Verisurf meshes-refine/smooth

[Eric@HorsepowerInc.]

Just trying to gather some real world info from verisurf users out there, Ron if you see this please chime in. I'm trying to figure out when using verisurf reverse, whether it is better to refine and smooth your meshes before or after you offset for the probe radius? And where might I see the differences occur, either in the meshes or when auto surfacing? We are just wanting the best possible outcome for our surfacing. I also want to make note that MC coupled with Verisurf/3d gage has been an awesome product, for inspection and reverse engineering.

Thanks in advance

[Ron Branch @ 5th Axis]

Eric, it could be a combination of a couple things when doing it. Refine helps to make course triangles smaller and help smooth out what was a rougher area into a smoother area. That is not the same as smooth where that take the shape and then starts smoothing all the points to even out the mesh to be smoother. Refine keep more of the oringal shape in tact where as smooth might alter that orignal shape more than is desired. I have made dummy msh past my prime area used smooth and see okay it is .125 smaller all the way in my critial area than what I started with, but that wa the shape I was really looking for. I then use the offset of mesh to offset it and then get a smoothed shape that yes on the edns is junk, but I desinged or incroprated that into my process good to go. The Venus in the reverse folder is a good example fo where you can take refine and take a rough shape and refine it into an amzaing shape. Smooth that same thing and it look like a piece of gum. I always go back to what I told you when I trained you, Reverse is more art than science and yes I can use Scienctic methods for my reverse the work I am looking for is really art and what helps me get to the finaly result is my goal if sing one more that the other does it great it cheating and adding or analyzing back does it so be it. Remeber we are here to help so if you got something you would like for us to review we are here to help.

 

Yes the Master3DGage, Verisurf and Mastercam is a tool no shop should be without IMHO. Great tool for anyone looking to do just about anything.

[Chris Bloedorn]

I have found that it really depends on the mesh that you have created. Sometimes an offset on a mesh that is not clean on the edges can create a problematic offset. Usually I offset to see the result and then go back and add points or trim the point cloud until my offset looks good. Then I will refine/smooth.

[Eric@HorsepowerInc.]

Thank you both for replying, I'm headed down the right path then. The free form ports we work with are an art, that being said, science as well. Maintaining the critical port shape that has taken months to develop through Flow bench and dyno testing is critical. Using a combination of refine and smooth then, to get better usable mesh as close to original, but a good shape as well. I have seen both scenarios where the mesh may need more work in certain areas, but if smoothed or refined before the offset they appear more fluent, but deviate far from the original shape. Ron, the venus is a very good example of that. Using verify to check the newly created surfaces has been great for checking the deviation from original. Thanks for the advice Chris, I am doing that as well. I have also been converting my meshes back to a cloud form, then refining, and returning to the mesh to get some pretty clean transitions with minimal distortion. Ron, at some point I will send you a file to look over, we are very busy with some new products. I will be needing some additional help with aligning a best fit of our new port shape to old style core boxes that don't exactly match the current design. Thanks for the reply's, I will keep you guys updated.

[crazy^millman]

Eric know what you are working on and yes the method and process once refined becomes a science in art work. The refine and smooth as best exaplined this way. For refine it is like jagged mountain that is covered in snow the edges are still there, but the shap is nice and smooth and all the voids are pretty much filled it. It looks pleasing and defines the overall shape of the mountain. Now the snow flakes all represent points from a cloud that become the trianlges to define the shape. The hihgs are still there as the basic structure, but the snow flakes make it look pretty so to speak. Now woth smooth is like taking off all the high points and making the mountain conform to the shape of a mountain, but not close to the same size of the orignal shape the mountain had. Yes we knock off all the jagged edges, but the edges might have been what we wanted. Now like I said adding extra stuff to let this happen to then come back and scale it helps. Each serve a prupose and each havetheir place and I always go back to the art project part fo the equation and not the sciencetic side of work as to what work best. You will find what works beat in each need and place when reversing and then work out how and when they work best for you.