InStep Studio

INSTEP STUDIO 3D

Display IssuesDisplay Issues

Time to read: ~3 min

The Issues tool performs an analysis of the data and attempts to point out any problem locations or problems with how the data has been represented.

Example: Monkey/Suzanne

The stand-in example of the Blender Monkey file is useful in explaining some of the possible issues:

Blender-Monkey file
Example with issues shown

The best way to visualize the issues is perhaps to toggle between visible faces and visible edges (Alt+F and Alt+E respectively) and to also 'look inside' as issues can sometimes be hidden (as is the case here).
The important thing to keep an eye on is the values shown in the upper right hand. In this case, there are 168 Open edges and 176 Intersections. There are no Invalid Edges, no Duplicates and no Invalid Features. To better understand what this means, the definition of the terms as they are being used here is:

Open Edges
Edges that are used by only one Facet. This indicates the boundary of a (sheet) body. Correctly formatted B-Rep bodies do not have boundaries
Invalid Edges
Also called Non-Manifold Edges, these are edges that are used by more than 2 facets and represent discontinuities where a 'neighboring' facet cannot be determined.
Duplicates
These are facets that are provided more than once with identical corner points (though perhaps with in different orientations).
Invalid Features
Similar to the Invalid Edges, these are Faces that are fully collapsed into a line (all corners are on a line) and therefore do not form an Area
Intersections
Intersecting facets are quite simply those that define a point or segment that is not a corner or edge

Option: Perform Full Test

This option allows a more thorough though far slower process to be used to determine intersections. In general, the default option is to use an approach whereby 'close' items are the only items to consider and to then perform a detailed analysis of such items. A Full test on the other hand compares each triangle with each other triangle to determine whether they share some form of intersection. This approach can easily take several minutes to complete and generally does not provide 'more' or 'better' results.

Option: Refresh All

Generally, the issues are re-computed when needed, so this direct request to refresh should not be needed, but it may be useful if changes where made in such a way as to not directly reflect the current state.
Beyond the option to refresh all data, individual issues can be refreshed directly by clicking on the small icon next to the respective issue listing. It is also possible to turn on/off the display of the corresponding issue here.

Intersections: Settings

One item that is not directly available from the options is the Settings>Application Settings>Repairs: AlwaysComputeIntersections
This defines whether the Intersections are to be automatically evaluated any time the Issues button is pressed or only when manually requested. By default, this is turned on so that Intersections are tested for as well. However, as intersections can take some time to compute, it can be beneficial to first consider the other issues which are evaluated far quicker.