cancel it.
On choosing the command, a file browser is displayed. Specify a file name and location.
The Units list box offers export units: cm (centimeter), feet, inch, meter, micron,
and mm (millimeter). The default value is the current unit of length defined for the
project.
When the browser is properly configured, press the Save button to launch the
operation or the Cancel button to end the operation.
If a different unit of length is specified in the Units list box, a message window is
displayed prompting to convert the units on export from the current units of length to
the specified units. Click Yes to launch the operation. Click No to launch the operation
using the current units of length.
On choosing this command, a file browser is displayed. Specify a file name and location.
The Units list box offers the following export units: cm (centimeter), feet, inch,
meter, micron, and mm (millimeter). The default value is the current units of
length defined for the project.
When the browser is properly configured, press the Save button to launch the
operation or the Cancel button to end the operation.
If a different unit of length is specified in the Units list box, a message window is
displayed prompting to convert the units on export from the current units of length to
the specified units. Click Yes to launch the operation. Click No to launch the operation
using the current units of length.
On choosing this command, a file browser is displayed. Specify a file name and location.
The browser’s Template list box offers content-specific templates used to export points
to a text file. The Encoding list box offers the ASCII and Unicode encoding schemes.
The browser also includes a Templates button that displays a dialog box that allows
configuring the number-writing method. See Section 5.3.2 Exporting to text files of the
PolyWorks Reference Guide for more information on exporting to a text file.
When the browser is properly configured, press the Save button to launch the
operation or the Cancel button to end the operation.
On choosing this command, a file browser is displayed. Specify a file name and location.
The browser’s Template list box offers a content-specific choice of templates used to
export planes to a text file. The browser also includes an Templates button that
displays a dialog box that allows configuring the number-writing method. The
Encoding list box offers the ASCII and Unicode encoding schemes. See Section 5.3.2
Exporting to text files of the PolyWorks Reference Guide for more information on
exporting to a text file.
When the browser is properly configured, press the Save button to launch the
operation or the Cancel button to end the operation.
The File > Export > Cross-Sections > Cross-Sections to DXF command allows exporting
selected cross-sections to a DXF file. Each section is exported on a different layer as an
ordered point cloud.
On choosing the command, a file browser is displayed. Specify a file name and location.
When the browser is properly configured, press the Save button to launch the
operation or the Cancel button to end the operation.
The File > Export > Cross-Sections > Cross-Sections to IGES command allows exporting
selected cross-sections to an IGES file. Each section is exported using the IGES 106
polyline entity.
On choosing the command, a file browser is displayed. Specify a file name and location.
The Units list box offers the following export units: cm (centimeter), feet, inch,
meter, micron, and mm (millimeter). The default value is the current units of
length defined for the project.
When the browser is properly configured, press the Save button to launch the
operation or the Cancel button to end the operation.
If a different unit of length is specified in the Units list box, a message window is
displayed prompting to convert the units on export from the current units of length to
the specified units. Click Yes to launch the operation. Click No to launch the operation
using the current units of length.
The File > Export > Cross-Sections > Cross-Sections to Open Inventor command allows
exporting selected cross-sections to an Open Inventor file.
On choosing the command, a file browser is displayed. Specify a file name and location.
Press the Save button to launch the operation or the Cancel button to end the
operation.
The File > Export > Cross-Sections > Cross-Sections to Text File command allows exporting
the points of selected cross-sections to a text file.
On choosing the command, a file browser is displayed. Specify a file name and location.
The browser’s Template list box offers content-specific templates used in exporting
cross-sections to a text file. The browser also includes a Templates button that displays
a dialog box that allows configuring the number-writing method. The Encoding list
box is unavailable as ASCII is the only possible encoding scheme. See Section 5.3.2
Exporting to text files of the PolyWorks Reference Guide for more information on
exporting to a text file.
Press the Save button to launch the operation or the Cancel button to end the
operation.
