verisurf reverse manager - 3dgage reverse manager when verisurf’s reverse add-on is installed in...

Verisurf Reverse Manager

Overview The Verisurf Reverse Manager add-on gives Mastercam users the ability to visualize, create and manipulate point-clouds, meshes, STL files and single- and multiple-patch surfaces.

Point-clouds can be used to create NURBS surfaces and meshes, and meshes can be used in conjunction with curve networks to create multi-patch NURBS surfaces. Editing tools allow point-clouds and meshes to be cropped and modified, and filtering tools allow high-density clouds to be thinned into an even distribution prior to use in surfacing and meshing.

The slice tool allows meshes to be cross-sectioned along the cardinal planes of the reference frame, or even perpendicular to a guide curve. These slices can then be used to create lofted surfaces. Finally, the projection tool facilitates the creation of projection curves for multi-surface curve networks, and for laser projection.

Doc-To-Help Standard Template8-12-2008 (Beta 1) 0BVerisurf Reverse Manager • 1

The Reverse Manager When Verisurf’s Reverse add-on is installed in Mastercam X, the Reverse Manager tab is added to Mastercam’s Operations Manager. All of the controls necessary to open a point-cloud file or import points from Mastercam, or to create, edit and manipulate meshes and surface patches, are located on the toolbars on the Reverse Manager, or can be accessed from speed menus on the data tree within the Reverse Manager.

The Reverse Manager Interface The Reverse Manager consists of a set of toolbars that include the most common operations on point-clouds, a data tree that lists all of the points, point-clouds, meshes and fitted-shapes in the Verisurf Reverse database, and a summary box that shows the details of the highlighted entity.

The Reverse Manager

The Reverse Manager Toolbar The toolbars provide access to the most commonly used point-cloud and mesh tools. The toolbars can be undocked and repositioned on the Reverse Manager, but they cannot be customized or docked on the main Mastercam toolbar area. The buttons are described as follows:

Import Point-cloud – import a point-cloud or STL mesh file into the Reverse Manager.

Import CAD – import CAD data from Mastercam into the Reverse Manager.

Patch – create a surface patch from a point-cloud or mesh.

Mesh – create a mesh from a point-cloud.

Flip Normals – reverse the direction of the surface normals on a mesh.


Multi-Surface – create a multiple-patch surface from a point-cloud, mesh and curve network.

Slice Mesh – create cross-section curves, lines and surfaces by slicing a mesh.

Toggle Faces – toggle the display of mesh faces.

Toggle Edges – toggle the display of mesh facet-edges.

Toggle Lines – toggle the display of “scan lines” in point-clouds.

Screen Shot – capture an image of the Mastercam Graphics Window and open it in Paintbrush.

Display Settings – open the Display Settings dialog.

Help – display the help file.

The Reverse Manager Data Tree The data tree lists all the point-clouds and derived entities in the Verisurf data structure, including points, clouds, meshes and fitted features. The data tree can be used to control the display of entities in the Mastercam Graphics Window, and to access feature-specific functions, such as point-cloud meshing, mesh slicing, etc.

The data tree contains four root types: Points, Point-clouds, Meshes and Features. These root entries are a permanent part of the tree and cannot be deleted, either accidentally or intentionally.

The Reverse Manager Statistics Box The Statistics Box lists the relevant information for the point, cloud, mesh or fitted feature that currently has focus. If multiple entities have the focus, no summary information is displayed. This is for display purposes only.

Changing the Reverse Manager Background Color 1. Right-click in the white-space surrounding the data tree. Verisurf displays

the Background Color dialog.

Color Dialog

2. Select the background color for the Reverse Manager.

If you want to select a custom color, choose the More button on the color dialog to open the advanced Color dialog.


Controlling the Display of Entities The data tree can be used to control the display of entities in the Graphics Window in two ways: by using check-boxes and by highlighting. If an entity is “checked” or is highlighted, it will be displayed; otherwise it will not be displayed.

To Display, Hide or Select an Entity Removing the check from multiple entities and displaying them by highlighting is a convenient way to quickly see the differences between entities that would otherwise occupy the same position in the Graphics Window.

To display an entity in the Graphics Window, do one of the following:

• Place a check mark in the box to the left of the entity.

• Click on the entity to highlight it. Verisurf will display a bounding box around the entity.

You can use Shift+Click and Ctrl+Click to highlight multiple entities.

You can highlight all entities of a given type by clicking on the root entity.

To hide an entity, do both of the following:

• Remove the check mark in the box to the left of the entity.

• Make sure the entity is not highlighted: Ctrl+Click a highlighted entity, or highlight a different entity. You can remove highlighting from all entities by clicking in the white space surrounding the data tree.

Referring to the illustration show here, a few observations can be made:

• Cloud 1 is visible because it is checked.

• Cloud 2 and Cloud 3_Mesh are visible because they are highlighted, even though Cloud 2 is not checked. A bounding box will be drawn around both these entities.

• Cloud 3 is not visible because it is neither checked nor highlighted.

The Bounding Box When a feature has focus in the data tree, Verisurf uses a bounding box – with the vertices of box shown in red – to show the extents of the point-cloud or mesh.

Bounding Box


Since clouds and meshes are not Mastercam entities, Verisurf displays a green point at the centroid of the bounding box to facilitate rotation of the box. If multiple entities are selected, each is shown with its own bounding box, and rotation is performed around the cumulative centroid of all the data.

