To Convert Surfaces in IDD and Modify Them

1. Select one or more surfaces in the graphics window or on the GTS Tree, to be converted to a plane, cylinder, revolved surface, or extruded surface.

2. Click the arrow next to

Convert on the Structure tab and click one of the following buttons:

The surface conversion tab specific for the type of feature you want to create opens. The selected surfaces are added to the Converted surfaces collector on the References tab.

3. You can add more surfaces. Hold down the CTRL key and select the surfaces in the graphics window or on the GTS Tree. The selected surfaces are added to the Converted surfaces collector.

4. To remove a surface, right-click the surface in the Converted surfaces collector and click Remove on the shortcut menu.

You can also modify a converted surface. Select the converted surface, right-click, and click Modify and perform steps 5 through 9. When you modify surfaces, the Converted surfaces collector and the Options tab are not available on the surface conversion tab .

5. Click the Orientation reference collector on the References tab and select a linear or planar orientation reference to change the orientation of the converted surface set. For cylinder and revolved conversions, the orientation reference is used as the axis of symmetry or revolution by default.

If you want to reorient the cylinder or revolved converted surfaces, clear the Use orientation reference as axis of cylinder option before selecting the orientation reference.

6. If required, click Compute to recalculate the converted surface set based on the manually selected orientation reference.

Any other modifications that you made on the surface conversion tab during conversion are lost when the surfaces are recalculated.

7. If required, you can locate the converted surfaces at a linear or angular offset. To locate the converted surfaces at a linear and angular offset, drag the displayed handle in the graphics window or specify the offset under Origin and Orientation on the Tweak Direction tab. You can offset from the default model coordinate system, or select a specific coordinate system for the offset.

8. For revolved or extruded conversions, you can modify the default sketch that defines the default set of converted surfaces as follows:

◦ Click Sketch and click the Sketch plane location collector to activate it.

◦ Select a point or vertex or a point on a surface to define the sketch plane orientation. The selected reference is added to the Sketch plane location collector.

9. For converting selected surfaces to cylinders, if required, you can specify the diameter for the cylinder in the box next to

on the surface conversion tab or use the handle in the graphics window to change the diameter. If you do not specify the diameter for the cylinder, IDD uses a default value for the diameter of the cylinder.

10. Select one of the following options on the Options tab, to preview the geometry:

◦ Converted surfaces only—Displays only the new surfaces that will be created. This is the default.

◦ Original surfaces only—Displays only the original surface selected to convert.

◦ Original and converted surfaces—Displays both, original and new surfaces.

If possible, IDD attempts to rejoin the converted surfaces to the quilt from which you selected the original surfaces.

11. If you do not want the converted surfaces rejoined, clear the Attach converted surfaces option on the Options tab. If this option is not selected, the converted surfaces cannot be rejoined. This option is selected by default.