Judge or evaluate curve or surface quality

Choose Locators > Curve curvature

Click the curve you want to attach the curvature comb to.

You can drag the mouse to change properties of the curvature comb:

Drag the

to change the scale of the quills.

Drag the

to change the sampling density of the comb.

In orthographic windows, the curve curvature comb displays the curvature of a curve based on the planar projection of the curve that appears in that window. In perspective windows, the curve curvature comb displays the curvature of the 3D curve.

What if...?

Choose Locators > Curve curvature

Turn off Auto Scale.

Enter the scale factor in the Scale Value field.

There are many ways you can modify a curve when you are trying to fix curvature problems:

Move CVs.

When you move a CV toward the curve along the normal, curvature is reduced near the CV.

When you move a CV away from the curve along the normal, curvature is increased.

When you move a CV along the curve, curvature is decreased behind the CV and increased ahead of the CV.

Use curve editing tools such as Object editor, Stretch, Project tangent, and Align.

Create cross sections on the surface, and turn on the curvature plot, through the Cross Section Control section of the control panel.

See Create or view cross sections

Curve curvature options available in the Information window are also available in the Curve curvature option window if you want to change the values for all objects on which the tool operates.

Find curve problems using the curve curvature plot

Find inflection points

Turn on the Inflection Points option in the Information window. Inflection points are marked approximately with blue arrows. To find the exact inflection point, zoom in to the point where the comb outline crosses the curve.

Inflection points, also called ogees, are the points on the curve where the curvature changes direction.

Measure torsion

Turn on the Torsion option in the Information window to plot secondary quills showing the torsion.

Find tangent discontinuities

Tangent discontinuities appear as two separate Unit Normal quills originating from the same point on the curve but pointing in different directions.

The telltale quills are always at an edit point. To see them clearly, set the Plot value option to Unit Normal in the Information window, and increase the Samples density to have at least 2 samples per span.

Make sure the Scale is high enough to tell whether there is more than one quill.

Tangent discontinues occur when two curves are not properly aligned. It can also happen at a multi-knot, or because of CV multiplicity.

Find curvature discontinuities

Curvature discontinuities appear as sudden steps in the outline of the curvature comb. You will need to use a high sampling rate to detect curvature discontinuities.

Curvature discontinuities between curves occur when two curves do not have the same curvature at their end, or because of multiplicity. The curve join may be smooth, but the curvature values do not change smoothly.

Show the minimum and maximum curvature on a surface

Set up the Min/max curvature tool

Choose Evaluate > Min/max curvature

Set the Mode option to Active.

Click Save.

Show the minimum and maximum curvature values

Pick the surface(s) you want to measure.

If you pick more than one surface, the minimum and maximum are calculated over all the surfaces, not each surface individually.

Choose Evaluate > Min/max curvature

The tool highlights the points of minimum and maximum curvature on the surfaces, and opens a window showing detailed information.

Check the deviation and continuity on surface edges

Check the continuity between surfaces

Pick the surfaces you want to check.

Choose Evaluate > Continuity > Surface continuity

The tool displays symbols along the shared edges representing the continuity and deviation at each sampling point.

To get a complete review of the deviation and continuity set all options on; Locator Persistence, Show Max. Labels, Check interior, Show Edge Labels, and Show Comb.

The calculation can take a long time for very complex models. To cancel the check, press Esc .


Line style	Meaning
Pale green, dotted.	Edge with no adjacent surface, or an adjacent surface that is not selected. Hold and click a surface to select it.
Bright green	Selected isoparametric curve with achieved continuity.
Dark green	Isoparametric curve with achieved continuity.
Yellow	Selected isoparametric curve with continuity break.
Red	Isoparametric curve with continuity break.

These colors may be different if you have changed the interface color preferences.

Symbol	Meaning
Cross	Requested continuity achieved.
T	Tangent/normal break.
C	Curvature break.
O	Gap in the common edge (think of the "O" as a hole).
Blue symbol	Minimum measured deviation. (Not shown if minimum deviation is 0.)
Red symbol	Maximum measured deviation.

Do any of the following:

Click an edge to add it to or remove it from the check. Hold Shift

and click a surface to add it or remove it.