Verisurf Preferences – Display Settings The Display Settings dialog allows the user to control various aspects of the display of points, point-clouds, and meshes. These settings apply globally to all entities in the Reverse Manager data tree, but have no effect on CAD data in the Mastercam Graphics Window.

Changing the Display Settings Changes in the Display Settings dialog are applied immediately, so that you can see the effect of each control on the display of point-clouds and meshes.

1. On the Reverse Manager toolbar, choose the Display Settings button. Verisurf opens the Verisurf Preferences dialog with the Display Settings selected.

Verisurf Preferences Dialog – Display Settings

The contents of the left pane will vary, depending on which Verisurf tools you have installed.


2. If you want to change the display attributes of points, make sure the Point group is expanded. You can do this by clicking on the “+” to the left of the Point label to show the display controls for Points.

The following parameters control the display of points:

Show Point Name – if checked, point names are displayed.

Point Size – controls the size, in pixels, of individual points. You can double-click on the number to increment the point size, or you can select the point size directly from the drop-down list.

Point Style – controls the symbol used to represent individual points. You can double-click on the symbol name to change point style, or you can select the point style directly from the drop-down list.

3. If you want to change the display attributes of point-clouds, make sure the Point-cloud group is expanded. You can do this by clicking on the “+” to the left of the Point-cloud label to show the display controls for Point-clouds.

The following parameters control the display of points-clouds:

Point Size – controls the size, in pixels, of individual points. You can double-click on the number to increment the point size, or you can select the point size directly from the drop-down list.

Point Style – controls the symbol used to represent individual points. You can double-click on the symbol name to change point style, or you can select the point style directly from the drop-down list.

4. If you want to change the display attributes of meshes, make sure the Mesh group is expanded. You can do this by clicking on the “+” to the left of the Point-cloud label to show the display controls for Point-clouds.

The following parameters control the display of meshes:

Show Points – if checked, mesh points are displayed.

Show Faces – if checked, mesh faces are displayed. You can also use the Toggle Faces button on the Reverse Manager toolbar

Show Face Edges – if checked, face edges – the boundaries of the triangular faces – are displayed. You can also use the Toggle Face Edges button on the Reverse Manager toolbar.

Note: if Points, Faces and Face Edges are all left un-checked, the mesh will not be visible, even if it is checked or highlighted in the data tree.

Smooth Shade – if checked, Verisurf applies a smoothing algorithm to the triangular facets; otherwise, the facets are displayed as planes.


Use Shader – if checked, the Shader Style is applied to the mesh; otherwise, it is ignored.

Shader Style – controls the style of mesh shading. You can double-click on the shader style to change it, or you can select the shader style directly from the drop-down list.

5. When you are done changing the display settings, choose the OK button to close the dialog.


Importing Point-cloud Data For reasons of computational efficiency, Verisurf maintains a point-cloud data structure that is separate from Mastercam’s. In this document, entities (points, point-clouds, meshes and other features) in the Reverse Manager data tree are said to exist within Verisurf; points in Mastercam are said to exist within CAD. Entities in the Verisurf data structure are not reported in Mastercam Screen Statistics. Regardless of where they reside, all entities are displayed in Mastercam’s Graphics Window.

Some but not all of the operations in the Reverse Manager require that point-clouds be resident in Verisurf’s data structures. In these cases, point-clouds can either be read from a file directly into the Reverse Manager data tree, or they can be imported from CAD.

In some cases, such as meshing, CAD data can be used directly, and the corresponding structures will be created automatically in the Reverse Manager data tree. However, this approach will leave a duplicate set of CAD points in Mastercam. For this reason, it is always best to import point-clouds from CAD when you want to operate on them.

Importing Point-cloud Files Verisurf can import point-clouds from ASCII delimited files and from .STL files. If an .STL file is imported as points, a new point-cloud is created; if it is imported as faces, a new mesh is created.

To Import a Point-cloud File 1. Choose the Open Cloud button on the Reverse Manager toolbar. Verisurf

displays the Import Cloud or Mesh dialog:

Import Cloud or Mesh Dialog

2. Use the Files of type drop-down to indicate whether you want to import a text file, an STL file as points, or an STL file as faces.

3. Navigate to the cloud or mesh file that you want to open, and then choose the Open button.


Verisurf creates a new entity in the Reverse Manager data tree. If you import an STL file as faces, a new mesh is created; otherwise, a new point-cloud is created.

4. The name of the cloud or mesh defaults to the name of the imported file; you may optionally rename the entity in the data tree.

Importing Points from CAD When you import points from CAD, a new Point-cloud entity is created in the Reverse Manager data tree, and the CAD points are permanently deleted from Mastercam’s database. You can, however, export the points back to CAD if necessary.

To Import Points from CAD 1. Use any of Mastercam’s selection tools to select the points that you want to

import. If you don’t make a selection, all points in the Graphics Window are imported.

2. Choose the Import CAD button on the Reverse Manager toolbar. Verisurf creates a new point-cloud entity in the data tree and then displays the Edit Measurement Info dialog:

Edit Measurement Info Dialog

3. In the Edit Measurement Info dialog, enter the appropriate meta-data for the point-cloud.

The data is optional, but if the probe radius is non-zero, you should enter the appropriate value. Probe Radius, Date and Time, and Temperature are stored only if the corresponding box is checked.

4. Click OK to close the dialog and save the meta-data.

5. You may optionally rename the new point-cloud entity in the data tree.


Tools Common to Point-clouds and Meshes The Reverse Manager offers a number of tools for manipulating points, point-clouds, meshes and fitted-features. Some tools are specific to one entity type; others apply to two or more. These common tools are described here. Entity-specific tools are described in separate sections.

