Creating a Source Mesh Using an Existing Mesh
It is possible to use an existing volume mesh as the source surface mesh.
The following requirements must be met before an existing mesh can be extracted for the directed meshing part:
- The directed meshing part must be CAD imprinted to the existing volume mesh part so that an in-place part contact is created.
- If you are connecting to multiple existing volume meshes, all the existing meshes must belong to the same mesh operation.
- Where the existing volume mesh and directed mesh part surfaces are coincident, the part surface boundaries must match up and share edges. You can use the split by patch option to separate the necessary part surfaces.
- Create a separate part surface for each side of the interface.
| Note | It is not possible to use an existing 2D mesh that is created outside of the Directed Meshing tool as a source surface mesh for directed meshing. However, you can create a 2D source surface mesh specifically for Directed Meshing. See Creating a 2D Source Mesh. |
To create a source mesh using a previously defined volume mesh:
- In the Graphics window, select one or more source surfaces.
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Right-click one of the source surfaces and select .
Alternatively:
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Right-click the Source Meshes node in the Directed Mesh panel and select .
- In the Part-collection for this source mesh dialog, select one or more parts for the source mesh.
The properties of the [Existing Mesh] node contain the Part Collections that are selected for this distribution. See Source Meshes – Existing Mesh Properties.
| Note | If the Source Mesh From option is changed to Quadrilateral Mesh, the dirty flag is set on the [Existing Mesh] node, the corresponding Part collection, and the Directed Mesh operation. |
Updating the Source Mesh can be accomplished using one of the following options:
- Right-click the [Existing Mesh] node and select Update.
- Right-click the [Part Collection] and select Generate Volume Mesh.
- Right-click the Directed Mesh operation and select Execute.
When using the Automatic source meshing, all parts in the source surfaces have remeshed surfaces. If they do not, then the initial surface for any non-remeshed part is used as the source surface for all the parts in the collection.
