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Implicit Modeling
Create implicit models with primitives, lattices, point clouds, fields, offsetting, Booleans, inverting, smoothing, morphing, and filleting.
Using Image Data in Implicit Modeling
Import data from image files for use in implicit modeling workflows.

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New to Inspire? Learn the basics here.
Tutorials
Start using Inspire with our interactive tutorials.
Variables
Create and assign variables to parametrize a model. This allows you to quickly iterate and compare design concepts by tweaking the values of the variables.
Parametric Modeling
Create parametric sketches, geometry, and PolyNURBS with construction history and variables.
Implicit Modeling
Create implicit models with primitives, lattices, point clouds, fields, offsetting, Booleans, inverting, smoothing, morphing, and filleting.
- Inspire Implicit Modeling Overview
  An overview of Inspire's implicit modeling and its benefits.
- Visualization Quality and Mesh Settings for Implicit Modeling
  Learn how to use the Visualization Quality and Meshing Settings to manage compute times, the visual appearance, and the geometric accuracy of implicit and mesh geometry when working with Inspire Implicit Modeling. This includes working in Implicit Modeling, converting other geometry formats in Implicit Modeling, and meshing implicit geometry for export or other downstream processes.
- View the Field of an Implicit Body
  Use a colormap and contour lines to visualize the underlying field of an Implicit Body.
- Create an Implicit Primitive
  Create simple geometric shapes that can be used for repetitive tasks or combined into more complex shapes. Implicit primitives include a cuboid, cylinder, and sphere.
- Conform a Lattice with a Custom UV Grid
  Convert an existing surface parametrization or create a new one with complete control over the spacing/layout/position of the lattice unit cells to more easily map a lattice coordinate space onto a target surface.
- Create an Implicit Surface Lattice
  Fill a body with a surface lattice, which is a cellular structure constructed from one — or sometimes two — surfaces. The body can be a Parasolid, STL, PolyNURBS, or implicit geometry.
- Create an Implicit Planar Lattice
  Fill an implicit body with a planar lattice, which is a 2.5D cellular structure with a clearly defined 2D cross-section that is drawn or extruded along the third dimension.
- Create a Custom Planar Unit Cell
  Define a custom set of edges and points on a 2D plane to use as a planar lattice unit cell.
- Create an Implicit Strut Lattice
  Fill an implicit body with a strut lattice, which is constructed from nodes that are connected by beams.
- Create a Custom Strut Unit Cell
  Define a custom set of edges and points in a normalized cube to use as a strut lattice unit cell.
- Implicit Stochastic Lattice
  Create a randomized strut lattice by defining points, edges between points, filters to remove certain points and/or edges, a method to thicken edges into struts, and outer body treatments such as combining the lattice with an outer body or shell.
- Create Implicit Surface Perforations
  Generate a set of struts to cut holes in an implicit body or join them to the body to create pins.
- Conformal Coordinate Spaces
  Construct a conformal coordinate space to make body-fitted implicit patterns and lattices.
- Point Clouds in Implicit Modeling
  To drive a field or create implicit geometry, you can import a point cloud or create one from scratch.
- Thinking in Fields - A Primer for Implicit Modeling
  A detailed description of how fields are used in Implicit Modeling within Inspire, with videos and illustrative examples that will help you think intuitively in terms of field-driven design.
- Point-Edge Sets - Advanced Design of Lattices and Other Truss Structures
  A detailed description of how point-edge sets are used in Implicit Modeling within Inspire.
- Create a Field For Implicit Modeling
  Create a field to define geometry or control the parameters of an existing geometry at every location within the bounds of the field.
- Create Implicit Fields from Analysis Results
  Create an implicit field directly from the results of either an analysis run or an imported H3D file. The Create Field button is located at the bottom of the Analysis Explorer.
- Create an Implicit Midsurface
  Create one or more surfaces or volumes that sit between two implicit bodies. This is useful for creating field-driven effects between two parts/surfaces or to create evenly spaced surfaces between two parts or surfaces.
- Create an Implicit Warp Map
  Map a 2D object to 3D coordinates by specifying the warp via two linked UV grids. One grid defines the UV parametrization of the 2D object, such as an imported image or a slice of a 3D implicit body, and the other grid defines corresponding positions in 3D space.
- Using Image Data in Implicit Modeling
  Import data from image files for use in implicit modeling workflows.
- Convert to Implicit Geometry
  Convert parts, surfaces, and curves to implicit objects. You can select CAD, PolyNURBS, meshes, or optimized parts, surfaces, or curves.
- Move Implicit Geometry
  Translate and rotate implicit bodies.
- Combine Implicit Geometry
  Combine two implicit bodies into one.
- Subtract Implicit Geometry
  Carve out implicit bodies ("tools") from another implicit body ("target").
- Intersect Implicit Geometry
  Retain only the intersecting portions of two sets of implicit bodies.
- Offset Implicit Geometry
  Offset an implicit body. The offset can be made into a hollow shell.
- Invert Implicit Geometry
  Swap the "inside" and "outside" of an implicit body by reversing the sign of all scalar values in the underlying field.
- Pattern Implicit Geometry
  Create a rectangular, circular, conformal, or point-cloud pattern of implicit bodies.
- Mirror Implicit Geometry
  Mirror implicit bodies across a symmetry plane.
- Morph Implicit Geometry
  Morph one implicit body into another and vice versa. Physically separate bodies may not produce meaningful results.
- Smooth Implicit Geometry
  Used to denoise objects created in Implicit Modeling. This reduces the size of, or removes, unwanted small and sharp features in an implicit body.
- Fillet Implicit Geometry
  Round edges of implicit bodies to create fillets with a constant or variable radius.
- Remap an Implicit Body
  Remap a generic field of scalar values into a signed distance field.
- Plane Cut Implicit Geometry
  Keep implicit geometry on either side of or on a defined plane.
- Exporting Slice Data
  Export implicit parts as slice files (.cli and .3mf) to slice the native implicit model without meshing.
- Isosurface Implicit Fields
  Extract an isosurface from any implicit body or field.
Structures
Set up your model and run a structural analysis or optimization.
Motion
Inspire Motion provides Multibody Simulation (MBS) capabilities to analyze the motion, dynamics, and interactions of interconnected rigid or flexible bodies within a system.
Fluids
Prepare and run a computational fluid dynamics simulation.
Design Explorer
Evaluate designs by using geometric variables and applying a design-of-experiments (DOE) or optimization method. We recommend fully constraining your sketch when sketch variables are used in the design exploration.
Manufacture
Set up and run a basic porosity or thinning analysis.
Print 3D
Prepare and run an additive manufacturing simulation, and export a file for 3D printing.
Rendering
Adjust the materials and environment of objects in the scene to create a photorealistic image.
Inspire Python API
Learn how to access the Inspire Python API including online help, quick start demos, and the Extension Manager.
Reference
View the glossary, frequently asked questions, and errors and alerts.
Keyboard Shortcuts and Mouse Controls
Learn keyboard shortcuts and mouse controls for common operations.

