►Coreform Cubit™ Reference Manual
▼3 Controlling The Application
►3.2 Graphical User Interface
On this page:
3.2.1 Coreform Cubit™ Application Window
3.2.2 Command Panels
3.2.2.1 Command Panel Functionality
3.2.3 Drop Down Menus
3.2.4 Options Menu
3.2.5 Undo Button
3.2.5.1 Limitations
3.2.6 Graphics Window
3.2.6.1 Viewing Curve Valence
3.2.6.2 Selecting Entities in the GUI
3.2.6.3 Key Press Commands for the GUI
3.2.6.4 Right Click Commands for the GUI Graphics Window
3.2.6.5 View Navigation in the GUI
3.2.7 Tree View
3.2.7.1 Model Tree
3.2.7.2 Power Tools
3.2.7.3 Geometry Power Tools
3.2.7.4 Meshing Tools
3.2.7.5 Mesh Quality Tools
3.2.8 Command Line Workspace
3.2.9 Journal File Editor
3.2.10 Property Page
3.2.11 Toolbars
2022.4-rc+26694-a523fbbc Apr 29, 2022
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3.2 Graphical User Interface

The graphical user interface (GUI) can improve user productivity. It provides an easy way to control Cubit without learning command syntax. Many geometry commands are faster and easier with the GUI. The underlying GUI components are constructed using a cross-platform development environment. As such, the GUI will behave similarly across all platforms supported by Cubit, yet each GUI will make use of platform specific widgets. The GUI is built on top of the Cubit command line. This means that GUI actions are translated to a Cubit command-line string and journaled. Users familiar with command-line syntax can enter the same text in the GUI command-line window. Journal files can be created and played back in both environments with the same results. Although many things are faster and easier in the GUI, experienced users often use a combination of command line text and GUI button operations. The discussion of the Graphical User Interface and its features is based on the basic windows contained within the Cubit GUI Application Window. These are outlined in the subtopics listed above.

3.2.1 Coreform Cubit™ Application Window

The default Coreform Cubit Application Window is shown in the following image.

Figure 12: The Coreform Cubit Application Window

Graphics Window- The current model will be displayed here. Graphical picking and view transformations are done here.

Model Tree - Tree view of the models components, including geometry, materials, boundary conditions, and so forth.

Power Tools - Geometry analysis and repair tool, meshing tool, meshing quality tool, and ITEM Wizard.

Property Editor - The Property Editor lists attributes of the current entity selection. Most of these properties can be edited from the window.

Command Panel - Most Cubit commands are available through the command panels.

Command Line Workspace - The command line workspace contains both the Cubit command and error windows. The command window is used to enter Cubit commands and view the output. The error window is used to view Cubit errors.

Drop Down Menus - Standard file operations, Cubit setup and defaults, display modes, and other functionality is available in the pull-down menus.

Toolbars - The most commonly used features are available by clicking toolbar icons.

3.2.1.1 Context Sensitive Help in the GUI

The Graphical User Interface has a context-sensitive help system. To obtain help using a specific window or control panel, press F1 when the focus is in the desired window. It may be necessary to click inside a text box to switch focus to a particular window. If no context specific help is available, it will open the Cubit help documentation where you can search for a particular topic.

3.2.1.2 Customizing the Application Window

All windows in the Cubit Application can be Floated or Docked. In the default configuration, all windows are docked. When a window is docked the user can click on the area indicated below.

Figure 13: A docked window. Click and drag to float.

By dragging with the left mouse button held down, the window will be un-docked from the Application Window. Dragging the window to another location on the Application Window and releasing the mouse button will cause it to dock again in a new location. The bounding box of the window will automatically change to fit the dimensions of the window as it is dragged. Releasing the mouse button while the window is not near an edge will cause the window to Float. To stop the window from automatically docking, hold the CONTROL key down while dragging.

Figure 14: A Floating Window

When a window is floating, as shown in Figure 14, it is possible to dock it by clicking the title bar of the window and dragging it to its new docked location.

Double clicking on the title bar of an floating window will cause the window to redock in its last docked position.

3.2.2 Command Panels

The Command Panels provide a graphical means of accessing almost all of the Cubit functionality. The main Cubit Command Panel is divided into six modes. Each of these modes pertains to a major component of the Cubit application. To view information about each of the tools in the Control Panel select the help icon on each panel to access context specific help. From left-to-right, the command panel modes are:

  • Geometry Operations

  • Meshing Operations

  • Analysis Groups and Materials Operations

  • FEA Boundary Condition Operations

  • CFD Boundary Condition Operations

  • Post-meshing Launch Control

Figure 15: The Cubit Control Panel

A brief description of the functionality of the Control Panel window follows.

3.2.2.1 Command Panel Functionality

Use Tools/Options/Command Panels to control these options.

The Command Panel navigation hierarchy can be used in several different ways:

Figure 16:

  1. The Classic look includes rows of buttons with icons. The hierarchy is entity-based. Geometric, mesh, and other entity types are the focus of the hierarchy. A user navigates entity types then selects actions to perform on those entities.

  2. The default hierarchy is action-based. Actions such as create, modify, delete, mesh sizing, mesh, boolean, and so forth are the focus of the hierarchy. A user navigates to the action to be performed then selects an entity type on which to perform the action.

  3. Breadcrumb navigation is new in Cubit 2020.2. The breadcrumb navigation method will use the hierarchy chosen by the user but will present the options in a much more concise manner, freeing up valuable vertical space in the UI. The figures below show the Breadcrumb navigation method.

Figure 17:

Figure 18:

The Command Panel is arranged first by mode on the top row of buttons. Modes are arranged by task. All of the geometry related tasks, for instance, can be found under the Geometry mode. When a mode is selected, a second row of buttons becomes available, then a third. The second row of buttons shown depends on the selected mode.

Below is the command panel showing Geometry. Notice the second row shows actions, such as create, modify, transform, boolean, decomposing, and so forth. The third row shows geometry types. This hierarchy implies many geometry operation types are applicable to most entity types.

Figure 19:

Below is the command panel showing Mesh. Here, the second row shows the various entity types. The third row shows operations that can be performed on those entity types. This hierarchy implies mesh operations tends to be more specific (when compared to geometry operations) to a given mesh entity.

Figure 20:

In all cases, regardless of the button hierarchy, the user will finally be presented with a command panel. Shown is the command panel for creating lofted volume.

Figure 21:

All command panels are constructed similarly. Each panel represents one or more Cubit commands. Options are selected using check boxes, radio buttons, combo boxes, edit fields, and other standard GUI widgets. Each command panel includes an Apply button. Pressing the Apply button will generate a command to Cubit. Nothing happens until and unless the Apply button is pressed.

The edit fields are free form, which means the user may enter any valid string into the fields. Any string that is valid for the command line is valid for the command panel edit fields.

