Pointwise

User Manual
Copyright © 2013 Pointwise, Inc.
All rights reserved.
Pointwise, Inc. reserves the right to make changes in specifications and other information contained in this
document without prior notice.
ALTHOUGH DUE CARE HAS BEEN TAKEN TO PRESENT ACCURATE INFORMATION, POINTWISE, INC. DISCLAIMS ALL
WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THE CONTENTS OF THIS DOCUMENT (INLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION WARRANTIES
OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE), EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED. POINTWISE,
INC. SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES RESULTING FROM ANY ERROR CONTAINED HEREIN, INCLUDING, BUT NOT
LIMITED TO, FOR ANY SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF, OR IN CONNECTION
WITH, THE USE OF THIS DOCUMENT.
Pointwise, Inc.
213 S. Jennings Ave.
Fort Worth, Texas 76104-1107, USA

Phone: (817) 377-2807

Toll free: (800) 4PTWISE
Fax: (817) 377-2799

Email: support@pointwise.com
URL: http://www.pointwise.com

Notice: The terms of the agreement under which you are acquiring the right to use the software include the “Right
to Use License” attached hereto or accompanying the software. Your purchase, license, receipt or use of the
software constitutes your acceptance of all the “Right to Use License.”
Pointwise, Gridgen, and Get the Point are registered trademarks and GridgenGlyph and PointwiseGlyph are
trademarks of Pointwise, Inc.
Pointwise® uses the Qt® toolkit from Qt Software, a subsidiary of Nokia Corporation. Nokia, the Nokia logo, Qt®,
and the Qt logo are trademarks of Nokia Corporation and/or its subsidiaries in Finland and other countries. FLEXnet
is a registered trademark of Acresso Software in the United States and/or other countries. Pointwise® uses HDF5
from the HDF Group. Pointwise® uses Thread Building Blocks (TBB) from Intel Corp., licensed under the Gnu Public
License V2 with the runtime exception. Intel® is a registered trademark of Intel Corporation in the United States,
other countries, or both.Pointwise® uses the TetMesh-GHS3D tetrahedral mesher, Copyright © DISTENE S.A.S./INRIA.
FIELDVIEW and FVX are trademarks of Intelligent Light. FIELDVIEW Unstructured format Copyright © 1996-2009
Intelligent Light. Used by Permission. FIELDVIEW Unstructured format is intended for the exclusive use of the
licensers of FIELDVIEW from Intelligent Light. PATRAN is a registered trademark of The MSC.Software Corporation.
NASTRAN is a registered trademark of NASA. ANSYS FLUENT is a trademark of ANSYS. Star-CD is a trademark of CD-
adapco. ANSYS CFX is a registered trademark of ANSYS. OPENFOAM® is a registered trademark of OpenCFD
Limited.
OpenGL® and the oval logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Silicon Graphics, Inc. in the United States
and/or other countries worldwide. LINUX is a trademark of Linus Torvalds. REDHAT is a registered trademark of Red
Hat,Inc. Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corp. UNIX and XWindow System are regis-
tered trademarks in the U.S. and other countries, licensed exclusively through the X/Open Company Limited. Mac
and Mac OS are registered trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc. All other registered and unregistered trademarks are
properties of their respective owner.

1. DEFINITIONS.
(a) “Licensed Software” means any computer
program(s) supplied by Pointwise, Inc. (PWI) to
Licensee under a valid Purchase Order or Con-
tract, whether in object code, reconfigurable
binary, or any other form; video media and
training aids; and any backup or other copies,
updates, derivative works, modifications,
enhancements, and extensions thereof.
(b) “Documentation” means user manuals,
documentation binders, release notes, installa-
tion notes, written utility programs and other
written or graphic materials related to the
Licensed Software and all copies thereof.
(c) “Licensed Product(s)” means the Licensed
Software and Documentation.
(d) “Maintenance Period” means the first cal-
endar year of a perpetual license or 12 months
for an annual license.
2. LICENSE.
PWI grants to Licensee a non-exclusive, non-
transferable license to use the Licensed Prod-
ucts in accordance with the terms and condi-
tions set forth herein. As long as this License is
in effect, Licensee may transfer its use of the
Licensed Products to a replacement computer
system on a temporary or permanent basis,
provided that Licensee gives PWI written
notice of such transfer.
3. TERM and FEES.
The Term of the Right to Use License is annual
or perpetual, as set forth in the Purchase
Order or Contract, provided that the License
has not been terminated as set forth in Sec-
tion 10.
All applicable fees are payable to PWI within
thirty (30) days from Invoice Date. Failure to
pay such fees in a timely manner is a material
breach of this License. Licensee agrees to pay
any legal or collection fees incurred by PWI in
collecting any amounts that may be delin-
quent.
4. COPIES and MODIFICATIONS.
Licensee may copy the Licensed Products in
whole or in part, in written or machine read-
able form for use in understanding the
Licensed Software and for archive or backup
purposes. Licensee shall reproduce and
RIGHT TO USE LICENSE
include PWI’s trade secret or copyright notices
on and in any copies, in any form. Licensee
shall not reverse assemble, reverse compile or
otherwise reverse engineer the Licensed Soft-
ware in whole or in part.
The License includes the right to reproduce
the Licensed Software’s documentation exclu-
sively for the use of Licensee and its employ-
ees only. All other reproduction and
distribution is strictly prohibited.
5. OWNERSHIP.
All Licensed Products and the information they
contain, any updates and all copies of them
are PWI’s or PWI’s licensors’ property, and title
to them remains in PWI or such licensors. All
applicable rights in patents, copyrights or
trade secrets in the Licensed Products are and
will remain in PWI and PWI’s licensors. No title
to or ownership of the Licensed Software or
the information they contain is transferred to
Licensee. Licensee agrees that any terms and
conditions imposed by PWI’s licensor and
communicated by PWI to Licensee by PWI,
shall apply to the Licensed Products.
6. CONFIDENTIALITY.
(a) Licensee will take all reasonable precau-
tions to maintain the confidentiality of the
Licensed Products, and agrees to take all rea-
sonable and necessary steps to protect the
patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets
and any other forms of intellectual or indus-
trial property of PWI in the Licensed Products.
(b) Licensee will not provide the Licensed
Products to any person, other than employees
of Licensee, without PWI’s prior written con-
sent, except during the period any such per-
son is on Licensee’s premises with Licensee’s
permission for purposes specifically related to
Licensee’s use of the Licensed Products.
7. COPYRIGHT AND PATENT INDEMNITY.
PWI assures Licensee that, to the best of PWI’s
knowledge, the Licensed Products do not
infringe any patent, copyright, trademark or
trade secret. In the event any legal proceed-
ings are brought against Licensee claiming an
infringement of a patent, copyright, trade-
mark or trade secret based on Licensee’s use
of the Licensed Products, PWI agrees to
defend at PWI’s own expense any such legal
proceeding relating to such claim or claims
and to hold Licensee harmless from any dam-
age incurred or awarded as the result of set-
tlement or judgment against Licensee,
provided Licensee gives PWI prompt written
notice within fifteen (15) days of any such
claim or the institution of any such claims
against Licensee, and further, Licensee coop-
erates completely with PWI in providing all
necessary authority, information, and reason-
able assistance to enable PWI, at PWI’s option,
to settle or defend such claims.
8. U.S. EXPORT COMPLIANCE AND INDEM-
NITY
Licensee agrees to comply fully with all U.S.
export laws and regulations concerning the
purchase and sale of Licensed Software. In
particular, Licensee agrees that any Licensed
Software purchased from PWI shall not be
exported, re-exported, transferred, used, sold,
resold, delivered, diverted, or retransferred,
directly or indirectly, contrary to United States
government export control laws, regulations,
policies, and executive orders.
Without limiting the foregoing, any PWI
Licensed Software is prohibited for export, re-
export, or transfer to embargoed countries of
Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, and Syria,
as well as to persons, organizations, entities,
or end-users listed on U.S. government denial
lists published by the U.S. Departments of
Commerce, Treasury, or State. Additionally,
absent an authorization from the U.S. govern-
ment or as permitted under the Export
Administration Regulations, the Licensed Soft-
ware is prohibited for export, re-export, or
transfer to any person or entity which will use
it for end-uses proscribed by U.S. export con-
trol regulations, including certain chemical
and biological weapons, missiles, rocket sys-
tems and unmanned aerial vehicles, nuclear
activities, maritime nuclear propulsion, and
terrorism-related activities.
Licensee also agrees to indemnify PWI for any
costs, including but not limited to penalties,
damages, claims, demands, losses, or attor-
ney’s fees and costs, that PWI may incur as a
result of any potential or actual violation of
this provision by Licensee.
9. LIMITATION OF WARRANTY AND LIABILITY.
PWI warrants that the Licensed Products will
perform substantially in accordance with all
written specifications furnished to Licensee by
PWI if properly used. TO THE MAXIMUM
EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, PWI
DISCLAIMS ALL OTHER WARRANTIES, EITHER
EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT
LIMITED TO, IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MER-
CHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICU-
LAR PURPOSE, WITH REGARD TO THE
LICENSED PRODUCTS. TO THE MAXIMUM
EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, IN
NO EVENT SHALL PWI BE LIABLE TO LICENSEE
OR ANY PARTY FOR ANY SPECIAL, INCIDEN-
TAL, INDIRECT, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAM-
AGES WHATSOEVER (INCLUDING, WITHOUT
LIMITATION, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF BUSI-
NESS INFORMATION, OR ANY OTHER PECUNI-
ARY LOSS) ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF OR
INABILITY TO USE THE LICENSED PRODUCTS
EVEN IF PWI HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POS-
SIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES AND REGARD-
LESS OF THE FAULT OR NEGLIGENCE OF PWI.
PWI’s liability to Licensee for damages shall
not exceed the amount of the license fee paid
by Licensee to PWI. PWI will hold Distene
harmless for and against any claims arising out
of or resulting from the use of the Licensed
Software with TetMesh-GHS3D as an included
option.
10. MAINTENANCE AND SUPPORT.
(a) PWI will be responsible for providing cor-
rections for programming errors and periodic
software updates only during the Mainte-
nance Period and during any period when the
Licensee is covered by a Maintenance Agree-
ment from PWI or an authorized representa-
tive of PWI. The specific policy for software
updates and enhancement varies on a per
product basis. PWI warrants that during the
term of this License it will use reasonable
efforts to remedy defects in the unaltered
Licensed Software made known to it by Lic-
ensee. PWI does not warrant that the Licensed
Products will meet all requirements of Lic-
ensee, or that the operation of the Licensed shall be governed by the laws of the State of
Software will be uninterrupted or error free, Texas. All claims arising under or related to
or that all software defects will be corrected. this Right to Use License, Purchase Order or
(b) During the Maintenance Period, PWI Contract shall be settled finally and exclusively
agrees to telephone hot-line support available by arbitration in accordance with the Com-
to Licensee. These services may be provided by mercial Arbitration Rules of the American
PWI or a designated third party. Arbitration Association (AAA).
11. TERMINATION. Arbitration shall take place in Dallas, Texas
Licensee may terminate this License upon and be administered by the AAA’s Dallas,
Texas office.
thirty (30) days written notice to PWI. PWI may
terminate this License for any material breach
by Licensee of the terms and conditions con-
tained herein upon thirty (30) days written
notice to Licensee. Licensee will have thirty
(30) days from the date of such notice to cure
the breach, and if the breach is cured to the
satisfaction of PWI, this License will remain in
full force and effect.
Upon termination, Licensee shall promptly: (i)
discontinue use of the Licensed Products; (ii)
remove the Licensed Products from any soft-
ware in Licensee’s possession or control that
incorporates or uses the Licensed Products in
whole or in part; (iii) erase or destroy any of
the Licensed Products contained in the com-
puter memory or data storage apparatus
under the control of Licensee. Licensee’s obli-
gations under Section 6 shall survive any
termination of this License.
12. GENERAL TERMS.
The entire agreement between the parties is
contained herein and in a valid Purchase Order
or Contract, which supersede all proposals,
oral or written, and all other communications
between the parties relating to this Agree-
ment and it may be executed in any number
of counterparts, each of which shall constitute
an original, and all of which taken together
shall constitute one and the same Agreement.
This Agreement is not assignable by Licensee
without prior written permission from PWI.
The section headings and subheadings herein
are for convenience only and shall not affect
the interpretation or construction of this
Agreement. PWI shall not be liable for any fail-
ure or delay in performance due in whole or in
part to any cause beyond PWI’s control.
This Agreement and all transactions under it
 i

User Manual
Table of Contents

1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1.1
1.1 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1.2
1.2 Grid Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1.2
1.3 Data Hierarchy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1.2
1.4 User Interaction Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1.3
1.5 Planning Your Grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1.4
Define the Modeling Goals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1.5
Identify Your Grid's Constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1.5
Plan the Grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1.5
Outline of the Pointwise Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1.5
1.6 Pointwise Command-Line Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1.6
1.7 Document Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1.7
2. GUI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2.1
2.1 Terminology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2.2
2.2 Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2.3
Menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2.3
Toolbars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2.5
Panels. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2.6
Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2.16
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2.17
Status Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2.18
2.3 Style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2.20
ii

2.4 Customization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.22

GUI Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.22
Toolbars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.24
Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.25
Restoring GUI Defaults . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.25
2.5 Interaction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.25
Noun-verb Style. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.26
Mouse Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.26
Model Manipulations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.27
3D Mouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.29
Zoom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.30
Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.30
Text Entry Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.33
Point Placement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.34
Point Probe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.36
OK - Cancel - Apply. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.37
Accelerators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.37
Context Menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.38
2.6 Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.38

3. File Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.1

3.1 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.2
3.2 New . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.2
Blank Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.3
Restart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.3
3.3 Open . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.4
3.4 Save . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.5
3.5 Save As . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.6
3.6 Save Grid As . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.6
3.7 Save Database As . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.6
3.8 Import . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.6
Grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.8
Database. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.10
3.9 Export . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.17
Grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.17
Database. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.21
CAE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.24
3.10 Export to Gridgen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.38
3.11 Sort . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.38
Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.39
Column Headings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.40
 iii

Order Number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3.40

Drag and Drop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3.41
Up, Down, Top and Bottom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3.41
3.12 Print to File Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3.41
3.13 Print to File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3.43
3.14 Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3.43
Model Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3.44
Node . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3.44
Connector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3.45
Grid Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3.45
3.15 Most Recently Used (MRU) Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3.45
3.16 License . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3.46
3.17 Exit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3.47
4. Edit Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4.1
4.1 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4.2
4.2 Undo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4.2
4.3 Redo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4.3
4.4 Cut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4.4
4.5 Copy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4.4
4.6 Paste . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4.4
4.7 Paste Spacing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4.5
4.8 Clear Paste Buffer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4.5
4.9 Delete . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4.6
4.10 Delete Special . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4.6
4.11 Transform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4.6
Defining a Vector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4.7
Translate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4.7
Scale. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4.9
Stretch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4.10
Rotate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4.11
Mirror. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4.13
4.12 Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4.13
Projection Control. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4.15
Target Database Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4.19
4.13 Split . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4.19
4.14 Convert T-Rex to Prisms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4.22
4.15 Join . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4.23
4.16 Join Tolerance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4.24
4.17 Trim By Surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4.24
iv

4.18 Trim By Curves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.26

4.19 Untrim . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.26
4.20 Curve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.27
Changing a Segment’s Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.29
Editing an Existing Control Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.29
Adding Control Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.30
Deleting Control Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.32
Adding a Segment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.33
Inserting a Segment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.33
Deleting a Segment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.35
Segment Type-Specific Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.35
4.21 Note . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.35
4.22 Tweak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.37
4.23 Extract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.41
Split Angle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.42
Extract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.43
Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.43
4.24 Fit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.43
4.25 Spline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.44
4.26 Smooth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.44
4.27 Orient . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.45
Database Entities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.45
Grid Entities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.46
4.28 Add/Remove Edges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.48
4.29 Add/Remove Faces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.49
4.30 Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.50
4.31 Ungroup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.50
4.32 Break Periodic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.50
4.33 Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.51
Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.52
Graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.52
Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.52
Mouse Style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.53
Miscellaneous . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.53
Text Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.54
Project File. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.54
Reset Defaults . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.54

5. View Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.1

5.1 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.2
5.2 Attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.3
 v

5.3 Show Hidden . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5.7

5.4 Zoom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5.8
Undo Zoom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5.8
Zoom to Fit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5.8
Zoom to Selection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5.9
Zooming with the Combo Zoom Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5.9
5.5 Manage Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5.9
5.6 Set Rotation Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5.10
5.7 Reset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5.11
5.8 Demote . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5.11
5.9 Set View Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5.12
5.10 Show Domains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5.12
5.11 Show Connectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5.12
5.12 Show Nodes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5.13
5.13 Show Database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5.13
5.14 Show Axes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5.13
5.15 Show XYZ Axes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5.13
5.16 Toolbars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5.13
Customize . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5.14

6. Examine Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6.1

6.1 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6.2
6.2 The Examine Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6.3
Function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6.3
Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6.3
Selection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6.5
6.3 The Cuts Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6.5
Cutting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6.6
IJK Cuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6.8
Saved Cuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6.8
6.4The Extrema Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6.8
6.5 Examine Rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6.9
Rules List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6.12
Manage Rules. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6.12
Apply Rules. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6.14
Evaluate Rules. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6.14
6.6 Examine Function Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6.15
None . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6.15
Jacobian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6.15
Volume. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6.16
Component Volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6.16
vi

Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.16
Edge Length . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.16
Length I, J, or K . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.17
Volume, Area Ratio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.17
Length Ratio I, J, or K . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.17
Aspect Ratio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.17
Smoothness I, J, or K . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.18
Minimum Included Angle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.18
Maximum Included Angle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.18
Equiangle Skewness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.18
Equiarea, Equivolume Skewness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.19
Centroid Skewness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.19
Wall Spacing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.19
Wall Orthogonality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.20
Database Associativity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.20
Boundary Proximity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.21
Surface Proximity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.22
U,V . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.22

7. Select Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.1

7.1 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.2
7.2 Select All . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.2
7.3 Unselect All . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.2
7.4 Toggle Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.2
7.5 Angle Limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.3
7.6 Adjacent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.3
7.7 All Adjacent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.3
7.8 Mask . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.3
7.9 Entity Count . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.5

8. Create Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.1

8.1 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.2
8.2 Draw Curves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.2
8.3 2 Point Curves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.7
8.4 Assemble . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.8
Domains & Blocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.8
Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.9
Quilts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.11
8.5 Assemble Special . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.14
Block. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.14
Domain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.21
 vii

8.6 Extrude . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8.24

Assemble Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8.25
Normal Extrusion Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8.29
Translate Extrusion Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8.38
Rotate Extrusion Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8.40
Path Extrusion Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8.42
8.7 Periodic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8.44
Translate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8.45
Rotate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8.45
8.8 On Database Entities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8.45
8.9 Diagonalize . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8.47
8.10 Offset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8.48
8.11 Revolve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8.50
8.12 Sweep . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8.51
8.13 Fillet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8.52
8.14 Interpolate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8.54
8.15 Coons Patch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8.54
8.16 Planes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8.55
8.17 Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8.57
8.18 Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8.59
8.19 Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8.60
8.20 Intersect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8.60

9. Grid Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9.1

9.1 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9.2
9.2 Set Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9.2
9.3 Dimension . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9.2
Set Dimension . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9.5
Curvature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9.5
Copy From . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9.6
Advanced . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9.6
9.4 Distribute . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9.7
Spacing Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9.7
Functions Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9.9
Break Points Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9.13
Dimension Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9.15
9.5 Solve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9.17
Solve for Structured Domains and Blocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9.18
Solve for Unstructured Domains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9.31
Solve for Unstructured Blocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9.39
9.6 Re-Extrude . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9.52
viii

9.7 Merge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.53

Auto Merge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.54
Merge by Picking. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.54
Merge Pairs of Entities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.54
Connectivity Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.55
9.8 Cell Count . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.56

10. Script Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.1

10.1 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.2
10.2 Execute . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.2
10.3 Re-Execute . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.2
10.4 Begin Journaling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.3
10.5 Append to Jour nal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.3
10.6 Add Comment to Jour nal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.4
10.7 End Jour naling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.4
10.8 Most Recently Executed (MRE) Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.4

11. CAE Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.1

11.1 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.2
11.2 Select Solver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.2
11.3 Set Dimension . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.3
11.4 Set Boundary Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.4
Boundary Conditions List Columns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.5
Creating or Deleting a Boundary Condition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.6
Selecting a Boundary Condition. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.7
Boundary Condition Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.7
11.5 Set Volume Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.9
11.6 Set Solver Attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.9

12. Help Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12.1

12.1 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12.2
12.2 Pointwise Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12.2
12.3 User Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12.5
12.4 Tutorial Workbook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12.5
12.5 Glyph Reference Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12.5
12.6 Glyph Manual Pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12.5
12.7 Installation Instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12.5
12.8 Online Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12.5
12.9 About . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12.6

13. Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13.1

 ix

I. References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I.I
II. Plugins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . II.I
II.I Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . II.II
II.II Online Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . II.II
II.III PWP_SITE_GROUPIDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . II.II
II.IV Guide to Creating a Plugin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . II.II
Verify Your Pointwise CAE Plugin SDK Installation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . II.II
Create a New Plugin in Your Project Folder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .II.III
Edit Runtime Header Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . II.VI
Edit the runtimeWrite() Function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . II.VI
Build the Plugin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . II.VI

III. File Formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . III.I

III.I Plot3D File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .III.II
III.II Segment File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .III.II

IV. Accelerators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IV.I

IV.I Pointwise Accelerators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IV.II
IV.II Using Accelerators with a Mac . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .IV.VI
x
 Chapter 1

Introduction

1.1
1.2 Pointwise User Manual
Tip
Pointwise makes unstructured,
structured and hybrid grids and
can export them in many differ-
ent analysis software formats.
1.1 Overview
Pointwise is a software system for the generation of three-dimensional (3D)
grids and meshes. Many of the grid generation methods used in Pointwise
were developed and fine-tuned over the past 25 years in Pointwise’s
predecessor, Gridgen. Pointwise combines the grid generation expertise and
history embedded in Gridgen with more modern software engineering and
graphical interfaces to make grid generation as simple as possible.
You can build a grid around any type of object using Pointwise; it is not
limited to any particular geometry. The grids you create in Pointwise can be
used with any type of analysis software including computational fluid
dynamics (CFD) and finite element analysis (FEA). In fact, Pointwise has built-
in filters for many analysis codes as well as popular neutral formats.
The following sections describe in detail the use of each Pointwise command.
If you are a new user and are interested in learning about how to run
Pointwise, we recommend that you begin by reading and running the
tutorials in the Tutorial Workbook. The User Manual is meant to be used as a
reference. You will consult it to get detailed information about particular
commands you are trying to use.
1 . 2 G r i d Ty p e s
Pointwise generates structured, unstructured and hybrid grids. The element
types it makes include triangles, quadrilaterals, tetrahedra, pyramids, prisms
and hexahedra. Pointwise divides the overall region to be gridded into one or
more sub-regions called blocks.
Pointwise can be used to generate both 2D and 3D blocks. A 2D block
consists entirely of surface cells while a 3D block contains entirely volumetric
cells. All blocks in the same grid must either be 2D or 3D; you cannot
combine blocks of differing dimensionality in the same grid.
The grid in each block can either be structured, unstructured or hybrid. A
structured grid consists entirely of quadrilateral (2D) or hexahedral (3D) cells
that have been arranged in an ordered IxJxK array. An unstructured grid
consists of triangles (2D) or tetrahedral, pyramid and prism cells (3D) having
no implicit order. If all blocks contain structured grids, then the overall grid is
called structured. When all blocks contain unstructured grids, then the
overall grid is called unstructured. If the overall grid consists of both
structured and unstructured blocks, the overall grid is called hybrid, a special
type of unstructured grid.
1.3 Data Hierarchy
Data hierarchy refers to the four types of data (called entities) you will work
with during the construction of your grid. Pointwise organizes the entities
into four types:
 1.3

database: geometry data that defines the shape of the object being gridded
connectors: curve grids
Tip
domains: surface grids
blocks: volume grids Because Pointwise maintains
hierarchical relationships
The data hierarchy's foundation is the database: a geometry model of the
object on and around which a grid is to be generated. You typically obtain between grid and database
the database from a computer aided design (CAD) system and import it into entities, it can automate many
Pointwise. Pointwise also provides tools for creating database entities. A parts of the grid generation
database can consist of points, curves, surfaces and other topological data process.
like trimmed surfaces. Keep in mind, however, Pointwise does not require a
database; the geometry of the grid entities you create may implicitly define
the grid's shape. Furthermore, Pointwise does not require the database to
represent a closed solid model, it can use CAD models with gaps and overlaps
in them.
The remaining three elements of Pointwise's hierarchy are the grid entities:
connectors (curve grids), domains (surface grids), and blocks (volume grids).
Grid entities are ordered according to their computational dimension. Note,
however, all of Pointwise's grid entities may have a 3D shape (in other words,
all three components of the Cartesian coordinates (x,y,z) may vary).
Connectors, the grid entity at the bottom of the hierarchy, are curves on
which grid points are distributed. A connector, what a CAD system would call
a composite curve, consists of one or more segments. Segments are basic
curve types, which can be polylines, polycurves, conics and circles, or curves
obtained from a database.
The middle grid entity is the domain, a surface grid. An initial domain grid is
generated automatically using a default method when the domain is first
created. A variety of grid methods can then be applied to improve the grid's
quality.
Volume grids called blocks are at the top of the data hierarchy. As with
domains, the initial block grid is created automatically, and a variety of grid
methods may then be applied to improve the grid's quality.
This data hierarchy provides the framework by which modifications to any
entity are propagated throughout the rest of the hierarchy. For example,
modification of a connector's shape will update all domains and blocks that
use it. The term ``forward editing” refers to grid changes propagated up the
hierarchy while ``backward editing” refers to downward propagating
changes. Pointwise's data hierarchy and forward and backward editing allow
you to change one entity of your grid and have Pointwise make the entire grid
system consistent with your change.

1.4 User Interaction Model

Pointwise commands are accessed through a series of pull down menus

arranged across the top of the Pointwise window. For convenience, many
1.4 Pointwise User Manual

commands are also accessible through keyboard shortcuts and toolbar

buttons.
Tip
The Pointwise menus are:
The menus are the most com- File is used for opening and saving Pointwise Project Files and importing and
plete way to access Pointwise exporting files from other systems.
commands. Toolbar buttons Edit contains Undo, Redo, and commands for modifying entities.
and keyboard accelerators
View has controls for various Display window view orientations and the
speed access to frequently used overall layout of panels and toolbars.
commands.
Examine provides ways to get detailed information about grid quality and
other aspects of the grid.
Select includes various ways of selecting entities and controls for selection
behavior.
Create is used to build new database and grid entities.
Grid is used to apply Pointwise’s grid methods to improved grid quality.
Script provides Glyph scripting and journaling controls.
CAE is used to set the analysis software type and dimensionality which
Pointwise will export to, and is also used to set boundary and volume
conditions.
Help provides access to the Pointwise help system.
Pointwise uses a noun-verb interaction model. That means you first pick the
entities to be operated on and then choose which action to perform on them.
For instance, to copy a collection of entities, first pick the entities to be
copied and then select Copy from the Edit pull down menu (or simply use the
Ctrl-C keyboard accelerator or Copy toolbar button). Once the operation is
complete, the originally selected entities are still selected and ready for other
operations.
Much more information about Pointwise’s interaction model is available in the
Graphical User Interface section of this manual.
Pointwise also includes a scripting language, Glyph, that can be used to
control the entire meshing process. Any command that can be done
interactively, can be done through scripting as well. This is useful for
controlling Pointwise in a batch process, coupling it with other software for
optimization, developing standalone meshing applications and automating
various meshing tasks.

1 . 5 P l a n n i n g Yo u r G r i d

Before you start generating a grid with Pointwise (or by any other means),
you should first consider many issues related to the analysis. For example, if
your grid is to be used for a CFD analysis, you can save a lot of time and avoid
costly false starts and rework by considering all of these items before you
begin generating your grid.
 1.5

1.5.1 Define the Modeling Goals

What specific results are required from the analysis? Are you just looking for Tip
general flow patterns or more detailed information about pressure, heat
transfer, and separation locations in the flow field? Spending a little time up front
What degree of accuracy is required? Are you looking for trends or absolutes? to plan your project and make
How much time do you have to complete the analysis? Do you have the time sure the grid meets your goals
(both labor hours and computer) to analyze the complete system, or can you in the most efficient way will
obtain meaningful results by analyzing only the component of interest? save a lot of time and resources
downstream.
1 . 5 . 2 I d e n t i f y Yo u r G r i d ' s C o n s t r a i n t s
What types of grid topologies can your analysis software handle?
What is the maximum number of grid points you can use? What is the
maximum number of grid blocks you can use?

1.5.3 Plan the Grid

What grid topologies will work best?
Which areas will require a finer grid to accurately resolve a boundary layer,
shock wave or other flowfield feature? Which areas can be covered with a
coarser grid?
Are there components of the geometry that will be changed for additional
analyses? Can they be isolated in the grid for later ease in editing?

1.5.4 Outline of the Pointwise Process

After you have planned your grid and familiarized yourself with Pointwise's
terminology and command structure, you are ready to begin generating your
grid. Pointwise is designed for you to flow through the grid generation
process in a specific order, proceeding from grid curves (the one dimensional
grid elements), through surface grids (the two dimensional grid elements), to
volume grids (the three dimensional grid elements). This process allows
Pointwise to automate many of the grid topology and dimension
bookkeeping tasks you would have to keep track of yourself otherwise.
The basic steps you will follow are listed below. Some of the steps are
optional, as noted.

1. Choose the analysis software you will use and whether the grid will
be 2D or 3D.
2. Create or import the geometry model (database). (optional)
3. Create the curves (connectors) that define the boundaries of surface
grids.
4. Distribute grid points along the connectors.
5. Pick closed loops of connectors to define surface grids (domains).
6. Apply a grid method to improve the distribution of surface grid
points. (optional)
1.6 Pointwise User Manual

7. Pick closed shells of domains to define volume grids (blocks).

8. Apply a grid method to improve the distribution of volume grid
Tip
points. (optional)
For 3D grids, select blocks for 9. Set analysis software boundary conditions. (optional)
exporting to a selected CAE. 10. Export analysis software data files.
Otherwise, select domains for
11. Save the Pointwise Project file.
the export instead.
While the detailed operations performed in each of these steps will vary for
each grid you build, you will always follow these basic steps in this general
order. We also recommend you create some of your domains (surface grids)
as soon as you have enough connectors created. This will allow you to see
immediately whether or not the distribution of grid points you applied to your
connectors results in a good domain surface grid. By doing this, you will be
able to identify and correct potential problems at the earliest possible stage in
the grid generation process resulting in a better final grid.

1.6 Pointwise Command-Line Options

Pointwise can be launched from a command line using the command

“pointwise” (or “Pointwise” on Mac OS X). Its command line options
include:
pointwise ?-usage?
?-version?
?-language spec?
?-tbbinit num?
?-dirmode current | saved?
?startup_script | file?
The command line options are discussed in further detail as follows:
-usage
Displays this usage information in a dialog box. The application exits
when the dialog is closed. The default is NONE.
-version
Displays the executable's version string to stdout and exits.
-language spec
Specifies the Pointwise runtime language. At this time, the only valid
values for spec are: en-us for US English.
-tbbinit num
Controls the maximum number of calculation threads that Pointwise
can spawn. By default, this number is set to 0 to allow an unlimited
number of calculation threads.
-dirmode current | saved
 1.7

Determines where the file dialogs will start. current will force the
dialogs to start in the current working directory despite the preference
setting. saved will force the dialogs to start in the saved directory. Tip
Note that this parameter does not change the preference setting in the
GUI. Refer to (Section 4.33.5) for information on how to set this up via Look for handy tips to make
the GUI. your grid generation more effi-
startup_script | file cient in the margin of each
page of the User Manual.
Specifies the glyph script (*.glf) to execute or the Pointwise project file
(*.pw) to load after Pointwise starts. If defined, the file name must
follow all switches and be the last command line argument. The default
is NONE.

1.7 Document Conventions

Buttons on Pointwise's menus will appear in an italicized Frutiger font: for

example, Translate.
Accelerator keys, keyboard keys invoking a menu button command when
pressed, appear in a bold Frutiger font: for example, Shift+Ctrl+Right
Mouse is used to set a new rotation point.
Data you type and messages that Pointwise prints appear in a Courier font:
for example, 1,2,3.
1.8 Pointwise User Manual
Chapter 2

GUI

2.1
2.2 Pointwise User Manual
Tip
Entity specific icons are used
consistently throughout the
Pointwise interface. Variations
of these primary icons are used
to represent commands which
operate specifically on that
entity type.
2 . 1 Te r m i n o l o g y
Before beginning general discussion of Pointwise’s GUI, we will first overview
meshing terminology as it pertains to Pointwise.
Entity - An entity is an individual grid or database element.
Connector - A connector is a 1D grid element which forms
the foundation for all other grid hierarchy.
Domain - A domain is a 2D grid element which can be
structured or unstructured.
Block - A block is a 3D grid element which can be struc-
tured, unstructured or hybrid.
Database - The database is CAD geometry imported from
other sources or created directly within Pointwise. Used to
control the shape of grid elements, but not necessary for
mesh creation.
Spacing Constraint - The user defined grid point spacings
adjacent to connector nodes.
Dimension - The number of grid points assigned to a con-
nector.
Control Point - A control point is a user defined point
specifying the shape of curve entities (connector or data
base).
Node - The first and last control points defining a connector
are represented as filled circles called nodes.
Edge - The boundary of a domain is referred to as an edge.
There are exactly four edges bounding a structured domain.
Unstructured domains have a single perimeter edge, and any
interior holes will be additional edges.
Face - The boundary of a block is referred to as a face.
There are exactly six faces bounding a structured block.
Unstructured blocks will have a single perimeter face which
is closed, and any interior holes will be additional faces.
 2.3

2.2 Components
Tip

The components or sub win-

dows which make up the Point-
wise interface can be resized
relative to each other as well as
moved and docked in other
positions around the interface.

Figure 2.1: Components of the Pointwise Graphical User Interface

(GUI) are labeled here for reference.

The Pointwise GUI can be broken down into six primary components
described in the corresponding sections below:

Menus (Section 2.2.1)

Toolbars (Section 2.2.2)
Panels (Section 2.2.3)
Display (Section 2.2.4)
Messages (Section 2.2.5)
Status Bar (Section 2.2.6)

2.2.1 Menus

Figure 2.2: Pointwise provides a typical layout of command menus.

2.4 Pointwise User Manual
Tip
Very often a command executed
from a toolbar will not open a
command panel but simply use
the default or previous settings
from that panel. Use the
Menus to access the full com-
mand panel containing all the
settings or attributes for a given
command.
2.2.1.1 File
The File menu provides all input and output commands necessary to transfer
database geometry and mesh into and out of Pointwise. This is also where
you will find tools for exporting analyses files formatted for your chosen CAE
solver. See Section 11.1 for more information.
2.2.1.2 Edit
The Edit menu provides all the tools necessary to make various modifications
to grid or database entities, such as Translate, Project or Split. This is also
where you will find the Undo and Redo commands, and Cut, Copy and
Paste. See Section 4.1 for more information.
2 . 2 . 1 . 3 Vi e w
The View menu provides options for changing the display of your project
including turning off the display of connectors and domains, as well as, a
command for saving and recalling view orientations. Here you can also
customize your toolbars and turn them on or off. See Section 5.1 for more
information.
2.2.1.4 Examine
The Examine menu contains diagnostic commands for checking grid quality
and determining specific metrics. See Section 6.1 for more information.
2.2.1.5 Select
The Select menu provides menu access to various selection tools such as
Select All or Unselect All. You will also find the full Mask command
implementation with finer granularity than that available on the toolbar. See
Section 7.1 for more information.
2.2.1.6 Create
All of Pointwise’s entity creation capability is found in the Create menu, from
curve creation through various database creation tools like the surface of
revolution tool, Revolve. See Section 8.1 for more information.
2.2.1.7 Grid
Meshing specific tools are found in the Grid menu, including Dimension,
Distribute and the Solve command. See Section 9.1 for more information.
2.2.1.8 Script
The Script menu contains all scripting related commands, including Execute
and Begin Journaling. See Section 10.1 for more information.
 2.5

2.2.1.9 CAE
The CAE menu provides the commands necessary to prepare your project for
Tip
export to your preferred analysis software. Here you can choose your
preferred solver and Set Boundar y Conditions, among other things. See
Arrange and customize the
Section 11.1 for more information.
toolbars to make your style of
meshing as efficient as possible.
2.2.1.10 Help For instance, if you always cre-
The Help menu provides access to the Pointwise Help command, context ate structured-only meshes,
sensitive help for all of Pointwise’s functionality. The About command gives maybe you should consider tak-
you important version information useful when seeking technical support. ing the grid type icons off of
See Section 12.1 for more information. the Grid toolbar.

2 . 2 . 2 To o l b a r s

Figure 2.3: To o l b a r s provide quick access to frequently used

commands.

Toolbars provide quick single click access to the most commonly used
commands in Pointwise. There are two forms of toolbar commands. Basic
toolbar commands simply open the command panel for that particular
command, sometimes with an option for that particular command panel
preset. For example, the Curve command on the Create toolbar.

Figure 2.4: The Create toolbar includes options that do not open a
command panel, such as Assemble Domains and Assemble Blocks at
far right.

Advanced toolbar commands take immediate action without opening a

command panel. Some simply execute the command and display the result,
such as the Assemble Domains command on the Create toolbar (Figure 2.4).
Others have additional capability right on the toolbar, such as the text entry
fields for the Dimension and Spacing commands on the Grid toolbar (Figure
2.5).

Figure 2.5: The Grid toolbar includes custom options like Dimension
a n d S p a c i n g w h i c h a l l o w t e x t e n t r y d i r e c t l y o n t h e t o o l b a r.
2.6 Pointwise User Manual
Tip
Entities are highlighted in the
List and the Display window
simultaneously. You can use
this feature to identify the
name of an entity by hovering
the mouse over that entity in
the Display window or vice
versa.
Toolbars can be customized to your preference. An entire toolbar can be
relocated, removed or added to the GUI, and individual commands can be
removed or added to each toolbar. See Section 2.4 for more information on
customization.
2.2.3 Panels
Three permanent panels provide continuous access to frequently used
functionality: the List, Layers, and Defaults panels. As other commands are
opened either from a menu, toolbar, or accelerator, an additional command
panel appears tabbed along with the permanent panels. You can switch back
and forth between command and other panels as necessary and appropriate
to work with your model. Functionality available in the panels is dependent
upon any currently open command panel and/or the current entity selection.
Each panel tab will automatically provide a scroll bar at the right edge when
the contents of that panel extend past the entire length of the Panels frame.
The Panels frame can be repositioned in the GUI if desired, but cannot be
closed. See Section 2.4 for more information on customization.
2.2.3.1 List
Figure 2.6: An example of the List panel showing all the entities
being sorted by their names.
The List panel provides both selection functionality and entity reference
information for all entity types such as blocks, domains, connectors,
database, spacing constraints and groups, except database boundaries which
can only be seen and selected in the Display window, subject to Mask
settings.
Select the List tab of the Panels to see entities grouped by type and
designated with their corresponding entity type icon. Each group can have its
portion of the list expanded or closed as desired to facilitate selection.
Expand a closed entity list by placing the cursor over the “+” next to the
entity icon and clicking the left mouse. Reverse this operation by clicking the
“-” next to the entity icon of an expanded list (Figure 2.7). When CAE
dimension is set to 2D, the block icon and section will not show in the List.
 2.7

Tip

Often entity selection can be

done more efficiently using the
List, particularly using the entity
icons to select all shown of a
type. Using the List also pre-
vents you from having to make
any Mask changes since the
entities are already segregated
by type.

Figure 2.7: Click the left mouse over the “+” or “-” in the list to
e x p a n d o r c l o s e , r e s p e c t i v e l y, t h e p o r t i o n o f t h e l i s t f o r t h a t e n t i t y
type.

In parentheses next to each entity icon is a number indicating the total

number shown for that type. Once entities are selected, this is shown as
“number selected/number shown”. A mouse hover over the numbers shown
in parentheses will also produce a tooltip (Figure 2.8) showing a third number,
the total number of that type of entity in the model including those that are
hidden (Section 5.2).

Figure 2.8: Hovering the mouse cursor over the parentheses next to
an entity icon in the List produces a tooltip showing the additional
“ To t a l ” .

The List provides basic information about each entity, such as domain name,
type, and number of cells or points. Such information can be sorted by
clicking on its corresponding header. For example, if you wished to sort all
entities by their names, you would click on the Name header in the List
(Figure 2.6). The direction of the arrow in the header indicates whether the
sort is in ascending or descending order. Note that the header names for the
last two columns are not displayed. This is because these columns are used
differently depending on the entity type.
The List also allows you to quickly modify the name of an entity as long as it is
not a spacing constraint. Left-click on an entity, and double click on its name.
Type in a new name then press Enter to confirm it.
2.8 Pointwise User Manual

Tip

The layer manager is a very

powerful tool for controlling
entity visibility and selection.
Meshing can be facilitated by
organizing both your mesh and
geometry components logically
into layers. Turning off layers
containing unneeded mesh or Figure 2.9: Set a spacing constraint to a user defined value by
geometry will greatly reduce double clicking on its value in the List.
visual clutter in the Display win-
For spacing constraints (Figure 2.9), the following information are shown in
dow and simplify selection by
the List: name, end, value and type. Each spacing constraint is associated
reducing the number of pick- with one end of a connector (i.e., “con-1”) or subconnector (i.e., “con-4.1”
able entities. that stands for the 1st subconnector of “con-4”). You can set a spacing
constraint to a user defined value by double clicking on its value in the List.
This will cause the default type “Automatic” to be updated as “User”.

Figure 2.10: Selecting a group in the List will also select its group
members.

If groups are defined in your grid, their names, type and group memeber
count appear in the List (Figure 2.10). Note a group is not a grid or database
entity. Instead, it is a shortcut to selection of multiple entites. That is,
selecting or deleting a group (i.e., “Wing”) in the List will also select or
deleting its group members (i.e., “blk-2” and “blk-1”). Deleting a group
member simply removes that entity from the group but the group definition
remains with the remainder of its constituents.
A group is visible in the List as long as at least one of the group members is
visible. However, a group will be grayed out and non-selectable until all of the
group members are visible and selectable.
Selection from the List involves placing the mouse cursor over an entity and
clicking the left mouse button. Standard meta keys can also be used for
multiple entity selection. Left-click on an entity, and then Shift-click on a
second entity to select the entire range between and including the two
 2.9

entities. Or left-click and drag the cursor to select a contiguous portion of

the list. Also, left-click on an entity, and then Ctrl-click any number of
additional entities for additive selection. Finally, you can click on an entity Tip
type header or icon in the list to select all of that type of entity currently
shown. You can use the Ctrl meta key in conjunction with clicking the Use familiar names for the
headers for additive selection. See Section 2.5.6 for further information on Description of your layers to
entity selection. make it easier to locate the por-
tion of your mesh or geometry
with which you wish to work. It
may help to set aside ranges of
layers for organizing specific
areas.

Figure 2.11: An example of the List panel showing domains masked,

two curves selected in blue, and one surface mouse highlighted.

List entities are displayed in one of several different styles based on

availability or selection. Entities which are not available for selection due to
Mask settings have their text grayed out. As the mouse cursor moves over an
entity in the List, its text is highlighted with a bold type-face. Currently
selected entities are displayed with a blue background (Figure 2.11).

2.2.3.2 Layers
The Layers panel provides the capability to group database and/or grid
entities together by assigning them to a layer. The only types of entities that
cannot be layered are database boundaries and spacing constraints; these
entities always stay in the same layer as their parent entities, but are not
included in the entity count.
Select the Layers (Figure 2.13) tab of the Panels to make changes to layer
status or to assign entities to a new layer. Visibility of entities is subject to
layer status of itself or the entities it supports (child entity). Layers can be
likened to having an engineering design drawing of a machine where
different portions of the object are drawn on different sheets of transparency.
Removing a sheet from the stack of transparencies removes the objects on
that sheet from view. Similarly, turning the status of a layer to off will remove
from view in the Display window and in the List the grid and/or database
entities assigned to that layer.
2.10 Pointwise User Manual

Tip

Remember to think about your

current layer when creating
new entities, such as intersec-
tions or connectors. These new
entities will automatically be
placed in the current layer, so
change your current layer as
desired prior to creation of new
entities.

F i g u r e 2 . 1 2 : P o i n t w i s e ’s L a y e r s p a n e l p r o v i d e s a p o w e r f u l l a y e r i n g
t o o l f o r m a n a g i n g e n t i t y v i s i b i l i t y.

The browser area (Figure 2.13) of the Layers panel provides selection of
individual or groups of layers to operate on. A scroll bar at the right allows
you to scroll up and down in the entire list of layers. Standard meta keys can
be used for multiple layer selection. Left-click on a layer, and then Shift-click
on a second layer to select the entire range between and including the two
layers. Also, left click on a layer, and then Ctrl-click any number of additional
layers for additive selection. Once selected, you can change layer status using
the commands found below the Filter frame.

Figure 2.13: The browser portion of the Layers panel provides layer
selection, and changing layer status or description.
 2.11

Layer status is shown by and can be toggled using the check boxes (Figure
2.13) located in the browser column labeled On. A click in the check box or
anywhere in the field containing it will toggle the status of that layer. The Tip
browser column labeled Layer simply lists the layer number. There are 1024
layers ranging from layer 0 to layer 1023. A double click in the Layer column Pointwise will import layer
field or in the Entities column field will make that layer the current layer. The information when included in
current layer is the one to which all newly created entities will be assigned. CAD geometry files. Generally
An additional rightward pointing gold chevron in the On column indicates the the CAD layers, sometimes
current layer. The Entities column shows the total number of entities in each referred to as levels, will map
layer, in the form shown/hidden. Finally, the Description column of the directly into the same corre-
layer browser shows a text description for each layer. Double-click in this
sponding layer number in Point-
field to add a new or edit an existing text description.
wise. If this information is not
included, all the database enti-
ties will automatically default to
layer 0.

Figure 2.14: Filter the list shown in the layer browser by

Description, Range, or content.

There are several tools in the Filter frame (Figure 2.14) which allow you to
filter the list of layers to show only a subset of layers in the browser. First, the
list of layers can be filtered by their description. Enter a text string in the
Filter Description field to be matched against the layer descriptions. Use the
asterisk (*) wildcard to match multiple instances of a sub-string. Second, the
list can be filtered by layer number. Enter a single layer number, a range of
layer numbers, or a combination of these separated by commas to reduce the
list shown. You must hit Enter on the keyboard for Filter Range to be
activated. Finally, you can uncheck the Filter Show Empty Layers option so
that layers containing no entities will be removed from the list. All of these
filters may be used in combination.

Figure 2.15: Use the various layer operation commands to change

l a y e r s t a t u s o r d e t e r m i n e w h i c h l a y e r i s t h e c u r r e n t l a y e r.

The layer operation commands (Figure 2.15) are logically grouped based on
the number of layers selected. If a single layer is selected, you can use Isolate
to make it the current layer and turn all other layers off, or you can use Set
Current to simply make it the current layer without changing the status of
other layers. If multiple layers are selected, you cannot use either of these
first two commands. Add to Selection allows you to add all non-hidden
entities in the layer or layers selected in the panel to the current selection in
the Display window. Use On, Off and Toggle with one or more layers
2.12 Pointwise User Manual
Tip
A few commands in Pointwise
require a default be set prior to
the command being available.
The Connectors on Database
Entities and Domains on Data-
base Entities commands require
a default connector Dimension
or Average Δ s be set before
they can be used.
selected to change their status as indicated. Finally, the last three commands,
All On, All Off and Toggle All, all operate on the entire list of layers
regardless of layers selected. As noted in the frame title, actions taken within
the Layers frame cannot be undone.
Figure 2.16: Assign a single or group of selected entities to a new
layer by selecting them and entering the new layer number in the
Layer Number field.
Entities can be assigned to a new layer by simply selecting them, entering a
layer number in the Layer Number field (Figure 2.16), and hitting Enter on
the keyboard. Note assigning a group to a new layer will place all of its group
members to the target layer. Layer assignment can also be changed using the
Attributes command (Section 5.2). Once assigned, their parent entities will
be visible if the status of the new layer is On. That is, domains and connectors
will be visible in a new layer where the block they support is moved.
Figure 2.17: Use the Layer Sets frame to Save and Restore preferred
layer states.
The status of all layers and which layer is current can be saved to a layer set
for easy recall later. Saved layer sets facilitate switching rapidly back and
forth between multiple frequently used layer states. To save a layer set, open
the Layer Sets frame (Figure 2.17) if necessary, and click Save to create a
new set with your current state. You can change the name of a layer set by
double clicking the Name field for a given set. To recall a layer set, either
double click the layer set in any field other than Name, or select the layer set
by clicking on it and then click Restore. As noted in the frame title, actions
taken within the Layer Sets frame cannot be undone.
 2.13

Tip

Changing default values will

not change entities which have
already been created. New
Figure 2.18: Use tools in the Move Layers frame to transfer the defaults only affect those enti-
c o n t e n t s o f a l a y e r o r r a n g e o f l ay e r s t o a n o t h e r l a y e r o r r a n g e o f ties newly created after the
layers. defaults change.

Entities in a layer or range of layers can be moved to another layer or range of

layers using Move Layers (Figure 2.18). Open the frame if necessary to use
this feature. Select a layer or set of layers to move. Enter a layer number to
which the entities should be moved in the Target Layer text field. Check on
Include Description or Include Visibility, as desired. Click on Combine to
move the contents of multiple layers into a single target layer. Click on
Relocate to simply move a layer or layers to a new relative location.

2.2.3.3 Defaults

Figure 2.19: Settings made on the Defaults panel affect only

entities created after default values are entered.

Select the Defaults tab of the Panels (Figure 2.19) to set default values for
various parameters to be used during the creation of any new entities after
2.14 Pointwise User Manual

the default value has been set or changed. Settings on the Defaults panel do
not impact entities already created or already imported.
Tip
The information on Grid/DB Length is displayed at the top of the Defaults
panel. This helps you decide whether your default settings are suitable for
Pointwise will support visibility
your geometry or not.
information included in CAD
files. This means entities The Defaults panel is logically broken up into three groups of settings: those
marked as invisible or disabled that affect new connectors, those that affect new structured domains and
blocks, and finally those that affect new unstructured domains and blocks.
in the CAD file will automati-
This sub-section will only provide a general overview of the settings available
cally be hidden after import.
as defaults with reference to their primary descriptions elsewhere in this User
Wherever possible, this infor-
Manual. Any commands unique to the Defaults panel will be explained here.
mation should be included
when creating a CAD file for
use in Pointwise.

F i g u r e 2 . 2 0 : D i m e n s i o n a n d D i s t r ib u t i o n d e f a u l t s a r e f o u n d i n t h e
Connector group.

The Dimension frame (Figure 2.20) provides default settings for connector
Dimension, Average Δ s, Max. Dimension, Max. Angle and Max.
Deviation. The default number of grid points will be calculated based on the
definition of Dimension or Average Δ s. If Max. Angle and/or Max.
Deviation specified, points may be added to the default grid points of the
new connectors to satisfy Max. Angle and/or Max. Deviation. Max.
Dimension is unique to the Defaults panel and sets a dimension cap for all
new connectors. This setting only affects use of the Average Δ s, Max.
Angle and Max. Deviation options since otherwise connector dimension
using these settings would be unlimited. Note the use of Max. Angle and
Max. Deviation are also described in detail for the Grid, Dimension
command (Section 9.3), the Grid, Distribute (Section 9.4) command and the
Grid, Solve command (Section 9.5).
The Distribution frame provides default settings for Begin. Δ s, End. Δ s and
distribution Type. These settings are described in detail for the Grid,
Distribute command (Section 9.4).
 2.15

Tip

Information messages provided

in the Messages window can be
very helpful in understanding
the results of certain command
operations. A good example is
the highly automated Assemble
command. When this com-
Figure 2.21: Use the Structured Domains and Blocks frame of the mand produces a significant
Defaults panel to set defaults for those entities. number of new entities, it may
take some time to determine
The Structured Domains and Blocks frame (Figure 2.21) provides default
visually what has been cre-
settings for Interior and Boundar y control functions for both structured
ated. However, the results are
domains and blocks. These settings are described in detail for the Grid, Solve
command for structured entities (Section 9.5). conveniently summarized by
Info messages.

Figure 2.22: Use the Unstructured Domains and Blocks frame of the
Defaults panel to set defaults for those entities.

The Unstructured Domains and Blocks frame (Figure 2.22) provides default
settings for Boundar y Decay, Min. Edge and Max. Edge for both
unstructured domains and blocks. Also provided are defaults for Max. Angle
2.16 Pointwise User Manual

and Max. Deviation for unstructured domains and Min. Pyramid, Max.
Pyramid and Pyramid Aspect Ratio. When a new domain is created on a
Tip database surface, for example, its boundary grid points are calculated based
on the settings in the Connector frame. If Max. Angle and/or Max.
Text in the Messages window Deviation specified, the domain interior is evaluated against its analytical
can be conveniently copied and surface to see if it violates either of these constraints. If yes, points may be
pasted to other applications. inserted to the domain interior until either or both constraints are satisfied.
This feature is particularly use- At the bottom of the frame is a default wall spacing, Wall Δ s, for use with T-
ful for providing message infor- Rex. These settings are described in detail for the Grid, Solve command for
mation in an E-mail to unstructured entities (Section 9.5). Unique to the Defaults panel are the
Pointwise support. Initialize Interior check box for unstructured domains and the Initial
Memor y Size for unstructured blocks. When Initialize Interior is unchecked,
no interior points will be inserted into newly created unstructured domains.
triangles will be formed that connect the boundary points and cross the
interior. The Initial Memory Size default sets a target initial RAM request for
the unstructured block solver. However, the solver does make use of dynamic
memory allocation so that additional memory will be requested as needed.
Finally, at the bottom of the Defaults panel is the Reset Defaults command
(Figure 2.19). Use this command to restore all default settings to those
applied for a new project.

