Solid Import

User Manual
Gibbs and Associates
323 Science Drive
Moorpark, CA 93021

May 2006
ProprietaryNotice
This document contains propriety information of Gibbs and Associates and is to be used only pursu-
ant to and in conjunction with the license granted to the licensee with respect to the accompanying
Gibbs and Associates licensed software. Except as expressly permitted in the license, no part of this
document may be reproduced, transmitted, transcribed, stored in a retrieval system, or translated into
any language or computer language, in any form or by any means, electronic, magnetic, optical,
chemical, manual or otherwise, without the prior expressed written permission from Gibbs and Asso-
ciates or a duly authorized representative thereof.

It is strongly advised that users carefully review the license in order to understand the rights and obli-
gations related to this licensed software and the accompanying documentation.

Use of the computer software and the user documentation has been provided pursuant to a Gibbs and
Associates licensing agreement.

© 2000-2006 Gibbs and Associates. All rights reserved. The Gibbs logo, GibbsCAM, GibbsCAM
logo, CAM von Gibbs, Virtual Gibbs, Gibbs SFP, SolidSurfacer, MTM and “Powerfully Simple.
Simply Powerful.” are either trademark(s) or registered trademark(s) of Gibbs and Associates in
the United States and/or other countries. Microsoft, Windows, and the Windows logo are trade-
marks, or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other
countries. All other brand or product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their
respective owners. Contains Autodesk® RealDWG by Autodesk, Inc., Copyright © 1998-2006
Autodesk, Inc. All rights reserved.

Acknowledgements:

Written by Will. Gaffga

Thanks to Bill Gibbs and the entire GibbsCAM development team for their input and assistance.

Printed in the United States of America

Modified: May 31, 2006 12:30 pm

 Table of Contents ❖

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION 1
Definitions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Text Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

SOLID IMPORT 5
Working With Bodies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Solids. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Sheets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Workspace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Taskbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Main (Top Level) Palette. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Solid Modeling Palette. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Properties. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Multiple Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Body Bag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Body Menu Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Edit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Modify . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Context Menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Body . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Edge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Body Bag. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Display Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Render Faceting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Extracting Geometry from Solids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

TUTORIALS 19
Exercise 1: Gear.x_t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Opening the Part . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Controlling Import Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Extracting the Geometry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Extracting Edges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Extracting Face Boundaries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Exercise 2: flange.x_t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Opening the Part . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Controlling Import Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Extracting the Geometry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Placing a Body in the Body Bag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
i
❖ Table of Contents

Connecting Geometry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Exercise 3: ANC101.x_t. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Extracting Geometry to CS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
XY Hole Extraction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
The YZ plane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Compound Chain Selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
The XZ Plane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Exercise 4: Revolve.igs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

INDEX 35

ii
INTRODUCTION
 Introduction ❖

CHAPTER 1 : Introduction
The Solids Import option allows users to read files that contain solid and surface models, make minor
modifications to the model and extract geometry from the model in order to create machining
operations. This manual is composed of two types of sections: reference and tutorial. It is
recommended that the user briefly review the reference material and then move on to the
accompanying instructional exercises.

Users should familiarize themselves with the basics of the system which are outlined in Geometry
Creation, Mill Module and Advanced CS manuals before reviewing this manual. Advanced CS
is not required but adds more complete functionality to Solids Import. This manual assumes a level of
proficiency with geometry creation, coordinate systems and basic machining.

DEFINITIONS
The terms and definitions provided below are used to describe objects and elements used by the
system, and throughout this manual.

Body: The term “body” is a generic term that refers to both solids and sheets. A solid body can be
thought of as a bowling ball, while a sheet body is more like a balloon with an infinitely thin wall.

Face: A face is one surface of a solid or sheet. A Sheet face includes the positive and negative sides while
a solid only includes the positive side. Faces are surfaces that have knowledge of the surfaces that
surround them. For example, one side of a cube would be considered a face. Each face is bound by
loops. A simple face is bounded by one loop.

Surface: A surface is either a face, group of faces (depending on how the surface was created) of a solid
or side of a sheet. Sheets have two surface sides and a solids have only one.

