Design Engine
Tools and Features

Extract Patch

8min

Some tools & features in Design Engine require the use of a surface or patch. Extract Patch allows you to create that patch within Design Engine in support of the following:

CAD Surface Alternative

Surfaces may also be imported as STL files from your CAD software.

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Accessing Extract Patch

There are multiple paths to using the extract path feature.

1

Via Context Menu

  • Right-click on the design space where you want to extract a patch to pull up the context menu.
  • Select Extract Patch.
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2

Via an Operation Menu

Shown here in the Hex Mesh operation.

  • Click on the drop-down of the patch selection field.
  • Select Extract Patch.
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3

Via Part Menu

  • Click on the menu for the design space where you want to extract a patch.
  • Select Extract Patch.
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Select a Patch

There are multiple options for selecting a patch within Design Engine.

Example triangle shown highlighted on an STL file
Example triangle shown highlighted on an STL file


STL Triangles

All methods operate by selecting triangles from the underlying mesh structure of the imported STL file.

Patch Selection Methods

  • Surface
  • Plane
  • Brush
  • Box
  • Triangle
Surface
Plane
Brush
Box
Triangle
  • Click on surface where a patch is needed.
  • Adjust the tolerance angle to extend or reduce the patch area.
    • The tolerance angle is the angle between normals of adjacent triangles.
  • Extract Patch
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Editing a Patch

If the selected patch requires adjustment, the following tools are available.

Remove Triangles

  • Hold Alt or Option to deselect triangles
  • The deselection will behave per the selection method.
    (Shown here with the Box method)
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Fill Holes

  • Click Show Hole
  • Hold CTRL/⌘ while clicking to fill holes or...
    • Click Fill Holes
  • Hold Shift while clicking to remove islands.
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Modification Methods

Invert
Shell
Grow/Shrink

Selects the reverse patch.

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Patch Mesh

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The extracted patch will be available in your meshes side panel.

  • Turn on/off visibility
  • Edit patch and other options area available via menu