Using the Clipping Box

The Clipping Box allows you to reduce the 3D view to a particular area.

Activating the clipping box while you are using one of the mesh checker browsers allows you to focus on particular areas that are sometimes not easily visible (for example, inside a volume). By reducing the view to the clipping box area, you can observe and diagnose problem areas within a mesh.

Visualization tools (rotate, zoom) can also be used with the clipping box visualization mode.

  1. From the Display section of the action bar, click Clipping Box .
  2. Position the cursor at one corner of the clipping box you want to define, click and drag the cursor to the opposite corner, and click to define the clipping box.

    If you are in the context of one of the mesh checker tools, click Clipping Box before selecting Autofocus in the mesh checker dialog box.

    The 3D view is reduced to the area contained in the clipping box, and the Define Box tool appears to let you adjust the size and the position of the box.
  3. To modify the clipping box dimensions:
    1. Click Define Box .
      The clipping box appears.
    2. Use the sliders to adjust the size and the position of the clipping box.
    3. To deactivate the manipulation mode, click Define Box again.
  4. To restore the default view, close the Define Box tool.

Example

In the following example, seven elements in intersection have been found by the Interferences mesh checker:

When you select Autofocus without using the Clipping Box tool, the visualization focuses on the intersecting elements, but they are not visible because they are located inside the volume:

When you click Clipping Box before selecting Autofocus in the Interferences dialog box, the visualization is reduced to the area where elements are in intersection, and other areas are hidden: