Cutting plane displays

Use cutting planes to create cutaway and cross section displays of results. Cutting plane displays are useful for visualizing the distribution and direction of results in the interior of solid models. Drafting commands, such as

To define a cutting plane, you:

• Define the coordinate system and one axis relative to which you want to create the cutting plane.

• Set the cutting plane position based on the location of a reference node or a distance.

• Set the clip side and other display options for how the cutting plane appears in the context of the model.

Note:

Drafting commands, such as Clip Section, do not affect the visibility status of post-processing results displayed in post views. For example, the Identify Results command selects entities that the Clip Section command has hidden. Be sure to use the Cutting Plane Options command to set the visibility of result entities when performing post-processing operations.

Cutting planes and coordinate systems

You define the cutting plane with respect to a coordinate system and one axis. For rectangular coordinate systems, this results in a planar surface normal to the selected axis. For example, if you use Work Rectangular as the coordinate system and X as the axis, you create a cutting plane parallel to the YZ plane along the X-axis of the WCS.

For non-rectangular coordinate systems, cutting surfaces behave differently, and may be non-planar:

• For cylindrical coordinate systems, if you define a cutting surface with respect to T (Θ), the result is a planar surface that rotates about the origin normal to the RZ plane. For spherical coordinate systems, the result is the same, but the planar surface rotates about the origin normal to the RP plane where P = 90.

• For cylindrical coordinate systems, if you define a cutting surface with respect to R, the result is a cylindrical surface about the origin.

• For spherical coordinate systems, if you define a cutting surface with respect to R, the result is a spherical surface about the origin.

• For spherical coordinate systems, if you define a cutting surface with respect to P (Φ), the result is a conic surface about the origin at angle Φ.

The following figures illustrate these cutting surfaces. For ease of comparison, each surface is shown on a 100×100 mm block with the WCS at (50,50,50).

A 100×100 mm block, used to illustrate cutting plane orientation with different coordinate systems. The WCS origin is at (50,50,50).

X, Y, and Z cutting planes using a rectangular coordinate system.

The T-axis cutting plane for both cylindrical and spherical coordinate systems.

The R-axis cutting surface, using a cylindrical coordinate system.

The R-axis cutting surface, using a spherical coordinate system.

The P-axis cutting surface using a spherical coordinate system.

Cutting plane location

To specify the location of the cutting plane, you can either:

• Locate the cutting plane at a reference node. For example, select the location of maximum stress as the location of the cutting plane.

• Specify a distance along the axis selected for the cutting plane.

Cutting plane clip side

To create the cutaway display, set the clip side to Positive or Negative. A positive clip side cuts away the model on the positive side of the selected cut plane axis; a negative clip side cuts away the model on the negative side.

To create a cross section display, set the clip side to Both.

Positive clip side; negative clip side; both sides clipped.

Cutting planes and model context

The following are the options for viewing a cutting plane display in the context of the whole model.

• Show Edges displays the outline of the cutaway portion of the model using element edges along feature lines.

• Show Ghost displays a translucent image of the cutaway portion of the model.

       Note: 
      
      If translucency is not enabled, the clipped ghost display is opaque, obscuring the cut plane.
      To enable translucency, choose **Preferences**→**Visualization**. Click the **Visual** tab and select the **Translucency** check box.
  

A cutting plane display with no model context; with feature lines displayed; with a translucent ghost of clipped geometry.

Where do I find it?

Application	Pre/Post
Prerequisites	A Simulation file as the work part and displayed partResults loaded in a post view
Command Finder	Edit Post View Cutting Plane Options
Post Processing Navigator	Right-click a post view→Edit Post View

How do I

Set up a cutting plane display

Update a cutting plane display in real time

Turn off and on the cutting plane display

Quick links

Command reference

Pre/Post video examples

Bulk Entry Descriptions

Simcenter 3D tutorials

Browse Simcenter 3D help by product area

Cutting plane displays, Simcenter 3D 2021.1 Series

© 2020 Siemens

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