For complete information on using the PolyWorks SDK, see the PolyWorks SDK
Reference Guide. It can be accessed from the Help > Reference Guides submenu of the
PolyWorks/Workspace Manager.
Complete information is available in the Macro Script Reference Guide and the HTML
Command Guide. Both are offered on the Help menu of the Macro Script Editor tool.
24.3.1 Recording and editing macros using the Macro Script Editor window
Full macro scripting possibilities are offered through the Macro Script Editor pane,
shown in Figure 24.1. It allows recording, editing, and executing macros, and it comes
with a friendly command completion feature that is useful when editing macros, as well
as a complete HTML help feature that documents each command.
Macro scripts can also be enhanced with the Macro Script Command Language (MSCL),
PolyWorks’ simple but powerful programming language. The MSCL offers conditional
command execution (IF/ENDIF), repeatable operations (WHILE/ENDWHILE), the
possibility of calling other macros, global variables, and more.
CORRECT_ORIENTATION [AUTO]
This macro is very efficient in correctly orienting polygonal models generated by solid
modeling CAD software. The macro first invokes the ‘invert_model’ macro to invert
the orientation of back-facing triangles. The macro then places the input polygonal
model in 14 different positions and orientations, propagating the orientation of the
front-facing triangles. The optional auto parameter may be passed to the macro to
bypass a user-confirmation operation.
DELETE_ISLANDS [NUMBER_OF_TRIANGLES]
This macro selects all objects and deletes objects containing less than the number of
triangles specified by number_of_triangles. If no argument is specified, a default value
of 20 is used as the number of triangles threshold.
DELETE_SMALL_OBJECTS [DIAGONAL_LENGTH]
This macro selects all triangles by objects and deletes objects whose bounding box
diagonal is smaller than the value specified by diagonal_length. If no arguments are
specified, a default value of 1.0 is used as the diagonal length threshold.
DELETE_SMALL_TRIANGLES [EDGE_LENGTH]
This macro deletes all triangles for which an edge is smaller than the value specified
by edge_length. If no arguments are specified, a default value of 1.0 is used as the
edge length threshold.
INVERT_MODEL [AUTO]
This macro places the input polygonal model in 14 different positions and
orientations, and inverts the orientation of the back-facing triangles. Only visible
triangles can be processed, i.e., triangles enclosing at least one screen pixel. The
optional auto parameter may be passed to the macro to bypass a user-confirmation
operation.
INVERT_SURFACE [AUTO]
This macro is very efficient in correctly orienting a polygonal model from a particular
viewing angle and position. The macro first inverts the orientation of back-facing
triangles. The macro then propagates the orientation of front-facing triangles. The
optional auto parameter may be passed to the macro to bypass a user-confirmation
operation.
MERGE_STACK
This macro merges all the selection stack levels into one stack level. The stack should
contain only one type of element: triangle or vertex.
SELECT_SHELL [AUTO]
This macro aims at extracting the external surface of an assembly of polygonal
models. The macro first places the input 3D model in 14 different positions and
orientations and selects visible triangles (triangles enclosing at least one screen
pixel). Then, the macro selects all triangles connected to these visible triangles. The
optional auto parameter may be passed to the macro to bypass a user-confirmation
operation.
SELECT_SURFACE [AUTO]
This macro complements the SELECT_SHELL macro by allowing the extraction of the
external surface from a particular viewpoint. The macro first selects visible
triangles (triangles enclosing at least one screen pixel). Then, the macro selects all
triangles connected to these visible triangles. The optional auto parameter may be
passed to the macro to bypass a user-confirmation operation.
NOTE: The IGES format does not retain relational constraints. These will need to be
manually assigned in each sketch. The instructions and snapshots that follow are for
Catia V5 R20, SP 3.
2. Before opening the IGES file, you need to configure the import options.
4. Once you are in the Options dialog box, select Compatibility in the General options
tree and click on the right arrow and scroll to the IGES 2D tab.
