Structured faces
Automatic faces / structured faces
The faces created by Flux using the algorithms of automatic construction are faces belonging to planar, cylindrical or conical surfaces. These faces are named automatic faces.
It is possible to create faces belonging to other types of surfaces: spherical, toroidal or helical, by using the construction by extrusion. (See Construction by extrusion.) These faces are named structured faces.
Problems
The algorithm of automatic face construction is:
- able to identify and to create a planar, cylindrical or conical face starting from its bordering lines
- unable to identify and to create a spherical, toroidal or helical face starting from its bordering lines
Consequence
To properly propagate an object (face / volume) containing structured faces, it is necessary to use a building option that includes the creation of faces / volumes (Add Faces, Lines and Points / Add Volumes, Faces, Lines and Points, etc.)
In fact, if the default option (Add only Lines and Points) is selected:
- only points and lines are created
- the face (volume) cannot be created using the Build Faces (Build Volumes) command
This is shown in the example below.
Example
The example that follows shows that it is necessary to respect the building rule previously established in order to propagate a volume bordered by a toroidal face.
| Step | Description | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Construction of the base volume bordered by
the toroidal face
|
|
| 2 |
Propagation of the volume using a transformation (affine transformation with the respect to a plane using a scaling factor = –1 (planar symmetry)) … with the following building options: |
|
| Add only Lines and
Points
|
Add Volumes, Faces, Lines and
Points
|
|
| 3 | Construction of faces |
|
| → |
Warning: Neither the toroidal face, nor the volume are
built
|
Note: The toroidal face and the volume bordered by this face are
built
|
