Create 2D Surface Mesh
Use the Interactive: Create tool to create a surface mesh and remesh elements.
A surface mesh or "shell mesh" represents model parts that are relatively two-dimensional, such as sheet metal or a hollow plastic cowl or case. Surface meshes are placed on the outer faces of solid objects, and are used as a baseline mapping point when creating more complex 3D meshes (the quality of a 3D mesh largely depends on the quality of the 2D mesh from which it is generated).
Interactive: Create Tool
An overview of the Interactive: Create tool.
Use the Surface Mesh: Create tool to create a surface mesh and remesh elements.
- Access
- Go to
Options
- Element size
- Set the average element size.
- Mesh type
- Select the algorithm to use for generating the mesh.
- Element type
- Select the type of elements used to create the mesh.
- Edit criteria
- Edit the criteria file via the Criteria Editor
- Active mesh mode
- Select the meshing mode, with interactive allowing access to the mesh editing tools.
- Curvature based refinement
- Option to turn on mesh refinement based on geometric curvature.
- Method
- Select the adaptive meshing method.
- Minimum size factor
- The minimum element size, as a factor of the average element size. Value must be less than or equal to 1.
- Maximum deviation factor
- The maximum allowable deviation between an element edge and a geometry edge, as a factor of the average element size.
- Feature angle (adaptive mesh)
- The maximum allowable break angle between adjacent elements.
- Growth rate
- The factor to control the rate of transition in case of element size change.
- Minimum edge density
- Enable a minimum number of elements along an edge.
- Minimum density
- Set the minimum number of elements created along an edge.
- Apply if edge length <
- Apply a minimum edge density when edge lengths are less than the specified value.
- Link opposite edges method
- Select the method for linking mesh settings on opposite edges of rectangular surfaces.
- Aspect ratio <
- The maximum aspect ratio to allow when linking edges.
- Orthogonal alignment
- Generates a more orthogonal quad-dominant mesh
- Minimum size variation
- Enforce a global mesh element size with minimal min/max element size variations.
- Size variation
- Keep elements roughly the same size.
- Skewness
- Prevent the mesh from producing highly-skewed elements.
- Smooth across common edges with
- Allow node smoothing to move nodes across adjacent surface edges whose feature angle is less than the value specified.
- Feature angle (advanced)
- The feature angle for common edge smoothing.