5. Make sure that the Unit of the file list box is set to Automatic. Then, click OK.
7. After the window is displayed, go to the File Type list box and select (*.IGS).
9. The sketches are imported into Catia. All the curves are listed and grouped in a
Geometrical Set in the feature tree.
10. Once it is open, you will have to recreate the sketch to have an editable entity with
relations. Starting with the next step, you will have to repeat those steps to recreate
each sketch.
11. To position and orient the sketch, you need to generate a plane. Click the Plane icon
12. After the Plane Definition window is displayed, scroll the Plane type list box to
select Through two lines. (Another user method can be used to create a plane.)
13. Now, select the two lines necessary to create the plane, and click OK.
14. The plane will appear at the end of the feature tree. Once the plane is in place, click
the Sketch Icon and click the plane you have just created.
15. The next step is to insert the imported curves into your sketch. By default, the
projection is linked to the original curves. But to be able to add relations between
the different entities, you must break the link before the insertion of the curves, by
clicking the Create Datum icon on the Tools toolbar. The icon must be On .
16. Select all the curves you need in your sketch, and click the Project 3D Element
icon .
17. Before adding constraints, it’s preferable to hide all the imported curves to avoid
links between entities inside and outside the sketch. When inside the sketch,
NOTE: The IGES format does not retain relations or constraint information. These will
need to be manually assigned in each sketch. The instructions and snapshots that
follow are for NX 7.5.
3. After the window is displayed, go to the File Type list box and select (*.IGS).
4. Once the IGES file type is selected, an options dialog box appears in the window.
Select that icon.
5. In the Model Data options, make sure that Curves is checked. Then, click OK.
7. The sketches are imported into NX. Click the Start button on the Standard toolbar
and then click Modeling to enable the 3D modeling module to work on your sketch.
8. Once it is open, you will have to recreate the sketch to have an editable entity with
relations. Starting with the next step, you will have to repeat those operations to
recreate each sketch.
9. To position and orient the sketch, you need to generate a plane. Choose the
Insert > Datum/Point > Datum Plane command.
10. The Datum Plane window appears. Select 2 lines to define the plane and click OK.
(Another user method can be used to create a plane.)
11. The plane will appear at the end of the feature tree in the Part Navigator palette. To
open it, click the Part Navigator tab and pin it if you want to keep the feature
tree.
12. Choose the Insert Menu > Sketch in Task Environment command.
13. The Create Sketch window appears. Select the plane you have just created.
14. The next step is to insert the imported curves into your sketch, but, depending on
your customer default options, the “Continuous Auto Dimensioning” button could
be On. To have full control of your sketch, you may want to set it to Off. So, on the
Sketch Tools toolbar, click the Continuous Auto Dimensioning icon and, if it’s
On, switch it to Off.
15. Choose the Insert > Curve from Curves > Existing Curves command.
16. In the Project Curve window, clear the Associative check box to be able to add
relations between the different added curves. Select all the curves you need in your
sketch. You can choose your selection method on the Selection Bar.
17. If you have not set the Continuous Auto Dimensioning icon to Off at Step 14, the
Continuous Auto Dimensioning Performance alert window appears. If you click Yes,
it turns it Off and lets you add your constraints manually. If you click No, an auto-
constraint is executed and all entities of your sketch will receive dimensions and
constraints.
18. Before continuing and adding constraints, it is preferable to hide all the imported
curves to avoid links between entities inside and outside the sketch. To add
constraints, choose the Insert > Constraints command.
19. Once your curves are added into your sketch, you can also add constraints
Auto Dimension icon . If you want to see constraints on the sketch, select the
NOTE: The IGES format does not retain relations or constraint information. These will
need to be manually assigned in each sketch. The instructions and snapshots that
follow are for Pro/Engineer Wildfire 4.0.
3. After the window is displayed, go to the Type list box and select IGES.
5. The Import New Model window appears. IGES files are detected as 3D curves, so you
have to select Part and then click OK.