Solid: A solid is a body composed of faces and the area enclosed by the faces. Solids have volume. Solids
bodies are used as the building blocks in creating part models in GibbsCAM. Unlike sheets, solids only
have a positive side.

Sheet: A sheet is an surface with two sides, positive and negative. A sheet has no volume or thickness
associated with it.

Edge: An edge is a curve/line between two faces. An edge of a solid must have exactly two faces
connected to it. Note that more than two faces at an edge produces an invalid solid. The edge of a
sheet can have a single face connected to that.

Loop: A loop is a series of connected edges that outline a face.

Vertex: A vertex is an endpoint of an edge.

3
❖ Introduction

TEXT CONVENTIONS
In this and all other GibbsCAM manuals you will find a number of standards used in the text, known
as conventions.

Screen text: Any text you see like this is referring to text you will see in GibbsCAM or on your monitor.
Typically this is a button or text for a dialog.

Keystrokes: Words that appear like this refer to a keystroke or mouse action, such as
right-click or Ctrl+C.

Term: Words that you see like this followed by a colon refer to a word or phrase used in GibbsCAM.

4
SOLID IMPORT
 Solid Import ❖

CHAPTER 2 : Solid Import

WORKING WITH BODIES
A 3D body can be made up of solids or sheets. Bodies can have geometry extracted from them for
machining. The Solid Import option allows users to import bodies and machine them without the
SolidSurfacer option. In this first section we will discuss the interface items and details of 3D models.
In the second section we will discuss the tools to extract geometry to machine the model.

Solids
Solid models have volume. Solids can either be viewed as wireframe drawings but only rendered
objects can be selected.

Sheets
Sheets do not have any thickness or volume. A sheet has knowledge of the neighboring sheets that
surround it. Sheets may have either one face or several faces. Similar to solids, sheets may also be
defined as a part, stock, or fixture. When a surface files is imported, each surface entity is brought in
as a single sheet.

Lumps: Each body is either a single conjoined object called a lumps or a disconjoined single object,
called a multi-lump body. Multi-lump solids can be separated to create single lump bodies. See the
Separate function on the following page.

WORKSPACE
Bodies exist in the workspace or the Body Bag (when visible). Bodies are not contained in workgroups.
Bodies are assigned to the coordinate system it was created in.

Taskbar
The Taskbar contains six items that are part of the Solid Import interface. For more detailed
information on these Taskbar items see the Interface section in the Getting Started manual.

Show Solids: This button will show and hide all bodies, including sheets.

Render/Wireframe: Render fully shaded objects or simple wireframe.

Indicate Sheet Side: Indicate the positive and negative sides of a sheet.

Face Selection: Enable/disable face selection mode.

Edge Selection: Enable/disable edge selection mode.

7
❖ Solid Import

Main (Top Level) Palette

Two buttons in the Top level palette are part of the main functionality of Solid Modeling
Solid Import. The Surface and Solid Modeling palettes help to create and
modify bodies and the Body Bag is an organizational container for bodies Body Bag

Solid Modeling Palette

Click the Solid Modeling button in
the main palette to open the Solid
Modeling palette. All of the modeling
functions that are used with solids are
accessed from this palette. The Solid Import
options allows the use of slicing and 1 - Slice 2 - Separate
separating solids and sheets.

Slice: This function slices selected solids or sheets into separate entities. The slicing entity can
either be the current Coordinate System (CS) or a selected sheet. When using a sheet as the
slicing tool, the sheet must extend all the way through the target. If a solid and sheet are
selected when this button is clicked, the body will be sliced into two separate bodies where the
selected sheet intersects the body. Likewise, if two sheets are selected, the first sheet selected will be
sliced where the second intersects the first. Slicing a solid with a sheet is a type of Boolean operation;
therefore, the sheet will be destroyed or deleted once the slicing operation is complete. The slicing
function also works only if a solid or sheet is selected. In that case, the solid or sheet will be sliced with
the current coordinate system. It is recommended that slicing operations be performed as early in the
modeling process as possible due to the fact that coordinate systems and planes act as very big
(potentially infinite) knives when slicing and may unintentionally slice other entities.