The Edit Tool The Edit tool allows you to select and delete individual points (in a cloud) or facets (in a mesh). This is useful when cleaning up point-clouds that were created with a laser scanner, and which contain over-scan areas. It is also useful for modifying meshes that include irregularities, such as holes.

To Edit a Point-cloud or Mesh 1. In the Revere Manager data tree, right-click on the entity that you want to

edit, and then select Edit from the speed menu. Mastercam displays a prompt:

or

2. Using the left mouse button, drag over the points or facets that you want to edit. As you select the points or facets, they are highlighted in red.

If you are editing a point-cloud, you can type ‘S’ to display the Disc Selection tool. This allows you to highlight large areas of points. You must set focus by clicking in the Graphics Window before you can choose ‘S’, so make sure to click on an area that you want to delete.

3. When you are done selecting, type ‘C’ to copy the selection to a new point-cloud or mesh, type ‘X’ to cut the selection and create a new entity, or type ‘D’ to delete the selection and remove it from the entity.

4. Press <Esc> when you are done editing.

The Crop Tool The Crop tool allows you to remove excess regions from a point-cloud or mesh using the bounding box to enclose the regions that you want preserve. You can choose to crop a copy of the original entity.

To Crop a Point-cloud or Mesh 1. In the Revere Manager data tree, right-click on the entity that you want to

crop, and then select Crop from the speed menu. Verisurf displays the Crop dialog:


The Crop Dialog

The dialog is arranged into three sets of controls, one set each for the X-, Y- and Z-axis directions.

Each group is comprised of the following: two grayed-out text controls that display the min/max value of the cloud or mesh along the given axis, two sliders that control the position of the cropping planes, and two text controls that show the position of the cropping plane.

2. Using the sliders, adjust the X-, Y-, and Z-cropping planes to exclude those portions of the entity that you want to crop.

If you want to preserve the original entity and crop a copy, check the Create a Copy box.

3. When you have set the cropping planes, choose the Crop button. Verisurf crops the entity as defined.

Using XForm to Transform Clouds and Meshes The Transform (XForm) tool allows you to rotate, translate, mirror and scale point-clouds and meshes. The cumulative effects of the transformation are stored with the entity as a local transform. This local transform can be reset to bring the entity back to its original orientation. The Statistics box on the Reverse Manager indicates whether a local transformation is active.

To Transform a Point-cloud or Mesh If the entity is not already visible, selecting it here will make it visible by virtue of being highlighted.

1. In the data tree, right-click on the point-cloud or mesh that you want to transform, and then select Tools | XForm from the speed menu. Verisurf displays the XForm dialog:


The XForm Dialog

2. If you want to translate the entity, choose the Translate radio button to make the Translate group active.

To translate by specific amounts, type the values in the X, Y and Z inputs.

To translate between points, choose the Between button. You are then prompted to select the From and To points.

To translate the centroid of the entity to the origin, choose the To Origin button.

3. If you want to rotate the entity, choose the Rotate radio button to make the Rotate group active.

Enter the rotations around the X-, Y- and Z-axes in the inputs.

4. If you want to mirror the entity, choose the Mirror radio button to make the Mirror group active.

Check the boxes that correspond to the axes about which you want the entity mirrored.

5. If you want to scale the entity, choose the Scale radio button to make the Scale group active.

Enter the X-, Y- and Z-scale factors in the appropriate inputs. Be careful to enter the same value in all three inputs unless you have a good reason to enter different scale values for each axis.

6. If you want to transform between Mastercam work planes, choose the Between Views/WCS radio button to make that group active.

Using the drop-downs, select the views between which you want to transform

7. Once you have entered the desired transformation values in the preceding steps, choose the XForm button to apply the transformation. Only the transformation values from the active group will be applied. Each time you choose the XForm button, the transformation will be applied cumulatively.

8. If you want to undo the most recent transformation, check the Invert box and then choose the XForm button.


9. If you want to undo all transformations, choose the Reset button. You are asked to confirm this action.

10. If you want to dynamically rotate and translate the entity, click in the Graphics Window and type either “T” for translate or “R” for rotate. You can then freely translate and rotate the entity by dragging with the mouse.

Rotation takes place in the Mastercam View plane.

Rotations and translations performed this way cannot be “inverted”; however, you can use the Reset function to undo all transformations.

Renaming Entities Entities are assigned a default name when they are created. You can easily assign more meaningful names.

To Rename an Entity 1. In the Reverse Manager data tree, highlight the entity that you want to

rename, and then click again to open the name for editing.

Or

Right-click on the entity that you want to rename, and then choose Rename from the speed menu.

2. Type a new name for the entity in the edit box.

3. Click anywhere in the white space surrounding the data tree to save the name.

Changing Color New entities are colored white by default. You can change the entity color after it has been created.

To Change the Color of an Entity 1. In the Reverse Manager data tree, right-click on the entity whose color you

want to change, then choose Color from the speed menu to gain access to the color dialog:

Entity Color Dialog

2. If you want to select a custom color, choose the More button on the color dialog to open the advanced Colors dialog:


The Colors Dialog

Verisurf will apply the color to both the entity as well as the entity name in the data tree, for easier visual identification.

Changing Transparency You can adjust the transparency of a mesh between 0-100%. The transparency tool acts immediately, so you can see the effect on the mesh as you change transparency.