7. Once it is open, you have to recreate the sketch to have an editable entity with
relations. Starting with the next step, you will have to repeat those steps to recreate
each sketch.
8. To position and orient the sketch, you need to generate a plane. Choose the Insert >
Model Datum > Plane command.
9. The Datum Plane window appears. Select 2 lines as References to define the plane,
and click OK. (Another user method can also be used to create a plane.)
11. Choose the Insert > Model Datum > Sketch command.
12. The Sketch window appears. Select the plane you have just created.
13. The References window appears. Select a reference of your choice if you want to
position your sketch to outside entities. In this case, you can select a coordinate
system, click OK, and then click Close.
14. The next step is to insert the imported curves into your sketch. Choose the Sketch >
Edge > Use command.
15. Select all the curves you need in your sketch. You can choose your selection method
in the Type window. When the curves are selected, click OK.
16. By default, the Use Edge command keeps the link with the projected curves. To be
able to add relations between the different entities, you need to remove the link
17. Before continuing and adding constraints, it is preferable to hide all the imported
curves to avoid links between entities inside and outside the sketch. To add
constraints, choose Sketch > Constrain.
Before proceeding with the following steps, make sure that you have administrator
privileges.
5. In the folder where the files have been extracted, launch the installation procedure
by double-clicking the appropriate executable file:
SolidWorksPWSFAddIn_(PolyWorks_version_number)_32bit.exe or
SolidWorksPWSFAddIn_(PolyWorks_version_number)_64bit.exe.
The following window displays to allow specifying where the add-in files will be
copied. By default, the path of the SolidWorks installation folder is specified. If this
folder is not found, the text box is empty.
7. In SolidWorks, make sure that the add-in has been properly installed. Open the Tools
> Add-Ins submenu.
8. See that PolyWorks Solid Features is in the list of add-ins, and make sure that the
check boxes are selected so that the add-in will be available in SolidWorks (a), and
will launch at the start up of the software (b).
(a) (b)
SolidWorks imports the sketches with their respective planes (see the first figure
below). In addition, for each sketch, all relations and constraints created using the
PolyWorks sketching tool are imported and applied (see the second figure below).
NOTE: The IGES format does not retain relations or constraint information. These will
need to be manually assigned in each sketch. The instructions and snapshots that
follow are for SolidWorks 2011, SP 4.
3. After the window is displayed, go to the File type list box and select (*.IGES).
4. Once the IGES file type is selected, an Options dialog box appears in the window.
Select that icon.
5. On the General page, select the Import as sketch(es) option under the Free point/
curve entities check box.
6. Click OK.
9. In order to add relations to the sketch, you will need to open each sketch
individually.
10. Once inside a sketch, relations can be added by choosing the Tools > Relations > Add
command.
Before proceeding with the following steps, make sure that you have administrator
privileges.
5. In the folder where the files have been extracted, launch the installation procedure
by double-clicking the appropriate executable file:
InventorPWSFAddIn_(PolyWorks_version_number)_32bit.exe or
InventorPWSFAddIn_(PolyWorks_version_number)_64bit.exe.
The following window displays to allow specifying where the add-in files will be
copied. By default, the path of the Autodesk Inventor installation folder is specified.
If this folder is not found, the text box is empty.
7. In Autodesk Inventor, make sure that the add-in has been properly installed. Open
the Tools > Add-Ins submenu.
8. See that PolyWorks Solid Features is in the list of add-ins (a), and make sure that it
will launch at the start up of the software (b).
(a) (b)
Autodesk Inventor imports the sketches with their respective planes. In addition, for
each sketch, all relations and constraints created using the PolyWorks sketching tool
are imported and applied.
B.1 Introduction
When an IMEdit project containing curve networks is opened in IMEdit V11 or later, the
curve networks are situated under the Legacy Curve Networks branch in the tree view.
