Edit Shape

Purpose

To modify the shape of an RSO via table values for profiles.

Prerequisites

The surface to be used as an envelope must exist as an object in the data base.

Instructions

1. When the function is activated the following dialog window is presented:

   

2. The dialog provides possibility to change the shape of an RSO via grid input for profiles and their definition points.

3. There is also a possibility to change the limits, envelope and position of an RSO. Limits are changed either by selecting from a dropdown list or picked in the current drawing.

4. The shape of the RSO is defined by profiles (cross-sections). These profiles are described in the profile tab of the dialog.

   Each profile defines a cross-section of the shape via absolute position of the profile and profile definition points.

   All profiles have the same number of definition points.

   

5. Addition, removal or insertion of profile is facilitated by the Add, Del and Ins buttons in the Profile group. The Del and Ins buttons work based on the currently selected cell.

6. In a similar fashion, the addition, removal and insertion of profile points is facilitated by the Add, Del and Ins buttons in the Profile point group.

   

7. Each time a change is made to the grid describing the profiles, the change is saved in the profile editing history.

   Each step in that history is available to the user via the forward and backward buttons in the Profile history group. If the Profile history back button is used, then the current history point is moved and each change in the grid will insert new profile history entry. This is different to the well established Undo/Redo concept, where each change after Undo will erase all the Redo steps.

   The buttons also display the number of available steps in the corresponding direction.

8. The presentation of the data in the grid can be adjusted via the Show translated and Show absolute coordinates checkboxes.

9. The Show translated checkbox converts all possible absolute values to translated FP/LP position strings.

10. The Show absolute coordinates checkbox converts all delta values to absolute coordinates based on the current position value for the RSO.

11. When editing values in the grid the user must be aware of the current setting that means, if the Show absolute coordinates checkbox is selected, all input from the user will be interpreted as absolute coordinate values.

12. The main requirement when describing the shape of an RSO is that the individual RSO faces are not knuckled, keeping the four-sided faces flat. There are various options in the Edit shape dialog to help the user with this requirement.

    

    Every time a value is changed in the profile definition grid, there is a potential possibility that the requirement is not met.

13. To automatically adjust after each value change the Keep profile parallel radio button can be selected. This will instruct the dialog to change related values on the edited profile, so the shape of the edited RSO does not contain any faces with knuckles.

14. The algorithm can be instructed to try and adjust the next line (the line of the profile formed from the point being edited and the next point in the current profile) or the previous line via Modify next line and Modify previous line radio buttons.

15. In some cases a more drastic change in the shape of the RSO may be necessary. Then the Single cell edit radio button should be selected. This will switch off the algorithms for keeping the profiles in accordance with the requirements for the shape.

16. After such a change it is a good idea to select a cell in the grid that belongs to the profile that should not be changed, and then click on the Iron button. The Iron button will change the rest of the profiles and make them fulfill the compliance with the main requirement.

    For a simple overview of changed values, the grid control will mark, with darker background color, all cells changed as a result of ‘Ironing’. A similar change in appearance will be noticed when a cell value is changed by the ‘anti-knuckle’ algorithm.

17. If the desired result was not obtained with the Iron button, or during any step in modifying the shape of the RSO, a click on the <- button in the Profile history can revert to the grid values before that change.

Options

Not available.

Result

The RSO shape is modified according to the profile descriptions.