Search Tool Reference

The search tool panel is split into three sections: input definition, search criteria, and results. Within the results section you can browse between entities identified by the search.

Design Filter: Input Options

Defines the selection mode and input or object type.


Selection Mode
Entire CAD model	Applies the search to the whole 3D-CAD model.
Selected Entities	Applies the search to the selection that you make in the selection box beneath Object Type. This option activates the Object Type field whose options are the same as for Input Type. First set the Object Type and then choose the selection.
Filters	Selects the output of an existing filter as the input for the current search.
Input/Object Type
Input Type: Defines the type of entity to which the search applies. This type can be different from the Object Type, but only for a type of the same level or lower. Object Type: Defines which type of object is included in the selection for Selected Entities mode. Choose the type of entity to which the search operation applies: Body Groups Bodies Faces Edges Vertices

Search Criteria

Search allows you to find entities based on either specific criteria or geometrical similarity.


Conditions	This option is selected by default and allows you to create a set of predicates using the drop-down list. See Predicate.
Find Similar	When selected, the search tool enables you to find similar parts on the geometry.
	(Geometric Properties)	Searches for entities based on their geometric properties.
	(Color)	Searches for entities based on their color.
	(Grouping)	Improves search results by applying connectivity information from the seed input in order to identify results with similar connectivity. For edges, this means identifying edges that form closed loops. For faces, the check looks at the number of connected faces. The grouping option only supports faces and edges. Some of the limitations for the grouping option are: In case of edges, it only supports simple connected edge chains. If the seed input edges have multiple edge-chains in them then the grouping process is aborted. You may encounter unexpected results while selecting edge chains in a T-junction scenario. The image below shows an example where there are multiple solutions when forming edge chains. In this case the grouping functionality returns ambiguous results. When searching based on faces, if faces in a find-similar result have more connected faces than the seed face, the grouping process is aborted.
Search Tolerances	Length	Allows you to specify a tolerance value to the search criteria. When comparing topologies, the Search Tolerances options are useful to improve search results. For example, if you specify a tolerance for Length when searching to find edges that are of certain length, the Search Tool finds all edges that match the length criteria within the defined tolerance. The tolerance values can either be Relative or Absolute values.
	Area
	Volume
	Area
	Linear (m)	Allows you to specify a computational tolerance to work with any search criteria. For example, if you want to check whether two points are coincident or not, you can use the Linear tolerance to help with the search.
	Proximal Face Angle (deg)	When searching for faces in close proximity, you can allow for deviation from exact parallel or concentric relations using this tolerance. For the purposes of close proximity detection, faces are treated as parallel if they lie at an angle to each other which is within the bounds of this tolerance.
	Restore Defaults	Allows you to restore the default settings.