Drag the

on empty space to change the scale of any active deviation comb plots.

Drag the

on empty space to change the sampling density.

-click an edge to switch it between deviation comb and symbol display.

Drag the

along an edge to show detailed numeric information on the points under the mouse pointer.

Open the prompt-line history window to see any messages the tool printed about continuity and deviation between the surfaces.

What if...?

Choose Evaluate > Continuity > Surface continuity

Turn on Show Edge Labels, turn on Show Combs, and turn off Auto Scale.

Enter the scale factors for Positional, Tangent, and Curvature deviation combs respectively in the three Scale fields.

Measure the deviation between two objects

Add a deviation comb plot between two objects

Remember that for "curves" you can use surface edges, trim edges, isoparametric curves, and curves-on-surface in addition to free curves.

Choose the appropriate tool for the object types you want to compare:

To compare a curve to a curve, choose Locators > Deviation > MinMax Curve-Curve deviation

To compare a surface to a surface, choose Locators > Deviation > MinMax Surface-Surface deviation

To compare a curve to a surface, choose Locators > Deviation > MinMax Curve-Surface deviation

To compare a mesh to a surface, choose Locators > Deviation > MinMax Mesh-Surface deviation

To compare a surface to a cloud, choose Locators > Deviation > MinMax Cloud-Surface deviation

Select the two objects. You must select the objects in the order specified by the tool name. For example, in MinMax Curve-Surface deviation, select a curve, followed by a surface.

If more than one object are under the cursor, the pick chooser appears, allowing you to select the correct object.

Do any of the following:

Drag the

to change the scale of the quills.

Drag the

to change the density of the quills.

Drag a label to move it.

The MinMax Mesh-Surface Deviation tool does not display a comb or mean deviation value.

View the exact numeric values from a deviation locator

Press on a row in the deviation table to highlight the corresponding position on the model with a red arrow.

To check for values within a certain range, set the Gap Band Min and Gap Band Max options. Values within this range are highlighted in the deviation table window.

To show only the values within this range, click Clip to Band.

To save the current settings in the deviation table window, choose Preferences > User options > Save options

To reset the range to the defaults, click Reset Band.

To save the information in a file, click Save. You can then import the data into, for example, a spreadsheet program for analysis.

The deviation table updates as you change the model.

Measure deviations using the Show deviations tool in the Modeling control panel

To create deviation combs

Pick all the scan lines/section data sets (curves)/polygonal data sets and surfaces between which you want to calculate the deviation.

Click the Show deviations tool at the bottom of the Modeling control panel.

Adjust the options in the Deviation section of the Modeling control panel.

To quickly display the deviation comb

Pick either the surface or the scan-line/section data (curve)/polygonal data which contains the deviation comb.

Click the Deviation button in the Display area of the Control panel.

To quickly hide the deviation comb

Pick either the surface or the scan-line/section data (curve)/polygonal data which contains the deviation comb.

Click the Deviation button in the Display area of the Control panel.

To delete deviation combs

Click the Pick > Locator tool, and then click on the deviation comb. This will highlight the deviation comb.

Select Delete > Del active to delete this active locator.

To create minimum and maximum deviation locators between a surface and a mesh

Pick a mesh and surface between which you want to calculate the minimum and maximum deviation.

Click the Show deviations tool at the bottom of the Modeling control panel.

Turn the Min. and Max. options on or off in the Deviation section of the Modeling control panel.

Create or view cross sections

The different types of cross-sections

Axis Aligned

Cross sections are created in the X,Y or Z planes with a regular step size starting from the origin. For example, with a step size of 2.5 cm, the cross section specs are created at -2.5, 0.0, 2.5, 5.0... and so on.

When the Auto Range option is turned on (default), the cross sections are shown over the entire surface. Otherwise, you must explicitly set the range over which the cross sections should be displayed.

Picked Reference

Cross sections are created at the intersection between the geometry and selected section data or construction planes.

Section data can be created from degree 1 NURBS by using the crvToSection plug-in.

