17.

0 Release

Module 03: Repairing Geometry

Introduction to ANSYS SpaceClaim Direct Modeler

1 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. February 14, 2018

 Overview

In this module we will learn about:

• Importing Geometry in SpaceClaim Direct Modeler (SCDM)
• Need for repair
• Common issues found in geometry
• Fix Issues One-by-One Vs All-at-Once
• Specialized tools for repair
• Handling STL Geometry

2 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. February 14, 2018

 Overall Process
FEA Modeling
Module 4
Creating
Geometry
Module 2
Core
Skills CFD Modeling
Module 1 Repairing Module 5
Geometry
Module 3

SCDM to
Workbench
Module 6

3 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. February 14, 2018

 Importing Geometry (1)
Two Import Options
Open CAD file in new session Insert CAD file to existing session

4 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. February 14, 2018

 File Formats
Importing Geometry (2)

Supported Files
• Supports import from major CAD packages (CATIA, Pro/E, NX,
Solid Works, etc.)
– Separate license not required
• Neutral file formats like STEP and Parasolid are also
supported
• Additional license are required for
– Faceted Data Toolkit
– JT Exchange
– 3D PDF
• Bi-directional Attach mode with other CAD software is not
supported
– Needs a manual export from Spaceclaim into a format
readable in the desired CAD software

5 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. February 14, 2018

 Importing Geometry (3)
SpaceClaim Options
Import Options
• There are advanced options available under SpaceClaim
Options tab in File Menu
– Useful for optimizing the importing and exporting
process for your needs
• Several translation methods available to enable data
exchange with CAD/CAE systems
– Direct Integration/CAD Readers
– Import of generic CAD formats (IGES, ACIS etc)
• Parameters, Named Selections, and Attributes can not be
passed from CAD to SpaceClaim as SpaceClaim uses reader
mode for all CAD files.
• Enclosure and Symmetry Processing is not available
• Work points (construction points) are not transferred

6 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. February 14, 2018

 Why the Need for Repair?

• Translation can:
– Return incomplete, corrupt, or disconnected
geometry
• Requires repair CAD Import
– Return geometry details unnecessary for CAE & Clean-up
analysis
• Requires defeaturing
• These issues must be fixed to
– Create watertight fluid bodies
– Prevent meshing issues

7 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. February 14, 2018

 Common Issues Found in Geometry (1)
Missing Faces Free Faces Small Faces

• Many potential issues

̶ Missing faces
̶ Small faces
̶ Free faces
̶ Sharp angles
Small Edges Sharp Angles Hard Edges
̶ Overdetailed features
̶ Hard edges
̶ Small edges
̶ Others …

These problems can be fixed

using several tools available
under "Repair" menu

8 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. February 14, 2018

 Common Issues Found in Geometry (2)

• Stitch
̶ The Stitch tool combines surface
part faces that are touching at
their edges
• Tool Guides Options
Selects the location to repair one-
by-one
Select and add locations to auto
selection
Removes the location from
selection
Repair all locations at a time

9 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. February 14, 2018

 Common Issues Found in Geometry (3)
• Gaps
‒ The Gaps tool removes gaps
between faces
‒ Use the controls in the Navigate
ribbon group to view each
problem one at a time before you
fix it

‒ Click “Next” or “Previous” to step

through and highlight each
identified problem
‒ Select “Zoom to Fit” if you want to
automatically zoom in on the
problem
10 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. February 14, 2018
 Common Issues Found in Geometry (4)

• Missing Faces
– This tool automatically detects and fills
missing faces of an object
– This can fill the missing faces all-by-one
or one-by-one
– Find Options
• Set criteria for auto problem selections
– Fix Options
• Different approaches to fill the missing
faces

11 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. February 14, 2018

 Common Issues Found in Geometry (5)

• Split Edges
‒ The Split Edges tool detects and merges
coincident edges that do not mark the
boundaries of new faces

• Extra Edges
‒ The Extra Edges tool works like Merge
Faces but removes the edges between the
faces
‒ Merging faces simplifies the model by
removing edges and makes the model
more difficult to modify

12 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. February 14, 2018

 Common Issues Found in Geometry (6)

• Merge Faces
‒ The Merge Faces tool replaces two or more
neighboring faces with a single new face
that closely fits the original faces