Separate: This function will separate a selected multi-lumped bodies.

8
 Solid Import ❖

PROPERTIES
The Properties dialog is
accessed from the body
context menu (see page 14).
It contains items that apply
to the selected body. The
user can change the name
of the solid or sheet and
enter a comment. The
coordinate system that the
selected solid or sheet was
last modified in will be
displayed at the top of the
dialog.

Solids and sheets can be

designated as Part, Fixture or
Stock. When solids and
sheets are created, they will
be designated as a Part by
default unless the setting is
changed in this dialog.
Solids or sheets designated
as a Fixture will be rendered
in red and will be used as
constraints when creating
machining operations. Solids and sheets designated as Stock will be rendered in dark blue and will be
used as the initial stock condition when creating machining operations.

This dialog also contains a Chord Height (See “Display Preferences” on page 16. for more information)
for the faceting of the selected solid or sheet. Click the Apply button to change the chord height based
on the value entered. This value will only be applied to the selected solid or sheet.

The Properties dialog can also be used to view bodies. When this dialog is open, different bodies can be
selected and the contents of the Properties dialog will change to reflect the new body selected. Bodies
contained in the History list can be viewed in the Properties dialog by selecting the cube icon in the
History list.

There is also a Physical Properties section which provides surface area calculations for solids and sheets,
volume calculations for bodies, and surface periphery calculations for sheets. Within the Physical
Properties section is an Accuracy slide bar and a Calculate button. The Accuracy slide bar designates the
amount of processing time and effort the system will allocate for the calculations. With the slide bar
closer to the negative end of the spectrum, the calculations will be less accurate and vice versa. It

9
❖ Solid Import

should be noted that all calculations fall within a certain set range of accuracy regardless of the setting
of the accuracy slide bar.

The percentage values do not directly correlate to the calculation, in that a 0% accuracy is still going
to provide a reasonably accurate calculation. The Accuracy setting affects the calculation processing
time; as bodies become more complex, the calculation time increases. In those cases, it may be
desirable to designate a lower accuracy in order to speed up the process. The system will always
provide the +/- accuracy tolerance so that the user can determine whether the calculation is accurate
enough for its purposes.

The following are conversion values for taking the volume in cubic inches (as is shown in the
Properties dialog) to such measurements as ounces and liters.

1 cubic inch = 0.55409 oz.

1 oz. = 29.57353 ml

Figure 1: Solid Properties measurements

10
 Solid Import ❖

Multiple Properties
The Multiple properties
dialog appears when more
than one body is selected
when the Properties
command is chosen. This
dialog helps to assign
properties to many bodies
at one time.

Add or change bodies in

the dialog by changing the
selection. Quickly set all
bodies in the dialog as a
Part, Fixture, or Stock type as
well as their Chord Height
and a Comment. Apply To All
must be pressed in order to
apply the new settings to all
the bodies in the dialog.

11
❖ Solid Import

BODY BAG
The Body Bag is used to store bodies during
part creation in order to organize the
Workspace.

Double-click a body to move it from the

workspace to the Body Bag. Bodies can also be
moved with the Body and Body Bag context
menu. Items that are placed in the Body Bag are
still considered active as long as the Body Bag is
open they can be selected, modified, machined,
etc. Bodies in the Body Bag are represented as
icons which can be moved, resized and selected.

Figure 2: Resized Icons in the Body Bag

12
 Solid Import ❖

BODY MENU ITEMS

EDIT
Select: The Select menu contains
Solids, Sheets, and Edges items so
that users can select only the
solids, sheets, and edges in a part
file. The Walls From Selected Edges
item selects all faces that are
tangent to the selected edges and
perpendicular to the current CS.
By Body Name and By Body
Comment allow users to select
bodies by entering their name or
comment in the respective
dialogs. All Profiles selects all the
available profiles found by the
Profiler and Faces From Selected
Profiles selects all faces that touch
a selected profile.

Deselect: The Deselect menu

contains the same items as the
Select menu but act by deselecting
(instead of selecting) entities.