3.2.3 Drop Down Menus

The Cubit Drop-Down Menus, located at the top of the Cubit Application Window provide access to capabilities such as file management, checkpoints, display manipulation, journaling, system setup, component management, window management, and help.

3.2.3.1 Cubit (Mac Only)

This menu contains the Preferences dialog box, also called the Options dialog box on other platforms. It also contains the About Cubit menu and the Quit Cubit option. It is only available on Mac computers.

3.2.3.2 File

This menu provides common file operations, including importing and exporting of geometry and meshimport and export. A list of recently saved or imported files is also provided, allowing a quick way to import current or recent work. Non-Mac users can also exit and reset the program from this menu (These options are found under the Cubit tab for Mac Users).

3.2.3.3 Edit

This menu only provides a way to enable the Undo feature of the system. If Undo is enabled, one level of Undo is available to the user.

3.2.3.4 View

The View Menu lists all available toolbars and windows in the current Cubit session. Selecting a toolbar or window will make it visible. Deselecting a toolbar or window will hide it. You can also hide an undocked window or toolbar by clicking on the small "x" in the upper right corner. For more information on docking and undocking toolbars, see Cubit Application Window.}

3.2.3.5 Display

The Display Menu controls display options for the graphics window. These options are explained below:

  • View Point - Controls the camera view point. Choices are front, back, top, bottom, right, left and isometric views.

  • Render Mode - Controls visibility modes, including: wireframe, true hidden, hidden line, transparent, and shaded.

  • Geometry - Controls geometry visibility

  • Mesh - Controls mesh visibility

  • Graphics Composite - Controls the visibility of composited entities in the graphics window.

  • Refresh - Updates the graphics display

  • Background - Changes the background color

  • Zoom In - Enlarges the model in graphics window

  • Zoom Out -Shrinks the model in graphics window

  • Zoom To Fit - Enlarges or shrinks model in the graphics window so it fills the whole screen

  • Toggle Perspective - When this option is selected, the entities in the graphics display window are drawn in perspective mode.

  • Toggle Scale - Turns on or off a graphical scale that can be drawn in the graphics window to obtain a bearing on model or part sizes.

  • Toggle Clipping Plane - Turns on or off the graphics clipping plane

  • Toggle Clipping Plane Manipulation - Turns on or off manipulation of the graphics clipping plane

  • Show Curve Valence - Turns on or off the curve valence highlighting

3.2.3.6 Tools

The Tools Menu contains access to GUI-specific tools and options. These options are explained below.

  • Journal Editor - Opens journal file editor. The Journal Editor is used to write, edit, play, and save journal files. It can also be used to create and edit Python scripts. A built-in translator will convert between the two files types.

  • Play Journal File - Plays a specified journal file. You can browse through files and folders on your computer to select the journal file to play.

  • Options - Opens the Option dialog box. This dialog box controls all of the preferences for the GUI including display colors and widths, mouse settings, journal file options, mesh and geometry defaults, and general layout preferences. MAC users can find this menu under the Cubit tab.

  • Components - Opens the Components dialog box. This window is used to load and unload external and internal components.

3.2.3.7 Help
3.2.4 Options Menu

To change program preferences in the Graphical User Interface select: Tools > Options .

Mac users reach this dialog box by selecting the Cubit > Preferences menu.

3.2.4.1 Command Panels

This menu controls certain behaviors on all command panels.

3.2.4.2 Display Preferences

This menu controls entity display features for the graphics window which include the following:

3.2.4.3 General Preferences

This menu controls general program options including the following:

3.2.4.4 Geometry Defaults

This menu controls the geometry defaults.

The user can also change the default geometry engine to one of the following:

The faceting tolerance can also be controlled from this menu to change the way facets are drawn in the graphics window. The default file format may be set.

Mesh Auto Delete

3.2.4.5 History Preferences

This menu controls the input window history and journal file options. These include:

3.2.4.5.1 Cubit History Preferences
3.2.4.6 Label Defaults

This menu controls the geometry and mesh entity labels in the graphics window.

3.2.4.7 Layout Preferences

This menu option controls input window formatting and control panel docking options.

Also included in the layout preferences is a list of available windows with a checkbox to show/hide each window.

3.2.4.7.1 Cubit Layout Settings

This menu controls the layout of Cubit specific buttons and tabs on the GUI.

3.2.4.8 Mesh Defaults
3.2.4.9 Mouse Settings

This menu controls mouse button controls. Pressing the Emulate Command Line Settings button will cause all of the settings to simulate mouse controls in the command line version of Cubit. For a detailed description of mouse settings see the View Navigation-GUI page.

3.2.4.10 Post Meshing Settings

Control the behavior of the Post-Meshing button. The button is located at the right-hand side of the top-level command panel button bar.

Figure 22:

The very first time a user presses the button, the Post-Meshing Settings dialog will be displayed.

Figure 23:

The dialog includes three possible inputs:

3.2.4.11 Quality Defaults

This menu controls quality defaults for different quality metrics. For a description of the different quality metrics see the respective pages:

3.2.5 Undo Button

Cubit has an undo capability. To enable the Undo feature click on the Enable Undo button on the Toolbar.

Figure 24:

With undo enabled, click the undo button to reverse operations.

Figure 25:

Alternatively to turn undo on and off, the following command may be used in the command line:

undo {on|off}

The Undo capability is implemented for geometry and some meshing commands including webcutting, geometry creation, transformations, and booleans. The commands will be undone in reverse order of their execution.

3.2.5.1 Limitations
3.2.6 Graphics Window

3.2.6.1 Viewing Curve Valence

To view your model based on a color-coded curve valence scale, click on the curve valence button on the Display Toolbar. Curve valence refers to the number of surfaces attached to each curve. Curves with exactly two surfaces attached are shown in blue. Curves with exactly one surface are shown in red. Curves with more than two attached surfaces are shown in white.

Figure 26:

This tool is useful for quickly visualizing merged/unmerged topology. Merged curves will usually have a valence > 2, while unmerged curves typically have a valence of 2. Curves with a valence of 1 may indicate a floating surface.

3.2.6.2 Selecting Entities in the GUI

Geometry, mesh entities, boundary conditions, and boundary layers can be selected with the left mouse button directly in the graphics window. Before selecting any entity, however, the correct selection mode must be chosen. This dictates which entity types will be available for selection in the graphics window. The Select Toolbars, which are located above the graphics window by default, are used to change the entity selection modes.

Figure 27: The Selection Toolbar for Geometry and Mesh Entities

Figure 28: The Selection Toolbar for Boundary Conditions

Figures 1 and 2 shows the selection toolbars. Selecting one of the entity selection modes will only permit selection of that particular entity type within the graphics window. These selections will not override a Pick Widget in the command panel. If both volume and surface entities are picked on the select toolbar, a single click will select the surface while a double click will select the volume. More detailed information on selecting and specifying entities can be found in Entity Selection and Filtering .

