ObjectDisplay > Diagnostic Shading

Diagnostic Shading

Mesh display density
Tolerance: Controls how accurately surfaces are tessellated when Tessellator is Fast. The slider range is 0.0001 to 1.0. The default value is 0.1.

The same tolerance value is found in the option window of WindowDisplay > Hardware Shade.
Tessellator: Fast – Tessellates more quickly and less accurately.

Accurate – Tessellates more accurately and more slowly.

The same option is used in the option window of WindowDisplay > Hardware Shade.

Multi Color and Random Color options

Show Orientation: When this option is checked, components of surfaces or meshes that have reversed normals are shaded in yellow.

(This option is only available in Multi Color mode.)
Color: Click the color swatch to set the color, or drag the slider to change the color’s brightness. (This option is only available in multi color mode.)
Color Saturation: Set the common saturation (the “vividness” of the color) for the random colors.
Specularity: Set the “shininess” of the surfaces.
Transparency: Set the transparency of the shaded surfaces, from 0.0 (totally opaque) to 1.0 (totally transparent).
Light Intensity: Set the brightness of the light source.
Highlights: When set to Fast, the highlights are calculated more quickly and less accurately. When set to Accurate, the highlights are calculated more accurately, but more slowly.

This option is only available in Multi Color mode.
Lock Light Position: Normally the light source for the shading comes from the camera (like a headlight). Turn this option on to lock the light source in its current position.

The following options apply to Multi Color mode only.

Reflections: If this is checked, the following Reflections options are displayed.
Scene: Choose a reflection map by clicking Scene for a drop-down menu. The choices are Showroom, Hall, Evaluation, Diffuse, and Abstract.

Scene imagery by CGI Backgrounds: http://www.cgibackgrounds.com/.
Reflectivity: Use this slider to control how much your model reflects the scene.

Curvature evaluation map options

This mode shows a curvature map.

Note

This option is not available for all Alias products.

Control the type of shading with the following options:

Curvature Evaluation Type: Choose how to calculate the curvature:

Crv V, Crv U – Display the curvature in the surface’s V or U parameter direction at each point.

Crv Z, Crv Y, Crv X – Display the curvature in the Z, Y, or X direction at each point.

Mean – Use the average of the two principal curvatures to approximate the average curvature through each point.

Gaussian – Use the product of the two principal curvatures.

Princ Min – Use the minimum curvature values (that is, the curvature of the flattest curves that pass through each point).

Princ Max – Use the maximum curvature values (that is, the curvature of the steepest curves that pass through each point).

Crv V, Crv U, Crv Z, Crv Y, Crv X, Mean, Gaussian, Princ Min, and Princ Max types of evaluation

The following options are available for the Crv V, Crv U, Crv Z, Crv Y, Crv X, Mean, Gaussian, Princ Min, and Princ Max surface evaluation types:

Curvature Color Scale: Scales the radius ramp to show finer details of curvature variation.

This option is not available when Min. Radius Limit or Max. Radius Limit are turned on (see below).
Radius Ramp: Shows the range of colors that will be applied to the curvature map (and their corresponding curvature radius values) in the active modeling window.

If the +/- band is set to 0.0, the curvature map is relative, and the ramp colors, from left to right, represent increasing curvature values. (The colors are not associated to specific values.)

If you adjust the Curvature Color Scale value, the radius ramp updates.
Min. Radius Limit: Surface regions having a radius less than the Min. Radius Limit value are indicated by one color, and surface regions having a radius greater than the Min. Radius Limit value are indicated by a different color.

This option is only available for the Princ Max evaluation type.
Max. Radius Limit: Surface regions having a radius larger than the Max. Radius Limit value are indicated by one color, and surface regions having a radius less than the Max. Radius Limit value are indicated by a different color.

This option is only available for the Princ Min evaluation type.
Transparency: Sets the transparency of the shaded surfaces, from 0.0 (totally opaque) to 1.0 (totally transparent).

Iso-Angle highlight options

This mode shows iso-angle lines on surfaces to help you visually evaluate continuity across surface boundaries.

Single, Multiple: Controls whether a single black and white iso-angle line is displayed (Single) or multiple colored iso-angle lines are displayed (Multiple).
Blur: The blurriness of iso-angle line edges.
Transparency: The transparency of surfaces with iso-angle lines.

Horizontal/vertical zebra stripe options

This mode shows horizontal or vertical highlights on the surface.

Note

Highlighting helps you find surface flaws by using a color texture to simulate natural highlights. It maps a color pattern onto a surface based on the angle (from 90 to -90 degrees) at which a viewing ray hits the surface.