MODIFY
Shrinkage: Shrinkage compensates for the rate at which an injection
substance will shrink in a mold cavity. It performs a uniform or axial
reduction or enlargements on selected solids. The range of shrinkage
is -10% to 10%. Shrinkage can also be applied differently in each axis.

Final Size = (100 - Shrinkage%) * Start Size /100

Toggle Sheet Side: This item is useful when solidifying sheets into solids
using the Offset solidify option. When sheets are converted into solids
by offsetting, the offset must be calculated from one side of the sheet or the other. The Max and Min

13
❖ Solid Import

offset values are referenced from one side of the sheet. To offset the sheet from the other side, select
the sheet and then select the Toggle Sheet Side item.

CONTEXT MENUS
Menus accessed by right-clicking on certain items in the system are referred to as context menus. The
following dialogs have context menus that are accessed by right-clicking on the title bars of the dialogs.

Body
The body context menu is accessed by right-clicking on a body or
history entry.

Properties: The Properties dialog contains information on the

selected solid or sheet. See “Properties” on page 9 for more
information.
Bag It/Un-Bag It: Bag It will place a selected body into the Body
Bag. If the body is in the Body Bag, Un-Bag It item will place it in
the workspace. This function does not work on multiple
selections, see “Body Bag” on page 15 for multiple selection
functions.

The following items for selecting and deselecting faces are only
available when the system is in Face Selection mode. These
options are useful when multiple faces must be selected for
modeling or machining functions, and frees the user from having
to select one face at a time.

Tangent Faces: This will select/deselect the target face and all of
the faces reachable by a tangency.
Faces Above: Neighboring faces will be selected/deselected if they
have an upper boundary that lies above the upper boundary of
the target face. Next it will branch out to the adjoining faces of
the neighboring faces and repeat the selection/deselection using
the neighbors upper boundary as the condition (rather than the
target face). A special condition exists for flat faces that neighbor
the target face. They will be selected/deselected based on the
lower boundary of the target face.
Faces Below: Neighboring faces will be selected/deselected if they
have an lower boundary that lies below the lower boundary of
the target face. Next it will then use the adjoining faces boundary
and repeat the selection/deselection. However, adjoining flat faces will be selected/deselected based
on the upper boundary of the target face.
Floor Faces: Selects/Deselects all floor faces connected to the target face. A floor face is approximately
normal to the depth axis of the current CS; the approximation is set by the Floor/Wall Angle Tolerance
value set in File > Preferences > Selection.
14
 Solid Import ❖

Wall Faces: The target face will be selected/deselected and any connected face that is parallel to the
depth of the current CS. Angled walls that fall within the Floor/Wall Angle Tolerance value set in File >
Preferences > Selection will also be selected.
3D Faces: This will select/deselect faces connected to the target face that are not defined as a floor or
wall. Next it will branch out to the adjoining faces and select/deselect them using the same logic.
Transition Faces: This will select/deselect all transition faces connected to the target face. A transition
face is a smooth blend that is connected to a wall and floor face.
Fillets: This will select/deselect all constant radius fillet faces that are connected to the target face. The
target face will also become selected. The system will only select fillets that have the same constant
radius as the target face if the target face is a fillet).