3.2.6.2.1 Pre-Selection

When the mouse cursor is over an entity type that has been selected from the Pick toolbar, that entity will become highlighted. This is called pre-selection and is used as a graphical guide to show which entity will be picked when the mouse button is clicked. Graphics pre-selection may slow down your graphics speed for large models. You can disable pre-selection from the Tools->Options dialog box.

3.2.6.2.2 Polygon, Sphere, and Box Select

The polygon/box/sphere selection feature allows you to select entities by drawing a box, sphere or polygon on the screen. To draw a box or sphere on the screen press and hold the <CTRL> button* while clicking and dragging the left mouse button. Release the left mouse to complete the box or sphere select. To create a polygon selection, press and hold the <CTRL>* button while clicking and dragging the left mouse button. Click the left mouse button to create another side for the polygon. Press either of the other buttons to close the polygon and complete the selection. Only entities that are in active selection mode will be selected. To change between the polygon or box method, press the Toggle Between Polygon/Box/Sphere Select button on the Select Toolbar. Clicking the Toggle Selected Enclosed/Extended button will toggle between Enclosed Selection and Extended Selection. Enclosed selection will only select entities that are fully enclosed within the bounding box or polygon. Extended selection will select entities that are either fully OR partially enclosed within the bounding box. Toggling the the Select X-Ray will select entities that are hidden behind other entities. X-ray selection will only apply to smoothshade and hiddenline graphics modes. *Note: For Mac computers use the command (or apple) button for polygon or box select.

3.2.6.3 Key Press Commands for the GUI

Several commands have a key press shortcut. These commands will be executed with respect to the currently selected entities; see the following table:

Shortcut Key

Command

l

List information about the current entity to the output window.

i

Toggle the visibility of the selected entity.

e

Echo entity id to command line

TAB

Select the next entity.

SHIFT-TAB

Select the previous entity.

0

Toggle picking of vertices.

1

Toggle picking of curves.

2

Toggle picking of surfaces.

3

Toggle picking of volumes.

4

Toggle picking of groups.

SHIFT-0

Toggle picking of mesh nodes.

SHIFT-1

Toggle picking of mesh edges.

SHIFT-2

Toggle picking of mesh faces.

SHIFT-3

Toggle picking of mesh hexes.

F5

Refresh graphics window.

SHIFT-S

Activate/inactivate graphics clipping plane.

3.2.6.4 Right Click Commands for the GUI Graphics Window

Clicking the Right mouse button in the graphics window will bring up a menu. One of two menus will appear, depending on whether an entity is currently selected.

3.2.6.4.1 With Entity Selected

When an entity is selected, the options available will depend upon the type of entity selected. The following describes the menu options and when they are available.

3.2.6.4.1.1 Entity Selections

Menu Option

Description

Entity Type(s)

Select Other...

Brings up a dialog with alternate entity selections

All

Select Similar Volume

Selects other volumes with the same geometric volume and number of surfaces

Volumes

Select Similar Surface

Selects other surfaces with the same area and number of curves

Surfaces

Select Blend Chain

Selects other surfaces in the same blend chain that have the same radius of curvature

Blend surfaces

Select Cavity

Selects other surfaces in the same cavity collection. Surfaces bounded by curves where the external angle is greater than 180 degrees.

Cavity surfaces

Select Similar Curves

Selects other curves with the same length

Curves

Pick Extended...

Brings up dialog for extended selection. Related entites can be selected using custom criteria defined from a python script.

Surfaces

3.2.6.4.1.2 Entity Visualization

Menu Option

Description

Entity Type(s)

Zoom To

Zoom to the selected entity

All

Rotate About

Center of rotation is changed to the centroid of the selected entity(s)

All

Locate

Text label with line pointing to entity is displayed

All

Draw

Clears the graphics window and draws the selected entity(s)

All

Draw Elements

Brings up a secondary menu with options to Draw specific 3D mesh entity types (without geometry).

Meshed Volumes

Draw Normal

Displays an arrow from the center of the selected surface in the direction of its normal. Also colors surface indicating orientation.

Geometry Entities

Draw With Neighbors

Clears the graphics window and displays the selected entity(s) along with entities sharing a common vertex

Geometry Entities

Isolate

Turn off visibility for all entities except the selected entity(s)

Geometry Entities

Visibility Off

Turn off the visibility of the selected entity(s)

Geometry Entities

3.2.6.4.1.3 Entity Operations

Menu Option

Description

Entity Type(s)

Add to Group/BC

Opens a dialog box for adding the selected entity to an existing boundary condition or group

All

Remove from Group/BC

Opens a dialog box for removing the selected entity from an existing boundary condition or group

All

Mesh

Mesh the selected entities using the current meshing scheme and size settings

Unmeshed Geometry Entities

Delete Mesh

Deletes the mesh from the selected entities using the "propagate" option. (Deletes mesh entities on lower order entities.)

Meshed Geometry Entities

Show Quality

Displays the mesh quality of the selected entities to the output window.

Meshed Geometry Entities

Measure

When a single entity is selected, displays to the output window the geometric length, area or volume. When two entities are selected, displays the closest distance between the entities.

Geometry Entities

List Information

Show a menu with additional options for listing information about the selected entities. List Basic Info: Lists connectivity and associated lower order entities. Geometry: Basic info plus additional geometric information such as centroid, bounding box, surface area etc. List Mesh Info: Basic info plus additional information about the associated mesh.

All

Save Selection As...

Brings up a File Browser to save the currently selected entities as a cub file.

Geometry Entities

Delete

Deletes the selected geometry entities

Free Geometry Entities

Remove

Removes a surface using the remove surface command.

Surfaces in Volumes

3.2.6.4.2 Without Entity Selected

Menu Option

Description

Entity Type(s)

Refresh Display

Clears temporary graphics a refreshes display of current geometry and mesh.

All

Draw Mesh

Displays any existing mesh entities without geometry.

Meshed Entities and Free Mesh

Reset Zoom

Reset graphics viewing options to original settings.

All

All Visible

Reset visibility status to ON for all entities and display.

All

Display Options...

Opens the Display Options Dialog to set graphics window characteristics such as background color, lighting, triad options etc.

All

3.2.6.5 View Navigation in the GUI

There are two different default paradigms for view navigation: Cubit command line and Cubit GUI. The user is allowed to customize the mouse settings as desired. Mouse settings in the GUI are modified by accessing the Tools pull-down menu, then select Options. The Mouse Settings dialog is shown below (See Mouse-Based Navigation for the command line version).