2.2.4 Display

F i g u r e 2 . 2 3 : Yo u r m o d e l a n d c h a n g e s t o i t a r e c o n s t a n t l y s h o w n i n
t h e D i s p l a y w i n d o w.
 2.17

The Display (Figure 2.23) window takes up the bulk of the GUI real estate.
Here your entire project is displayed during all operations and commands.
Therefore immediate visual feedback is available at all times. Tip
Several actions also take place within the Display window. These include
When creating points for
entity selection (Section 2.5.6), model manipulations (Section 2.5.3), and
commands accessed via the right-mouse menu (Section 2.5.12). curves, particularly on data-
base entities, you can always
The background coloring and gradient of the Display window can be
refer to the coordinates listed in
customized. See Section 2.4.3 for more information.
the Status Bar to confirm the
location of a potential pick
2.2.5 Messages
point.

Figure 2.24: Look in the Messages window for command feedback.

The Messages (Figure 2.24) window by default lies below the Display
window. Here Pointwise provides feedback of various types during the grid
generation process. For instance, immediately upon starting the program, an
Info message appears indicating the time, the server from which the license
was checked out, your Customer ID and the remaining duration of the
license.
There are six types of messages that can be written to the Messages window:

Script - Messages of this form appear when puts statements are

included in a Glyph script that has been executed.
Info - These are general informational messages which report the
results of commands. For instance, “Info: Imported 2 entities.” The
vast majority of messages written to the Messages window will be of
this type.
Warning - These messages generally indicate a command or opera-
tion that was aborted, but the abort or other action does not adversely
affect the project or Pointwise execution. For instance, aborting from
an entity deletion via a pop-up dialog listing unwanted results will pro-
duce “Warning: Aborted Delete” in the Messages window.
Error - These should be rarely seen and will typically indicate a soft-
ware malfunction, such as an exception. These should be reported to
Pointwise immediately.
Debug - These messages are generally related to software perfor-
mance and have been implemented during development of new fea-
tures. For instance, during import testing of a particular file type
2.18 Pointwise User Manual

something like “Debug: Elapsed time: 0.652 seconds” may appear.

These are turned off by default.
Tip Journal - These messages show what script commands are being used
in the current interactive session. If you would also like these mes-
If a command is grayed out in a
sages to be written to a Glyph script file, refer to Section 10.4 to
menu, that command is unavail- Begin Journaling. These are turned off by default.
able due to current selection or
The Messages window can be closed altogether or relocated (Section 2.4.1).
another command is already
active. Refer to the User Man-
ual section for that command
to determine the required selec-
tion.

Figure 2.25: The right-click menu in the Messages window allows

you to save the messages to a file, clear the messages, or turn on/
off the types of messages you wish to see.

Pointwise also provides a menu (Figure 2.25) accessed via a right mouse click
anywhere in the Messages window. This menu provides access to several
unique commands specific to messages. To save or copy contents of the
Messages window, you need to first Select All. Then you can save all
messages as a text file or copy all messages by selecting Save To File or Copy,
respectively. You can even clear all messages from the Messages window by
selecting Clear. An option to tailor which messages will be written to the
Messages window can be seen by placing your cursor over Preferences. You
can also specify the types of messages written to the window via the Edit,
Preferences (Section 2.4.3) panel.

2.2.6 Status Bar

F i g u r e 2 . 2 6 : T h e S t a t u s b a r p r o v i d e s a d u a l p r o g r e s s b a r, s t a t e
icons, cursor coordinates, and more.

The narrow bar running the full width of the GUI at the bottom is referred to
as the Status Bar (Figure 2.26). This area is almost entirely devoted to only
 2.19

providing various types of information or feedback, with one interactive

exception.
Tip

Pointwise supports two icon

sizes for your customization.
Figure 2.27: The dual progress bar includes an Interrupt Current Refer to the View, Toolbars,
Operation button. Customize command for more
information.
When an extended duration command process is under way, the dual level
progress bar (Figure 2.27) at the far left of the Status Bar becomes active
indicating which and how many stages in the top progress bar and the status
or progress of the current stage in the bottom progress bar. At the left of the
progress bar, an Interrupt Current Operation icon also becomes active during
an extended command process. This icon is an activated button that allows
you to abort from the process that is under way. Note that some command
processes may have a duration which cannot be pre-determined. In these
cases, the bottom bar strobes to indicate progress.

Figure 2.28: The state area of the Status Bar displays a series of
icons indicating your current selections.

To the immediate right of the dual progress bar is a set of icons (Figure 2.28)
indicating the state of a number of global settings: grid type (Section 9.2),
view type (Section 5.9), grid CAE dimension (Section 11.3), condition of rules
if one or more exists (Section 6.5), and selected CAE solver (Section 11.2). To
the right of the state icons is a section where the text JRNL is displayed when
journaling (Section 10.4) is turned on. The large field at the center of the
Status Bar is devoted to guidance text. Additional context sensitive
information will be provided here when useful to help “guide” you through
certain commands or operations.

Figure 2.29:The probe area of the Status Bar is found just right of
t h e c e n t e r o f t h e b a r.

A section of the Status Bar referred to as the probe area (Figure 2.29)
provides information about any entity currently highlighted during entity
selection in the Display window. The same info is displayed in the probe area
when mousing over entities in the List. The probe area will provide two
pieces of information about an entity, generally the entity name and a
commonly used technical item. Bold text will be used if an entity is selected
or if mousing over a selected entity.
2.20 Pointwise User Manual
Tip
Pointwise remembers changes
that you make to the GUI as
you work. These changes are
saved to your system so that
when you next execute Point-
wise your changes will remain
in affect. This includes things
like moving a toolbar or resizing
the Messages window.
The example in Figure 2.29 is for a structured domain being highlighted with
its name and dimension shown. A highlighted connector would show name
and dimension as well.
Figure 2.30:The probe area provides information about a
highlighted spacing constraint.
Highlighted spacing constraints will show in the probe area the constraint’s
corresponding connector name and the actual spacing value at that
constraint. As shown in Figure 2.30, constraints shown in parentheses are
unspecified or free and are actual values resulting from the subconnector
distribution function and any constraint applied at the opposite end.
Figure 2.31: The three right-hand fields of the Status Bar display
mouse cursor coordinates.
The three remaining fields (Figure 2.31) on the right side of the Status Bar
are used to list UV, XYZ and IJ coordinates of points as appropriate for certain
commands. Additionally, the corresponding database entity name is shown
with listed UV coordinates. For instance, in the example shown in Figure 2.31
a Split (Section 4.13) location is being selected in the Display window for a
database constrained structured domain. Therefore all three fields are active
in this case.
2.3 Style
Figure 2.32: Standard icons are used for the four primary entity
types.
During the design of the Pointwise GUI, careful consideration was given to
incorporating the use of icons and color coding to improve command
recognition and accelerate the mesh generation process. First, for the most
commonly used commands and features, unique icons have been designed
and implemented throughout the software, often completely replacing text
labels. Additionally, specific icons have been created for the four primary
entity types: connectors, domains, blocks and database entities. See Figure
2.32.
 2.21

Tip

Hovering the mouse over any

toolbar command will produce
a tooltip with that command’s
name whether or not the com-
mand is currently active.

Figure 2.33: Command icons are displayed consistently in both the

command menus and on the associated toolbars.

For commands with unique icons, these icons appear to the left of the
corresponding command in the command’s menu and, by default, the icon
only appears on the toolbar implementation. See Figure 2.33. Command
text can be added to toolbar icons (Section 2.4.2), however, this will consume
a significant amount of GUI real estate. Although this additional information
may prove instructional to new users.
Certain colors have been used consistently in Pointwise’s icons to give an
additional visual cue as to the use or purpose of a particular command:

Figure 2.34: Color coding is used for related commands.

Bright green for connector related commands

Light blue for domain related commands
Dark blue for block related commands
Salmon for database related commands
Teal for non-entity specific commands
Red for selection related commands
The Connectors on Database Entities and Domains on Database Entities
commands provide an excellent example of where two similar commands and
icons can easily be differentiated simply by color (Figure 2.35).

Figure 2.35: Color coding alone can help differentiate command

icons.

An effort has been made in every panel to bring the most commonly used
commands to the forefront of that panel. Less frequently used commands are
often grouped into command frames that have been closed by default. Once
you open one of these frames, they will remain open until you close them
2.22 Pointwise User Manual

again. Additionally, some commands considered to have an advanced nature

have been grouped into frames labeled the same, Advanced (Figure 2.36).
Tip These also are closed by default.

Not all commands that are

available are shown by default
on the toolbars. Use the View,
Toolbar, Customize command to
add or remove commands to
your toolbars.

Figure 2.36: Collapsing command frames, such as this Advanced

f r a m e , a r e u s e d t o r e d u c e c o m m a n d p a n e l c l u t t e r.

2.4 Customization

All users exercise any software product differently. Being able to customize
the layout of a GUI or make favorite commands more accessible will improve
efficiency. To this end, Pointwise has been designed to allow users a
substantial degree of customization. All customization done to the GUI is
automatically saved when you exit the application and reapplied on your next
use of Pointwise.

2.4.1 GUI Layout

Relative positions of many components of the GUI can be changed. The
Command Menus and the Status Bar cannot be repositioned. However,
pretty much all of the other GUI components can be moved, or in some cases,
removed. First, the Panels can be torn off into a separate floating window,
or repositioned to the right side of the GUI. See Figure 2.37. Floating the
Panels allows the Display window to expand to the full width of the GUI.
 2.23

Tip

Many commands that have spe-

cific selection requirements will
allow “sloppy” selection. This
means you can select entities
other than those required for
the command, as long as your
selection set includes the
required type.

Figure 2.37: The Panels can be torn off into a separate floating
w i n d o w.

The Messages window can also be torn off into a separate floating window,
or can be closed altogether.

Figure 2.38: Closing the Messages window maximizes the Display

window size.
2.24 Pointwise User Manual
Tip
Often it is much more efficient
to use the zoom box to magnify
a certain region of the model as
apposed to zooming with the
middle mouse/scroll wheel. You
can also conveniently undo your
previous zoom box using View,
Zoom, Undo Zoom or the
Ctrl+F2 accelerator. This zoom
undo would not apply to zoom-
ing via the mouse.
In Figure 2.38, it can be seen that this allows the Display window to expand
to nearly all of the available GUI area.
To open the Messages window, use View, Toolbars, Messages, or right-click
in a toolbar border and check Messages. Turning off the display of all
toolbars, the Messages window and floating the Panels would maximize the
Display window. However, this would seriously reduce usability. To turn a
toolbar on or off, use the View, Toolbars command. Here you can check on
and off which toolbars are actually displayed. At the bottom of this menu
you will find the Customize command which opens a command panel
providing individual toolbar command customization. See Section 2.4.2 for
more information.
2 . 4 . 2 To o l b a r s
Figure 2.39: Right-click any toolbar border or area to access the
toolbar check list.
As noted in the previous section, toolbars can be turned on or off using the
View, Toolbars command, or you can right-click any toolbar border for the
same check list (Figure 2.39). More detailed control over toolbars and
specifically which commands are enabled for each toolbar can be found using
View, Toolbars, Customize. See Section 5.16.1 for more information.
F i g u r e 2 . 4 0 : L e f t - c l i c k a n d d r a g t o r e p o s i t i o n a t o o l b a r.
Toolbars can also be repositioned as desired within the GUI layout. Simply
click and hold the left mouse over the handle area (Figure 2.40) of a toolbar
and drag to the desired location. You can stack up multiple rows or move
toolbars to any of the four borders of the GUI. Toolbars will always be below
the Command Menus, above the Status Bar, or on the outside of the Display
window or Panels. See Figure 2.41 below. To restore the default layout of
the toolbars, use the View, Toolbars, Customize command (Section 5.16.1).
 2.25

Tip

You can turn off the display of

the red axes representing the
rotation axis within the body
coordinate system using View,
Show Axes.

F i g u r e 2 . 4 1 : To o l b a r s c a n b e d o c k e d a t a n y o f t h e f o u r b o u n d a r i e s
of the GUI or stacked.

2.4.3 Preferences
Additional GUI Customization is available through the Edit, Preferences
command. Preferences gives you control over Display window background
color, selection box style, mouse button setup, Undo settings, and messages
sent to the Messages window. See Section 4.33 for details.

2.4.4 Restoring GUI Defaults

Pointwise provides commands to individually restore toolbar command states,
the toolbar layout, and the entire GUI layout. A discussion of toolbar
customization and resetting can be found in Section 5.16.1.
To reset the relative sizes and locations of the Panels, Display window and
Messages window, but not the toolbars, open the View, Toolbars,
Customize command and click in the check box for Reset the Application
Layout (Section 5.16.1). Click on OK to close the panel and execute any
changes.

2.5 Interaction

This section discusses all of the interaction tools used to operate on your
project and manipulate your project view.
2.26 Pointwise User Manual

2.5.1 Noun-verb Style

Tip Pointwise implements a general noun-verb approach to entity-command use.

When selecting all but a few of
a certain entity type, it may be
more efficient to select all of
the type first by clicking the
entity icon in the List panel,
then deselect the unwanted
few by holding the Ctrl key and
clicking on them in the List or
Display window.
In other words, you will generally select the entity or entities that you wish to
operate on first, then you will select the command you wish to use from the
Command Menus, a toolbar, or using an accelerator (Section 2.5.11).
There are some commands that operate on existing entities which can be
used without having previously selected any entities, such as Grid,
Dimension. These commands often allow continuous selection from within
the command, and may implement automatic selection masking (Section
2.5.6). For instance, when using Grid, Dimension, selection is automatically
masked so that only connectors can be selected when this command panel is
open.
Other commands are more global in nature and can be used regardless of
selection, such as File, Save; Edit, Undo or Create, 2 Point Cur ves. Exiting
from a command such as this will restore the selection set that existed when
the command was initiated.

2.5.2 Mouse Functions

The majority of interaction with Pointwise will be via various mouse functions
with and without meta key (Shift, Ctrl, Alt) use. These are best
summarized using a table (Table 2.1):

Table 2.1: Mouse Button Functions

Mouse Unmodified Ctrl Shift Ctrl + Shift

Left Selection, Additive List Range Additive

Command Selection Selection or Reverse
Buttons, Reverse Box
Point Box Selection
Placement Selection Style
Style

Middle Zoom Screen-Z Combo Point Probe

Rotation Zoom Box

Right Right-click Screen-X, Y Pan Pick New

Menu Rotation Rotation
Point

Selection is covered in more detail in Section 2.5.6. More information on

zoom can be found in Section 2.5.5 and in Section 5.4. See more about
model manipulations in the next section, Section 2.5.3. See Section 2.5.12
for more about Pointwise’s right-click menu. Finally, see Section 4.33.4 for
information on customizing mouse button usage.
 2.27

2.5.3 Model Manipulations

Model manipulations in the Display window are executed with the mouse or Tip
keyboard controls summarized in Table 2.2. Note that NumPad - and +
reverse rotations (* and - for Mac). In general, mouse control model rotations Pointwise’s selection box can be
are best used for general viewing or project interrogation. For more exact
drawn in any direction relative
model rotations during mesh construction, the keyboard number pad keys are
to the first point clicked and
recommended. See Section 4.33.4 for information on customizing mouse
button usage. can have any rectangular shape
of a non-fixed aspect ratio.

Table 2.2: Model Manipulations

Control Motion Mouse Cursor

Ctrl + right Screen-X, Y

mouse Rotation

Ctrl + middle Screen-Z

mouse Rotation

Shift + right Pan

mouse

Middle mouse, Zoom

scroll wheel

Shift + Zoom In Box

middle mouse,
drag down

Shift + Zoom Out Box

middle mouse,
drag up

NumPad Num Body-X

Lock (Clear Rotation
for Mac)

Num Pad / (= Body-Y

for Mac) Rotation

Num Pad * (/ Body-Z

for Mac) Rotation

Num Pad 7 Screen-X

Rotation
2.28 Pointwise User Manual

Table 2.2: Model Manipulations

Tip Control Motion Mouse Cursor

To clear your current selection, Num Pad 8 Screen-Y

simply click in any empty area Rotation
of the Display window.
Num Pad 9 Screen-Z
Rotation

To effectively use the model manipulations in Table 2.2, it is important to

understand that Pointwise works with both a screen and a body coordinate
system. (Figure 2.42). The screen coordinate system is always aligned with the
plane of your computer monitor’s screen. The axes for this coordinate system
are not shown in the display because they are fixed. Screen-X always points to
the right in the plane of the screen, screen-Y always points up, and screen-Z
always points out of the screen toward you, the user. The body coordinate
system is the 3-dimensional coordinate system in which your database and
grid are defined. The command View, Show XYZ Axes, will enable the display
of the body coordinate system axes in blue at the origin of the database/grid
system.

Figure 2.42: There are two reference coordinate systems in

Pointwise.

The red rotation axes drawn in the Display window represents the center of
model rotation within the body coordinate system. Be aware that the
location of the rotation axes is not necessarily at the origin of the body
coordinate system. You can move this center of rotation at any time by using
 2.29

Ctrl+Shift+Right Mouse to click on a point on a grid or database entity, as

noted in Table 2.1 in Section 2.5.2.
Tip
Pointwise also includes a set of pre-defined primary axis views which are
available in View, Manage Views or using the View toolbar which is on in
You can copy text to or from
the software default layout. The View, Manage Views command also allows
you to save six custom or user views. Note that you can also add these User any of the Pointwise text fields
Views to the View toolbar (Section 2.4.2) See Section 5.5 for more making it convenient to copy in
information regarding the Manage Views command. strings representing coordinates
or possibly entity names from
You can completely reset your model’s pan, zoom or rotation individually or
all at once by first selecting View, Reset then Pan, Zoom, Rotate, or View. other software packages.
See Section 5.7 for more information regarding the View, Reset commands.
The View, Reset, View command has the associated keyboard accelerator,
Ctrl+R, a convenient short cut for restoring your model to its original
orientation.

2.5.4 3D Mouse
A 3D mouse, such as the SpaceNavigator from 3D Connexion, can provide an
alternative to the mouse and keyboard model manipulations discussed earlier
in this chapter. Table 2.3 describes the default manipulations available using
one of these devices. A visual representation of the default manipulations is
shown in Figure 2.43.

Table 2.3: Default 3D Mouse Actions

Input Action

Push Left or Right Model Pans Left or

Right

Push Down or Pull Up Model Pans Down or Up

Push Forward or Pull Model Zooms Away or

Back Toward The User

Rotate Forward or Back Model Rotates About X

Screen Axis

Rotate About Controller Model Rotates About Y

Vertical Axis Screen Axis

Rotate Left or Right Model Rotates About Z

Screen Axis

Left Button Resets View

Right Button Opens Configuration

Manager
2.30 Pointwise User Manual

Tip

Once opened, an Advanced

command frame will remain
open during your current ses-
sion of Pointwise unless you
close it intentionally. Exiting
Pointwise and starting a new Figure 2.43: Model manipulation is made easier with the default
session will reset these frames maneuvers of a 3D mouse (Image courtesy of 3Dconnexion).
back to their default closed
state. See your device instructions for customization options available for your
device and platform.

2.5.5 Zoom
Typical mesh generation projects involve complex geometries requiring
frequent magnification changes to discern features, see topology at a macro
level, or work on fine mesh details, such as clustering. Pointwise provides a
number of ways to zoom in or out on your project at any time.
The middle mouse button can be used to perform continuous zoom and, with
meta keys, to perform zoom-in box and zoom-out box operations. When
using a mouse with a middle scroll wheel, the wheel can be scrolled for
zooming or clicked in and held to simulate a standard middle mouse button.
See Section 2.5.2 on mouse functions and Section 2.5.3 on model
manipulations for more information on these zoom operations.
In addition, use View, Zoom to access the Undo Zoom, Zoom to Fit and
Zoom to Selection commands. These also have associated keyboard
accelerators. See Section 5.4 for more details.

2.5.6 Selection

Figure 2.44: A standard pointer cursor (left) appears over a single

selectable object or a multi-pointer cursor (right) will appear over
multiple selectable objects.

Pointwise supports continuous selection of any entities subject to the

selection Mask (discussed below), Layers status (Section ), and Show/Hide
(Section 5.2) status. Entities can be selected simply by placing the mouse
cursor over the entity in the Display window or List panel and clicking the
left mouse. The entity currently under the mouse will be highlighted
 2.31

simultaneously in the Display window and in the List panel. Note that
specific information for the highlighted entity is shown in the probe area of
the Status Bar for reference (Section 2.2.6). See Section 4.33.3 for Tip
information on customizing selection using the mouse.
Point placement occurs not only
When selecting entities in the Display window a standard pointer cursor
(Figure 2.44) will be seen when only one selectable object lies below the during curve creation, but many
cursor. A multi-pointer cursor (Figure 2.44) will be seen when multiple other commands as well. For
selectable objects lie below the cursor. In this case use the space bar on the instance, the Translate com-
keyboard to cycle through the selectable entities. mand, among others, makes
Use the Ctrl meta key for multiple non-contiguous selection in the Display use of the point placement
window or in List panel. Use the Shift meta key for contiguous selection in tools.
the List panel. See Section 2.2.3.1 for more information about selection
using the List panel. Additionally, a selection box (Figure 2.45) can always be
used in the Display window by left clicking and dragging out a box. By
default anything touching or within the box is selected. See Section 4.33 for
information on setting the selection box style preference. Use the Ctrl+A
accelerator to select all entities currently available for selection. Use Ctrl+D
to unselect all entities. See Section 2.5.11 for more on accelerators.

Figure 2.45: Entity selection using a box.

All selection is subject to the current state of the Mask. By default the Mask
toolbar (Figure 2.46) is shown. A check in the check-box overlaying an entity
type icon indicates all entities of that type can currently be selected. Clicking
the Mask icon at the left of the toolbar will uncheck all boxes for any types
currently checked. If all types are currently unchecked, clicking the Mask icon
will check all boxes for all types.
2.32 Pointwise User Manual

Tip

Take advantage of commands Figure 2.46: All selection is subject to the Mask.
employing the Apply command.
This generally allows you to
perform similar tasks repeatedly
without having to close a com-
mand panel and then execute
the same command again.

F i g u r e 2 . 4 7 : T h e M a s k c o m m a n d p r o v i d e s f i n e r- g r a i n m a s k i n g .

More fine-grain masking control is available via the Select, Mask command
(Figure 2.47). Here you can mask separately Dimensioned and Un-
dimensioned connectors, Structured and Unstructured domains and
blocks, and various families of database entities.
When a only subset of an entity type is masked using the Mask command
panel, a filled check-box will be overlaid on that entity type icon in the Mask
toolbar (Figure 2.48).
 2.33

Tip
Figure 2.48: A filled overlay check-box appears for subset masking.
The Select All command can be
accessed in multiple ways. You
2 . 5 . 7 Te x t E n t r y F i e l d s
can use the context menus, the
Select, Select All menu com-
mand, or the Ctrl+A accelera-
tor.

Figure 2.49: Many commands include text entry fields.

Text entry fields (Figure 2.49) are provided in Pointwise for numerous
purposes from entering the coordinates of a control point to entering the
number of degrees for revolving a surface of revolution. In most cases hitting
the Enter key on your keyboard after typing the text in a field will instruct
the program to take immediate action with the data entered. For instance,
during 2 Point Curve creation, typing the XYZ coordinates and hitting Enter
immediately places the new point and draws it in the Display window. After
hitting Enter, all text in the field is automatically highlighted to facilitate
entry of a new value.

Figure 2.50: Double click to select an entire delineated string.

Text can easily be edited in text fields facilitating multi-point creation for 2
Point Cur ve creation and creating general curve types. Simply click and drag
in a field to highlight a range of text for replacement. Use a double-click
(Figure 2.50) on a delineated string to highlight that entire string for
replacement. Or triple click (Figure 2.51) anywhere in a field to highlight the
entire field for replacement. Using the Tab key to move between fields will
automatically highlight the entire contents of a field tabbed to.

F i g u r e 2 . 5 1 : Tr i p l e c l i c k t o s e l e c t t h e e n t i r e c o n t e n t s o f a t e x t e n t r y
field.

A convenient pull-down list (Figure 2.52) is provided at the right-hand end of

all text entry fields containing a list of all previously entered strings for
viewing or selection. Clicking an entry in this pull-down list will insert it into
2.34 Pointwise User Manual

the text field and apply an implicit Enter. You also have an option to remove
entry from the list by pressing Delete.
Tip

As with the layout of the pri-

mary Pointwise interface,
changes that you make to the
Help viewer window size and
location are stored automati-
Figure 2.52: Previous text entries are stored for easy recall.
cally and restored on your use
of Help in subsequent sessions.
2.5.8 Point Placement
There are a number of commands that optionally take XYZ or UV coordinates
as input, such as Create, Draw Curves, Edit, Transform, or Edit ,Tweak. For
consistency in user expectation, a common Point Placement frame (Figure
2.53) is used with essentially the same input options wherever it is used. For
efficiency in the remainder of this manual, this set of options will be discussed
once here. Note that in all text input fields multiple input values are delimited
by a space and only spaces are accepted as a delimiter. See Section 2.5.7 for
more information on text entry fields.

Figure 2.53: The Point Placement frame is common among a number

of commands.

XYZ - enter the three cartesian coordinate values for a new point in
this text field.
During curve creation or edit, a Points frame with Restore and Delete
options is available (Figure 2.53). Delete removes the last point placed from
the definition of the curve. When editing existing points, Restore will return
a point to its original location prior to the last edit performed. Only the last
edit is remembered for Restore.
 2.35

Tip

Not only can the Messages win-

dow be moved and resized, it
can also be dragged and
dropped on top of the Panels so
that the Panels and Messages
are tabbed at the bottom of the
interface.

Figure 2.54: Less frequently used point placement tools are found
in the Advanced frame.

Additional, less frequently used options are found in the Advanced frame
(Figure 2.54).
XYZ Offset - enter the X,Y,Z offset values to place a new point rela-
tive to the last point placed. Note that at least one point has to have
already been placed for this option to be available.
UV - enter the two parametric coordinate values for a new or edited
database constrained point. Note that for this option to be available
the previous point place must be database constrained or a database
constrained point must have been selected for edit using Ctrl+left
mouse.
UV Offset - enter the U,V offset values to place a new point relative
to the last point placed. Note that for this option to be available the
previous point place must be database constrained or a database con-
strained point must have been selected for edit using Ctrl+left mouse.
Normal Offset - enter an offset value to be used to place a new
point normal or perpendicular to a database curve or surface. For this
option to be available, the previous point place must be database con-
strained, or a database constrained point that has been selected for
edit using Ctrl+left mouse. For the Tweak command (Section 4.22),
however, this option will be always available regardless of whether the
selected point is database constrained or not.
The Projection frame (Figure 2.54) provides tools for creating projected
points. To create a projected point, you must first place a temporary point or
select an existing point using Ctrl+left mouse. Choose either the Linear or
the Closest Point projection type, and click on Project Point to place the
point on an underlying database surface.
2.36 Pointwise User Manual

Tip

A popular accelerator is F2.

This provides a zoom to extents
operation without changing the
model’s orientation or center of Figure 2.55: Movement restrictions can be applied after the first
rotation. point is created.

Once a first point has been defined, the Movement Restrictions option
(Figure 2.55) is no longer grayed out. Refer to Section 2.5.3 for information
regarding coordinate systems used by Pointwise. Use the pull-down list to
choose from the following options:

Unrestricted allows the cursor to move freely in an arbitrary drawing

plane which is parallel to the plane of the screen and passes through
the first point defined.
Screen X forces the cursor to follow only a screen-X coordinate line
which passes through the first point placed.
Screen Y forces the cursor to follow only a screen-Y coordinate line
which passes through the first point placed.
Body X forces the cursor to follow only a body-X coordinate line
which passes through the first point placed.
Body Y forces the cursor to follow only a body-Y coordinate line
which passes through the first point placed.
Body Z forces the cursor to follow only a body-Z coordinate line
which passes through the first point placed.
Surface U forces the cursor to follow only a parametric U coordinate
line in the database curve or surface on which the first point was
placed.
Surface V forces the cursor to follow only a parametric V coordinate
line in the database curve or surface on which the first point was
placed.
Finally, during curve creation or edit, the Insert New Points check box (Figure
2.54) is available. This controls whether new points added will go
automatically at the end of the curve definition, or if they will be inserted as a
new point in the nearest bay.

2.5.9 Point Probe

Very often you need the ability to interrogate the location of a point or points
in the project or find the distance between two points. This can be
accomplished at nearly any instant using the mouse and keyboard (Section
2.5.2). You can select a point using Ctrl + Shift + middle mouse to have the
point’s coordinates printed to the Messages window. Select a second point
in this manner to have the second point’s coordinates and the distance to the
previous point printed to the Messages window.
 2.37

Click and hold Ctrl + Shift + middle mouse on the second point to display, in
the Display window, a dashed line to the previous point along with the
associated distance. While holding the sequence you can also drag the Tip
mouse to other pickable points and have the dashed line and distance
dynamically updated in the Display window. Upon release of the mouse All changes to the state of your
button, the coordinates of and distance to the last selected point will be project are tracked, so it is not
printed to the Messages window. possible to close the interface
Keep in mind that text in the Messages window can be copied and pasted to window with unsaved data.
other text fields within Pointwise or to another software package altogether. You will be prompted to save
On MS Windows platforms, Alt + right mouse can be substituted for the Ctrl any changes.
+ Shift + middle mouse sequence.

2.5.10 OK - Cancel - Apply

F i g u r e 2 . 5 6 : T h e O K , A p p l y, a n d C a n c e l c o m m a n d s a r e u s e d
c o n s i s t e n t l y.

A selection of three standard commands will be found at the bottom of most

every command panel. These standard terminating commands (Figure 2.56)
will in all instances represent the same action and have consistent, relevant
Undo level results:

OK saves any pending changes and closes the command panel. This
operation creates a new Undo level. The accelerator for OK is
Ctrl+Enter.

Cancel drops any pending changes and closes the command panel.
This operation does not create a new Undo level. The accelerator for
Cancel is Esc.

Apply saves any pending changes and keeps the command panel
open for additional work. This operation creates a new Undo level.
The accelerator for Apply is Ctrl+Shift+Enter.

2.5.11 Accelerators
Accelerators provide keyboard access to commonly or frequently used
commands. While defining the various accelerators used in Pointwise, care
was taken to maintain consistency with other popular software programs with
respect to common commands such as Copy (Ctrl+C), Paste (Ctrl+V) and
Select All (Ctrl+A).
All accelerators should be shown right justified beside their associated
command in the Menus. Accelerators are available globally throughout the
application. An exhaustive listing of accelerators is included in Appendix IV.I
for easy printing and reference.
2.38 Pointwise User Manual

2.5.12 Context Menus

Tip

You can use the point probe

accelerators (Ctrl + Shift +
middle mouse for all platforms
and Alt + right mouse for MS
Windows platforms) within any
Pointwise command. If you
need the coordinates of a point
on your geometry for use in a
command’s text entry field, sim-
ply use the point probe on the
point, copy the point’s coordi-
nates that are output into the
Messages window, and paste
into the desired text field.

Figure 2.57: Right-click menus provide easy access to common

commands.

Pointwise provides a menu (Figure 2.57) accessed via a right mouse click
anywhere in the Display window. This menu provides access to a number of
commonly used commands from Copy to Draw Curves. Refer to the sections
covering the various context menu commands for more information on those
commands.

2.6 Help

You can access Pointwise’s extensive integral Help tool by using the menu
command, Help, Pointwise Help, by using the F1 keyboard accelerator, or by
using the Help command on the Standard toolbar (Figure 2.58). In all cases,
if a command panel is open, the Help viewer will jump directly to context
sensitive information for the command currently open. See Section 12.1 for
more information.

Figure 2.58: The Pointwise Help command can be found on the

S t a n d a r d t o o l b a r.
Chapter 3

File Menu

3.1
3.2 Pointwise User Manual

3.1 Overview
Tip
The File menu provides controls for handling the import and export of various
It is always a good idea to save database and grid files. Additionally, new projects, project restarts, and
project properties can also be managed from within the menu.
your grid and database to a dif-
ferent Pointwise project file
periodically to save different
stages of your grid’s creation.

Figure 3.1: The File menu provides file handling and property
c o n t r o l s f o r a l l o f P o i n t w i s e ’s s u p p o r t e d f i l e t y p e s .

3.2 New

The New command provides options for starting a blank project or for
restarting a portion of your existing project.
Select File, New. Select how you wish to start your new project by choosing
from the options provided in the New panel (Figure 3.2).
 3.3

Tip

If you save multiple versions of

your grid for one database file,
you can use New, Restart with
Clear Database unchecked to
easily import those grids with-
out having to import the data-
base file again.

Figure 3.2: The options available for starting a blank project or

restarting the current project can be accessed in the New panel.

Two main options are provided from the New panel: Blank Project and
Restart.
After selecting either option, clicking on the OK button in the New panel will
process any selections made within the panel. As an example, if you wished
to start over in Pointwise but retain the default values you had already set,
you would uncheck Reset Defaults under Restart, then click OK.

3.2.1 Blank Project

A Blank Project starts a new grid project based on Pointwise’s default
settings. Once selected, Pointwise clears all grids and database entities as
well as resets tolerances, CAE, Defaults, and Layers. The default view
orientation is restored to the default -Z view. Toolbar settings and text field
values are not cleared.

3.2.2 Restart
The Restart option is used in cases where clearing or resetting only a certain
portion of a project is needed, such as keeping the database in the existing
project for use with a new or different grid.
Checking a restart option in the New panel (Figure 3.2) will cause it to be
cleared. Unchecking an option will ensure that its values are retained for the
new project. As with a Blank Project, the toolbar settings and text field
values will not be cleared. A list of the options that may be cleared or reset
are:

Clear Grids will clear all grid entities from memory.

Clear Database will clear all database entities from memory.
Reset Tolerances will reset the Model Size, Node, Connector, and
Grid Point tolerances to the default values.
Reset CAE will reset the CAE solver to the default value.
3.4 Pointwise User Manual

Reset Defaults will reset all values in the Defaults panel to their
default values.
Tip Reset Layers will clear all layer names, layer sets, and status settings
from memory.
Before exiting Pointwise, you
should always save a project file Once you have pressed OK in the New panel to proceed with your restart or
blank project, Pointwise will check for unsaved changes within your existing
(.pw) of your data. The project
project. If it has unsaved changes, you will be prompted on whether to save
file stores not only your grid
them (Figure 3.3).
and database entities, but also
any type of display, layering,
and status attributes associ-
ated with them. No other file
exported from Pointwise will
save this kind of information for
you.
Figure 3.3: The Save dialog appears to ensure that you do not lose
valuable data when starting a new project.

If Yes is selected in the Save dialog, a file browser will appear in which you
can choose the directory and filename to which you wish to save the project
data. Selecting No will cause Pointwise to proceed with a new blank project
or restart. Cancel will abort the New command operations.

3.3 Open

With Pointwise’s Open command, you can open any Pointwise project (.pw)
file created in your current or previous Pointwise versions. The Pointwise
project file will contain all information pertinent to your current project such
as the database entities (if any), grid entities (if any), entity display attributes,
layer settings, view, defaults, and tolerances.
Select File, Open. The Open command will first check to see if there is an
existing project that has unsaved changes. If there is an unsaved project, a
Save dialog will appear asking if you want to save changes (Figure 3.3). If
Yes is selected in the Save dialog, a file browser will appear in which you can
choose the directory and filename to which you wish to save the project data.
Selecting No will cause Pointwise to prompt you on whether you wish to
Replace or Append to your existing project (Figure 3.4).

Figure 3.4: Pointwise will prompt you about replacing or appending

to your existing project before opening a new one.
 3.5

Clicking Replace will cause Pointwise to clear all settings (as done with File,
New, Blank Project in Overview) and open a another project file. The
Append option will keep previous project data and add to it or overwrite it Tip
with data from another project file. Layer data (entities, entity status, etc.)
between the previous and new project file is merged during this process. CAE Pointwise attempts to “auto-
settings, layer names, layer status, user views, and other display settings from detect” the attributes of the file
the previous project file are overwritten by those settings from the new you wish to import based on its
project file. extension. To make import go
After clicking Replace or Append, a file browser will appear (Figure 3.5) more quickly, you may want to
which can be used to locate the project file you wish to open. Note that only check our supported format
one file may be opened at a time from the file browser. tables to ensure you are using
one of the extensions that
Pointwise looks for.

Figure 3.5: The Open file browser provides an easy way to filter and
find Pointwise project files.

Clicking Cancel for any of the dialogs will abort the Open command
operations.

3.4 Save

With the Save command, you can save a current project to a native Pointwise
project (.pw) file. The Pointwise project file will contain all information
pertinent to your current grid project such as the database entities (if any),
grid entities (if any), grid preference (unstructured or structured), entity
display attributes, layer settings, view, defaults, CAE solver/dimension and
tolerances.
Select File, Save. If it is the first time Save is used for a new project, a file
browser will appear so you may specify the directory and filename to which
3.6 Pointwise User Manual
Tip
Pointwise will always allow you
to import Gridgen V15 data-
base composite (.dba) and
restart (.gg) files into your cur-
rent project. Additionally, you
can also export .dba and .gg
files to the latest version of
Gridgen so that you may work
with your grid in either pro-
gram.
your project file should be saved. If you have already saved to a project file in
your current Pointwise session, the Save command will silently save all of the
data listed above into the previously saved project file. Once saved, the
current project’s file name will appear in the Pointwise title bar. An asterisk is
appended to the currently saved filename in the title bar of the Pointwise
window when unsaved data exists in the project.
To save the data into a different project file, you would need to use the Save
As command (Save As).
3.5 Save As
The Save As command is used for any situation in which a project (.pw) file
needs to be saved under a different filename.
Select File, Save As. A file browser will appear that will allow you to choose
the directory and filename in which your project data should be saved.
3.6 Save Grid As
The Save Grid As command saves the grid entities, layer settings, view, grid
tolerances, CAE settings, and grid-specific defaults in the current project to a
new project (.pw) file name.
Select File, Save Grid As. A file browser will appear that will allow you to
choose the directory and filename in which your grid project data should be
saved.
3.7 Save Database As
The Save Database As command saves the database entities, layer settings,
view, and database-specific tolerances and defaults in the current project to a
new project (.pw) file name.
Select File, Save Database As. A file browser will appear that will allow you
to choose the directory and file name in which your database project data
should be saved.
3.8 Import
The Import command reads grid or database data from non-native files into
Pointwise.
Select File, Import, Grid or Database. A file browser will appear that allows
you to choose the file type from a list of supported formats, the directory in
which the file resides, and the filename to open.
 3.7

Pointwise will try to open the chosen file based on the attributes associated
with the File Type selected in a file browser similar to the one seen in Figure
3.5. If the format of the file does not match the expected attributes of the Tip
file type or extension, Pointwise will open a new Import Grid or Import
Database panel for File Type re-selection. Choose the proper type from the To get XYZ curve data into
pull-down list or select Cancel to exit the import operation. After choosing Pointwise, consider putting the
the file type, this panel may expand with additional options for importing the data in the Segment file format.
selected type. The format is freely available in
our File Formats Appendix
( Appendix III.II ) and is an easy
way to convert XYZ data into a
format Pointwise can read.

Figure 3.6: The Import Grid and Import Database panels provide
file type re-selection when type mismatch occurs.
3.8 Pointwise User Manual

3.8.1 Grid

Tip The Import, Grid command allows you to import grid data into Pointwise.
The list of supported grid file formats can be seen in Table 3.1.
Even though a geometry file is Table 3.1: Grid File Formats Supported for Import
not required to build a grid in
Pointwise, a variety of common File Type Extension Version
geometry file formats are sup-
ported for import. Check to CGNS .cgns 2.5.4
see which formats your CAD
FV-UNS .uns 2.4
package supports for export to
provide yourself with as many Gridgen .gg 15
import options as possible.
Gridgen Style .net
Network

Nastran .nas 69

Patran .pat 2.5

(only packet 2, types 3 and 5)

PLOT3D .x
.xyz
.p3d

Segment .dat

STL .stl

UCD .ucd

UGRID .ugrid

VRML .wrl 1.0, 2.0

.vrml

Xpatch .facet 3.0

3.8.1.1 CGNS
The CGNS file type refers to the CFD General Notation System (CGNS)
standard for transferring grid information. Both the CGNS-Structured and
CGNS-Unstructured formats are supported. Import of CGNS files with
multiple base nodes is not supported. That is, all the blocks will be exported
under one “base node” which refers to the top level file node containing all
of the zones.
 3.9

3 . 8 . 1 . 2 F V- U N S
The FV-UNS file type refers to the FIELDVIEW unstructured data file format by
Tip
the visualization software of the same name (Ref. 43). Import is available for
tetrahedral grids only. Both ASCII, binary, and unformatted FV-UNS files can
As can be seen from the non-
be imported, although no wall information is supported for the binary format.
FV-UNS file types will default to the endian value the file was written in since native file formats supported
the swap bytes attribute is available for this format. for import, there are some file
types which can be imported as
a grid or as a database. If prob-
3.8.1.3 Gridgen lems arise working with the file
Any Gridgen restart (.gg) file from Version 15 is supported for import into imported as a grid, try import-
Pointwise. Note that 2D blocks are not supported by Pointwise and will not ing it as a database and build a
be imported. new grid based on it.

3.8.1.4 Gridgen Style Network

Any Gridgen Style network (.net) file is supported for import into Pointwise.
Network files will default to the endian value the file was written in since the
swap bytes attribute is available for this format.

3.8.1.5 Nastran
The Nastran file type supports both Nastran and Nastran-L surface grid
import. The regular format (Nastran) reads 8 characters for real values
whereas the large format (Nastran-L) reads 16 characters. Both formats are
based on the commercial software product of the same name (Ref. 16). Only
CTETRA, CQUAD4, CQUADR, CTRIA3 and CTRIAR elements are supported
and are imported as unstructured domains and blocks. Also note that only
triangles are supported for import; as a result, quads will be converted to
triangles during import by splitting the quad elements in half.

3.8.1.6 Patran
The Patran file type is based on the commercial software product of the same
name (Ref. 13). Only triangle and tetrahedral import (Packet 2, types 3 and 5)
is supported for grids.

3.8.1.7 PLOT3D
The PLOT3D file type refers to a format for structured grid data (Appendix III.I)
that was popularized by NASA's CFD visualization software of the same name
(Ref. 38). Pointwise supports import of 3D multizone meshes. Import of 2D
surface grids with all K index values equal to 1 are also supported. Import of
unstructured grids or i-blanking is not supported. PLOT3D file types will
default to the endian value the file was written in since the swap bytes
attribute is available for this format.
3.10 Pointwise User Manual
Tip
If you need to determine the
software your IGES file came
from, just open the file in your
favorite text editor. Informa-
tion about the originating soft-
ware is often provided in the
header region.
3.8.1.8 Segment
Segment files consist of any number of linear curves (Appendix III.II). Each
segmented curve consist of an ordered string of points. When imported into
Pointwise, each of these curves will appear as a faceted connector. In other
words, a smooth connector will not be fitted through a segment’s points
automatically.
3.8.1.9 STL
The Stereo Lithography (STL) file type is supported for triangular surface grid
import only (Ref. 42). Either ASCII or binary format STL are accepted.
3.8.1.10 UCD
The UCD file type refers to the FEA and CFD interface to Advanced Visual
Systems' AVS software (Ref. 2). Only unstructured domain and tetrahedral
block import is supported.
3.8.1.11 UGRID
The UGRID file type is supported for triangular or quadrilateral surface grids
only. Quadrilateral cells are diagonalized during import. The following
formats are accepted: ASCII, binary as well as unformatted.
3.8.1.12 VRML
The Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML) file type is supported for
triangular or quadrilateral surface grids only (Ref. 41). Quadrilateral cells are
split into triangles during import. Only ASCII format VRML files are accepted.
3.8.1.13 Xpatch
The Xpatch file type refers to the XPATCH data format. Only domain and
block face import are supported. Structured domains or block faces are
imported as unstructured surfaces.
3.8.2 Database
The Import, Database command allows you to import geometry data into
Pointwise.
Note that each trimmed surface imported from geometry data will
automatically be put into a quilt and the original trimmed surface will be
hidden.
The list of supported database file formats can be seen in Table 3.2 below.
When importing an IGES or native CAD file, the Import Database panel will
provide additional import settings. See The Import Database Panel below for
more details.
 3.11

Table 3.2: Database File Formats Supported for Import Tip

File Type Extension Version The Model Size tolerance

affects many calculations within
ACIS SAT .sat All versions > 20.0
Pointwise including, but not
CATIA V4 .model All 4.xx versions limited to, intersections and
.dlv projections. If you ever
encounter problems getting the
.exp
intersection curves or projection
.session you think you should, it may be
an indication that you need to
CATIA V5 .CATPart R10 > R20
see if you have a reasonable
.CATProduct Model Size tolerance set for
.cgr your project.

Gridgen .dba 15

Gridgen Style .net

Network

IGES .igs 5.1

.iges

Nastran .nas 69

NX Unigraphics .prt V11.0 > NX 7.5

Parasolid XT .x_t All versions > V22

.x_b

Patran .pat 2.5

(only packet 2, types 3 and 5)

PLOT3D .x
.xyz
.p3d

Pro/ENGINEER .prt 13.0 > Wildfire 5.0

.asm
.neu

Segment .dat

SolidWorks .sldprt All versions > 2010

.sldasm
3.12 Pointwise User Manual

Table 3.2: Database File Formats Supported for Import

Tip File Type Extension Version

If you have faceted triangle STEP .stp AP203, AP214

data in one of the CAD file
.step
types where we do not support
this format, you can export your STL .stl
data as an STL file. The STL file
UCD .ucd
format is the only file type for
which Pointwise supports fac- VRML .wrl 1.0, 2.0
eted elements.
.vrml

Xpatch .facet 3.0

3 . 8 . 2 . 1 A C I S S AT
The ACIS SAT file type is only supported in precise boundary representation
(BREP) format; faceted elements are not supported at this time.

3 . 8 . 2 . 2 C AT I A V 4
The CATIA V4 file type refers to the native format of CATIA Version 4 from
Dassault Systemes. CATIA V4 data is only supported in precise boundary
representation (BREP) format; faceted elements are not supported at this
time.

3 . 8 . 2 . 3 C AT I A V 5
The CATIA V5 file type refers to the native format of CATIA Version 5 from
Dassault Systemes. CATIA V5 data is only supported in precise boundary
representation (BREP) format; faceted elements are not supported at this
time.

3.8.2.4 Gridgen
Composite database (.dba) files from Gridgen Version 15 can be imported
into Pointwise. Each file will retain its database entities, layers, and database
specific defaults and tolerances within the Pointwise interface. Duplicate
name checking will be performed during import between the composite
database file and any existing database entities within the current project.

3.8.2.5 Gridgen Style Network

Any Gridgen Style network (.net) file is supported for import into Pointwise.
Network files will default to the endian value it was written in. The swap
bytes attribute is available for this format.
 3.13

3.8.2.6 IGES
The format that Pointwise supports for importing IGES files as a database is
Tip
based on the standard as defined and covers only a subset of the entities
available in the full IGES standard (Ref. 15). The IGES entities that are
IGES export is a great way to
supported for import into Pointwise can be found in Table 3.3.
take geometry data that you
Table 3.3: Supported IGES Entities have cleaned up in Pointwise
and import it into your CAD
Entity Number Description Entity Number Description package for further modifica-
tion.
000 Null 143 Bounded
Surface

100 Circular Arc 144 Trimmed

Surface

102 Composite 186 B-Rep Solid

Curve Model Object

104 Conic Arc 190 Plane Surface

106 Copious Data 192 Right Circular

(forms 1,2,3, Cylinder
12) Surface

108 Plane 194 Right Circular

(form 0) Cone Surface

110 Line 196 Spherical

Surface

112 Parametric Curve 198 Toroidal

Surface

114 Parametric 212 General Note

Surface

116 Point 308 Subfigure

Definition

118 Ruled Surface 314 Color

(form 1) Definition

120 Surface of 402 Associativity

Revolution Instance

122 Tabulated 406 Property

Cylinder (form 15)
3.14 Pointwise User Manual

Table 3.3: Supported IGES Entities

Tip Entity Number Description Entity Number Description

Gridgen restart (.gg) and com- 124 Transformation 408 Singular

posite database (.dba) files can Matrix Subfigure
be exported by using either Instance
Export, Grid and Export, Data-
126 Rational B-Spline 502 Vertex
base commands or by using the
Curve
Export to Gridgen command.
128 Rational B-Spline 504 Edge
Surface

130 Offset Curve 508 Loop

141 Boundary 510 Face

142 Curve on 514 Shell

Surface

Pointwise imports name, color, and layer name for all supported IGES entities.
During import, line curves will be broken up into continuous pieces. Vectors,
in copious data entity form 3, are ignored. Duplicate name checking will also
be performed between the IGES file and any existing database entities within
the current project.

3.8.2.7 Nastran
The Nastran file type supports both Nastran and Nastran-L database surface
import. The regular format (Nastran) reads 8 characters for real values
whereas the large format (Nastran-L) reads 16 characters. Both formats are
based on the commercial software product of the same name (Ref. 16). Only
CQUAD4, CQUADR, CTRIA3 and CTRIAR elements are supported and are
imported as shell surfaces. Also note that only triangles are supported for
import; as a result, quads will be converted to triangles during import by
splitting the quad elements in half.

3.8.2.8 NX Unigraphics
The NX Unigraphics file type is only supported in precise boundary
representation (BREP) format; faceted elements are not supported at this
time.

3.8.2.9 Parasolid XT
The Parasolid XT file type is only supported in precise boundary representation
(BREP) format; faceted elements are not supported at this time. Either ASCII
(.x_t) or binary (.x_b) format Parasolid are accepted.
 3.15

3.8.2.10 Patran
The Patran file type is based on the commercial software product of the same
Tip
name (Ref. 13). Only the import of linear or cubic curves (packet 32), bilinear
or bicubic surfaces (packet 33), and shells (packet 2, types 3 and 4) is
The Export, CAE command is a
supported.
quick and easy way to get your
grid project written out to a file
3.8.2.11 PLOT3D acceptable to your CAE solver.
The PLOT3D file type refers to a format for structured grid data (Appendix III.I) To prevent any last minute
that was popularized by NASA's CFD visualization software of the same name issues with exporting your grid
(Ref. 38). Pointwise supports import of 2D and 3D multi-grid meshes. to your CAE solver, make sure
Volume meshes are ignored while their constituent surface meshes are that you understand what type
imported. Unstructured surface meshes are imported as shell entities, of grids are supported for
whereas structured surface meshes are imported as database surface entities. export to your solver. Table 3.7
PLOT3D files will default to the endian value it was written in. The swap contains more information
bytes attribute is available for this format. regarding Pointwise’s CAE sup-
port.
3.8.2.12 Pro/ENGINEER
The Pro/ENGINEER file type is only supported in precise boundary
representation (BREP) format; faceted elements are not supported at this
time. Both part files and neutral files are supported for import.

3.8.2.13 Segment
Pointwise segment files consist of any number of linear curves (Appendix
III.II). Each segmented curve consist of an ordered string of discrete points.
When imported into Pointwise, each of these segmented curves will appear
faceted. In other words, smooth curves will not be fitted through a segment’s
points automatically.
If a segment file contains poles, they will be skipped during the import
process.

3 . 8 . 2 . 1 4 S o l i d Wo r k s
The SolidWorks file type is only supported in precise boundary representation
(BREP) format; faceted elements are not supported at this time.

3.8.2.15 STEP
STEP file types supported for import are protocols AP 203, configuration
controlled 3D designs of 3D mechanical parts and assemblies, and AP 214,
core data for automotive mechanical design processes.