• Small Faces
‒ The Small Faces tool detects and removes
small and sliver faces

13 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. February 14, 2018

 Fix Issues One-by-One Vs All-at-Once

• SCDM allows fixing issues found at all locations at the same time
• This is useful when repairing large models
• But while fixing it may create invalid patches (surfaces) in the
geometry
• It is advisable to double-check the locations fixed by automatic
operations
• Check Geometry tool can be effectively used to validate the fixes

14 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. February 14, 2018

 Specialized Tools (1)

• Actual designs created have lot of

features which are unnecessary for CAE
analysis Rounds Interference
• These features can be simplified using
several Remove tools available under
Prepare tab
• Specialized tools are used to remove
features
Faces Short Edges
– Rounds
– Interferences
– Faces
– Short Edges

15 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. February 14, 2018

 Specialized Tools (2)

• Rounds
‒ It is similar to the Fill tool, except it
only selects rounded edges
‒ You will have a greater chance of
success if you remove only a few
rounds at a time

• Faces
– The Faces tool allows you to quickly
remove faces from your design. Use it
to simplify your design by removing
holes, protrusions, etc.

16 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. February 14, 2018

 Specialized Tools (3)

• Split and partially remove a round:

– When a chain of rounds cannot be filled in
its entirety, the rounds will be partially
removed
– Click on the edge to split the rounded face
– From the Fix Options panel, change the Cap
width option to adjust the percentage of Use “Faces” tool to remove
the round face that is removed remaining part of fillets

17 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. February 14, 2018

 Specialized Tools (4)

• Interference
‒ The tool searches all visible bodies
for interference
‒ The interference is removed from
the body with the largest volume

• Short Edges
– This removes the small edges
coincident with boundary edges
– It connects the two vertices of the
short edge to eliminate it

18 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. February 14, 2018

 Convert STL Mesh to Geometry (1)

• STL Import Options

‒ Similar to other CAD formats, STL import can be
optimized through SpaceClaim Options tab
• Import as:
̶ Connected mesh: Create a lightweight mesh with full
connectivity information between facets
̶ Simple mesh: Create a lightweight mesh with no
connectivity information between facets
̶ Solid/surface body: Convert STL triangles into full
geometry
• Check the Merge faces checkbox to seamlessly
merge one or more faces

19 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. February 14, 2018

 Convert STL Mesh to Geometry (2) Merge Faces

• Converting to CAD
‒ You can convert mesh files into CAD
‒ Options are available if you right click on object in
Graphics or Structure Tree
‒ Options are available to convert by merging the faces
or without merging them

Do Not Merge Faces

20 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. February 14, 2018

 Convert STL Mesh to Geometry (3)

• Extract Curves
̶ Creates curves at the intersection of object
cross-sections and planes

21 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. February 14, 2018

 Convert STL Mesh to Geometry (4)
• Skin Surfaces (new in R17.0)
̶ Helps to reverse-engineer a surface model
From faceted data
1. Single-click on the mesh where you want to start the sketch
2. Single-click to create internal edge points
3. Double-click to end the edge and create a corner
4. Continue creating edges and corners and close the shape by single-clicking on the start point
5. Hit the escape key to remove the current sketch. Click Complete to create the surface

1 2 3 4 5

Note: You can edit a sketch by dragging a corner or by adding or dragging a control point

22 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. February 14, 2018

 Convert STL Mesh to Geometry (5)

• Skin Surfaces Options

The value entered determines the

Samples number of Control Points on the Control
Curves for the surface. Check the Full
Preview option to change the value
The Smooth option uses an algorithm to
Smooth smooth out the 'noise' in the surface. The
noise comes from the underlying facets
and leads to a 'bumpy' surface
Full Preview Helps to control the number of sample
points used in the surface

23 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. February 14, 2018

 Convert STL Mesh to Geometry (6)

• Skin Surfaces Tool Guides

The Select Boundary sketch surfaces patch boundaries on the
facets
The Select Geometry tool guide helps to choose planes or existing
patch edges to create boundary loops for surface patches

• Using box-select
We can simply box-select the area where we want the sketch
Control points are automatically added in areas with curvature

24 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. February 14, 2018

 Convert STL Mesh to Geometry (7)

• Periodic Surfaces
Use the Select Geometry tool guide to select planes and create sections

The tool displays preview for the closest loop. If there are
multiple loops created. You can explicitly select a different
loop if the default that is chosen is not the one you want.