Radial

Cross-sections are created based on a driving curve you specify, and the Num Planes option. Points, equally spaced by arc length, are placed on the curve to correspond to the number of sections. A plane is then defined perpendicular to the curve's tangent at each of these points. The cross-sections are created where the planes intersect the geometry.

The driving curve can be a free curve, a curve-on-surface, or a surface edge or isoparm.

When using Evaluate > Cross section

, you have to adjust the cross section options every time you select new objects. The cross sections are created as real geometry (NURBS or section data).

With the Cross Section Control tab, you can define groups of cross sections with specific characteristics, apply them to any geometry at any time, and even save them with your model. However, these cross sections are "visual" only (no geometry is created).

To create Axis Aligned (X, Y, Z) geometry cross sections

Choose Evaluate > Cross section

, to open the option window.

Set Section Type to Axis Aligned.

Put a check mark in Create Section Data to create section data. Remove the check mark to create NURBS geometry.

Select the surface(s) or mesh(es) on which you want to create cross sections. These can also be selected before entering the tool.

Press the Go button in the bottom right corner of your view window.

Purple cross sections appear on the geometry, corresponding to the parameters set in the option window.

Change the step size, range or other parameters in the option window if desired, and press Go to update the cross-sections.

See Evaluate > Cross section

for option details.

To create Picked Reference geometry cross sections

Choose Evaluate > Cross section

, to open the option window.

Set Section Type to Picked Reference.

Put a check mark in Create Section Data to create section data. Remove the check mark to create NURBS geometry.

Select the surface(s) or mesh(es) on which you want to create cross sections. These can also be selected before entering the tool.

Press the Go button in the bottom right corner of your view window.

Select the construction plane(s) and/or section data.

Press Go.

Cross sections appear on the geometry, where it intersects the selected planes/section data.

If creating section data cross sections, you can use Curve Edit > Sort sections to sort out your cross sections into different layers, according to the plane they lie in (X, Y, Z or Other).

To create Radial geometry cross sections

Choose Evaluate > Cross section

, to open the option window.

Set Section Type to Radial.

Put a check mark in Create Section Data to create section data. Remove the check mark to create NURBS geometry.

Select the surface(s) or mesh(es) on which you want to create cross sections. These can also be selected before entering the tool.

Press the Go button in the bottom right corner of your view window.

Select the driving curve(s). More than one curve can be selected if all curves are tangent continuous. Clicking a selected curve deselects it.

If Chain Select is turned on, you can select a group of tangent continuous curves all at once.

Use the Number of Planes slider in the option window to adjust the number of radial sections. The minimum is 2.

Small planes, equally spaced by arc length, are displayed on the curve(s), corresponding to the number of sections. The planes are perpendicular to the curve's tangent at each location.

Press Go.

Cross sections appear on the geometry, where it intersects the planes.

To use default cross sections from the Control Panel

Pick the surfaces on which you want to display/remove cross sections.

In the Cross Section Control options of the Modeling control panel, click the X, Y, or Z preset cross section groups in the list.

You can select more than one set of cross sections by clicking down while holding the Shift or Ctrl key.

Double-click the group's name to open the option window from where you can change the step size or range.

See Cross Section Control window for details.

These cross-sections apply to your entire Studio session.

To create and name a group of visual cross sections

Pick the surfaces on which you want to display/remove cross sections.

Click the New button in the Cross Section Control options of the Modeling control panel. From the pop-up menu choose Axis Aligned, Picked Reference, or Radial, depending on the type of cross-sections you want to create.

If you choose Picked Reference, you need to have some section data or construction plane already selected. If you choose Radial, you will be prompted to select a curve.

The cross section appear in green and the Cross Section Control window opens.

Delete the default name in the Name text field, and type in a new name. Hit Enter

The new name for the cross section group is displayed in the control panel.

These user-defined cross-sections can be applied to any surface(s) or meshe(s) and are saved with your model.

To change the visual cross section settings

You can only modify the settings for Axis Aligned cross sections. In the Cross Section Control window, do the following:

Click the X, Y and Z buttons of the axis along which you want the cross sections displayed or removed.

Control spacing between cross section lines along the X, Y and Z axes by entering different values in the Step fields. Increase line density by decreasing step values.