3.8.2.16 STL
The Stereo Lithography (STL) file type is supported for triangular database
shell import only (Ref. 42). Either ASCII or binary format STL are accepted.
3.16 Pointwise User Manual
Tip
When specifying a filename for
export to your CAE solver, real-
ize that this filename will be
used for all export files associ-
ated with your solver. You may
wish to familiarize yourself with
what files to expect.
3.8.2.17 UCD
The UCD file type refers to the FEA and CFD interface to Advanced Visual
Systems' AVS software (Ref. 2). Only unstructured surfaces import is
supported.
3.8.2.18 VRML
The Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML) file type is supported for
triangular surfaces only (Ref. 41). VRML's Translate, Scale, Rotate, and
Transform keywords are not imported. Polygonal cells contained within a
VRML file will be triangulated during import. All mesh data between VRML
separators will be converted to at least one Pointwise shell.
Only ASCII format VRML files containing Coordinate3 and IndexedFaceSet
keywords are accepted.
3.8.2.19 Xpatch
The Xpatch file type refers to the XPATCH data format. Only unstructured
surfaces import is supported.
3.8.2.20 The Import Database Panel
Figure 3.7: Use the Import Database panel to set import options.
After selecting an IGES database or native CAD file for import, the Import
Database panel (Figure 3.7) opens for selection of various import options. In
 3.17

the Entity Visibility frame, From File is toggled by default so that any
visibility settings are used from the file. You can select Show All to override
any visibility settings in the file and have all entities shown. Hide Support Tip
Entities is also checked on by default to have any parent information
automatically hidden, i.e. the parent b-rep surface of a quilt. Some CAE solvers (such as
In the Automatic Solid Model Assembly frame, check on Build models Cobalt and ANSYS FLUENT) use
from free surfaces to automatically elevate all free surfaces to quilts and face-based export. Depending
models. You can set a Model Assemble Tolerance, or gap tolerance, to have on the type of cells (and the
models automatically assembled on import from the surfaces available. number of faces per cell) con-
Additionally a turning angle can be entered for the Quilt Assemble Angle so tained within your grid, export-
that quilts are assembled based on geometric features. Quilts will be ing to one of these solvers can
combined where the turning angle at their common edges is less than the take varying amounts of mem-
value entered here. Zero (0) for both of these settings disables the feature. ory. When working with large
See Models and Quilts for more information about models and quilts, grids and a face-based solver,
respectively.
you may want to take advan-
Near the bottom of the Import Database panel is a Split surfaces at tage of a binary/unformatted
discontinuities checkbox. When checked on, bilinear surfaces are export format or use multiple
automatically split on import. In some cases, however, this can result in a Volume Conditions (VCs) across
single surface of an IGES or CAD file being imported as several entities. The
your grid’s blocks to help
default is to not split.
reduce the memory require-
Finally, the Units frame at the bottom of the Import Database panel provides ments for export.
the ability to specify the units expected in a native CAD file. If no units are
specified in the CAD file, Pointwise will convert the data into the units
specified. Note that the Units frame is not present during IGES import.

3.9 Export

The Export command writes selected grid or database entities from Pointwise
into non-native formats.
Select File, Export and Grid, Database, or CAE. A file browser will appear
that allows you to choose the file type from a list of supported non-native
formats as well as the directory and filename to export.

3.9.1 Grid
The Export, Grid command allows you to export grid data from Pointwise.
The list of supported grid file formats can be seen in Table 3.4.

Table 3.4: Grid File Formats Supported for Export

File Type Extension Version

CGNS .cgns 2.5.4

FV-UNS .uns 2.4

3.18 Pointwise User Manual

Table 3.4: Grid File Formats Supported for Export

Tip File Type Extension Version

For CAE packages that support Gridgen .gg 15

Volume Conditions (VCs), CAE,
Set Volume Conditions in Point- IGES .igs 5.1
wise provides a handy way for .iges
setting the material ID of each
Nastran .nas 69
block. If not changed, the VCs
will normally be set to the Patran .pat 2.5
default material ID for your CAE
(only packets 32 and 33)
package.
PLOT3D .x
.xyz
.p3d

Segment .dat

STL .stl

UCD .ucd

VRML .wrl 1.0, 2.0

.vrml

Xpatch .facet 3.0

The entities that you have selected in either the List panel or Display window
determine the type of file formats (or types) you will have available for export.
The file types that will be available in the file browser depend on the type of
entities selected. For example, if a structured domain is selected before using
Export, Grid, only file types that support a structured grid format will be
displayed. The same rule applies to unstructured grid export. If unstructured
domains are selected prior to using Export, Grid, you will not see a file type
option for IGES.
If you choose to export in one of the formats for which the swap bytes
attribute is available, PLOT3D or FV-UNS, an export panel will appear as
shown in Figure 3.8. Files can be exported in the native Endian-ness for the
host machine, or byte-swapped as selected in the Byte Order frame.
 3.19

Tip

When creating a grid for export

to ANSYS FLUENT, be careful to
avoid creating a structured
block with a degenerate edge
(as seen in Figure 3.11 ). This
type of block can be created in
Pointwise but, due to the type
of cell that is created at the
degenerate edge, cannot be
exported to ANSYS FLUENT.

Figure 3.8: Export Grid Panel

3.9.1.1 CGNS
The CGNS file type refers to the CFD General Notation System (CGNS)
standard for transferring grid information. Both structured and unstructured
grids are available for CGNS export as CGNS-Structured and CGNS-
Unstructured formats, respectively. Upon exporting, you are given the option
to choose either Single or Double precision. When exporting your grid to
CGNS-Structured, you can check the option to export Block Faces Only.

3 . 9 . 1 . 2 F V- U N S
The FV-UNS file type refers to the FIELDVIEW unstructured data file format by
the visualization software of the same name and described in (Ref. 43). FV-
UNS export is available for volume grids only and includes tetrahedra,
hexahedra, prisms, and pyramids. ASCII, binary, and unformatted FV-UNS
files are available, although no wall information is available in the binary
format. The byte-swap option will appear in the Export Grid panel for this
selection.

3.9.1.3 Gridgen
A Gridgen restart (.gg) file compatible with Gridgen Version 15 can be
exported from Pointwise.
3.20 Pointwise User Manual
Tip
When exporting a 2D grid to
ANSYS FLUENT, always make
sure that the grid normals point
in the positive z-direction. Oth-
erwise, your grid cells may be
viewed as negative Jacobians
within ANSYS FLUENT.
3.9.1.4 IGES
The format that Pointwise supports for exporting grids to IGES files is based
on the standard as defined and covers a subset of the entities available in the
full IGES standard (Ref. 15). Only structured domain and block face export
are supported. Domains and block faces are exported as Type 128 surfaces.
Exporting a grid as an IGES file produces a panel with options specific to the
IGES format. An option to specify the domain surface degree as either
Bilinear or Bicubic is available. There is also a frame to specify that block
faces only be exported. At the bottom of the panel are frames to specify the
units of the file. Several selections are available for either Traditional or
Metric units.
3.9.1.5 Nastran
The Nastran file type supports both Nastran and Nastran-L grid export. The
regular format (Nastran) reads 8 characters for real values whereas the large
format (Nastran-L) reads 16 characters. Both formats are based on the
commercial software product of the same name (Ref. 16). Only domain and
block face export are supported. If structured grid entities are selected, they
will be exported as unstructured. Only CQUAD4, CTRIA3, CHEXA, CTETRA,
CPENTA (prisms), and CPENTA (pyramids) elements are supported and are
exported as unstructured domains and blocks.
3.9.1.6 Patran
The Patran file type is based on the commercial software product of the same
name (Ref. 13). All domains, blocks, and block faces are supported for
export. If structured grid entities are selected, they will be exported as
unstructured.
3.9.1.7 PLOT3D
The PLOT3D file type refers to a format for structured grid data (Appendix III.I)
that was popularized by NASA's CFD visualization software of the same name
(Ref. 38). Only structured surface grids are supported for export. This file
type will not export unstructured grids or i-blanking. The byte-swap option
will appear in the Export Grid panel for this selection.
3.9.1.8 Segment
Segment files consist of any number of linear curves (Appendix III.II). Each
connector is written as a segmented curve consisting of an ordered string of
discrete points. Connectors must have a non-zero dimension to be exported
into the Segment file format.
3.9.1.9 STL
The Stereo Lithography (STL) file type is supported for triangular surface grid
export only (Ref. 42). Either ASCII or binary format STL files can be exported.
 3.21

3.9.1.10 UCD
The UCD file type refers to the FEA and CFD interface to Advanced Visual
Tip
Systems' AVS software (Ref. 2). Only domain and block face export are
supported.
When preparing to make a new
mesh, it is important to make a
3.9.1.11 VRML plan for constructing it ahead
The Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML) file type is supported for of time to ensure that you are
domain and block face export only (Ref. 41). Structured domains or block picking a topology and grid ele-
faces are exported as unstructured surfaces by triangulating the quadrilateral ments that not only work well
cells. Only ASCII format VRML files are exported. for your application but for
your CAE package as well.
3.9.1.12 Xpatch
The XPATCH file type refers to the XPATCH unstructured data file format.
Only domain and block face export are supported. Structured domains or
block faces are exported as unstructured surfaces.

3.9.2 Database
The Export, Database command allows you to export geometry data from
Pointwise. The list of supported database file formats can be seen in Table
3.5.
Table 3.5: Database File Formats Supported for Export

File Type Extension Version

Gridgen .dba 15

IGES .igs 5.1

.iges

Nastran .nas 69

Patran .pat 2.5

(only packets 2, 32, and 33)

PLOT3D .x
.xyz
.p3d

Segment .dat

STL .stl

UCD .ucd

VRML .wrl 1.0, 2.0

.vrml
3.22 Pointwise User Manual

Table 3.5: Database File Formats Supported for Export

Tip File Type Extension Version

When exporting your grid to a Xpatch .facet 3.0

non-native grid format (except
for Gridgen V15), be aware that
only the grid points are
exported. The one exception is
if connectivity information is
required for the format. In that
case, it too will be exported.
3.9.2.1 Gridgen
A Gridgen composite database (.dba) file compatible with Gridgen Version 15
can be exported from Pointwise.
3.9.2.2 IGES
The format that Pointwise supports for exporting IGES files as a database is
based on the standard as defined and covers only a subset of the entities
available in the full IGES standard (Ref. 15). A list of IGES entities supported
for export is shown in Table 3.6.

Table 3.6: IGES Entities Supported For Export.

Entity number Description

100 Circular Arc

108 (form 0) Plane

116 Point

120 Surface of Revolution

122 Tabulated cylinder

126 Rational B-Spline curve

128 Rational B-Spline surface

144 Trimmed surface

186 B-Rep Solid Model Object

402 Associativity instance

408 Singular subfigure instance

514 Shell

The Export Database panel provides options of specifying the units of the file.
Several selections are available for either Traditional or Metric units. The
Enable Pointwise File Compatibility Mode checkbox allows information of
those database entities (i.e., quilts) not supported by the IGES format to be
saved properly. This ensures that they will be recovered correctly when they
are later imported into a different program.
 3.23

3.9.2.3 Nastran
The Nastran file type supports both Nastran and Nastran-L database export.
Tip
The regular format (Nastran) reads 8 characters for real values whereas the
large format (Nastran-L) reads 16 characters. Both formats are based on the
When creating a mesh in which
commercial software product of the same name (Ref. 16). Only CTRIA3
elements are supported and are exported as shell surfaces. the spacing will be on the same
order of magnitude as the
default Grid Point tolerance, it
3.9.2.4 Patran is a good idea to lower the tol-
The Patran file type is based on the commercial software product of the same erance to at least 2 orders of
name (Ref. 13). Only the export of linear or cubic curves (packet 32), bilinear magnitude smaller. This helps
or bicubic surfaces (packet 33), and shells (packet 2, types 3 and 4) is prevent problems with singular-
supported. ities occurring in areas of very
tight spacing.
3.9.2.5 PLOT3D
The PLOT3D file type refers to a format for structured data (Appendix III.I)
that was popularized by NASA's CFD visualization software of the same name
(Ref. 38). Only structured surface grids are supported for export as database
entities. This file type will not export unstructured grids or i-blanking.

3.9.2.6 Segment
Pointwise segment files consist of any number of linear curves (Appendix
III.II). Each database line is written as a segmented curve consisting of an
ordered string of discrete points. Connectors must have grid points to be
exported into a Segment file format.

3.9.2.7 STL
The Stereo Lithography (STL) file type is supported for triangular surface
export only (Ref. 42). Either ASCII or binary format STL files can be exported.
Note the STL format doesn’t support multiple entities. So if you wish to save
multiple shell entities that can be recovered after file import, save them into a
.dba, VRML or .pw file instead. This is because Pointwise will try to assemble
as few shell entities as possible during STL import.

3.9.2.8 UCD
The UCD file type refers to the FEA and CFD interface to Advanced Visual
Systems' AVS software (Ref. 2). Only triangular surfaces export is supported.

3.9.2.9 VRML
The Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML) file type is supported for
triangular surface export only (Ref. 41). Only ASCII format VRML files are
exported.
3.24 Pointwise User Manual

3.9.2.10 Xpatch
The XPATCH file type refers to the XPATCH unstructured data file format.
Tip
Only triangular surface export is supported.
It is always best to do a com-
3.9.3 CAE
prehensive grid quality check
prior to exporting to your CAE The Export, CAE command allows you to export grid, boundary conditions,
solver. This can save you a tre- and other solver data to the native format of the current CAE solver.
mendous amount of time trying Supported CAE solvers are listed in Table 3.7 and described in detail below.
to figure out why a mesh will
not converge when a simple
Table 3.7: Supported CAE Packages and Attributes
Examine function may have
highlighted a mesh issue.
CAE Version 2D 3D VC Files Exported

ACUSIM/   filename.arm
AcuSolve

ADPAC  filename.mesh
filename.boundata

ANSYS CFX   filename.grd

ANSYS    filename.cas
FLUENT

ANSYS    filename.cas
FLUENT
(legacy)

CFD++   filename_cellsin.bin
filename_cgrpsin.bin.1
filename_exbcsin.bin
filename_mcfd.bc
filename_mcfd
filename_nodesin.bin

CFDSHIP-   filename.grd
IOWA filename.bcs

CFL3D   filename.inp
filename.bin

CGNS V2.5.4    filename.cgns

CNSFV  filename.dat
filename.inp
 3.25

Table 3.7: Supported CAE Packages and Attributes

CAE Version 2D 3D VC Files Exported Tip

COBALT   filename.inp The Export, CAE command

filename.bc operates on your current selec-
tion. This means you can easily
COMO   filename.inp export a subset of your blocking
system to your solver if desired.
CRUNCH  filename.grd

DTNS  filename.dat.001...
filename.dat.nnn
(nnn=# blocks)
filename.inp

EXODUS II 5.21    filename.exo

FALCON v3   filename.dat
filename.inp

FANS  filename.dat
filename.inp

FDNS/UNIC   filename.grd
filename.bc

FLUENT v4   filename.GRD

FrontFlow   filename.grd
filename.grd.fvreg

GASP   filename.grd
filename.cgns

INCA v2   filename.dat
filename.inp

Kestrel rev0   filename.avm

NCC   filename.out
flags.file

NPARC   filename.dat
filename.inp

NSAERO   filename.dat
filename.plt
3.26 Pointwise User Manual

Table 3.7: Supported CAE Packages and Attributes

Tip CAE Version 2D 3D VC Files Exported

Remember that changing your NSU3D  filename.cell

selected CAE solver does not
filename.bcs
destroy your boundary condi-
tion settings. You will only OVERFLOW  filename.dat
need to respecify the BC types filename.inp
after a solver change.
OpenFOAM   boundary
faces
neighbour
owner
points

PHOENICS   BLK1...
BLKn
(n=# blocks)
filename.Q1

SC/Tetra  filename.pre

SCRYU   filename.pre
filename.s

STAR-CCM+    filename.msh

STAR-CD    filename.cel
filename.vrt

STAR-CD v4    filename.cel

ShipIR *   filename.msh

Splitflow *   filename.inp

Standford   filename.su2
ADL/SU2 *

TACOMA   filename.dat
filename.p3d

TASCFlow  filename.grd
filename.bcf

TEAM   filename.dat
filename.inp
 3.27

Table 3.7: Supported CAE Packages and Attributes

CAE Version 2D 3D VC Files Exported Tip

TETREX    filename.grd Left-handed blocks are not con-

sidered valid in ANSYS FLU-
Tecplot   filename.plt ENT. So you may want to
UGRID  filename.ugrid examine the orientation of your
blocks using the Edit, Orient
filename.mapbc
command before the blocks are
USM3D  filename.bc exported.
filename.cogsg
filename.mapbc

VSAERO  filename.IN

VSAERO  filename.IN
hybrid

WIND   filename.cgd
(structured)

WIND-US  filename.cgd
(unstructured
)

* CAE does not support boundary conditions.

3.9.3.1 ACUSIM/AcuSolve
AcuSolve export supports structured and unstructured 3D multiblock grids.
AcuSolve is a general purpose finite element solver from ACUSIM Software.
For more information, visit their website at: http://www.acusim.com/html/
acusolve.html.

3 . 9 . 3 . 2 A D PA C
ADPAC supports structured, multi-block grids only. Pointwise exports two
files for ADPAC; the boundary data (.boundata) file, and the grid (.mesh) file.
Any physical values, such as pressure and temperature, required by the
boundary data file are set to zero. It is up to you to edit this file and supply
the correct values prior to running ADPAC. ADPAC's grid file is a binary,
single precision, PLOT3D, multi-grid file. Only 3D grids are supported.
3.28 Pointwise User Manual
Tip
You can use the Gridgen export
options to transfer your model
back to Gridgen in a situation
where there is a command not
yet available in Pointwise.
3.9.3.3 ANSYS CFX
Fully hybrid grids containing hexahedra, tetrahedra, prisms, and pyramids are
supported for ANSYS CFX export. Volume Condition (VC) names are included
in the export file.
Either the ASCII or Binar y file format and Double precision export can be
used for export.
3.9.3.4 ANSYS FLUENT
ANSYS FLUENT export supports 2D and 3D grids of all cell types that can be
created in Pointwise.
Two-dimensional grids are assumed to lie in the x-y plane. Normals for 2D
grids must point in the positive z-direction.
For ANSYS FLUENT export, blocks with common VCs are automatically
merged in the CAE file with the VC used as the zone name. To have separate
blocks written out with assigned VCs, set a different VC to each block to
avoid automatic merge. Alternatively, setting block VCs to Unspecified will
cause the blocks to be exported separately under their block names.
The ASCII file format and Single or Double precision can be used for export.
During export, when Pointwise detects a pole (line singularity) in a structured
grid, it will convert the cell from a hex (quad) to a wedge (triangle) (Figure
3.9).
F i g u r e 3 . 9 : We d g e o r p r i s m - s h a p e d b l o c k s w i l l b e e x p o r t e d w i t h a
c o m b i n a t i o n o f h e x a h e d r a l a n d t r i a n g u l a r c e l l s t o A N S Y S F L U E N T.
For situations in which a structured block topology contains a completely
singular face (point singularity), Pointwise will convert hexes to pyramids
(Figure 3.10).
 3.29

Tip

If you find yourself consistently

working with geometry that
contains surface gaps larger
than the Connector tolerance in
File, Properties, it may be
worthwhile to increase the Con-
nector tolerance. A tolerance
larger than the gaps will help
Figure 3.10: Pyramid-shaped structured blocks will be exported prevent regular coincident con-
with a combination of hexahedral and pyramid cells to ANSYS nectors.
F L U E N T.

Structured block topologies that contain one completely singular (degenerate)

edge (Figure 3.11) are not supported for ANSYS FLUENT export. If this
topology is detected during export of the CAE file, Pointwise will stop export
with an error message referencing the unsupported block topology.

Figure 3.11: A structured block containing a degenerate edge is not

s u p p o r t e d f o r e x p o r t t o A N S Y S F L U E N T.

3.9.3.5 ANSYS FLUENT (legacy)

ANSYS FLUENT (legacy) export supports 2D and 3D grids of all cell types that
can be created in Pointwise. This exporter is used by V17.0 and earlier
versions of Pointwise that is compatible with Gridgen’s Fluent exporter.
Unlike ANSYS FLUENT that groups boundary conditions by volume conditions,
this exporter groups boundary conditions by which block they belong to when
volume condition is not specified.
In Figure 3.12, for example, two boundaries with the BC name “Outflow” are
associated with “Block-A” and “Block-B” respectively. If the volume condition
is left “Unspecified” for these two blocks, that results in two zones upon
3.30 Pointwise User Manual

export. Likewise, two zones will be created for the three “Wall” boundary
conditions.
Tip
However, one zone will be created for “Outflow” or “Wall” boundary
condition if ANSYS FLUENT is used.
The CGNS format (http://
www.cgns.org/), a CFD data
standard, is really useful for
cases where you need to get
your grid data into a format you
can use for your own in-house
solver. Publicly available, this
format is supported by many
mainstream CFD software pack-
ages.

Figure 3.12: ANSYS FLUENT (v15) handles unspecified volume

c o n d i t i o n s d i f f e r e n t t h a t n A N S Y S F L U E N T.

3.9.3.6 CFD++
CFD++ export supports all cell types that can be created in Pointwise. All
data files are written in big-endian binary regardless of platform.
Only Double precision export is supported.

3 . 9 . 3 . 7 C F D S H I P - I O WA
CFDSHIP-IOWA export supports 2D and 3D multi-block structured grids.

3.9.3.8 CFL3D
CFL3D is a long-standing Navier-Stokes CFD code developed at NASA Langley
Research Center. CFL3D export supports 2D and 3D structured grids. The
ASCII file format and Double precision export can be used.

3.9.3.9 CGNS
CGNS export supports both structured and unstructured volume grids.
Structured blocks can also be exported as an unstructured collection of
hexahedra.
Face-based boundary regions are exported as 2D element zones.
Blocks are kept in separate zones within the exported CGNS file. Each zone is
labeled with a “family” name that corresponds to the VC assigned to the
block.
 3.31

The Binar y file format and Single or Double precision can be used for export.
The Combine anisotropic tetrahedra command recombines all anisotropic
Tip
tetrahedra into prisms in the export file. Currently anisotropic tetrahedra can
only be created in Gridgen and then imported to Pointwise via the Gridgen
Several standard File menu
(.gg) restart file. Recombination includes complete and incomplete layers of
anisotropic tetrahedra. In some situations, prisms may not be created due to operations are available on the
quality issues, such as the resulting prism having a negative volume. Pyramids Standard toolbar. The Save
will be created as transition elements in some regions. A special case occurs command is enabled on the
when multiple blocks exist where recombination can be used at and across toolbar by default. Use View,
common interfacing domains. See T-Rex for more information. Toolbars, Customize to add oth-
The CGNS Structured command is only available if structured blocks are ers.
included in the selection. When enabled, this command ensures that
structured cells are written out as quadrilaterals or hexahedra. If disabled,
the structured cells will be decomposed into their component triangle or
tetrahedral cells.

3.9.3.10 CNSFV
Although CNSFV permits only a single boundary condition per block face,
Pointwise does not restrict the grid construction in this manner. Only the
ZONAL and BOUNDCND name lists are written by Pointwise.

3 . 9 . 3 . 1 1 C O B A LT
Pointwise exports both structured and unstructured volume grids to Cobalt.
During export, the volume grid from all of the blocks are agglomerated into
one zone for output to the grid file.
Boundary condition patches are exported in Cobalt’s boundary condition file
as placeholders. Before using the boundary condition file in Cobalt, you will
need to modify the flow variable data in the file since Pointwise populates
these variables with dummy values. Note that while you may set periodic BCs
on certain grid regions (patches), Pointwise makes no effort to ensure the grid
faces are indeed physically periodic.
Export file formats supported are ASCII, Binar y and Unformatted. Either
Single or Double precision can be used for export.

3.9.3.12 COMO
COMO is a proprietary file format based on the PATRAN Neutral File.
Pointwise exports all cell types for both 2D and 3D grids.

3.9.3.13 CRUNCH
CRUNCH export supports only 3D grids of all cell types. This means you may
create a grid containing both structured and unstructured blocks. Pointwise
exports a generic BC and a double precision FV-UNS file.
3.32 Pointwise User Manual
Tip
By default, Pointwise native
files contain both database and
grid entities. However, there
are Save Grid As and Save Data-
base As options in the File
menu allowing you to save the
grid and database separately
should the need ever arise. For
instance, you have modified
your geometry and someone
else would like to use it for
meshing.
3.9.3.14 DTNS
Only the formatted boundary condition and inter-block connection data is
written by Pointwise.
A Fortran unformatted DTNS-specific grid file is created for each block. Only
3D structured grids supported.
3.9.3.15 EXODUS II
EXODUS II supports 2D and 3D hybrid grids. If no BCs are applied prior to
CAE export, boundary condition export is skipped for EXODUS II. If one or
more BCs are applied, but with physical Type still set to Unspecified, the CAE
export will return a failure. Any applied BCs must have physical Type
specified in order to export CAE files successfully.
3 . 9 . 3 . 1 6 FA L C O N v 3
FALCON v3 is a proprietary format.
3 . 9 . 3 . 1 7 FA N S
Only the formatted boundary condition and inter-block connection data is
written by Pointwise.
FANS' volume grid file is multi-block, Gridgen-style, Fortran unformatted, and
double precision. Only 3D structured grids supported.
3.9.3.18 FDNS/UNIC
FDNS/UNIC supports 2D and 3D structured, multi-block grids only. Two-
dimensional grids must be created in the x-y plane. Place holders for each
applied boundary condition are written to the boundary condition file.
However, you must modify the input variables before running FDNS.
3.9.3.19 FLUENT v4
FLUENT v4 requires that your multiple block grid fit together into one large
block. If Pointwise cannot assemble your multiple block grid into a single
block grid when exporting data for FLUENT v4, you will receive an error
message.
FLUENT v4 does not allow poles (line singularities). Instead, use a small
cylinder of finite radius. Pointwise does not detect and warn of the existence
of poles during export. Both 2D and 3D structured grids are supported.
3.9.3.20 FrontFlow
FrontFlow export supports both structured and unstructured volume grids.
Newly created blocks are automatically assigned a VC of GRID. Blocks with
common VCs are automatically merged in the CAE file with the VC used as
the zone name. To have separate blocks written out with an assigned VC, set
 3.33

a different VC to each block to avoid automatic merge. Alternatively, setting

block VCs to Unspecified will cause the blocks to be exported separately
under their block names. Tip
Either the ASCII or Binary file formats and Single precision can be used for
If your analysis data is not able
export.
to be exported due to a mem-
ory allocation issue, save your
3.9.3.21 GASP grid into multiple files then
GASP supports multi-block structured and unstructured grids. Either Single import them into your flow
or Double precision can be used for export. solver individually.

3.9.3.22 INCA v2
INCA v2 export supports 2D and 3D structured grids only. When you export
data for INCA Version 2, you can choose either ASCII or Unformatted
format.
Then the following INCA name lists are written:

RUN.CONTROL
INCA.SETUP
then for each block
ZONE.SETUP
BC.PATCH.SETUP
INTRZN.PATCH.SETUP (if necessary)
UNIFORM.FLOW (initial conditions)
boundary condition specific name lists
NS.GENERAL
CHEM.SETUP
NS.ZONE
The flowfield data and other parameters are initialized to zero. Pointwise
computes the index ranges for the patches by adding two boundary cells in
each computational direction. INCA's grid file is PLOT3D style. Note that
even though the boundary conditions are written assuming a two-cell block
overlap, only the true grid without overlap is exported by this command.

3.9.3.23 Kestrel
Kestrel export supports 2D and 3D structured and unstructured grids. Either
Single or Double precision can be used for export.

3.9.3.24 NCC
NCC export supports 2D and 3D grids of all cell types with the exception of
pyramids.
3.34 Pointwise User Manual
Tip
For most grids, the default tol-
erances set in the Properties
panel work well. However,
you should really consider
adjusting the Model Size if your
overall model or grid size are
several orders of magnitude
larger than the default Model
Size tolerance. In such cases, a
warning will occur in the Mes-
sages window that suggests
you reimport the file after
increasing the model size.
3 . 9 . 3 . 2 5 N PA R C
NPARC export supports 2D and 3D structured grids only. When you export BC
data for NPARC you must first set several parameters specifying exactly how
you would prefer the BC file to be formatted. You can choose from ASCII,
Binary, and Unformatted formats and either Single or Double precision.
Pointwise's formatting of the NPARC BC file includes:
A 2 line comment string.
An INPUTS name list containing NBLOCKS.
An empty TURBIN namelist.
For each block...
A one-line comment containing the block name.
A BLOCK namelist containing JMAX, KMAX, and LMAX
(if 3D blocks), NBCSEG, and NPSEG.
Either the BOUNDS namelists or formatted BC data.
INVISC and LAMIN namelist inputs.
Note that the PRESS and TEMP inputs required by some BCs are not set by
Pointwise. If namelist style is used for the BCs, then Pointwise sets PRESS and
TEMP equal to ?P and ?T, respectively, when required by the BC. If formatted
style is used for the BCs, then Pointwise includes the strings (PRESS) and
(TEMP) in the appropriate fields. It is up to you to supply the correct values
for PRESS and TEMP.
Also note that for NPARC a block interface or connection must be a block
max. face to a block min. face. Block connections not of this standard will be
flagged as Type 3 (non-conformal) BCs.
NPARC's grid file actually contains both grid and flowfield data. Its’ format is
described in “Cooper, G.K., and Sirbaugh, J.R., "PARC Code: Theory and
Usage", AEDC TR-89-15, United States Air Force Arnold Engineering and
Development Center, 1989”.
3.9.3.26 NSAERO
NSAERO supports structured and unstructured grids. Either Single or Double
precision can be used for export.
3.9.3.27 NSU3D
NSU3D supports 3D unstructured grids. Either Single or Double precision can
be used for export. You can also choose either ASCII, Binary or Unformatted
format. The option of Combine anisotropic tetrahedra if T-Rex blocks are
selected for export.
 3.35

3.9.3.28 OVERFLOW
OVERFLOW export supports 3D structured grids only. Pointwise writes only
Tip
OVERFLOW's BCINP namelist.
Note that while Pointwise can create overlapping grids as required for Use Save As to regularly start a
OVERFLOW, the hole cutting and other overlap calculations must be new version of your native file.
computed using some other software such as PEGSUS, OVERFLOW's pre- While Pointwise does have
processor. In fact, the grid exported for OVERFLOW is actually formatted for
Undo to get you back quickly
PEGSUS. The PEGSUS grid file is Fortran unformatted and you are given a
after an undesirable modifica-
choice of Single or Double precision. This grid file also contains the block
names. tion, there are still times when
you may realize you would
really like to go back to an ear-
3.9.3.29 OpenFOAM lier topology you had but long
OpenFOAM is an open source solver that supports 3D hybrid grids including since modifed away.
all cell types available in Pointwise. For more information about OpenFOAM,
visit the official web site, www.opencfd.co.uk/openfoam.

3.9.3.30 PHOENICS
PHOENICS grid format is ASCII, PLOT3D, but with each grid block written out
to a separate file. A boundary condition file is exported by Pointwise in the
PHOENICS command language.

3 . 9 . 3 . 3 1 S C / Te t r a
SC/Tetra export only supports tetrahedral elements which are written to a
Nastran formatted file. No boundary condition information is exported.
Only the Unformatted file format and Single precision are supported for
export.

3.9.3.32 SCRYU
SCRYU export supports volume grids containing hexahedral, quadrilateral,
prism, and triangle elements. Boundary condition regions are written to the
"S" file in "REGN" format.
Only the Binar y file format and Single precision are supported for export.

3 . 9 . 3 . 3 3 S TA R - C C M +
STAR-CCM+ export supports all cell types that can be created in Pointwise.
Blocks with common VCs are automatically merged in the CAE file with the
VC used as the zone name. To have separate blocks written out with
assigned VCs, set a different VC to each block to avoid automatic merge.
Alternatively, setting block VCs to Unspecified will cause the blocks to be
exported separately under their block names.
Only the ASCII file format and Double precision are supported for export.
3.36 Pointwise User Manual
Tip
Since changing the Node toler-
ance in File, Properties has
global impact on your mesh, it
is usually better to use the
Merge command to overcome
node mismatches since Merge
allows you to choose what to
merge.
3 . 9 . 3 . 3 4 S TA R - C D
STAR-CD export supports all cell types that can be created in Pointwise.
Blocks with common VCs are automatically merged in the CAE file with the
VC used as the zone name. To have separate blocks written out with
assigned VCs, set a different VC to each block to avoid automatic merge.
Alternatively, setting block VCs to Unspecified will cause the blocks to be
exported separately under their block names.
Wherever Pointwise detects a singularity in a structured grid, it will convert
the cell from a hex (quad) to a wedge (triangle) when exporting it to STAR-
CD.
Only the ASCII file format and Single precision are supported for export.
3 . 9 . 3 . 3 5 S TA R - C D v 4
STAR-CD v4 export supports all cell types that can be created in Pointwise.
Unlike the earlier versions, STAR-CD v4 supports polyhedral cells which results
in a format change in the boundary definitions.
3.9.3.36 ShipIR
ShipIR export supports only 2D grids with qualaterals or triangles. The output
format is similar to 2D Gambit file except it’s represented by three coordinates
rather than two.
Both Single and double precision are supported for export.
3.9.3.37 Splitflow
Splitflow export supports only 2D grids with unstructured, triangulated
domains. Within the Splitflow export file, sub-part names and material IDs
are listed as the block names and numbers respectively.
Volume condition export, using both the VC name and number, is supported
for Splitflow. The volume condition SOLID is used as the default.
3.9.3.38 Stanford ADL/SU2
Stanford ADL/SU2 export supports 2D and 3D unstructured grids. If structured
elements are selected for export, they will be converted to unstructured
elements upon export.
Both Single and Double precision can be used for export.
Information on the SU2 software can be found online at http://
adl.stanford.edu/docs/display/SUSQUARED/About.
3 . 9 . 3 . 3 9 TA C O M A
TACOMA export supports 2D and 3D structured grids only.
 3.37

3 . 9 . 3 . 4 0 TA S C F l o w
TASCFlow export supports 3D structured, multi-block grids only. Either ASCII,
Tip
or Unformatted file format can be used for export.
If you have hidden domains or
3.9.3.41 TEAM blocks and View, Show Hidden
TEAM export supports 2D and 3D structured grids only. Note the following: is checked, the entities will be
grayed out in the List panel but
• The first line of boundary condition data for each block always has not in the Sort panel. In the
the strings `INITIAL FLOW’ set to `FREE’ and `EQUATION_SET’ set to Sort command, hidden entities
`EULER’. are treated the same as and will
• The additional line of data for the SOLID_V boundary condition is not be differentiated from visi-
always output as `TGRAD n’ `FIXED f’ `I node’. ble entities in the sort list and
• The additional line of input for the MFR, Mach Number, Pressure export file.
Ratio, and Speed Ratio Inlet boundary conditions are always output
as `MFR n’, `MACH n’, `PRATIO n’, and `QRATIO n’, respectively.
• The additional line of input for the EXHAUST boundary condition is
always output as ` NPR n’ `TRATIO n’ `NX n’ `NY n’ `NZ n’ `EXITMACH
n’.
• If your grid is 2D, two SYMMETRY_XZ boundary conditions will be
added on the Kmin and Kmax block faces.
TEAM’s grid file is ASCII, double precision and its format is described in
“Goble, B.D., Raj, P., Kinnard, T.A., Three-dimensional Euler/Navier-Stokes
Aerodynamic Method (TEAM) Upgrade: Version 713 User's Manual, United
States Air Force Wright Laboratory, November 1993”.
You must create 2D grids for TEAM in the x-z plane. When the grid is
exported, it is automatically extruded in the y-direction by 1.0 unit to create a
1-cell thick block.

3.9.3.42 TETREX
TETREX export supports all cell types that can be created in Pointwise.
Only the ASCII file format and Single precision are supported for export.

3 . 9 . 3 . 4 3 Te c p l o t
Tecplot export supports structured and unstructured grids. Either Single or
Double precision can be used for export.

3.9.3.44 UGRID
UGRID export support 3D unstructured grids. Either Single or Double
precision can be used for export. The following formats are accepted: ASCII,
binary as well as unformatted.
3.38 Pointwise User Manual
Tip
There are enough ways to sort
your domains or blocks to allow
any sort order to be obtained.
See Column Headings , Order
Number , Drag and Drop , and
Up, Down, Top and Bottom for
the different sort methods.
3.9.3.45 USM3D
USM3D is an all tetrahedral, cell centered, finite volume solver from NASA
Langley Research Center. For more information, visit the official web site at:
http://tetruss.larc.nasa.gov/usm3d/overview.html.
The following formats are accepted: ASCII, binary as well as unformatted.
3.9.3.46 VSAERO
Since VSAERO is a panel method, only 2D structured grids are supported and
boundary conditions need not be applied. A complete VSAERO file is written,
but all non-grid data are set to zero.
3.9.3.47 VSAEROhybrid
VSAEROhybrid export supports 2D structured and unstructured grids.
3.9.3.48 WIND (structured)
WIND (structured) export supports 2D and 3D structured grids. Either Single
or Double precision can be used for export.
3.9.3.49 WIND (unstructured)
WIND (unstructured) export supports 3D unstructured grids. Either Single or
Double precision can be used for export.
3.10 Export to Gridgen
With Pointwise’s Export to Gridgen command, you can simultaneously
export both a Gridgen restart file (.gg) and a Gridgen composite database file
(.dba) without prior entity selection. These files will include all database and
grid entities in the current Pointwise project as well as the other attributes
that are typically stored in these Gridgen formats.
Select File, Export to Gridgen. A file browser will appear so you may specify
the directory and filename to which your Gridgen restart (.gg) and database
composite (.dba) files should be saved.
3.11 Sort
The Sort command allows you to sort the domain export order in 2D or the
block export order in 3D. The entities can be sorted either manually or by
name, type, or size.
Select File, Sort. Sort your domains or blocks in the Sort panel (Figure 3.13)
using one of four methods: click on a column heading, edit the number in the
Order column, drag and drop, or use the sort arrow buttons at the bottom of
 3.39

the list. When done sorting your entities, click OK to save the sorted list and
close the panel, or click Apply to save the changes in the list and continue
sorting. Tip

In the Print to File Setup panel,

set the background color to
Transparent so that only the
entities in the Display window
will appear in the saved image.

Figure 3.13: The Sort panel provides options to sort your blocks in
3 D o r y o u r d o m a i n s i n 2 D a n d h a v e t h e m e x p o r t e d i n t h i s o r d e r.

Note that hidden entities or entities in layers that are turned off will not be
shown in the Sort panel or included in the export file. However, if View,
Show Hidden is checked, hidden entities will be available for sorting in the
panel and will be included in the export file.
The List panel domain or block order is separate from the order in the Sort
panel and does not reflect any changes made to the Sort export order. If you
want the List panel to display the current export order, right click on the
Name header in the List panel and select Show Export Order.

3.11.1 Selection
Domains or blocks can be selected in a contiguous or non-contiguous
manner.
3.40 Pointwise User Manual

Tip

Grayscale is one of the options

for the color of the Background
and Foreground in Print to File.
This color is calculated using a
mathematical function that Figure 3.14: Selected entities that are adjacent in the Sort list is
converts the RGB color see in called a contiguous selection.
the Display window to a corre-
A contiguous selection (Figure 3.14) is a selection of entities that are adjacent
sponding grayscale. Therefore,
to each other in the Sort list. For example, BlockA, BlockB, and BlockC are
depending on the RGB color of
contiguous and ordered 1, 2 and 3 in the list. When these entities are moved
your background and mesh, the down one space in the Sort list, their order of sequence stays the same, but
Grayscale/Grayscale option may their Order numbers change to 2, 3 and 4.
not be the best choice for an
image’s Background and Fore-
ground colors. This is just one
example of why the color
options should be tested out to
find the best combination.

Figure 3.15: Selected entities that are not adjacent in the Sort list is
called a non-contiguous selection.

A non-contiguous selection (Figure 3.15) is a selection of entities that are not

adjacent to each other in the Sort list. For example, BlockA, BlockC, and
BlockE are non-contiguous and ordered 1, 3 and 5 in the list. When these
entities are moved to the top in the Sort list, they are grouped together in
relative order and their Order numbers change to 1, 2 and 3.

3.11.2 Column Headings

Domains or blocks can be sorted by Order number, Name, Type, number of
Points or number of Cells. Click on the desired column heading in the Sort
panel to put the domains or blocks in descending order, alphabetically or
numerically depending on the column type. Click on the same column
heading a second time and the entities will be ordered in reverse.

3.11.3 Order Number

The Order can be changed by double clicking on an entry and typing a new
number. The entity will be assigned this new Order number, and the previous
entity with the same Order number will be moved down in the list along with
all other entities below. The sort order is unchanged if you type in a number
that is less than or equal to zero or greater than the total number of sortable
blocks.
 3.41

3.11.4 Drag and Drop

Domains or blocks can be sorted by dragging and dropping them in the Sort Tip
panel list. Select an entity or entities in the list, release the left mouse
button, and left click the selection again. Hold the mouse button and drag If you are needing to capture
the selection until your mouse highlights the entity above which you want
several images of the Display
your selection of entities, then release the left mouse button. The entity
window screen, use the Print to
previously at that position and all the entities below it are shifted down in the
list to larger Order numbers. File Setup command first. Then
use the Print to File command
3 . 1 1 . 5 U p , D o w n , To p a n d B o t t o m or Ctrl+P to quickly capture
your images with your preferred
There are four different sort arrow buttons at the bottom of the list that can image settings already applied.
be used to sort domains or blocks: Up, Down, Top, and Bottom. These
buttons are available once a selection is made in the list. Click Up to move
the entire selection up one space in the list. The selection stops moving once
it reaches the top. The same happens in the opposite direction when you
click Down. Click Top to move the entire selection to the top of the list in the
same relative order. The same happens in the opposite direction when you
click Bottom.

3.12 Print to File Setup

The Print to File Setup command allows you to capture the Display window
screen and save it to a PNG, BMP or TIFF file. Optional capabilities (i.e., color,
size, resolution, etc.) can be used to save high-resolution images in a user
preferred manner.
Select File, Print to File Setup. The Image Size table updates to show
details about the image with the current settings. Adjust the attributes
within the Colors and Advanced frames to obtain expected images. If Save
Image is pressed, a file browser will appear in which you can choose the
directory and filename to save the image. Click OK to save all of the settings
and exit the command. Click Cancel to exit the Print to File Setup panel
without saving any changes.
3.42 Pointwise User Manual

Tip

Adjust the Connector and Node

tolerances to overcome consis-
tently large surface-surface
gaps in your database files.

Figure 3.16: The Print to File Setup panel provides options to save
t h e D i s p l a y w i n d o w i m a g e i n a u s e r p r e f e r r e d m a n n e r.

The Colors frame provides several options for defining the Foreground and
Background colors.

Foreground refers to the color of the entities in the Display window.

It can be set to Color, Grayscale, White or Black.
Background refers to the color of the Display window. It can be set
to Color, Grayscale, White, Black or Transparent.
By default, they are both set to Color which means the image will be saved as
you see in the Display window.
Within the Advanced frame, you can specify your image size and resolution if
different than the default:

Dots per inch (DPI) sets the number of individual dots that can be
placed in a line within the span of 1 inch. The DPI value tends to cor-
relate with image resolution.
Image Size sets the dimensions of the image that will be saved.
Lock Aspect Ratio is enabled as soon as the image size is specified.
If checked, the aspect ratio calculated based on the current Image Size
values will be maintained regardless of further changes in size or reso-
lution.
 3.43

Show Cropping Guide if checked, will show the user what portion
of the Display window will be saved to the image file (Figure 3.17).
This is useful when the specified image resolution (Advanced, Image Tip
Size) is different from the display resolution (Inches) listed in the
Image Size table. The Grid/DB Length display
seen within the Properties panel
is an excellent way to get an
idea of the overall size of the
geometry model. Knowing the
geometry length is an impor-
tant piece of information when
trying to decide what the
default connector dimensions
or Δs should be.

Figure 3.17: The Show Cropping Guide option can be used for
visualizing what portion of the Display window will be saved.

3.13 Print to File

The Print to File command allows you to capture the Display window screen
with the current image setup. It can be used when another command is
running, i.e., Examine.
Select File, Print to File or click on the toolbar Print to File (Figure 3.18). A
file browser will appear in which you can choose the directory, filename and
format (PNG, BMP, or TIFF) to save the image.

Figure 3.18: The toolbar provides quick access to the Print to File
command.

3.14 Properties

The Properties command allows you to see the total length of the current
database and/or grid as well as specify what tolerances should be associated
with the current project. The total length of your current grid and/or
database can be a useful measure in determining the initial default
dimensions for your connectors as well as what tolerances should be used for
your project.
3.44 Pointwise User Manual

Select File, Properties. Edit the value of one or more of the tolerances and
click OK to accept the change.
Tip

The maximum number of most

recently used (MRU) files can be
defined in the Edit, Preferences
panel ( Miscellaneous ).

Figure 3.19: The Properties panel shows the default tolerances used
for the current Pointwise project.

These tolerances are an important aspect of your project file. They control
how grid entities are logically connected across gaps in the database and the
way many database creation and intersection operations perform.

3.14.1 Model Size

The Model Size tolerance serves as the basis for all tolerances used for
Pointwise's geometric computations, such as intersections, projections, and
the triangular surface mesher. Tolerances computed from the Model Size
tolerance are shown in the table below.
Table 3.1: Model Size and Geometric Tolerances

Tolerance Default
Formula
Type Value

Model Size L 1000

Same-point L/10 7 0.0001

Surface-fit L/10 6 0.001

3.14.2 Node
The Node tolerance is the real value within which two nodes are considered
identical. Applying a new node tolerance will cause the entire grid system to
be updated based on the new value. Any formerly distinct nodes falling
within the new tolerance will be combined.
 3.45

The importance of this tolerance lies in the fact that it is used to determine
whether two connectors are end-to-end adjacent and thus can be used within
a domain. This tolerance is also used by the Grid, Merge command. Tip
The default value is 0.0001.
The maximum number of MRU
files can be reset in Edit, Pref-
3.14.3 Connector
erences panel.
The Connector tolerance is the real value within which two connectors with
equal, non-zero dimensions are considered identical. To determine if they are
within tolerance, the distances between grid points along the connectors are
computed. If the maximum distance between corresponding grid points is
less than the connector tolerance, the connectors are considered identical.
One connector will be deleted and replaced with the other.
Applying a new connector tolerance will cause the entire grid system to be
updated based on the new value. Any formerly distinct connectors falling
within the new tolerance will be combined.
The default value is 0.0001.

3.14.4 Grid Point

The Grid Point tolerance is the real value within which two grid points are
considered identical. This tolerance is used to determine where singularities
(poles) exist in the grid to avoid divide by zero conditions during the
computation of various grid control parameters.
The default value is 1.0e-7.

3.15 Most Recently Used (MRU) Files

A list of files most recently used by Pointwise is shown in this list. Any file
shown in the list can be opened or imported by clicking on it. Figure 3.20
shows the file pull-down menu, with the most recently used files listed at the
bottom.
3.46 Pointwise User Manual

Tip

Note an asterisk will be

seen next to the file name
if unsaved at the top-left
corner of the main win-
d o w.

Figure 3.20: The File pull-down menu shows the options available
for file management. The most recently used (MRU) list is at the
bottom.

3.16 License

The License command appears in the menu only if license borrowing is

enabled. The Borrow command allows the end user to specify a desired
borrow hour number. The Return command can be used if you wish to return
a borrowed license sooner. Refer to the Pointwise Installation Instructions,
Running Pointwise with a Local or Remote Server for details.

Figure 3.21: Use the Borrow command and Return command to

manage license borrowing.
 3.47

3.17 Exit
Tip
The Exit command ends the current Pointwise session.
Select File, Exit. If you have an unsaved project, Pointwise will prompt you License borrowing allows the
about whether you would like to save it before exiting. users to run Pointwise locally
without being connected to the
server.
3.48 Pointwise User Manual
 Chapter 4

Edit Menu

4.1
4.2 Pointwise User Manual

4.1 Overview
Tip
The Edit menu provides controls for cutting, copying, pasting, and modifying
With the Undo command, most entities as well as preferences for the Pointwise interface.
operations within Pointwise are
easily reversible. You may want
to set an acceptable number of
Undo levels within the Prefer-
ences panel before getting
started with your project.

Figure 4.1: The Edit menu provides commands for modifying

database and grid entities as well as display and interface settings.

4.2 Undo

The Undo command provides the ability to undo either the last command or a
list of commands. When selected from the Edit menu, the Undo command
allows you to undo one command at a time, whereas the Undo button from
the Edit toolbar will allow you to undo multiple operations at once.
 4.3

Tip

F i g u r e 4 . 2 : T h e U n d o a n d R e d o c o m ma n d s i n t h e E d i t m e n u p r o v i d e To skip ahead and redo several

easy ways to recall a command that has been executed or undone. steps at once, try using the
multiple Redo feature by click-
As can be seen in Figure 4.2, the last command executed will be displayed in ing on the down arrow to the
the Edit menu next to the Undo command. This listing allows you to see right of the Redo button on the
what command will be undone by the Undo command before using it. toolbar.
For situations where you need to undo multiple commands, left-clicking on
the down arrow to the right of the Undo button in the Standard toolbar will
show a pull-down menu of the last commands executed. Clicking on one of
the commands will undo all commands from your current state to the
command chosen, effectively returning Pointwise to a previous state (Figure
4.3).

Figure 4.3: Multiple consecutive commands can be undone via the

U n d o b u t t o n i n t h e S t a n d a r d t o o l b a r.

In the list display for multiple Undo, only the last five commands are shown
by default. The number of commands shown can be adjusted within Edit,
Preferences (Section 4.33.5).

4.3 Redo

The Redo command provides the ability to redo either the last command
undone or a list of commands. When selected from the Edit menu, the Redo
command allows you to reexecute one command at a time, whereas the
Redo button from the Edit toolbar will allow you to reexecute multiple
operations at once.
As can be seen in Figure 4.2, the last command undone will be displayed in
the Edit menu next to the Redo command. This listing allows you to see what
command will be performed by the Redo command before using it.
For situations where you need to redo multiple commands, left-clicking on
the down arrow to the right of the Redo button in the Standard toolbar will
show a pull-down menu of the last commands undone. Clicking on one of the
commands will reexecute all commands from your current state to the
command chosen, effectively returning Pointwise to a previous state (Figure
4.3).
4.4 Pointwise User Manual

Tip

When pasting an entity, Point-

wise automatically provides the
most common operations that
follow a paste to make this fea-
ture more efficient. To save Figure 4.4: Multiple consecutive commands can be reexecuted via
t h e R e d o b u t t o n i n t h e S t a n d a r d t o o l b a r.
time, if you need to perform
multiple transformations on an
In the list display for multiple Redo, only the last five commands are shown by
entity once it is pasted, try default. The number of commands shown can be adjusted within Edit,
doing them all within this panel Preferences (Section 4.33.5).
before saving your changes.

4.4 Cut

The Cut command deletes the selected entities. When database or grid
entities are cut, their parent and child entities are deleted as well. The
selected entities and any parent entities associated with them replace the
current contents of the paste buffer. For example, if a trimmed surface were
selected and cut, the untrimmed surface and trimming curves it was based
upon would be cut as well. All of these entities would be placed in the paste
buffer.

4.5 Copy

The Copy command replaces the current contents of the paste buffer with all
selected entities. Copied entities will remain in the paste buffer until
modified. To clear the contents of the paste buffer, use the Clear Paste
Buffer command (Section 4.7) or the Copy command with zero selected
entities.
Child entities are not copied to the paste buffer. As an example, if a database
curve used to trim a surface were copied, the surface that it trimmed would
not be copied as well.

4.6 Paste

The Paste command places the contents of the paste buffer in the project.
Where the entities are placed depends on the selections that are made in the
Paste panel (Figure 4.5).
 4.5

Tip

Delete Special is a great way to

delete not only the definition of
a domain but all of its constitu-
ent connectors as well.

Figure 4.5: The Paste panel allows several modification choices for
pasted entities.

If you are pasting grid entities, you will have to make one of the changes
listed on the Paste panel. Otherwise, the pasted grid entities will be removed
immediately as duplicates. If you are pasting database entities, you can save
them in the same place by just clicking OK or you can make one of the
changes shown in the Paste panel.
The Translate, Scale, Stretch, Rotate and Mirror commands can be seen in
more detail in Section 4.11 on transformations. The Project command and its
options can be seen in Section 4.12. The Dimension and Distribute
commands can be seen in Section 9.3 and Section 9.4, respectively. The Re-
Extrude command can be seen in Section 9.6.

4.7 Paste Spacing

The Paste Spacing command pastes a spacing constraint value from the
paste buffer onto target spacing constraints.
Once a spacing constraint is copied, select the target spacing constraint(s)
where you wish to paste it. If more than one spacing constraint is copied, the
average value of the constraints will be pasted.

4 . 8 C l e a r P a s t e B u ff e r

The Clear Paste Buffer command clears the contents of the paste buffer. This
command cannot be undone. Note that contents remain in the paste buffer
until manually cleared with this command.
4.6 Pointwise User Manual
Tip
Most of the transformations
that occur within Pointwise use
a vector. Since transformations
are such a basic and often used
function, make sure to familiar-
ize yourself with the many
methods for defining a vector.
4.9 Delete
The Delete command deletes all selected entities and any child entities
associated with them. For example, if you delete a trimming curve, the
trimmed surface will also be deleted. When deleting a database model entity,
the quilts which are a part of the model will also be deleted. Use Split
(Section 4.13) if you wish to break apart a model. Note that in some cases, it
may be necessary to use the Show Hidden (Section 5.3) command in order to
view quilt parent entities which are not automatically deleted.
4.10 Delete Special
The Delete Special command deletes not only the selected entities but their
parent entities as well. As an example, if you select a block, then Delete
Special, the block, its domains and its connectors will all be deleted. For
cases in which a database (with an associated grid) is selected, a dialog will
appear stating that the associated grid entities are about to become
unconstrained. When deleting a database model or quilt entity, Delete
Special will also delete quilt parent entities automatically.
4 . 1 1 Tr a n s f o r m
Pointwise provides a variety of tools for transforming database and grid
entities. The five commands available through the Transform command
change an entity’s shape through the application of a mathematical
transformation. These commands are also available through the Paste
command (Section 4.6).
F i g u r e 4 . 6 : T h e m o d i f i c a t i o n c o m m a n d s a v a i l a b l e i n t h e Tr a n s f o r m
s u b m e n u a l l o w c h a n g e s t o b e m a d e t o a n y g r i d o r d a t a b a s e e n t i t y ’s
location or shape.
The first three commands, Translate, Scale and Stretch, allow you to either
specify an offset or define a transformation vector (Section 4.11.1) by using
tools within the command’s panel, picking within the Display window, or a
combination of both.
It is important to note that transformations can affect the grid points interior
of a domain or block. Transformations are applied to each individual grid
point to obtain its new location. Stretching and scaling transformations can
 4.7

often result in grid point distributions that cannot be replicated by any of the
grid methods (Section 9.5).
Tip
4 . 1 1 . 1 D e f i n i n g a Ve c t o r
Each time you perform a trans-
When defining a vector within Pointwise, there are several options available formation of an entity, Point-
for setting the beginning and ending points of the vector.
wise will remember values from
the previous time the transfor-
4.11.1.1 Begin Point mation command was used.
The begin point of a transformation vector can be specified by one of the These values are retained to
following methods: help speed up the time that it
takes to perform a transforma-
• In the Point Placement frame, enter the XYZ values of the begin tion that is used often. The val-
point in the XYZ text field. ues typically appear
• In the Display window, pick the point that will correspond to the automatically in the vector field
begin point of the transformation vector. for that transformation. If not,
Note that it is not necessary for the begin point to lie on the selected entity or they can also be accessed with
entities. Additionally, if no begin point is specified, it will default to the origin the down arrow for the XYZ
coordinates of 0,0,0. Once the begin point has been set, a small yellow text field.
square will appear at that coordinate location within the Display window.