Figure 29: Mouse Settings Dialog

3.2.6.5.1 Rotations

Where the cursor is in the graphics window will dictate how the view will be rotated. If the cursor is outside of an imaginary circle, shown in Figure 30, the view will be rotated in 2d, around an axis normal to the screen. If it is inside the circle, as in Figure 31, the rotations will be in 3d, about the current view spin center. The spin center can be changed to any x-y-z location. The most common way is by zooming to an entity, which changes the spin center to the centroid of that entity. The "view at" command will change the spin center without zooming:

view at vertex 3

Figure 30: With the mouse pointer outside the circle the view is rotated about an axis normal to the screen

Figure 31: With the mouse pointer inside the circle the view is rotated about the current spin center

3.2.6.5.2 Zooming

To zoom, press the appropriate buttons or keys and move the cursor vertically, as shown in Figure 32. The wheel on a wheel mouse will also zoom.

Figure 32: Move the mouse pointer vertically to zoom in and out

3.2.6.5.3 Panning

To pan, press the appropriate buttons or keys and move the cursor horizontally or vertically, as shown in Figure 33.

Figure 33: Move the mouse pointer horizontally or vertically to pan the view

3.2.7 Tree View

3.2.7.1 Model Tree

The model tree provides a complete graphical hierarchical representation of the parent child relationship of all geometric entities. The tree is populated as the model is constructed by Cubit. In addition to showing a hierarchy of geometric entities, the tree also shows active Groups, and active Boundary Condition entities. The tree works directly with the graphics window and picking. Selecting an entity in the tree will select the same entity in the graphics window. Selecting an entity in the graphics window will highlight the tree entry if that entry is currently visible. If an entity’s visibility is turned off, the icon next to that entity in the model tree will disappear. If the tree entry is not visible the user may press the Find button located at the bottom of the tree. The first occurrence of the selected entity will be shown on the tree. Virtual entities have a small (v) after the name to indicate that they are virtual entities.

Figure 34: Model Tree

3.2.7.1.1 Drag and Drop

The Tree View window supports drag and drop of geometric entities into existing boundary condition sets. To create boundary conditions, see the Materials and Properties menu on the main control panel, or right-click on one of the boundary condition labels and select the "Create New" option from the context menu. Geometric entities or groups can be added to blocks, nodesets, or sidesets by dragging and dropping inside the tree view window.

3.2.7.1.2 Picked Group

The current selections in the graphics window can be added to a "picked group" by selecting the "Add to Picked Group" from the Right click menu. Selections can also be added to the picked group by dragging and dropping onto the group from the model tree window. The picked group can be substituted into any commands that use groups. To remove an item from the picked group, use the "Remove from Group" option in the right click menu in the model tree or from the graphics window.

Figure 35: Picked Group

3.2.7.1.3 Right-Click Menu Functions

The model tree’s context menu is sensitive to the type of item and the number of items selected. Functions that apply to the item type and number of selected items are available from the context menu. These include the following:

3.2.7.2 Power Tools

The power tools contain useful tools to help users through the mesh generation process. A very useful tool for new users is the Immersive Topology Environment for Meshing, also known as ITEM. This panel contains a wizard-like environment which guides the user through the mesh generation process through a series of panels and diagnostics. The geometry tool allows users to create new boundary conditions/assemblies/groups, add entities to existing boundary conditions/assemblies/groups, make entities visible/invisible, and rename entities. The geometry repair and analysis tools contains diagnostics and tools for analyzing and repairing geometry, although many of these can now be found in the ITEM environment as well. The mesh quality and meshing power tools aid in mesh generation and verification. The power tools are presented in the tabbed folder from left to right:

Figure 36: Power Tools Window

To familiarize yourself with the power tools environment we recommend that you try the power tools tutorial. To familiarize yourself with ITEM wizard we recommend that you try the ITEM tutorial.

3.2.7.3 Geometry Power Tools

Figure 37: Geometry power tools panel

Figure 38: Geometry power tools options panel

The geometry power tools, shown in Figure 37. are located on the Tree View window under the blue geometry tab. The Geometry Power Tool provides several diagnostic tests to identify and repair problems in your CAD model prior to meshing. Diagnostic tests include:

This tool analyzes geometry for various characteristics that may affect meshing outcomes and aid in simplification and defeaturing. It also contains a powerful toolkit of geometry modification methods to fix these problems. Many of the common geometry clean-up tools are available from this tool without the need to search through the command panels for relevant operations. The geometry power tool includes a window that lists results from geometry analysis in a tree format. In addition, a solution window can be displayed that will display specific suggested geometry solutions for the currently selected entity.

3.2.7.3.1 Suggested Usage

The following is a suggested workflow for using the geometry power tool:

  1. Enter volumes to analyze: Enter or pick the volume IDs you wish to analyze in the field labeled Volume ID(s). By default, all volumes will be analyzed. For large or complex assemblies, consider selecting only a few volumes at a time to avoid long analysis times.

  2. Enter a small curve threshold: The value entered in the field labeled Small Curve Threshold defines the basis for what is considered "small" for most geometry tests. If Cubit already has more than one volume defined, a default value for small curve threshold will be computed as 0.25*mesh_size. To update the default small curve threshold for the current volumes, select the Auto button. If no mesh size is currently defined, an autosize factor of 2.5 will be used to compute a mesh size. (Equivalent to vol all size auto factor 2.5)

  3. Select diagnostics to perform: Selecting the Options... button will display a list of available diagnostics grouped by category, as shown in Figure 38. By default all diagnostics are selected. Some diagnostics may not apply to specific geometry, or may only need to be run once per geometry. To avoid long analysis times, select only diagnostics that are relevant for your current problem scope. Clicking on the box by each test will select or deselect it. Categories of diagnostics may also be selected or deselected in a similar manner. All diagnostics may be selected or deseleted using the Select All and Select None buttons at the bottom of the panel. Threshold values used for some of the diagnostics can also be entered, including bad angle, chamfer thickness, blend or hole radius, cavity area and volume gap thresholds. Details on each of the diagnostics are described below. Select the Done button to return to the main Geometry power tool panel.

  4. Analyze the geometry: Click the Analyze button to initiate an analysis of the selected diagnostics. The time taken for analysis will vary based on the number and complexity of volumes and the diagnostics selected.

  5. Select an entity to examine: Once analysis is complete, the results will appear in the main window of the geometry power tool panel in the form of an expandable lists categorized by the selected diagnostics. Items in the list correspond to the selected tests. Expanding a list will display an ordered sub-list of geometry entities that have been identified by the test. Selecting one or more entities in one of the lists will also highlight the entities in the graphics window. Use shift-click or command/ctrl-click to select multiple entities in the list. Use the context menu (right click) to zoom or fly in, locate, draw or other methods to graphically examine the selected entities.

  6. Choose a geometry repair solution: Multiple methods are provided for choosing and selecting a relevant geometry repair solution:

    • Context Menu: Right clicking on an entity in the list will reveal a list of options that are normally relevant for the selected entity type. (See Figure 39.) For example, selecting the Remove Surface... menu item will bring up the Remove Surface command panel pre-populated with the relevant entity. To execute the same operation on many entities at once, first select all relevant entities in the list.