To create and change a deviation comb on a visual cross section

Click the Curvature ON/OFF checkbox in the Cross Section Control window so that a check mark appears.

The deviation combs appear in green on the model.

A Curvature Scale slider and Lock Curvature Scale checkbox appear in the Cross Section Control window.

Slide the Curvature Scale slider to scale the length of the curvature combs.

Click the Lock Curvature Scale checkbox to prevent any accidental modification of the curvature scale when using the global Comb Scale slider from the Control Panel. (See Control Panel > Curvature).

Curvature plots are not available on mesh cross sections.

Tip

You can control the accuracy of cross sections by setting the Tessellator option in the Diagnostic Shading section of the Control Panel. The Accurate setting will produce more accurate cross sections.

To show or hide curvature plots on existing visual cross sections

Pick a surface on which you have created cross sections.

Click the Curvature ON/OFF checkbox in the Cross Section Control window so that the check mark disappears.

Drag dynamic cross sections through surfaces

Drag cross sections through surfaces

Pick the surfaces or meshes you want to examine.

Choose Evaluate > Dynamic Section

A sectioning plane appears, at the geometric center of the object(s).

Set the Number of Planes (number of sections) and Step Size (spacing between sections) in the option box.

Use the manipulator to orient the sectioning plane (see below).

The sections appear as red lines and update as the plane is moved/rotated.

Do any of the following:

Use the manipulator to move the sectioning plane through the surfaces.

Select an existing construction plane to use as the base sectioning plane.

Press the Geom button to create free curves from the cross section(s).

Press the Create Planes button to create construction planes corresponding to the sectioning planes.

Press the Curvature On button to show a curvature comb plot on the section(s). To change the scale of the comb plot, adjust the Curvature Scale setting.

Turn on Visual Clip or Flip in the option box, to see only the part of the model in front or behind the sectioning plane.

Turn on Persistent Sections in the option box for the sections to remain visible after exiting the tool.

If creating true geometry cross sections with the Geom button, you can use Curve Edit > Sort sections to sort out your cross sections into different layers, according to the plane they lie in (X, Y, Z or Other). This grouping is useful for manipulating cross section data.

Drag a handle to move/rotate.

Click an arrow to change the center handle to the free move handle. Then drag the center handle to move the plane freely.

Click a sphere to change the center handle to the free rotate handle. Then drag the center handle to rotate the plane freely.

Remove persistent sections

If the Persistent Sections option was turned on, the sections will remain after exiting the tool.

Use the Clear button in the Cross Section tab of the Control Panel to remove them.

Check continuity between curves

Show the continuity between two curves

Choose Evaluate > Continuity > Curve continuity

Click the intersection of two curves.

If the curves are not positional (the distance between the curve endpoints is greater than the Maximum Gap Distance tolerance), AliasStudio draws a line between the endpoints and shows the distance.

If the curves are not tangent continuous, AliasStudio draws lines showing the tangents of each curve and shows the angle between the tangents.

You can drag left or right to change the length of the tangent lines (if your curves are not tangent continuous).

If the Curvature option is on, and the curves are tangent continuous, AliasStudio shows another locator pointing to the intersection, with the curvature deviation value.

What if...?

Create curves on surface from evaluation data

Create curves on surface from highlight data

Pick the surfaces.

Choose Evaluate > Surface Evaluate > Highlights

Click the Go button.

Use the manipulator to change the position and orientation of the light.

Set the following options in the option window:

The Number of Lights you want to create highlights from.

The Light Spacing (if there is more than one light) or the Light Width (if there is only one light).

Set the Subdivision option from 1 to 6. The higher the number, the more precise the result.

The curves on surface update as the light and option values are modified.

Click on additional surfaces to evaluate them, or deselect active surfaces.

Create curves on surface from curvature data

Pick the surfaces.

Choose Evaluate > Surface Evaluate > Curvature

Set the following options in the option window:

The Curvature Type.

The Curvature Value at which you want to create curves on surface. For example, enter 0 to create curves-on-surface along inflection lines.

Set the Subdivision option from 1 to 6. The higher the number, the more precise the result.

The curves on surface update as the option values are modified.

