Show a Laminate Section
A laminate section is a cutout of a laminate in a particular direction. You can create multiple laminate sections in a composite feature and in a part. Each laminate section is updated automatically when the laminate is updated.
The resulting laminate section takes into account the drop-off values of the plies. The color of a section of a ply is the same as the color of the ply. To enhance the display of very thin plies, you can scale the section normal to the layup surface.
When you create a laminate section in the part, you can display it in every drawing view that supports standard planar sections. You cannot display it in composite-specific drawing views such as a ply view or a flat ply view.
To show a laminate section, do one of the following:
Show a Laminate Section in the Composite Design Environment
1. Click 
Laminate Section. The Section tab opens.
Laminate Section. The Section tab opens.2. Click in the Section reference box and select a reference to place the origin of the clipping plane. A cross-section is automatically created. A dragger appears at the center of the clipping plane. The dragger is normal to the clipping plane and indicates the clipping direction.
3. Specify the Orientation and the Placement settings as you would for a regular planar section. To learn how to orient and place the clipping plane, see Creating Cross Sections in Fundamentals.
4. Specify the following Display settings:
a. To toggle the display of the laminate section in the graphics window, click 
Show Laminate Section.
Show Laminate Section.b. To scale the visual thickness of the laminate objects, type or select a value in the Scale box. The value must be a real number greater than 0.
 | Scaling is applicable only to plies. The thickness of cores remains unchanged after scaling. |
5. In the 2D View column, click Auxiliary Display to toggle the display of the 2D Section Viewer in a separate window. To control the display of the 2D view, use following options:
◦ 
— Refit
— Refit◦ 
— Zoom in
— Zoom in◦ 
— Zoom out
— Zoom out◦ 
— Repaint
— Repaint◦ 
— Rotate right
— Rotate right◦ 
— Rotate left
— Rotate left◦ 
— Flip vertical
— Flip vertical◦ 
— Flip horizontal
— Flip horizontal◦ 
— Show cap
— Show cap6. Click 
OK.
OK.You can select a ply in the Laminate Tree to see its highlighted section in the graphics window.
Identify the Laminate Object of a Section in the Composite Design Environment
1. Select Ply or Composite objects in the selection filter. The selection filter is located at the bottom right in the graphics window.
2. Move the mouse pointer over the section in the graphics window to see the name of the laminate object in the tooltip. Alternatively, you can click the section of a laminate object in the graphics window to select the laminate object in the Laminate Tree.
Show a Laminate Section in the Part
1. In the View tab, click > Laminate Section. The Section tab opens.
Laminate Section. The Section tab opens.2. Click in the Section reference box and select a reference to place the origin of the clipping plane. A cross-section is automatically created. A dragger appears at the center of the clipping plane. The dragger is normal to the clipping plane and indicates the clipping direction.
3. Specify the Orientation and the Placement settings as you would for a regular planar section. To learn how to orient and place the clipping plane, see Creating Cross Sections in Fundamentals.
4. Specify the following Display settings:
a. To toggle the display of the laminate section in the graphics window, click Show Laminate Section.
Show Laminate Section.b. To scale the visual thickness of the laminate objects, enter or select a value in the Scale box. The value must be a real number greater than 0.
| | Scaling is applicable only to plies. The thickness of cores remains unchanged after scaling. |
5. In the 2D View column, click Auxiliary Display to toggle the display of the 2D Section Viewer in a separate window.
6. In the Laminates tab, specify the composite features to create the laminate section as follows:
a. Under Included Laminates, select one of the following options:
a. Include all laminates—Creates a laminate section for all composite features of the part.
b. Include selected laminates—Creates a laminate section for the composite features you select.
c. Exclude selected laminates—Creates a laminate section for all composite features except those you select.
b. Select the composite features to include or exclude from the laminate section.
c. Select Include quilts to include the quilts in the laminate section.
7. Click OK.
OK.