Predicates


Predicate Type	Operates On	Operators
Length Searches for faces or edges based on their length. When you select a face, it measures the inner and outer loops of the face. So if the face has a hole in the center of the surface, the search accounts for the edges of the hole in addition to the outer loop/perimeter.	Face Edge	below above between not between equal to not equal to
Area Searches for bodies or body groups based on the sum of the areas of the faces in the body or body group. Searches for faces based on their area.	Body Body Group Face
Volume Searches for bodies based on their volume and for body groups based on the sum of the volume of bodies within the group. Sheet bodies within a body group are ignored for volume calculations.	Body Body Group
Radius Searches for faces or edges based on the input radius criteria. You can use this predicate to find pipes and wires in a model. In the case of faces, cylindrical, spherical, and toroidal types are supported. For a toroidal face, only the minor radius is checked. In the case of edges, circular and elliptical types are supported. For an elliptical edge, only the major radius is checked.	Face Edge
Tolerance A tolerant edge is a common edge between two adjacent faces of a solid or sheet body that consists of two geometry curves—one on each face—within the proximity of threshold tolerance. Topologically, the geometry curves represent a single edge and 3D-CAD considers any point within the bounding pipe of these two geometry curves as a point on the common edge. During tessellation 3D-CAD makes the facet edges conformal so that the surface is watertight along the edge. Similarly, a geometry part can contain tolerant vertices. In locations where end points of regular edges or tolerant edges do not meet at a common point but lie within a sphere of influence defined by the threshold tolerance, 3D-CAD treats these points as one single vertex point and uses the same coordinate values. During tessellation, all points within the sphere of influence are merged to avoid any leak. Use this predicate when you see deviated or jagged edges or find that vertex locations are not precisely where you expect them to be. You can then use the results as input to the Optimize Edges repair tool. See Optimizing Edges. If the repair tool cannot fix the problem then you can try to improve the quality by reconstructing the local geometry. In some cases you must revisit the native CAD system in order to regenerate the part with higher precision.	Edge Vertex
X-Bounds Y-Bounds Z-Bounds Allows you to search for entities according to the minimum or maximum extent of their bounding coordinates in the X,Y, or Z directions. For example, if you specify X-Bounds: Body above 0.0 m, then the search finds all bodies whose minimum X-coordinate is greater than 0.0 m. When you select an X, Y, or Z-Bound option in the query panel, a plane appears in the scene representing the distance from the origin along the global X, Y, or Z axis respectively. To set the values of the X, Y, or Z-Bound, drag the plane in either the positive or negative direction along the plane normal. To hide or restore bounding planes, activate View Bounding Planes. When you select the options between or notBetween, two planes appear to represent the limits of the search range. To find entities that are confined within a specific bounding box, combine multiple instances of this predicate.	Body Body Group Face Edge Vertex
Proximity Searches for chosen types of entity that are in close proximity according to the distance specification that you set. These entities can either belong to different bodies or to the same body (intrabody search). The intrabody searches are useful for detecting small gaps or deviations within a body. If only small portion of a body/face is in close proximity with another one, then the Search Tool might fail to find the pairs. For face pairs, you can additionally specify a Proximal Face Angle which means that faces are treated as parallel within this angular tolerance.	Body Pair Face Pair Edge Pair Vertex Pair Intrabody Face Pair Intrabody Edge Pair Intrabody Vertex Pair
Feature Searches for fillets or holes according to the size specification that you set. Searches for sliver faces according to the tolerance value that you set. You can then use this filter as an input to the Remove Sliver Faces repair tool. See Removing Sliver Faces. Searches for wedges or notches according to the angle specification that you set.	Fillet Radius Hole Diameter
	Sliver Width	below between
	Wedge Angle Notch Angle	below between equal to
Name Allows you to search for entities based on their names or parts thereof. For body groups, only the names of body groups are considered—not the names of bodies within them.	Body Body Group Face Edge Vertex	contains does not contain matches does not match starts with does not start with ends with does not end with
Tag Allows you to search for topological entities that contain (or does not contain) a specific tag.	Body Body Group Face Edge	contains does not contain
Shape Enables you to search for the following shapes when you select Face: Planar Cylindrical Conical Spherical Toroidal B-Surface Enables you to search for the following shapes when you select Edge: Linear Circular Elliptical B-Spline	Face Edge	is is not
Clash With Body Pair, you can search for the following types of clash: Interference: Searches for pairs that are interfering with one another. Abutment: Searches for body pairs that are in contact with one another. For the pairs found by this search, contacts are created when you imprint them together or when you transfer them to parts. Containment: Searches for bodies that are fully contained within another body. With Face Pair, the clash types are: Intersection: Searches for faces that are intersecting each other. Overlap: Searches for faces that are overlapping each other. Coincidence: Finds contact patches (the common face between two bodies after being imprinted).	Body Pair Face Pair	is is not
Fault Searches the geometry for invalid entities. In the case of face faults, you can search for both boundary representation (B-rep) and tessellation (Facet) errors. You can select from the following conditions for faces: Invalid Geometry: Searches for faces that have B-rep errors. Invalid Facets: Allows you to search for faces that have tessellation errors. Missing Facets: Allows you to search for Parasolid tessellation failures in a complex model. For body or edge faults, any errors are purely B-rep based. You can only select: Invalid Geometry: Searches for invalid bodies or edges.	Body Face Edge	is is not
Category Searches the geometry valid entities that belong to a specified category. For bodies, the predicates are: Solid Sheet Faceted Solid (Mesh Solid) Faceted Sheet (Mesh Sheet) For edges, you can select from one of the following categories: Free, which means that the search tool can find free edges (edges that have exactly one connected face). Convex, meaning that the search tool can find convex edges. Concave, meaning that the search tool can find concave edges. Knife Convex Knife Concave For faces, the category is Void Regions, which finds faces that enclose void regions or cavities. You can use this predicate to find cavities that are hidden deep inside a body.	Body Edge Face	is is not

Filter Operators

When creating a filter, you can combine multiple search terms together using operators.


Operator	Description
AND	Assesses each predicate independently based on the starting input and then produces the final result as the intersection of all the predicate outputs.
OR	Assesses each predicate independently and returns a match if any of the input criteria are met.
PIPE	Creates a pipeline (PIPE is shorthand for pipeline) for predicates, where the output of the first predicate is used as the input to the second predicate, and so on.

Results

Use the following options to create a filter, selection or display the results in a table list.


Color selector	Allows you to choose your preferred color to view the results.
Set Transparent	Assigns transparency to the resulting entity currently active in the graphics window.
Navigation buttons	Allows you to navigate through the results. You can also use the <Right> and <Left> arrow keys to move from one result to the next. The <Up> and <Down> arrow keys allows you to view the first and last result.
Isolate Result	When activated, 3D-CAD hides all objects apart from the ones that belong to a particular result. For example, when you are browsing pairs of entities, you can: Activate Isolate Result Select your preferred color for each item in the pair If a pair is overlapping, you can activate Set Transparency for one or both entities in the pair.
Reset View	Allows you to reposition the view in the graphics window.
Create
Filter	When selected, the results are stored in a filter which can be accessed within the Design Filters node of the 3D-CAD tree.
Selection	Stores the results in a selection for immediate use in 3D-CAD features.

The following table summarizes the properties that are available for the result table.


Table	Allows you to display and interact with the results in a table list.
	(Set Transparent)	Assigns transparency to selected results entity currently active in the graphics window.
	(Swap result pair colors)	Allows you to swap the colors when you have pairs in the table.
	(Isolate the selected result)	Hides all objects apart from the ones that are selected in the table.
	(Reset view to selected result)	Automatically repositions the scene view to display all of the selected items.
	(Show entity clusters in the table)	Organizes the table into clusters of objects that are connected to each other.
	(Execute the filter to refresh the result in the table)	Allows you to re-execute the filter to refresh the result in the table.
	(Activate feature menu)	Allows you to use the results as inputs to 3D-CAD features.