New Angular Deviation tool
 
 
 

This new tool, found under Locators > Deviation > Angular Deviation, lets you check for G1 (tangent) continuity between surfaces, regardless of whether or not positional continuity has been achieved.

  1. Choose Locators > Deviation > Angular Deviation
  2. Select the boundaries between two sets of surfaces by clicking them (the pick chooser may appear), or box-selecting them. All the surfaces in a set must be connected. Additionally, if they are tangent continuous, they can be selected all at once by turning on Chain Select.
    NoteYou can select surface edges, trim edges, and surface curves.
  3. Click Accept.

    A G1 locator is displayed, showing a green T if tangent continuity is achieved, or a yellow T if it is not. You can also display the maximum angular deviation and/or a comb between the surfaces. The tool's options are similar to those of Evaluate > Continuity > Surface Continuity.

Angular Deviation Options

Check Spacing By

Arc Length - Check the continuity at equally spaced points along the surfaces, determined by the Distance Between Checks option.

# Per Span - Check the continuity at a number of points in each span equal to the value of the Number Per Span option.

Using the middle mouse button also lets you interactively change the number of check points.

Show Max. Labels

If this option is checked, points of maximum tangency angle are shown. These labels only appear if part of the boundary has tangent discontinuities that are out of tolerance.

Show Edge Labels

If this option is checked, indicators (labelled "T") showing areas of discontinuities are initially displayed along the boundaries. Red symbols indicate areas of maximum discontinuity. Blue symbols indicate areas of minimum discontinuity.

Show Comb

If this option is checked, comb lines are displayed for tangency breaks.

Auto Scale

This option only appears if Show Comb is on. When Auto Scale is checked (default), the scale of the deviation combs is automatically calculated to be proportional to the size of the object.

When this option is unchecked, a Comb Scale slider appears (see below).

Comb Scale
This slider allows you to set the scale of the comb at the time of creation. It is only available if Auto Scale is checked off.

Using the left mouse button also lets you interactively adjust the comb scale.

Chain Select

If this option is checked, selecting a surface curve also selects all other surface curves that are tangent continuous with it.

An example

Below are two sets of surfaces. The Surface Continuity tool shows that the longer surface fails to achieve positional continuity with its neighbors (top). The Angular Deviation tool can still be used to check tangent continuity and show angular deviation between those surfaces (bottom).