Geomagic Design X: mesh processing

05/18/2021

We continue to introduce you to the lessons of reverse engineering in Geomagic Design X.

In this article, we will cover the following topics:

alignment and transformation of mesh,
mesh healing, deleting elements and filling holes,
how to use Healing Wizard, Defeature, Sew Boundaries, Fill holes, Add Bridge, Fill Gulf, Rewrap,
mesh optimization with Enhance Shape, Global Remesh, Optimize Mesh, Decimate and Subdivide, Smart Brush, Smooth, Decimate and Enhance Shape,
mesh editing tools: Split, Offset, Trim, Fix Normal,
how to add texture to a mesh from an image file
surface modeling in Geomagic Design X,
how to get a solid body from mesh in Geomagic Design X.

Mesh alignment

1. The first step is mesh segmentation

2. The second step is to define necessary primitives. The plane 1 will be aligned with the XY plane

3. An auxiliary vector - an axis of a cylinder - will help to define an origin

4. An intersection point of the vector and the plane will be aligned with the origin

5. The X axis will be collinear to an intersection line of the planes 1 and 2

6. The third step is the alignment itself. We choose 3-2-1 method and select the existing primitives

7. We can check the result by switching orthogonal views

1. We are able to move, rotate the mesh with respect to the origin. The object dimensions can be changed either proportionately by simple scaling...

...or disproportionately by scaling according to the matrix

1. 'Healing Wizard ' analyzes and fixes mesh structure errors

2. 'Defeature' removes selected areas and fills holes

3. Small holes can be filled with 'Sew Boundaries'

4. For larger holes it is preferable to use 'Fill holes'

5. 'Add Bridge' helps to connect interrupted ribs of a mesh before hole filling

6. We can also fill holes with non-closed boundaries with 'Fill Gulf'

7. There are several options for unwanted data removal

8. 'Rewrap' fills all holes automatically

1. The software has useful structure and geometry optimizers. 'Enhance Shape' sharpens corners, smoothes flat or rounded areas

2. 'Global Remesh' reconstructs a mesh with a specified average edge length of triangles and fills small holes

3. 'Optimize Mesh ' refines structure and geometry of a mesh according to the parameters of the operation

4. It can be useful to change a number of mesh faces with 'Decimate' and 'Subdivide'

5. We can smooth a mesh with a specified level

6. The 'Smart Brush' tool works in the same way as 'Smooth', 'Decimate' and 'Enhance Shape' do, but allows to work with the local area

7. It has a deforming mode as well

1. 'Split' cuts off a mesh part with a plane, a custom polyline or other entities

2. We can edit boundaries in different ways

3. 'Offset' creates a new mesh in a distance of original

4. 'Trim' cuts out a part of a mesh

5. Thickening can be useful for the object reproduction (3d printing, CNC machining)

6. 'Fix Normal' flips triangles with wrong normal orientation

7. We can add texture to a mesh from an image file