Computing a Convex Polygon

This task shows you how to compute a convex polygon to obtain a regular contour to bypass the problem of concave areas.
Open ConvexPolygon01.CATPart from the samples directory.

  1. Click Convex Polygon  in the Part Extension toolbar.

  2. Select an axis system (stamping direction) and a surface.

  3. Go to Parameters and edit them as required to improve the quality of the polygon.
    • Optimize Deviation uses the Smooth Maximum Deviation to minimize the deviation between the convex polygon and the smallest polygon that contains the surface.
    • Optimize Curvature optimizes the resulting curvature to smooth the convex polygon.
    • Smooth Maximum Deviation defines the allowed deviation between the initial curve and the smoothed curve.
      The resulting smoothed curve fits into a pipe with
      • A radius equal to the maximum deviation value
      • A center curve defined by the selected curve.
    • Offset Value defines the offset value to compute the final sketch.
      The final sketch lies at a small distance from the surface boundary in order to round sharp angles.
      The offset value is this distance.
    • Number of Internal Points defines the number of internal points to compute the convex polygon.
    • Tangent Smooth generates a G1 smoothing of the polygon.
    • Curvature Smooth generates a G2 smoothing of the polygon.
    • Simplify: Select this check box to simplify the resulting topology.

  4. Click OK.
    The convex polygon is computed in a plane parallel to the xy plane of the selected axis system

    and created as a sketch under Clean Contour geometrical set.