4.11.1.2 End Point

The end point of a transformation vector can be specified via a few more
options. This provides greater flexibility for situations in which the ending
coordinates of the transformation vector may not be known. Methods by
which the end point can be specified are:

• In the Point Placement frame, enter the XYZ values of the end point
in the XYZ text field.
• Pick the point that will correspond to the end point of the
transformation vector in the Display window.
• Enter the XYZ Offset in the Point Placement frame’s Advanced
subframe. The Offset Vector text field (Translate panel only) can be
used to accomplish the same effect.
• Enter the Scale Factors corresponding to the change in scale desired
(Scale panel only). The end point will be determined by Pointwise
based on these factors.

4 . 1 1 . 2 Tr a n s l a t e
The Translate command lets you alter one or more entities by moving them
to a new position in Cartesian space. The entity or entities to be translated
must be selected prior to entering the Translate command panel.
Select Edit, Transform, Translate. Specify the begin and end points of the
translation transformation vector (Section 4.11.1). Click on OK to accept the
4.8 Pointwise User Manual

translation or click Clear Translation Vector to reselect the translation vector

coordinates. Click on Cancel to exit the panel without saving any changes.
Tip

When scaling an entity using

the Transform, Scale command,
it is not necessary to click Clear
Scale Vector with each change
to the scaling that you wish to
make. You can simply re-enter
the scaling factors to update
the applied scaling.

F i g u r e 4 . 7 : T h e Tr a n s l a t e p a n e l p r o v i d e s m u l t i p l e o p t i o n s f o r
translating an entity in addition to a summary of translation
coordinates.

Within the Translate panel, the Translation Summar y table provides details
about the translation vector’s coordinates and total distance (Figure 4.7).

Begin Point refers to the coordinates of the reference point by which

the selected entity will be moved.
End Point refers to the coordinates of the new location to which the
selected entity’s or entities’ reference point should be moved.
Total Distance represents the absolute value of the total distance
traversed by the translation.
Other tools available in the Translate panel pertain to the mechanics of how
a translation is performed.

Offset Vector refers to the amount of translation in each of the x, y

and z directions from the initial location.
Clear Translation Vector allows you to clear the values for the
beginning and ending coordinates of the translation vector.
The tools within the Point Placement frame (Section 2.5.8) provide
additional ways to specify from the keyboard the coordinates you wish to use
for the beginning and/or ending points of the translation vector.
 4.9

4.11.3 Scale
The Scale command lets you alter one or more entities by scaling in each of Tip
the three coordinate directions. The entity or entities to be scaled must be
selected prior to entering the Scale command panel. The temporary yellow copy of a
Select Edit, Transform, Scale. Specify the Anchor point by either using the transformed entity that is
XYZ text field in the Point Placement frame or by picking the point in the shown once a transformation
Display window. Select the begin and end points of the scaling has been set up is a great visual
transformation vector (Section 4.11.1). Click on OK to accept the scaling or aid to make sure that your
click Clear Scale Vector to reselect the scaling vector coordinates. Click on
transformation is correct before
Cancel to exit the panel without saving any changes.
saving. If you forget to check it,
. you can always use Undo to
reverse the previous command.

Figure 4.8: The Scale panel provides controls for anchor point and
scaling factor selection.

Within the Scale panel, the Scale Summary table provides details about the
scaling anchor and scaling vector coordinates as they are chosen (Figure 4.7).

Anchor refers to the fixed point about which the selected entity or
entities will be scaled.
Begin Point refers to the beginning coordinates of the scaling vector.
End Point refers to the ending coordinates of the scaling vector.
Other tools in the Scale panel pertain to the mechanics of how a scaling
operation is performed.

Scale Factors are the coefficients by which the selected entity or

entities will be scaled in the x, y or z directions.
Within the Scale Control frame:
4.10 Pointwise User Manual
Tip
In any of the transformations,
try holding the 3D cursor over
the transformation vector begin
or end point, then left-click the
point while holding the Ctrl
key. By keeping the left mouse
button depressed, the transfor-
mation vector can be edited in
the Display window by dragging
that point.
Repick Anchor allows you to reselect, either in the Point Placement
frame or the Display window, the Anchor point coordinates.
Clear Scale Vector allows you to clear both the Begin Point and
End Point scaling vector values.
The tools within the Point Placement frame (Section 2.5.8) provide
additional ways to specify from the keyboard the coordinates you wish to use
for the anchor, beginning and ending points of the scaling vector.
4.11.4 Stretch
The Stretch command lets you alter one or more entities scaling along a
defined vector. The entity or entities to be stretched must be selected prior to
entering the Stretch command panel.
Select E d i t , Tr a n s f o r m , S t r e t c h . Specify the Anchor point by either using
the XYZ text field in the Point Placement frame or by picking the point in the
Display window. Select the begin and end points of the stretching
transformation vector (Section 4.11.1). Click on OK to accept the stretching
or click Clear Stretch Vector to reselect the stretching vector coordinates.
Click on Cancel to exit the panel without saving any changes.
Figure 4.9: The Stretch panel provides controls for anchor point and
stretching vector selection.
Within the Stretch panel, the Stretch Summary table provides details about
the stretching anchor, stretching vector coordinates, and direction as they are
chosen (Figure 4.7).
 4.11

Anchor refers to the fixed point about which the selected entity or
entities will be stretched.
Begin Point refers to the beginning coordinates of the stretching Tip
vector.
The Transform, Rotate and
End Point refers to the ending coordinates of the stretching vector.
Transform, Mirror commands
Factor refers to the ratio of the difference between the beginning
can both be used to turn a
point of the stretching vector and the anchor with the difference
between the ending point of the stretching vector and the anchor. quarter or half symmetry grid
into a full grid. Using these
Direction refers to the direction of the chosen stretching vector.
tools can drastically reduce the
Tools in the Stretch Control frame pertain to changing an existing stretching amount of time spent in grid
anchor or vector.
generation.
Repick Anchor allows you to reselect, either in the Point Placement
frame or the Display window, the Anchor point coordinates.
Clear Stretch Vector allows you to clear both the Begin Point and
End Point stretching vector values.
The tools within the Point Placement frame (Section 2.5.8) provide
additional ways to specify from the keyboard the coordinates you wish to use
for the anchor, beginning and ending points of the scaling vector.

4.11.5 Rotate
The Rotate command lets you alter one or more entities by rotating them
about a specified axis. The entity or entities to be rotated must be selected
prior to entering the Rotate command panel.
Select Edit, Transform, Rotate. Select a rotation axis curve. Alternatively,
define an axis via 2 Points or Point and Direction by changing the axis
definition type in the Axis Selection frame. Enter the rotation angle in the
Angle text field. Click on OK to accept the rotation and close the panel, or
click on Cancel to exit the panel without saving any changes.
4.12 Pointwise User Manual

Tip

When performing a projection,

pay close attention to the
Points On/Off and Percent On/
Off summaries provided in the
Project panel. If a number/per-
centage of points were not pro-
jected, it may be an indication
that your projection direction or
target database selection may
need adjustment.

Figure 4.10: The Rotate panel provides controls for axis and
rotation angle selection.

Besides entering the angle of rotation in the Angle text field, you can also
control the rotation by clicking on the Define Arc button. Note the axis must
be set before Define Arc will be available. A rotation arc is defined by
specifying two points in the Display window: a pickable point (handle point)
on the selected entity and its future location after rotation. Once specified,
the selected entity will be rotated by the angle between the final and initial
handle locations relative to the axis.
The Axis Selection frame provides three methods for defining the axis:
Curve, 2 Points, and Point and Direction. The default Curve option expects
you to pick a curve in the Display window or in the List panel to use as the
axis. If the curve is not linear, the endpoints will be used to define the axis.
The 2 Points option allows you to pick points in the Display window or enter
them directly into the XYZ text field. Point and Direction allows you to pick
or enter a point and then select a primary axis direction through that point, or
it allows you to specify a non-primary axis direction by entering a point
directly into the Vector text field.
Delete Last Point allows you to delete selected or entered points when using
either the 2 Points or Point and Direction axis specification options. Clear
Axis allows you to start the axis specification process over from the beginning
by clearing the currently defined axis.
 4.13

4.11.6 Mirror

Tip

If you need to change your pro-

jection direction or target data-
base surfaces while using the
Project command, you do not
have to cancel your existing
projection and start over. Sim-
ply make the changes your pro-
jection needs, then click the
Project button again. It will
reproject the selected entity
based on the new projection
attributes.

Figure 4.11: The Mirror panel provides controls for mirroring an

entity or entities about a defined plane.

The Mirror command is a special version of the scale command that allows
you to reflect database and grid entities about a plane. For structured block
entities, this command also reorients the mirrored block by respecifying its
computational coordinates to maintain its left or right handedness. The entity
or entities to be rotated must be selected prior to entering the Mirror
command panel.
Select Edit, Transform, Mirror. Choose the Plane Mode (Figure 4.11) you
wish to use to define the plane about which the entities will be mirrored. The
plane location will be set using the corresponding mode frame. Click on OK
to save the mirroring or proceed to reselect the type of mirror plane or mirror
plane value. Click on Cancel to exit the panel without saving any changes.
The Mirror panel contains two frames. The first frame, Plane Mode, allows
you to choose the type of definition you wish to use. The second frame will
always be labeled to match the currently selected plane mode.
Please refer to Section 8.16 for the discussion on the modes: Point and
Normal, Three Points, Constant X, Y, or Z, and Coefficients. The Select A
Plane mode allows a plane selection in the Display window or the List panel.

4.12 Project

The Project command projects connectors, domains and database curves

onto the database. Grid entities are projected for the obvious reason of
needing grid topology to match your geometry. Database curves are projected
to imprint them upon database surfaces for the purpose of surface trimming.
4.14 Pointwise User Manual
Tip
For complex geometries, select
your target database surfaces
within the Project panel before
using a Closest Point projection.
Alternatively, you can also iso-
late the layer containing the
database surfaces onto which
you plan to closest point proj-
ect. Either one of these meth-
ods will help ensure that all the
points in the selected grid
entity are projected onto the
appropriate surfaces.
The entity or entities to be projected must be selected prior to entering the
Project command panel.
Candidate database entities are those that are visible unless target database
entities are selected within the Project command. The candidate database
entities for projection can be modified by changing the Show/Hide status of
the entity (Section 5.2) or by turning database layers on or off (Section ). Only
surface and quilt entities in database layers that are on and are set to Show
can be projected onto. Turning off the layer containing the entities that the
grid points should not be projected onto, or changing the entity’s display
status to Hidden, has two effects. First, it prevents the projection algorithm
from placing the grid points on the wrong surface. Second, it reduces the
number of surfaces the projection algorithm has to go through and,
therefore, the process will run a little faster.
Select Edit, Project. Select the Type of projection, the Direction of the
projection (if applicable), and whether the Interior Only or end points as well
should be projected in the Projection Control frame. If a specific database
or set of database entities are the target, select them in the Target Database
Selection frame. Click Project. If the projection is not satisfactory, change
the projection settings, then click Project again. The projected entity will be
re-projected based on the new settings. Clicking OK will save the projected
entity, while clicking Cancel will exit the Project panel without saving any
changes.
Figure 4.12: The Project panel provides multiple options for
projecting an entity in addition to a summary of projection
statistics.
Within the Project panel, the Projection Summary table provides details
about the points and percentage of points that have been projected on the
 4.15

connector and/or domain levels or provides a percentage only for database

curve projections (Figure 4.12).
Tip
Points On refers to the number of points in selected grid entities that
are on a database entity. Projecting a connector onto a
Points Off refers to the number of points in selected grid entities database surface creates a new
that are off of a database entity. control point for each grid
Percent On refers to the percentage of points in selected grid entities point projected. Since having
that are on a database entity. For database curves this represents the many control points can make
total portion of the curve on the target database. editing a connector time-con-
Percent Off refers to the percentage of points in selected grid enti- suming, consider creating the
ties that are off of a database entity. For database curves this repre- database-constrained connector
sents the total portion of the curve off the target database. by hand, instead of projection,
Beneath the Projection Summar y table, you will find the Project command by using the Line on Database
which will apply any settings you have made in Projection Control to either or Curve on Database com-
the entire visible database or those entities selected in Target Database mands.
Selection.

4.12.1 Projection Control

Within the Projection Control frame, the mechanics of a projection, such as
type and direction, are specified:

Type refers to the type of projection to be performed. Four different

projection methods are available, each with its own advantages as
described in Section 4.12.1.1 to Section 4.12.1.4. The naming conven-
tion for the projection methods is based loosely on analogies with
coordinate system types. Each method, however, is simply a ray-sur-
face intersection calculation. The methods differ in how the rays are
cast.
Direction allows you to specify which direction the projection should
take. This control depends on the relative position of the grid and
database. The options are:

• In sets grid points to be projected onto the first database

encountered along a line starting from infinity and continuing
toward the source specified.
• Out sets grid points to be projected onto the first database
encountered along a line starting at the source specified,
going through the grid point and continuing on to infinity.
Examples of these directional arrows can be seen in green in Figure
4.13 through Figure 4.16.
Interior Only allows you to project only the interior points of a
domain or connector on only the interior of a database curve. If, for
example, your domain's connectors are already database constrained
(e.g., Line on DB segment types) you should probably check this
option. Otherwise, your Line on DB segments will be replaced by Gen-
eral segments.
4.16 Pointwise User Manual

4 . 1 2 . 1 . 1 Closest Point
Closest Point projection is orientation independent. Points are simply moved
Tip
to the closest point on the database. This procedure is also known as a
normal projection because the rays cast through each point will intersect the
The Selection Box is one of the
database orthogonally. An example of a Closest Point projection of a domain
easiest and quickest ways to
onto a hemispherical surface can be seen in Figure 4.13.
pick entities within Pointwise.
Make sure you pick the behav-
ior for the Selection Box that
will work best for your grid
generation style in the Prefer-
ences panel before any major
grid operations to help save you
time in selection. Refer to Sec-
tion 4.33.3 for definitions of
the different Selection Box
styles.

Figure 4.13: Closest Point projection finds the closest database

point for each grid point and normally projects it to that point.

This projection method is the easiest to apply since it requires the least
amount of setup. However, it should be applied with care since it sometimes
is not readily apparent beforehand which is the closest database location.

4 . 1 2 . 1 . 2 Linear
In Linear projection, points are projected along parallel rays. The ray cast
direction can be along the Display window's line of sight (default), along a
saved orientation, or along a selected principal axis.
The Linear Projection Direction frame provides several options for setting
the ray cast direction:

Use Default sets the ray cast direction along the normals of the
selected domain. This option ensures that the ray cast direction is
based on the shape of the domain.
Use X-Axis sets the ray cast direction along the x-axis.
Use Y-Axis sets the ray cast direction along the y-axis.
Use Z-Axis sets the ray cast direction along the z-axis.
Use Current sets the ray cast direction so that rays are cast through
the points and along the current line of sight vector. This option
requires that you orient the view so that you are satisfied that the rays
cast will intersect the target database in the desired manner.
Linear projections are general purpose and can be used in most cases with
easily predicted results. It is recommended that you use an orthonormal
viewing transformation when orienting the image prior to projection. An
 4.17

example of a linear projection of a domain onto a hemispherical surface can

be seen in Figure 4.14.
Tip

If a split location needs to be

changed while using the Split
command, simply hold the Ctrl
key and left-click on the split
point. You can then change the
location in the Split Location
frame or with the Slide Point
arrows.

Figure 4.14: Linear projection uses either a selected principal axis

or the line of sight based on the viewing plane to project grid
points onto a database.

4 . 1 2 . 1 . 3 Cylindrical
Cylindrical projection is named for its analogy with a cylindrical coordinate
system. This method projects grid points along rays relative to one of the
principal axes or a user-defined axis of projection. The rays emanate
orthogonally from the axis and pass through each point.
The Cylindrical Axis frame provides several options for setting the projection
axis and direction:

XYZ is a point placement text field for entering the coordinates of an

arbitrary axis of projection.
Direction sets the direction of the axis of projection.
Use X-Axis sets the x-axis as the axis of projection.
Use Y-Axis sets the y-axis as the axis of projection.
Use Z-Axis sets the z-axis as the axis of projection.
Cylindrical projections are useful for projecting points onto ducted
geometries such as the inside of an aircraft engine intake duct. An example of
a Cylindrical projection of a domain onto a hemispherical surface can be
seen in Figure 4.15.
4.18 Pointwise User Manual

Tip

Often, it is desirable to split a

grid entity at a certain grid
point in the Split command.
This can be achieved in the Split
Location Advanced frame by
simply entering the IJK location
of the grid point at which you
need to split.

Figure 4.15: Cylindrical projection uses an axis of projection to

determine how and where projected grid points intersect the target
database.

4 . 1 2 . 1 . 4 Spherical
Spherical projection is named for its analogy with a spherical coordinate
system. This method projects points along rays relative to a user-defined
point. The projection rays emanate from the point and pass through each
point.
The Spherical Center Point frame provides two options for setting the
projection center point:

XYZ sets the center point of the projection to the XYZ values specified
by the user.
Use Origin sets the center point of the projection to the origin
(0,0,0).
Spherical projections are useful for projecting points onto blunt geometries
such as the nose of a missile. An example of a Spherical projection of a
domain onto a hemispherical surface can be seen in Figure 4.16.

Figure 4.16: Spherical projection uses a center point through which

all grid points pass as they are projected onto the target database.
 4.19

4 . 1 2 . 2 Ta r g e t D a t a b a s e S e l e c t i o n
The controls in the Target Database Selection (Figure 4.17) frame let you Tip
choose precisely which database entities to project onto. By default, all visible
database entities are included in the list of candidates. Did you know that heteroge-
Begin allows you to start the database entity selection process within neous groups of entities can be
the Display window or List panel. Once Begin is clicked, the text Cur- joined at the same time? Sim-
rently selecting... should appear within the frame. The text on this ply select all the connectors,
button changes to End and the button remains depressed until clicked domains, and blocks that you
to end selection. Once End is clicked, the text Projecting onto N wish to be
entities should appear within the frame where N is the number of ed, then select Edit, Join. As
selected database entities. many joining operations will
Cancel allows you to end the database entity selection process with- occur as possible without
out changing the target status. destroying any existing topol-
Clear allows you to clear the current database entity selection. Once ogy.
Clear is clicked, the text Projecting onto all entities should appear
within the frame. This indicates that all currently visible database sur-
faces are now candidate targets for projection.

F i g u r e 4 . 1 7 : U s e Ta r g e t D a t a b a s e S e l e c t i o n t o s p e c i f y a s u b s e t o f
projection target entities from all those currently visible.

4.13 Split

The Split command splits an entity at user specified XYZ, IJK, X/Y/Z or UV
locations. Split is available for all entities except unstructured domains and
blocks. Note when entities belonging to a group are split, the resulting
entities will remain in the original group.
S e l e c t Edit, Split. Select a Split Direction which will determine along what
parameterized line or computational line/plane the split will occur. Select the
split locations by selecting a point in the Display window, specifying an XYZ,
UV or IJK point in the Split Location frame, or by using the Slide Point right
and/or left arrows. If the last split location chosen is undesirable, it can be
deleted by using Delete Last Point. To change a split location not yet
applied, place the cursor over the split location, hold the Ctrl key, left-click
the point with your mouse, then drag the point while holding the left-click
button or enter a new value into a text field. Click OK to split at the selected
split locations or Cancel to exit the Split command without saving any
changes.
4.20 Pointwise User Manual

Tip

The Delete command in the

Point Placement, Points frame
of the Edit Curve command can
be used to delete any control
point in the selected curve, not
just the last point placed. Just
hold the Ctrl key and left-click
the control point you wish to
remove with your mouse, then
click Delete.

Figure 4.18: The Split panel that appears for connectors or

database curves allows them to be split at arc length percentages
as well as specific locations.

The Split panel that appears depends on the type of entity you select. For
connectors or database curves, the Split panel provides options for setting a
specific location (XYZ), a percent of the curve’s arc length, a control point
location, a grid point location, or a constant X/Y/Z (Figure 4.18). For database
surfaces, domains and blocks, the Split panel allows you to choose a split
direction and/or a specific location (Figure 4.19). For shell entities, the Split
panel allows a split plane to be defined or selected from the Display window
(Figure 4.20).
 4.21

Tip

Remember that after editing a

control point’s location in the
Edit Curve command, you can
easily undo that change if you
are not happy with the new
shape of your curve by using
the Restore command in the
Point Placement frame.

Figure 4.19: The Split panel that appears for database surfaces,
domains and blocks allows one or more splits to occur in any of the
computational coordinate directions.

Within the panel, several frames are provided that control how entities are
split. In the Split Location frame:

XYZ sets the XYZ coordinates of the point at which the entity will be
split. If the entity is a domain or surface, the XYZ coordinates will rep-
resent a point on the computational line along which it will be split.
For blocks, the XYZ coordinates will represent a point on a computa-
tional plane by which it will be split.
The Advanced frame within the Split Location frame contains other options
by which the split location can be specified, such as UV or XYZ Offset. More
about these options can be found in Section 2.5.8.

Delete Last Point allows the last defined split location to be deleted
from memory.
Slide Point allows the last defined or selected split location to be
moved in the Split Direction (not available when a connector has been
selected).
The Cur ve Options frame only appears when a connector or database curve
has been selected for splitting.

Percent of Length sets the split point to be a percentage of the arc

length of the curve.
Split Anywhere allows the split location to occur anywhere on the
curve.
Split Only at Control Points allows the split location to be con-
strained to control points only.
Split Only At Grid Points allows the split location to be con-
strained to connector grid points only.
Split Only At Coordinate allows the split location to occur at given
X, Y, or Z locations.
4.22 Pointwise User Manual
Tip
The curve selected for editing in
the Edit Curve command will
always give you a visual clue as
to the beginning of the seg-
ment on which you are work-
ing. The beginning will always
be displayed as a control point
surrounded by a circle. This clue
is useful when trying to deter-
mine whether you need to add
or insert a segment.
The Split Direction frame is available whenever a database surface, domain
or block has been selected. The options available within this frame can
change depending on whether a database surface or grid entity is selected.
U allows split locations to fall along lines of constant U on a database
surface.
V allows split locations to fall along lines of constant V on a database
surface.
I allows split locations to fall along a line (or computational plane for
blocks) of constant I.
J allows split locations to fall along a line (or computational plane for
blocks) of constant J.
K allows split locations to fall along a line (or computational plane for
blocks) of constant K.
Within the Split Shell panel (Figure 4.20), several options are provided that
define the plane for splitting a selected shell. Please refer to Section 8.16 for
the discussion on the modes: Point and Normal, Three Points, Constant X,
Y, or Z, and Coefficients. The Select A Plane mode allows a plane selection
in the Display window or the List panel.
Figure 4.20: The Split panel that appears for shell entities allows
one or more splits to occur based on a defined split plane.
4 . 1 4 C o n v e r t T- R e x t o P r i s m s
The Convert T-Rex to Prisms command will split all currently selected
unstructured blocks with full T-Rex layers into two blocks, one prism block
containing the recombined prisms from the full anisotropic tet layers and a
second containing the remaining anisotropic and isotropic tetrahedra. This
 4.23

command is implemented immediately without any command panel

appearing.
Tip
Select the blocks to be converted, then Edit, Convert T-Rex to Prisms.
Entities other than unstructured blocks will be ignored. If no full layers exist
When joining domains using
in the unstructured blocks selected, the resulting Info message in the
Messages window will indicate 0 prism blocks formed. You can track the the Join command, go ahead
number of full layers of anisotropic cells in the table on the Solve tab of the and also select all connectors
Solve command panel under the Full/Max Layers header. If this table that are associated with those
indicates 0 full layers, it will not be possible to convert the block into a domains. As many of the
separate prism and tet block. See Section 9.5.3 for more information on domains will be joined as well
using T-Rex for unstructured blocks. as their selected connectors.
This way, joining can be done in
one easy step.
4.15 Join

The Join command joins all selected compatible grid or database entities
together into one entity. If selected entities belong to groups, the entity
resulting from the join will become a member of all groups the original
unjoined entities belong to. This command is implemented immediately
without any command panel appearing.
Note that unstructured blocks are the only entity types which are not
candidates for joining.

Figure 4.21: There are a few restrictions on joining entities, as seen

on the connector level above.

Select the entities to be joined, then Edit, Join. All currently selected entities
of the same type are joined unless doing so would destroy topology (Figure
4.21). A mixed set of entity types can be selected and each type of the set will
be joined into as few entities as possible. Note that selecting domains for
4.24 Pointwise User Manual
Tip
After joining two unstructured
domains using the Join com-
mand, you may notice that the
edges of several triangles create
a line exactly where the shared
connectors used to be. This can
be fixed by selecting the
domain and clicking on Initial-
ize in the toolbar. The triangles
will then be repopulated across
the joined domain.
joining will not automatically join their connectors, unless the connectors are
selected as well.
Three basic situations are shown in Figure 4.21 for connectors in which
joining would destroy topology: A) when more than two connectors share a
node, B) when there is a gap between connector nodes, and C) when more
than two connectors share a node (in the form of duplicate connectors).
These same rules can be extended to the joining of domains and blocks. Also
note that a dimensioned connector cannot be joined with another one that is
not dimensioned.
A successful join of structured domains or blocks will create a new subgrid for
each of the original domains or blocks. It will also maintain the existing
subgrids before the join if any.
4 . 1 6 J o i n To l e r a n c e
The Join Tolerance (Figure 4.22) command allows you to adjust the tolerance
used for joining database curves and surfaces.
Select Edit, Join Tolerance to open the panel. Uncheck the Use Default
check box and enter a new value into the Join Tolerance text field, or simply
begin typing into the text field and Use Default will uncheck automatically.
Click on OK to save the new value and close the panel, but note that there is
no undo for this command. Click on Cancel to exit the panel without saving
any changes.
F i g u r e 4 . 2 2 : U s e t h e J o i n To l er a n c e c o m m a n d t o adjust the
tolerance used to join database curves and surfaces.
4 . 1 7 Tr i m B y S u r f a c e s
The Trim By Surfaces command is available regardless of current selection.
This command is similar to the Create, Intersect (Section 8.20) command in
that it works on two groups of entities, Group A and Group B, which can
each be trimmed by the other. The command panel is shown in Figure 4.23.
 4.25

Tip

When adding or inserting a seg-

ment into an existing curve
using the Edit Curve command,
remember that segments are
inserted at the beginning of the
existing curve and added at the
end of it.

F i g u r e 4 . 2 3 : U s e t h e Tr i m B y S u r f a c e s c o m m a n d t o t r i m s u r f a c e s ,
q u i l t s a n d m o d e l s w i t h e a c h o t h e r.

Upon entering the command, any selected database surfaces, quilts or models
will be added to Group A. Entity Selection will be defaulted to Group B
selection. Otherwise, if no trimming database entities are selected prior to
entering the command, Entity Selection will default to Group A. After both
groups have been defined, the Imprint command becomes available. Click
Imprint to have the groups intersected against each other for trimming
locations. The table updates to show the number of entities in each group as
they are selected as well as the number of quilts defined after the imprint
process. In the Tolerance frame, adjust the Intersection Tolerance if
necessary to obtain expected trimming intersections. Press the Reselect
Entities button to clear trim results with the previous selections of Group A
and Group B maintained.
In the Advanced frame, choose which of the groups is to be trimmed by
toggling either or both of Trim A with B and Trim B with A. Also choose
whether to Keep Inside quilts, to Keep Outside quilts, or both. The
orientation of the inside or outside is defined by surface normals. That is, the
outside of a surface refers to the directions aligned with the normals. Note
that the Orient (Section 4.27) command can be used to change the
orientation of database surfaces as necessary to facilitate use of the Keep
Inside and Keep Outside options. Click OK to save all of the designated
4.26 Pointwise User Manual
Tip
When using the Current Seg-
ment Delete button in the Edit
Curve command, be careful not
to delete all segments in your
curve. For the curve to be
saved, it must contain at least
one segment.
trimmed quilts and exit the command, or click Apply and Select to
interactively select the desired trimmed portions in the Display window. Click
Cancel to exit the command without saving any changes.
4 . 1 8 Tr i m B y C u r v e s
Trim By Cur ves requires selection of a database surface, quilt or model, or a
combination of these. This command will trim the selected entities with any
curves associated with them. Associated curves should include any curves
projected onto these entities or any curves resulting from the Intersect
command (Section 8.20). The Trim By Curves panel is shown in Figure 4.24.
F i g u r e 4 . 2 4 : U s e Tr i m B y C u r v e s t o d e f i n e s u b s e t s o f a q u i l t f r o m
curves associated to it.
After selecting entities and entering the command, you are in secondary
selection for curves to use for trimming. These curves must already be
associated with the selected surface, quilt or model in order to be available
for selection. Once one or more curves have been selected, click Imprint to
have the entities trimmed by the selected curves. The table is updated with
the number of potential quilts created by the imprint trimming. Click OK to
save all of the candidate trimmed quilts and exit the command, or click Apply
and Select to interactively select the desired trimmed portions in the Display
window. Click Cancel to exit the command without saving any changes.
4.19 Untrim
The Untrim command (Figure 4.25) requires selection of a single database
quilt. This command allows selective removal of trimming curves from the
boundary or interior of the quilt. One common use of this command would be
to de-feature a quilt with details unnecessary for the meshing project at hand.
 4.27

Tip

Inserting a segment using the

Edit Curve command is a great
way to add a segment of a dif-
ferent type, such as a circle, to
the interior of an existing curve.
For situations where another
segment of the same or similar
type is needed in the curve, it is
often easiest to add control
Figure 4.25: Use the Untrim command to remove edges from quilts. points.

After selecting entities and entering the command, you are in secondary
selection for curve loops to be removed from the trimming definition of the
selected quilts. Click Untrim once the desired loops have been selected.
Toggle on Outer Loop Selectable to be able to remove curves from the
definition of the outer boundary of the quilts. Toggle on Lamina Edges Only
to select only free edge curves.
Use the Min. Length field to enter a reference value representing the
minimum feature size you wish to maintain in the quilt’s trimming definition.
Click Select All Short Loops to immediately select all loops smaller than the
Min. Length and quickly defeature a quilt. Click OK to save all of the
untrimmed quilts and exit the command, or click Apply to save the current
untrimmed quilts and be able to continue untrimming quilts in the Display
window. Click Cancel to exit the command without saving any changes.

4.20 Curve

The Edit Cur ve command provides several tools for editing, adding to, and
removing curve data. Within Edit Curve (Figure 4.26), users have the ability
to:

• Change the type of segments.

• Modify the location of control points.
• Add or delete control points.
• Add or insert new segments.
• Delete segments.
• Edit segment type-specific options.
Select Edit, Cur ve. Decide which of the above modifications you need to
apply to the selected curve. Use the commands found within the Edit Cur ve
panel and described in Section 4.20.2 - Section 4.20.8 to perform your curve
modification.
4.28 Pointwise User Manual

Tip

Deleting a control point from a

segment using the Edit Curve
command is a quick way to
“straighten” the curve in that
region. If you simply wish to
change the shape of the seg-
ment, then editing and moving
the control point should be
used to modify the shape.

Figure 4.26: The Edit Curve panel provides a multitude of tools by

which additions or modifications can be made to a curve.

The Entity Type frame provides feedback about what type of entity is
currently selected for modification. It uses a Connector or Database icon to
indicate what the current curve type is. Only the selected entity segment or a
newly added segment of the same entity type may be edited.
The Type frame indicates the current segment type selected as well as other
segment types into which the current curve can be converted (if possible).
More detail on the segment types can be found in (Section 8.2).
The Point Placement, Points frame in the Edit Cur ve panel contains two
unique commands related to control point location that are only found within
this panel:

Restore sets a selected modified control point back to it original loca-

tion when it was last selected.
Delete removes a selected control point from the current segment.
Only the last control point picked will be deleted with this command.
To delete any other control point, hold down the Ctrl key and left-
click the control point, then click Delete.
All other Point Placement commands are already described in detail in Section
2.5.8.
 4.29

The Segments frame is used to specifically add, insert, or delete segments for
the selected curve.
Tip
Add provides a control for adding a new segment to the beginning or
ending of the selected segment. The default location for adding a seg- To insert a new segment prop-
ment is the beginning of the selected segment, which is denoted in erly, remember that the new
yellow by a square control point enclosed in a circle (REF). To add a segment will be added in front
new segment to the end of the selected segment, simply move the
of the segment you currently
cursor past the end of the segment. An arrow, highlighted in pink,
have selected. With this in
should appear at the end of the segment to show the direction and
vector of the current cursor position (REF). mind, make sure that you have
the appropriate segment
Insert provides a control for inserting a new segment at the begin-
ning of the currently selected segment. This command is most useful selected before inserting a new
for cases in which a different segment type needs to be inserted within one.
a curve.
Delete provides a control for deleting any or all of the segments in
the curve being edited. Once Delete is clicked, the currently selected
segment will be deleted from memory and the next segment in the
curve will be highlighted.
Current Segment uses left and right arrow buttons as controls for
cycling through the segments in the curve being edited. Once a seg-
ment is highlighted, any of the commands in the Edit Cur ve panel can
be used to modify or delete the segment.

4 . 2 0 . 1 C h a n g i n g a S e g m e n t ’s Ty p e
Pointwise allows the type of some curve segments to be changed within the
Edit Curve panel. If the selected segment is a Line segment, it can be
changed to a Cur ve segment and vice versa. The same rule applies for Line
on DB segments. They can be converted to Cur ve on DB segments or vice
versa.
Note that Circle, Conic, and Pole segment types may not be converted to
another segment type.

4.20.2 Editing an Existing Control Point

Editing an existing control point requires the user to first select the control
point to be modified. To select a control point, move the cursor over it in the
Display window, hold down the Ctrl key and left-click the control point. Once
selected, the control point will be displayed as a bold yellow square (Figure
4.27). While in this state, the control point position can be changed by either
entering its new coordinates in the XYZ text field in the Point Placement
frame or by holding the left mouse button and dragging the point to a new
location.
4.30 Pointwise User Manual

Tip

Tired of the same boring back-

ground color in the Display win-
dow? Use the Background
frame in the Edit, Preferences
menu to apply a gradient of
two colors to the background
or change the existing color.

F i g u r e 4 . 2 7 : A f t e r s e l e c t i o n , a c u r v e ’s c o n t r o l p o i n t w i l l a p p e a r a s a
bold yellow square.

The selected control point can now be moved by one of two methods:

• Left-click on the point and drag it to a new location.

• Enter the new XYZ coordinates in the Point Placement frame or
XYZ Offset in the Point Placement, Advanced frame.
If the new location is not satisfactory, the Restore command within the Point
Placement frame can be used to move the control point back to its original
location. The Delete command will remove the selected point entirely.

4.20.3 Adding Control Points

Adding control points is often the easiest and best way to modify the shape
of a curve segment within Pointwise. When adding one or more control
points to a segment, the location of the cursor within the Display window
largely affects where and how the new control point(s) will be placed.
When the cursor is placed before the beginning of a segment (indicated by a
control point enclosed in a yellow circle) a vector will appear which will show
the current orientation of the cursor in relation to the segment
beginning(Figure 4.28).
 4.31

Tip

When editing a segment in the

Edit Curve panel, you can
change the type of segment
you are working with as well as
the location of its control
points.
For example, by changing an
Akima curve into a Bezier curve,
you can gain control over the
slope of the curve on either side
Figure 4.28: Left-clicking the cursor in front of the segment of the curve control points.
beginning will add a new control point at that location.

If the cursor is moved to a point after the end of the segment, a vector
showing the orientation of the cursor in relation to the segment end will be
shown (Figure 4.29). Left-clicking on a point past either location, segment
beginning or end, will create a new control point extending the existing
segment. Depending on the location of the control point and the selected
Segment Type, the shape of the segment may also change.

Figure 4.29: Left-clicking the cursor after the segment ending will
add a new control point at that location.

Adding a control point to the interior of a segment to change its shape

requires that the cursor be placed at the location between the two control
points where it should be added (Figure 4.30). At this point, the segment in
which the control point will be added should show up highlighted in pink.
4.32 Pointwise User Manual

Tip

Depending on the type of curve

segment you are editing in the
Edit Curve command, deleting
control points can have a dras-
tic effect on segment shape. If
you happen to delete a control
point(s) and are not happy with
the result, you can immediately
click Cancel to negate that
operation.
Figure 4.30: Left-clicking the cursor between the beginning and
e n d i n g o f t h e s e g m e n t w i l l a d d a n ew c o n t r o l p o i n t , i n t e r n a l t o t h e
segment, at that location.

Once the location is left-clicked with the mouse in the Display window, the
new control point will show up highlighted in pink on top of the modified
segment shape shown in yellow (Figure 4.31). A copy of the original segment
will still be shown (in green) until the edits to the curve have been saved by
clicking OK. After clicking OK, the yellow copy showing the modifications to
the curve will replace the old curve in the Display window and in memory.

Figure 4.31: Once a position has been left-clicked, the current

segment will be updated to show a new control point at that
location (highlighted in pink).

4.20.4 Deleting Control Points

Sometimes an existing control point or one that has just been added creates
shape changes or constraints that are undesirable. In these situations,
deleting the control point in question can quickly clear up the problem.
Pointwise provides two mechanisms by which a control point can be deleted:
 4.33

• Click the Delete button in the Points frame within the Point
Placement frame. This deletes the last control point only.
Tip
• Select the control point to be deleted by holding the Ctrl key and
left-clicking the point. Click the Delete button in the Points frame
The orientation of a block plays
within the Point Placement frame or press the keyboard Delete key
to delete the control point. an important role in how its
cells are viewed by many solv-
As soon as the point has been deleted, the shape of the curve that originally
ers. Use the Orient command
contained it should update accordingly.
panel to make sure all 3D
blocks are right-handed and all
4.20.5 Adding a Segment
2D blocks have normals point-
New segments, of any type, can be easily added to a curve selected for ing in the positive z-direction.
modification. These new segments must always be added at the end of the
selected curve.
To add a new segment, click on the Add button within the Segments frame.
Prior to picking or specifying the control points for the new segment, select
the type of segment from the Segment Type frame. If there are no database
surfaces present, only non-database constrained segment types will be
available. Otherwise, all segment types should be available except for the
Pole type. Once the type of segment to be added has been selected, specify
in the Point Placement frame or pick in the Display window the control point
locations for the new segment.

4.20.6 Inserting a Segment

New segments are usually inserted into an existing curve when there is a need
to have a different segment type internal to the curve. This being the case,
segments can only be inserted at the beginning of an existing segment.
For example, take a case in which the existing curve is composed of two line
segments (Figure 4.32). To make this curve look like the profile of a bump in a
channel, a Circle curve segment is needed in the middle of the curve.

Figure 4.32: These two line curve segments need a Circle segment
inserted between them to represent a bump in a channel.
4.34 Pointwise User Manual
Tip
When adding segments to a
curve in the Edit Curve com-
mand, arrows highlighted in
pink should appear at the end
node any time you bring the 3D
cursor within a certain proxim-
ity to that node. Note that
these arrows are visual clues as
to which end your control point
will be added.
Use the Current Segment left and right arrow buttons to select the segment
in front of which you need to insert the new segment. Then click Insert in the
Segments frame. At this point, the type of segment to be inserted can be
chosen from the Segment Type frame. For our example, a Circle curve
segment will be inserted between the first and second line curve segments.
Once the segment type is selected, control points for the new segment need
to be placed. With that in mind, it is important to understand a few basic
rules that pertain to how control points are inserted for a new segment:
• Control points are always inserted at the beginning of the selected
segment.
•When inserting a new segment between two existing segments, the
first control point for the inserted segment (which corresponds to the
end of the first segment), will already be selected.
• When inserting a new segment at the beginning of an existing
segment (where no other segment connects), it is the responsibility
of the user to place the first control point.
The last two rules mostly matter when inserting a segment type such as a
Circle or Conic where a set number of control points are expected.
So, if these rules are taken and applied to our example, the first control point
for the inserted Circle segment is the existing control point highlighted in
yellow (Figure 4.33). This first control point can be moved by holding the Ctrl
key, left-clicking on the point, and either specifying a new XYZ location in the
Point Placement frame or by dragging the point to its new location.
Figure 4.33: When inserting a segment between two existing
segments, the last control point of the first segment counts as the
first control point for the inserted segment.
Since this point will serve as the connection between the first segment and
the Circle segment, the next two control points for the circle will need to be
specified to the right of it (Figure 4.34).
 4.35

Tip

The Undo command only stores

five levels of commands to
undo by default. To have access
to undoing more of the com-
mands you have used in your
Pointwise session, increase
Max. Undo Levels in the Prefer-
ences panel.

Figure 4.34: Inserting a circle curve segment requires that its

control points are placed left to right.

Clicking OK in the Edit Curve panel after control point placement will update
the two segments in between which the new segment was inserted and save
the entire curve.

4.20.7 Deleting a Segment

Removing a segment from an existing curve requires that the segment first be
highlighted in yellow by using the Current Segment left or right arrow
button. Once the segment has been highlighted, clicking Delete within the
Segments frame will remove the segment from the curve. Continuing to click
Delete will remove successive segments from the curve.
Note that it will not be possible to save a curve in which all segments have
been deleted.

4 . 2 0 . 8 S e g m e n t Ty p e - S p e c i f i c O p t i o n s
The Segments frame will also contain controls for segment type-specific
options. For instance, the Cur ve segment type can have one of three different
slope forms: Catmull-Rom, Akima, and Bezier found in the Segment, Cur ve
Segment Options frame. Similarly, specific segment options also become
available when a Circle or Conic segment is being edited or created. See
Section 8.2 for more details on the segment types and type-specific options.

4.21 Note

The Edit Note command provides several tools (Figure 4.35) for modifying
the text and location of a note.
4.36 Pointwise User Manual

Tip

The color of a note can be reset

using the Attributes command
or Choose Color toolbar.
Using the Edit, Transform com-
mands, you can translate, scale,
stretch, rotate or mirror a note.

Figure 4.35: The Edit Note panel provides options for editing a
selected note.

Select the note you wish to edit, then Edit, Note. The anchor point, which
marks the start of the text, will appear as a bold yellow square (Figure 4.36) in
the Display window.

Figure 4.36: The anchor point appears in the lower left corner of
the first character of the note when it is selected for editing.

Use one of the following methods to specify a new location for this note:

• Left-click on the anchor point and drag it to a new location.

• Enter the new anchor point coordinates in the XYZ text field.
You can modify the text string in the Text input box and reset the Font, Size
or style (i.e., Bold, Italic and Underline) if necessary. Click OK to save the
modified note and close the panel. The options within the Advanced frame
are already described in Section 8.18.
 4.37

Tip

You can quickly change the

Selection Box style without
Figure 4.37: Use the Advanced attributes to redefine the changing your Preferences by
orientation and layout of a note. simply holding the Shift key
when defining your selection
box.
4 . 2 2 Tw e a k

The Tweak command (Figure 4.38) allow a user to individually move the grid
points inside of a selected connector, domain, or block for improving the
quality of a handful of cells. It is a good supplement to Pointwise’s current
suite of grid solvers (Section 9.5) in which a solver more or less affects all of
the cells in a grid.

F i g u r e 4 . 3 8 : U s e t h e Tw e a k c o m m a n d t o e d i t c o n n e c t o r ( l e f t ) a n d
domain (right) interior grid points.
4.38 Pointwise User Manual

For editing interior points of an entity, select the entity then Edit, Tweak. The
Tweak panel provides different options based on whether a connector (Figure
Tip 4.38), domain (Figure 4.38), or block entity (Figure 4.42) is selected.

For a prism block, the K cutting

planes are available in addition
to the XYZ cutting planes in the
Tweak command. This allows
the user to tweak a grid point
on a specific grid layer in the
marching direction.

F i g u r e 4 . 3 9 : A n e x i s t i n g g r i d p o i nt o n a s e l e c t e d c o n n e c t o r ( l e f t ) o r
inside of a selected domain (right) will appear as a yellow square
w i t h i n a c i r c l e w h i l e c u r s o r e d o v e r.

For tweaking grid points on a connector or inside of a domain, move the

cursor over a target grid point in the Display window (Figure 4.39) and
relocate it by one of two methods:

• Left-click on the grid point and drag it to a new location.

• Hold down the Ctrl key and left-click the grid point. Once selected,
enter the new XYZ coordinates in the Point Placement frame, or
XYZ Offset or Normal Offset (UV and UV Offset if database
constrained) in the Point Placement, Advanced frame (Figure 4.38).
All the Point Placement commands are already described in detail in
Section 2.5.8.
Note the boundary of the underlying database entity will be highlighted if a
selected point is database constrained.
If the new location is not satisfactory, use the Restore command within the
Points frame to move the grid point back to its original location.
When a block is selected for tweaking, a cutting plane will appear at the
default location (Figure 4.40). Note that the frame of the cutting plane can be
clicked and dragged to a new position directly in the Display window.
 4.39

Tip

To physically separate linked

entities and perform a transfor-
mation on them, you must Cut
the entities first and then Paste
them with your desired trans-
formation.

Figure 4.40: A cutting plane appears for blocks that allows the grid
points on this plane to be selected and edited.

Note the cursor movement will be constrained to a plane that is parallel to

the current view plane by default. That is, if the cutting plane is oriented so
that it’s perpedicular to the X axis as seen in Figure 4.41, the new location will
be on the same plane if the view is not changed.

Figure 4.41: By default, a grid point on a cutting plane is moved on

a plane that is parallel to the current view plane.
4.40 Pointwise User Manual

Additionally, the cutting plane can be defined via a XYZ or IJK location, or the
left and right arrow buttons in the Cutting frame (Figure 4.42). The options
Tip within the Cutting frame are already described in Section 6.3. Once a cutting
plane is specified, use either of the selection methods mentioned earlier for
Very often database geometry is selecting a non-boundary grid point on this cutting plane for modification.
received which has overlapping
geometry or pieces that pass
through others. This can make
the geometry difficult to mesh
since you generally need mesh
topology at the intersections of
such geometry features. Use
Trim By Surface and Trim By
Curves to clean up your geome-
try for quick, easy meshing.

F i g u r e 4 . 4 2 : U s e t h e Tw e a k c o m m a n d t o e d i t i n t e r i o r g r i d p o i n t s o f
a selected block.

The Options frame (Figure 4.38 and Figure 4.42) offers additional control over
the destination of a selected grid point.

Unconstrain from Database allows a database constrained grid

point to be moved to a new location off the database entity it used to
be associated with. This command is only enabled when you hold
down the Ctrl key and left-click a grid point. By default, it is disabled
such that database associativity will always be maintained during
tweaking.

Maintain Connector Shape if checked, restricts the point move-

ment such that the original connector shape will be maintained. This
command is only available for tweaking connector grid points.
 4.41

Snap to Points if checked, allows you to move a selected grid point

precisely to the location of an existing grid point in your grid.
Move Rotation Point Automatically if checked, updates the Tip
location of the rotation point automatically as a selected point moves.
Use Project to project an exist-
For the Display commands (Figure 4.38 and Figure 4.42), please refer to
ing database curve onto a sur-
Section 5.2 for details.
face or quilt so that it can then
You can continue to select another grid point for modification without be used for trimming via the
leaving the Tweak panel. Click OK to save the new grid and exit the Trim By Curves command.
command panel, or click Apply to save your changes and continue modifying
your grid. Otherwise, click Cancel to exit the Tweak panel without saving any
changes.
Keep in mind that you will need to use the Examine command to diagnose
your new grid resulting from the tweak of grid points.

4.23 Extract

The Extract command (Figure 4.43) is used to subdivide and extract curves
from database shell entities to make them easier to use. Many shell entities
only contain shape information. They do not have any internal topology to
attach grid to specific locations. Using Extract, you can create curves at
natural breaks in the geometry and subdivide shells into small pieces along
these feature lines.

Figure 4.43: Use the Extract command to subdivide and extract

curves from database shell entities.

Select shell(s) to be extracted, then Edit, Extract. Specify the Split Angle, if
different than the default 45.0 degrees. Specify whether curves and/or shells
4.42 Pointwise User Manual

are extracted in the Extract frame. If necessary, modify the shell selection in
the Selection frame. Click Extract to perform a feature extraction.
Tip

When using the Extract com-

mand, it is a good idea to first
apply the default Split Angle of
45.0 degrees and see if an
acceptable number of features
are extracted. Then you can
increase or decrease the angle
as desired. Keep in mind that
Figure 4.44: Use the Extract command to subdivide one selected
the Extract button can be exe- shell and extract curves.
cuted as many times as needed
because the new shells and/or As seen in Figure 4.44, the thick yellow lines shown in the Display window
curves are not saved until you indicate the boundaries of the candidate shells resulting from the extract
click OK or Apply. operation. The object counts of Selected Shells, Extracted Shells, and
Extracted Curves will be updated accordingly in the table at the top of the
panel (Figure 4.43).
If the extraction is not satisfactory, change the extraction settings, then click
Extract again. Click OK to save the new shells and/or curves (Figure 4.45), or
click Apply to save your changes and continue extracting curves and/or shells.
Otherwise, click Cancel to exit the Extract panel without saving any changes.

Figure 4.45: New shells (colored differently) are created resulting

from the Extract operation.

4.23.1 Split Angle

The Split Angle controls the extraction process. Database shell entities are
composed of triangular facets. If the bend angle between two adjacent
triangle facets is greater than the entered Split Angle, the edge they share is
considered a candidate feature for curve/surface extraction.
To change the Split Angle, type in a new value (0-180) in the Split Angle text
field. Selecting Extract again will redo the extraction with the new Split
Angle.
 4.43

4.23.2 Extract
The Extract frame is used to specify whether a candidate feature will be Tip
extracted as a curve, shell, or both.
Shells subdivides a shell using closed boundaries or a loop that closes Sometimes you will want to
with the boundary of the shell. apply the Fit command to linear
Curves assembles features into database curves (polylines). Contigu- connectors that are imported
ous features are joined into a single curve for easier reference during into Pointwise via a segment
grid construction and other database operations. file (*.dat) in order to remove
unwanted control points.
4.23.3 Selection
The controls in the Selection frame (Figure 4.46) let you choose precisely
which shell entities to extract.

Begin allows you to start the shell entity selection process within the
Display window or List panel. The text on this button changes to End
and the button remains depressed until clicked to end selection.
Cancel allows you to end the shell selection process without changing
the target status.

Figure 4.46:Use Selection to specify a subset of Extract target shell

entities.

4.24 Fit

The Fit command (Figure 4.47) performs an LSQ (Least Squares) fit on
dimensioned connectors. The connector grid points are fit according to the
Fit Tolerance. The Fit command can be useful for removing unwanted
control points from linear connectors.

Figure 4.47: Use the Fit command to apply a Least Squares fit to its
grid points.
4.44 Pointwise User Manual
Tip
The Spline command can be
useful for replacing piecewise
database curves and surfaces
imported from a segment file
( Section III.II ) or PLOT3D file
( Section III.I ) into continuous
curves and surfaces.
Select connectors to be fit, then Edit, Fit. Click OK to implement the fitting
immediately using the default tolerance shown in the Fit Tolerance text field.
Otherwise, uncheck the Use Default toggle to enter your own tolerance in
the Fit Tolerance text field. Click Cancel to exit the Fit panel without saving
any changes.
Use Edit, Curve to view the actual control point shape definition resulting
from the fit of the grid points.
4.25 Spline
The Spline command fits a cubic spline through the control points of a
database polyline or fits a bicubic spline surface through the control points of
a bi-linear database surface. The original curve or surface is replaced by the
new cubic spline or bicubic surface. This command is implemented
immediately without a command panel appearing.
Figure 4.48: A database line before (top) and after applying the
Spline command.
4.26 Smooth
The Smooth command is used to smooth connectors or database curves
using “C1” curve approximation.
 4.45

Tip

The Smooth command is very

useful for situations in which
you need to smooth out discon-
tinuities in curves. Be aware
that you can control the degree
to which a curve is smoothed by
Figure 4.49: Use the Smooth command to apply a C1 approximation changing the tolerance used.
to either connectors or database curves.