    • Show Solutions: Selecting the Show Solutions check box at the top of the results window will display an additional window, (See Figure 40.) populated with relevant operations for the currently selected entity. Selecting a solution will display a preview of the operation in the graphics window. Double clicking the solution will execute the solution. A right click on the solution will show a context menu revealing the following options:

      • Execute: Execute the selected solution (same as double click).

      • Show More Solutions: Add additional solutions computed for attached entities if they exist. For example, if a small curve is selected, this option will include additional solutions in the window for its attached surfaces and vertices.

      • Open Command Panel Operation: Depending on the type of solution selected, the relevant command panel will appear pre-populated with the options called for in the solution. This provides the option to further customize the solution if the precise desired command is not displayed.

    • Command Panel Buttons: The buttons at the bottom of the geometry power tool will display a specific geometry command panel. This can be useful if many similar operations are to be performed on different entities. A description of each is provided below.

Figure 39: Geometry entity context menu in power tool.

Figure 40: Entity-specific solutions displayed in geometry power tool.

3.2.7.3.2 Geometry Analysis Tools

The geometry power tools, contain various diagnostic tests that can be run on geometry to diagnose potential problems for mesh generation and defeaturing. To display a list of tests, click on the Options... button. The panel shown in Figure 38. will appear. Select or deselect the desired options from the window before performing an analysis. To avoid long analysis times, select only tests that are relevant for your current problem scope. Cubit will also save the current test selections between runs. The geometry analysis tests are summarized below:

3.2.7.3.2.1 Small Features

Small features may be necessary and desirable in a model, but many times they are the result of poor geometry construction, or they may just not be important to the analysis. The small features tests look for small curves, small surfaces, and small volumes. These tests rely on the user-defined small curve threshold value defined at the top of the Geometry poert tool.

3.2.7.3.2.2 Bad Angles

Small geometric angles at vertices and curves can sometimes over-constrain the resulting mesh resulting in poor element quality. These tests are controlled by the bad angle threshold value defined at the top of the Geometry power tool Options panel.

Figure 41: Bad Angle at Vertex Example

  • At Vertices - For vertices, the angle formed by two attached curves is measured. Vertices where angles less than the bad angle threshold. Figure 41 shows an example of a bad angle where the resulting tet or hex mesh may result in poor mesh quality. Note that depending on how the angle is measured at the vertex, the small angle may be also be identified if 360.0-angle is less than the bad angle threshold. The blunt tangency or collapse angle operations are useful for removing bad angles at curves.

  • At Curves - For curves, the angle formed by two attached surfaces is measured. Similar to vertices, curves where angles less than the bad angle threshold are identified.

  • Tangential Intersections - A tangential intersection is formed when two parallel surfaces share an edge and have a 180 degree angle between them. The tangential intersection test is looking for the condition where two surfaces that meet tangentially share a common edge, and each of the surfaces has another edge which resides on a third face and forms a small angle. In the example shown in Figure 42., Surface 1 and Surface 2 are tangential to each other and share a common edge. Both Surface 1 and 2 have another edge which resides on Surface 3 and forms a small angle at the vertex common to all three surfaces.

Figure 42: Tangential Intersection Example

3.2.7.3.2.3 Traits

The tests in the Traits category, group entities according to a specific characteristic of the geometry such as its thickness or radius. Use the threshold values at the top of the Geometry power tools Options panel to set limits on values used to control entities returned from these tests. Geometry Traits include the following:

Figure 43: Close Loop Example

Figure 44: Chamfer Examples

Figure 45: Blend Examples

Figure 46: Hole Example

Figure 47: Cavity Example

Figure 48: Cone Example

  • Close Loops - Close loops are identified by two curves on a single surface for which the shortest distance between them is less than the current mesh_size. Surfaces identified as close loops are ordered based on the minimum thickness of the surface between the loops. These surfaces and their immediate neighbors are often candidates for the remove surface command.

  • Chamfer Chains - A chamfer surface can be identified as a narrow strip where its angle to neighboring surfaces is about 45 degrees as shown in figure 43. Chamfers often occur as a chain or connected set of surfaces and are grouped together in the power tool as a collection of surfaces that can be expanded and examined individually. Chamfer chains are ordered based on the narrow thickness of the surfaces illustrated in figure 44. Setting the Chamfer Thickness threshold in the Options panel will control which chamfer chains will be identified. The default value for Chamfer Thickness threshold is the current mesh_size Since chamfers with small thickness can effect the resulting size of the elements the remove surface option is often used to eliminate them.

  • Blend Chains - A blend surface serves as a smooth transition between two neighboring surfaces, such as a fillet as shown in figure 44. Blends are identified as surfaces having a constant radius along one of its parametric directions. Blends often occur as a chain or connected set of surfaces and are displayed as a collection of surfaces in the power tool that can be expanded and examined individually. Enter a Blend Radius threshold value at the top of Geometry power tools options panel to control the maximum radius of curvature for surfaces returned from this test. The default value for blend radius threshold is the current mesh_size. Resulting blend surfaces are ordered based upon their minimum radius of curvature. Blend chains can be candidates for the remove surface blend_chain or split surface commands.

  • Holes - Holes are a special category of Cavity (see below). They are collections of surfaces that are bounded by curves where the exterior angle is greater than 180 degrees and at least one of the surfaces have a radius of curvature less than the hole radius threshold. Figure 370 illustrates a hole that is comprised of a cylindrical surface and a planar circular surface. Resulting hole collections of surfaces are ordered based upon their cylindrical radius. Holes can be candidates for the remove surface cavity command.

  • Cavities - Small cavities in a volume may be candidates for removal from the geometry. A cavity is defined as a collection of surfaces bounded by curves with an external angle greater than 180 degrees. Enter the cavity area threshold value at the top of the Geometry power tools Options panel. This value controls the maximum total surface area for a cavity identified from this diagnostic test. Since cavities may consist of many individual surfaces, the resulting ordered list displayed in the power tool includes sub-lists of surfaces that can be expanded and examined individually. Surfaces contained with cavities or holes can be candidates for the remove surface cavity command which will remove all surfaces in the cavity simultaneously.

  • Cone Surfaces - Cones are defined as any surface comprising exactly two curves where one of the curves is of zero length. Cone surfaces can often cause difficulty for surface meshing, and should be removed when possible. Surfaces identified as cones are ordered based on their surface area. Cone surfaces are good candidates for the tweak surface cone command.

  • Bad Geometry Definition - Cubit uses third party libraries, such as ACIS from Spatial, Inc. for much of its geometric modeling capabilities. The bad geometry definition check calls internal validation routines in these libraries, when available, to check for errors in geometry definition. Entities identified as "bad geometry" are usually candidates for the heal volume command. If the third party library does not provide validation capabilities, this check will not return anything.