The Legacy Curve Networks branch is invisible otherwise. See Section 2.2 IMEdit: An
object-oriented polygon-editing tool for more information on the curve network
object and the location of the Legacy Curve Networks branch in the tree view.
Since curve network objects are incompatible with the new V11 NURBS patch and
NURBS model workflow, the curves and the NURBS surfaces are not directly available.
Additionally, a limited set of operations can be performed on the curve networks. This
section explains the operations that are offered for curve networks.
When only curve network objects are selected in the tree view, right-clicking displays a
shortcut menu that includes commands that are specific to curve networks: curve
networks can be converted to IMEdit V11 format curves and NURBS patches, they can
be exported to IGES or STEP files, and their Static and Dynamic display mode can be
modified. Legacy curve network objects can also be deleted, and their Properties can
be viewed or modified.
When the Legacy Curve Networks branch is selected in the tree view, the default Static
and Dynamic display mode for the Legacy curve networks object type can be
configured.
Right-click the curve network, and then select the Convert to NURBS Patch command to
create a set of magnetic curves and the resulting NURBS patches.
The new curves are located under the Curves branch in the tree view. The new NURBS
patches are located under the NURBS Patches branch. The curves and the NURBS
patches generated from the curve network are identified in the first part of their name
by the name of the legacy curve network, which by default is the term network
followed by an integer. The second part of curve names also includes the term curve
followed by an index number. The second part of NURBS patch names also includes the
term NURBS Patch followed by an index number.
Note that the single surfaces that were fitted over legacy groups of trimmed NURBS
patches are not supported by the new V11 NURBS patches and will be unfitted during
the conversion. See Section 13.6.3 Creating n-sided NURBS patches for more
information on n-sided NURBS patches.
See Chapter 17 Curves for more information on curves, and Chapter 13 NURBS Patches
for more information on NURBS patches.
File name
A text box that allows entering a file name manually, or selecting an existing file in
the browser area.
Save as type
A list box that allows specifying the type of file to export. Choose from IGES Files
(Entity Type 128) or STEP Files.
Options
A button that displays a dialog box that offers export options for the specified file
type; for an example, see Figure B.1 (b). It offers the items that follow:
Convert units
A check box that enables converting the current units. By default, the
check box is cleared. When selected, it makes available the item that
follows:
Exported units
A list box that allows specifying the units to use for the export
operation. Choose from: Microns, Millimeters, Centimeters,
Meters, Inches, and Feet. The default value is Millimeters.
When the browser is properly configured, press the Save button to launch the export
operation, or the Cancel button to cancel the operation.
Two display modes are available. The Static display mode is the standard mode used to
draw a curve network. The Dynamic display mode controls the rendering when
changing the curve network’s position and orientation in 3D space.
Figure B.1 The dialog box used to export curve networks to an IGES file.
(a)
(b)
To access the default display modes, right-click the Legacy Curve Networks branch in
the tree view. A shortcut menu is displayed. The View submenu offers two submenus,
Default Static and Default Dynamic, used to define the default display mode for curve
networks. Seven commands on the View > Default Static control the drawing type of the
default Static display mode.
Flat
Renders the selected curve networks’ NURBS surfaces as flat-shaded surfaces. The
NURBS Patch - Fitted Surface color is used.
Flat+Curve
Renders the selected curve networks by combining a flat-shading of their NURBS
surfaces, and a representation of their boundary curves. The NURBS Patch - Fitted
Surface and the NURBS Patch - Fitted Surface Boundary colors are used.
Flat+Wireframe
Renders the selected curve networks by combining a flat-shading of their NURBS
surfaces and a wireframe representation. The NURBS Patch - Fitted Surface and
the NURBS Patch - Fitted Surface Boundary colors are used.
Points
Renders the selected curve networks’ NURBS surfaces as 3D points. The NURBS
Patches - Fitted Surface color is used.