Select connectors, database curves, or a mixed set of both, then Edit,

Smooth. Click OK to implement the smoothing immediately using the default
tolerance shown in the Fit Tolerance text field. Otherwise, uncheck the Use
Default toggle to enter your own tolerance in the Fit Tolerance text field.
Click Cancel to exit the Smooth panel without saving any changes.
Depending on the grid point resolution of connectors or the zoom level of a
database curve, the changes made by the Smooth command may not be
immediately obvious. When in doubt, use Edit, Cur ve to view the actual
control point shape definition.

4.27 Orient

The Orient command is useful for ensuring that the orientation of an entity is
consistent with the requirements of your CAE package. How the Orient
command works is dependent on the type of entity selected for re-
orientation.
Orientation can be applied to all entities except database points and trimmed
surfaces.

4.27.1 Database Entities

The orientation of database curves and surfaces (in terms of UV coordinates)
can be edited when necessary to correct inconsistencies in your geometry. It is
best if the orientation of database entities are changed before the creation of
any associated grid entities. Changing a database entity’s orientation when
there is an associated grid entity will cause the XYZ coordinates of some or all
grid points to change.
Select database entities to be oriented, then Edit, Orient.
For database curves, select the Reverse U command to change the
orientation of the curve.
For database surfaces, use the Reverse and/or Swap commands to change
the orientation of the UV directions. For nonparametric surfaces, such as shell
entities and models, normals are flipped using the Reverse Normal
4.46 Pointwise User Manual

command. Note that the normals of a closed model always point outwards
and cannot be flipped.
Tip

Don’t worry about the orienta-

tion of your blocks as you build
them. With the Orient and
Align commands, you can easily
set up the orientation of all
your blocks quickly before
exporting to your CAE solver at
the end of the grid generation
process.

Figure 4.50: The Orient panel will provide different options based
on whether a database curve or surface entity (on left) or a
database shell entity (on right) is selected.

4.27.2 Grid Entities

In Pointwise, connector, domain, and block creation proceed without regard
for the eventual computational directions. This is due to the fact that the
entire grid system’s computational directions can be set and aligned very
easily via the Orient command.
Select grid entities to be oriented, then Edit, Orient.
For connectors, select the Reverse I command to change the orientation of
the connector.
For 2D and 3D structured domains and blocks, the orientation can be
changed with the commands in the Reverse and/or Swap frames. Note that
the goal for orienting structured domains and blocks for most cases is to
make them right-handed.
For unstructured domains, the Reverse Normal button will flip the domains’
normals in the opposite direction.
 4.47

Tip

Unstructured domains can con-

tain baffle edges. In other
words, they can contain an
edge that has no area. To form
a baffle edge, select a single
connector twice to form the
edge and click Save Edge. These
baffle edges can be used to
gain point distribution control
on the interior of an unstruc-
tured domain as well as being
used as a true baffle in a 2D
grid set as a wall type BC.

Figure 4.51: The Orient command allows users to quickly change

I,J,K directions and orientations.

Within the Orient panel (Figure 4.51), the Color Key is used to color-code
the I, J and K coordinate directions of a selected domain or block within the
Display window. Once it has been specified, the Master domain/block of your
grid is also color-coded within the Display window according to the Color Key.
The Selection frame only appears if left-handed blocks exist in the selected
entities.

Select Lefthanded Blocks allows you to select only the left handed
blocks to make is easier to reorient them.
The Align frame provides commands by which you can align all the domains
or blocks in your grid with the coordinate orientation of the Master domain/
block.

Set Master allows you to, when multiple grids are selected for Ori-
ent, select the grid by which the others should be aligned.
Align allows you to, when more than one non-master grid is selected,
align the selected grids with the Master’s coordinate orientation. They
have to be connected to the Master directly or through other non-
master grid.
4.48 Pointwise User Manual

Tools which control the change of the computational direction are available
within the Reverse and Swap frames in the panel. In the Reverse frame:
Tip
I flips the orientation of the I Direction.
Faces that can be added to an J flips the orientation of the J Direction.
existing block can be free K flips the orientation of the K Direction.
standing or connected to the Normal flips the domain or face normals in the opposite direction
outer boundary of the block. (unstructured only).
Within the Swap frame:
I-J switches the I and J coordinate directions.
J-K switches the J and K coordinate directions.
K-I switches the K and I coordinate directions.

4.28 Add/Remove Edges

The Add/Remove Edges command allows edges to be added to or removed

from the interior of an unstructured domain. It requires a single domain to be
selected prior to being available.

Figure 4.52: The Add/Remove Edges command allows edges to be

added to or removed from a selected unstructured domain.
 4.49

Select an unstructured domain which you wish to add edges to or remove

edges from, then Edit, Add/Remove Edges. To add an edge, pick the loop of
Tip
connectors in the Display window which form an edge. When the edge is
complete, Flip Edge Orientation if necessary to ensure interior edges have Some flow solvers (i.e., ANSYS
opposite orientation of the outer edge. Use Save Edge to save the definition FLUENT) consider left-handed
of that edge and move on to the next, if any. To remove an edge, click Begin blocks invalid. Therefore, you
Removing Inner Edges and select the edge or edges to be removed. Finish should always evaluate the ori-
by clicking End Removing Inner Edges. Only interior edges may be removed, entation of your grid prior to
but the entire domain may be reconstructed using Restart Domain. All other CAE export using the Orient
commands are described in detail in Section 8.5.2.2. command.

4.29 Add/Remove Faces

The Add/Remove Faces command allows faces to be added to or removed

from the interior of an unstructured block. It requires a single block, either
empty or initialized, to be selected prior to being available.

Figure 4.53: The Add/Remove Faces command allows faces to be

added to or removed from a selected unstructured block.

Select an unstructured block which you wish to add faces to or remove faces
from, then Edit, Add/Remove Faces. To add a face, pick the domain or
domains in the Display window which form a single face. When the face is
complete, use Save Face or Save Baffle Face to save the definition of that
4.50 Pointwise User Manual
Tip
Be careful setting new back-
ground colors via the Prefer-
ences command so that you do
not end up obscuring grid or
database entities by using a
similar color to the default col-
ors for those entities.
face and move on to the next, if any. To remove a face, click Begin Removing
Faces and select the face or faces to be removed. Finish by clicking End
Removing Faces All other commands are described in detail in Section
8.5.1.2.
Note not all CAE solvers support baffles. Therefore, always check your solver
documentation before you include any baffles in your grid. Adding or removing faces
from an unstructured block will remove the interior volume points automatically.
Your block will need to be initialized again based on the new face
configuration.
4 . 3 0 G ro u p
The Group command requires a single group to be selected prior to being
available. It allows you to edit group members and/or name of a selected
group. Note this command overrides the mask to the entity type of the
selected group.
Figure 4.54: Use the Group command to add or remove group
members of a selected group.
Select a group, then Edit, Group. Simply select more entities or deselect the
ones to be removed in the Display window or the List. You can also edit the
name as desired.
4.31 Ungroup
The Ungroup command requires one or more groups to be selected prior to
being available. This command removes the definition of a selected group but
will not delete any of its group members. As a result, the group's name will
be removed from the List.
If a mixture of groups and other entities are selected, all groups will have their
definition removed and other entities will be ignored.
4.32 Break Periodic
The Break Periodic command requires either or both periodic entities forming
a periodic pair to be selected prior to being available. This command removes
 4.51

the periodic link between a selected entity and its twin. Their entity names
shown in the List panel will be changed accordingly. That is, the periodic tag
and the twin name will be removed from their name section. This command is Tip
implemented immediately without a command panel appearing.
You would benefit from the
Double Precision Graphics
4.33 Preferences option in the Edit, Preferences
panel if the Display window
image seems to vibrate when
you zoom in very closely on a
grid with a large range of scales
(for example, very tight grid
point spacing on a very large
body).

Figure 4.55: The Preferences panel gives the user control over their
Pointwise environment.
4.52 Pointwise User Manual
Tip
Set your mouse style to Gridgen
in the Preferences panel to have
Pointwise’s mouse functionality
mimic that of Gridgen’s for
model manipulations. Further
mimic Gridgen’s selection by
setting Mouse Selection to
Additive in the same panel.
The Preferences panel provides controls related to the Pointwise
environment. These controls range from viewing and selection preferences to
what type of output is seen in the Messages window. Changes made to the
Preferences panel are saved on your system, per user, as soon as this panel is
closed.
4.33.1 Background
The Background frame contains all options that control how the Display
window background appears.
Bottom Color sets the color shown in the bottom of the Display win-
dow if the Gradient Blend command is enabled.
Top Color sets the color shown in the top of the Display window if
the Gradient Blend command is enabled. If Gradient Blend is dis-
abled, this color is used for the entire background.
Gradient Blend sets the Pointwise background to a blend of two
colors, Bottom Color and Top Color. The slider bar allows users to
specify what percentage of the screen is used by the bottom and top
colors respectively.
4.33.2 Graphics
The Graphics frame contains the option to specify the numerical precision of
the graphics calculations. By default, Pointwise’s graphics are single precision
(4 byte real numbers). However, if the Display window image seems to
vibrate when you zoom in very closely on a grid with a large range of length
scales, you will benefit from enabling Double Precision Graphics .
Double Precision Graphics sets the graphics to use double preci-
sion (8 byte real numbers). This option has no effect on memory
usage. However, with the increase in graphics fidelity, keep in mind
that there will be a slight decrease in performance.
4.33.3 Selection
The Selection frame provides controls for how the selection box and mouse
selection behave. If you wish to always pick groups first if any, toggle on Pick
Groups First.
For operation of the Selection Box:
Inside and touched by box sets the selection box to pick all enti-
ties that reside within or touches the box’s boundaries.
Inside box only sets the selection box to pick any entity that resides
entirely within the box.
For Mouse Selection:
Exclusive sets the Mouse Selection for exclusive selection of an entity
per mouse click. Multiple entity selection requires use of the Ctrl key.
 4.53

Additive sets the Mouse Selection for additive selection of entities

per mouse click. Each click of individual entities adds each entity to
the current selection without use of the Ctrl key. Clicking on a Tip
selected entity deselects that entity.
If the Additive mouse selection
4.33.4 Mouse Style mode is set in your Preferences,
you need to use Ctrl+D for
The Mouse Style frame allows you to tailor the functions of the mouse
buttons to better suit your personal style or preference. unselecting all the entities that
were selected.
Pointwise provides left mouse button selection. The right mouse is
use for context (right-click) menus, and Shift + right mouse provides
model panning.
Gridgen provides right mouse button selection. The left mouse is
used for panning the model, and Shift + left mouse provides context
menus. Additionally, the Left Pick toggle will reverse the functions of
the left and right mouse buttons for the Gridgen style.
Tecplot provides left mouse button selection. The right mouse is used
for panning the model, and Shift + right mouse provides context
menus.
Glidedetermines how mouse movement controls image movement. If
checked, mouse movement will give the image a velocity. That is, as
long as the mouse button is pressed, the image will continue to move
even when the mouse is not moving. Otherwise, the image moves only
when the mouse moves.

4.33.5 Miscellaneous
The Miscellaneous frame contains preference settings for a diverse group of
commands.

Max. Undo Levels sets the number of levels that the Undo com-
mand (Section 4.2) will store. Keep in mind that all Undo levels are
maintained in memory, so increasing the number of levels will increase
the amount of memory necessary for Undo storage. Of course, the
nature of each command and the number and type of entities it oper-
ates on will vary the memory requirement significantly from one Undo
level to the next.
Max. Rule Violations sets the maximum number of cells which will
be displayed for all broken rules.
Max. MRU Files sets the maximum number of most recently used files
displayed in the File pull-down list.
Max. MRE Files sets the maximum number of most recently executed
scripts displayed in the Script pull-down list.
File Dialogs Start In Current Directory is unchecked by default
meaning the file dialogs will start at the previously visited location. To
set the current working directory to the starting location of the file
dialogs, toggle on this option and exit Pointwise. The new setting will
take effect the next time Pointwise is launched. This option can also be
4.54 Pointwise User Manual

applied as Pointwise is started through the command line (Section

1.6).
Hidden Color sets the display color of any hidden entity (Section
5.2).

4 . 3 3 . 6 Te x t O u t p u t
The Text Output Options frame controls what type of messages and how
many will be output to the Messages window.

Script messages are any standard output from a script or about its
execution.
Warning messages relate to potential problems resulting from opera-
tions performed within Pointwise.
Debug messages are used to debug any problems that arise in Point-
wise.
Info messages are used to provide confirmations on the success or
failure of Pointwise commands.
Error messages are output when a serious problem affects the perfor-
mance of Pointwise.
Journal messages show the equivalent script commands being used
interactively.
For a more detailed explanation of these message types, refer to Section 2.2.5
which discusses the Messages window.
Max. Message Length allows the user to specify the maximum
length of the output messages up to 10,000 messages.

4.33.7 Project File

The Project File frame allows the user to specify whether compression is used
when saving project files or not. Check Use Compression if you care more
about a smaller file than I/O performance. By default, this option is checked
off assuming that faster reads and writes is the user’s top priority.

4.33.8 Reset Defaults

The Reset Defaults button sets all the selections in the Preferences frame to
their original values.
 Chapter 5

View Menu

5.1
5.2 Pointwise User Manual

5.1 Overview
Tip
The View menu provides controls for the general appearance of the Display
Model view manipulations can window and Toolbars. Note it does not provide controls for the way
individual entities are displayed.
be performed using the mouse
and keyboard. The simplest
action for rotations is using
Ctrl+right mouse. See the GUI
chapter for more information
on manipulations.

F i g u r e 5 . 1 : T h e Vi e w m e n u p r o v i d e s h i g h l e v e l c o n t r o l o v e r t h e
a p p e a r a n c e o f t h e D i s p l a y w i n d o w a n d To o l b a r s .

Pointwise uses two axis systems for view manipulation: screen axes and body
coordinate axes. (Figure 5.2). The screen axes are always aligned with the
plane of your computer monitor’s screen. The axes for this coordinate system
are not shown in the display because they are fixed. Screen-X always points to
the right in the plane of the screen, screen-Y always points up, and screen-Z
always points out of the screen toward you, the user.

Figure 5.2: Pointwise makes use of two coordinate systems for view
manipulations.
 5.3

The body coordinate axes represent the 3-dimensional coordinate system in

which your database and grid are defined. The command View, Show XYZ
Axes, will enable the display of the body coordinate axes in blue at the origin Tip
of the database/grid system. The red rotation axes drawn in the Display
window represent the center of rotation within the body coordinate system. To reduce Display clutter and
Be aware that the location of the rotation axes is not necessarily the origin of make entity selection more effi-
the body coordinate system. You can move this center of rotation at any time cient, you can Hide any entity
by using Ctrl+Shift+Right Mouse. To see what model manipulations are type. However, the layer man-
available based on the screen or body coordinate axes, see Section 2.5.3. ager is a much better tool for
controlling database visibility
and selection.
5.2 Attributes

Figure 5.3: The Attributes panel allows you to determine how an

entity is rendered.

Use the Attributes command to change the display or render attributes of an

entity. Select an entity or entities to see their current attributes. For any
option where multiple selected entities differ, the corresponding field will be
blank.

Figure 5.4: At the top of the Attributes panel you will find the
Name and Layer text fields.
5.4 Pointwise User Manual
Tip
By default entities are rendered
using a By Entity Type Display
Mode. This will result in consis-
tent coloring, particularly for
connectors where color repre-
sents topological use. However,
you are free to tailor colors to
your specific needs by changing
the Mode to Per Entity.
Use the Name text field (Figure 5.4) to enter a new name for a selected entity.
If multiple entities are selected, the field label changes to Base Name and you
can enter a base name which will be appended by sequential numbering
starting with the number one (1) on the second selected entity. You can view
or change the layer number a selected entity or entities is assigned to using
the Layer text field.
F i g u r e 5 . 5 : U s e t h e S h o w, H i d e a n d S h o w / H i d e ( L - R ) c o m m a n d s t o
c h a n g e a n e n t i t y ’s o r e n t i t i e s ’ v i s i b i l i t y b e t w e e n s h o w n a n d h i d d e n .
Any grid or database entity can have its visibility set to hidden using the Hide
command found in the Show/Hide frame (Figure 5.5). Note hiding an entity
(i.e., model) doesn't automatically hide its parent entities (i.e., quilts).
However, hiding a group will hide all of its group members as well as its
parent entities.
Hidden entities are not visible in the Display window or in the List panel, and
as such, are not pickable for any operation. Hidden database entities cannot
be projected to. A mouse hover over an entity type icon in the List panel will
produce a tooltip indicating entities selected, shown and total where the
difference between shown and total is the number of entities of that type
currently hidden.
To restore visibility of an entity or entities, use the Show Hidden command in
the View menu (Section 5.3). This option produces a dark gray rendering of
the hidden entities in both the Display window and List panel. Select those
entities you wish to make visible and click on Show (Figure 5.5) in the
Attributes panel. The Show/Hide command will toggle a mixed selection of
both hidden and shown entities.
Figure 5.6: Use Apply Rainbow Colors in the Shortcuts frame to
quickly apply different colors to a set of selected entities.
The Apply Rainbow Colors command is a shortcut used to set the selected
entities’ Color Mode (see below) to Per Entity and assign a unique color to
each. This command is only available when more than one entity is selected.
 5.5

Tip

To give your mesh a solid

appearance and still be able to
see the exterior domain distri-
butions, use the Shaded and
Wireframe Display Style on all
of your domains.
Figure 5.7: The Display frame contains all of the rendering controls
for all entity types.

The Display (Figure 5.7) frame on the Attributes panel provides tools for
choosing exactly how entities are rendered in the Display window. At the
bottom of this frame the Update Entity Display command instructs
Pointwise to apply the selected render attributes and is only available when
changes have been made. This feature allows you to change multiple
settings, such as Fill, Lines, Color Mode and Points, and then have these
settings all applied at once rather than having the entities updated with each
change.
Fill controls the manner in which database surfaces or domains are displayed:

Wireframe - The selected entity or entities will be displayed

with only lines representing an entity’s edges, cells, isolines
or intervals, depending on the Lines selection (see below).
Default for database and grid entities.

Flat - The selected entity or entities will be displayed as a

continuous solid surface without lighting effect. Only
applies to database surfaces or domains.
Shaded - The selected entity or entities will be displayed as
a continuous solid surface with lighting. Only applies to
database surfaces or domains.
Hidden Line - The selected entity or entities will be dis-
played so that only those objects closest to the user along a
ray in the z screen coordinate will be visible. Objects that
fall behind those closest to the user will be hidden from
view.
Lines controls whether boundary or interior lines of the selected database
surfaces or domains will be displayed:

All Lines - Both boundary and interior lines will be dis-

played.

Boundaries - Only boundary lines will be displayed.

5.6 Pointwise User Manual
Tip
Once you hide entities they are
no longer displayed and cannot
be picked. Use Show Hidden to
turn on the display of hidden
entities when you want to
select and Show them.
No Lines - Neither boundary or interior lines will be dis-
played.
By default, grid entities have their Color Mode set to By Entity Type,
applying standard topology-use colors to all grid entities. In this mode, the
color selection palette is not available since the colors are pre-defined.
Database entities, on the other hand, have their Color Mode set to Per
Entity by default. Therefore, the color selection palette is available. Click on
the color box adjacent to the Color Mode pull-down to change the color of a
selected entity using a standard color palette tool (Figure 5.8). The pull-down
arrow next to the color box provides a list of previously used colors to choose
from.
Figure 5.8: Use the color palette for selecting a new entity render
c o l o r.
Color Modes available for database and grid entities are:
Per Entity - The selected entity or entities can have their color indi-
vidually set. Default for database entities.
By Entity Type - The selected entity or entities will have their color
automatically pre-selected based on type. This is the default for grid
entities. Take connectors as an example, bright green and light green
are used for displaying undimensioned and dimensioned connectors
respectively. If a connector is used in a domain or a block, it is dis-
played in light blue or dark blue.
By Topology - The selected entity or entities will have their color
automatically pre-selected based on usage: manifold, non-manifold, or
free connections.
Points controls whether grid points of selected connector(s) or control points
of selected database curve(s) will be displayed:
 5.7

Points Off - Display of the grid points or control points of

the selected entities will be turned off. Default for database
and grid entities. Tip

Points On - Display of the grid points or control points of Zooming works best in Ortho-
the selected entities will be turned on. normal mode. In Perspective
mode, it is not possible to
exactly reproduce the view
swept out by the zoom box due
to variations in the viewing
angle within the zoom box.

Figure 5.9: Advanced settings for the Display attributes.

Included in the Display frame is an Advanced (Figure 5.9) frame which is

closed by default. Here you can define the Isolines dimension, which is used
for rendering selected parametric database surfaces (U, V) or structured
domains (I, J). Note that quilts are not considered parametric surfaces. An
input dimension of 2x2 for database entities produces an outline without
control points. Domains at 2x2 appear the same as with Lines, Show
Boundar y Lines Only. Connectors at 2x2 are shown with grid points. You
can also specify a custom color for Pointwise’s Color 2 Mode, primarily used
for the wireframe color in the dual display styles, for instance, Shaded and
Wireframe. In addition, Triangle Density can be specified for database
surfaces drawn with Triangles. Note that Triangle display only applies to
database surfaces or unstructured domains. Line Density can be specified
for structured domains, and Line Width can be specified for any selected
entity, or entities.
The Attributes commands can be also accessed via the toolbar (Figure 5.10).
The pull-down menu provides access to the options of each Attributes
command.

Figure 5.10:The toolbar for the Attributes commands.

5.3 Show Hidden

The Show Hidden command makes hidden entities visible (but still
distinctively rendered so it is clear what is shown and what is hidden) so that
they may be selected.
When Show Hidden is selected it will be shown with a check mark next to it
in the View menu, and any hidden entities in the Display window will be
shown. The color used for hidden entities is a preference. When Show
5.8 Pointwise User Manual

Hidden is not selected there will not be a check mark next to it, and any
hidden entities in the Display window will not be displayed at all.
Tip

The Zoom Box is centered on

the location where you start
zooming. Place the cursor over
the center of the region of
interest before zooming.

Figure 5.11: With Show Hidden off (left) hidden entities are not
displayed, but with it on (right) they are.

5.4 Zoom

As its name implies, the Zoom menu controls zooming of the image in the
Display window. Zooming is quick way to move in to look at entities in more
detail and back away when you are done. The commands on this menu are
frequently used so they have accelerator keys for quick access.

Figure 5.12: The Zoom menu is used to quickly get a closer or

f a r t h e r v i e w o f e n t i t i e s i n t h e D i s p l a y w i n d o w.

5.4.1 Undo Zoom

Undo Zoom undoes the affect of the last zoom operation. That is, if you
have zoomed in close to look at an object in detail, Undo Zoom will quickly
reset the Display window view to the orientation it had before you zoomed
in.
Undo Zoom swaps the saved zoom level with the current one. Using Undo
Zoom (or Ctrl+F2) repeatedly will swap back and forth between these two
zoom levels. The saved zoom level is only changed by a zoom operation.
Panning and rotating do not change the saved zoom level.

5.4.2 Zoom to Fit

Zoom to Fit changes the zoom level and pans to center the view around all
currently visible entities in the Display window.
 5.9

5.4.3 Zoom to Selection

Zoom to Selection changes the zoom level and pans to center the view in Tip
the Display window on the currently selected entities.
User Views are a handy way to
5.4.4 Zooming with the Combo Zoom Box move from one zoomed in view
There is no menu item for zooming in or zooming out with a combo zoom to a zoomed in view of a differ-
box. The only way to activate these functions is using accelerator keys. To ent location. Save a user view
create a Zoom In Box, use Shift+Middle Mouse and drag the cursor down at each location, and you are
to open a box centered on the original cursor location. During zoom in a “+” only a toolbar button click away
symbol appears with the magnifier cursor. The view within the zoom box will from getting back to them.
expanded to fill the entire Display window. Thus, a smaller zoom box results
in more zooming.
To create a Zoom Out Box, use Shift+Middle Mouse and drag the cursor
up to open a box centered on the original cursor location. During zoom out a
“-” symbol appears with the magnifier cursor. The view in the Display
window will be shrunk down to fit within the zoom out box.
The zoom operation can be aborted by not sweeping out a box.

5.5 Manage Views

Manage Views lets you store and retrieve different display orientations.

F i g u r e 5 . 1 3 : T h e M a n a g e Vi e w s p a n e l h a s c o n t r o l s f o r s a v i n g a n d
retrieving custom and predefined view orientations.

The User Views frame contains controls for defined views. The upper portion
of this frame holds information about the six views you can define. Each row
5.10 Pointwise User Manual
Tip
The Show commands are short-
cuts to turn off lots of clutter in
the Display window. Cannot
pick the connector you want
because too many domains are
in the way? Check off Show
Domains temporarily, and the
screen clutter will be reduced.
has a radio button, a unique, numbered view selection button, and a
description text entry field. There are two action buttons in this frame: Clear
and Save.
The radio buttons select the user view to which the Clear and Save actions
will apply. Select the radio button corresponding to the view you want to
clear or save before clicking on the Clear or Save button.
Click on the numbered view selection button for the view you want to
restore. The Display window will immediately show that view orientation.
Enter a descriptive name as desired in the corresponding text entry field of a
user view. These descriptions will be displayed as tooltip text when mousing
over user view icons on the View toolbar. They will also be listed in the
Messages window when a user view is restored.
Clear removes the selected view from memory. It can no longer be restored.
Save saves the current view orientation on the selected numbered view
location.
User views can be saved using the accelerators Alt+1 through Alt+6. They
can be restored using Ctrl+1 through Ctrl+6.
The Preset Views frame contains buttons to recall the six principal views: +X,
-X, +Y, -Y, +Z, and -Z. Click on the button corresponding to the view you
want to restore, and it will immediately be set in the Display window. The
Preset Views frame also contains a button for the Dynamic View. This
button becomes active after performing a model manipulation (pan, zoom, or
rotate) followed by use of a standard preset view, a saved user view, or either
of the Zoom to Maximum/Minimum commands on the Examine, Extrema
tab. This allows you to return easily to your previous orientation prior to use
of one of the automatic or saved orientations.
Click on the OK button to close the Manage Views panel.
5.6 Set Rotation Point
The Set Rotation Point command allows you to set the origin of the body
axes, which is the point about which all model rotations occur. The rotation
point can be specified by entering its XYZ values or by selecting the point in
the Display window.
Figure 5.14: The Set Rotation Point panel allows the rotation point
to be set by entering XYZ coordinates.
 5.11

5.7 Reset
Tip
The Reset menu lets you reset the pan, zoom, rotation, or all three
orientations together to their default settings.
Turn on toolbar buttons for
actions you perform frequently,
and turn off the ones you rarely
or never use. This reduces
screen clutter, and keeps handy
the shortcuts to actions you use
a lot.
Figure 5.15: The Reset menu lets you set pan, zoom, and rotate
orientations to default values.

View restores the default view orientation, which is the -Z view with the
zoom level set to include all visible entities in the Display window, and sets
the rotation point to the center of the displayed entities.
Pan moves the Display window image along the screen X and screen Y
directions so that the rotation axes are centered in the Display window. The
body coordinates of the rotation point are not changed.
Zoom pans the image and changes the zoom level so all visible entities are
shown in the Display window.
Rotate turns the image about the rotation point to the -Z view. The image is
not panned or zoomed and the rotation is not moved.
Rotation Point resets the center of rotation.

5.8 Demote

Demote controls the drawing delay in Pointwise’s demote mode. In demote

mode, the displayed image is drawn in sparse, outline mode during image
manipulation to speed up movement of large models.

Figure 5.16: The Demote menu controls the pause between screen
redraws during demote mode operation.

Off is used to turn off demote mode. The image will always be fully
displayed, even during image manipulation.
Low sets a small delay time after image manipulation has stopped before the
image is redrawn in full mode. While the image is being rotated, panned, or
zoomed it is displayed in sparse mode. The purpose of the delay before
5.12 Pointwise User Manual
Tip
Use All Toolbar Icons: Reset to
Defaults, to quickly restore all
toolbars to their original selec-
tion of commands.
redrawing is to allow multiple, successive rotations, pans, and zooms without
waiting for the screen to redraw.
Medium sets a medium delay time after image manipulation has stopped
before the image is redrawn in full mode.
High sets a large delay time after image manipulation has stopped before the
image is redrawn in full mode.
Permanent causes the image to remain displayed in a sparse mode after
image manipulations. It will not be redrawn in full mode until Redraw is
selected.
Redraw causes the image to be redrawn in full mode immediately. This is the
only way to return to full mode if Permanent is selected. If Low, Medium,
or High demote modes are being used, Redraw will cause the image to be
redrawn immediately without waiting for the end of the demote period.
5 . 9 S e t V i e w Ty p e
Set View Type lets you switch between orthonormal and perspective viewing
transformations.
Perspective uses the perspective viewing transformation. In a perspective
transformation, the image will be rendered with a vanishing point so that
distant parts of the image will appear smaller than close parts.
Orthonormal uses the orthonormal viewing transformation. An orthonormal
transformation does not scale the image based on distance. Orthonormal
view type is recommended for best results when using the zoom box.
5.10 Show Domains
Show Domains is a toggle for global control over the display of domains. If
Show Domains is checked, domains will be displayed. If Show Domains is
not checked, domains will not be displayed and the domain icon in the Mask
toolbar will be grayed out.
5.11 Show Connectors
Show Connectors is a toggle for global control over the display of
connectors. If Show Connectors is checked, connectors will be displayed. If
Show Connectors is not checked, connectors are not displayed and the
connector icon in the Mask toolbar will be grayed out.
 5.13

5.12 Show Nodes

Tip
Show Nodes is a toggle for global control over the display of nodes. If Show
Nodes is checked on, all nodes are displayed. If Show Nodes is checked off,
If you ever rearrange your
no nodes are displayed.
Pointwise toolbars and win-
dows and wish to quickly return
5.13 Show Database to the default layout, you can
use the Reset the Toolbar Lay-
Show Database is a toggle for global control over the display of database out and Reset the Application
entities. If Show Database is checked, display of database entities is Layout commands in the Win-
controlled by their shown or hidden status. If Show Database is not dow Properties frame.
checked, no database entities are displayed and the database icon in the
Mask toolbar will be grayed out.

5.14 Show Axes

Show Axes controls whether the rotation axes are displayed. If Show Axes is
checked, the rotation axes are displayed. If Show Axes is not checked, the
rotation axes are not displayed.

5.15 Show XYZ Axes

Show XYZ Axes controls whether the XYZ axes are displayed. If Show XYZ
Axes is checked, the XYZ axes are displayed. If Show XYZ Axes is not
checked, the XYZ axes are not displayed.

5 . 1 6 To o l b a r s

The Toolbars submenu lets you choose which toolbars to display and
customize toolbar appearance, such as which buttons show up on each
toolbar, the size of the buttons, and whether text descriptions of the buttons
are displayed on the toolbars.
5.14 Pointwise User Manual

Tip

A popular set of commands to

display on the toolbar are the
Recall User View commands. If
you have saved certain user
views that are important to you
for your project, you can toggle
the display of these views on
for the toolbar. This allows you
to very quickly return to a saved F i g u r e 5 . 1 7 : T h e To o l b a r s submenu is used to change the
view. appearance of toolbars.

The name of each of the toolbars plus the Panels and Messages controls are
displayed in this submenu. If a particular toolbar is checked, it is displayed. If
it is not checked that toolbar is not displayed.

5.16.1 Customize
Customize opens the Customize panel, which provides controls over
individual buttons appearing on each toolbar, the size of the buttons, and
whether text descriptions are displayed on the toolbars.

Figure 5.18: The Customize panel provides control over the icon
s i z e a n d c o m m a n d t e x t d i s p l a y.
 5.15

The Icon Settings frame contains controls for setting the overall appearance
of toolbar buttons. Use the Size radio buttons to select large or small icons
on the buttons. Use the Text radio buttons to select whether text Tip
descriptions are included on the toolbar buttons and where on the button it is
displayed. You may want to select small
Below the Icon Settings frame are collapsed frames for each of the toolbars. size icons for your laptops with
Expanding the frame for a toolbar exposes controls for display of individual small screen.
buttons. For example, the figure below shows the Grid frame expanded.

Figure 5.19: Customize also provides control over which commands

will be displayed on the toolbar from individual menus.

Check on a button to have it displayed on the toolbar. Check off the button
to remove it from the toolbar. The buttons’ states will not change until the
OK button at the bottom of the panel is selected.
The Reset to Defaults button will check on the toolbar buttons that are on
by default, and check off the remaining buttons on the selected toolbar.
5.16 Pointwise User Manual
Tip
When you are doing extensive
zooming on the model is best
done using the zoom box.
Pressing and holding the middle
mouse or rolling a scroll wheel
can be tedious in these situa-
tions.
The Reset to Defaults button below all the toolbar frames, which is labeled
All Toolbar Icons: will reset the toolbar buttons on all the toolbars to their
default on or off state. It does not change the positioning of toolbars on the
screen.
The Window Properties frame contains controls for the layout of toolbars,
panels and windows. Check Reset the Toolbar Layout to have the default
positions of toolbars restored. Check Reset the Application Layout to have
the default position and sizes of the List panel, Messages window, Display
window, and overall Pointwise window restored.
 Chapter 6

Examine Menu

6.1
6.2 Pointwise User Manual
Tip
It is always wise to take a look
at the quality of your mesh in
Examine before exporting it to
your CAE solver. Doing this will
help you catch any grid prob-
lems you may have before they
become an issue in regards to
your solution accuracy.
6.1 Overview
The Examine menu (Figure 6.1) provides controls for viewing diagnostic
information about your grid entities. This figure shows all diagnostic
functions available for Examine. However, the functions available will be
dependent upon your current selection. For mixed selections, the functions
available will be those exclusive to each entity type selected. For instance,
Volume is only valid for blocks. So if any blocks are selected, Volume will be
shown in the menu. If Volume is selected, any non-block entities currently
selected will be ignored.
All functions will place you into the Examine panel with functionality
pertinent to that diagnostic. Rules is a separate diagnostic monitoring
capability which will be covered in Section 6.5.
Figure 6.1: The Examine menu provides many diagnostic functions
t h a t c a n b e u s e d i n d et e r m i n i n g g r i d q u a l i t y.
 6.3

6 . 2 T h e E x a m i n e Ta b
Tip
The Examine tab (Figure 6.2) provides extensive control over how your
selected diagnostic function is displayed. These controls will be discussed in
If you notice that your block
detail in the following sections.
appears to have all negative
jacobians during examination,
this is a sure sign that the com-
putational orientation of your
block is left-handed. Use the
Edit, Orient command to cor-
rect the orientation and ensure
that all of your blocks are right-
handed before exporting your
mesh.

Figure 6.2: The Examine panel provides many tools for controlling
the display of the chosen diagnostic function.

6.2.1 Function
The collapsible Function frame contains a single pull-down list of all the
functions currently available based on the selected entities. The diagnostic
function you selected from the Examine menu is chosen by default. You can
change to another function at any time.
Each of the individual function types is discussed in detail in Section 6.6.

6.2.2 Display
The collapsible Display frame provides a number of visualization controls. At
the top you can choose how examine objects will be rendered in the Display
window. By default the Fill is set to Flat. Your choices for Fill include:

Wireframe displays as colored grid lines.

6.4 Pointwise User Manual
Tip
Looking at your grid’s cell area
or volume is a quick way to see
if you have any cells that are
approaching zero in size. Often
these cells arise because of
areas in the topology of your
mesh that constrain the cells in
that region to extremely small
sizes. Small tweaks to the
topology in these areas will
usually fix these problems.
Flat displays as colored filled cells without lighting effect.
Shaded displays as colored filled cells with light source.
Hidden Line displays as colored grid lines where only those gridlines
closest to you are visible. All others as hidden and not rendered.
Next in the Display frame is Lines. It is set to All lines by default. Your choices
for Lines include:
All Lines displays both boundary and interior lines.
No Lines displays no lines at all.
In the Shrink Factor text field, you can input a value between 0 and 1
(default) to have cells shrunk about their centroids by the factor value. A
factor of 0.5 would shrink all rendered cells by 50% about their centroids.
This capability can make individual cells easier to distinguish from each other
when a group is rendered together. Setting a Shrink Factor of 0 (zero) displays
each cell as a fixed size node rendered at the cell centroid. This feature can be
useful for finding very small cells and collapsed cells.
Below Shrink Factor is the collapsible Color Bar frame. At the top of this
frame you can turn off display of the color bar altogether with the Show
Color Bar toggle. Note that the color bar can be resized by clicking and
dragging any edge of the color bar boundary and can also be repositioned by
clicking and dragging the title area at the top of the bar.
The Color Bar Type pull-down provides five different color bar styles:
Spectrum uses a continuous range of colors without violet.
Full Spectrum uses a full continuous range of colors.
Modern places dark hues of one color band adjacent to light hues of
the next for clearer demarcation.
Red Blue uses only red through blue with purple mix.
Grayscale uses a full black to full white scale.
The Reverse Color Bar toggle allows you to flip the colors on the bar from
top to bottom. Immediately below is a set of controls to change the maximum
and minimum bounds on the color bar. You can type a specific value for
either in the Max. or Min. text fields or you can use the up/down arrows
adjacent to each field to increment the respective bounds. The Default toggle
for each resets the bound to the actual for the currently selected entities.
In the collapsible Histogram frame you can turn on a histogram adjacent to
the color bar using the Show Histogram toggle. You can also adjust the
number of levels of the histogram by entering a new value into the Number
of Levels text field. The Export command allows you to output a Comma
Separated Values (.csv) file containing each of the histogram ranges and the
number of cells which fall into each range.
The final Display controls found in the collapsible Show Cells frame allow
you to determine which cells are rendered in the Display window relative to
how they are plotted against the color bar. In Range is considered all those
cells that lie between the current Min. and Max. as specified in the Color Bar
frame. By setting values for the Min. and Max. according to your preferences
 6.5

for your particular CAE solver, you can easily determine whether you have and
view cells that fall outside of your prescribed range. Toggling on Above Max.
and Below Min. will render those cells in the Display window. Generally for Tip
large grid systems it is inadvisable to display all three ranges for block cell
diagnostics since this can be computationally intensive. For FLUENT users, the Equiangle
While in the Examine command you have a direct interrogation tool known Skewness is directly comparable
as the probe. Simply move the mouse cursor over any rendered cells in the to FLUENT’s own skewness cri-
Display window and the cell currently under the mouse will be highlighted teria. Checking this diagnostic
and have its function value labeled directly on the color bar in the same before export can help you
highlight color. You can click on a cell of interest with the probe to have it catch any mesh problems
remain highlighted and have its function value remain labeled on the color before they crop up in your
bar while continuing to probe other cells. Probe values are also displayed in solution.
the probe area of the Status Bar (Section 2.2.6). The Clear Probe command
found at the bottom of the Display frame is used to remove highlighting of
the previously clicked probe cell and its corresponding label on the color bar.
Also note that the view zooming function, Zoom to Selection (Section
5.4.3), is available for clicked probe cells.

6.2.3 Selection
The Selection frame provides the ability to change the current primary
selection for the Examine command. You will only be able to pick from
among the entity types valid for the current Function Type selected. Use the
Begin command to enter into pick mode for the relevant entity type. The
command button label changes to End. Press End to leave pick mode. Cancel
allows you to exit from pick mode without making any changes to the primary
selection. The Highlight Selection toggle will highlight the current primary
selection in white for reference when you may be unsure of your current
selection.

6 . 3 T h e C u t s Ta b

The Cuts tab (Figure 6.3) provides tools for scanning the interior of block
volumes. Therefore this tab is only available when blocks are being examined.
6.6 Pointwise User Manual

Tip

Using IJK cuts allows you to

scan quickly through your block
interior. This is particularly use-
ful if you have found that you
have negative or highly skewed
cells and need to visualize why
the cells are misformed.

Figure 6.3: Use the Cuts tab in Examine to scan block interiors.

6.3.1 Cutting
At the top of the Cutting frame, Enable Cutting will turn on a cutting plane
which can be scanned through the block volume. For unstructured blocks this
cutting plane can only be an XYZ cartesian plane, XY, XZ or YZ. This cutting
plane will always be rendered slightly larger than the entities being examined.
It will have a green border frame and semi-opaque shaded interior making it
easier to visualize exactly where the cutting plane intersects the model. Note
that the frame of the cutting plane can be clicked and dragged to a new
position directly in the Display window. Additionally, the cutting plane can be
stepped through the block’s volume using the left and right arrow pad arrow
keys on the keyboard.
For structured blocks the cutting plane can be either the same XYZ cartesian
cutting plane as for unstructured blocks, or it can be an IJK computational
 6.7

coordinate plane. IJK cutting planes can also be stepped through the block’s
volume using the left and right arrow pad arrow keys on the keyboard. Note
that IJK cutting planes are also available for prism blocks in only the K Tip
direction. The tools in the Cutting frame provide additional controls over
these cutting planes. Use the Rules command to cre-
The Enable Cutting toggle turns the cutting planes on and off. Check this ate new rules for quality criteria
box to have the XYZ cutting plane rendered or changed to an IJK cutting pertaining to your specific CAE
plane for structured blocks. Once this toggle is checked on, you can then solver. This will allow you to
select your preferred cutting plane type from the XYZ/IJK radio buttons. Only easily verify your mesh quality
one type can be active at any given time. Below these there is a text field at any time with the push of a
surrounded by single and double arrow buttons. The arrow buttons can be single toolbar button.
used for fine increment scanning and the double arrow buttons for coarse
increment scanning. Alternatively, the exact coordinate value (XYZ cutting) or
computational coordinate (IJK cutting) can be entered directly into the text
field.
The Style pull-down allows you to choose from three different forms of XYZ
cutting plane:

Crinkle generates a continuous sheet of cell faces where the cutting

plane intersects the cells.
Cells generates a sheet of entire cells intersected by the cutting plane.
Flat generates a true intersection of the cells by the cutting plane.
The Scrolling pull-down allows you to choose how you wish the cutting plane
to behave when it reaches the beginning or ending boundary of the block’s
volume:

Recycle allows the cutting plane to return to the opposite end of the
block’s volume and continue scanning in the same direction.
Dead End forces the cutting plane to stop upon reaching the block’s
boundary.
Bounce allows the cutting plane to change directions when reaching
a boundary and continue scanning in the opposite direction.
The Type pull-down, which is only available for XYZ cutting plane type, allows
you to customize the increment as you navigate in a prescribed direction:
Steps is the integer number of discrete locations from the minimum
to maximum of the cutting coordinate in the prescribed direction.
Step Size is the coordinate distance in the prescribed direction
between consecutive cutting plane locations. Once defined, that
allows you to navigate the interior by a desired increment.
Enter the value of Steps or Step Size in the text input box next to the Type
pull-down menu.
The Cutting Plane Extents frame, which is also only available for XYZ cutting
plane type, allows you to define the range of the cutting plane coordinates. If
an X cutting plane is selected, set X Min and X Max so that only the interior
in between will be taken into account. Click on Reset to set the cutting plane
extents back to the default which is the minimum and maximum extent of the
selected block(s).
6.8 Pointwise User Manual
Tip
Sometimes it can be extremely
difficult to view problem cells
since they are often quite small
relative to the overall mesh. Use
the Extrema tab commands
Zoom to Minimum and Zoom to
Maximum to automatically
zoom up on these cells which
are usually part of the problem
set.
6.3.2 IJK Cuts
The IJK Cuts frame is only available when using a IJK cutting plane. Use the
Select Focus frame to enter a picking mode for selection of the focus entity
from those in the current primary selection. The focus block will be the only
one displaying the IJK cutting plane when Extend Into Adjacent Blocks is off
(see below). Use the Begin command to enter into pick mode for the relevant
entity type. The command button label changes to End. Press End to leave
pick mode. Cancel allows you to exit from pick mode without making any
changes to the focus selection.
Extend Into Adjacent Blocks forces the IJK cutting plane to extend into any
blocks attached to the focus block. The Select Marching Path frame is used
to specify a path for the cutting plane in those instances where the selected
block topology could split at a bifurcation. Use the Begin command to enter
into pick mode for picking a point on the cutting plane. Once a point is
picked a gridline is rendered through the block interior to indicate the path
that will be followed. The command button label changes to End. Press End
to leave pick mode. Cancel allows you to exit from pick mode without
making any changes to the marching path.
6.3.3 Saved Cuts
The Saved Cuts area allows you to save your current cutting plane to the
table where you can toggle its display on and off. A saved cut will remain
rendered even after the cutting plane is moved away. Any saved cutting
planes will remain available during subsequent entries into the Examine
command. When you have a cutting plane you wish to maintain, simply click
Save to have it added to the table. The cut’s X, Y, or Z coordinate or I, J, or K
coordinate and associated (focus) block will appear in the cut description.
Uncheck the cut’s check box to turn off the display of that cut. Highlight a cut
in the table list by clicking it. You can Delete any highlighted cut. You can
also Export a highlighted cut to PLOT3D (.x), STL (.stl), VRML (.wrl), or
VRML97 (.wrl) depending on the type of saved cut currently highlighted.
6 . 4 T h e E x t r e m a Ta b
The Extrema tab provides tabular information about the maximum, minimum
and average function values among all the entities currently selected for
Examine. Shown with the maximum and minimum function values are the
entity which contains the maximum or minimum, the XYZ coordinates of the
cell, and the IJK location. The XYZ coordinates represent the centroid of the
cell. The IJK is the minimum for the cell. For the average function value, only
the value itself is displayed.
 6.9

Tip

For most users maintaining the

true shape of their underlying
geometry is critical to a proper
CAE solution. Prior to exporting
to your solver, always verify the
database constraint of your wall
surface grids using the Data-
base Associativity function. You
may wish to maintain these wall
domains in a particular or set of
layers for easy selection.

Figure 6.4: Use the Extrema tab to see information about the
minimum, maximum and average function values and view the
minimum and maximum value cells.

A very powerful set of tools at the bottom of the Extrema tab panel are
toggles to have the maximum and minimum cells rendered in the Display
window in wireframe style with nodes. Additionally, you can zoom up on
either cell automatically using the Zoom To Maximum and Zoom To
Minimum commands. You can easily restore your previous view using the
Recall Dynamic View toolbar button or from View, Manage Views (Section
5.5).

6.5 Examine Rules

Rules provide a proactive mechanism for you to be alerted when certain grid
quality criteria you set are no longer met. Pointwise keeps track of the rules
you create and alerts you when a rule or rules have become stagnant due to
changes in the grid and therefore must be evaluated. The rules icon (ruler) in
the state area of the Status Bar will show an exclamation point superimposed
indicating this condition (Figure 6.5).

Figure 6.5: The Rules state icon shows that a rule or rules are
s t a g n a n t d u e t o m e s h c h a ng e s a n d m u s t b e e v a l u a t e d .
6.10 Pointwise User Manual
Tip
Be sure to evaluate your rules
when necessary to avoid mesh
problems which could make you
change your mind about some
topology decisions.
Two commands are available on the Grid toolbar (Figure 6.6) for working with
rules. The rules icon with a superimposed green dot is the Evaluate Rules
command. The rules icon with the superimposed light blue circle is the Show/
Hide Rules command.
Figure 6.6: Use the rules commands on the Grid toolbar for quick
rules manipulation.
If you have a rule needing evaluation, as indicated by the icon in the state
area of the Status Bar, simply click the Evaluate Rules command on the
toolbar. If any rule is broken, a new state icon, a broken rule with an “X”
superimposed, will appear in the Status Bar indicating this condition.
Figure 6.7: The Rules state icon shows that a rule or rules are
b r o k e n d u e t o m e s h q u a l i t y c r i t e r i a o u t s i d e y o u r r u l e ’s l i m i t s .
Cells which do not meet the broken rule’s criteria will also be immediately
rendered in the Display window (Figure 6.8). The number of cells rendered is
subject to the Max. Rule Violations preference (Section 4.33), by default set
at 1000 cells.
Figure 6.8: Domain Min. Angle rule violation example showing bad
cells.
If rendering of rule violation cells becomes distracting, you can hide them
quickly using the Show/Hide Rules command on the Grid toolbar. When no
rules are stagnant due to grid changes or broken, the state area icon on the
 6.11

Status Bar shows (Figure 6.9) the rule icon with superimposed green dot.
Rules are saved with your mesh and database to the native project file (.pw).
Tip

When trying to resolve a block

cell quality issue, remember
that poor cells occurring near a
Figure 6.9: The rules icon in the Status Bar shows that no rules are block’s boundary are likely due
currently stagnant or broken. to a problem with the domain
or even connectors near that
The Examine Rules command panel (Figure 6.10) provides an extensive tool
boundary.
set for creating and managing rules. These will be discussed in detail in the
following sections.

Figure 6.10: The Rules panel provides tools for creating and
managing rules.
6.12 Pointwise User Manual
Tip
Use the histogram feature on
your Examine color bar to see
how your cells are distributed
through the range of function
values. You will also see exactly
how many cells fall above and
below your specified color bar
scale Max. and Min.
6.5.1 Rules List
The list at the top of the Examine Rules panel shows all the rules you have
created and their status. If a rule is stagnant and needs to be evaluated due to
mesh changes, the same rule icon with exclamation will appear to the left of
the rule name in the list. If a rule is broken, the broken rule icon will appear. If
a rule is neither stagnant or broken, no icon will appear.
The plus (+) sign next to the rule name can be clicked to expand a list of
entities to which that rule is applied. A rule can be global or entity specific.
When the list of entities is expanded, each will be listed with the number of
cells which do not meet the rule criteria and percentage per entity. Also, each
entity will display the stagnant rule or broken rule icon (Figure 6.11) as
necessary so that you can instantly see which specific entities need to be
evaluated or repaired.
Figure 6.11: Each entity a rule is applied to will individually show
rule status icons for quick and easy identification.
The rules list provides a mechanism for selecting an existing rule to operate
on via the commands found in the following areas of the panel. Note that
only a single rule can be selected at any time.
6.5.2 Manage Rules
Use the Manage Rules frame (Figure 6.12) to create new rules and modify
existing rules. Note that to create a new rule no existing rule can be selected
in the list. Click in an open area of the list to unselect if necessary. Otherwise,
if an existing rule is selected, changes made in the Manage Rules commands
will modify the selected rule.
 6.13

Tip

The Volume Ratio and Area

Ratio functions are excellent
diagnostics for finding cell size
discontinuities at block and
domain interfaces.

Figure 6.12: Create and modify rules using commands in the

Manage Rules frame.

At the top of the Manage Rules frame are three entity icons used to choose
which entity type you wish to apply a rule to: connectors, domains or blocks.
Simply click on the desired entity. Below the type icons is the Rule Name text
field. You can uncheck the accompanying Use Default toggle and enter your
own custom name for a new rule in this field. Leaving Use Default checked
will produce a name automatically from the function name and limit chosen.
The Function pull-down provides a list of all those functions available for the
selected entity type. These functions and how they are calculated are the
same as the function types used for the Examine command. To the right of
the Function selection is the Global toggle. This is checked on by default and
will cause the new rule to be applied to all entities of the selected type,
including those created after the rule has been saved.
The Limit pull-down allows you to select the operator to be used in
conjunction with the Function. To the right of this pull-down is a text field
where you can enter a specific value to compare against the Function and
Operator. For instance, in the example shown in Figure 6.12, a rule has been
created for domains. The Function is Domain Min. Angle, the Limit
operator is > (greater than) and the value is 15. Therefore, this rule indicates
that all domains should have all minimum included angles greater than 15
degrees. If any domain reaches a stage where one or more cells have
minimum included angles 15 degrees or less, this rule will be broken.

Figure 6.13: Create and modify rules for database associativity in

the Manage Rules frame.
6.14 Pointwise User Manual
Tip
When you wish to scan cutting
planes through a block to look
only at the mesh without a
function plotted, switch the
Function Type to None.
In another example shown in Figure 6.13, a rule has been created for
connectors. The Function is Connector on Database, the Limit operator is
== (equal) and the value is 1. This rule indicates that all connectors should be
database constrained. It will be broken if any unconstrained connectors are
spotted.
The Color icon allows you to open the standard color palette tool to select a
color to be used to render all cells which violate the rule being created or
modified. The color is defaulted to red (255, 0, 0).
At the bottom of the frame you can Save Rule if this is a new rule or changes
have been made to a selected existing rule. Or you can Delete a selected rule.
6.5.3 Apply Rules
The Apply Rules frame (Figure 6.14) provides a selection mode which allows
you to select which entities a rule, either new or selected existing, should be
applied to when the Global (see above) option is not checked. Note that any
changes to a rule must be saved first, including unchecking the Global
option, before the Begin command is available.
Figure 6.14: Use Apply Rules to select the entities to which a rule
should be applied.
Use the Begin command to enter into pick mode for the relevant entity type.
The command button label changes to End. Press End to leave pick mode.
Cancel allows you to exit from pick mode without making any changes to the
selection.
6.5.4 Evaluate Rules
The Evaluate Rules frame (Figure 6.15) provides several commands used for
forcing evaluation of rules and showing and hiding cells rendered for broken
rules.
Figure 6.15: Use the commands in the Evaluate Rules to frame to
force rule evaluation and to show or hide broken rule cells.
Use the Evaluate command any time a rule has become stagnant due to mesh
changes. This will force the rule’s Function to be calculated on the entities
the rule is applied to (all for Global) and compared to the Limit to determine
 6.15

if any cells break the rule. Evaluate is only available when a rule is selected in
the list.
Tip
Hide will turn off the rendering of any cells which break the currently
selected rule. This command button changes its label to Show when a hidden
Generally you do not want to
rule is selected in the list. Press Show to restore rendering of cells which
break the selected rule. Hide/Show are only available when a rule is selected toggle on rendering of all Jaco-
in the list. bian cell types. Since all cells
would be rendered in a block,
Evaluate All forces evaluation of all existing rules. Hide All will turn off
you would not be able to distin-
rendering of any cells which break all existing rules. Show All will turn back
on rendering of cells which break all existing rules. guish the bad from the good.
Also, doing this for a large
number of cells could incur
6 . 6 E x a m i n e F u n c t i o n Ty p e s some performance issues on
older processors.
This section will discuss the individual Function Types and how they are
calculated where relevant.

