Description

With the current grid type set to Structured (refer to the Set Type section for more information), select a combination of more than one structured domain and any number of unstructured domains from the Display window or the List panel. Then select Create, Extrude, and the desired extrusion type: Normal, Translate, Rotate, or Path. This will present you with the Assemble panel shown below.

Assemble Faces
Domains can be assembled into faces using either Auto-Assemble or One Face Per Domain.

A table at the top of the panel shows the number of Free domains, the Number of structured faces, the Number of unstructured faces, the Total number of faces, and the Assembly Method. The Free domains are the number of domains not currently used in a defined face. The Number of structured faces and Number of unstructured faces describe the number of faces that contain only structured domains and unstructured domains respectively. The Total number of faces shows the combined number of faces, both structured and unstructured. Assembly Method refers to whether the faces are being automatically assembled by Fidelity Pointwise, manually defined by you, or set to one block per domain.

When entering extrusion with multiple domains selected (as describd above), one of two methods in the Assemble frame are used to automatically assemble the faces. Auto-Assemble will automatically assemble the selected domains into as few faces as possible. One Face Per Domain will assign one domain per face. The Assemble frame will remember the automatic method used previously (either Auto-Assemble or One Face Per Domain) for the last extrusion and use that method the next time you enter extrusion.

Assemble Special
The Assemble Special frame provides options for assembling connectors into edges manually.

If neither of the automated assembly options create the faces needed for the extrusion, the options in the Assemble Special frame can be used to manually construct the faces needed.

To build a face, you must first select (in order) the set of domains that will form the face. The Remove Last Domain command can be used to delete the last domain selected from the face you are currently building.

For situations in which all domains are currently being used in a face or faces, you may need to modify an existing face. To do so, press Set Active Face and select the face to modify. Use any of the commands in the Assemble Special frame to change the face, then press Set Active Face again to complete the modifications. Additionally, the Delete All Faces or Delete Faces commands can be used to remove the definition of all or some faces from memory. Of these two options, the Delete All Faces command typically provides the fastest way to start building edges from scratch.

Domain Once restricts a domain to being used only once in a face.

Save Face is used to save each face after assembly.

Demonstration