The Solids page contains settings options related to 3D bodies (solids, surfaces, and shells). 

Dialog Options:

 

Save Facets in Design File to Decrease Load Time

To display solids in a rendering mode other than Wireframe, the faces of the solids must be faceted. Faceting creates a mesh of triangles that approximate the face. When this setting is enabled (checked), the facets are saved with the solid. When disabled, the facets are ignored during File>Save and discarded when the part is closed. Each time the part is opened, the facets are recreated. This requires that the solids data be loaded from disk. As a result, saving the facets reduces load time, as well as the amount of data that has to be loaded, reducing file size. 

Postpone Loading of ACIS Data until Necessary

When enabled (checked), the ACIS precise geometric data for solids and surfaces are not loaded from the design file until an operation is performed which requires the data. This reduces the amount of time and memory required to load a part. If the facets are saved in the file (see above), rendering and non-solid operations can be immediately performed, with no further file access required. This will, however, cause an increase in time for the first operation on each solid that requires ACIS data.

Disabling this setting will cause all of the ACIS data for each solid to be loaded during the initial load of the part, increasing both the load time and memory usage. Disabling this setting while parts are open will load any solids that have not yet been loaded, creating a state in the Undo system. For this reason, this setting cannot be changed when the page is accessed during a modeling operation.

Rendering Solids

• Keep Facets Up-to-Date for Faster Rendering – When enabled (checked), any facets within a solid will update immediately when the solid is modified. When this setting is disabled, the facets are discarded when a modeling operation is performed on the solid. They are recomputed when they are needed for a rendering operation. This will cause a dramatic increase in time required to accomplish a rendering operation, such as switching from a Wireframe rendering mode to Hidden Line or Shaded. This will also create a state in the Undo system, causing the loss of all forward states that might exist. No facets exist in a modified solid that has not been re-faceted when the part is saved. As a result, no facets will be saved to the design file. The solid will need to be re-faceted when the part is next opened.

• Enabling this setting while parts are open will cause any un-faceted solids to be faceted, creating a state in the Undo system. For this reason, this setting cannot be changed when the page is accessed during a modeling operation.

• Render both sides of Surfaces – When selected, will allow for both sides of Surfaces to be fully rendered. 

• Draw Tangent Lines for HLR/HLD in Model Mode – When selected, edges that exist between two tangent faces will appear in the HLR/HLD rendering modes.

• Draw Edges as Black in Shaded Mode – When selected, all edges and flowlines will be displayed in black in the Smooth with Wireframe mode (default), if off the edges are displayed in the color used to create the solid.
   

• Draw Edges as solid and thin in Shaded Mode – When selected will keep solid edges set to a thin solid line width of 1 regardless of solid Attributes line settings. Using this method with solid line Attributes set to above 1, (as set in right click Solid>Format for example) will show hover highlighted edges as extra thick.
   

• Show Flowlines in shaded Mode – Enabled will show any flowlines that exist in solid when rendered as shaded.
   

• Overide face material by solid material– Enabled any solid material applied to a solid will overide indivual face materials set on a solid.
   

 

Profile Functions

• Get attributes from profile geometry – When selected, the end result of the profile function (extrude, sweep, revolve, cut or helix) will retain the attributes of the profile geometry that was used when the function was performed.

• Delete original profile – When selected, the original profile geometry to be deleted once the profile function has been performed.  For instance, if you sweep a circular profile with this setting enabled, the circular profile will be deleted once the sweep has been performed. 

• Merge profile – Use this feature to turn on/off the ability to create multiple profiles as a single body as a body for each profile (an example would be a 2-2 dimensional  rectangle in shape of cross when extruded would make 5 separate solids when using extrude and Merge profile unchecked..)

• These options are not available in KeyMachinist.  

Draw Flowlines

You have the option to display U and V lines in solid bodies that you create, and can specify the number of U and V display lines using the Draw Flowlines setting.  This is a checkbox setting that, when enabled, will allow for U and V lines to appear in solids.

NOTE: These flowline settings will only affect solids created after the change is made. To change the flowline representation on existing solids, use the Edit>Entities>Change Flowlines function.

Solids are represented by a two-dimensional display of U and V lines.  The 3D surface representation of objects is determined by the parameters that increase/decrease in both the U and V directions.  Through the settings available from the Draw Flowlines segment of the "Solids" dialog page, you are able to specify the number of U and V lines to represent the following: Plane, Cone, Sphere, Torus, and Spline. 

The valid range for each are listed below:

• Plane (U lines: 0-255, V lines: 0-255)

• Cone (U lines: 1-255, V lines: 0-255)

• Sphere (U lines: 4-255, V lines: 1-255)

• Torus (U lines: 1-255, V lines: 1-255)

• Splines (U lines: 0-255, V lines: 0-255).

The MINS and DEFS buttons in the dialog can be used to set the U and V line settings to either their minimum or default settings, respectively.

The Spline options "Equal" or "At Knots" control where flowlines are drawn on spline faces (for anything that is not a plane, cone/cylinder, sphere or torus). When ”r;Equal” is selected, the specified number of flowlines are drawn and spaced equally in the U and V direction. When ”r;At Knots” is selected, U and V values are not specified, and flowlines are drawn at U and V values known as Knot Values. There are at least two (2) knot values in both the U and V directions, commonly referred to as ”r;patch boundaries.” The number of knots is different for each face.  

Progress Indicators

The Progress Indicators allow you to view the status of an active operation.  Select "Show spinning prompt progress indicator" to display the spinning prompt indicator.   When the "Beep if function completes after x seconds" setting is enabled, you are able to specify when the beep prompt will activate.  The beep indicator will sound at the end of any solids operation that takes longer than the specified number of seconds.