Browsers supply a great deal of view-related functionality by listing the parts of a model in a tabular and/or tree-based
format, and providing controls inside the table that allow you to alter the display of model parts.
A surface represents the geometry associated with a physical part. A surface is a two-dimensional geometric entity that
may be used in automatic mesh generation.
Solids are closed volume of surfaces that can take any shape. Solids are three-dimensional entities that can be used in
automatic tetra and solid meshing.
A face is a single Non-uniform Rational B-Spline (NURBS) and is the smallest area entity. It has a separate underlying
mathematical definition, specified when it was created.
FE geometry is topology on top of mesh, meaning CAD and mesh exist as a single entity. The purpose of FE geometry
is to add vertices, edges, surfaces, and solids on FE models which have no CAD geometry.
Tools and workflows that are dedicated to rapidly creating new parts for specific use cases, or amending existing
parts. The current capabilities are focused on stiffening parts.
Use the Offset tool to offset surfaces, solids, or
lines.
Note: This functionality is not supported for FE geometry.
From the Geometry ribbon, click the Offset tool.
Figure 1.
Set the guide bar selector to
Lines, Surfaces, or
Solids.
Option
Description
Lines
Select free lines to offset.
Click on the guide bar and define the following options:
Create in
Choose a method for organizing the resulting
lines.
current component
Organize new lines in the current
component.
surf component
Organize new lines in the same component to
which the selected lines belong. The result is
unpredictable if lines from different components
are used as input.
Link type
Choose how the offset is generated when there is
a discontinuity (other than 180 degrees) in the
direction of the curvature of the input line list,
that is, when input lines do not connect with each
other.
interpolate
Interpolate the offset direction on both sides
of the discontinuity to allow a smooth transition.
In this case, along the interpolation region, the
offset direction will be different than the
curvature direction. Amplified fluctuations, which
would occur in the offset because of small ripples
in the input curve, are smoothed out with this
option. Figure 2.
insert link
Insert a straight line segment as a link
between the offset of input lines, if there is a
jump in offset direction at points where the input
lines meet.Figure 3.
no link
Do not insert a link if there is a jump in
offset direction at points where input lines meet.
In this case, the offset lines may become
disconnected.Figure 4.
Enter an offset distance in the microdialog. Use the icons to toggle between
a uniform offset or a linear offset based on a start and end
value.
Optionally, you can choose to switch the starting point of the
line list or delete the original lines after offsetting.
The
start of the line list is indicated by a red arrow at the
end of the chain.
Note:
Closed lines are treated as if they were not closed so
that the offset creates open lines.
Successive offsets (4-5 offsets, one after other) or
very large offset values of some lines become sensitive
to approximation errors or invisible fluctuations in the
line.
Surfaces and Solids
Select surfaces or solids to offset.
If desired, click on the guide bar to preserve the connection between
adjacent surfaces after offsetting. For surfaces, you also have
the option to define separator lines.
Click-and-drag to offset or enter a value in the microdialog.
Note: The topology of the surface edges (free,
shared edges, and so on) is maintained during the offset
function. Some individual surfaces will be trimmed or extended
to maintain the connectivity.
On the guide bar, click one of the following:
- Apply and stay in the tool
- Apply and close the tool
- Exit the tool without applying
Tip: Offset geometry in the opposite normal direction by entering a negative
offset value.