To Change the Transparency of a Mesh 1. In the Reverse Manager data tree, right-click on the mesh whose

transparency you want to change, then choose Transparency from the speed menu. Verisurf displays the Alpha dialog:

The Alpha dialog

2. In the Alpha dialog, adjust the slider until the desired transparency is achieved.

3. Close the dialog when finished.

Deleting Entities You can delete entities from the Reverse Manager data tree. Deleting data is permanent; deleting entities in the data tree cannot be undone by Mastercam’s undo command.


To Delete an Entity There are a number of ways to delete entities:

• Highlight an entity on the data tree and then press the Delete key. You are prompted to confirm the action. You can highlight multiple entities and delete them all at the same time.

• In the data tree, right-click on the entity that you want to delete, then choose Delete from the speed menu. The entity is deleted without confirmation.

• If you want to delete all entities of a given type, for example all meshes. right-click on the entity root and select Delete from the speed menu. The root entity is not be deleted.


Working with Point-clouds There are a number of operations that are specific to point-clouds; these include filtering, displaying the scan pattern, creating a mesh, and fitting point-clouds to other geometric features, such as lines and planes.

Exporting Point-clouds to CAD In some cases it is advantageous or necessary to export point-clouds from the Reverse Manager data tree back into Mastercam.

To Export a Point-cloud or Mesh to CAD 1. In the Reverse Manager data tree, left click on the point-cloud or mesh that

you want to export to CAD, then choose Export | To CAD Points from the speed menu.

The points will be exported to Mastercam using the current entity settings.

If you want to export multiple point-clouds or meshes to export, you should first use Ctrl+Click to select them in the data tree.

Merging Points and Clouds You can merge individual point-clouds into a single entity. Once merged, the clouds are combined into a single entity, and the original point-clouds are deleted. This operation cannot be undone.

To Merge Points and Clouds 1. In the Reverse Manager data tree, highlight the point-clouds that you want

to merge. You must select at least two point-clouds.

2. Right-click on one of the point-clouds and then choose Merge Points and Clouds from the speed menu.

3. Verisurf will create a single point-cloud that combines the original clouds.

Filtering Point Clouds In many cases, a point cloud will have too many points, or the points will be poorly distributed. Before the point-cloud can be used to create another feature such as a mesh, the points need to be thinned to a more even distribution.

To Filter a Point-cloud 1. In the data tree, right-click on the point-cloud that you want to filter, and

then choose Tools | Filter from the speed menu. Verisurf displays the Filter Cloud dialog:


The Filter Cloud Dialog

2. If you want to sort by minimum distance, choose the By Minimum Distance radio button and then enter the minimum distance between points.

3. If you want to sort by Percent, choose the Percent radio button and then enter the percent of the point data that you want to remove. You can use the slider to change the percentage.

4. If you want to sort by Curvature, choose the By Curvature button and then enter the number of points.

5. The filtering process is destructive; points are permanently removed during filtering. Check the Create a Copy box if you want to perform the filtering on a copy of the original point-cloud.

6. Choose the Filter button to start filtering. Close the dialog when finished.

Toggle Cloud as Lines When data is collected using a portable device such as an articulating-arm or laser tracker, it is often helpful to show the original scan pattern by connecting the points with lines in a consecutive pattern. This makes it very easy to see the pattern.

To Display Point-cloud Scan Lines 1. Choose the Toggle Cloud as Lines button on the Reverse Manager

toolbar. This toggle will alternately display and hide the scan lines.

Creating a Mesh from a Point-cloud Point-clouds can be turned into meshes quickly and easily using Verisurf’s mesh tool. Meshing is a very important and powerful function, since it allows a user to take scan data and create a tool path with very little effort. Meshes can also be used in Verisurf to auto-align, build, inspect and analyze functions in exactly the same way that a regular surface would be used.

To Create a Mesh from a Point-cloud You can create a mesh from a point-cloud using the toolbar or the speed menu.

1. In the data tree, highlight the point-cloud(s) that you want to mesh. If you do not select a point-cloud, an individual mesh is created for each point-cloud in the tree, even if it is not displayed (checked).


If you want to mesh CAD data directly – without importing it into the data tree – simply unselect any entities in the data tree and choose the Mesh button on the Reverse Manager toolbar. Verisurf will automatically create the point-cloud and mesh entities, but it will also leave the CAD points intact, which consumes some resources.

2. Choose the Mesh button on the Reverse Manager toolbar. This uses the current mesh parameters to create a mesh for each highlighted point-cloud.

If you want to change the mesh parameters before fitting a mesh, right-click on the selected point-clouds and select Tools | Mesh from the speed menu. Verisurf displays the Create Mesh dialog:

The Create Mesh Dialog

3. Enter appropriate values for the Max Edge Length and Num Neighbors.

4. Choose the Create button to create the mesh.

Fitting Point-clouds to Geometric Features The Reverse Manager allows you to create geometric primitives by fitting point-clouds to pre-determined shape-models using the method of least-squares. Circles can also be calculated as circumscribed or inscribed. The probe radius of the fitted feature is taken from the source point-cloud(s).

The fitting of single-patch surfaces is covered in another section.

The tools described here for offline fitting of point-clouds to geometric shapes are typically used when the data was collected externally and then imported into Mastercam. Verisurf’s Measure Manager offers tools to measure and fit geometry in real-time.

To Fit a Point-cloud to a Geometric Primitive Geometric Primitives refers to Lines, Circles, Planes, Spheres, Cylinders and Cones. Fitting Paraboloids is described in the next section.

1. In the data tree, right-click on the point-cloud or mesh that you want to fit to a geometric primitive, and then choose Fit | Shape from the speed menu, where Shape refers to the appropriate geometry.