Click on additional surfaces to evaluate them, or deselect active surfaces.

Create curves on surface from contour data

Pick the surfaces.

Choose Evaluate > Surface Evaluate > Contour

Click the Go button.

Use the manipulator to change the position and orientation of the plane.

The curve on surface updates as the plane is modified.

Click on additional surfaces to evaluate them, or deselect active surfaces.

Create curves on surface from horizon data

Pick the surfaces.

Choose Evaluate > Surface Evaluate > Horizon

Click the Go button.

Use the manipulator to change the position of the horizon origin.

The curve on surface updates as the horizon is modified.

If the horizon you set does not cross the surfaces, the tool will not create any curves on surface

Click on additional surfaces to evaluate them, or deselect active surfaces.

Create curves on surface from parting line data

Pick the surfaces.

Choose Evaluate > Parting line

Click the Go button.

Use the manipulator to change the pull direction.

The curve on surface updates as the pull direction is modified.

Set the following options in the option window:

The Draft Angle.

Set the Subdivision option from 1 to 6. The higher the number, the more precise the result.

Click on additional surfaces to evaluate them, or deselect active surfaces.

Shade surfaces with color

Shade the picked surfaces with color

Click the

button in the Diagnostic Shading panel.

Shade the picked surfaces with random colors

Click the

button in the Diagnostic Shading panel.

This allows you to see the layout of adjacent surfaces more clearly.

Unshade the picked surfaces

Click the

button in the Diagnostic Shading panel.

Adjust the options of a shading mode

Click the small triangle at the bottom of the Diagnostic Shading panel.

When surfaces are partially transparent you can pick geometry "through" them. Open the options section of the Diagnostic Shading panel and turn up the Transparency setting.

Set the shaded color

Pick the surface or surfaces.

Click the small triangle at the bottom of the Diagnostic Shading panel to show the options.

Click the color swatch to show to color editor.

If you have picked objects, you will set the color of those objects. This only sets the color shown in this shading mode. It does not affect the rendered appearance (shader) of the objects.

If nothing is picked, you will set the color of all objects, even objects you have assigned custom colors to already. If you accidentally reset your colors, use Undo.

What if...?

If you have the dynamic modeling control panel option visible, the diagnostic shading panel is near the bottom.

To show the panel in a floating window, choose ObjectDisplay > Diagnostic shading

Shade a surface with a curvature or other map

Shade the picked surfaces with a curvature map

Click the

button in the Diagnostic Shading panel.

Click the small triangle at the bottom of the Diagnostic Shading panel to show the shading options.

Choose the type of curvature to show from the Curvature Evaluation Type menu.

What if...?

If you have the dynamic modeling control panel option visible, the diagnostic shading panel is near the bottom.

To show the panel in a floating window, choose ObjectDisplay > Diagnostic shading

Shade a surface with zebra stripes

Shade the picked surfaces with zebra stripes

Click the

button in the Diagnostic Shading panel.

Click the small triangle at the bottom of the Diagnostic Shading panel to show the shading options.

Do any of the following:

Choose the direction of the stripes (horizontal or vertical).

Use the Repeats slider to increase or decrease the number of stripes.

Normally the highlights are relative to the camera, so you can see them "roll" over the surface as you tumble. Turn on the Lock Texture option to lock the texture to the surface.

What if...?

If you have the dynamic modeling control panel option visible, the diagnostic shading panel is near the bottom.

To show the panel in a floating window, choose ObjectDisplay > Diagnostic shading

Show iso-angle lines on a surface

Create iso-angle display shading/lines

Pick the surfaces.

Choose Evaluate > IsoAngle

Choose whether to shade the surfaces and/or create lines.

Choose whether to show a single or multiple bands.

Use the manipulator to set the direction of projection.

If the manipulator is not visible, click the Show Manipulator button.

It is often helpful to use multiple bands as you position the manipulator to give you more feedback, then switch to fewer or a single band.

The iso-angle shader is now also available from the Diagnostic Shading Panel. Some option are provided in the panel. Others (such as number of bands and vector direction) must be accessed from the Evaluate > IsoAngle

option box.

What if...?