ACIS is a trademark of Spatial.

3.2.7.3.2.4 Assembly Checks

Check the interactions between multiple volumes. Here we check for overlaps, gaps and misalignments between nearby volumes. It will also identify volumes that are in contact as well as entities that are ready for merging. For assemblies of volumes, it is important to identify if volumes will be connected (imprinted and merged) are in contact, or separated by some distance. The assembly checks provide diagnostics and solutions to validate and resolve these interactions. The gaps, overlaps and misalignments diagnostics normally identify undesirable conditions that must be resolved prior to imprint and merge. Once resolved, the volume contacts and mergable geometry can be used to validate connections before and after imprinting and merging. The Options panel also provides a way to estimate or manually set an imprint tolerance. Entities closer than this tolerance will be considered mergable when used with the tolerant imprint command. When the tolerant imprint checkbox is selected in the Options panel, the diagnostic tests that identify gaps, overlaps and misalignments will also use the specified tolerance when computing issues.

Figure 49: Volume Gap Example

Figure 50: Volume Overlap Example

Figure 51: Volume Misalignment Example

3.2.7.3.3 Geometry Repair Tools

The geometry repair tool buttons appear at the bottom of the Geometry Power Tool. Selecting one of these buttons will bring up the relevant command panel. Tools included in this panel have proven useful for geometry repair and defeaturing.

Split Surface Button The split surface tool is used to split a surface into two surfaces. This is useful for blend surfaces, for example, where splitting a surface may facilitate sweeping. To select a surface for splitting, click on the surface in the tree view. To select multiple surfaces in the window, hold the CTRL key* while selecting surfaces (surfaces must be attached to each other). Then press the split surface button to bring up the Control Panel window with the ids of selected surfaces in the text input window. The split surface menu is located on the Control Panel under Geometry-Surface-Modify. You must press the Apply button for the command to be executed. You can also bring up the Split Surface menu by selecting surfaces in the tree view and selecting Split from the right click menu.

For Mac computers, use the command key (or apple key) to select multiple entities.

Heal Button The healing function in Cubit is used to improve ACIS geometry that has been corrupted during file import due to differences in tolerances, or inherent limitations in the parent system. These errors may include: geometric errors in entities, gaps between entities, and the absence of connectivity information (topology). To heal a volume, select the volume in the geometry repair tree view. Then press the heal button. You may also press the heal button without a geometry selected in the window, and enter it later. The Control Panel window will come up under the Geometry-Volume-Modify option with the selected volume id highlighted. If no entity is selected, or if another entity type is selected, the input window will be blank. You can also open the healing control panel by selecting Heal from the right click menu in the geometry power tools window.

Tweak Button The tweak command is used to eliminate gaps between entities or simplify geometry. The tweaking commands modify geometry by offsetting, replacing, or removing surfaces, and extending attached surfaces to fill in the gaps. Tweaking can be applied to surfaces, and it can be applied to curves with a valence no more than 2 at each vertex. It can also be applied to some vertices. To tweak a surface, select the surface in the tree view. The Geometry-Surface-Modify control panel will appear with the selected surface id in the input window. Tweaking is available for curves. Tweaking a curve creates a blended or chamfered edge between two orthogonal surfaces. The curve option is located on the Geometry-Curve-Modify panel under the Blend/Chamfer pull-down option. Tweaking is also available for some vertices. Tweaking a vertex creates a chamfered or filleted corner between three orthogonal surfaces. The vertex option is located on the Geometry-Vertex-Modify panel under the Tweak pull-down menu.

Only curves with valence 2 or less at each vertex are candidates for tweaking. Any other curve will cause the Geometry-Surface-Modify menu to appear.

Merge Button The merge command is used to merge coincident surfaces, curves, and vertices into a single entity to ensure that mesh topology is identical at intersections. Unlike other buttons on the geometry repair panel, the merge button acts as an "Apply" button itself. All geometry that is listed under "mergable entities" will be merged.

Remove Button The remove button is used to simplify geometry by removing unnecessary features. To use the remove feature, click on the surface(s) in the Tree View. Right click and select the Remove Option, or click the Remove icon on the toolbar. The Control Geometry-Surface-Modify control panel will appear, with the surface ids in the input window. The Remove control panel can also be accessed from the right-click menu in the Geometry Power Tools window. Select options and press apply.

Regularize Entity Button The regularize button is used to remove unnecessary topology. Regularizing an entity will essentially undo an imprint command.

Remove Slivers The remove slivers button is used to remove surfaces with less than a specified surface area. When ACIS removes a surface it extends the adjoining surfaces to fill the gap. If it is not possible to extend the surfaces or if the geometry is bad the command will fail.

Auto Clean Geometry The auto clean button is used to perform automatic cleanup operations on selected geometry. These automatic cleanup operations include forcing sweepable configurations, automatically removing small curves, automatically removing small surfaces, and automatically splitting surfaces.

Composite Button The composite button is used to combine adjacent surfaces or curves together using virtual geometry. Virtual geometry is a geometry module built on top of the ACIS representation. Surfaces may be composited to simplify geometry in order to facilitate sweeping and mapping algorithms by removing constraints on node placement. It is important to note that solid model operations such as webcut, imprint, or booleans, cannot be applied to models that have virtual geometry. Both curves and surfaces may be composited.

Collapse Angle Button The collapse angle button uses virtual geometry to collapse small angles. This is accomplished by partitioning and compositing surfaces in a way so that the small angle gets merged into a larger angle. Pressing the collapse button on the geometry power tools will open the collapse menu under Geometry-Vertex-Modify control panel. This panel can also be opened by selecting Collapse from the right click menu in the Geometry Tools window.

Collapse Surface Button Pressing this button will open the collapse surface panel on the main control panel. The collapse surface function uses virtual geometry to eliminate small surfaces on the model to improve mesh quality. It is most useful for blend surfaces.

Collapse Curve Button Pressing this button will open the collapse curve panel on the main control panel. The collapse curve command is used to eliminate small curves using virtual geometry.

Reset Graphics Button The reset graphics button will refresh the graphics window display.

Pressing most of the geometry tool buttons on the panel will only bring up applicable command panels on the Control Panel. You must press the Apply button on the Control Panel to execute the command.

3.2.7.3.4 Context (Right Click) Menu

The following right click menu options are available from the geometry power tool’s main window when a geometry entity or category is selected. Figure 39. shows an example of a context menu. Specific options depend on the type of entity or category.

3.2.7.3.4.1 Test Categories
3.2.7.3.4.2 Entity Visualization Options
3.2.7.3.4.3 Cubit Solution Options

Each of the following menu options are available based on the category and entity type selected. In each case they will open the relevant command panel pre-populated with the entity selected. Select multiple entities prior to selecting the context menu item below to execute the command on multiple entities simultaneously.