Verisurf calculates the shape and creates a new feature entity in the data tree. The original point-cloud or mesh is deleted from the data tree. The fitted feature resides in the Reverse Manager data tree.

Adjusting Feature Fit-Parameters After a point-cloud has been fitted to a feature, the fit-parameters of the feature can be adjusted and the feature recalculated.


1. In the Reverse Manager data tree, double-click on the feature whose fit-parameters you want to adjust. Verisurf displays the Calculate Fit dialog:

The Calculate Fit Dialog

The contents of the dialog will vary depending on which type of feature has been calculated. Changes to the parameters have an immediate effect on the calculation, so that you can see how various changes will affect the fit.

2. In the Probe Compensation group box, indicate the direction of probe compensation: In, None or Out. Select In if the probe was inside a circle, cylinder or cone; otherwise, select Out. Select None if the point-cloud has no radial offset.

3. The Fit group box applies only to circles; all other shapes use least-squares fitting. Select LSQ Fit if you want to use least-squares to calculate the circle; otherwise, select Inscribe or Circumscribe.

4. The Plane/Project group box applies only to lines and circles; all other features are fitted in 3D. Select the plane in which the feature should be fitted. Choose 3D if the feature does not lie in a plane, choose one of the cardinal planes of the axis system, or choose the Last plane used.

You can also select an Other plane, and then choose the Set Plane button. You are prompted you to select an existing plane in the Graphics Window.

5. In the Constraints group box, enter any constraints that you want to place on the feature-fit. The constraints for each feature-type are described as follows:


Fixed Offset – applies to all feature types. This Offset is an additional offset that has the same effect as a probe radius, but which is applied even if probe radius compensation is set to None.

Fixed Height – applies to lines, planes & circles.

Fixed Length – applies to lines & planes.

Fixed Radius – applies to circles & cylinders (cones?). If you enter a radius value, Verisurf will constrain the feature-fit to hold this radial value.

6. The Results group box displays the results of the feature fit. It is a reference summary and cannot be edited.

7. The Measurements group lists the measured point coordinates used in the calculation. It is a reference summary and cannot be edited.

8. After you have made the desired changes to the feature’s fit parameters, choose the Calculate button to recalculate the feature. Verisurf will update the data tree and Graphics Window.


Creating Surface Patches The Reverse Manager allows you to create single- and multiple-patch surfaces from point-cloud and mesh data. Single-patch surfaces can be created very quickly, and require only the selection of maximum standard deviation or UV grid setting. Multi-patch surfaces are only slightly more involved, and require the use of a mesh and a curve network. Surface patches – whether single or multiple – are created and stored as Mastercam CAD surfaces.

Single-Patch Surfaces Single-patch surfaces are best used when the point-cloud or mesh represents a simple surface contour without complex curvature and with no holes. Simple folds, such as saddles and trough-shapes, work well with the single-patch surface.

To Create a Single-Patch Surface The patch tool works on the selected data; make sure that you have selected the appropriate data prior to creating the patch.

1. Select the point-cloud, mesh or CAD points that you want to surface.

If you want to use CAD points, use Mastercam’s selection tools to choose the appropriate CAD points.

If you want to use point-cloud(s) or mesh(es) from the data tree, highlight the appropriate entities. If you highlight multiple entities, Verisurf will attempt to fit a single-patch through all of them.

2. Choose the Patch button from the Reverse Manager toolbar. You can also right-click on the entity in the data tree that you want to surface, and then choose Fit | Surface Patch from the speed menu.

Verisurf displays the Surface Patch dialog:

Surface Patch Dialog

3. Choose the appropriate Start Patch Projection from the drop-down list.

This projection defines the starting orientation for the draping process used to create the patch surface. Choose the starting orientation that will result in the most even draping onto the data.


It is common to orient the data in the Graphics Window such that the drape would fall onto the data in the view direction. In this case, choose Current Graphics View.

4. Enter the desired Fit Parameters – the maximum standard deviation (Max Std Dev) and UV grid lines (Max Control U and V).

These values work together to control the fit of the surface patch to the points. The fit algorithm will attempt to satisfy both the constraint that the surface has a standard deviation no greater than the maximum while still using less than the maximum number of UV lines.

The Standard deviation controls how closely the surface follows the data; a small maximum forces the surface through the points at the expense of smoothness. A good rule of thumb is to set the Max Std Dev to a value that is twice the value of the measurement process uncertainty.

The UV grid values control the complexity of the surface; the more UV lines, the more complex the surface. It is desirable to use the fewest lines necessary to create an accurate surface.

5. Enter the Surface Parameters – Extend Distance and Probe Radius.

Extend Distance controls how far beyond the limits of the point cloud the fitted surface should be extended. A non-zero value is desirable to avoid loss of accuracy at the boundary of the surface. The extended surface can later be trimmed to a spline.

The Probe Radius is the radial offset of the probe used to capture the point-cloud data. Choose the Probe Offset button to read the probe radius from the cloud. Enter a negative value if the fitted surface will lie behind the point cloud relative to the Start Patch Projection. This is the normal case.

6. Check the Deviation Results box if you want to see the fit statistics when the surface is created.

7. Choose the Create Surface button when you are ready.

Verisurf shows a progress bar during the calculations. When the calculation is complete, Verisurf displays the fitted surface in the Graphics Window and opens the Results dialog:

Results Dialog for Surface Patch


The Fit Results group displays the statistics of the patch calculation, including Standard Deviation. The Surface Info shows how many UV control points were used. Both should be under the limits you set prior to the fit. If either value is exceeded, it might not be possible to satisfy both criteria give the data.

