Patch

Use the Patch tool to fill in missing surfaces, or to remove and remake bad or problematic surfaces.

Location: Geometry ribbon, Create group



If the Patch tool finds a group of open edges that define a closed loop, clicking a red edge will close the hole.



Figure 1. Patched Surface

If you select two groups of edges or lines that do not define a closed area, the Patch tool will create a surface between the groups.

Figure 2. Bridged Surface

Patch Missing Surfaces

Patch open areas that define a closed loop, or create a bridge between two open edges that do not define a closed area.

  1. Click the Patch tool.
    All of the open edges in the model are selected and highlighted in red. The total number of open edges is displayed above the Patch tool. Chains of open edges that define a closed area are counted as a single entity.
  2. Select open edges to define an area to patch or bridge.
    • To create a patch, select a group of edges that define a closed area. If there are several open edges that define a closed area, selecting an adjacent edge will add it to the chain.
    • To create a bridge, select two edges or groups of edges that do not define a closed area.
  3. Patch surfaces.
    • To patch all selected surfaces, click Patch on the guide bar.
    • To patch an individual surface, click a selected red edge.
If the patch is successful, the new patched surface is shown in red. If you do not like the resulting surface, click the red surface to remove it. You will need to try defining an area to bridge or patch by selecting edges.
Tip:
  • To review open edges located by the search, click and on the guide bar.
  • To change the continuity of the patch where it meets an adjacent surface, click the edge. The continuity will toggle between linear and tangent with successive clicks.
  • Some geometry tools automatically detect relevant features when the tool is opened. You can disable this behavior in the Preferences under Inspire > Geometry > Autofind.

Remove Problem Surfaces

Click once to select a problematic surface, and again to remove it.

  1. Click the Patch tool.
  2. Click a surface to select it. The surface turns red.
  3. Click the surface again to remove it.
Note: Sometimes the Patch tool will show overlapping surfaces as a missing region. While you cannot use the Patch tool to fix overlapping surfaces directly, you can delete the problematic surface and then recreate it using the Patch tool.


Figure 3. Overlapping Surfaces Shown in Red

Define an Area to Patch

Select open edges individually to define an area to patch.

  1. Click the Patch tool.
  2. Click the Clear Selection button on the guide bar to deselect all edges.
  3. Select open edges to define an area to patch or bridge.
    • Click an open edge to select it.
    • Select an adjacent edge to add it to the chain.
    • Ctrl + click to deselect an edge.
    • Ctrl + double-click to deselect an entire chain of edges.
  4. Once you have selected all of the desired edges, click the chain to perform the patch.
Tip: Click Find on the guidebar to find and select open edges. Chains of open edges that define a closed area are counted as a single entity.

Patch Examples

Example 1: Patch Hole - Before

Example 1: Patch Hole - After

Example 2: Patch Between Edges -Before

Example 2: Patch Between Edges - After

Example 3: Patch Between Lines -Before

Example 3: Patch Between Lines - After

Keyboard Shortcuts & Mouse Controls

To Do this
Select (or deselect) an edge Ctrl+click
Select (or deselect) a chain of edges Ctrl+double-click
Exit tool Right-click and mouse through the check mark to exit, or double-right-click.