Optimizing Meshes

You can optimize an existing mesh, i.e. redistribute and reshape the triangles within the mesh, to obtain a more homogeneous mesh, e.g. for the purpose of analysis.Be aware that this optimization tends to modify the shape of the model.

  1. From the Digitized Data section of the action bar, click Optimize .
  2. Select a manifold mesh.

    The sphere represents the Maximum Length.

    Minimum Length and Maximum Length refer to the length of the edges of the triangles.

  3. Set the Minimum Length, Maximum Length and Dihedral Angle according to your needs. Choose values coherent with your model.

    Optimize is an iterative operator using edge splits and edge collapses:

    • If an edge is too long, it is split in two (Maximum Length).
    • If an edge is too short it is collapsed (Minimum Length).
    • Minimum Length must be less than or equal to the half of Maximum Length.
    • Dihedral Angle: The dihedral angle between 2 triangles sharing an edge is the angle between their normal (note that this is different from the angle across the common edge). A greater dihedral angle indicates a sharp feature across that edge - for example if the dihedral angle is 0 it means that the 2 triangles are on the same plane.

    All the triangles:

    • With edges shorter than Minimum Length are collapsed so that their edges reach this Minimum Length.
    • With edges larger than Maximum Length are refined so that their edges reach this Maximum Length.
    • With a Dihedral Angle lower than the value given are flipped.

  4. Select the Analysis check box to display the maximum and the mean deviations (distances between a vertex and its initial position) in the dialog box.