8. If you want to recalculate the surface patch, you can check the Remove Outliers box and enter the magnitude of the outliers that you want to exclude. These points will not be deleted, but will be ignored in the calculations.

If the Remove Outliers box is checked when you close the Results dialog, Verisurf will recalculate the surface; otherwise, Verisurf will save the fitted surface as a CAD entity.

9. To close the dialog without saving the surface, choose Cancel.

Multi-Patch Surfaces Multiple-patch surfaces require only a little more effort than single-patch surfaces, the primary difference being the creation of a curve network and a mesh. Curve networks are created using splines, and meshes are created using the mesh tools in the Reverse Manager.

Rules for Creating Curve Networks This section does not describe how to create splines; it simply summarizes the rules for how splines are used to control multiple-patch surfaces.

• All curves have to be single entities, not combinations of lines and splines.

• All curves must intersect, end-to-end, or at a T-junction.

• The curve network does not have to lie on the mesh, or even go through the points in the cloud.

• Open edges, such as holes, are designated by the color red.

To Create a Multiple-Patch Surface 1. Create a curve network that divides the point-cloud or mesh into rectangular

regions with uniform curvature. The general rule is that each region should be capable of being surfaced as a single-patch. The curve network exists as CAD curves.

2. Create a mesh using the point-cloud(s) that you want to surface. The mesh exists as an entity in the Reverse Manager data tree.

3. In the Graphics Window, select the curve network.

4. Choose the Multi-surface button on the Reverse Manager toolbar. Verisurf opens the Network dialog:


The Network Dialog

5. In the Fit Parameters group, enter the desired Fit Parameters – the maximum standard deviation (Max Std Dev), UV grid lines (Max Control U and V), G1 Tolerance, Fairing and number of Boundary Ctrl Pts.

The first three values work together to control the fit of the surface patch to the points. The fit algorithm will attempt to satisfy both the constraint that the surface has a standard deviation no greater than the maximum while still using less than the maximum number of UV lines.

The Standard deviation controls how closely the surface follows the data; a small maximum forces the surface through the points at the expense of smoothness. A good rule of thumb is to set the Max Std Dev to a value that is twice the value of the measurement process uncertainty.

The UV grid values control the complexity of the surface; the more UV lines, the more complex the surface. It is desirable to use the fewest lines necessary to create an accurate surface

G1 tolerance controls the tangency between adjacent surfaces; the smaller the number, the smaller the angular difference.

6. In the Surface Parameters group, enter the Probe Radius. The Probe Radius is the radial offset of the probe used to capture the point-cloud data. Choose the Probe Offset button to read the probe radius from the cloud. Enter a negative value if the fitted surface will lie behind the point cloud relative to the mesh normal? This is the typical case.

7. Choose the Create Surface button when you are ready.

Verisurf displays a progress bar during the calculation. Once the surface has been created, it exists as a surface within CAD.

8. Close the Network dialog.

Fitting Parabolic Surfaces (Paraboloids) Paraboloids have a special significance, since great effort is often spent measuring and analyzing parabolic surfaces, such as satellite antennas. The process for fitting a paraboloid is therefore somewhat more advanced than the other geometries.


To Fit a Point-cloud to a Paraboloid 1. In the data tree, right-click on the point-cloud or mesh that you want to fit to

a paraboloid, and then choose Fit | Paraboloid from the speed menu. Verisurf displays the Paraboloid dialog:

The Paraboloid Dialog

2. If you want to lock any values during the best-fit, enter the known values for Vertex, focal Axis, Focal Point, Focal Length, Diameter and/or Height, then check the box next to the values that you want to constrain.

You can use the Reset button to clear the entries on these constraint fields.

Diameter and Height are surface creation parameters only; they have no effect on the best-fit of the paraboloid.

3. Enter the probe radius, or choose the Probe Radius button to get the probe radius from the connected device.

4. Choose the Solve button to solve the paraboloid best-fit.

Verisurf displays the fit results in the Result group box.

5. Choose the Create button to create a CAD surface that represents the calculated paraboloid. The surface exists in CAD only.

6. Choose the Check button to close the dialog.


Working with Meshes The procedure to create a mesh was described in Creating a Mesh from a Point-cloud. This section describes the operations that can be performed on existing meshes. Operations include smoothing, slicing, offsetting, filtering and extending. You can also fit meshes to geometric features, project curves onto them, and export them to a variety of targets.

Creating Curves on a Mesh Verisurf offers two methods to place curves on a mesh: Projecting and Sketching. The Project tool projects an existing curve onto a mesh. This feature is useful for creating curve networks for use in multi-patch surface generation. It is also helpful when creating ply projection patterns for use with a laser projector.

The Sketch tool allows you to sketch a spline directly onto the mesh surface. This is convenient when projecting curves do not exist. It is also an ideal way to place curve networks on a mesh for multi-patch surface creation.

To Project a Curve onto a Mesh 1. In the Reverse Manager data tree, right-click on the mesh onto which you

want to project curves, and then choose Tools | Project from the speed menu. Verisurf displays the Project Curve dialog, overlaid by the Mastercam Chaining dialog.

The Mastercam Chaining Dialog

2. Choose 3D, select the Chain button, and then chain the curves that you want to project. You can also access the Chaining dialog by choosing the Chain button on the Project Curve dialog.

Refer to Mastercam Basics for more information on chaining.