25 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. February 14, 2018

 Convert STL Mesh to Geometry (8)

• Periodic Surfaces
Periodic surfaces can also be conical

Create a periodic edge on the section Click on the apex of the cone to preview the surface

26 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. February 14, 2018

 Convert STL Mesh to Geometry (9)
If you have the Faceted Data Toolkit extra license, please consult the Appendix 4.1

27 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. February 14, 2018

 Summary

What have we learnt in this session?

• How can we import a geometry in SpaceClaim Direct Modeler?
• Why do we need to repair the geometry?
• What are the common issues found in geometry?
• What are the tools to repair these issues in SCDM?
• How can we handle STL geometry in SCDM?

28 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. February 14, 2018

 Workshop 3.1 Repairing Geometry

29 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. February 14, 2018

 Videos available (look for separate directory)

Module3_Basic_Import_Repair.mp4 Module3_Defeaturing.mp4 Module3_STL_Repair.mp4

Demo of Import and Demo of Defeaturing Demo of STL Repair

Repair (09:13) (10:11) (16:24)

Module3_Repair.mp4

Demo of Repair (08:50)

30 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. February 14, 2018

 17.0 Release

Appendix: Handling STL Geometry

Introduction to ANSYS SpaceClaim Direct Modeler

31 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. February 14, 2018

 Handling STL Geometry (1)
If you have the Faceted Data Toolkit extra license, you should tick STL Prep option in
File/SpaceClaim Options/License

32 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. February 14, 2018

 Handling STL Geometry (2)

• Issues with STL data

̶ Intersections Intersection Non-manifold Holes Sharps
̶ Non-manifold/ Over
connected
̶ Holes/Gaps
̶ Sharp Features
• There are various tools
available under Facets
menu to fix the issues
related to STL data

33 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. February 14, 2018

 Handling STL Geometry (3)

• Check Mesh
‒ Use the Check Mesh tool to list
problems with the Mesh such as
• Intersection
• Non-manifold connection
• Multiple faces
• Holes

34 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. February 14, 2018

 Handling STL Geometry (4)

• Auto Fix
– Use the Auto Fix tool to automatically search
for, and fix, any mesh defects
– The Auto Fix tool performs the following
sequence:
1. Fix self-intersections
2. Close holes • Auto Fix uses straight faces
3. Recheck for self-intersections to fill the holes irrespective
4. Fix self-intersections of the shape of the geometry
5. Remove void shells
• It is advised to double-check
the problems fixed by Auto
Fix

35 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. February 14, 2018

 Handling STL Geometry (5)

• Intersections
– Use the Intersections tool to highlight
& fix the areas of self-intersection
– The model is also made transparent if
any intersections are found

36 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. February 14, 2018

 Handling STL Geometry (6) Use “Faces” tool to remove
remaining part of fillets

• Holes
– You can find and fix holes using the
Holes tool
– It works like other Find-and-Fix tools
in the Repair tab

• Options- Find/Fix Patch

Cap

37 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. February 14, 2018

 Handling STL Geometry (7)

• Fix Sharps
– Meshes may contain sharp spikes that need
to be flattened
• Option- Find/Fix
This applies to the angle between normals
of facets that share an edge
This applies to the angle between normals
of any two facets that share a vertex
Convexity options specify which type of
sharps to look for

38 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. February 14, 2018

 Handling STL Geometry (8)

• Over-connected/Non-manifold
– The multiple connected faces are highlighted
– If the problems are not fixed by the tools, then
delete all the faces in local area and use fill holes
option to recreate the patch

39 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. February 14, 2018

 Handling STL Geometry (9)
• Shrinkwrap (new in R17.0)
– Some faceted models contain gaps that will cause problems for 3D Printing. For example, assemblies have
multiple parts fastened together but there are small gaps between the component parts. The Shrinkwrap
tool allows you to create a single, faceted model by closing gaps that can be sent to a 3D printer
The foot model used in this example has small gaps
between the bones of the foot

• Options Panel
Gap size: Maximum distance between meshes that will be considered a gap

Keep original bodies: When checked ON, the original faceted bodies will NOT be
removed after the Shrinkwrap is created

Preserve features: When checked ON, you need to set an Angle threshold

Angle Threshold: Angle, in degrees, that determines the smoothness of the shrinkwrap

40 © 2016 ANSYS, Inc. February 14, 2018