3.2.7.4 Meshing Tools

The meshing power tool provides a tool for determining whether a geometry can be meshed using autoscheme, or if it requires its scheme to be set explicitly. This tool is designed to help guide users through geometry decomposition process by providing a convenient way to see which geometries need further modification or decomposition prior to meshing.

Figure 52:

Figure 1. Meshing Power Tools

Entity Specification- The meshing power tool works for volumes or surfaces.

Options Button - Opens the Tools>Options dialog to change the visualization colors of surface schemes for the meshing tool

Analyze Button - The Analyze button issues the autoscheme command for all selected volumes and surfaces.

Output Tree - The output from the meshing tool is displayed in tree format. Geometry is divided into "Scheme Set" and "Scheme Not Set" divisions. The geometry is listed under these nodes. If autoscheme was successful, its assigned scheme is also displayed.

Toggle Visibility Button - The meshing tool displays entities as red or green in the graphics window. Green means that they are currently meshable using the autoscheme. Red means that they require their scheme to be set explicitly. Turning this capability off will return the volumes and surfaces to their original colors.

Meshing Tools Buttons - Several meshing tools are available to the user from this window. Depending on the entity selected, these are also available from the right-click context menu, and they are described below.

3.2.7.4.1 Right Click Context Menu
3.2.7.5 Mesh Quality Tools

The mesh quality tool is located in the entity tree window under the quality tab. The Mesh Quality Tool works on meshed entities to analyze mesh quality based on selected metrics. Output from the mesh quality analysis can be visualized using color-coded scales. The mesh quality tool also contains tools to improve mesh quality including smoothing, refinement, node merging, mesh validation, deleting mesh elements, and repositioning nodes.

Figure 53: Mesh Quality Tools

Entity Type - The mesh quality tools can only be applied to mesh entities including volumes, surfaces, hexahedra, quadrilaterals, triangles, or tetrahedra.

Help Button - Opens context specific help for this topic.

Options Button - Clicking on this button will show the Tools>Option menu dialog that allows users to manually enter metric range settings. The settings are persistent between sessions. For a description of quality metrics and default ranges click on one of the following links:

Visual Button - Clicking on this button will open the Mesh/Entity/Quality command panel specific to the entity selected. To visualize elements in the graphics window based on a color-coded quality scale, you must select the entities to visualize and check the "Display Graphical Summary" check box. Once that box is selected, you must also make sure the "Draw Mesh Elements" option is selected. Then press the Apply button

Analyze Button - This button starts the quality processing based on the metrics/filters selected.

Output Window/Tree - The failed elements are shown in the tree under the heading "Poor Elements". For each metric/filter the output will be listed in a tree format with the following nodes.

  1. The top node on the tree is the name of the metric.

  2. The next node under is the owning volume or surface when volumes or surfaces are analyzed.

  3. The next node will be categories or groups of elements. Possible categories are:

    • All Above Threshold - represents all mesh elements above the quality threshold upper range

    • All Below Threshold - represents all mesh elements below the quality threshold lower range

    • Top "n" - This will expand into a list, up to 50 elements long, of the worst offending elements above the upper threshold range.

    • Bottom "n" - This will expand into a list, up to 50 elements long, of the worst offending elements below the lower threshold range.

  4. At the lowest level of the tree are mesh elements.

The mesh elements can be sorted by quality or by numeric order. To change the way items are sorted, click on the headings. The right-click or context menu will show various remedies depending on what is selected. Performing an operation on a parent node will perform the same operation on all of the child nodes.

3.2.7.5.1 Mesh Quality Tool Buttons

The buttons on the bottom of the mesh quality tool window are some of the tools you may use to improve mesh quality and include.

3.2.7.5.2 Right-Click Context Menu Items
3.2.8 Command Line Workspace

Figure 54: Command line workspace window

The Command Line Workspace is the interface for command interaction between the user and the Cubit application. The user can enter commands into this window as if they were using the command line version of Cubit. Journaled commands will be echoed to this screen, even if they were not typed in manually. Thus, if the user wants to know what the command sequence for a particular action on the GUI is, they can watch for the "Journaled Command:" line to appear. In addition, this screen will contain important informational and error messages. The command window has the following four tabs:

  1. Command

  2. Error

  3. History

  4. Script

The Script window is hidden by default. To turn it on open the Tools-Options dialog and check the "Show Script Tab under Layout/Command Line Workspace.

3.2.8.1 Command Window

The command line workspace emulates the environment in the command line version of Cubit. Commands can be entered directly by typing at the cubit> prompt. This window also prints out error messages, informational messages, and journaled commands.

3.2.8.1.1 Entering Commands

To enter commands in the command line workspace, the command window must be active. Activate the command window by clicking anywhere inside the window. Commands are typed in at the cubit> prompt. If you do not remember the specific command sequence you can type help and the name of the command phrase. The input window will show all of the commands that contain that word or phrase. Alternatively, if you know how a command starts, but do not remember all of the options, you can type ? at the end of the command to show all possible command completions. See Command Syntax for an explanation of command syntax rules.

3.2.8.1.2 Repeating Commands

Use the Up and Down arrow keys on the keyboard to recall previously executed commands. Commands can be repeated in other ways as well.

3.2.8.1.3 Focus Follows Cursor

Beginning with version 13.0, Cubit includes a ’focus follows cursor’ option for the command window. The option can be enabled and disabled from the Tools/Options/General options panel. The setting is persistent between sessions and is disabled by default. Please note, the focus follows cursor behavior is available only in the command window. All other windows or widgets require the user to click the mouse in order to grab focus.

3.2.8.2 Error Window

The error window is located in the Command Line Workspace under the Error tab. If there are errors, a warning icon will appear on the tab. The icon will disappear when you open the window to view errors. The error window only displays the error output, which can make it easier to find and read the error output. The command that caused the error will be printed along with the error information. If the command was from a journal file, the file name and number will be printed next to the command.

3.2.8.3 History Window

The history window lists the last 100 commands. The number of commands listed can be configured in the options dialog on the History page. You can re-run the commands in the history window using the context menu. You can also clear the history using the context menu.

3.2.8.4 Script Window

Cubit boasts a robust Python interpreter built right into the graphical user interface. To create a Python script using the Python tab, start typing at the "%>" prompt. At the end of each line, hit Enter to move to the next line . To execute the script, press Enter at a blank line. Scripts may also be written in the Journal File Editor. The Claro Python interpreter works as though you were entering lines from the Python command prompt. This means that a blank line is interpreted as the end of a block. If you want to add whitespace for clarity you have to add a # mark for a comment on any white line that is in a loop or a class. One possible solution to this problem is to create two Python files. The first file can contain the complex set of Python instructions (program.py) including blank lines. The second file will read and execute the first file. An example syntax for the second file is given below.

f = file("program.py")

commandText = f.read()

exec(commandText)

You can then execute the second program within Cubit. The interface between Cubit and python is the "Cubit" object. This object has a method called cmd which takes as an argument a command string. Thus, the following command in the script window:

Cubit.cmd("create brick x 10")

will create a cube with sides 10 units long. The following script is a simple example that illustrates using loops, strings, and integers in Python.