6.6.1 None
No diagnostic function is calculated for the selected entities. This type is
primarily useful when you wish to scan a block’s interior using cutting planes
without having a function plotted on the cutting plane.

6.6.2 Jacobian
For structured blocks and prism blocks only, the Jacobian is computed for
each cell. The Jacobian computation for hexahedra consists of computing the
triple product at each of the cell's corners using only other grid points from
that cell and then computing the average of the corner Jacobians. For prisms,
the triple product is pre-multiplied by a coefficient of 0.5.

Figure 6.16: Use the Options frame to toggle on rendering of

individual cells by Jacobian classification.

Positive, Positive Skew, Zero, Negative Skew, and Negative Jacobian cells can
be individually rendered in the Display window by toggling each type in the
Options frame (Figure 6.16). The number and total percent of cells for each
6.16 Pointwise User Manual

Jacobian Categor y can be seen in the Count and Percent columns. These cell
Jacobians are classified according to Table 6.1.
Tip

Pointwise’s Equiangle, Equiarea, Table 6.1: Jacobian Classifications

and Equivolume Skewness func-
tions are directly comparable to Jacobian Average Value of Sign of Corner
®
Fluent ’s diagnostics of similar Classification Corner Jacobians Jacobians
name and are highly recom-
Positive Positive All Positive
mended if you are running this
solver. Positive Skew Positive Mixed Signs

Zero Zero

Negative Skew Negative Mixed Signs

Negative Negative All Negative

6 . 6 . 3 Vo l u m e
For blocks only, hexahedral cell volume is computed using the method of
Davies and Salmond (Ref. 6) which uses pyramid decomposition. Tetrahedral
cell volume is computed by calculating the cross product of two of the cell’s
edges, taking the dot product of that amount, and pre-multiplying the result
by 1/6.

6 . 6 . 4 C o m p o n e n t Vo l u m e
For all block types, component volumes are defined by subdividing hexahedra,
prism, and pyramid cells into "component" tetrahedral cells. For instance,
hexahedral cells can be decomposed into six tetrahedral cells. The volume of
each component tetrahedra is calculated and the minimum value reported.

6.6.5 Area
For domains only, quadrilateral cell area is computed by taking the minimum
of two areas computed by triangulating the cell along its two diagonals.
Triangular cell area is computed as the coefficient 0.5 multiplied by one of the
triangle’s edge’s and the height of the cell from that edge to the opposing
vertex.

6.6.6 Edge Length

True cell edge length from grid point to grid point. Available for structured
and unstructured domains and blocks and connectors. The Examine probe
will display cell edges with end points and the corresponding length displayed
on the color bar.
 6.17

6.6.7 Length I, J, or K
Distance in the chosen computational coordinate direction between the Tip
current IJK point and the index+1 point. This function will be calculated
across entity boundaries as long as the adjacent entities are loaded into Use Maximum Included
Examine as well. Otherwise, the stencil direction will be reversed as necessary
Angle rather than Aspect
at the entity boundary.
Ratio for examining grids that
6 . 6 . 8 Vo l u m e , A r e a R a t i o contain anisotropic cells. Such
cells are usually long and slim
Volume Ratio and Area Ratio are available when blocks or domains are so they may have high aspect
selected, respectively, for Examine. They are both calculated in the same
ratios.
manner as follows:
max [Size(i)/minSizeAdj(j), maxSizeAdj(j)/Size(i)]
where:
Size(i) = area or volume of the cell i
minSizeAdj(j) = minimum area or volume of the adjacent cell j
maxSizeAdj(j) = maximum area or volume of the adjacent cell j
These functions are calculated across entity boundaries when adjacent
entities are also selected for Examine.

6.6.9 Length Ratio I, J, or K

Length Ratio computes the ratio between the distance from the current IJK
coordinate to the index+1 point and the distance from the current IJK to the
index-1 point in the computational direction chosen. The larger of the two
distances is always divided into the smaller, so all values range between 0 and
1. Furthermore, this function will be calculated across entity boundaries as
long as the adjacent entities are loaded into Examine as well. Otherwise, the
value at boundaries will be set to 1.
Since this function is directional along computational coordinates, adjacent
entities must be computationally aligned in order for reference surfaces to
exhibit a continuous variation in the function across entity boundaries. Non-
aligned entities will display a discontinuity across their common boundary.

6.6.10 Aspect Ratio

Quadrilateral cell aspect ratio is computed from the ratio of the average
length and average width. The aspect ratio is always greater than or equal to
1 with a value of 1 representing a square.
Hexahedral cell aspect ratio is computed from the ratio of the maximum of
the length, width, and height and the minimum of the length, width, and
height. The aspect ratio is always greater than or equal to 1 with a value of 1
representing a cube.
Triangular cell aspect ratio is computed as the long edge of the triangle
divided by the short edge.
6.18 Pointwise User Manual
Tip
The Evaluate Rules and Show/
Hide Rules commands are
placed on the Grid toolbar by
default for easy access to these
rules capabilities.
Tetrahedral cell aspect ratio is computed as the ratio of the radius of the cell’s
circumscribing sphere to 3 times the radius of the inscribed sphere.
Prism aspect ratio is the ratio of the average height of the prism and the
average length of the base’s (triangle) edges. The aspect ratio of a prism can
be less than 1.
Pyramid aspect ratio is the ratio of the height of the pyramid and the average
length of the base’s (quadrilateral) edges. The aspect ratio of a pyramid can
be less than1.
6.6.11 Smoothness I, J, or K
For structured grid entities, the normalized turning angle is calculated in the
selected computational direction.
The Smoothness function is a point based measure. Pointwise computes the
angle turned while traversing three adjacent coordinates: index-1, the current
IJK, and index+1 in the computational direction chosen. A value of 1 indicates
there is no turn, or the three points are colinear. A value of 0.5 indicates a 90
degree turn. And a value of 0 indicates a 180 degree turn, or the grid is
folded onto itself. Furthermore, this function will be calculated across entity
boundaries as long as the adjacent entities are loaded into Examine as well.
Otherwise, the value at boundaries will be set to 1.
Since this function is directional along computational coordinates, adjacent
entities must be computationally aligned in order for reference surfaces to
exhibit a continuous variation in the function across entity boundaries. Non-
aligned entities will display a discontinuity across their common boundary.
Block adjacency is determined by block connections using a common
boundary.
6.6.12 Minimum Included Angle
The Minimum Included Angle is a measure of skewness. This skewness
function is represented by the cell's included minimum angle in degrees for all
types of grid.
6.6.13 Maximum Included Angle
The Maximum Included Angle is a measure of skewness. This skewness
function is represented by the cell's included maximum angle in degrees for
all types of grid.
6.6.14 Equiangle Skewness
The Equiangle Skewness is represented as the maximum ratio of the cell's
included angle to the angle of an equilateral element. The angle skewness
applies to all cell types and is available for domains and blocks. The angle
skewness varies between 0 (good) and 1 (bad). It is recommended this
skewness measure be kept below 0.8 for a good grid; values below 0.9 are
acceptable, depending on the solver.
 6.19

The Equiangle Skewness is computed as follows:

( Q max – Q e ) ( Q e – Q min ) Tip
max ------------------------------, -----------------------------
( 180 – Q e ) Qe
IJK cut scans through a multi-
where: block grid will perform much
Q max = largest angle in cell, in degrees better if you Align (Edit, Orient)
your blocks beforehand.
Q min = smallest angle in cell, in degrees
Q e = angle for equilateral element (i.e. 60 for triangle, 90 for quad, etc.)

The Equiangle function is based on Fluent ®’s equiangle grid quality criteria.

6.6.15 Equiarea, Equivolume Skewness

The Equiarea, Equivolume Skewness functions are represented as a ratio of
the cell’s area/volume to the optimum cell area/volume and only applies to
triangles and tetrahedra. The measure varies between 0 (good) and 1 (bad). It
is recommended this skewness measure be kept below 0.8 for a good grid;
values below 0.9 are acceptable, depending on the solver.
The skewness is computed as follows:
(Optimal Cell Size - Actual Cell Size) / (Optimal Cell Size)
where:
Optimal Cell Size is the area (for domains) or volume (for blocks) of an
equilateral cell with the same circumradius as the actual cell.
The Equiarea, Equivolume Skewness functions are based on Fluent ® ’s
equiarea, equivolume grid quality criteria.

6.6.16 Centroid Skewness

Centroid Skewness is defined as 1 minus the maximum dot product between
the cell face normal and the vector connecting the cell centroid and the face
centroid. Values range from 0 (no-skew) to 1 (collapsed cell). This measure is
only valid for block cells.

6 . 6 . 1 7 Wa l l S p a c i n g
For structured domains and unstructured domains used in a prism block the
spacing of grid points adjacent to the domain is calculated. This function is
intended to assist those building viscous grids since it provides near wall
spacing in a very accessible manner.
The Wall Spacing function is a measure of the distance from each point on
the domain to the adjacent point on the interior of the associated block. For
this function the probe will render the point-to-point cell edge being
measured at individual points on the boundary domain. Of course, the
corresponding value will be labeled on the color bar.
6.20 Pointwise User Manual
Tip
When creating viscous solution
meshes you should take advan-
tage of the Wall Spacing and
Wall Orthogonality functions to
easily verify these mesh quali-
ties on domains which lie on
the geometry.
Unstructured domains not in a prism block, structured domains in an
unstructured block, and structured domains bounding a prism block have all
values set to zero (0) for this function.
6.6.18 Wall Orthogonality
For structured domains and unstructured domains used in a prism block the
orthogonality of grid points adjacent to the domain is calculated. This
function is intended to assist those building viscous grids since it provides
near wall orthogonality in a very accessible manner.
The orthogonality function is a measure of the minimum angle between the
line formed by a point on the domain and the first point on the interior of the
associated block and the surface of the domain. The maximum value or
perfect orthogonality is 90 degrees. The minimum value is 0 degrees. For this
function the probe will render the point-to-point cell edge as well as the
surface points/edges being used to calculate the angle relative to the
boundary domain. Of course, the corresponding value will be labeled on the
color bar.
Unstructured domains not in a prism block, structured domains in an
unstructured block, and structured domains bounding a prism block have all
values set to zero (0) for this function.
6.6.19 Database Associativity
For connectors and domains only, selecting Database Associativity causes
grid points that are on and/or off the database to be rendered in the Display
window. In the Options frame, the toggle buttons On and Off (Figure 6.17)
indicate whether or not to render grids points that are on or off the database,
respectively. The number and total percent of grid points that are on or off
the database can be seen in the Count and Percent columns. Keep in mind
that Pointwise considers a point to be off the database if the point does not
have an explicit reference to a database entity and parametric coordinates. A
point flagged as off may actually be within the same point tolerance of the
database.
Figure 6.17: Use Database Associativity to visually determine which
grid points are database constrained.
 6.21

Cursor over a point that is constrained to a database entity, as shown in

Figure 6.18, the UV coordinates and the name of the associated database
entity will be displayed in the Probe area. Tip

A point that is off the target

database entity can be cor-
rected using the Tweak com-
mand.

Figure 6.18: The UV values will be displayed in the probe area if a

p o i n t i s c o n s t r a i n e d t o a d a t a b a s e e n t i t y.

If you wish to examine other entities of the same type as the current
selection, expand the Selection frame (Figure 6.19)and click on Begin. Press
End when the new selection is completed. It can be highlighted in the
Display if Highlight Selection is checked.

Figure 6.19: The Selection frame allows you to select other entities
of the same type as the current selection for examination.

6.6.20 Boundary Proximity

For database surfaces and curves, Boundar y Proximity displays the closest
point distance between the boundaries of the selected surfaces or curves.
This function can aid in the determination of an appropriate tolerance when
assembling models.
6.22 Pointwise User Manual
Good grids usually look good!
6.6.21 Surface Proximity
For database surfaces only, Surface Proximity displays the closest point
distance between interior points of the selected surfaces. This function can
aid in the determination of how well a created surface matches an original,
for instance, when using the Edit, Spine command to fit a bi-linear surface
with a continuous one.
6.6.22 U,V
For database surfaces only, U,V turns the mouse cursor into a UV parametric
line hiliter or probe. Wherever the cursor is located, constant U and V lines
will be displayed. Click the left mouse, probe style (Section 6.2.2) to have a
UV location remain displayed while you continue to hilight other values. This
feature allows you to easily view the true shape of the parametric lines which
define your surfaces. Unusually shaped parametric coordinates can affect the
initialization of Parametric TFI domains (Section 9.5.1.1).
The Cuts tab is not available for the U,V function. However, the Extrema tab
is available, showing XYZ coordinate locations of the maximum and minimum
UV coordinate values.
 Chapter 7

Select Menu

7.1
7.2 Pointwise User Manual

7.1 Overview
Tip
The S e l e c t menu provides a variety of high-level selection tools. Basic
Pointwise supports defacto selection in Pointwise is performed simply by clicking on an entity with the
left mouse button, defacto standard selection tools like Shift+Left Mouse
standard selection tools like
for range selection, and Control+Left Mouse for additive selection.
Ctrl+Left Mouse and
These operations are available directly without going through the menu.
Shift+Left Mouse for additive
The tools in the Select menu are used to select multiple objects and to
and range selections. change selection behavior.

Figure 7.1: The Select menu provides high-level control to select

g r o u p s o f e n t i t i e s a n d c ha n g e s e l e c t i o n b e h a v i o r.

7.2 Select All

The Select All command, as its name implies, selects all entities and is subject
to the current selection mask and the show/hide status of the entities. For
example, if the selection mask is set to only allow selection of domains,
Select All will pick all domains that are currently not hidden.
The accelerator for Select All is Ctrl+A.

7.3 Unselect All

The Unselect All command unselects all selected entities. Unselect All is not
dependent on the current selection mask or show/hide status of individual
entities. After Unselect All completes, there will be no entities selected.
The accelerator for Unselect All is Ctrl+D.

7 . 4 To g g l e S e l e c t i o n

The Toggle Selection command reverses the selection states of all entities and
is dependent on current masking and visibility states. For example, if the
selection mask is set to only allow selection of domains and you select one
 7.3

domain in your grid, Toggle Selection will unselect that domain and select all
other domains.
Tip
The accelerator for Toggle Selection is Ctrl+T.
If Adjacent and All Adjacent do
7.5 Angle Limit not pick an entity you think
they should, check in Grid,
Merge to see if it is actually
Angle Limit is used by the Adjacent (Section 7.6) and All Adjacent (Section
7.7) commands to set the bend angle within which entities should be topologically connected.
considered adjacent. The default angle limit is the maximum of 180 degrees.

7.6 Adjacent

Adjacent selects entities that are topologically connected to similar type

entities already in the list and are within the specified Angle Limit (Section
7.5). It is type dependent, meaning that it adds blocks that are adjacent to
blocks in the selection list, domains that are next to domains in the selection
list, connectors that are adjacent to connectors, database curves that are
adjacent to database curves, and database surfaces that are adjacent to
database surfaces in the selection list.
Adjacent is a quick way to choose a set of topologically connected entities.
It is particularly handy for building faces during block assembly and extrusion.
The accelerator for Adjacent is Ctrl+Shift+N.

7.7 All Adjacent

All Adjacent recursively selects entities topologically connected to entities in

the current selection list and within the specified Angle Limit (Section 7.5).
Like the Adjacent command, it only selects entity types similar to those
already selected. Due to its recursion, All Adjacent selects all entities that
are connected through topology to the current selection.
All Adjacent is available to use while building faces for block assembly and
extrusion.
The accelerator for All Adjacent is Ctrl+Shift+A.

7.8 Mask

Select, Mask opens the Mask panel, which gives more detailed control over
the pick mask than the Mask toolbar implementation provides.
7.4 Pointwise User Manual

Tip

The Mask toolbar turns off

selection of entire entity fami-
lies. Use the Mask panel for
finer control.

Figure 7.2: The Mask panel provides finer control over pick masks
t h a n a v a i l a b l e o n t h e t o o l b a r.

Entity types that are checked in the Mask panel can be selected, while entity
types that are not checked cannot be picked.
Note there is some interaction between the Mask panel and the Mask
toolbar. If some of the entities in a basic entity type are checked and some
are not, the corresponding toolbar button will appear with a filled in square
rather than a check mark. This indicates that it is neither all on nor all off.
 7.5

For instance, if unstructured blocks are checked on and structured blocks are
checked off in the Mask panel, the check box next to the block symbol in the
Mask toolbar will become filled as shown below. Tip

Keep in mind that selection is

subject to database layer status
and the state of the various
Figure 7.3:The filled check box next to the block symbol in the Show commands in the View
Mask toolbar shows that some types of blocks are pickable but menu.
others are not.

Likewise, Mask toolbar actions will affect the state of the check boxes in the
Mask panel. In the example above, if the check box next to the block symbol
is checked, all the block types will become selectable and the corresponding
check boxes in the Mask panel will have check marks in them.
Similar interaction also occurs between the Mask toolbar and the List. That
is, if the check box next to the block symbol is unchecked, none of the blocks
will be selectable in the List. Note that when the Mask is checked on for
database boundaries, these entities can only be seen and selected in the
Display window and are not available in the List panel.
The accelerator for Mask is Ctrl+M.

7.9 Entity Count

Select, Entity Count opens the Entity Count panel that gives a summary of
all entities currently in Pointwise, their show/hide, selection, and layer status
as shown in Figure 7.4.

F i g u r e 7 . 4 : T h e E n t i t y C o u n t p a n e l s h o w s a s u m m a r y o f t h e g r i d ’s
entity count and status.
7.6 Pointwise User Manual
 Chapter 8

Create Menu

8.1
8.2 Pointwise User Manual

8.1 Overview
Tip
The Create menu provides commands for creating all entity types available in
Use Draw Curves when more Pointwise: connectors, domains, blocks and database entities. Many of the
commands in this menu require entity selection before the command will be
efficient topology creation
available; some do not.
tools, such as 2 Point Curves
and Connectors on Database
Entities, do not fit the task at
hand.

Figure 8.1: The Create menu provides commands for creation of all
entity types.

8.2 Draw Curves

The Draw Cur ves command does not require selection. These curves can be
either database or connector curves, and can be made up of multiple
segments. Since connectors are the fundamental grid entity in Pointwise,
from which domains and blocks derive their shape and distribution of grid
points, extensive control is provided to define their shape.
 8.3

Tip

Generally, it is not necessary to

create database curves for the
purposes of generating connec-
tor topology on top of them.
Database curves are necessary
Figure 8.2: The Draw Curves submenu is used to select the default
in most cases, however, when
segment type used upon opening the Draw Curve panel.
you need to create higher level
Select Create, Draw Curves. A submenu (Figure 8.2) is provided to choose database entities, such as a sur-
from a list of all the available segment types: Line, Cur ve, Line on Database, face of revolution.
Curve on Database, Circle, Conic and Pole. This will be the default
segment type applied when the Draw Curve panel (Figure 8.3) opens. Define
the necessary points for the new curve to be created. When the new curve is
complete, click OK to save it and close the panel, or click Apply to save the
curve and continue on to the next new curve.

Figure 8.3: Use the Draw Curve panel to create general curves of
any type or shape.
8.4 Pointwise User Manual
Tip
The Line on Database and Curve
on Database commands are
particularly useful for creating
connectors which do not lie on
the boundaries of a database
entity. Boundary connectors
can be easily created using Con-
nectors on Database Entities.
At the top of the Draw Curve panel (Figure 8.3) you will find a table which
lists the Segment Number currently in work and the number of Control
Points currently defined for that segment.
Below the summary table, you can choose the Entity Type of your new
curves: Connector or Database.
In the segment Type frame (Figure 8.3), there are buttons representing all the
segment types Pointwise supports: Line, Cur ve, Line on Database, Curve on
Database, Circle, Conic, and Pole. Simply click a segment Type button to
choose that type for the current segment under construction. The segment
types are defined here:
Line segments can be created freely in three dimensional space and
are piece-wise linear.
Curve segments can be created freely in three dimensional space and
are cubic polynomials between successive points. Their slope is
defined either by a Catmull-Rom, Akima or Bezier control algorithm.
Choose which slope control is used in the Cur ve Segment Options
frame (Figure 8.4). A Catmull-Rom slope at a given point is parallel to
a chord between the two adjacent points. At the end of a curve, the
slope will be tangent to the end point and the adjacent point. An
Akima slope at a given point uses a stencil of five consecutive points
and produces curves with fewer “wiggles” or overshoot. One result of
the five point stencil is that three consecutive points which lie on a line
will have linear slope between them. The Bezier option allows slope
control at each control point. The slope must remain continuous. If a
slope discontinuity is desired, a new segment must be started at the
location of the discontinuity.
Figure 8.4: Use the Curve Segment Options frame to choose either
Catmull-Rom, Akima or Bezier slope control for Curve segments.
Line on Database segments are constrained to lie on an underlying
database curve, surface, or quilt and are piece-wise linear. This seg-
ment type should be used whenever you want to create a connector
along a constant parameter line on a database entity such as a surface
boundary. The Project Shape To DB command in the On Database
Options frame (Figure 8.5) becomes available once a second control
point is chosen on a database surface. Use this command to project
the shape of a line onto a database by adding control points. This
command is generally used when a line passes over a hole on a quilt or
trimmed surface. Control points will then be added so that the line
goes around the hole. Note that since the point insertion is conserva-
tive, the command may need to be applied multiple times to add more
control points.
 8.5

Tip

Circle segments are particularly

F i g u r e 8 . 5 : U s e P r o j e c t S h a p e To D B i n t h e O n D a t a b a s e O p t i o n s well suited to creating cylindri-
frame to modify your line/curve such that it conforms more to the cal or spherical far field topol-
underlying database. ogy.

Curve on Database segments are constrained to lie on an underly-

ing database curve, surface, or quilt and are cubic polynomials
between successive points. Their slope is defined either by a Catmull-
Rom or Akima control algorithm described above for the Curve seg-
ment type. The Project Shape To DB command in the On Database
Options frame (Figure 8.5) becomes available once a second control
point is chosen on a database surface. This command projects the
shape of a curve onto a database in two different ways depending on
the type of surface. For a B-Spline surface, the slopes of the curve are
modified. For a quilt or trimmed surface, control points are added. In
the second case, you will most often use this command when a curve
passes over a hole on a quilt or trimmed surface. Control points are
then added so that the curve goes around the hole. Note that since
the point insertion is conservative, the command may need to be
applied multiple times to add more control points.

Circle segments are true circular arcs defined by exactly three points.
The first two points are the ends of the arc and the third point will lie
on the interior of the arc between the first two (2 Points & Shoulder).
Alternatively, the third point can define the center of the circle.
Change the role of the third point using the commands in the Circle
Segment Options frame (Figure 8.6). Select 2 Points & Center to
have the third point define the center point.

Figure 8.6: Use the Circle Segment Options frame to change the
role of the third point of a Circle segment.

You can also use a sweep angle to define a circular arc. Select 2
Points & Angle in the Circle Segment Options frame and enter the
sweep Angle in the text field (Figure 8.6). Define the two end points
of the arc as before. The appropriate arc will be generated necessary
to sweep the input angle between the two arc endpoints. Use Flip to
8.6 Pointwise User Manual

reverse the arc if necessary. Or you can use Point, Center, & Angle to
specify first a point on the arc, then the center point of the arc and
Tip enter the angle swept by this radius in the Angle field. Again, use
Flip to reverse the arc if necessary.
The Assemble command
assesses all possible topology Conic segments are true conic sections defined by exactly three
loops when constructing points. The first two points are the ends of the conic and the third
domains and blocks. In many point, the Shoulder, will lie on the interior of the conic between the
first two. Alternatively, the third point can define the conic’s Tangent
cases it may be more efficient
Intersection. Change the role of the third point using the commands
to select only subsets of your
in the Conic Segment Options frame, Shoulder or Tangent Inter-
topology for assembly rather
section (Figure 8.7). In both modes the tangent lines and their inter-
than the entire set. section are displayed for reference. Additionally, the conic’s ρ (rho)
value can be adjusted using the provided text field.

Figure 8.7: Use the Conic Segment Options frame to change the
role of the third point of a Conic segment or adjust the ρ value.

Pole segments have zero physical length and are defined by a single
point. These segments can be dimension with any number of grid
points and are necessary for creating structured grids with singulari-
ties.
Below the segment Type frame you will find the standard Point Placement
frame (Section 2.5.8). Note that the Delete key on your keyboard can be
used as an accelerator for the Points Delete command in this frame.
The Segments frame (Figure 8.3) provides controls related to entire curve
segments. At least two points are required to define a single segment, except
when creating a pole, which requires only one point. When starting a new
curve, after one point is defined, the Delete command becomes active. This
command will remove the current segment from the curve. If it is the only
segment, the curve will be cleared. Once two points have been defined, the
Segments Add and Insert commands also become active. Segments Add
will save the existing segment and move to defining a new segment at the
end of the existing segment. Segments Insert will save the existing segment
and move to defining a new segment at the beginning of the existing
segment. Saving portions of a curve as different segments allows you to use
a different segment Type (see below) for each segment. This provides the
ability to create very complex curve shapes.
The Current Segment arrow command buttons allow you to navigate
through the segments in a curve either toward the beginning or end of the
curve under construction. Since the Draw Curves command allows you to
 8.7

edit the curve under construction at any time, the Current Segment control
allows you to navigate to some other segment to edit it if necessary.
Tip

8.3 2 Point Curves The Assemble Special command

will become necessary in cases
The 2 Point Cur ves command can be considered to be a subset of the more which cannot be assembled
general Draw Cur ves command (Section 8.2). Here you can create linear automatically, such as a com-
curves defined by only two points very quickly. This efficiency is due to an plex structured domain with
automatic Apply that occurs following every second point placement. multiple poles or unstructured
Therefore all you have to do is define consecutive pairs of points and with domain with multiple edges.
each second point placement a new connector or database curve is defined.
Select Create, 2 Point Cur ves. Then define consecutive pairs of points for
each new curve to be created. When done creating 2 Point Curves, click OK
to close the panel.

Figure 8.8: The 2 Point Curves panel provides a reduced set of

commands relative to the more general Draw Curves command.

As with the Draw Curves command, at the top of the 2 Point Curves panel
you can choose the Entity Type of your new curves: Connector or Database.
Below you will find the standard Point Placement frame (Section 2.5.8).
Unique to the 2 Point Curves command is the option to either Delete Last
Point or Delete Last Cur ve depending on which point definition you are on.
On the first point defined the command button provides the Delete Last
Point option. After the second point and new curve is defined the command
button provides the Delete Last Curve option. Note that the Delete key on
your keyboard can be used as an accelerator for these two deletion options.
8.8 Pointwise User Manual

8.4 Assemble
Tip
The Assemble command provides tools for automated assembly of domain
Use the face diagram in Assem- and block grid entities and assembly of model and quilt database entities. All
of these tools are discussed in detail below.
ble Special for structured blocks
to be sure your complex faces
are being linked properly.

Figure 8.9: Use the Assemble submenu to access the automated

assemble tools.

8.4.1 Domains & Blocks

The Assemble, Domains & Blocks command requires selection prior to use.
The selection should consist of either connectors or both connectors and
domains. Domains or blocks will be assembled from the selected entities.
The type of domains or blocks created, structured or unstructured, is subject
to the state of the Grid, Set Type command (Section 9.2). Note that the
Assemble command may require significant time to execute, depending on
the entities selected.

F i g u r e 8 . 1 0 : T h e A s s e m b l e c om m a n d a u t o m a t i c a l l y assembles
d o m a i n s a n d / o r b l o c k s b a s e d o n t o p o l o g y.

The Domains Blocks panel (Figure 8.10) provides a few controls over the
automated assembly logic. In the Entities to Assemble frame, you can
choose whether Domains Only should be created, or both Domains and
Blocks. By default, Assemble is set to create both Domains and Blocks.
Options in the Topology frame allow you to control how topology is
considered for domain assembly. The Manifold check box, which is off by
default, allows connectors to only be used twice at most. The Solid check
box, which is on by default, assumes that all the topology selected essentially
 8.9

forms a closed volume and will continue looking for domain loop paths where
all candidate connectors have only been used once.
Tip
On the toolbar, the Assemble command’s functionality is available through
the Assemble Domains or Assemble Blocks commands. The latter may also
Assemble Special will be neces-
create domains if necessary. Neither of these commands opens a panel, but
they do employ the settings from your last use of Assemble, Domains & sary for creating unstructured
Blocks. blocks with multiple faces.
These are unstructured blocks
8.4.2 Models that have holes in the interior
of the volume.
The Assemble Models (Figure 8.11) command is only available when
database surfaces are present. Once this is true the command is available
regardless of current selection. However, after the panel is open, only
database surfaces will be considered and available for further selection.

Figure 8.11: Use the Assemble Models panel to construct new

models.

Models are primarily used to stitch a set of database surfaces together in

order to overcome any surface-surface gaps and facilitate meshing of your
geometry. Note non-parametric surfaces such as shell entities cannot be
assembled into models.
When assembling models it is important to note that they do not have to be
closed. Entering the command with no database surfaces selected will present
the panel shown in Figure 8.11. As surfaces are selected the total is shown in
the table as Surfaces. Also, the Assemble command will be available once a
surface or surfaces are selected. Assemble will have the selected surfaces
combined into as few models as possible subject to the Edge Tolerance. This
tolerance represents the single maximum physical edge distance between two
surfaces. Uncheck Use Default to adjust the tolerance if necessary to
8.10 Pointwise User Manual

overcome larger gaps. The total number of assembled models is then shown
in the table as Models. Use the Clear Assembly command to clear out the
Tip current assembled model while leaving the selection active. The simple
database shown below (Figure 8.12) will be used to illustrate assembly.
Block orientations are set up
automatically by Pointwise so
you can concentrate on assem-
bling your topology. You can
change these default orienta-
tions at any time using the Edit,
Orient command.

Figure 8.12: A simple database is used to illustrate database model

a s s e m b l y.

Selecting all of the database surfaces for this geometry and clicking
Assemble in the panel produces the rendering seen in Figure 8.13 and the
results shown in the Assemble Models table in Figure 8.14.

Figure 8.13: Rendering changes to reflect the models assembled.

Each resulting model is rendered shaded in a different color per model. In

this case there are five models: one for the body and one each for the four
fins. Note the light blue edges rendered for all of the original surfaces. These
indicate manifold connections between the surfaces; each common edge is
used exactly twice between two adjacent surfaces. The table (Figure 8.14)
indicates there are 24 of these Manifold Boundaries. The table also
indicates there are 8 Lamina Boundaries. These are surface edges used only
 8.11

once, or edges that are free. In this case the fins pass through the body and
the open root edges of the fins are free. It is also important to note that each
individual surface is converted into a single quilt during model assemble. Tip

The automated Assemble com-

mand should be able to create
all simple one-connector-per-
edge structured domains for
you. Use Assemble Special for
complex domain topologies,
particularly those with multiple
Figure 8.14: The results of Assemble are tabulated at the top of the pole connectors.
panel.

Use the Automatic Quilt Assembly option (Figure 8.15) to have multi-
surface quilts created automatically during model assembly. Check on Enable
for this option to be active. Quilts will be defined subject to the turning
Angle. Surfaces meeting at a common edge with turning angle less than
Angle will be combined into a quilt. See Section 8.4.3 for more information
on quilts and assembling them separately.

Figure 8.15: Use Automatic Quilt Assembly to create quilts as a

p o s t - p r o c e s s o f m o d e l a s s e m b l y.

8.4.3 Quilts
The Assemble Quilts command is only available when models are present.
Once this is true the command is available regardless of current selection.
However, after the panel is open, only database surfaces which are part of a
model will be considered and available for further selection. Hence, quilts
can be assembled only after models exist and from the surfaces making up
those models. This allows quilts to inherit the watertight surface linking from
the existing models.
8.12 Pointwise User Manual

Tip

The automated Assemble com-

mand should be able to create
all single edge unstructured
domains for you. Use assemble
special for complex domain
topologies, particularly those
with multiple edges.

Figure 8.16: Use the Assemble Quilts panel to construct new quilts.

Quilts are groups of surfaces typically representing mesh topological regions.

Entering the command with no database quilts selected will present the panel
shown in Figure 8.16. As quilts are selected the total is shown in the table as
Quilts. Also, the Assemble command will be available once two or more
quilts are selected. Assemble will have the selected quilts combined into as
few larger quilts as possible subject to the turning Angle. Quilts meeting at a
common edge with turning angle less than Angle will be combined into a
larger quilt. Uncheck Use Default to adjust the turning angle as appropriate.
The total updated number of original and assembled quilts is then shown in
the table as Quilts. Use the Clear Assembly command to clear out the
current assembled quilt while leaving the selection active. The simple
database shown below (Figure 8.17) will be used to illustrate assembly.

Figure 8.17: A simple database is used to illustrate database quilt

a s s e m b l y.

Selecting all of the quilts rendered in rainbow colors (4 in this case, one each
for upper and lower fin surface and two for the fin tip) updates the Assemble
Quilts table as seen in Figure 8.18. The Assemble command becomes active.
 8.13

Tip

Be sure to turn off the Auto

Save option when using Assem-
Figure 8.18: The table updates to reflect quilt selection and ble Special to create unstruc-
boundary status. tured domains with multiple
edges (holes on the interior),
In this example, Angle is set to 65 degrees. (Leaving the default Angle, 180 otherwise, the first edge
degrees, essentially results in all selected quilts being assembled together at defined will be saved automati-
common manifold boundaries.) Clicking Assemble in the panel produces the cally as a domain.
rendering seen in Figure 8.19 and the results shown in the Assemble Quilts
table in Figure 8.20.

Figure 8.19: Rendering changes to reflect the quilts assembled

Note after assembly there are now only two quilts. One represents the entire
fin surface from trailing edge, around the leading edge and back to the
trailing edge. The other represents the fin tip. Both are the combination of
two original quilts, or ultimately, two original surfaces prior to model
assembly. Two Lamina Boundaries or free edges remain for the root of the
fin. These assembled quilts now logically represent mesh topological regions.

Figure 8.20: After clicking Assemble there are fewer quilts and
manifold boundaries.
8.14 Pointwise User Manual
Tip
The extrusion tools can produce
high quality domains and blocks
in a rapid fashion. Due to this
rapid nature, these parts of
your topology can be easily rec-
reated later if you need to
rework portions of your mesh.
8.5 Assemble Special
The Assemble Special command does not require selection. Keep in mind
that most domain and block definitions can be created automatically using
the Create, Assemble, Domains & Blocks command (Section 8.4).
Assemble Special should be used when the automated Assemble command
fails to create the desired result. For example, Assemble cannot create an
unstructured domain with a hole in it. Selecting Assemble Special from the
Create menu provides a submenu containing a list of the entities available for
manual assembly. Currently only domains and blocks are supported (Figure
8.21).
Figure 8.21: The Assemble Special submenu provides access to the
domain and block manual assembly tools.
The type of domains or blocks assembled, structured or unstructured, is
subject to the state of the Grid, Set Type command (Section 9.2).
8.5.1 Block
Use Create, Assemble Special, Block to open the Assemble Block panel.
This panel will differ slightly depending on which type, structured or
unstructured, of block you are assembling.
8.5.1.1 Structured Block Assembly
Manual block assembly proceeds by creating each of the six structured block
faces individually. Pick the domain or domains in the Display window which
form a single face. This command automatically overrides the Mask so that
only structured domains can be picked. When the face is complete, use Save
Face (Figure 8.22) to save the definition of that face and move on to the
next.
Note that for a structured block face, the Save Face command is grayed out
until the face forms a computationally rectangular region. After at least one
domain is selected for a face, the selection list is further filtered to only
domains that are connected to the face under development. When six faces
have been successfully defined, a default computational orientation is applied
and rendered in the Display window. This orientation can be changed later,
if necessary, using the Edit, Orient command (Section 4.27). Use OK to save
the block definition.
 8.15

Tip

If you are unhappy with the

results of an extrusion, you can
always use the Restart com-
mand to “rewind” it back to
the initial front. You can then
adjust your attributes as desired
and try again.

Figure 8.22: Manual structured block assembly is performed using

the Create, Assemble Special, Block command.

There are a number of commands available during block assembly which are
described here in detail. In the Block frame, the Remove Last Face
command is used to delete the previously defined face from the definition of
the block. This command is only available after a face has been saved and
prior to selection of any domains for the next face.
The Face frame contains all those commands associated with the face
currently under construction. Additionally, at the top of this frame is an area
used to display a computational layout of the face under construction (Figure
8.22).
Remove Last Domain deletes the previously added domain from the current
face definition. This command is only available after at least one domain has
been picked for the current face.
The Domain Once check box is checked on by default and prevents a single
domain from being used more than once in a block definition. This restriction
is generally desirable for typical block topologies and helps to accelerate
domain selection and face creation. However, for a block topology where a
8.16 Pointwise User Manual
Tip
In general the Hyperbolic
method will produce higher
quality structured domains and
blocks. However, when gener-
ating a mixed or combo extru-
sion, it is best to use the same
Method, Algebraic, across all
entities.
block attaches to itself, the Domain Once check box will need to be
unchecked.
Finally, the Save Face command is used to finalize a face definition for the
block under construction and move instantly to the next face definition. This
command will only be available when the face under construction is
computationally rectangular and, of course, after at least one domain as been
picked for the face.
During face assembly multiple entity selection is available using the selection
box in the Display window. Also, once a domain has been selected to begin
face assembly, all adjacent domains which are available to add to the face are
highlighted in a green render color. Only adjacent domains are available for
selection once a face is under construction. This automatic filtering
significantly reduces the pick list facilitating the selection process.
8.5.1.2 Unstructured Block Assembly
Manual block assembly proceeds by creating each closed unstructured block
face individually. Most unstructured blocks will have a single closed face.
Pick the domain or domains in the Display window which form a single face.
This command automatically overrides the Mask so that only unstructured
and structured domains can be picked. When the face is complete, use Save
Face (Figure 8.22) to save the definition of that face and move on to the
next, if necessary.
Figure 8.23: Manual unstructured block assembly is performed
using the Create, Assemble Special, Block command.
Note that for an unstructured block face, the Save Face command is grayed
out until the face is closed. After at least one domain is selected for a face,
the selection list is further filtered to only domains that are connected to the
face under development. Note that the boundary of the face under
construction is highlighted in orange providing a strong visual cue to where
the face is incomplete. After saving a face, the face normals are rendered in
 8.17

the Display window. This orientation can be changed using Begin Flip Face
Orientation if necessary. Use OK to save the block definition or add
additional faces as necessary. Tip
There are a number of commands available during block assembly which are
Care should be taken when
described here in detail. In the Block frame, the Remove Last Face
command is used to delete the previously defined face from the definition of extruding Database Constrained
the block. This command is only available after a face has been saved and domains that the boundaries of
prior to selection of any domains for the next face. these domains are not “bunch-
ing up” at database surface
The Begin Flip Face Orientation command initiates a picking mode during
which a single face may be selected so that its orientation may be reversed. edges. Adjustment to boundary
This reversal is immediate upon picking the face in the Display window. Click conditions may alleviate this
on End Flip Face Orientation to exit from this picking mode. condition.
The Face frame contains all those commands associated with the face
currently under construction. Remove Last Domain deletes the previously
added domain from the current face definition. This command is only
available after at least one domain has been picked for the current face.
The Non-Manifold Connections check box enables non-manifold
connections to be picked during face assembly. Non-manifold domain
connections are defined as three or more domains sharing the same edge. By
default this check box is enabled. This option is available only for
unstructured grids.
The Save Face command is used to finalize a face definition for the block
under construction and move instantly to the next face definition. This
command will only be available when the face under construction is closed.
The Save Baffle Face command saves the current domains as a baffle face. A
baffle face is a non-manifold surface included in an unstructured block definition.
Non-manifold means such faces can have free edges and can join another face along
an edge. In other words, baffle faces can connect to closed faces, other baffle faces,
or can be free standing. They are useful for representing thin surfaces and for gaining
additional control over grid spacing on the interior of unstructured blocks. Note not
all the solvers support baffles. Therefore, always check your solver documentation
before you include any baffles in your grid.
During face assembly multiple entity selection is available using the selection
box in the Display window. As shown in Figure 8.24, once a domain (the
purple color shaded domain) has been selected to begin face assembly, all
adjacent domains which are available to add to the face are highlighted in a
green render color. Only adjacent domains are available for selection once a
face is under construction.
This automatic filtering significantly reduces the pick list facilitating the
selection process. Additional filtering can be imposed on domain selection
dependent on turning angle between adjacent domains using the Select,
Angle Limit command (Section 7.5).
8.18 Pointwise User Manual

Tip

Interior faces can be also added

to an existing block using the
Add Face command.

Figure 8.24: Adjacent domains will be rendered in green when a

d o m a i n i s s e l e c t e d f o r b l o c k a s s e m b l y.

To assemble a block with multiple faces (Figure 8.25), start with the closed,
outer boundary of your volume grid such as “Face #1” in this example. As
soon as “Face #1” is saved, move on to “Face #2” that contains two spherical
domains. The third face is a baffle defined by a free standing domain and has
to be added using the Save Baffle Face command. Once all the faces are
defined, you need to initialize this block for creating a volume grid in
between.

Figure 8.25: Assemble a block with an closed face and baffle face
inside.

8.5.1.3 Domain-Face Linkages

There are instances when domains can be selected during face construction in
a manner in which there is more than one physically separate location at
which the last selected domain can be linked to the face as currently defined.
In those cases, you must choose the linkage which is appropriate for your
topology. When this occurs, the Domain-Face Linkages frame (Figure 8.26)
appears in the Assemble Block panel providing a list of possible linkages and
 8.19

two associated commands. Use Selected Link instructs Pointwise to use the
link currently selected in the linkages list and also highlighted in the Display
window. Do Not Add Domain will remove the last selected domain from the Tip
current face definition.
The Arbitrary Plane boundary
condition can produce instances
where linked connectors actu-
ally are constrained to different
planes possibly resulting in
slight local kinks in grid topol-
ogy. In these cases it may be
necessary to adjust the Toler-
ances found on the Attributes
tab or select a Constant X, Y or
Z boundary condition if the
connectors lie sufficiently close
to one of these planes.

Figure 8.26: Use the linkage list to choose the appropriate linkage
l o c a t i o n f o r y o u r t o p o l o g y.

In many cases, all of the linkage choices will be valid, as in the example
shown in Figure 8.27 where the selected domains form a loop around a
single, as yet unselected, domain. In this case both linkage choices are valid.
8.20 Pointwise User Manual

Tip

The Adjacent Grid and Data-

base Constrained boundary
conditions can produce similar
results in controlling the shape
of a block boundary as it is
extruded. Any time a domain is
available, however, it will be
best to use the Adjacent Grid
BC to enforce the existing grid
distribution as well as shape on
that boundary.

Figure 8.27: In many cases all of the linkage choices are valid.

However, there can be topologies which require a specific linkage to be

chosen for an appropriate block computational topology. The example in
Figure 8.28 shows a topology where a structured block is desired, and the
two selected domains form a single face. Only the highlighted linkage shown
in the figure is valid in this particular case.

Figure 8.28: Sometimes only one linkage choice will be valid.

 8.21

8.5.2 Domain
Use Create, Assemble Special, Domain to open the Assemble Domains Tip
panel. This panel will differ slightly depending on which type, structured or
unstructured, of domain you are assembling. Translational extrusions are per-
fectly suited to creating quick
8.5.2.1 Structured Domain Assembly regular shaped blocks and fill-
Manual domain assembly proceeds by creating each of the four structured ing in far field volumes with
domain edges individually. Pick the connector or connectors sequentially in blocks that maintain grid distri-
the Display window which form a single edge. This command automatically bution throughout the block
overrides the Mask so that only connectors can be picked. When the edge is interior.
complete, use Next Edge (Figure 8.29) to save the definition of that edge
and move on to the next.
Note that the Auto Complete check box is on by default. This setting will
cause the Assemble Domains tool to attempt to determine the final two
edges of a domain automatically after the dimension of the first two edges is
defined. When successful, an automatic Apply results in the domain being
automatically initialized using an algebraic transfinite interpolation (TFI)
(Section 9.7) and rendered in the Display window. Afterward you are
immediately placed back at defining the first edge of an additional domain.

Figure 8.29: Manual structured domain assembly is performed using

the Create, Assemble Special, Domain command.

There are a number of commands available during domain assembly which

are described here in detail. The Structured Domain frame is used to display
a computational layout of the domain under construction (Figure 8.29).
8.22 Pointwise User Manual
Tip
Path style extrusions work well
in those cases where you have
an unusual distribution that you
wish to enforce on a block’s
interior. This unusual distribu-
tion can be assigned to a con-
nector to be used as the extru-
sion path and distribution. The
path connector does not even
necessarily have to be a part of
the over all topology of your
grid. It can simply be used as a
construction device.
Use Next Edge to save the definition of the current edge and move on to the
next. Note that this command is not available when Auto Next Edge is
checked on (see below).
The Reverse Edge command reverses the direction of the current edge. This
option is more often used when creating unstructured domains (Section
8.5.2.2).
Previous Edge drops any definition of the current edge and reverts control to
the previous edge in the domain. Use this command when you discover an
error or omission in your previously defined edge.
Erase Last Connector removes the previously added connector from the
definition of the domain.
Restart Domain throws out all edges for the domain currently under
construction and returns to defining the first edge.
The Options frame includes two toggled options allowing additional
functionality. Auto Next Edge introduces an automatic Next Edge for each
connector picked. This option can be used anytime a domain can be defined
such that the first two edges are made up of a single connector each. Auto
Next Edge is off by default.
Auto Complete, the second option included in the Options frame, is on by
default. When Auto Complete is checked, the Assemble Domains tool will
attempt to determine the final two edges of a domain automatically after the
dimension of the first two edges is defined. Successful completion of a
domain with Auto Complete results in an automatic Apply to initialize and
save the domain.
8.5.2.2 Unstructured Domain Assembly
Manual domain assembly proceeds by creating each of the unstructured
domain edges individually. Most unstructured domains will have a single
edge forming a closed loop. Pick the connectors sequentially in the Display
window which form a single edge. This command automatically overrides the
Mask so that only connectors can be picked. When the edge is complete, use
Next Edge (Figure 8.30) to save the definition of that edge and move on to
the next, if necessary.
Note that the Auto Complete check box is on by default. This setting will
cause the Assemble Domains tool to attempt to complete the entire edge
loop automatically. When the outer edge and any interior edges are
complete, use Apply to initialize and save the unstructured domain.
Afterward you are immediately placed back at defining the outer edge of an
additional domain.
The Create, Assemble Special, Domain command will always need to be
used for creating unstructured domains with holes, unless the domain can be
created on a trimmed database surface with holes using On Database
Entities (Section 8.8).
 8.23

Tip

Always leave the Auto Com-

plete option on for unstruc-
tured domain assembly. This
will save you time selecting suc-
cessive connectors to form an
edge.

Figure 8.30: Manual unstructured domain assembly is performed

using the Create, Assemble Special, Domain command.

There are a number of commands available during domain assembly which

are described here in detail. The Unstructured Domain frame is used to
display an Edge Summar y table for the edge under construction (Figure
8.30). The table lists the Edge number in work, the number of Connectors
used, and the total number of Points on the edge. Note that edge 1 is always
referred to as the Outer edge.
Use Next Edge to save the definition of the current edge and move on to the
next.
The Reverse Edge command reverses the direction of the current edge.
Previous Edge drops any definition of the current edge and reverts control to
the previous edge in the domain. Use this command when you discover an
error or omission in your previously defined edge.
Erase Last Connector removes the previously added connector from the
definition of the domain.
Restart Domain throws out all edges for the domain currently under
construction and returns to defining the first edge.
The Options frame includes two toggled options allowing additional
functionality. Auto Save introduces an automatic Apply so that as soon as
the current edge loop is complete, the domain is initialized and saved. This
option will preclude addition of any interior edges if used during construction
of the Outer edge. Auto Save is turned off by default.
8.24 Pointwise User Manual

Auto Complete, the second option included in the Options frame, is on by

default. When Auto Complete is checked, the Assemble Domains tool will
Tip attempt to complete the entire edge loop automatically after the first
connector is selected.
The On Database Entities com-
When assembling a unstructured domain with interior edges (Figure 8.31),
mand can produce a tremen-
start with the definition of the outer edge followed by the interior ones. Note
dous amount of topology in
that the interior edges must be oriented in the opposite direction of the outer
short order and can be very effi- edge. To define an edge (i.e., “Interior edge #2”) based on free standing
cient, even when it may be nec- connector(s), such connectors have to be selected twice to form a closed
essary to remove some loop.
unwanted topology from the
results. This tool makes sense
where your grid topology can
match the topology of the
underlying database entities. It
is most powerful for unstruc-
tured grids where there are no
grid topology restrictions.

Figure 8.31: Assemble a unstructured domain with a hole and free

standing connector inside.

8.6 Extrude

The Extrude command requires at least one or more connectors or one or

more domains be selected prior to being available. If both connectors and
domains are selected, the connectors will be ignored. This command creates,
through extrusion of grid points, domains from connectors and blocks from
domains. There are four extrusion types: Normal, Translate, Rotate, and
Path (Figure 8.32).
 8.25

Tip

When creating offset database

curves, you can use the Apply
Figure 8.32: The Extrude submenu is used to select the extrusion command to save an offset and
type. immediately enter a new Offset
Distance to create as many
Select the connectors or domains to be extruded, then Create, Extrude. A additional offsets of the origi-
submenu (Figure 8.32) is provided to choose from a list of all the available nally selected curve as desired.
extrusion types: Normal, Translate, Rotate, and Path. If multiple connectors
or domains have been selected, assemble the edges or faces that need to be
extruded in the Assemble tab and click Done. Set any necessary extrusion
attributes, such as translation direction, path, extrusion angle, or boundary
conditions. Enter the Steps to be extruded. Click Run to have the pending
domains or blocks created. Click OK to save the pending domains or blocks
and close the panel.

8 . 6 . 1 A s s e m b l e Ta b
The Assemble tab is only available when extruding multiple connectors or
structured domains into domains or blocks respectively. The options available
in the Assemble tab vary dependent on whether multiple connectors or
domains are selected for extrusion.

8.6.1.1 Extruding Connectors into Domains

Figure 8.33: Connectors can be assembled into edges using either

A u t o - A s s e m b l e o r O n e E d g e P e r C o n n e c t o r.

A table showing the number of Free connectors, the Number of edges, and
the Assembly Method is displayed (Figure 8.33) at the top of the Assemble
8.26 Pointwise User Manual
Tip
Since there is no cylindrical ini-
tialization tool for unstructured
domains, database surfaces of
revolution are perfect for
enforcing a cylindrical shape on
this domain type.
panel. The Free connectors are connectors not currently used in a defined
edge. The Number of edges is the number of user-defined edges present.
Assembly Method simply refers to whether the edges are being
automatically assembled by Pointwise, manually defined by the you, or set to
one domain per connector.
One of two methods in the Assemble frame are used to automatically
assemble multiple connectors into edges. Auto-Assemble will automatically
assemble the selected connectors into as few edges as possible. One Edge
Per Connector will assign one edge per connector. The Assemble frame will
remember the automatic method used previously (either Auto-Assemble or
One Edge Per Connector) for the last extrusion and use that method the
next time you enter extrusion.
Figure 8.34: The Assemble Special frame provides options for
a s s e m b l i n g c o n n e c t o r s i n t o e d g e s m a n u a l l y.
If neither of the automated assembly options create the edges needed for the
extrusion, the options in the Assemble Special frame (Figure 8.34) can be
used to manual construct the edges needed.
To build an edge, you must first select the set of connectors that will form the
edge. When selecting connectors to build an edge, you can use the Add
Adjacent command to help speed up the process of selecting adjacent
connectors. The Erase Last Connector command can be used to delete the
last connector from edge you are currently building. The Reverse Edge will
flip the direction of the current edge so that you can remove/add a connector
to the opposite end of the current edge.
For situations in which all connectors are currently being used in an edge or
edges, you may need to modify an existing edge. To do so, press Set Active
Edge and select the edge to modify. Use any of the commands in the
Assemble Special frame to change the edge, then press Set Active Edge
again to complete the modifications. Additionally, the Delete All Edges or
Delete Edges commands can be used to remove the definition of all or some
edges from memory. Of these two options, the Delete All Edges command
typically provides the fastest way to start building edges from scratch.
Save Edge is used to save each edge after assembly.
 8.27

Tip

If your newly created models

overlap where you wish them to
be joined, use the Edit, Trim By
Surfaces command to trim the
models against each other and
allow them to be joined into a
single model.

Figure 8.35:Use the Boundary Conditions tab to determine how the

edges of your extrusion front will be handled.

The Boundar y Conditions tab (Figure 8.35) looks very similar to that of the
domain extruder (Section 8.6.2.3) except an additional option of Step
Suppression.
This option scales the marching step size on the boundaries relative to that on
the grid’s interior. The value you enter will be in the range of [-1, 1]. Positive
values will increase the boundary step size relative to the interior step size.
Negative values will have the opposite effect. The default value is 0.

Figure 8.36:Negative step suppression causes boundaries to grow

s l o w e r t h a n t h e i n t e r i o r.

