Extend Through

Extend Through window allows you to specify a plane, position and orientation to extend either end of the section to. The section only extends along its Z axis, that is its extrusion direction, as the plane is infinite in its planar dimensions.

In PDMS a plane’s direction is defined by the direction of a vector normal (that is perpendicular in all directions) to the plane. The position of the plane is defined by the start position of that vector.

1. From the main menu toolbar select Position > Extend > Through to display the Extend Section - Relative window.

   

   

2. Use the End of Section list to specify which end of the section is extended (or trimmed) to the plane.

   Four choices are available:

   • Nearest end – The default setting. The end of the section nearest to the plane is repositioned.

   • Start – The start position of the section is moved.

   • End – The end position of the section is moved.

   • Pick – Click Apply and you are prompted to pick which end of the beam is to be re‑positioned.

     When the Extend Section - Relative window is displayed, a label is placed at each end of the section to identify which end is the Start and which is the End.

3. You can define the plane position explicitly by entering co-ordinates in the Plane Direction X/-XEast/West, Y/-YNorth/South and Z/-ZUp/Down fields of the window, or with the Cursor and Intersection functionality and selection of the position in the 3D graphical view.

4. The Plane Direction is set by default to ZUp, however any direction can be entered to orientate the plane.

   

   In the figure above, the plane has been initially positioned with the Cursor > Element option and then moved by entering a new North co-ordinate.

   The Plane Direction has been set to S. The plane aid and direction vector displayed helps you visualize the position and direction of the plane.

5. Click Apply to extend the end of the current element to the plane.

   The position of any Secondary Nodes owned by the section is measured from its start position.

6. Select the Maintain Sections’ Node Positions checkbox to make sure the Secondary Nodes stay in their original position when the start position of the section is moved. Otherwise, the Secondary Nodes move with the start position, that is their Z distance attribute are maintained.

7. Select the Cut end(s) to plane checkbox to orientate the end of the section to the plane direction after it has been extended or trimmed.