Frequently Asked Questions
Answers to Frequently Asked Questions
There are several reasons a surface won't trim:
1. Duplicate Curves: Select the surface and query. The number of child curves will be reported in the message window. Count the curves in your trimming loops and see if they match. If more child curves are reported that you counted in the loops, you have duplicate curves. Set your pick limit to PARAMETRIC. Band pick over a small section of 1 of the parametrics in the loops. The message window should report "1 curve picked". If more than 1 curve is picked you have located one place with duplicate curves. Keep band picking over the parametrics until you eliminate all duplicate curves and the number of child curves matches the number of parametrics you counted.
2. Gaps in Loops: Set the pick limit to POINT. Position the pointer over a vertex in the trimming loop. Click the middle mouse button. This picks all curves attached at this point. Mentally, count the curves that should be attached at this point and compare to the number picked. If less curves are picked that you counted, you have a gap in your loop. If more curves are picked than counted, you could have duplicate curves (be sure you counted all curves, including derived curves, etc.,.., that may be visible and attached at the point in question).
If all else fails, save to an iges file with only the problem surface visible. Read the iges file back in with gluing and trimming disabled (-ng -nt from the command line). Check the untrimmed surface for duplicate curves and inappropriate point spacings (spacings that are very large or very small in comparison to the arc length of the adjacent curves).
Parametric curves - (indicated by green) curves defined in the parametric space of a parent surface. These curves can be created several ways: projecting another curve onto a surface, intersecting two surfaces, selecting a surface and extracting the bounding curves,... . The purpose of creating parametric curves ultimately is trimming. When a parametric is being used as the boundary of a trimmed surface, it can not be deleted until after the trimmed surface has been deleted. NOTE: The green color of a parametric curve indicates only that it is a parametric curve. There is no way to select a curve and determine which surface it is associated with, so when a surface is deleted, it is a good idea to also delete it's parametrics at the same time.
Physical curves - (indicated by yellow) curves in 3D space and not associated with any surface. These curves are used for construction. Usually physical curves are used to create a surface. Also they can be created, then projected onto a surface creating a parametric curve. Ultimately, they should be deleted or if they need to be retained, put in a group and deactivated. NOTE: Physical curves should be deleted before gluing. Once a physical curve has been glued to another curve, it can not be unglued and deleted. Once they have been glued, you must save, exit, and read back in with no gluing (-ng) to delete. It won't hurt to leave them glued. It's just better to keep the model as clean (free of extra, unused curves, surfaces,etc.) as possible.