To create a surface region
To create a region of a surface for different material, thickness, or loadings, use the following procedure.
A surface region is a polygonal area of a surface which varies in one or more of the following ways:
- material properties
- thickness
- loading
Regions must meet the following criteria:
- regions must be flat (i.e., the nodes must be coplanar)
- regions must be contained entirely within a single surface and must have a "parent" surface assigned (this is done automatically when they are drawn graphically)
- nodes (or different nodes with the same coordinates) may not be repeated in a single region's boundary
- circular openings may not cross or touch a region boundary
-
On the Model ribbon tab, select the Region tool in the Create group.
The tool is highlighted to indicate that it is active. The mouse pointer changes to an add surface cursor,
, and a blue
symbol
"snaps" to the nearest snap point.
- In the model view, click on the first corner of the surface region. A wireframe with one end anchored at the selection point and the other "rubber banded" to the pointer appears, representing the surface region edge connecting two corners.
- Click the subsequent corners to define the surface region, continuing in either a clockwise or counter-clockwise order. Click as many corners as needed, so long as no edge of the region crosses any previously defined edge (i.e., a regular polygon).
-
To close off the final surface region edge, either:
The surface region is rendered.
Double-click last corner
or
Click on the first corner a second time
- Repeat steps 2 through 5 to add as many more surface regions as needed.
-
To stop drawing surface regions, either:
select the Region tool again (or any other tool)
or
press <Esc>