If you have the dynamic modeling control panel option visible, the diagnostic shading panel is near the bottom.

To show the panel in a floating window, choose ObjectDisplay > Diagnostic shading

Shade a surface with its draft angles

This shading mode shows you which parts of a surface are in-draft and out-of-draft for a specified pull vector and draft angle. In-draft points are shaded blue, out-of-draft points are shaded red. You can also display a tolerance region in pink.

Shade the picked surfaces with a draft angle map

Click the

button in the Diagnostic Shading panel.

Click the small triangle at the bottom of the Diagnostic Shading panel to show the shading options.

In the Type pop-up menu, choose Draft Angle.

Choose whether to specify the pull angle as a rotation (from the normal "up" direction) or as a vector, then enter the X, Y, and Z values.

If you want to use an existing vector or plane to specify the pull vector, pick it, then click the Update From Selection button. This automatically sets the X, Y, Z coordinates to the correct values in the panel.

Do any of the following:

Set the draft angle.

To show a tolerance region between in-draft and out-of-draft, set the tolerance angle.

Adjust the transparency of the shader.

You can create a curve-on-surface along the parting line using Evaluate > Parting line in the Palette.

See Create curves on surface from evaluation data

What if...?

If you have the dynamic modeling control panel option visible, the diagnostic shading panel is near the bottom.

To show the panel in a floating window, choose ObjectDisplay > Diagnostic shading

1. Use the Construction > Vector

tool to create a reference vector, and point it in the direction you want.

2. Pick the reference vector and click the Update From Selection button under the Draft Angle options in the Control Panel. (If you pick a plane instead, the direction perpendicular to the plane is used.)

Some manufacturing processes, like injection molding, need you to design molds. When a mold is used it is pulled away from the finished part along a pull direction.

Angle-to-pull is the angle between the surface tangent plane at a surface point and the pull vector. When the angle-to-pull is 0 degrees, the pull vector is parallel to the surface tangent plane at that point. When the angle-to-pull is 90 degrees, the pull vector is normal to the surface.

Most manufacturing processes require that the angle-to-pull for a molded surface be greater than some angle, for example 1 degree, or else the molded part will not separate from the mold. This angle is the draft angle.

When the angle-to-pull is less than the draft angle, the surface point is out-of-draft. When the angle-to-pull is more than the draft angle, the surface point is in-draft.

Check objects for modeling problems

Show a list of modeling problems

Choose Evaluate > Check model

In the Check Model Settings option window:

Choose whether to check only Surfaces, only Curves or Both.

Choose whether to check All objects, All Visible objects, or the picked (Active) objects.

Choose whether to list only objects with problems (Only Errors) or all objects.

Choose what types of problems or conditions you want to check for. See Evaluate > Check model

for more information on the different checks.

A special section called Product Data Quality contains checks that apply specifically to making a model compliant with the VDA-4955 and SASIG PDQ guidelines, so that it can be better handled by other packages such as Unigraphics, Catia, Pro/E, etc.

See Prepare a model for import into CAD systems

Click Check.

The resulting check data is displayed in a window organized as a table. Geometry that fails a given check will display a mark in the corresponding column.

See View the data in the report window

Check for duplicate curves or surfaces

Turn on the Duplicate Geometry option in the Check Model Settings option window.

Adjust the tolerance value in the text field next to the option check box. Geometry that is a duplicate of, or embedded into other geometry within this tolerance will be reported.

Click Check.

The report window displays two columns titled Embedded In and Duplicate Of to help you identify all the duplicates. The names of curves or surfaces that are duplicates of each other are all prefixed by the same number.

Check continuity between curves or surfaces

Turn on the Max. Gap Distance - G0, Tangent/Norm Angle - G1 or Curvature - G2 option in the Check Model Settings option window.

Tolerances for these continuity checks are found in the Tolerance : Continuity section of Preferences > Construction options .

For the G0 test to be successful, you must ensure that the Topology Distance tolerance (Tolerances:Topology section under Preferences > Construction options ) is larger than the Maximum Gap Distance.

Click Check.