Smooth
Renders the selected curve networks’ NURBS surfaces as smooth-shaded surfaces.
The NURBS Patch - Fitted Surface color is used.
Wireframe
Renders the selected curve networks’ NURBS surfaces in wireframe. The Patch -
Fitted Surface color is used, which is yellowish orange by default.
For more information on interface colors, see Section 13.14.2 Customizing interface
colors.
Finally, the View > Default Static submenu offers color mode options that allow
displaying deviations between adjacent fitted NURBS surfaces, curvature, and fitting
errors:
No Color Mapping
Disables the display of deviations or errors. Surfaces are displayed using their
material color.
Show Curvature
Displays a curvature map on top of surfaces according to the settings on the
Curvature page of the IMEdit Options dialog box (see Section 22.3.6 Deviation
display options).
The control of the rendering is the same as in color-by-point models. A color scale
is displayed in the 3D scene. Surface curvature that is off the scale is displayed in
gray. The Curvature color mode scale can be modified (see Section 8.2 Controlling
the visibility of objects and elements).
The View > Default Dynamic submenu is used to specify the Dynamic display mode, and
provides the same drawing types that apply to fitted NURBS surfaces commands found
on the View > Default Static submenu.
Note that if the default Static and/or Dynamic default display modes are set to a mode
available only for NURBS surfaces, curve networks that use the Default display mode
and that do not have NURBS surfaces fitted will be displayed as a grid. 4-sided NURBS
surfaces will be displayed using the NURBS Patch - Unfitted interface color, and
unfitted groups of trimmed patches will be displayed using the NURBS Patch -
Unfitted and Trimmed interface color. When NURBS surfaces are fitted to the curve
networks, the default display modes that apply to NURBS surfaces will be used.
The display mode of a curve network can be modified by selecting it in the tree view,
choosing the Edit > Properties command, and modifying the Static and Dynamic
Drawing types displayed under the Display modes tab, as shown in Figure B.2. Seven
modes are available:
Default
Displays the curve network using the default settings.
The rendering of curve networks selected in the tree view can also be modified by
right-clicking the selection, pointing View, pointing Static or Dynamic, and clicking a
displayed drawing type. If none of the selected curve networks have fitted NURBS
surfaces, the display modes for fitted NURBS surfaces will not be available. Unfitted
NURBS surfaces will be displayed as a grid. 4-sided NURBS surfaces will be displayed
using the NURBS Patch - Unfitted interface color, and unfitted groups of trimmed
patches will be displayed using the NURBS Patch - Unfitted and Trimmed interface
color.
Axial Curves The axial curves of a cylindrical surface are the open curves
that roughly define the axis of the cylindrical shape.
Boundary Span A set of visible adjacent triangles, which each have at least
one edge without a neighbor, and that may be delimited by
an invisible triangle edge.
Curve Sample Points Curve sample points are used to fit a curve onto a polygonal
mesh, to visualize the deviations between a curve and a
polygonal mesh, and to export a curve to an ordered ASCII
point cloud.
Discontinuities Points that are not on a curve, that serve to create inflection
points in the curve.
Drawing Type Specifies the manner in which objects are rendered. Typical
drawing types include flat, point, smooth, wireframe, and
bounding box (Dynamic display mode only).
Free Form Surface Contours that cannot be defined with simple linear or
quadratic mathematical equations. Many natural shapes,
such as the human face, are examples. Synonym: Organic.
Organic Surface Surfaces that reflect natural, free-form shapes and textures.
Ant. prismatic, geometric.
Outlier A single point of data offset from the primary body of the
data set, making it suspect.