In Figure 8.36, four outer grids in each case were extruded normally into the
interior of the circle. The interior grid represents an H grid that was created by
assembling edges on the extrusion front. Step suppression was turned off for
the left grid but set to -0.4 for the right grid. As a result, the four connectors
on the right heading from the circles to the interior grow slower than the
interior points. This results in a more square shape middle region where a
better quality H grid can be created.
8.28 Pointwise User Manual

8.6.1.2 Extruding Domains into Blocks

Tip

The Interpolate command can

help you quickly fill any holes in
your database geometry with
ruled type surfaces.

Figure 8.37: Domains can be assembled into faces using either

Auto-Assemble or One Face Per Domain.

For domains, the 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 are contain only structured domains or
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
Pointwise, manually defined by you, or set to one block per domain.
When entering extrusion with multiple domains selected, 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.
 8.29

Tip

Database planes are useful for

several different operations.
First, you can Project grid enti-
ties onto a plane. Second, they
can be used to create intersec-
tion curves with parts of your
geometry. Finally, they can be
used as the Mirror plane for
grid or database entities.

Figure 8.38: The Assemble Special frame provides options for

a s s e m b l i n g c o n n e c t o r s i n t o e d g e s m a n u a l l y.

If neither of the automated assembly options create the faces needed for the
extrusion, the options in the Assemble Special frame (Figure 8.34) can be
used to manual 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.

8 . 6 . 2 N o r m a l E x t r u s i o n Ty p e
The Normal extrusion command (Figure 8.39) creates new domains or blocks
using either an algebraic or hyperbolic method. This command provides
additional tabbed panels used to control various settings such as Attributes
or Boundary Conditions. All of the controls for this type will be discussed
here by tab.
8.30 Pointwise User Manual

Tip

Pointwise provides both fault

tolerant meshing (healing mesh
over geometry gaps) and solid
meshing (to eliminate gap
issues at the database level).
Tools in the On Database Enti-
ties mesh creation commands,
as well as the Merge command,
provide fault tolerant meshing.
Solid meshing is performed
after import or creation of solid
models and quilts. These data-
base entities are created by
stitching together surfaces and
inherently remove gap issues
for later meshing.

Figure 8.39: The Normal extrusion type uses either an algebraic or

hyperbolic method.

8 . 6 . 2 . 1 R u n Ta b
On the Run tab (Figure 8.39) you will find information about the extrusion as
well as options for specifying and executing the number of steps for the
Normal extrusion.
In the Extrude frame you can use the Steps text field to specify the number
of steps to extrude. Control over whether these steps are marched forwards
or backwards is provided via the Run and Back commands, respectively. To
march the extrusion forwards or backwards one step at a time, use the Run 1
and Back 1 commands. The Restart command removes all extrusion steps
and returns to the initial edge or front.
 8.31

Tip

All newly created grid and data-

base entities, including inter-
sections, are placed into the
Current working layer. Use the
Layers panel to set the Current
layer and organize your entities
as they are created.

Figure 8.40: Set the Extrusion Method and other options on the
Attributes tab.

8 . 6 . 2 . 2 A t t r i b u t e s Ta b
In the Attributes tab (Figure 8.40) you have available a number of attributes
to help control your extrusion. Each category of attributes is collapsed by
default. Checking a category will expand it an allow you to make changes to
those attributes before running your extrusion.
In the Step Size frame you can set up your extrusion to march out based on
an initial step size (Initial Δ s) and geometric progression or by specifying a
subconnector(s) for the extrusion to march along. The Method pull-
down allows you to choose Geometric Progression or Subconnector for
these two methods respectively.

Figure 8.41: Use Geometric Progression as your step size method to

ensure that a set initial step height and growth rate are maintained
in your extrusion.
8.32 Pointwise User Manual
Tip
All entities created in Pointwise,
both grid and database, are
saved to a single .pw native
project file. Be sure to save
your work to a project file to
preserve your construction set-
tings and attributes.
When Geometric Progression is selected the Geometric Progressions
Options frame becomes available (Figure 8.41). In this frame, you can
specify the height of the first extrusion step in the Initial Δ s text field.
The rate at which the cell height will grow with each successive
extrusion step is specified in the Growth Rate text field. The minimum
and maximum extrusion step height is specified by the Minimum Δ s and
Maximum Δ s text fields. The Minimum Surface Spacing produced by
the selections is also shown in the panel.
Figure 8.42: Use Subconnector as your step size method if you wish
to have your extrusion follow the distribution of points along a
given subconnector(s).
When Subconnector is selected for the step size method, the
Subconnector Selection frame becomes available (Figure 8.42). This
frame allows you to select the subconnectors you wish the extrusion to
follow by selecting the Begin command and to end selection of those
subconnectors with the End command. The Erase Last Subconnector
command deselects the last subconnector selected whereas the Clear
All Subconnectors command deselects all subconnectors. Reversal of
the direction of the selected subconnectors is done via the Reverse
Subconnectors command.
Figure 8.43: The Orientation frame provides control over the
marching direction of an extrusion.
In the Orientation frame, you can control the marching direction of the
extrusion. When extruding domains into blocks, the Flip command reverses
the default extrusion direction which is normal to the selected domains.
When extruding connectors into domains, three Orientation commands are
available. Set Plane stores a plane which is parallel to the current view plane
and in which the edge will be marched. Set Vector uses the current view
direction as the edge marching direction. Flip reverses the marching direction
of the edge.
 8.33

Tip

When using the On Database

Entities command to create
connectors or domains, it is
important to set default con-
nector dimensions or average
Δs based on the size of your
model and its features. Doing
Figure 8.44: The Stop Conditions allow you to set parameters that so will help ensure that the ini-
will halt an extrusion if those parameters are exceeded. tial connectors or domains cre-
ated will require little tweaking.
In the Stop Conditions frame, you can set grid quality parameters that, when
exceeded, stop the extrusion so that you can take corrective action. The
Jacobian Criteria, which are on by default for all extrusions, stop the
extrusion if a Positive Skew, Negative Skew, Zero, or Negative Jacobian
cell is created. The Total Height condition causes the extrusion to stop if the
total distance marched by any grid line exceeds the value specified. The
Skewness condition stops the extrusion if the minimum skew angle of any
cell created exceeds the value specified. The Aspect Ratio condition stops
the extrusion if the aspect ratio of any cell created exceeds the value
specified.

Figure 8.45: Choose the method your entities will be extruded with
in the Extrusion Method frame.

In the Extrusion Method frame (Figure 8.45), you can select the extrusion
method to be used via the Method pull-down. Only Algebraic will be
available for extruding unstructured domains into blocks. Hyperbolic will be
the default for extruding structured domains. However, you can also use the
Algebraic method for structured domains. This setting is recommended
when extruding structured and unstructured domains simultaneously.
8.34 Pointwise User Manual
Tip
When using the Connector Join
Angle option in the On Data-
base Entities command, be
careful of the bending angle
specified. Making the angle
too large could result in joining
connectors around sharp angles
which could cause issues with
your grid topology later on.
Figure 8.46: Use the Shape Constraint commands to determine the
s h a p e o f a d o m a i n e x t r u d e d f r o m a c o n n e c t o r.
The Shape Constraint frame (Figure 8.46) will only be available when
extruding connectors into domains. Choose whether you wish the shape of
the newly extruded domain to be Free or Database Constrained. Free
allows the extrusion to proceed without shape restriction in 3D space.
Database Constrained forces each new step of the extrusion to lie on an
underlying database surface or surfaces. For the latter choice, use the Begin
and End commands in the Database Surface Selection frame to enter into a
selection mode allowing you to pick the database surfaces to which the newly
extruded domain will be constrained. Informational text is provided just
above the Begin and End commands to indicate exactly how many database
surfaces have been selected. Any time the Shape has be switched between
Free and Database Constrained, you must use the Set Domain Shape
command to save the new attribute.
Figure 8.47: The Spacing Controls provide further control for areas
that are concave and convex in your extrusion.
The Spacing Controls frame (Figure 8.47) is only available when using the
Algebraic method to extrude unstructured domains into blocks. The Corner
Factor allows you to locally increase marching step height in concave areas
and decrease it in convex areas in an attempt to more rapidly smooth the
marching front. The default value is 5.0 and this setting has a valid range of
1.0 to 10.0.
 8.35

Tip

Use larger splay value boundary

conditions for extrusions when
generating overlapping meshes
for overset simulations.

Figure 8.48: The Smoothing Parameters frame is only available

when using the Hyperbolic method.

The Smoothing Parameters frame is only available when using the

Hyperbolic method to extrude structured domains into blocks. These
parameters are used to prevent grid line crossing and numerical instabilities.
Enter the hyperbolic explicit smoothing coefficient for the transverse direction
in the Explicit text field. The default value is 0.5. Enter the hyperbolic
implicit smoothing coefficient for the transverse direction in the Implicit text
field. The default value is 1.0 and the implicit coefficient must be double the
explicit coefficient. The Kinsey Barth smoothing is off by default. This
smoothing helps to prevent crossing of grid lines in the marching direction
and should be set to a value of 3.0 or greater when the front includes severe
concavities. The Volume smoothing ranges from 0.0 to 1.0 and has a
default value of 0.5. This smoothing determines how rapidly grid clustering
in the front will relax. A value of 0.0 will allow clustering to remain intact
throughout the extrusion to the final boundary step.

Figure 8.49: The Smoothing frame is only available for unstructured

domain extrusion.

The options available in the Smoothing frame only appear when extruding
unstructured domains into blocks. The Features check box is on by default
and smooths the marching direction vectors for all connectors by taking into
account normals to the adjacent cells weighted by cell area. Turning off this
toggle will remove this influence of adjacent cell normals and will facilitate
starting a difficult extrusion which includes very sharp edges in the initial
front. For example, the edge of a control surface of an aerospace vehicle.
Orthonormal smoothing is also on by default and enforces smoothing
directed toward orthogonal quality. The Triangle Aspect smoothing is off by
default and enforces smoothing directed toward triangle aspect ratio quality.
8.36 Pointwise User Manual
Tip
If you are unable to create a
revolved surface from your
selected generatrix and axis
curve, you may need to adjust
your fit tolerance to make it
slightly larger. This will reduce
how stringently local disconti-
nuities in your curves are
treated.
Figure 8.50: Commands in the Relaxation frame provide additional
smoothing control for the Algebraic method.
The settings in the Relaxation frame are only available for the Algebraic
method. Direction smooths the marching normals locally via a LaPlace style
filter. This coefficient has a valid range of 0.0 (no influence) to 1.0
(maximum influence). The default value is 0.5. Direction Iterations
determines the number of passes the LaPlace filter will make per extrusion
step. The default is 5. Step Size smooths the marching step size locally via a
LaPlace style filter. This coefficient has a valid range of 0.0 (no influence) to
1.0 (maximum influence). The default value is 0.7. Step Size Iterations
determines the number of passes the LaPlace filter will make per extrusion
step. The default is 3.
Use Plane Angle in the Tolerances frame (Figure 8.40) to specify the angle
tolerance for determining when an arbitrary plane BC is considered equal to a
Cartesian plane BC. Plane Deviation specifies the deviation tolerance for
determining when an arbitrary plane BC is considered to be planar.
Figure 8.51: Use the Boundary Conditions tab to determine how the
edges of your extrusion front will be handled.
8 . 6 . 2 . 3 B o u n d a r y C o n d i t i o n s Ta b
At the top of the Boundary Conditions tab (Figure 8.51) is a pull-down to
select the Type of boundary condition you wish to apply. Before any changes
can be made on this tab, at least one boundary connector (extruding
domains) or one boundary node (extruding connectors) must be selected in
the Display window. All the available boundary conditions will be described
 8.37

in detail here. The entities to which a particular boundary condition can be

applied is shown in parentheses. Once the boundary condition has been
changed, use Set Boundar y Condition to apply the changes. Tip

Adjacent Grid (Structured and Unstructured Domain) allows the user Since the Revolve command
to specify one or more bounding structured domains which the extru- allows you to select a new Gen-
sion will be forced to match as it marches forward. Note that only eratrix or Axis Curve at any
domains that share a connector with the block's initial face and are
time, the Apply command will
non-singular can be picked as a constraining adjacent domain. Use
enable you to create as many
Begin in the Adjacent Grid Selection frame (Figure 8.52) to enter
domain selection mode. After making the necessary selections, use different surfaces of revolution
End to exit domain selection mode. as you need during a single use
of Revolve.

Figure 8.52: Use the Adjacent Grid Selection frame to choose

domains for the Adjacent Gridgen BC.

Arbitrary Plane (Unstructured Domain) examines the grid and auto-

matically determines the plane in which each connector lies. Each
connector will be held constant within its own plane unless it has
already been constrained by another boundary condition.

Database Constrained (Structured and Unstructured Domain)

allows the user to specify one or more bounding database surfaces
which the extrusion will be forced to match as it marches forward.
Use Begin in the Database Surface Selection frame (Figure 8.52) to
enter database selection mode. After making the necessary selections,
use End to exit database selection mode.

Figure 8.53: Use the Database Surface Selection frame to choose

database surfaces for the Database Constrained BC.
8.38 Pointwise User Manual

Constant X (Connector, Structured and Unstructured Domain) holds

Tip
When creating an interpolated
surface from two curves, you
may see the connecting curves
for the surface cross in the Dis-
play window. This is typically
due to the original two curves
opposite parameterizations.
Selecting Opposite in the Orien-
tation frame will reorient the
curves to the same parameter-
ization and make the desired
interpolated surface.
the X coordinate of grid points on the boundary constant during the
extrusion.
Constant Y (Connector, Structured and Unstructured Domain) holds
the Y coordinate of grid points on the boundary constant during the
extrusion.
Constant Z (Connector, Structured and Unstructured Domain) holds
the Z coordinate of grid points on the boundary constant during the
extrusion.
Splay (Connector, Structured Domain) causes the boundaries of the
grid to move outward as the extrusion proceeds. Input the value of
the Splay coefficient in the associated text field. Splay can have values
between 0.0 and 1.0 where 0.0 is no splay and 1.0 is full splay. The
default value is 0.1.
Symmetry X (Connector, Structured Domain) keeps the grid symmet-
ric in the X direction.
Symmetry Y (Connector, Structured Domain) keeps the grid sym-
metric in the Y direction.
Symmetry Z (Connector, Structured Domain) keeps the grid sym-
metric in the Z direction.

Figure 8.54: Use the Edge Assembly tab to organize connectors into
larger edges.

8 . 6 . 3 Tr a n s l a t e E x t r u s i o n Ty p e
The Translate extrusion command (Figure 8.55) creates new domains through
straight cartesian translation. This command provides an additional tabbed
panel used to control edge definition. All of the controls for this type will be
discussed here by tab.
 8.39

Tip

Use the Total Height stop condi-

tion to have your extrusion stop
automatically once the first
point in your extrusion front
reaches that total physical dis-
tance from the initial front
point location.

F i g u r e 8 . 5 5 : T h e Tr a n s l a t e e x t r u s i o n t y p e c r e a t e s n e w d o m a i n s f r o m
connectors through cartesian translation.

8 . 6 . 3 . 1 R u n Ta b
The table at the top of the Translate panel displays informational text
concerning how many steps have been extruded, the number of domains/
blocks being created, the step size, and the status of any stop conditions
during the current use of the Translate extrusion command.
In the Extrude frame, the number of steps the extrusion should march are
specified in the Steps text field. The Run and Back commands march that
number of steps forwards or backwards respectively. The Run 1 and Back 1
commands will march one step forwards or backwards. Restart reverses the
extrusion back to the initial front.
8.40 Pointwise User Manual
Tip
Often when creating blocks,
you need to create blocks that
share an interface domain.
These non-manifold connec-
tions can be created automati-
cally with the Assemble
command if the Manifold
option is toggled off in Create,
Assemble.
In the Translation frame, the Direction text field specifies a vector defining
the direction the translation to take. One of the principal axes can also be set
as the translation direction by using the Use X Axis, Use Y Axis, or Use Z
Axis commands. The set direction can be easily reversed using the Flip
Direction command just below. In the Distance frame, the total distance to
be translated is set either in the Distance text field or the Select Endpoints
frame. To set them in the Select Endpoints frame, click the Begin button,
select the begin and end points in the Display window, and then click End.
The distance is automatically calculated from these two points.
8 . 6 . 3 . 2 A t t r i b u t e s Ta b
In the Attributes tab for translational extrusion, you have available two main
attributes to help control your extrusion. Both categories attributes are
collapsed by default. Checking a category will expand it an allow you to
make changes to those attributes before running your extrusion.
In the Step Size frame, you can set up your extrusion to march out based on
an equal step sizes or by specifying a subconnector(s) for the extrusion to
march along. The Method pull-down allows you to choose Equal or
Subconnector for these two methods respectively.
The Equal method computes the step size by taking the total distance
specified for the extrusion and dividing it by the total number of extrusion
steps.
When Subconnector is selected for the step size method, the
Subconnector Selection frame becomes available (Figure 8.42). This
frame allows you to select the subconnectors you wish the extrusion to
follow by selecting the Begin command and to end selection of those
subconnectors with the End command. The Erase Last Subconnector
command deselects the last subconnector selected whereas the Clear
All Subconnectors command deselects all subconnectors. Reversal of
the direction of the selected subconnectors is done via the Reverse
Subconnectors command.
The Stop Conditions are the same for all extrusion types and can be
seen in Section 8.6.2.2 and Figure 8.44.
8 . 6 . 4 R o t a t e E x t r u s i o n Ty p e
The Rotate extrusion command (Figure 8.39) creates new domains or blocks
using an algebraic method to sweep the grid in a circular path about a
prescribed axis. All of the controls for this type will be discussed here by tab.
 8.41

Tip

It may not be necessary for you

to create all new models for
your database. If your CAD
supports and exports them,
Pointwise can import them for
meshing.

Figure 8.56: The Rotate extrusion type creates new domains and
blocks by sweeping the grid in a circular path about a set axis.

8 . 6 . 4 . 1 R u n Ta b
The table at the top of the Rotate panel displays informational text
concerning how many steps have been extruded, the number of domains/
blocks being created, the step size, and the status of any stop conditions
during the current use of the Rotate extrusion command.
In the Extrude frame, the number of steps the extrusion should march are
specified in the Steps text field. The Run and Back commands march that
number of steps forwards or backwards respectively. The Run 1 and Back 1
commands will march one step forwards or backwards. Restart reverses the
extrusion back to the initial front.
8.42 Pointwise User Manual
Tip
Once intersection curves have
been computed, use the Create,
On Database Entities command
to quickly create connectors
based on those intersection
curves. This provides a quick
way to create surface topology
in areas where no trimmed sur-
faces are available.
In the middle of the panel you can enter the angle of extrusion in the Angle
text field.
The Axis Selection frame provides three methods for defining the axis:
Curve, 2 Points, and Point and Direction. The default Cur ve option expects
you to pick a curve in the Display window or in the List panel to use as the
axis. If the curve is not linear, the endpoints will be used to define the axis.
The 2 Points option allows you to pick points in the Display window or enter
them directly into the XYZ text field. Point and Direction allows you to pick
or enter a point and then select a primary axis direction through that point or
specify a non-primary axis direction by entering directly into the Vector text
field.
Delete Last Point allows you to delete selected or entered points when using
either the 2 Points or Point and Direction axis specification options. Clear
Axis allows you to start the axis specification process over from the beginning
by clearing the currently defined axis.
8 . 6 . 4 . 2 A t t r i b u t e s Ta b
The Step Size attributes are the same as those for translational
extrusion and can be seen in Figure 8.6.3.2.
The Orientation attributes are the same as those for normal extrusion and can
be seen in Section 8.6.2.2 and Figure 8.43.
The Stop Conditions are the same for all extrusion types and can be
seen in Section 8.6.2.2 and Figure 8.44.
8 . 6 . 5 P a t h E x t r u s i o n Ty p e
The Path extrusion command (Figure 8.57) creates new domains and blocks
using direction and distribution from a connector or series of connectors
forming a path. All of the controls for this type will be discussed here by tab.
 8.43

Tip

Planes are excellent for com-

puting intersections with other
geometry surfaces at conven-
ient locations for placing con-
nectors. For instance, inter-
secting a axisymmetric body at
either end of a control surface
with planes. This will create
database curves that are easy to
use for connector creation and
quickly block in the control sur-
face.

Figure 8.57: The Path extrusion type creates new domains using
direction and distribution from a set of path connectors.

8 . 6 . 5 . 1 R u n Ta b
The table at the top of the Path panel displays informational text concerning
how many steps have been extruded, the number of domains/blocks being
created, the step size, and the status of any stop conditions during the
current use of the Path extrusion command.
In the Extrude frame, the number of steps the extrusion should march are
specified in the Steps text field. The Run and Back commands march that
number of steps forwards or backwards respectively. The Run 1 and Back 1
commands will march one step forwards or backwards. Restart reverses the
extrusion back to the initial front.
In the Path Configuration frame, a table lists the Number of Path
Connectors currently selected and the Max. Number of Steps that can be
taken based on the path total dimension. The Use Path Rotations check box
8.44 Pointwise User Manual
Tip
Remember that you must first
create database models before
you can create database quilts
representing mesh topological
regions.
forces the extrusion front to maintain its relative orientation with respect to
the path. The Reverse Path check box flips the path direction, which reverses
the direction of the extrusion and its distribution. Clear Path removes all
selected connectors from the path definition so that a new path can be
defined.
8 . 6 . 5 . 2 A t t r i b u t e s Ta b
The only attribute available for path extrusion is Stop Conditions, which
are the same for all extrusion types and can be seen in Section 8.6.2.2
and Figure 8.44.
8.7 Periodic
The Periodic command requires connector(s) and/or domain(s) to be selected
prior to being available. This commands creates, through translation or
rotation (Figure 8.58), a periodic copy of each selected entity if applicable.
Figure 8.58: The Periodic submenu is used to specify how a periodic
connector or domain is created.
Once created, the periodic connector (or domain) and the original
counterpart become slaved periodically. That is, any future changes to one of
them (i.e., transformation, redimension, redistribution, etc.) will be reflected
in its twin. The only exception to this is the display attributes of a periodic
pair can be different.
Note the Periodic command is only available when the original selection does
not have a periodic twin. This is because the periodicity is enforced in pairs:
no more than two connectors or two domains may be periodic with each
other.
Figure 8.59: Periodicity is reflected in the names of a slaved pair in
the List panel.
 8.45

The periodicity information is available in the List panel through entity names.
As shown in Figure 8.59, in parentheses next to each periodic connector are a
periodic tag and a name indicating its twin. If either of these two connectors Tip
is deleted (or joined), the periodicity will be broken immediately and the other
will remain in place. Coons Patch surfaces are excel-
To facilitate the selection of periodic entities in a grid system, check the lent for quickly filling gaps and
Periodic check box in the Mask panel (Figure 8.60). This creates a pick mask holes in your database geome-
such that only periodic entities may be selected. try.

Figure 8.60: Check the Periodic check box in the Mask panel to
allow only periodic entities to be selected.

Note that the Periodic command does not automatically assign a periodic
boundary condition to a periodic pair of domains (3D) or connectors (2D).
Periodic boundary conditions must be set via CAE, Set Boundary Conditions
(Section 11.4).

8 . 7 . 1 Tr a n s l a t e
The Periodic Translate panel is identical to the Translate panel via Edit,
Transform, Translate. Refer to Section 4.11.2 for operating details of this
panel.

8.7.2 Rotate
The Periodic Rotate panel is identical to the Rotate panel via Edit, Transform,
Rotate. Refer to Section 4.11.5 for the operating details of this panel.

8.8 On Database Entities

The On Database Entities command requires selection of at least one

database curve, surface, quilt, or model. This command creates connectors or
domains on the selected entities. Each database curve and each edge of a
surface or quilt will have a new connector, and, if chosen, each surface or
quilt will have its connectors automatically assembled into domains. The type
of domains assembled, structured or unstructured, is subject to the state of
the Grid, Set Type command (Section 9.2). When a model is selected,
connectors or domains will be created on its constituent quilts.
8.46 Pointwise User Manual

Select the database entities (i.e., surfaces, database boundaaries) to be used,

then Create, On Database Entities. At the top of the On DB Entities panel,
Tip choose either to create only Connectors or Domains. Add any additional
automatic merge, split or join options desired, then press OK to have the new
Note that entities selected for grid entities created and close the panel.
one group for intersection can-
not be selected again for the
second group. This leaves you
free to use selection shortcuts,
like Ctrl+A, without worry of
selecting again an entity in the
other group.

Figure 8.61: Use the On Database Entities command to

automatically apply grid topology to database curves and surfaces.

Use of the On Database Entities command simply requires selection of the

entity type to create and adding any additional options described in detail
here. At the top of the panel are the two radio buttons for choosing either
Connectors only. Or selecting Domains so that the command will attempt to
also assemble connectors into new domains. Note that for this option to
work for structured domain creation, the database surface selected must have
four edges and a default Dimension must be set (Section 2.2.3.3).
Additionally, either a default Dimension or Average Δ s must be set in order
for the Domains option to be available at all. However, this command can be
used to create connectors only that have no dimension when neither default
is set.
Use the AutoMerge Tolerance option to have newly created connectors
merged automatically after being created. This option is on by default. It will
use the Connector tolerance defined in File, Properties (Section 3.14), or
you can override as necessary by entering a new value in the associated text
field.
Connector Split Angle is useful for automatically splitting newly created
connectors where there are angular features in the database geometry. This
option is generally used in conjunction with shell database entities. Check
the associated check box to activate this option and enter the desired split
angle in the text field. Any bending angles on the connector interior greater
than the split angle entered will cause new connectors to be automatically
split at that location.
Connector Join Angle is useful for automatically joining newly created
connectors where there are no features in the database geometry to represent
by breaks in the topology. Check the associated check box to activate this
option and enter the desired join angle in the text field. Any bending angles
 8.47

at nodes less than the join angle entered will cause new connectors to be
automatically joined at that location.
Tip
Domain Join Angle is useful for automatically joining newly created domains
where there are no features in the database geometry to represent by breaks
Create database models to heal
in the topology. This option is useful when creating unstructured domains
over several adjacent database surfaces and where the original surface geometry gaps and facilitate
topology is not needed in the grid. Check the associated check box to more efficient meshing using
activate this option and enter the desired join angle in the text field. Any the On Database Entities com-
bending angles at common connectors less than the join angle entered will mands.
cause new domains to be automatically joined at that edge.
Note that the On Database Entities command functionality is provided on
the Create toolbar by two command buttons, one for Connectors on
Database Entities and one for Domains on Database Entities. However,
the On DB Entities panel will not open for these toolbar commands. They
will automatically apply the last used panel settings and create new grid
entities immediately.

8.9 Diagonalize

The Diagonalize command requires selection of at least one structured

domain. This command creates a new unstructured domain from the same
loop of connectors via the chosen method. The original structured domain is
retained.
Select a structured domain or domains, then Create, Diagonalize. A new
unstructured domain or domains are generated automatically based on the
currently selected method. Change the method if desired. Click OK to save
the new unstructured domain and close the panel.

Figure 8.62: Use the Diagonalize command to create unstructured

domains from existing structured domains.

The Diagonalize panel provides a single command frame to choose the

method to be used for creating the new unstructured domains. Aligned will
8.48 Pointwise User Manual
Tip
Care should be taken when
selecting entities for use with
the automated Assemble com-
mand. Too many entities can
cause the logic to bog down
with too many topology pos-
sibilities. Using a smaller selec-
tion set will keep the command
efficient and pro-ductive.ail-
able.
split all the existing quadrilaterals in the same direction throughout the
domain. Best Fit will split the existing quadrilaterals such that the new
triangles have the smallest possible maximum included angle. Initialize
throws out the existing quadrilaterals and inserts a new triangulated mesh
using the same initialization method used on newly created unstructured
domains.
The Visibility/Delete Options frame provides controls for how to treat the
original structured domains from which the new unstructured domains are
created. By default the original structured domains remain and are visible via
Show. Select Hide to have the original structured domains automatically be
hidden when you click OK to save and close the panel. Otherwise, use
Delete to have the original domains deleted when the panel closes.
8.10 Offset
The Offset command requires selection of a single database curve or
boundary. This command creates a database curve which is offset from the
original curve or boundary in the current construction plane or the current
drawing plane parallel to the Display window view plane.
Select the database curve or boundary to be offset, then Create, Offset.
Type an offset distance in the Offset Distance text field. Hit Enter to view
the pending new offset curve rendered in yellow. Click OK to save the curve
and close the panel.
Figure 8.63: Use the Offset command to create a new database
curve which is offset continuously from an existing database curve.
There are a number of commands available on the Offset panel which are
described here in detail. In the majority of cases users will enter an exact
Offset Distance in the provided text field. Note that the offset will occur in
the current construction plane or the current drawing plane parallel to the
Display window view plane.
 8.49

There are always two possible directions in which an offset can occur.
Therefore, the Flip command is provided to reverse the direction if necessary
to achieve the desired result. Tip
The Offset Point Placement frame is provided for those cases where you
Coons surfaces, like those cre-
wish to enter an explicit point for the offset curve to pass through. Or you
can left-click in the Display window to place a point for the offset curve to ated with the Coons Patch com-
pass through. The point’s coordinates will appear in the XYZ text field. Note mand, are excellent tools for
that the Offset Point Placement frame is a clone of the standard Point filling in areas where small sur-
Placement set of tools described in more detail in the GUI section of this faces might be missing in your
document (Section 2.5.8). CAD file.

F i g u r e 8 . 6 4 : O p e n t h e To l e r a n c e f r a m e t o a d j u s t t h e O f f s e t F i t
To l e r a n c e .

The Tolerance (Figure 8.64) frame is closed by default. Open this frame by
clicking on the check box next to the title. Here you can adjust the Fit
Tolerance used by the Offset command for those cases where the default
tolerance does not produce a pending offset curve. In order to adjust the Fit
Tolerance to a custom value, you must first uncheck the Use Default check
box. Then simply type a new tolerance value into the Fit Tolerance text field.
8.50 Pointwise User Manual

8.11 Revolve
Tip

Often you need to create con-

nectors in areas of your geome-
try where a curve or surface
edge does not exist, such as
where a control surface and
body surface overlap. The
Intersect command can provide
this necessary geometry infor-
mation for you.

Figure 8.65: Use the Revolve command to create a database surface

of revolution.

The Revolve command requires selection of a single database curve or

boundary. This command will create a new database surface of revolution
about a secondary database axis curve selected within the command.
Database boundaries (u-min, u-max, v-min and v-max curves) are also created
and are considered child entities to the surface of revolution.
Select the database curve or boundary to be revolved, then Create, Revolve.
Upon entering the Revolve command, you are immediately placed in axis
curve selection mode. This command automatically overrides the Mask so
that only database curves or boundaries can be picked. Note that neither the
curve to be revolved nor the axis have to be linear. Select the axis database
curve. The pending database surface of revolution is now rendered in yellow
in the Display window. If necessary, adjust the sweep of the surface by
editing the angle in the Angle Of Revolution text field and use the Flip
command to reverse the sweep direction. Click OK to save the pending
database surface and close the panel.
There are a number of commands available on the Revolve panel which are
described here in detail. The Currently Defining frame includes a set of
radio buttons that allow you to control what you can select or define: the
Generatrix or the Axis. When Generatrix is the active choice, you can select
a new curve to revolve. When Axis is the active choice, you can define a new
axis to use for the revolution. The Revolve command automatically overrides
the Mask so that only database curves can be picked.
 8.51

The number of degrees for the surface to be swept through can be adjusted
using the Angle text field. This angle is initially defaulted to a full 360
degrees but will remember the value last used on subsequent use. Tip
The Axis Selection frame provides three methods for defining the axis:
When creating offsets, the off-
Curve, 2 Points, and Point and Direction. The default Cur ve option expects
you to pick a curve in the Display window or in the List panel to use as the set curve is created in a plane
axis. If the curve is not linear, the endpoints will be used to define the axis. parallel to the current viewing
The 2 Points option allows you to pick points in the Display window or enter plane. If you find that you were
them directly into the XYZ text field. Point and Direction allows you to pick not in the correct viewing plane
or enter a point and then select a primary axis direction through that point or when your offset was created,
specify a non-primary axis direction by entering directly into the Vector text simply reorient to the correct
field. view, then reenter your Offset
Delete Last Point allows you to delete selected or entered points when using Distance. The offset curve will
either the 2 Points or Point and Direction axis specification options. Clear update to the new viewing
Axis allows you to start the axis specification process over from the beginning plane.
by clearing the currently defined axis.
Use the Tolerance (Figure 8.65) frame to adjust the Fit Tolerance used by
the Revolve command for those cases where the default tolerance does not
produce a pending surface of revolution. In order to adjust the Fit Tolerance
to a custom value, you must first uncheck the Use Default check box. Then
simply type a new tolerance value into the Fit Tolerance text field.

8.12 Sweep

The Sweep command requires that exactly one database curve or boundary
be selected, along with any combination of any entity types other than
database curves or boundaries, for the command to be available. This
command will create a swept or extruded surface by sweeping the selected
curve or boundary, called a generatrix, along a direction and distance defined
by the rail. Database boundaries (u-min, u-max, v-min and v-max curves) are
also created and are considered child entities to the swept surface.
Select the database curve or boundary that will serve as the generatrix curve,
then Create, Sweep. Select the rail curve or define a rail using two points.
Flip the direction of the surface if necessary. Click on OK to save the surface
and close the panel.
8.52 Pointwise User Manual

Tip

To create an unstructured
domain with a hole in it, try
using the Create, Assemble
Special, Domain command. The
ability to specify numerous
edges will allow you to set the
hole as a second edge for the
domain so that it’s boundary
points are recognized and
included in the definition of the
new domain.
Figure 8.66: Use the Sweep command to create surfaces by
extruding a curve along a linear rail.

The Sweep panel provides a Flip command at top to reverse the direction of a
swept surface when necessary. In the Currently Defining frame you can
choose whether you are currently selecting a new Generatrix to be swept or
defining a new Rail to sweep along
The Rail Selection frame provides an option for selecting a Cur ve from the
Display window or the List panel. Alternatively, you can define the rail by 2
Points either via picking in the Display window or direct text entry in the XYZ
text field. Buttons are provided at the bottom of this frame to Delete Last
Point when using the 2 Points option, or to restart the rail definition via
Clear Rail.

8.13 Fillet

The Fillet command requires that exactly two database curves or boundaries
be selected, along with any combination of any entity types other than
database curves or boundaries, for the command to be available. This
command will create a filleting surface using three database curves or
boundaries (Figure 8.67), two rails which must be part of the primary
selection and a slope control curve picked within the command (a fillet
surface is the 3D equivalent of the conic curve). Database boundaries (u-min,
u-max, v-min and v-max curves) are also created and are considered child
entities to the filleting surface.
 8.53

Tip

If an intersection produces
incomplete intersection curves
or none where you expected,
you may need to adjust your
intersection tolerance. Once
adjusted, pressing the Intersect
button will quickly recalculate
your intersection curves based
on the new tolerance.

Figure 8.67: Three curves are needed to define a fillet: two surface
rail curves and one slope control curve.

Select the two database curves or boundaries that will serve as the surface rail
curves, then Create, Fillet. Select the slope control curve. Adjust the Fit
Tolerance if necessary to produce a surface. Raise or lower the ρ (rho) value
as desired to pull the surface in closer to the slope control curve or to push it
away, respectively. Click on OK to save the surface and close the panel.

Figure 8.68: Use the Fillet command to create a blending surface.

The Fillet panel (Figure 8.68) provides a text field for adjusting the ρ value as
desired. Large values nearing 1.0 pull the surface toward the slope control
curve. Smaller values near 0.0 push it away, effectively flattening it out. A
Tolerance frame allows you to change the Fit Tolerance away from the
default value of 0.001 when the set of curves it not producing a valid fillet
surface. Uncheck Use Default to enter a custom value.
8.54 Pointwise User Manual

8.14 Interpolate
Tip
The Interpolate command requires that two database curves or boundaries
Calculating and keeping an be selected prior to being available. This command will create a new ruled
type database surface. Database boundaries (u-min, u-max, v-min and v-max
average when creating points is
curves) are also created and are considered child entities to the ruled surface.
a quick way to create a center
point for some region. For Select the database curves or boundaries from which to create the new
instance, creating points surface, then Create, Interpolate. Adjust the Orientation (Figure 8.69) if
necessary. Click on OK to save the surface and close the panel.
around the perimeter of a duct
by picking and also calculating
the average point, you can cre-
ate a point at the center of the
duct. You can even choose to
not keep the perimeter points
and keep only the average.

Figure 8.69: Use the Interpolate command to create either ruled or

coons type database surfaces.

There are a number of commands available on the Interpolate panel which

are described here in detail. In the Orientation frame select the option which
produces the best surface. Best aligns the curves to achieve the shortest
distance between like curve intervals. Same connects intervals in the same
order. For instance, low to low up through high to high. Opposite connects
intervals in opposite order. For instance, high to low up through low to high.
Use the Tolerance (Figure 8.65) frame to adjust the Fit Tolerance used by
the Interpolate command for those cases where the default tolerance does
not produce a pending database surface. In order to adjust the Fit Tolerance
to a custom value, you must first uncheck the Use Default check box. Then
simply type a new tolerance value into the Fit Tolerance text field.

8.15 Coons Patch

The Coons Patch command requires that one or more database curves or
boundaries be selected prior to being available. Additional curves or
boundaries can be selected within the command. This command is useful for
easily creating surfaces that patch holes in database geometry models using
arbitrary intersecting sets of database curves or boundaries. More than one
 8.55

surface may be generated from a given set of database curves or boundaries.

Database boundaries (u-min, u-max, v-min and v-max curves) are also created
and are considered child entities to the coons surface. Tip
Select the set of bounding database curves or boundaries from which you
Notes that are included in a
wish to create a new surface. Go to Create, Coons Patch. Click on
Generate Surfaces. Click on OK to save the new database surface and close database file (i.e., IGES, DBA,
the panel. etc) can be imported into Point-
wise. Likewise, the notes cre-
ated in Pointwise can be
exported to a database file such
as the DBA format.

Figure 8.70: Use the Coons Patch command to repair geometry

holes using sets of intersecting curves.

The Coons Patch panel provides a table at top listing the number of surfaces
generated from the selected database curves or boundaries. A Tolerance
frame allows you to change the Fit Tolerance away from the default value of
0.001 when the set of curves is not producing a valid coons surface.
Uncheck Use Default to enter a custom value.
Below the Tolerance frame, the Generate Surfaces command creates the
candidate database surface or surfaces from the selected set of database
curves or boundaries along with the currently specified Fit Tolerance.

8.16 Planes

The Planes command is available regardless of current selection. This

command will create new database plane entities that can be further used for
intersections (Section 8.20) with other database entities, for projection of grid
entities, for mirror planes when using the Mirror transformation (Section
4.11.6), or for split planes when splitting selected shell entities (Section 4.13).
Select Create, Planes. Choose the Plane Mode (Figure 8.71) you wish to use
to define your new plane and set the location using the corresponding mode
frame. Click on OK to save the new database plane and close the panel.
8.56 Pointwise User Manual

Tip

Most Create commands allow

“sloppy” selection. This means
that as long as you have the
required entity or entities
selected, other entity types will
be ignored and the command
will be available.

Figure 8.71: Use the Planes command to create new database

planes.

The Planes panel contains two frames. The first, Plane Mode, allows you to
choose the type of definition you wish to use. The second frame will always
be labeled to match the current plane mode. For instance, when using the
default mode, Constant X, Y, or Z, the second frame is labeled Constant X,
Y, or Z (Figure 8.73). Each mode will be discussed in detail here.
When using Point and Normal mode (Figure 8.71), first select or click a point
in the Display window or enter the point coordinates directly into the XYZ
text field. Then enter a directional vector into the Direction text field or
choose a primary axis direction using Use X-Axis, Use Y-Axis, or Use Z-Axis.
Note that once the point is placed, it can be edited either graphically in the
Display window or via the XYZ text field.

Figure 8.72: Use Three Points mode to create a database plane

defined by three points.

The Three Points mode (Figure 8.72) simply requires input of three points,
either selected or clicked in the Display window, or input sequentially via the
XYZ text field.
 8.57

Tip

For best intersecting result,

make sure the model size is on
the same order of the Grid/DB
length reported in the File,
F i g u r e 8 . 7 3 : U s e C o n s t a n t X , Y, o r Z m o d e t o q u i c k l y c r e a t e a
Properties panel.
constant coordinate plane.

Use the Constant X, Y, or Z mode (Figure 8.73) to create a constant

coordinate plane. First choose the coordinate for which you wish to create
the plane. Then enter the coordinate value in the corresponding text field.

Figure 8.74: Use Coefficients mode to define a plane using the four
mathematical coefficients found in the equation of a plane.

Use Coefficients mode (Figure 8.74) to define a plane using the four
mathematical coefficients found in the equation of a plane. Simply enter the
coefficients using the provided A, B, C, and D text fields.

8.17 Points

The Points command is available regardless of selection. This command will

create new database points which can be later used for any operations using
picked points, such as curve creation or performing an entity transformation.
Select Create, Points. Enter point coordinates into the XYZ text field (Figure
8.75). After the first point, check Average Point to have an average of all
points calculated and also added as a new point. Uncheck Points if only the
average is desired. Click on OK to save the new database points and close
the panel.
8.58 Pointwise User Manual

Tip

Groups are very useful when it

comes to setting boundary con-
ditions. For example, you can
put the domains on the body,
symmetry plane and farfield in
different groups before enter-
ing the Set BC command. This
will facilitate the domain selec-
tion process especially for large
grids.

Figure 8.75: Use the Points command to create new database

points.

The Points panel contains a table at
entered and two command frames. Use
(Section 2.5.8) to enter points directly
clicked in the Display window will have
text field.
top tracking the number of points
the standard Point Placement frame
via the keyboard. Points picked or
the coordinates displayed in the XYZ

Figure 8.76: The Points command provides optional average point

calculation.

The Points to Keep frame provides toggle commands to choose whether or

not to retain the Points entered or clicked and whether or not to calculate
and keep an Average Point (Figure 8.76).
 8.59

8.18 Notes
Tip
The Notes command is available regardless of selection. This command will
create new database notes, each of which consists of text and a location.
Groups can overlap which
Notes are useful for providing a descriptive title, creation instructions, or brief
means one entity can be
reminders. Once created, they can be edited or transformed.
selected to form multiple
groups.

Figure 8.77: Use the Create Notes command to create notes at user
defined locations.

Select Create, Notes. To specify the location where a note’s text begins, left-
click the desired location in the Display window, or enter the location
coordinates in the XYZ text field (Figure 8.77). Enter the text string in the
Text input box and reset the Font, Size or style (i.e., Bold, Italic and
Underline) if necessary. Click on Apply to confirm the change. Continue to
create more notes if any. Click OK to save the new notes and close the panel.
Align to Screen positions the note right on the current display screen.

Figure 8.78: Use Advanced attributes to define the orientation and

layout of a note.
8.60 Pointwise User Manual

The Advanced frame can be used to access the options for text orientation
and layout. The Character Slant text field allows you to specify the slope of
Tip the text characters. Horizontal alignment is the default but can be changed
to vertical if unchecked.
In general, hyperbolically
extruded domains and blocks
will have grid distributions that 8 . 1 9 G ro u p
will be superior to those
achieved through elliptic The Group command is available regardless of selection. Any entities selected
smoothing. Therefore those when the command is entered will automatically be considered part of the
entities do not need further new group you wish to create.
quality work and may actually
degrade in quality if run
through the solver.

Figure 8.79: Use the Group command to create groups based on a

selection of homogeneous entities.

Select the group members of the same type in the Display window or the
List. They can be a group of connectors, domains, blocks, or database entities
(not including database boundaries). Select Create, Group. If no selection is
made prior to entering this command, you need to select a group type at the
top which enables the entity picking mode.
As soon as all the group members are selected, type in the name in the
Group Name box or use a default name by checking the Use Default option.
Click OK to save the new group with name from Name field and close the
panel. Or click Apply to save the new group and allow further selection or
naming for another group. Clicking Cancel will abort Group with nothing
saved.
Once a group is defined, it offers a shortcut to the selection of its group
members. Groups can be selected or deleted through the List (Section
2.2.3.1).

8.20 Intersect

The Intersect command is available regardless of selection. However, any

database entities selected when the command is entered will automatically be
placed in the Group A intersection group and Group B selection will be
active. Otherwise, if no database entities are selected, both intersection
groups must be defined and Group A selection will be active. At the top of
the Intersect panel (Figure 8.80) is a table listing the number of Entities in
each Group. Also listed is the number of pending Intersections entities, or
Not Run is displayed when intersections have not yet been calculated.
 8.61

Tip

Smoothing and Relation

defaults have been optimized
for the average extrusion cases
encountered. These generally
only need adjustment for more
complex geometric shapes.

Figure 8.80: Use the Intersect command to calculate the

intersections between two groups of database entities.

Select Create, Intersect. Select entities for Group A in the Display window
or using the List panel. Change to Group B in the Entity Selection frame,
and select the entities for Group B. This command automatically overrides
the Mask so that only database curve, plane, and surface entities can be
picked. Use the Intersect command to calculate all possible intersections
between the two groups’ entities. Click on OK to save all intersections as
new database entities.
There are a number of commands available on the Intersect panel which are
described here in detail. The Intersect command is the action command for
this panel. It is not available until database entities have been assigned to
both Group A and Group B intersection groups. Click on Intersect to have
the intersections between the two groups calculated.
The Entity Selection frame (Figure 8.80) allows you to choose which group’s
entities, Group A or Group B, is currently being selected. Note that this
command automatically overrides the Mask so that only database curve,
plane, and surface entities can be picked. You can pick entities either
graphically in the Display window or using the List panel. An entity cannot
be assigned to both groups.
Use the Tolerance (Figure 8.80) frame to adjust the Fit Tolerance used by the
Intersect command for those cases where the default tolerance does not
produce the expected database intersection. In order to adjust the Fit
8.62 Pointwise User Manual

Tolerance to a custom value, you must first uncheck the Use Default check
box. Then simply type a new tolerance value into the Fit Tolerance text field.
When adjusting the Fit Tolerance fails to produce the desired intersection,
examine the model more closely to ensure the two groups indeed physically
If extreme small scale featuers cross. You may also consider adjusting the Model Size tolerance (Section
are involved within the intersec- 3.14).
tion process, you may want to
bump down the Model Size.

Figure 8.81: Use the Advanced frame to access alternative

intersection types.

Two alternative intersection types are available in the Advanced frame which
is closed by default. Click the check box adjacent to the label to open this
frame. The Actual intersection type is the default and attempts to calculate
true physical intersections between the two groups’ entities. The Closest
Approach intersection type looks for the closest common points between the
two groups’ entities and will create a set of intersections for both groups.
The associated Max. Distance text field allows you to limit the distance,
between the two groups’ entities, to which this method will search. The
Apparent intersection type employs a ray cast approach where your view
direction or the screen coordinates Z-axis is the vector along which the rays
are cast. Wherever the two groups’ entities appear to intersect along this
view direction new intersections will be created for both groups.
 Chapter 9

Grid Menu

9.1
9.2 Pointwise User Manual

9.1 Overview
Tip
The G r i d menu provides various settings to control grid quality and get
Work from the bottom up when information about the grid being built.
adjusting grid quality. A good
grid starts with good connector
dimension and spacing. Only
after getting the best grid pos-
sible by adjusting the connec-
tors should you move on to
domain and block solvers.

Figure 9.1: Use the Grid menu to improve grid quality by adjusting
spacing, dimension, and other grid parameters.

9 . 2 S e t Ty p e

F i g u r e 9 . 2 : U s e S e t Ty p e t o s e t t h e g r i d t y p e t o S t r u c t u r e d o r
Unstructured.

Set Type controls whether Pointwise creates structured or unstructured

domains and blocks. Structured and unstructured grids can both be included
in the same grid to create a hybrid grid. Note the type only applies to domains
and blocks. At the connector level, there is no difference between structured
and unstructured grids.
To create structured grids, select Structured. Any domains created when
Structured is selected will be structured quadrilateral surface grids. Any
blocks created when Structured is selected will be structured hexahedral
volume grids.
To create unstructured grids, select Unstructured. Any domains created when
Unstructured is selected will contain triangular surface elements. Blocks
created when Unstructured is selected may contain tetrahedral, pyramidal,
and prismatic elements depending on the particular grid generation method
used.

9.3 Dimension

Dimension provides controls for changing the dimension, i.e. the number of
grid points, of connectors. This is the most direct mechanism available for
 9.3

controlling the number of grid points, and it is the place you should start
when you need to adjust grid density.
Tip
The table at the top of the Dimension panel shows a summary of dimension
changes you have made. This is particularly important for structured grids,
Dimension changes to structur-
where opposite edges of domains and opposite faces of blocks must remain
dimensionally balanced. Pointwise automatically propagates dimension ed grids are automatically prop-
changes through a structured grid when it can determine how to redimension agated as far as possible.
the opposite edge of a domain. This works when the edge consists of only
one connector.
If there is more than one connector on an edge, Pointwise cannot determine
how to divide the dimension change between the connectors that compose
the edge. In cases such as this, it will stop and prompt you to change the
dimensions yourself, at which point it will continue automatic propagation as
far as it can.

Figure 9.3: The Dimension panel keeps track of changes you make
to connector dimension to make sure structured grids stay in
balance.

The top row of the table shows how many connectors are currently selected
for dimensioning. The connectors will also be highlighted in the Display
window. The example table shown in Figure 9.3 indicates three connectors
are being redimensioned. Note, if you select a connector that is part of a
structured domain the table may show multiple connectors selected when you
9.4 Pointwise User Manual
Tip
Use the Reset to Last Balanced
button in the Grid, Dimension
command to return structured
domains to a valid state if you
get confused about how to set
connector dimensions.
only explicitly selected one connector. This is because Pointwise has
recognized that the dimension of the additional connectors will have to be
changed to keep the structured domain dimensionally balanced if you change
the dimension of the selected connector.
The next two lines of the table show the number of grid points and the
average grid point spacing on the selected connectors. This information is
provided for reference and to help in determining the new dimension. The
next full width row in the table shows whether the structured grid portions of
the grid system are dimensionally balanced. The example in Figure 9.3 shows
a dimensionally balanced case. If the system is not dimensionally balanced,
this row will show the number of structured domains that are out of balance,
i.e. inconsistent as illustrated in Figure 9.4.
Figure 9.4: Structured domains that become out of balance
(inconsistent) are shown in the middle portion of the table in the
Dimension panel.
The table rows below this show the number of connectors still with their
initial dimension, with dimensions set automatically by Pointwise while also
automatically balancing structured domains, and with dimension set by user
input. The bottom portion of the table shows information about the
connector under the cursor and any other connectors that will have their
dimension automatically set if you change it.
 9.5

Below the table are two buttons: Reset to Last Balanced and Dimension.
Reset to Last Balanced changes connector dimensions back to the last state
where all the structured domains have equal number of grid points on Tip
opposite edges. This can be useful if you get confused during the
dimensioning process and are not sure how to get to a balanced state. To keep your existing grid point
Dimension sets the number of grid points on selected connectors based on distribution but add grid points
the user inputs described below. in highly curved areas, use the
Use Current option in the Set
9.3.1 Set Dimension Dimension frame.

Figure 9.5: The Set Dimension frame contains basic controls for
setting the number of grid points on connectors.

In the Set Dimension frame you can choose one of three methods for setting
the number of grid points:

Number of Points lets you type in a number of grid points directly.

Average Ds lets you enter an average spacing between grid points
on the connector. Pointwise will compute the number of grid points
for the connector that most closely matches the average spacing you
enter.
Use Current tells Pointwise to keep the existing number of grid
points on the connector. It is useful when you want to start from an
existing distribution of grid points and add grid points to it based on
Max. Angle and/or Max. Deviation parameters.

9.3.2 Curvature

Figure 9.6: The Curvature frame contains controls for adding grid
points based on local connector curvature.

Max. Angle lets you enter an angular deviation in degrees. If the angle
between the two line segments joining three consecutive grid points is
greater than the entered angle, a new grid point will be added.
9.6 Pointwise User Manual
Tip
The Spacing toolbar widget is a
quick way to change the spac-
ing of many connector ends at
once. Just select the connector
ends and type in the new spac-
ing on the toolbar.
Max. Deviation lets you enter a chordal deviation in the physical units of
your grid. If the local chordal deviation is greater than the entered value, a
new grid point will be added.
Use Database Curvature causes the checks for Max. Angle and Max.
Deviation to look at the underlying database curvature in addition to the
connector curvature. This is a factor when the database is highly curved
transverse to the connector direction but relatively flat in the direction of the
connector. Used with the Use Current option, these parameters will move
some existing grid points on selected connector towards high curvature
region.
9.3.3 Copy From
Figure 9.7: When open the Copy From command frame disables all
other commands on the Dimension panel.
Use the Copy From frame (Figure 9.7) to copy a dimension from a
subconnector or a combined dimension from a string of subconnectors to the
connector currently selected. Opening this frame disables all other commands
on the Dimension panel. A color coded table lists the number of currently
selected subconnectors to copy from and the total number of points they
contain. The example in Figure 9.7 shows three subconnectors with a
combined dimension of 27 grid points. The selection of this string of
subconnectors can only be performed in the Display window; the List is not
available for this selection. Erase Last Subconnector removes the most
recently selected subconnector from the pending string to copy from. Erase
All Subconnectors restarts the string selection. Copy Dimension completes
the copy operation by applying the dimension of the pending subconnector
or subconnector string on the connector or connectors currently selected for
dimension change.
9.3.4 Advanced
Clear Existing General Distributions, when checked on, will cause
connectors having type General distribution functions to switch to the default
distribution function type, which is set in the Distribution frame of the
Defaults panel.
 9.7

9.4 Distribute
Tip
Distribute (Figure 9.8) is used to control the manner in which grid points are
positioned along connectors. This is done through specifying spacings at
Choosing the Equal type distri-
connector breakpoints and choosing a distribution function that determines
bution function uncon-strains
how the spacing varies between breakpoints.
the connector end spacings and
Select the connector or connectors for distribution adjustment before sets the distribution function to
opening the Distribute panel. The Distribute panel allows selection of a
Tanh, resulting in equally
subset of spacing constraints, breakpoints, and subconnectors from within
spaced grid points.
the command, so very tailored distribution changes can be made on the
current selection of connectors.
The Distribute command is broken into four tabbed functions: Spacing for
setting spacing constraints, Functions for specifying subconnector
distribution functions, Break Points for defining break points and implicitly
subconnectors, and Dimension for moving grid points among subconnectors.
Each of these tabs will be discussed in detail below.