Edge
Right-click a selected edge to access options that affect edge selection. When an
edge is double-clicked, the system tries to build a closed loop of edges starting
with the selected edge. The 2D Chain and 3D Chain options affect how the
system chooses the next edge to be connected at each vertex.
2D Chain: When this option is selected, double-clicking an edge will attempt to select a loop of
edges that are planar to the current CS (or those closest to it), therefore resulting in a 2D loop. If
there is more than one possible choice for an edge at a vertex, the system chooses the one that is
closest to the same direction.
3D Chain: When this option is selected, double-clicking an edge will attempt to select a loop of
edges that are normal to the current CS (or those closest to it), therefore resulting in a 3D loop.
Body Bag
The context menu contains the items Clean Up Body Bag, Resize All
Icons, Bag Selected, Un-Bag Selected, Snap to Grid, Select Body Bag,
Select Workspace, Deselect Body Bag and Deselect Workspace. The Clean
Up Body Bag item will reorganize the Body Bag icons so that all icons
can be viewed and none overlap. The Resize All Icons item allows the
user to modify the size of the Body Bag icons. This item is active when
an icon is selected in the Body Bag. When this item is selected, a box
that can be dragged and resized will be drawn around the selected
icon. All the icons in the Body Bag will be resized accordingly. The Bag
Selected item places any solids or sheets that are selected in the
drawing window into the Body Bag. The Un-Bag Selected item will
take any selected Body Bag icons and place the solids/sheets back into
the drawing window from the Body Bag. The Snap to Grid item can
either be checked on or off. When on, Body Bag icons that are moved will snap to a grid for alignment.
The Select/Deselect Body Bag items selects/deselects all the bodies in the Body Bag, and the Select/
Deselect Workspace items selects/deselects all entities (including bodies and geometry) in the
Workspace. These last few items are very useful when analyzing surface files by providing a method
for isolating problem areas.

15
❖ Solid Import

DISPLAY PREFERENCES
The File > Preferences dialog contains settings
that affect the graphic display of bodies. The
overall part chord height is controlled here. The
chord height determines the faceting resolution
when bodies are rendered. Bodies can be
displayed as rendered solid objects or as
wireframe drawings. The Render/Wireframe
button in the Task Bar determines whether
solids and sheets will be rendered objects or
wireframe drawings. The Wire Drawing setting
defines whether it displays edges or facets of bodies. For more information about other elements of
this dialog, refer to the Common Reference manual.

Chord Height: The chord height will be applied to all bodies that are imported. A number can be entered
in the text box or the slider can change the value by moving it left and right. Click the Apply button
to finalize the change to the faceting tolerance for bodies.

Render Faceting
When bodies are rendered, they are faceted. Facets are small planar surfaces that compose the
rendered model. The more facets drawn, the closer the model resembles the actual mathematical
model and the more time it takes for the system to render the model. Faceting affects the quality of
the rendered bodies. It also affects overall system performance and speed. The faceting chord height
should be set at a value that balances the quality of the model with system performance.

The number of facets used to render a model is Chord Height

determined by the chord height. A chord is a straight line
that joins any two points on an arc or circle. The chord
height is the distance from the chord to the arc or circle
(Figure 3). The smaller the chord height, the closer the Figure 3: Chord Height
facet will be to the arc or circle, resulting in a better
rendered image of the solid or sheet (this is a 2D description of chord height; the system uses a 3D
chord height for the faceting of solids and sheets, but the general idea is the same).

A different faceting chord height can be applied to individual bodies in the Properties dialog. See
“Properties” on page 9 for more information.

16
 Solid Import ❖

EXTRACTING GEOMETRY FROM SOLIDS

Geometry from Solids: The Geometry
Creation palette contains a palette for
extracting edges and holes.

Geometry Extraction: Extracting

geometry from selected faces or edges of a body is based
on a Tolerance. Connected shapes will be created if the
selected edges create a closed loop. Click Do It in the
Geometry Extraction dialog to create the geometry.

Tolerance: If a resulting spline can be converted to lines or circles within the tolerance, it will be
converted. A large tolerance value will convert more of the edge splines to lines and circles,
while a tight tolerance will keep the entities as they are defined in the part model. A tolerance
of zero is recommended when extracting geometry that is definitely a circle or a line.

Hole Extraction: To create a circle from a hole in a body

based on the Circularity Tolerance select the inner face of
the hole or select the entire model to extract all holes
that can be defined in the current CS.

When using this function, either a solid or sheet can be selected and the system will scan the faces of
the selection and find all holes. A hole must have walls which are perpendicular to the current CS.
Additionally, the edge loop of the hole must be either a circle or a spline—it cannot be a polyline (line
segments approximating a circle). When hole extraction is performed, the resulting geometry will all
be circles. Any hole edge loops which are splines but fall within the Circularity Tolerance specified will
be extracted as circles. Edge loops which are splines that do not approximate a circle within the given
tolerance will not be extracted. The depth of the extracted geometry will be based on the bottom of
the hole(s), making it easy for the user to determine the depth for the drilling operation.