The report window displays columns titled G0, G1 and G2 with marks indicating failure. If geometry fails the G0 test, higher continuity tests for G1 and G2 will not be performed. Similarly, if geometry fails the G1 test, continuity test for G2 will not be performed

In the viewing window, the boundaries that failed the continuity tests are shown as thick yellow lines with a letter identifying the type of discontinuity (P = positional, T = tangent, C = curvature).

The report parameters are tolerance values above which certain types of checks will not be executed.

Tangent/Norm Angle Limit: tangent angle value above which geometry will not be included in the G1 continuity check.

Curvature Limit: curvature deviation value above which geometry will not be included in the G2 continuity test.

Check consistency of orientation of surface normals

Turn on the Normal Consistency option in the Check Model Settings option window.

The Topology Distance tolerance (Tolerances:Topology section under Preferences > Construction options ) is used to determine which surfaces are topologically adjacent and should have their normals checked as a group.

Click Check.

The report window displays a column titled Flipped Normal to help you identify the surfaces with inconsistent normal directions. In the viewing window, the inconsistent normals are shown as white arrows.

Check for maximum degree

This check enables you to identify curves and surfaces that exceed a user-defined degree. The default value for maximum degree is 7.

In the Check Model Settings option window, set the Check option to Surfaces, Curves or Both.

Turn on the Maximum Degree option.

Adjust the value in the text field next to the option selection box. Curves and/or surfaces that have degree larger than this value will be reported.

Click Check.

The report window displays a column titled Degree which contains the degree of curves and/or surfaces that failed the test.

Check for minimum radius of curvature

This check enable you to identify surfaces (including trimmed surfaces) that exceed a user-defined curvature radius.

Turn on the Minimum Radius of Curvature option in the Check Model Settings option window.

Adjust the tolerance value in the text field next to the option check box. Surfaces that have a radius of curvature smaller than this value (in any direction) will be reported.

Click Check.

The report window displays a column titled Min Radius of Curv which contains the minimum radius found on surfaces that failed the test.

Check for surface or planar curve waviness

This check enables you to identify surfaces or planar curves that have more than a certain number of inflections (change in curvature sign) per span (1 is the default) or over their entire length or width (3 is the default).

Turn on the Surface or Planar Curve Waviness option in the Check Model Settings option window.

Specify your criteria for waviness by changing the value next to the checkbox. This value represents the total number of inflections allowed over the length (or width) of the planar curve or surface for it to pass the test.

If the Allowed Inflections Per Span option is turned on, you can adjust the corresponding value to add an extra waviness criterion. The check will fail if the planar curve or surface has more than the given number of inflections per span, or more than the given number of inflections overall (as specified in step 2).

Click Check.

The report window displays a column titled Waviness with marks indicating failure.

Check for short edges

This check enables you to identify curves and surface boundaries that are shorter than a user-defined value. This helps find geometry that may be problematic when used in certain operations, or may not be recognized as valid geometry in downstream CAD systems.

In the Check Model Settings option window, set the Check option to Surfaces, Curves or Both.

Verify that the Short Edges option is turned on.

Adjust the value in the text field next to the option selection box. Curves that are shorter than this value and/or surface that have boundaries shorter than this value will be reported.

Click Check.

The report window displays a column titled Short Edges which contains the number of short edges on geometry that failed the test.

Check for non-planar curves

This check enables you to identify curves that are not planar. In the Check Model Settings option window, set the Check option to Curves or Both.

Turn on the Non-Planar Curves option.

Click Check.

The report window displays a column titled Non-Planar Curve with marks indicating failure for the objects listed in the left-hand column.

Check for indistinct knots or tiny spans

This check enables you to identify curves and surfaces whose interior span/isoparm configuration (distance between adjacent isoparametric curves) results in knots being too close (indistinct knots), or in the segment or patch size being too small (tiny spans).

The indistinct knot criterion is violated if two adjacent knots are non-multiple (not exactly equal), but within a user supplied tolerance in the curve or surface parameter space.

Multiple knots do not violate this criterion - a separate check already exists for finding curves and surfaces with multiple knots.

The tiny span criterion for the minimal size of NURBS segments is violated if the segment length (or the length of both opposing patch segments for surfaces) is smaller than a user supplied distance tolerance.