The Project Curve Dialog

3. In the Method group box, check the corresponding box and enter a value for each method that you want to use for generating points on the projected curve. The effect of each method is described here:

Max Chord Height sets a limit on the distance from the curve to the chordal line between any two consecutive points on the curve. The effect is to increase the density of points in areas of high curvature.

Max Distance Along sets a limit on the distance between points. This value ensures that straight sections have at least a minimum number of points.

Max Num of Points sets a total limit on the number of curve points. If this value is inconsistent with other settings, it will take priority. If too few points are used, the curve might not project accurately.

4. In the Save group box, check the Splines box if you want to save splines, and check the Surface box if you want to save surfaces.

5. Choose the Project button to project the curves onto the mesh.

If the Delete box is checked when the curves are projected, the curves chained at the start of the procedure are deleted.

To Sketch a Curve on a Mesh 1. In the Reverse Manager data tree, right-click the mesh onto which you want

to sketch a curve, and then choose Tools | Sketch from the speed menu.

2. Using the mouse cursor, create a curve by clicking at the appropriate points on the mesh. Verisurf places a point at each location and strings a curve between them.

3. If you want to close the curve, click near the starting point and Verisurf will form a closed curve; otherwise, the curve is left open. You can create multiple curves using this method.

4. Press <Esc> when you are done sketching curves.

Smoothing a Mesh Meshed surfaces consist of triangular faces created from the points in the constituent point-cloud. Smoothing works by adjusting the vertices of adjacent triangles to minimize the tangent angle between these triangles. Smoothing is a cumulative


process; the more times you run the smoothing function, the greater are the changes that are made to the mesh.

To Smooth a Mesh 1. In the Reverse Manager data tree, right-click on the mesh that you want to

smooth, and then choose Tools | Smooth from the speed menu. Verisurf displays the Smooth Mesh dialog:

The Smooth Mesh Dialog

2. Enter a Smooth Factor or use the slider to adjust the value.

3. If you want to make a copy of the mesh prior to smoothing, check the Create Copy box. Smoothing will be performed on the copy.

4. Choose the Smooth button to smooth the mesh.

5. Smoothing will alternately flip the mesh normals; use the Flip Normals button to reverse the direction of the normals, if necessary.

6. Choose the Close button when you are finished smoothing.

Offsetting a Mesh When you create a mesh from a point-cloud, the meshing algorithm does not compensate for the probe radius in the same way the surface-patch calculation does. You can remove the probe offset by offsetting the mesh. The mesh offset is applied in the direction of the mesh normal.

To Offset a Mesh 1. In the Reverse Manager data tree, right-click on the mesh that you want to

offset, and then choose Tools | Offset from the speed menu. Verisurf displays the Offset Mesh dialog:

The Offset Mesh Dialog

2. Enter the amount by which you want to offset the mesh. If you want to offset in a direction opposite the mesh normal, enter a negative value.

3. If you want to make a copy of the mesh prior to offsetting, check the Create Copy box. The offset is applied to the copy.

4. Choose the Offset button to offset the mesh.

5. Choose the Close button when you are finished offsetting.


Filtering a Mesh In many cases, a mesh will contain too many points, or the points will be poorly distributed. Before the mesh can be used to create another feature such as a multi-patch surface, the mesh needs to be thinned to obtain a more even distribution.

To Filter a Mesh 1. In the data tree, right-click on the mesh that you want to filter, and then

choose Tools | Filter from the speed menu. Verisurf displays the Filter Mesh dialog:

The Filter Mesh Dialog

2. If you want to sort by Percent, choose the By Percent radio button and then enter the percent of the point data that you want to remove. You can use the slider to change the percentage.

3. If you want to sort by chordal deviation, choose the By Chordal Deviation button and then enter the maximum chordal deviation. This value controls filtering by setting an upper limit on the chordal deviation – the distance from the line between two vertices to an adjacent vertex.

4. The filtering process is destructive; vertices are permanently removed during filtering. Check the Create a Copy box if you want to perform the filtering on a copy of the original mesh.

5. Choose the Filter button to start filtering. Close the dialog when finished.

Flipping Normals on a Mesh When you create or smooth a mesh, the normals might not point in the desired direction. You can correct this by flipping normals on the mesh. This causes the normal vector of each facet to be reversed.

To Flip the Normals on a Mesh 1. In the Reverse Manager data tree, right-click on the mesh the normals of

which you want to flip, and then choose Tools | Flip Normals from the speed menu.

You can also highlight the mesh and then choose the Flip Mesh Normals button on the Reverse Manager toolbar.

If multiple meshes are selected, each will be flipped relative to itself.

Slicing a Mesh The mesh-slice tool creates splines by intersecting the facets of the mesh with X-, Y- or Z-planes, or with planes that are perpendicular to a guide-spline. This intersection


produces a series of line segments, which are then used to create a spline. The line segments are discarded, and the splines are saved as CAD entities.

Slicing works on meshes in the Reverse Manager data tree as well as CAD meshes.

To Slice a Mesh 1. On the Reverse Manager data tree, highlight the mesh or meshes that you

want to slice. If you do not make a selection, all meshes will be sliced.

If you want to slice a CAD mesh, use Mastercam’s selection tools to highlight the mesh.

2. Right-click on a mesh entity that you want to slice, and then choose Tools | Slice from the speed menu.

You can also choose the Mesh Slice button on the Reverse Manager toolbar. You must use this method if you are slicing a CAD mesh.

Verisurf opens the Create Slice dialog:

The Create Slice Dialog

3. In the Create Slice dialog Direction group, choose the Direction perpendicular to which you want to slice. If you choose an axis, slices are made perpendicular to that axis.