17
❖ Solid Import

18
TUTORIALS
 Tutorials ❖

CHAPTER 3 : Tutori a l s
These tutorials provide instruction for extracting geometry from solids and sheet models in
preparation for machining on a basic mill or lathe without solid machining capabilities. Users
should be familiar with creating geometry in GibbsCAM. Some exercises also touch on basic
concepts in discussed in more detail in the Advanced CS manual. These exercises do not
contain any machining instructions.

EXERCISE 1: GEAR.X_T
OPENING THE PART
 In the Open dialog choose Parasolid (*.x_t, *.xmt) from the Files of Type menu.

 Open the file Gear.x_t.

This file is located in the part files of the installation CD in the solid tutorial files section.

Controlling Import Data

 Set the options shown and press the OK

Tutorials
button.

 Switch to the isometric view (Ctrl+I).

EXTRACTING THE GEOMETRY

Extracting Edges
 Turn on Edge Selection.

21
 ❖ Tutorials

 Double-click the edge

shown.

 Open the Geometry From Solids

palette.

 Open the Geometry Extraction

dialog.
Extracting the Geometry – Extracting Edges

 Extract the geometry.

We will now extract the

geometry for the keyhole slot.

 Zoom in to the area shown.

 Right-click any edge and ensure that edge selection is in the

2D Chain mode.

 Double-click the edge shown.

 Extract the geometry.

Our last step will be to extract the geometry we would need to define the recess of the gear.

22
 Tutorials ❖

 Ctrl+click the last three edges shown.

 Extract the geometry.

We now have enough geometry to

machine. But lets take a look at an

Extracting the Geometry – Extracting Face Boundaries

even faster method.

 Delete all of the geometry.

Extracting Face Boundaries

 Turn off Edge Selection.

 Turn on Face selection.

 Select the faces shown.

 Extract the geometry.

With this method you actually get

more geometry. Face selections will
extract the boundary edges of the
face.

23
 ❖ Tutorials

EXERCISE 2: FLANGE.X_T
This exercise will introduce the concept of slicing a solid using a coordinate system. Once the
body is sliced we will extract geometry to create a lathe part.

OPENING THE PART

 In the Open dialog choose Parasolid (*.x_t, *.xmt) from the Files of Type menu.

 Open the file flange.x_t.

Opening the Part – Controlling Import Data

This file is located in the part files of the installation CD in the solid tutorial files section.

Controlling Import Data

 Set the options shown and press the OK
button.

 Change the machine to a horizontal

lathe.

The first thing we will do to this

part is slice it to extract the
geometry of the flange’s profile.
We will use the ZX plane as a
slicing plane.

 Open the Solid Modeling palette.

24
 Tutorials ❖

 Click the Slice button.

The part is now separated into two distinct bodies.

EXTRACTING THE GEOMETRY

Placing a Body in the Body Bag
 From the isometric view, double-click the selected

Extracting the Geometry – Connecting Geometry

half in Y+ side.

This places the front half in the Body bag as shown

and we have a clear view of the part’s profile. Note
that the body is still selected.

We will now extract geometry from the exposed

profile. You may find it helpful to turn off the
Coordinate System grid for this.

 Turn on Face selection.

Use the Ctrl key while selecting multiple faces.

 Extract the geometry from the faces shown.

Connecting Geometry
The profile geometry is in multiple pieces. For this
part to be machined we will need to fix this.
25
 ❖ Tutorials

 Place the other half of the body in the Body Bag. (double-click)

 Delete the points and lines shown.

We will now connect the geometry.

 Connect the lines shown.

Extracting the Geometry – Connecting Geometry

 Connect the line and the circle shown.

We now have a fully connected profile of the

flange that is ready to be machined.

An alternate method for this extraction would be to select the

holes interior face as well, extracting all geometry. This would
create splines that could be forced to a depth of Y0, and then
changed to fall in the XYZ rather than HVD. However, using
splines for the geometry may be inappropriate for some uses.

