Creating a Surfaces Network

You can create a network of surfaces, as a feature, from a support mesh and a network of curves. Messages in the 3D area help you throughout the process.

Before you begin:

  • Prepare the mesh: In Digitized Shape Preparation or from the Action Pad
    • Either import a cloud of points and generate a mesh, or import a mesh.
    • Use Mesh Preparation to repair the mesh, if required.
      Note: Fewer pathologies in the mesh means better quality of the surface.
  • Prepare a curves network: In Digitized Shape to Surface
    • Use Curves Network Preparation to create a set of curves on the mesh. Curves Network Preparation controls the deviation between each curve and the mesh.
    Tip: Whenever possible, split the wires to avoid undercuts in wire.

See Also
About Surfaces Networks
  1. From the Surface Reconstruction section of the action bar, click Surfaces Network .
  2. Select the inputs: a mesh and a curves network.
    1. Click Curves Network to create one.

      For more information, see Creating a Curves Network

    2. Click OK to validate the curves network and go to the next step.

      Note: If you start Curves Network again, the already created surfaces are hidden, the input curves are displayed again to allow selection. After editing the curves network, the surfaces are updated accordingly.

    • The visualization of the computed surfaces is initialized according to the selection, in the color of the type to generate.
    • The visualization modes toolbar is enabled.
    • The input step is validated.
  3. To add curves to an existing curves network:
    1. Exit Surfaces Network.

      Recommendation:
      • Create additional curves lying on curves (and not on previous curves network).
      • Restore the visibility of all the input curves in one click using Hide/Show Inputs from the context menu of the curves network.

    2. Create curves.
    3. Double-click the curves network feature to edit it and add the created curves.
    4. Back in Surfaces Network, update the surfaces network.
  4. Select a surface type.

    When you hover over an area, the type of the surface to generate is displayed.

    1. Click the area to change the surface type.

      Three possible choices:

      • Master displayed in purple
      • Transition displayed in blue
      • Non-Functional displayed in brown. Non-Functional means that no surface creation is expected.

    2. Use the context menu to reset the surface type or apply the same type to all surfaces.
    3. Validate by clicking the status icon, or selecting the next step.
  5. Check and modify the location of Sharp Edges.

    Edges are identified as

    • Sharp displayed as thick and black
    • Smooth displayed as thin and gray.

    1. Click an edge to go from one type to the other.
    2. Use the context menu to reset the type of the edge, or specify all possible edges to one type or to the other.
    3. Validate by clicking the status icon, or selecting the next step.
  6. Select the areas to fill and compute.

    Non-Functional areas cannot be selected.

    1. Click an area to mark it as Selected or Unselected.
    2. Use the context menu to modify the selection.
    3. Adjust the parameters and click Compute Selection.

      By default, the Standard Parameters section is expanded to display the Deviation.

    • The surfaces are generated and displayed.
    • Global statistics are displayed in the dialog box.
  7. Hover the pointer over an area to display local statistics or start a Deviation Analysis between the mesh and the generated surface.
    The legend of the deviation analysis refers to the requested value.
  8. Optional: Click More Deviation Analysis Options to fine-tune the analysis parameters.
  9. Optional: Select another visualization mode to better assess the quality of the surface.
  10. If computation failed on a given area, a warning is displayed, the boundary of the failure area is displayed as thick red. Either
    • Recompute the area, or
    • Switch the surface type to Non-Functional, or
    • Start a deviation analysis, or
    • Exit Surfaces Network.

    Recommendation:
    • Verify the Sharp/Smooth status of the area boundary (Sharp status makes the surface creation easier).
    • Adjust the shape of existing curves or add curves to split the area into several subareas.
    Note: If the meshes from 2 neighboring areas overlap with a gap between the two skins, the surface generation may fail or result in a bumpy surface.

  11. Optional: Fine-tune the parameters and recompute the current selection.

    A selection remains current until:

    • You select a face for local edition, or
    • Start a new selection of not yet computed areas, or
    • You exit Surfaces Network.

  12. Optional: Start a local edition.
    1. Click an already computed face.
    2. Click another already computed face to add it to the selection.
    3. Click again an already computed face to remove it from the selection.
    The boundary of selected faces is highlighted. The local edition is started.
    Notes:
    • When several faces are selected, actions and parameters apply to all selected surfaces. If initially the selected faces did not have the same parameters, the displayed parameters are from the first selected face.
    • You cannot modify the edge status between two areas as soon as one area is already computed. Delete the computed face first, then change the status of the edge.
  13. Still in local edition, use the Surface Mesh slider to show the surface, or the mesh, or both.
  14. Click Geometric Information to display the mathematical definition of the face.