A constraints
converting to Planes 553
adding a new triangle 291 showing for Curves 631
adding a new vertex and triangle 291, 292 contextual help 29
ASCII point cloud contextual parameters, show 145
color of 613 copying a vertex color 297
rendering 633
copying materials 300
auto-magnetizing Curves while anchoring 422, correcting the topology of Polygonal Models 167
442
Cross-Sections
axes display
closure distance 592
bounding box 608, 609
color of 611
origin 608, 609
converting to Curves 598
upper left corner 608, 609
creating
along a Curve 593
B along major axes 591
by anchoring 590
back-facing triangles from Planes 592
rendering 607 parallel 592
backup delay, setting the 607 radial 593
backup, automatic 607 Curvature display mode 620
batch processes 390 exporting 671
boundaries object tree menu 596
calculating the length of 180 properties of 595
selecting 116, 119 rendering 136, 595, 632
boundary inspection 170 shortcut menu for 597
bounding box curvature
color of 611 color scale, modifying 145
using in the Dynamic display mode 619, 622 display options 616
viewing in the 3D scene 609 curve control points
doubling 520
rendering 630
C Curves
CAD Models auto-magnetizing at points of intersection
tessellation tolerance 636 422, 442
colors 377, 517
closing a Surface 170
constraints 631
closure distance for Cross-Sections 592
creating
color editing 297 to 298
from NURBS Model surfaces 432, 462,
D F
Data objects filleting, using a rolling-ball 226
subsampling 600 filling holes, using Surfaces 198, 200
degenerate edges 167 filling markers 202
degenerate triangles 167 filtering curvature, rolling-ball 226
deleting filtering vertices 293
islands 676 fitting
objects 84 statistics related to 547
polygonal model elements 85 Surfaces 546
small objects 677 visualizing errors of 547
topology errors 206 fog 634
digitizing vectors 634 front-facing triangles
dockable panes 59 rendering 607
exporting to IGES 723 mouse map, when selecting polygonal model ele-
exporting to STEP 723 ments 115
NURBS surfaces moving vertices
rendering 724 along a Surface 296
overview 721 MSCL. See the Macro Script Control Language
rendering
setting default 723
setting per object 726 N
showing quality factors of 725 new IMEdit Project 62
NURBS
M tessellation timeout 637
NURBS Models
Macro Script Control Language 675 colors for 332
Macro Script Editor 58, 675 curvature
macros display options 616
batch processes 390 scale, modifying 145
provided with IMEdit 676 exporting to IGES 662
macros, provided with IMEdit 676 exporting to STEP 662
markers, filling 202 surfaces
material converting to Curves 432, 462, 482
copying and pasting 300 NURBS Patches
default 621 colors for 332
rendering 620 creating from selected curves 314
material color mode 621 creating n-sided 85, 318
measuring creating using automatic surfacing 316
angles 388 curvature
area of slices 176 display options 616
areas 175 scale, modifying 145
boundary length 180 exporting to IGES 666
bounding box diagonal 181 fitting automatically
curve-to-polygonal-model distances 386 all 325
outline areas 178 selected 325
perimeter of slices 179 unfitted 325
point-to-point distances 387 fitting, custom 325
vertex-to-curve distances 387 inserting into a Polygonal Model 252
vertex-to-Plane distances 387 properties 334
vertex-to-vertex distances 387 rendering 136, 332, 625
volumes 174 resampling a Polygonal Model using Patches
222
menu bar, overview 44
subdivide 330
merging
NURBS surfaces
two close vertices 209
rendering 724
mirroring 87, 235
mirroring objects 87
model selection mode O
about 107
object elements
Modify Control Points mode
deleting 597
reshaping Surfaces 555
recovering deleted 597
mouse map, when selecting object elements 122
object tree
U
undoing
operations 39
transformations 151
uniform subsampling, for dense point clouds 600
user interface 44
using 3D objects 95
V-Z
vertex color mode 621
vertex-to-curve distance 387
vertices
filtering 293
generating new 217
projecting onto a Plane 293
projecting onto a surface 293
viewpoint
rotate 90 degrees 142
walls, creating 235
watertightness, inspection 171
wizards
interactive mode 604
Workspace Manager
drop-down menu 44
icon 44
zooming