26
 Tutorials ❖

EXERCISE 3: ANC101.X_T
This exercise is designed to give the user an understanding of creating coordinate systems from
solids. In addition to creating the coordinate systems they will be modified to be of greater use.
Users should be familiar with the Advanced CS module and its exercises before starting this
exercise.

EXTRACTING GEOMETRY TO CS

Extracting Geometry to CS – XY Hole Extraction

XY Hole Extraction
 Locate and open the file named anc101.x_t

The first thing we will do is extract the geometry that is in the XY plane. As there will be
geometry in several different coordinates systems, the screen can get cluttered very quickly.
Workgroups can help us keep things organized. We will need to be sure to rename each
workgroup we create to reflect the geometry that will be in it.

 Open the Workgroup list.

 Name Workgroup 1 “XY”.

 Open the Hole Extraction dialog.

 Select the model.

 Extract the holes as shown.

27
 ❖ Tutorials

Now we will continue to extract the XY

geometry. Be sure that the Show Edges
button is depressed.

 Turn on Face selection.

 Extract the geometry from the faces shown.

Edges could have been used to extract

the geometry also.
Extracting Geometry to CS – The YZ plane

The YZ plane
 Create a new workgroup and YZ CS.

You may wish to label these.

 Select the face shown.

28
 Tutorials ❖

 Right-click the Align CS Plane button and

choose Align Plane Through & Move (Alt).

We need to rotate it into place.

Extracting Geometry to CS – Compound Chain Selections

 With the Face selected click the Align CS button
3 times.

Each click rotates the CS 90 degrees counter

clockwise.

The selected face acts as a normal vector to rotate

the CS.

Compound Chain Selections

 Right-click any edge and ensure that edge selection is
in the 2D Chain mode.

 Ctrl+double-click the edges shown.

 Extract the geometry for these edges.

29
 ❖ Tutorials

The XZ Plane
 Switch to the XY CS.

 Create a new workgroup and XZ CS.

 Extract the geometry for the hole edge and

pocket face shown.

Both the edge of the hole and the

pocket floor to easily obtain cut depths.
Extracting Geometry to CS – The XZ Plane

 From XZ CS create a new workgroup and XZ CS.

This will be the backside XZ CS.

 Switch to the alternate front view

(Ctrl+Alt+F) and select the face
shown.

 Right-click the Align CS Plane

button and choose Align Plane Through
& Move (Alt).

 Click the Toggle Depth button.

 Click the Align CS button.

This will rotate the CS to a

ZH position.

 Extract the geometry for this face.

We will now align a CS to

the face of the cylinder and
extract the geometry.

30
 Tutorials ❖

 From CS1 XY create a new Workgroup and

CS.

 Select the cylinder face as shown.

 Right-click the Align CS Plane button

and choose Align Plane Through & Move
(Alt).

 Click the Toggle Depth button.

Extracting Geometry to CS – The XZ Plane

 Extract the geometry shown.

The geometry may be extracted

with a combination of edge and face
boundary extraction on the top of
the cylinder.

 From CS3 XZ create a new CS.

 Change the CS Origin as shown.

 Open the Solid Modeling palette.

 Slice the Model with the CS.

 Place the selected slice in the Body Bag.

Note that at the bottom of the angled

cylinder is a modeled drill tip. The lower
circle indicates the depth the full diameter
of a drill may go.

31
 ❖ Tutorials

EXERCISE 4: REVOLVE.IGS
This exercise is designed to give the user some experience in extracting geometry from sheets. The
functionality of the Solids Import module for solids and sheets is identical. Sheets however can be
more challenging to work with as sheets have no depth, from a certain angle you may not see a
sheet. Additionally, there can easily be hundreds of sheets for what would be a single solid, making
your workspace cluttered.

If you do not have a lathe MDD you can still do this exercise. The primary difference will be that
you will be working in the XY plane as opposed to the ZX plane.
Extracting Geometry to CS – The XZ Plane

 Open the Revolve.igs file.

Ensure the Surfaces option is selected in the

Features list.

Although this part can be solidified and

geometry easily extracted from a sliced face.
We will assume the file can’t be solidified.

