Associating surfaces

Use the Associate Surfaces form (model > 3D Mesh > Tools > Structure Builder > Associate Surfaces) to make sure that nodes and edges exist on the intersection of two surfaces and therefore share nodes (and consequently edges) completely. Associated surfaces is a requirement for creating a 3D mesh. (For the definition of associated surfaces, see Definition of watertight and associated surfaces.)

Meshing engine MeshGems automatically 'associates nodes' during the Surface Meshing workflow. This means you do not manually have to perform 'associate surfaces' with the Associate Surfaces tool. However, for MeshGems to be able to 'associate surfaces', make sure the input surfaces to the Surface Meshing workflow is watertight. See Assigning surfaces to a 3D mesh structural model.

The result is that the nodes at all surface contacts are 'associated'. To view various geometrical properties of the triangles, you can display the mesh quality. For more info, see Checking the quality of the tri-meshes.

To associate all the surfaces of the model

  1. Select the 3D mesh structural model for which you want to associate surfaces.
  2. Click Preview to investigate the impacted intersections. Make sure you visualize the 3D Mesh structural model in the 3D View to actually see them.
  3. Click OK or Apply to associate the nodes.