Note

A common use for highlighting is to identify adjacent surfaces with mismatched tangents. (You can also use Surface continuity for this, but highlighting gives you a clearer view of the surfaces.) Also note that not all Alias packages include the highlighting features.

Vert., Horz.: Sets the highlights to be vertical or horizontal.
Lock Texture: Normally the highlights are projected from the camera, so the projection changes as you move around the surface. (This is the unlocked mode.) You can turn this option on so that the texture remains locked relative to the surface.
Repeats: Sets the rate at which the texture repeats. Increasing this number will increase the number of highlight lines on the surfaces.
Transparency: Sets the transparency of the shaded surfaces, from 0.0 (totally opaque) to 1.0 (totally transparent).

Surface Evaluation options

This mode lets you choose between Draft Angle, Deviation Map, or Contact Analysis shading types.

Draft Angle Evaluation

Some manufacturing processes, like injection molding, need you to design molds. A section of a mold only moves in a certain direction during removal. This direction is the pull vector.

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 lies 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.

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, while out-of-draft points are shaded red. You can also display a tolerance region in pink.

Use one of the tools from the Evaluate > Surface evaluate menu to get an accurate curve-on-surface for the parting line. To see the changes made from the Surface evaluate tool on the draft map, click the surface evaluate shading button again.

Show pull direction as: Rotation – Displays values (that you can edit) for the X, Y, and Z rotation of a vector that defines the pull direction.

Vector – Displays values (that you can edit) for the X, Y, and Z coordinates of a vector that defines the pull direction.
Update From Selection: Click this button to set the pull direction to be that of an already selected (picked) vector or plane. In the case of a plane, the direction perpendicular to the plane is used.

The X, Y, Z fields are automatically set to the coordinates of the picked vector.
Draft Angle: Angle defining the boundary between in-draft (blue) and out-of-draft (red).
Tolerance: Displays a pink tolerance region between the in-draft and out-of-draft regions. The Tolerance value represents an angle measured in degrees. If the Tolerance value is 0, no tolerance region is displayed.
Transparency: Sets the transparency of the shaded surfaces, from 0.0 (totally opaque) to 1.0 (totally transparent).

Deviation Map Evaluation

If you have scanned an object, and are trying to match the scan data with your NURBS surfaces, the Deviation Map mode lets you know where the two objects deviate. It calculates the distance between a set of meshes and a set of NURBS surfaces, and displays it as a color-coded map, for a quick assessment of the gap’s severity.

Deviation Map can also show the deviation between two sets of surfaces, or two sets of meshes.

This mode acts as a toggle. It only displays the shading once it has been calculated once through the use of Evaluate > Deviation Map.

Transparency: Sets the transparency of the shaded surfaces or meshes, from 0.0 (totally opaque) to 1.0 (totally transparent).

Contact Analysis Evaluation

This type of surface evaluation provides you with an ability to analyse the safety of a model. It is especially useful with car interior surface design work.

Equally capable of working with meshes and NURBS surfaces, this shading mode enables you to examine a collection of surfaces for potential impact points with a head (represented by a sphere).

The tool internally creates a sphere, to judge where the head could contact the surface model. For example, some spaces, like between the steering wheel and the dash board, are too small for the head to fit into. Only the areas where a head can actually fit in the case of an accident are examined for sharpness and safety issues.

Before analyzing the model, ensure that normals are unified. If they point in different directions, results will be unreliable.

This mode acts as a toggle. It only displays the shading once it has been calculated once through the use of Evaluate > Contact Analysis.

User-defined texture options

This mode shows a user-defined texture reflected on the picked surfaces. You can use one of the two default textures, or load one of your own.

Map Type: Showroom – Shows a texture map with a showroom reflection.

Photo-Horizon – Shows a texture map with a photo-horizon reflection.

Diffuse – Shows a texture map with a diffuse reflection.

Shade-Sky – Shows a texture map with the reflection of the sky.

Double-horizon – Shows a texture map with a double-horizon image.

User defined – Choose your own reflected texture.
Lock Texture: Normally the highlights are projected from the camera, so the projection changes as you move around the surface. (This is the unlocked mode.) You can turn this option on so that the texture remains locked relative to the surface.
Repeats: Sets the rate at which the texture repeats. Increasing this number will increase the number of highlight lines on the surfaces.
Transparency: Sets the transparency of the shaded surfaces, from 0.0 (totally opaque) to 1.0 (totally transparent).
Change texture to: Enter the name of a texture file to use instead of the default horizon or sky texture. You can use Alias PIX, SGI’s RGB, TIF and various other image file formats. (The GIF and JPEG file formats are not supported.)

Click the arrow button to choose the texture from a file requester.