 Choose Edit > Select > Sheets.

Select All (Ctrl+A) will also work.

 Slice the sheets with the CS.

 Open the Body Bag and right-click the title bar and choose Bag
Selected from the context menu.

This action will send all bodies and sheets that are selected to the
Body Bag. This can be very helpful when dealing with many
items.

32
 Tutorials ❖

 Turn on Show Edges so we can begin extracting

geometry from these sheets.

It may be more difficult to see exactly what is

being selected when working with sheets.

 Extract the geometry that is along the sliced edges of the

sheets.

Extracting Geometry to CS – The XZ Plane

Note that the smaller “wheel” has a tiny fillet between the
vertical wall and the arc. Be sure you select this as well.

When the geometry is extracted a single closed shape will

appear.

33
 Extracting Geometry to CS – The XZ Plane

34
❖ Tutorials
INDEX
 Index ❖

Index
definition of: 3
NUMERICS Edge Loop: 15, 17
Edge Selection
2D Chain: 15
2D & 3D: 15
3D Chain: 15
Enlarge Solid: 13
3D Faces, Body Select context item: 15

B F
Face: 7
Bag It, Body context item: 14 definition of: 3
Bag Selected: 15 Face Selection: 14
Body: 8 Faces Above, Body Select context item: 14
definition of: 3
Faces Below, Body Select context item: 14
Body Bag: 7, 15
button: 8 Faceting Tolerance: 16
Facets: 16
Boundary: 14
Fillets, Body Select context item: 15
Fixtures
C designating body as: 9, 11
Flat Face: 14
Chord Height: 9, 11, 16 Floor Faces, Select, Body context menu: 14
Circularity Tolerance: 17 Floor/Wall Angle Tolerance: 14–15
Clean Up Body Bag: 15
Commenting Bodies: 9
Coordinate Systems: 7 G
Geometry
D From Solids: 16
Geometry Extraction: 17
Deselect: 13
Body Bag: 15
Tangent Faces: 14 H
Wall Faces: 15
Workspace: 15 Hole Extraction: 17

E L
Loop
Edge: 7
definition of: 3
37
❖ Index

Lower boundary: 14
S
M Select
All Profiles: 13
Main palette: 8 Body Bag: 15
Multi-lump bodies: 8 Faces From Selected Profiles: 13
Multiple Body Properties dialog: 11 Tangent Faces: 14
Wall Faces: 15
Workspace: 15
N Selecting
By Body Comment: 13
Naming Bodies: 9 By Body Name: 13
Neighboring faces: 14 Edges: 13
Sheets: 13

O Solids: 13
Walls From Selected Edges: 13
Offset Separate function: 8
Solidifying: 13 Sheet: 7
definition of: 3, 7
Toggle Side: 13
P Sheet Side: 7
Show Solids: 7
Palettes
Main (Top level): 8 Shrinkage: 13
Part, body definition: 9 Slice function: 8
Part, designating body as a: 11 Snap to Grid: 15
Physical Properties of a solid: 9 Solid
Definition of: 7
Profiler
Selection options: 13 definition of: 3
Properties dialog: 9–10, 16 Solid Modeling: 8
Properties, Body Context menu: 14 Solid Modeling palette: 8
Solids Button: 8
Splines: 17
R Stock
Designating body as: 9, 11
Reduce size of solid: 13
Stock, designating body as: 9
Render Shaded Objects: 7
Surface
Render/Wireframe button: 16 Definition of: 3
Resize All Icons: 15 Surface Area, calculating: 9
Surfaces button: 8

38
 Index ❖

T
Tangent Faces, Body Select context item: 14
Target Face: 14
Taskbar: 7
Top Level palette: 8
Transition Faces, Body Select context item: 15

U
Un-Bag It, Body context item: 14
Un-Bag Selected: 15
Upper boundary: 14

V
Vertex: 15
definition of: 3
Volume, calculating: 9

W
Wall Faces, Body Select context item: 15
Wireframe View: 7
Workgroups: 7
Workspace: 7

39
❖ Index

40