Structural Opening#
Structural OpeningCommand |
SOF_SE_OPENING |
Tooltip |
Creates an opening in a structural area. |
Sidebar |
Structural Elements |
Openings are planar or curved surfaces used to cut away geometry from structural areas during mesh generation.
Openings can be placed freely within a single structural area or overlap the geometry of several structural areas.
Available options:#
For creation of openings, the following options are available for use:
Elements
Creates structural elements from AutoCAD elements. This option supports the creation of structural elements from regions, solids, 2D areas and other 3D AutoCAD bodies. Thus almost any geometry can be used as a basis for a structural element.
Segment on geometric axis
Creates elements with reference to an axis. For this option the following input possibilities are available:
Between all placements: The elements are created from the first placement of the axis up to the last.
Use the segment closest to the picked point: One element is created between the two placements nearest to the picked point on the axis.
The grip points of elements bound to an axis change their type. Instead of the square a small arrowhead can be seen. This arrowhead can be dragged to another placement. This changes the assignment of the element.
Pick Lines or Curves–Select Points
Creates a closed polygon as the boundary of the element. When selecting lines or curves, the input type can be
switched between either option by pressing the down key (as shown in the command line and at the cursor text). The picked
points can be selected from the drawing or can be entered using cartesian coordinates. During input, a preview is available.
The input can be ended by pressing the enter key. In a 3D system, this option is only available for use in the XY plane,
although this need not be in the plane located at the origin.
After selection of a line or curve using the Pick Lines or Curves option, it can be useful to select a point by which the
end of the next line is defined. The Pick Points option is available in the context menu during input.
Rectangle
Creates a rectangular element with the input of two diagonally opposite points. In a 3D system, this option is only available for use in the XY plane, although this need not be in the plane located at the origin. Please note that the rectangle will always be created with reference to the current coordinate system. If a rotated rectangular area is to be created, the coordinate system must first be modified accordingly.
Point in Area
Creates a closed polygon as the boundary of an element. A point within a closed polygonal element can be input. The boundary lines of that closed element are used as the boundary for the element. Ensure that the boundary is closed and that the point selected is not too close to a re-entrant corner, since the program, in this case, may be unable to find the boundary. In 3D systems, this option is available only in the plane where the origin is currently defined.
Set Working Plane
Because certain selection options only are available in the current working plane, it is possible to rest the working plane to a user defined position. For this the following options are available:
3Points: The coordinate system is aligned by defining 3 points (origin, X-axis and Y-axis).
Element: The orientation of the coordinate system is set with the selection of an object.
The working plane remains in place until the command to create the element is closed.