4. If you choose a curve, the slicing planes are perpendicular to a guide curve. Choose the Select Curve button and then select the desired guide curve in the Graphics Window.

5. The slider control and text boxes in the Position group control the position of the slicing plane along the guide-axis or curve.

When a Direction is selected, Verisurf projects the mesh onto the guide curve and reports the min/max extents of the curve. If an axis is used, the min/max values of the mesh in the direction of that axis are reported. If a curve is chosen, the limits run from zero to the length of the curve.


As you move the position slider, the center text box shows the position of the slicing plane relative to the min/max. You can set the plane to a specific location by entering the value in the center box. You must click out of the text control for the entry to be recognized.

6. If you want to make multiple slices, Check the Multiple Slices box and enter a Distance Between slices. Enter a value for Number of Slices to set the maximum number of slices that will be created.

If you enter a positive value for the Distance Between, Verisurf will slice toward the upper boundary of the guide curve; otherwise, the slices will increment toward the lower limit.

7. In the Save group box, choose the attributes that you want to save when slicing a mesh. All results are stored as CAD entities. The options are as follows:

Center Points – saves the point at the centroid of each slice.

Points – saves the points at the intersections of the line segments that are created during the slice.

Splines – saves the splines that are derived from the intersection. You can also specify the number of points per spline.

Lines – saves the lines-of-intersection between the mesh facets and the slicing plane.

The following options are valid only for multiple slices:

Center Splines – creates and saves a spline through the points that lie at the centers of each slice.

‘Along’ Splines – creates a series of splines that run parallel to the direction of the guide spline, and are evenly separated from one another according to the value of Num Points.

Surface – automatically generates a surface using the splines that are created during slicing.

8. When you are ready to slice the mesh, choose the Slice button.

If the Multiple-slices button is not checked, a single slice will be made at the position of the slicing plane.

If the Multiple-slices box is checked, Verisurf will begin slicing at the current position of the slicing plane until the specified number of slices has been achieved, or the lower/upper limit of the guide curve is reached.

Extending a Mesh When a mesh is used in the construction of a multiple-patch surface, the mesh must extend beyond the boundary of the curve network. Because the network is often created at the boundary of the point-cloud that was used to create the mesh, it is sometimes necessary to extend the mesh in order to cover the curve network.

To Extend a Mesh 1. In the Reverse Manager data tree, right-click on the mesh that you want to

extend, and then choose Tools | Extend from the speed menu. Verisurf displays the Extend dialog:


The Dialog Dialog

2. Enter the amount by which you want to extend the mesh.

3. If you want to make a copy of the mesh prior to extending, check the Create Copy box. The extension is applied to the copy.

4. Choose the Extend button to extend the mesh.

5. Choose the Close button to close the dialog.

Exporting a Mesh When mesh entities are created, they exist within the Reverse Manager data tree. Meshes can be exported to CAD or saved to a file.

To Export a Mesh to a File 1. In the Reverse Manager data tree, right-click on the mesh that you want to

save, then choose Export | To File from the speed menu. Verisurf opens the Export Mesh dialog:

Export Mesh Dialog

2. Using the Save as Type drop-down, choose whether to save the mesh as an ASCII or a Binary STL file.

3. Navigate to the directory in which you want to store the file, enter a file name, and choose the Save key.

To Export a Mesh to a Cloud 1. In the Reverse Manager data tree, right-click on the mesh that you want to

export, and then choose Export | To CAD from the speed menu.

2. A new point-cloud entity is created in the data tree. The name is based on the source mesh.



To Export a Mesh to CAD Lines 1. In the Reverse Manager data tree, right-click on the mesh that you want to

export, and then choose Export | To Lines from the speed menu.

2. Verisurf will create a line in CAD for each line in the mesh.

To Export a Mesh to Edge Lines 1. In the Reverse Manager data tree, right-click on the mesh that you want to

export, and then choose Export | To Edge Lines from the speed menu.

2. For each line in the mesh, Verisurf will create a line in CAD.

To Export a Mesh to Surfaces 1. In the Reverse Manager data tree, right-click on the mesh that you want to

export, and then choose Export | To Surfaces from the speed menu.

2. For each facet in the mesh, Verisurf will create a triangular plane in CAD.

To Export a Mesh to CAD 1. In the Reverse Manager data tree, right-click on the mesh that you want to

export to CAD, then choose Export | To CAD from the speed menu.

2. For each point in the mesh, Verisurf will create a point in CAD.

Mesh Display Utilities The Reverse Manager provides a set of tools to control the display of mesh surfaces. These tools are accessed by buttons on the Reverse Manager toolbar.

Toggle Faces • Choose the Toggle Faces button to toggle the display of mesh surfaces.

When selected, the mesh faces are visible (shaded); otherwise, they are hidden. This setting affects all meshes.

Toggle Face Edges 1. Choose the Toggle Face Edges button to toggle the display of the edges

of the mesh faces. When selected, the edges are visible; otherwise, they are hidden. This setting affects all meshes.

Flip Mesh Normals 1. In the Reverse Manager data tree, highlight the meshes the normals of

which you want to flip. If no meshes are selected, then the normals of all meshes are flipped.

2. Choose the Flip Mesh Normals button to flip the normal vectors of the mesh faces. The positive-normal sides of the faces are displayed in white; the reverse side is displayed in black.

verisurf reverse manager - 3dgage reverse manager when verisurf’s reverse add-on is installed in...

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