Using Image Data in Implicit Modeling

Import data from image files for use in implicit modeling workflows.

Images can contain useful data for implicit workflows such as logos, text, bump maps for textures, or heat maps of analysis results. Image data can be used to both create or modify implicit geometry. This information can be used to locally offset surfaces, change thicknesses. radii, and much more. An implicit image object is a purely 2D implicit function based on the pixel data contained in the image. The resolution of the implicit field created from the image will depend on the resolution of the image.

In the Image dialog box, click the Import icon. , use the file browser to select the image (.png) file you want to import and click Open.
Use the Channel dropdown to select which information should be extracted from each pixel. For a PNG file with color data, Red, Green, Blue, and Alpha channels are available. For a Grayscale PNG, only the Grayscale channel will be available.
Use the Flip checkbox to invert the data in the image. The intensity data for each pixel is typically in the range [0,255]. Inverting the image is the same as subtracting the true pixel intensity value from 255. In a grayscale image, this converts white pixels to black, and vice versa.
Use the Normalize checkbox to change the range of values produced in the field to a more intuitive range for use in downstream operations. Instead of using pixel intensities in the range [0,255], the ranges can be rescaled to the ranges defined below.
The Convention buttons specify which range to use as the output range for the field created from image data.
- 0 to 1 will normalize the [0, 255] pixel data to [0, 1]. This range will not create a surface as no values will be in the negative range, which is usually the convention for regions in the interior of an object. The field created from this data will therefore be an unsigned scalar field.
- -1 to 1 will normalize the [0, 255] pixel data to [-1, 1]. A surface will be created where the normalized pixel values are 0 and the field created from the image data will be a signed scalar field.
Click OK.