%>for i in range(4):

. . x=i*3

. . for j in range(4):

. . . . y=j*3

. . . . for k in range(4):

. . . . . . z=k*3

. . . . . . mystr="create vertex x "+str(x)+" y "+str(y)+" z "+str(z)

. . . . . . Cubit.cmd(mystr)

This simple script will create a grid of vertices four wide. Scripts can be more advanced, even creating customized windows and toolbars. For a complete list of python/Cubit interface commands see the Appendix.

3.2.8.5 Docking and Undocking the Input Window

The command window can be undocked by clicking and dragging the left edge. If it is floating it can be redocked by double-clicking the solid blue bar. By default, it will always be redocked in the bottom of the application window. To change the size of the floating window, click and drag the edge of the window. To change the height of the docked window, click and drag the top edge or right edge.

3.2.9 Journal File Editor

The Journal File Editor is a built-in, multi-document text editor that can read, edit, play, and translate Cubit journal files and Python Scripts. To open the journal file editor, select the icon on the File Tools toolbar, or from the Tools Menu.

Figure 55:

Figure 56: The Journal File Editor

The Journal File Editor can be used to create a new Python or Cubit command script. By default, a new journal file will be in Cubit command syntax. You can change the default in the options dialog. On the "General" options page, under the Journal Editor heading, you can select the default syntax. You can change the new journal file’s syntax using the translation buttons as well. When you have the correct syntax selected, enter the commands in the order you want them executed. You can play the commands all at once using the play button on the tool bar. You can also play a few commands at a time. Select the commands you want to play. Then, right click and select the "Play Selected" menu item. The Journal File Editor can also be used to edit an existing journal file. Use the File > Open menu item to open the file you want to edit. You still have all the command play options with an existing journal file. You can import commands entered in the Command Line Workspace. The File > Import menu item contains a list of available imports. Select the tab you want to import from. Only the current commands will be imported from the command line. Some of the commands you previously entered might not show up if you have the recommended text trimming turned on. Text trimming improves the application’s performance for speed and memory. It will trim off the oldest text in the window when a size limit is reached. To get all the command from your current session, make sure that command journaling is turned on. The Journal File Editor can be used to edit Python or Cubit command scripts. It can also translate between the two forms. Translating from Python to Cubit commands can cause commands to be lost. The Journal File Editor will warn you when doing so. The Journal File editor can be used to edit multiple files at the same time. Each document is displayed in its own tab. The tab shows the journal file’s syntax and name. If you close the Journal File Editor with unsaved data, it will prompt you to save changes for each of the modified journal files you have open.

3.2.9.1 Journal Editor Toolbar

The Journal Editor’s Toolbar provides quick access to several important functions.

Figure 57:

3.2.9.2 Other Functionality Available in the Journal Editor

The context (’right-click’) menu in the journal editor includes several additional functions, including:

3.2.10 Property Page

The Property Page is a window that lists properties about the current entity selection. Some of the properties, like Cubit ID, entity type, or geometry engine, are listed for reference only. Other attributes, like name, or mesh intervals, color, mesh scheme, or smooth scheme can be edited from the window. The Property Page is located on the left panel in the GUI. The highlighted entity/entities in the graphics window are listed in the property page window. The Property Page also lists information about selected mesh entities, boundary conditions, and assemblies. Selecting an object from the Tree View will also open the object in the property page.

Figure 58: Property Page Window

The row of buttons on the top of the editor are shortcuts to common commands. These include:

mesh_button.gif

Meshes the selected entity/entities at their current interval and scheme settings

smooth_button.gif

Smooth selected entity using the current smoothing scheme

preview_button.gif

Preview mesh intervals on selected entity

delete_mesh_button.gif

Delete mesh on specified entity (do not propagate to lower order entities)

reset_button.gif

Reset entity to default settings and delete mesh

calculate.gif

Calculates volumes and surface areas

delete_button.gif

Delete current entity

3.2.10.1 Editing Entity Attributes from the Property Page

The Property Page provides a convenient way to change attributes on entities. . Some of the fields cannot be changed, some can be edited from an input field, and others are edited by selecting from a list, or by opening the corresponding window from the Control Panel. If multiple entities are selected, the attributes that are similar to both entities will be shown. Changing an attribute from the property page will change that attribute on both entities. If multiple entities are selected the total volume, surface area, and length of all entities will be shown. Below is a summary of properties listed for each attribute type.

3.2.10.1.1 General Attributes
3.2.10.1.2 Geometry Attributes
3.2.10.1.3 Meshing Attributes
3.2.10.1.4 Boundary Condition Attributes
3.2.11 Toolbars

The Cubit toolbars provide an effective way for accessing frequently used commands. Below is a brief description of each of the available toolbars. To view a description of the function of each tool, hold the mouse over the tool in the Cubit Application to display tool tips.

3.2.11.1 File

Provides Cubit (*.cub) file operations. This toolbar also includes Journal File operations and tool bar customization operations. From left to right, the buttons are:

  • New

  • Open

  • Save

  • Import

  • Export

  • Journal Editor

  • Play Journal File

  • Play ID-Less Journal File

  • Pause Journal File Playback

  • Custom Toolbar Editor

Figure 59: File Toolbar

3.2.11.2 Display

Controls the display mode, checkpoint undo, zoom, perspective clipping plane, and curve valence display options in the Graphics Window. From left to right, the buttons are:

  • Enable/disable undo

  • Undo

  • Wireframe, True Hidden Line, Hidden Line, Transparent, Shade

  • Toggle Display of Geometry

  • Toggle Display of Mesh

  • Toggle Display of Boundary Conditions

  • Toggle Display of Graphics Composite

  • Refresh Display

  • Zoom In

  • Zoom Out

  • Zoom to Fit

  • Toggle Perspective

  • Toggle Scale

  • Toggle Clipping Plane

  • Clipping Plane Manipulation

  • Show Curve Valence

  • Show Overlapping Surfaces

  • Change Selection Mode to be Enclosed or Extended

  • Toggle X-Ray Selection Mode

  • Rubberband Selection Mode

Figure 60: Display Toolbar

3.2.11.3 Select

Controls the Entity Selection Mode for picking or selecting entities. Each entity family has its own selection tool bar which can be shown, hidden, or docked anywhere on the GUI. Below are tool bars for geometry, mesh, analysis groups, FEA boundary conditions, and CFD boundary conditions.

Figure 61: Select Toolbars

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