RR. Solid creation example

Owned by iarmstrong
Last updated: Feb 22, 2023
6 min read

RU

This section gives an example of how to use the Solid Lab tab functionality to build valid solids.

  1. Import the applicable layers into the Layers panel and group them into folders for easier navigation. Instructions on how to import and interact with layers see here.

Imported and organized into folders layers

2. In the Solid Operation Set panel click the blue plus icon to add a new operation set and name it "Pit1S1".

Solid Operation Set Pit1S1

When creating multiple sets, operations can be copied, moved up and down in the list, and deleted, using the toolbar buttons.

3. Create solid above all surfaces, which will be further intersected with others. To do this, press Add Operation button and from its dropdown select “Create Solid Above All Surfaces” option.

4. Add a surface. You can drag and drop it from the Layers panel, or import from a file or layers using the dropdown menu.

  • To import surface from a file, click on the dropdown sign in the Surfaces field and in the Create Solid Above All Surfaces window press the Add Input button, select the "From File(s)" option and specify the path to a suitable file.

  • To import surface from layers, click on the dropdown icon in the Surfaces field and in the Create Solid Above All Surfaces window, press the Add Input button, select the "From Layer(s)" option and check the box for the appropriate element.

5. Run the operation by clicking the blue play icon in the top toolbar. Review the resulting solid in the viewport. To do this, click in the Result row. If necessary, change color of the solid, or export it to a file or to the Layers panel.

  • Press the green arrow button to export the resulting solid to the Layers panel. In the Layers panel create a folder and place the exported model inside.

6. Add the second operation - Create Solid Below All Surfaces.

7. Add End of Month Survey surface. Drag and drop it from the Layers panel or import it from a file using the dropdown menu in the Operations panel.

8. Run the operation by clicking the blue play icon in the top toolbar. Review the resultant solid in the viewport. To do this, click in the Result row. If necessary, change color of the solid, or export it to a file or to the Layers panel.

Now we need to intersect (overlap) these two resultant solids.

9. To intersect solids, we need to add a third operation - Intersect Solids.

  • Add the previous operations results (#1 and #2) using Add Input button dropdown.

10. Run the operation by clicking the blue play icon in the top toolbar. This will intersect solids above and below surfaces.

Recommendation

Click on the row with the added solids. In the viewport, you will see two solids, one above the other, as shown below. This is not a very clear example of intersecting solids.

For better clarity, change the transparency of the created solids.

Rotate the resultant solids for better seeing the overlapping area. This area is the result of the intersection.

Cleaning Solid from Remnant Blocks

As a result of overlapping solids and surfaces, you can see a lot of remnant blocks around the resultant solid that you want to remove to facilitate further scheduling. Two basic methods to accomplish this goal are outlined below.

Method 1.

  1. Add a new operation - Reduce Complexity.

  2. Add output from operation #3, which is the result of intersecting solids #1 and #2.

  3. In the Minimum Volume field specify the minimum volume, blocks smaller than which will be excluded. In this example, 10 000 cubic meters.

  4. In the Maximum Error field, set the triangulation error limit to 0.5.

  5. Pinch Tolerance lets you remove smaller volume areas (such as short edges and narrow regions) with thickness lass than the amount specified. Unless you have a specific problem you wish to address, leave the value by default.

  6. Run the operation and review the result.

Method 2.

  1. Add new operation - Create Solid From Polygons.

  2. Draw a closed polygon around the solid.

  3. Run the operation and export the resultant polygon to the Layers panel.

  4. Add a new operation - Intersect Solids.

  5. Using the up and down arrows, place the Create Solid From Polygons operation in front of it.

  6. Add the outputs of operations #1, #2 and #3 to the Intersect Solids operation.

  7. Run the operation and review the result. If all steps are done correctly, you should get a result like in the figure below - a solid with smoother boundaries, without extra remnant artefacts, fitting the outlined polygon.