Browsing Part Contact Data

The Part/Part Contact Browser allows you to scan through the part contact data and see the contacting parts in the Graphics window.

This operation automatically updates the view to hide parts that are not part of a contact list.

To start the browser:

  1. Right-click the Geometry > Contacts node and select Browse Part/Part Contacts...
  2. In the Part/Part Contact Browser Options dialog that appears:
    1. Click Select.
    2. In the Select Objects dialog, select all of the parts for which you want to visualize part contact data and click OK.
    3. Click OK.

    The Edit panel appears showing the interface for the contacts browser.



There are three group boxes in the Part/Part Contact Browser. In each group box, you can click (Custom Editor) and select a specific part or part surface. You can also use the navigation buttons to step through the list in sequence or jump to the start or end of the list.
  • Source Parts

    The drop-down menu lists all parts that are selected in the Part/Part Contact Browser Options dialog. In the Graphics window, the selected source part is colored blue and when Show Other Source Parts is activated, other source parts are displayed as transparent gray objects.

  • Target Parts

    The drop-down menu lists all parts that are in contact with the source part that is shown in the Source Parts group box. In the Graphics window, the selected target part is colored red and when Show Other Target Parts is activated, other target parts are displayed as transparent green objects.

  • Part Surface Contacts

    The drop-down menu lists all part surface contacts that exist between the selected source part and target part. In the Graphics window, the selected part surface contact is colored magenta and when Show Other Part Surface Contacts is activated, other part surface contacts are displayed as transparent pink (duller than magenta).

In the example scene below, the blue part is the source part, and the red part is the target part. The transparent green parts are alternative target parts which are in contact with the source part, and the transparent gray part is an alternative source part that is available to select.



The Part/Part Contact Browser also contains buttons which allow you to remove any or all of the contacts between parts or part surfaces.

  • Remove Selected Part Surface Contact

    Removes the part surface contact that is selected.

  • Remove Contact Between Selected Parts

    Removes the contact that is displayed between the selected source and target parts.

  • Remove All Contacts

    Removes the contacts between all parts and part surfaces.

  1. To exit the Part/Part Contact Browser, click Close.