Figure 9.8: The Distribute panel is used to control how grid points
are positioned along the length of connectors.

9 . 4 . 1 S p a c i n g Ta b
The Spacing tab (Figure 9.8) is the default entry for the Distribute command
since spacing constraints are where users spend most of their distribution
work. A spacing constraint in the discussion to follow refers to the distance
between the two grid points at the end of a connector or subconnector. By
default, this distance will be the total arc length between the two points.
However, the spacing constraint may also be set to refer to the distance in a
single Cartesian coordinate direction X, Y or Z. Spacing constraints are set to
the value specified in the Defaults panel, which is initially set to zero
(unconstrained).
9.8 Pointwise User Manual
Tip
The Geometric distribution
function only lets you specify a
spacing constraint on one end
of the connector. Whichever
end you specified last will be
constrained and the other end
will be free.
A table on this tab summarizes how many constraints are currently selected,
how many currently selected are Unconstrained, how many currently
selected are Constrained, the Specified spacing for the currently selected
constraints and the Actual spacing for those currently selected. If either the
Specified or Actual values vary among the currently selected constraints, an
average value of those selected will be listed in the table.
A single Spacing text field is used to enter the spacing constraint value for
the selected constraints. Simply type the new value and hit Enter for the
value to be immediately applied and the displayed point distribution updated.
The values entered for spacing constraints are physical distances in the units
in which the grid is being constructed.
Figure 9.9: The Probe frame provides a visual cue on the local grid
p o i n t s p a c i n g u n d e r t h e c u r s o r.
Expand the Probe frame, the Spacing table is provided that displays local grid
point information under the cursor such as the grid point index and the
spacings on each side (- and +).
As shown in Figure 9.9, the local information of the grid point #14 on the
selected connector is available in both the display and the Spacing table. If
you cursor over somewhere between two adjacent grid points such as #13
and #14, only one spacing will be displayed instead. Note the spacings are
calculated based on the spline variable (Figure 9.14) that is selected.
 9.9

9 . 4 . 2 F u n c t i o n s Ta b

Tip

Use the unstructured domain

solver to improve unstructured
surface grid quality if the initial
domain needs improvement.

Figure 9.10: Use the Functions tab to select a c o n n e c t o r ’s

distribution function type.

In the Functions tab (Figure 9.10), you can choose a distribution function and
change other parameters affecting how grid point spacings vary along the
length of a connector or subconnector. The simple table at the top of this tab
shows how many subconnectors are currently selected.
The Function frame on this tab provides radio buttons for selecting the
specific distribution function desired. The available choices for distribution
function type in the frame are:
Tanh - The default distribution function is the hyperbolic tangent (Ref.
36). If the spacing is unconstrained at both ends, grid points will be
distributed uniformly using a simple uniform interpolation scheme. If
the spacing is unconstrained at only one end, an alternative one-sided
hyperbolic tangent distribution function is used. Hyperbolic tangent
works very well for the majority of cases and for that reason it is the
default distribution function.
MRQS - The Monotonic Rational Quadratic Spline (MRQS) function
(Ref. 1) can be applied to several subconnectors simultaneously. It
forces a grid point to be fixed to a break point. At the same time,
spacing continuity and spacing variation continuity will be applied
9.10 Pointwise User Manual
Tip
By default, Pointwise will con-
strain unstructured domains to
any database entities its grid
points already are constrained
to. Use Target Database Selec-
tion to change this if needed.
The Apply Equal Spacing command is a shortcut used to quickly unconstrain
both ends of a subconnector by setting both values to zero. It also sets the
distribution function back to the default: hyperbolic tangent.
automatically across the break point. This type is included for compat-
ibility with existing Gridgen grids.
Shape - This type allows you to enter values for the maximum devia-
tion of the discrete connector from the segment shape and the maxi-
mum turning angle allowed between adjacent grid points along the
connector. Note that unlike implementations of this feature in the
Defaults panel and during connector dimensioning, the connector
dimension is NOT changed when this feature is applied as a distribu-
tion function. This means that the deviation and turning angle limits
you specify here will not be enforced exactly, but the general trend in
grid point clustering will be applied. Furthermore, if you choose to
maintain beginning and ending spacing constraints when applying this
distribution function be aware that the level to which the limits will be
enforced is seriously degraded. Use the Shape Distribution Parame-
ters command frame (see below) to set the desired parameter values.
Geometric - This is a one-sided distribution function. Only one spac-
ing constraint on a subconnector can be set with this function type.
Whichever spacing constraint was set last will be applied. If no spacing
constraints are specified, the grid points will be distributed uniformly.
Geometric progression works by distributing the grid points from the
constrained end so the ratio of spacing between adjacent grid points
is constant. Therefore, if tight clustering is specified at one end, the
distance between successive points will increase monotonically
towards the other end of the subconnector.
Growth - This type allows you to modify a connector or subconnector
to match the desired T-Rex parameters (Section 9.5.2.6) such as the
initial boundary layer spacing, growth rate, number of anisotropic lay-
ers, etc. It applies the geometric function to the boundary layer
(“growth”) portion of a connector while the hyperbolic tangent func-
tion to the non-growth portion. It can be used as a one-sided function
or two-sided. The one-sided growth is enabled by constraining the
spacing on one end and setting its Growth Distribution Parameters to
non-zero values. Likewise, the two-sided growth is enabled by con-
straining both spacings with their distribution parameters set to non-
zero values.
General - A general distribution results from other operations and
cannot be set explicitly on any connector or subconnector. General
distributions represent discrete point locations stored rather than
points being located along a connector by a formula. These distribu-
tions will result from, for example, connectors being projected onto
database surface entities or from connectors imported from a non-
native file format, such as Plot3D. This radio button choice is shown
only for reference to indicate when such a distribution exists on a
selected subconnector.
 9.11

The Reverse command is used to swap the constraint values from one end of
a subconnector to the other while maintaining the original distribution
function. Therefore, if a break point is dividing a connector into two Tip
subconnectors and both are selected in the Display window, Reverse will
swap the constraint values on the ends of the first subconnector and also on The default direction for linear
the ends of the second subconnector. projection is along the average
of the normals through the
domain’s grid points. You can
change the direction using Pro-
jection Orientation: Set.

Figure 9.11: When open the Copy From command frame disables all
other commands on the Functions tab.

Use the Copy From frame (Figure 9.11) to copy a distribution or string of
distributions from other subconnectors to the subconnector currently
selected. Opening this frame disables all other commands on the Functions
tab. A color coded table lists the number of currently selected subconnectors
to copy from and the total number of points they contain.
The selection of this string of subconnectors can only be performed in the
Display window; the List is not available for this selection. Once selected, the
subconnectors are rendered in yellow with an arrow pointing to the end that
represents its orientation. Erase Last Subconnector removes the most
recently selected subconnector from the pending string to copy from. Erase
All Subconnectors restarts the string selection. Reverse reverses the
orientation of the subconnector string. Copy Delta Values completes the
copy operation by enforcing the spacing constraints and function type of the
pending subconnector on the subconnector or subconnectors currently
selected for function change. Note that Copy Delta Values is only available
when a single subconnector is selected to copy from. Copy Scaled
Distribution completes the copy operation by scaling the point distribution
of the pending subconnector string by arc length to the subconnector or
subconnectors currently selected for function change.

Figure 9.12: The Shape Distribution Parameters frame allows direct

entry of maximum turning angle and maximum chordal deviation.
9.12 Pointwise User Manual
Tip
Min. Edge Length is a safety
stop that prevents the grid from
getting too fine if one of the
other attributes is set incor-
rectly.
The Shape Distribution Parameters frame (Figure 9.12) is closed by default.
The settings found in this frame are used in conjunction with the Shape
distribution function (see above). Max. Angle lets you enter a maximum
turning angle between consecutive grid points along the connector.
Remember, these parameters do not change the dimension of the selected
connector. That is, existing points will be moved to attempt to satisfy the
input turning angle constraint. Max. Deviation lets you type in a maximum
chordal deviation between the discrete shape of the connector and the
underlying analytic shape.
Figure 9.13: The Growth Distribution Parameters frame provides a
connector distribution to support the inheritance functionality
a d d e d t o T- R e x .
The Growth Distribution Parameters frame (Figure 9.13) is closed by
default. The settings found in this frame are used in conjunction with the
Growth distribution function (Figure 9.10). A growth distribution of the
begin /end spacing constraint can be defined by one of the following
methods: Number of Layers and Growth Rate, Total Height and Growth
Rate, or Number of Layers and Total Height. Once this is selected within
the Begin/End pull-down menu, you can set the corresponding variables to
non-zero values. As seen in Figure 9.13, a two-sided growth distribution is
created by setting the number of layers and growth rate for both ends of a
connector (or subconnector). If a user input requires a change to the
dimension, click on Set Optimal Dimension (Section 9.4.4) to apply the
optimal dimension.
Figure 9.14: The Spline command frame allows direct entry of the
spline variable.
The Spline frame (Figure 9.14) is also closed by default. Here you can change
the Spline Variable from the default setting, Arclength. The Arclength
setting forces grid points to be distributed based on arc length along the
connector. Hence, a spacing constraint of 0.4 will make the distance between
 9.13

adjacent grid points at the end be 0.4. However, you may want to distribute
grid points on the basis of only one of the coordinate components such as X,
Y or Z instead of arc length. If the spline variable is changed to X, for Tip
example, a spacing constraint of 0.4 will result in a grid point distribution
such that the difference in X coordinate values of grid points will be 0.4. If you are trying to achieve
smaller cells in areas of high
9 . 4 . 3 B r e a k P o i n t s Ta b curvature in your surface mesh,
you can set the Maximum Sur-
face Deviation or Maximum
Angle Deviation in conjunction
with the Refine command. This
will selectively add triangles to
those areas of the domain
where difference between the
grid and the underlying surface
deviates from the tolerance or
angle you specify.

F i g u r e 9 . 1 5 : U s e t h e B r e a k P o i n t s t a b t o s u b d i v i d e a c o n n e c t o r ’s
distribution into subconnectors.

The Break Points tab provides tools for adding and removing break points on
the interior of your connectors. A legend appears at top defining the symbols
used to represent different types of break points: circles for break points at
the ends of a connector, squares for fixed break points, and diamonds for arc
length based break points. A fixed break point is defined by selecting an
existing control point and is tied to that control point’s physical coordinates
regardless of subsequent changes to the arc length of the connector. Arc
length break points are defined either visually or via type in at some
percentage of connector arc length and always maintain that percent location
regardless of subsequent changes to the arc length of a connector.
Subsequent deletion of a control point will also delete a fixed break point at
that location.
9.14 Pointwise User Manual
Tip
The Free surface shape con-
straint is quite handy for situa-
tions in which you have a
domain that you wish to solve
just based on the boundary
connector dimensions, distri-
bution, and shape. If those
boundary connectors are data-
base constrained, the Free sur-
face shape will ignore that
association.
A table summarizes the number of each type of break point and the total for
reference. Three collapsing command frames are available on this tab, but
only one can be open at any given time, thus restricting the currently
available commands. The default frame is Add Break Points Interactively.
This option allows you to define break points by simply clicking on locations
anywhere along the connector length or by direct selection of a grid point or
control point. Use Delete Last Break Point or the Delete accelerator on the
keyboard to remove the most recently defined break point. Add At Control
Points will place a new break point at each control point along the connector
interior.
F i g u r e 9 . 1 6 : T h e Ty p e i n A r c l e n g t h B r e a k P o i n t f r a m e a l l o w s d i r e c t
entry of a connector percent arc length.
Open the Type in Arclength Break Point frame to access direct text entry of
a connector percent arc length for break point location.
F i g u r e 9 . 1 7 : T h e Ty p e i n C o o r d i n a t e B r e a k P o i n t f r a m e a l l o w s d i r e c t
e n t r y o f X , Y, a n d Z v a l u e s .
Open the Type in Coordinate Break Point frame to access direct text entry of
Constant X, Constant Y, or Constant Z values for break point location.
Multiple break points will be created if a connector is multivalued in the
entered coordinate. If the entered value is outside the extents of the
connector, no break point will be created.
Use Delete Last Break Point or the Delete accelerator on the keyboard to
remove the most recently defined break point.
Figure 9.18: The Delete Break Points frame activates break point
selection for interactive deletion of individual break points.
Open the Delete Break Points frame to have current selection changed to
picking individual break points in the Display window. Every break point
selected in the Display window will be immediately removed from the
 9.15

connector and the point distribution will be updated accordingly. Use Delete
All Break Points to remove all break points at once from the interior of your
connector. Tip

9 . 4 . 4 D i m e n s i o n Ta b When using the Database sur-

face shape parameter, it is
important to make sure that the
database surfaces you wish to
solver your grid on are all
selected within the Target Data-
base Selection frame.

Figure 9.19: Use the Dimension tab to move grid points among the
s u b c o n n e c t o r s o f a c o n n e c t o r.

The Dimension tab (Figure 9.19) provides a list for adjusting the number of
grid points among the subconnectors of a single connector. If a connector has
no interior break points, and thus no subconnectors, only a single
subconnector will be listed and will show values equivalent to the Connector
Total. In this case, no adjustment can be made since this command does not
allow you to change the overall dimension of a connector.
Otherwise, when the selected connector does have interior break points, and
thus subconnectors as in the example shown in Figure 9.19, you are given a
list of the subconnectors and their individual Current and New or pending
dimensions.
Double-clicking the New dimension for a subconnector allows you to either
type in a new value directly, or reset the value using the up/down arrows
9.16 Pointwise User Manual

(Figure 9.20). The down arrow pushes the grid points of the subconnector
corresponding to the row to the subconnector displayed below. Similarly, the
Tip up arrow pushes the grid points of the subconnector corresponding to the
row to the subconnector displayed above.
By unchecking Use Boundary,
you can specify the minimum
and maximum edge length for
your mesh which will provide
you with more control over the
overall number of cells within
your grid.

Figure 9.20: Use the up/down arrows to push points from one
s u b c o n n e c t o r t o a n e i g h b o r s u b c o n n e c t o r.

The Connector Total for this column then updates to show whether the set of
subconnectors has too many, too few or the exact number of grid points
necessary to match the connector’s over all Current dimension.
When the set of subconnectors have a total dimension matching that of the
entire connector, the Dimension command at the bottom becomes available
for the new changes to be applied. Select Connector allows you to change,
via Display window selection, the focus connector among all those currently
selected for the Distribute command panel. A single cell table at the top of
the Dimension tab indicates which connector is currently selected for
adjustment. When one or two ends of a connector or subconnector are
constrained, Set Optimal Dimension can be used for adjusting the
dimension for the distribution parameters to be applied and/or improving the
smoothness.
 9.17

9.5 Solve
Tip

Boundary Decay is a powerful

tool for clustering or decima-
ting areas of your volume grid
based on their surface cell sizes.
Be careful when setting the
Boundary Decay since it can
add a significant number of
cells at higher values.

Figure 9.21: Select which entity type you wish to solve from the
intermediate selection panel.

Solve is used to improve grid quality of unstructured domains, structured

domains, unstructured blocks, or structured blocks. A homogeneous selection
of any of these four entity types will allow entry directly to the solver when
Solve is selected from the Grid menu. Any connectors and/or database
entities also selected will be ignored. A heterogeneous selection of the above
four entity types will place you into an intermediate selection panel (Figure
9.21) when Solve is selected from the Grid menu. Simply click the icon for
the type you wish to solve at this time.
9.18 Pointwise User Manual

9.5.1 Solve for Structured Domains and Blocks

Tip

The domain and block solvers

can improve surface and block
grid quality. But remember that
good grid quality starts with
good connector grid point dis-
tributions.

Figure 9.22: The Solve panel for structured domains and blocks
controls the elliptic PDE-based smoothing and transfinite
interpolation techniques.

The table at the top of the Solve tab shows information about each entity
that is loaded into the solver and its subgrids if any. As shown in Figure 9.22,
there are three subgrids that belong to “dom-4” and “dom-7” respectively.
The table also shows the elliptic solver information such as the Status
(whether it is initialized or has been refined), what Iteration number has
been run, the Dimensions, the Max. Residual and Total Residual. You can
pick the entities you want to solve (i.e., the subgrids) so that only the entities
with a checkmark next to them will be modified.
The entities can be sorted by any of the columns in the table. Simply click on
the header and the order of the entities will change accordingly. For example,
if you wish to sort all entities by their dimensions, you would click on the
Dimensions header at the top of the table. The direction of the arrow in the
header indicates whether the sort is in ascending or descending order.
Pointwise also remembers how you prefer to have your entities sorted. Upon
entering the Solve command, the entities will be sorted in the same manner
as when you exited the command.
Iterations lets you enter a number of iterations to run the solver when the
Run button is pressed.
Run starts the elliptic solver. The solver runs for the number of iterations
entered in the Iterations text field unless the Stop button or the stop sign
icon in the lower left corner of the panel is pressed first.
 9.19

Stop interrupts the elliptic solver’s iterations.

Initialize computes the domain or block interior grid point locations using
Tip
the transfinite interpolation (TFI) parameters specified in the Attributes tab
(Ref. 9, Ref. 17, Ref. 19). TFI is automatically applied to a grid when it is first
Pointwise automatically uses
created but can be applied manually any time thereafter as well.
the Parametric or Parametric Fit
Project projects any grids with database constrained shapes to the database methods to initialize a domain
using the current shape attributes. Note this command is not available for
when it can so that the domain
blocks. The Project button is grayed out if the database is invisible or not
maintains the underlying data-
available as a shape option.
base shape.

Figure 9.23: The Attributes tab has controls for both the transfinite
interpolation and elliptic PDE-based methods for structured
domains and blocks.

9.5.1.1 Initialization
Method lets you specify the particular TFI method to apply when the
Initialize button is pressed. Choices are:
9.20 Pointwise User Manual
Tip
The Thomas-Middlecoff inte-
rior control function maintains
boundary spacing into the inte-
rior of the mesh.
Figure 9.24: The current axis definition is displayed in a table when
the Polar method is selected.
Standard applies blending functions based on the relative spacing of
the grid points on the boundaries (Ref. 20). The TFI algorithm is
applied independently to the (x,y,z) coordinates of a grid. Because the
blending functions are arc length based, the resultant grids usually
have satisfactory clustering. Standard TFI is the third method after
Parametric and Parametric Fit TFI that Pointwise tries to apply by
default to create the initial surface grid for domains. Standard TFI is
the default method for new blocks.
Linear applies the TFI algorithm to the (x,y,z) coordinates of the grid,
but the blending functions are no longer related to the distribution of
grid points on the boundaries. This method is rarely better than Stan-
dard TFI but is provided for comparison and historical purposes.
Parametric can be used when all of the grid points on the boundar-
ies of a grid are on the same database entity. In this method, the basic
TFI algorithm is applied to the parametric database coordinates (u,v).
Once the parametric coordinates (u,v) are computed at each grid
point, the physical coordinates (x,y,z) are calculated from direct evalu-
ation of the database entity. The result is a grid that lies exactly on the
database entity. If you apply Parametric TFI to grids that do not refer-
ence one and only one database entity, you will be warned and the
grid points will not be updated. Parametric TFI is the first method that
Pointwise tries to apply by default to create the initial surface grid for
domains.
Polar is best suited for grids intended to be shaped like a body of rev-
olution. Selecting this method opens the Polar Axis Selection frame
where you cab define the axis (Figure 9.24). Refer to the table for
information on the definition of the current axis.
Press Begin to expand the Polar Axis Selection frame. As shown in
Figure 9.25, there are three methods for defining the axis: Curve, 2
Points, and Point and Direction.
 9.21

Tip

Use the Fixed surface shape

when you want to maintain the
shape of a domain but don’t
have an underlying database
surface.

F i g u r e 9 . 2 5 : A p o l a r a x i s c a n b e d ef i n e d b y c u r v e , 2 p o i n t s o r p o i n t
and direction.

The default Curve option expects you to pick a curve in the Display
window or in the List to use as the axis. If the curve is not linear, the
endpoints will be used to define the axis. The 2 Points option allows
you to pick points in the Display window or enter them directly into
the XYZ text field. Point and Direction allows you to pick or enter a
point and then select a primary axis direction through that point or
specify a non-primary axis direction by entering directly into the Vec-
tor text field.
Delete Last Point allows you to delete selected or entered points
when using either the 2 Points or Point and Direction axis specifica-
tion options. Clear Axis allows you to start the axis specification pro-
cess over from the beginning by clearing the currently defined axis.
Press End to confirm your change and the information in the Current
Axis table will be updated accordingly.
The (x,y,z) grid point coordinates on the boundaries are then trans-
formed to polar coordinates (r, alpha, z') relative to the axis of revolu-
tion. The TFI algorithm is applied to each of the polar coordinates.
Finally, the polar coordinates are transformed back to Cartesian coor-
dinates. Polar is not available for blocks.
Parametric Fit is similar to Parametric TFI in that it will produce grids
that lie on the database shape. As is the case for Parametric TFI, the
grid points will be on a single database surface entity. However, it is
much more general than Parametric TFI because the boundary points
do not have to lie on a single database entity. Two less stringent condi-
tions must be met before Parametric Fit TFI may be applied.

1. A certain percentage of the grid's boundary points must reference

database entities of any kind.
2. All of the grid's boundary points must lie within the extent box of
at least one database surface entity.
If the grid passes the two tests above, then the grid's boundary points
are projected (using closest point) onto each of the candidate (accord-
ing to condition 2 above) database surfaces. The projection that
9.22 Pointwise User Manual

results in the smallest cumulative movement of the boundary points

Tip
Pointwise uses multigrid accel-
eration to speed grid conver-
gence. You can switch to Suc-
cessive Over Relaxation if you
want to run only a few itera-
tions and move the grid slightly.
determines the database entity to use for Parametric TFI. The grid's
boundary points are projected onto the entity, and the resulting (u,v)
coordinates are used to drive Parametric TFI. Note that the projection
of boundary points is only a temporary operation; the original coordi-
nates of the boundary points are restored.
Parametric Fit TFI is the second method after Parametric TFI that Point-
wise tries to apply by default to create the initial surface grid for
domains. For Parametric Fit TFI to be applied automatically to a new
domain, a third condition must be satisfied:
3. The total distance projected from the grid's boundary points to the
candidate surface must be less than a tolerance.

9.5.1.2 Interior Control Functions

Control functions control the distribution of grid points during iterative
solution of the elliptic PDE. These control functions are calculated and
updated automatically between elliptic PDE iterations and are formed as a
blended combination of two independent function sets known as interior and
boundary control functions.
Interior control functions are used to influence the distribution of grid points
on the interior of the grid. Three different interior control functions,
described below, are available in Pointwise

Laplace interior control functions provide a very smooth distribution

of grid points in the grid interior, but provide no degree of orthogonal-
ity or clustering.
Thomas-Middlecoff (Ref. 34) interior control functions will cluster
grid points on the grid's interior based on how the grid points are
clustered on the boundaries. This method is very reliable and stable for
a wide range of applications and is, therefore, Pointwise's default
background control function.
Fixed Grid interior control functions are used to eliminate grid line
slope discontinuities from the grid's interior while preserving the rest
of the grid. Its effects are very subtle. The final grid will exhibit the
same general features as the starting grid, including regions of cluster-
ing and orthogonality, but any slope discontinuities will be smoothed.
This method should not be used unless the starting grid is of adequate
quality except for the discontinuities.

9.5.1.3 Surface Shape (domains only)

Pointwise's structured solver for domains is a true "surface" solver, in that
grid points are inserted directly on a specified geometrical shape (the
database). This attribute is used to specify the manner in which that shape is
maintained during solution. The following three techniques are available:

Free - The shape is computed implicitly as a result of the triangulation

method for the Cartesian coordinates (x,y,z). If the grid is constrained
 9.23

to the database and you run the solver with the free shape attribute,
then the grid will no longer conform to the database. Free is the
default shape attribute unless Pointwise has automatically applied Tip
either Parametric or Parametric Fit Triangulation when the domain was
created. In that case the default shape attribute is database. The default edge/face attributes
Fixed - The solution of the elliptic PDEs is performed in a parametric usually produce suitable grids,
space corresponding to the grid's original (u,v) coordinates. If the grid but other options are available
is constrained to the database, this method will not destroy the grid - for those times when different
database relationship. This method is generally used when the existing approaches are needed.
grid points lie on the intended shape but are not distributed in the
desired manner and no database is available.
Database - This method is used to have the grid conform to one or
more database entities. For best results, the starting grid should
already lie on the database entities which can be accomplished auto-
matically when the grid is created or by projecting the domain onto
the database later.
Projection Method determine how grid points are moved onto the database.
There are two choices:

Closest Point - This attribute tells Pointwise that the projection type
is closest point and a projection vector is not required.
Linear - This attribute tells Pointwise the projection type is linear. The
projection direction can be set using the Default projection direction
or the Projection Orientation: Set button.
The default projection orientation is computed by averaging the grid's normal
vector at each grid point.
Projection Orientation: Set tells Pointwise that the projection type is linear
and that points will be projected onto the database along a fixed vector
perpendicular to the Display window (screen-z) when the button is pressed.

9 . 5 . 1 . 4 Ta r g e t D a t a b a s e S e l e c t i o n ( d o m a i n s o n l y )
Begin allows you to select the target projection entities from all those
currently visible. After this button is pressed you can select database entities
from either the List panel or Display window. The current set of target
entities is already picked when the button is first pressed. The button remains
depressed with the text End now displayed. Pressing End stops selection of
projection database entities.
Use Default means the grids will be projected onto the default set of
database entities. The default database entities are computed for each grid
based on which entities are currently referenced by the grid points.

9.5.1.5 Solution Algorithm

Pointwise calculates the elliptic PDE solution on a grid using a successive over-
relaxation (SOR) numerical algorithm with multigrid acceleration.This is an
iterative method to converge upon the grid point locations that satisfy the
elliptic PDEs.
9.24 Pointwise User Manual

Solver Engine lets you choose which of two possible solution techniques:

Tip MultiGrid solves the elliptic PDEs via a multigrid approach. With this
method, solutions are obtained on the domain as well as on succes-
The Adjacent Grid spacing and sively coarser representations of the same domain. The number of
angle controls produce a coarser levels used is dependent on the initial (fine) mesh size since
smooth grid across domain the algorithm coarsens the mesh until the minimum dimension in any
boundaries. direction is 5. As the PDEs are solved on each of these meshes, the
changes on the coarser representations are propagated to the finer
meshes in a sequential manner that allows total solution convergence
to be reached with a substantially smaller number of iterations than
the Successive Over Relaxation method. This is the default method.
Successive Over Relaxation uses an explicit, iterative method to
compute grid point locations.
MultiGrid Parameters - The multigrid algorithm relaxes the grid point
solution iteratively on the selected grid as well as on coarser grids created by
geometrically reducing the initial grid in all directions by a factor of 2. Two
factors control how the multigrid algorithm will be applied to the initial and
coarse grids, relaxation and prolongation.
Relaxation Factor - This factor is used in the successive over-relaxation phase
of the grid solution. The default value is 0.9. Values lower than the default
will increase solution robustness but will require more iterations for
convergence.
Prolongation Factor - This factor is used in the prolongation phase of the
grid solution in which the initial (fine) grid is updated with a percentage of
the changes calculated on the coarse grids. If Delta is the change in a grid
point's location on a coarse grid after a refinement sweep, then the grid point
on the fine mesh is updated by adding omega * Delta to its original value,
where omega is the prolongation relaxation factor. The default value is 0.6.
Values lower than the default will increase solution robustness but will require
more iterations for convergence.
Successive Over Relaxation Parameters - After each iteration, the grid
point solution is "relaxed" according to the following equation
r new = ω r PDE + (1- ω) r old
in which r is the grid point vector and ω is the relaxation factor. With a
relaxation factor of 0, the grid will not move from iteration to iteration, since
the new value will be exactly equal to the old value. Notice also that with
omega = 1, the new value of the grid point will be exactly that calculated
from the PDE. It is possible to use values of omega greater than one, hence
the term over-relaxation.
 9.25

Tip

The Floating boundary condi-

tion changes the shape of
domain or block boundaries to
improve grid quality.

Figure 9.26: The Edge/Face Attributes tab is used to control the

elliptic solver near domain edges and block faces.

9.5.1.6 Boundary Control Functions

Boundary Control Functions are used to influence the distribution of grid
points near the grid boundaries. They are calculated by adjusting the control
functions locally so the grid points one layer inward from the boundaries will
satisfy a specified spacing and angle constraint, with all other interior points
blended smoothly. Spacing constraint refers to the distance between a
boundary grid point and the grid point one layer inward, and angle refers to
the angle that the grid line between these two points makes with the
boundary itself.
The boundary control function types are:

von Lavante-Hilgenstock-White applies the von Lavante-Hilgen-

stock-White (Ref. 10, Ref. 37, Ref. 39) boundary control function for-
mulation to the selected boundaries. This method yields virtually exact
enforcement of the constraints but the grid may lack some of the
smoothness provided by Steger-Sorenson. This method is the default.
Steger-Sorenson applies the Steger-Sorenson (Ref. 21) boundary
control function formulation to the selected boundaries. The resulting
grid is smooth, clustered, and orthogonal at the boundaries. However,
the constraints are only maintained in an approximate sense, especially
in concave regions.
None does not apply any boundary control function on the edge.
9.26 Pointwise User Manual

9.5.1.7 Spacing Controls

Spacing refers to the distance between the boundary (edge for domains and
Tip
face for blocks) grid points and the first layer of grid points inward from the
boundary. You can choose from four methods for computing the spacing
Remember that nearly all solver
constraint:
attributes can be specified prior
to grid entity creation in the Interpolate - The spacing control is computed by interpolating lin-
Defaults panel. All entities cre- early from the perimeter of the boundary. This gives a smooth varia-
ated after setting defaults in tion of spacing that matches the spacing at the perimeter of the
this manner will automatically boundary. The boundary's arc length is used as the basis for the inter-
inherit the desired attributes. polation. This is the default method.
Current Grid - This control maintains the spacing currently in place
in the grid.
Adjacent Grid - The spacing control is copied from another grid
which is selected for the elliptic solver with the current grid and shares
the selected boundary. If desired, changes in the adjacent grid can be
prevented by setting a relaxation factor of 0.0 in the Attributes panel.
If the adjacent grid cannot be determined (either if none exists or if
more than one exists), the control is changed to Current Grid. This
control provides spacing continuity across grid boundaries. This option
is only available for domains.
User Specified - Sets the spacing control equal to the value entered
in the Value: type in field.
Blending refers to the way in which the boundary control function merges
with the interior control functions. The choices are:

Exponential - An exponential function is used to rapidly decay the

spacing constraint into the grid's interior. This is the default blending
function type.
Linear - The spacing control is blended linearly from the boundary
into the interior.
User Specified - This allows you to specify a Decay Factor, which is
the number of grid points away from the boundary at which the spac-
ing control portion of the boundary control function will be equal to
10% of its boundary value. The default value is 6. Smaller values are
more stable, but may dissipate the spacing constraint too quickly. Neg-
ative decay values are not allowed.

9.5.1.8 Angle Controls

Angle refers to the angle that transverse grid lines make with the boundary.
You can choose from four methods for computing the angle constraint:

Orthogonal - Sets the angle constraint to 90 degrees. This is the

default method.
Interpolate - The angle control is computed by interpolating linearly
from the perimeter of the boundary onto the interior. A simple linear
basis is used for the interpolation.
 9.27

CurrentGrid - This maintains the angle currently in place in the grid.

Adjacent Grid - The angle control is copied from another grid which
is selected for the elliptic solver with the current grid and shares the Tip
selected boundary. If desired, changes in the adjacent grid can be pre-
vented by setting a relaxation factor of 0.0 in the Attributes panel. If It is a good idea to group
the adjacent grid cannot be determined (either if none exists or if domains where the same solv-
more than one exists), the constraint is changed to Current Grid. This ing attributes will be applied.
control provides angle continuity across grid boundaries. This option is This strategy often facilitates
only available for domains. the domain selection and solv-
Blending refers to the way in which the boundary control function merges ing process.
with the interior control functions. The choices are:

Exponential - An exponential function is used to rapidly decay the

angle constraint into the grid's interior. This is the default blending
function type.
Linear - The angle control is blended linearly from the boundary into
the interior.
User Specified - This allows you to specify a Decay Factor, which is
the number of grid points away from the boundary at which the angle
control portion of the boundary control function will be equal to 10%
of its boundary value. The default value is 6. Smaller values are more
stable, but may dissipate the angle constraint too quickly. Negative
decay values are not allowed.

9.5.1.9 Boundary Conditions

By default, boundary grid points are not moved by the elliptic solver. There
are instances, however, when moving the boundary points subject to the PDE
solution may be advantageous. Pointwise's three types of boundary
conditions are described below. Note that these boundary conditions are not
related in any way whatsoever to the CAE software boundary conditions.

Fixed - Boundary points are not affected by the elliptic PDE solution.
This is the default boundary condition.
Floating - Boundary points will "float" as though they were interior
grid points. Floating boundary conditions are only applicable if Point-
wise is able to find a unique neighbor to the boundary among the
grids selected for the elliptic solver. If a unique neighbor cannot be
found for a particular grid point, then the boundary condition is con-
verted to fixed for that grid point. Although the grid points on floating
boundaries are computed as though they are interior grid points, the
control functions are computed in each grid individually. This may
result in control function discontinuities across the boundary leading
to unexpected result.
Orthogonal - Boundary points will move along the boundary shape
in order to maintain orthogonality with the interior points.
9.28 Pointwise User Manual

9.5.1.10 Subgrids
For structured surface and volume grids, you can define a subset of the grid
Tip
known as a subgrid for the application of specific grid methods. This allows
focused application of the solver on problem areas without effecting the rest
Note that deleting a subgrid
of the grid. There are three modes available on the Subgrids tab:
does not delete any grid points.
Add - Creates subgrids by specifying a subset of a domain’s or block’s
grid points. Each subgrid must have at least three grid points in each
computational direction. Subgrids can overlap or abut one another.
The set of all subgrids on a given entity need not encompass all of the
entity’s grid points.

Figure 9.27: The Add command frame is used for adding subgrid(s)
to selected domains or blocks by specifying opposite corner grid
points.

When the Add frame is opened, candidate domains or blocks from

primary selection will be rendered in magenta color and available
for picking. Select a domain or block in the Display window. Then
press Begin to define opposite corner points in the Display window
or via the IJ (domains)/IJK (blocks) text fields. Once defined, the
new subgrid will be highlighted in yellow. Click on Cancel to end
the current subgrid creation process without saving any changes.
Or press End to stop the creation process of this subgrid and move
on to specifying the next subgrid if any.

For adding subgrids to a block (Figure 9.28), use the additional tools
in the Cutting frame (Section 6.3) to quickly scan through the block
interior. A corner point can be picked on a given IJK cutting plane
in the Display window.
 9.29

Tip

Using the Merge command to

repair node-node mismatches is
a better strategy than adjusting
the Node tolerance in File,
Properties. The Merge com-
mand gives you the ability to
decide what will and will not be
merged. Adjusting the Node
tolerance affects the entire
mesh.

Figure 9.28: Additional tools are provided for scanning through a

b l o c k i n t e r i o r.

For example, a subgrid in Figure 9.29 is specified by picking two oppo-

site corner points on the cutting planes: I=39 and I=51 respectively.

Figure 9.29: Define a subgrid in a given block by picking opposite

corner points from cutting planes.

Modify - Modifies selected existing subgrids by respecifying their

opposite corner points in the Display window or via the text fields.
9.30 Pointwise User Manual

Tip

T-Rex domains can be great for

unstructured domains on geom-
etries with high curvature, such
as the leading edge of a wing
or other airfoil shape.

Figure 9.30:The Modify command frame is used for changing the

extents of an existing subgrid.

When the Modify frame is opened, all the existing subgrids in primary
selection will be rendered in the Display window with a pink outline.
To modify a subgrid, pick it in the Display window and its opposite
corner point definition will be shown in the IJ (domains) or IJK (block)
text fields. Pressing Begin allows you to enter the editing mode. A
small yellow square will appear at each corner point of the target sub-
grid. You can either type in new values in the IJ or IJK text fields or
interactively drag any corner point to a desired location. Pressing End
stops the modification process of the selected subgrid and allows
you to modify the next one if any.

Figure 9.31: Modify a selected subgrid by dragging any corner point

t o a d e s i r e d l o c a t i o n i n t h e D i s p l a y w i n d o w.

Delete - Allows selected subgrids to be deleted from memory. When

the Delete frame is opened, all the existing subgrids in primary selec-
tion will be rendered in the Display window with a pink outline. To
delete one or multiple subgrids, pick your targets in the Display win-
dow and press Delete.
 9.31

Tip

Use the Growth distribution

function in the Grid, Distribute
command to produce a connec-
tor distribution which matches
Figure 9.32: The Delete command frame is used to remove a subgrid a T-Rex anisotropic layer.
from selected domains or blocks.

9.5.2 Solve for Unstructured Domains

Figure 9.33: The Solve tab for unstructured domains provides

controls for initializing, refining and decimating triangular surface
grids.

The table at the top of the Solve tab provides a summary of the unstructured
domains selected for solving such as the number of Points, T-Rex Cells, Total
Cells, Full/Max Layers and the % Points on DB (percentage of points that
are constrained to database entities).
The domains can be sorted by any of the columns in the table. Simply click on
the header and the order of the domains will change accordingly. For
example, if you wished to sort all domains by their total number of cells, you
would click on the Total Cells header at the top of the table. The direction of
the arrow in the header indicates whether the sort is in ascending or
descending order. Pointwise also remembers how you prefer to have your
domains sorted. Upon entering the Solve command, the domains will be
sorted in the same manner as when you exited the command.
9.32 Pointwise User Manual
Tip
The Min. Included Angle exa-
mine diagnostic it a great met-
ric for quickly finding issues in
unstructured blocks.
Initialize - Clears any existing interior grid points and creates a new mesh by
starting from the boundary points and applying the solver with the current
attributes.
Stop - Interrupts the solver’s initialization.
Project - Projects any grids with database constrained shapes to the database
using the current shape attributes. Note that this command is not available
for blocks. The Project button is grayed out if the database is invisible or not
available as a shape option.
Refine - Inserts points into an existing mesh with the current attributes.
Decimate - Removes points from an existing mesh with current attributes.
Smooth - Applies smoothing to an existing mesh (no point insertion).
The following sub-sections describe the various settings found on the
Attributes (Figure 9.34) tab for the domain unstructured solver.
 9.33

Tip

Use Max. Angular Deviation and

Max. Surface Deviation to force
your grid to better resolve the
underlying database curvature.

Figure 9.34: The unstructured solver Attributes tab provides

c o n t r o l s f o r t h e u n s t r u c t u r e d d o m a i n s o l v e r.

9.5.2.1 Algorithm
By default a Delaunay based method is used to insert points into an
unstructured domain when it is initialized. Alternatively, you may select the
Advancing Front algorithm. The latter generally will produce a domain which
is more uniform in appearance. However, both should produce grids of similar
quality and therefore this selection is more a matter of preference.
9.34 Pointwise User Manual

9.5.2.2 Surface Shape

Pointwise's unstructured solver for domains is a true "surface" solver, in that
Tip
grid points are inserted directly on a specified geometrical shape (the
database). This attribute is used to specify the manner in which that shape is
Remember that text in the Mes-
maintained during solution. The following two techniques are available:
sages window can be high-
lighted, copied and pasted Free - The shape is computed implicitly as a result of the triangulation
within Pointwise and to other method for the Cartesian coordinates (x,y,z). If the grid is constrained
software. to the database and you run the solver with the free shape attribute,
then the grid will no longer conform to the database. Free is the
default shape attribute unless Pointwise has automatically applied
either Parametric or Parametric Fit Triangulation when the domain was
created. In that case the default shape attribute is database.
Database - This method is used to have the grid conform to one or
more database entities. For best results, the starting grid should
already lie on the database entities which can be accomplished auto-
matically when the grid is created or by projecting the domain onto
the database later.
Projection Method determine how grid points are moved onto the database.
There are two choices:

Closest Point - This attribute tells Pointwise that the projection type
is closest point and a projection vector is not required.
Linear - This attribute tells Pointwise the projection type is linear. The
projection direction can be set using the Default projection direction
or the Projection Orientation: Set button.
The default projection orientation is computed by averaging the grid's normal
vector at each grid point.
Projection Orientation: Set tells Pointwise that the projection type is linear
and that points will be projected onto the database along a fixed vector
perpendicular to the Display window (screen-z) when the button is pressed.

9 . 5 . 2 . 3 Ta r g e t D a t a b a s e S e l e c t i o n
Begin allows you to select the target projection entities from all those
currently visible. After this button is pressed you can select database entities
from either the List or Display window. The current set of target entities is
already picked when the button is first pressed. The button remains depressed
with the text End now displayed. Pressing End stops selection of projection
database entities.
Use Default means the grids will be projected onto the default set of
database entities. The default database entities are computed for each grid
based on which entities are currently referenced by the grid points.
 9.35

9.5.2.4 Smoothing
Relaxation Factor sets the coefficient to be applied to a smoothing sweep
Tip
through the grid points, which is performed after all grid point insertion is
completed. The smoothing algorithm works as shown below
Usually the both sides of a baf-
r smooth = (1 - ω) r original + ω r average fle surface are set to a Wall
boundary condition.
where r average is the average position vector of all of the grid point's
neighbors. The value of the relaxation parameter ω is limited to values
between 0 (no smoothing) and 1.0 (fully smoothed) since values greater than
1.0 can introduce numerical instability.
Nominal sets the value of the relaxation factor to Pointwise’s default value
which has been deemed "nominal".

9 . 5 . 2 . 5 Tr i a n g l e s
The unstructured solver's grid control parameters allow you to establish the
criteria by which the solver decides whether and how a point is inserted into
the grid. As long as a cell is larger than the minimum cell size, a point will be
inserted into it if any of the other grid control parameter values are exceeded.
Min. Equilateral Edge Length allows you to specify a lower limit on triangle
and tetrahedra edges. If a cell's edge is smaller than the specified minimum
edge, a point will not be inserted into the cell.
This attribute is used to compute cell areas where each cell is assumed to be
equilateral with edge lengths equal to that of the minimum edge size on each
of its sides.
The minimum edge parameter is used primarily as a safeguard, so
combinations of the other parameters will not allow the grid to be refined to
infinitesimal sizes.
Use Boundary sets the minimum edge length on the interior of the grid to
the minimum edge length on the boundary.
Max. Equilateral Edge Length allows you to set the largest cell edge that
will be allowed in the grid. If a cell's edge is greater than the specified
maximum edge, a point will be inserted into the cell.
This attribute is used to compute cell areas where each cell is assumed to be
equilateral with edge lengths equal to that of the maximum edge length on
each of its sides.
Use Boundary sets the maximum edge length on the interior of the grid to
the maximum edge length on the boundary.
Max. Angular Deviation lets you specify a maximum angle between normal
vectors of adjacent triangles in an unstructured domain. A point will be
inserted into a cell if the estimated maximum angle between the cell's
centroid and the vertex surface normals lying on the database exceeds the
specified maximum angular deviation angle. When specifying the maximum
angular deviation, entering a value of 0 disables this attribute. The maximum
angular deviation parameter is only applied to domain grids that are
constrained to database surfaces.
9.36 Pointwise User Manual
Tip
The Merge command provides
an excellent view of connector
usage by color coding. This
allows you to quickly isolate
connector problems such as
coincidence.
Max. Surface Deviation lets you specify a maximum distance the discrete
domain can deviate from the underlying database surface. A point will be
inserted into a cell if the estimated maximum distance between the cell's
centroid and the underlying database surface exceeds the specified maximum
surface deviation. By default, the maximum surface deviation is not applied.
The maximum surface deviation parameter is only applied to domain grids
that are constrained to database surfaces.
Boundar y Decay qualitatively controls how far into the grid's interior the
boundary cell size affects the interior cell size. A decay factor of 0 turns off
this attribute; interior cell size is not affected by boundary cell size. A decay
factor of 1 applies full boundary influence on the grid's interior. Therefore,
valid values for the boundary decay factor fall in the range [0,1].
Swap Cells With No Interior Points controls edge swapping when three
points lie on domain boundaries. In Figure 9.35, two domains (rendered in
green and purple respectively) will be created that share boundaries at a
corner. With this option toggled off, one single triangle will be created using
the three points on the domain boundaries. As a result, the two domains look
as if they collapse at the corner. Toggle on this option to prevent triangles
with two edges on domain boundaries from being created.
Figure 9.35:The Swap Cells With No Points option controls edge
swapping when three points lie on domain boundaries.
 9.37

9.5.2.6 T- R e x

Tip

Pyramid attributes in the

unstructured block Solve com-
mand are only relevant when
your unstructured block con-
tains structured domains in one
or more faces.

F i g u r e 9 . 3 6 : U s e t h e s e t t i n g s o n t h e T- R e x t a b o f t h e d o m a i n
u n s t r u c t u r e d s o l v e r t o g e n er a t e a n i s o t r o p i c t r i a n g l e s .

The T-Rex tab (Figure 9.36) allows you to generate anisotropic triangle layers
from the boundaries of unstructured domains.
In the Layers frame you will find the basic settings for generating anisotropic
triangle layers in an unstructured domain. These settings apply specifically to
those boundaries of a domain which have been set to type Wall in the
Boundary Conditions tab (Section 9.5.2.7).
Use Max. Layers to set the total number of anisotropic triangle layers you
wish to generate. This is a target number only. Various physical constraints
and quality controls may prevent this target from being achieved. A value of 0
input for Max. Layers turns off the T-Rex anisotropic meshing.
Use Full Layers to set a target for the number of layers you wish to generate
without any changes in the deforming front. In other words, the number of
target layers to generate prior to any refinement or decimation of the front.
Growth Rate specifies the rate you wish to grow each anisotropic triangle
layer as layers deform from the boundary. Uncheck the Use Default toggle to
override this setting with your own rate value.
Push Attributes automatically propagates the domain T-Rex attributes to
connectors set with BC (Section 9.5.2.7) type Match. Specifically, the initial
spacing, the number of layers, and distribution of points on the interior of the
T-Rex domain will automatically be matched on these connectors. This option
provides a great time savings by avoiding the need for manual matching of T-
Rex domains and their perimeter connectors.
The Smoothing frame provides input fields for Smooth and Relax controlling
local cell height LaPlacian smoothing. Smooth is the number of smoothing
iterations to be applied. Relax is a factor controlling the influence of the
9.38 Pointwise User Manual

smoothing, varying between 0 and 1. For both parameters, uncheck Use

Default to override the default values.
Tip

The Release command is recom- 9.5.2.7 Boundary Conditions

mended when a large grid is to
be transferred.

Figure 9.37: Use the Boundary Conditions tab to specify how each
b o u n d i n g e d g e c o n n e c t o r o f a d o m a i n w i l l b e t r e a t e d f o r T- R e x
meshing.

The Boundar y Conditions tab (Figure 9.37) allows you to specify how each
bounding edge connector of a domain will be treated when using the T-Rex
anisotropic meshing tool. The list operates nearly identically to the Set
Boundar y Conditions (Section 11.4) command for CAE use. It displays
information on all the BCs that have been set (including for blocks) regardless
of your current domain selection. You create New boundary conditions in the
list, select the edges to apply them to, then check the box next to the desired
BC to apply it to the selected entities.

F i g u r e 9 . 3 8 : B o u n d a r i e s a r e s e l e c t e d i n t h e L i s t o r D i s p l a y w i n d o w.
 9.39

When setting T-Rex BCs on the Boundary Conditions tab, the currently
selected boundaries are highlighted in white (Figure 9.38). Note that when
there is a connection where two boundaries exist or there is a baffle, Tip
boundary normal arrows are rendered to indicate which side of the
connection you are selecting. There are four types of BC available for the T- If a unstructured block fails to
Rex algorithm: be initialized, the first thing you
will check is the quality of your
Wall sets an edge to have anisotropic triangles deformed from that
surface grid using some key
boundary. Set the accompanying Δs as the initial spacing on that edge.
measurements. For example,
Match sets edges on which the distribution of the interior anisotropic
examine your triangular sur-
triangles should match. Those edges are expected to have a distribu-
face grid using Equi-angle
tion matching the growth of the anisotropic triangles and would
bound an edge specified with a Wall BC. Skewness, etc.
Adjacent Grid sets an edge to have anisotropic triangles grown from
that boundary while matching cell height to an adjacent domain.
Off sets an edge to not have anisotropic triangles grown. These edges
will have isotropic triangles applied along with the remaining domain
interior outside of the anisotropic layer.

9.5.3 Solve for Unstructured Blocks

Figure 9.39: The Solve tab for unstructured blocks provides controls
for initializing and releasing tetrahedral volume grids.
9.40 Pointwise User Manual
Tip
If you wish to have control over
which connector is kept when
merging connector pairs, be
sure to use the Merge by Pick-
ing, Replace 1st with 2nd
option.
The table at the top of the Solve tab provides a summary of the unstructured
blocks selected for solving such as the Status (whether they have been
populated with cells or are empty), number of Points, T-Rex Cells, Total
Cells, and Full/Max Layers.
The blocks can be sorted by any of the columns in the table. Simply click on
the header and the order of the blocks will change accordingly. For example,
if you wished to sort all blocks by their status, you would click on the Status
header at the top of the table. The direction of the arrow in the header
indicates whether the sort is in ascending or descending order. Pointwise also
remembers how you prefer to have your blocks sorted. Upon entering the
Solve command, the blocks will be sorted in the same manner as when you
exited the command.
In the middle of the Solve panel you will see a Point Summar y table
providing details only during T-Rex initialization. The table lists first the block
number currently being initialized. Next it lists the number of points that have
Stopped advancing. These points are rendered, color coded in red, in the
Display window. Non-Recombinable will list the number of points in the
front which will prevent local recombination into prisms. These points are
rendered color coded yellow. Finally, Seeded points are rendered in white in
the Display window and the number is listed in the table. These indicate the
seed points set up by the T-Rex algorithm to populate the isotropic meshing
volume in concave regions of the T-Rex layer. See Section 9.5.3.3 below for
more details.
Initialize - Clears any existing interior grid points and creates a new mesh by
starting from the boundary points and applying the solver with the current
attributes.
Stop - Interrupts the solver’s initialization.
Release - Clears all interior volume points from memory. This can free a
significant amount of memory and reduce the saved project (.pw) file size.
Keep in mind, however, that an unstructured block volume is generated using
a Delauney based method and is not exactly reproducible.
The T-Rex frame provides additional tools available when T-Rex layers are
being generated. Use Pause to temporarily stop the advancement of T-Rex
layers. When the solver has been paused during T-Rex advancement, use the
Create Isotropic Cells command to proceed with filling the remaining
volume with isotropic tetrahedra. Use the Display Style pull-down to choose
how the advancing T-Rex front is rendered: Wireframe, Solid or Shaded.
F i g u r e 9 . 4 0 : W h e n a b l o c k c a n n o t b e i n i t i a l i z e d i s o t r o p i c a l l y, a
Wa r n i n g d i a l o g i s d i s p l a y e d .
 9.41

When initializing unstructured blocks with isotropic tetrahedra, there may be

instances when the solver is unable to complete the initialization. These issues
typically fall into one of two general categories. First, the solver may not be Tip
able to generate an interior volume which matches the domains making up
the block face, or the final exposed surface of the T-Rex layers, if used. This Sometimes when there are con-
category of issues is usually due to poor quality cells in the block face, sistent gaps in your geometry
possibly very high aspect ratio, or may be due to extreme changes in cell size necessitating merge operations,
across a connector for adjacent domains. it may be better to close your
database as a solid or alter the
Node tolerance in File, Proper-
ties.

F i g u r e 9 . 4 1 : A s a m p l e o f p r o b l e m c e l l s a r e r e n d e r e d i n t h e D i s p l a y.

The second category of issues involve problems with the block face
irrespective of any attempt to generate the interior volume. For instance,
when domains making up a block face actually cross each other. This can
happen quite easily due to incomplete or faulty domain projections, and
particularly in areas where there are geometrically thin volume regions. Figure
9.41 shows a contrived example of crossing domains.

Figure 9.42: A list of problem triangles and edges is output to the

Messages window with coordinates.
9.42 Pointwise User Manual
Tip
If your block contains a struc-
tured domain with high aspect
ratio quadrilateral cells, it may
be a good idea to set the Max.
Height to prevent skewed tetra-
hedra from be created in the
neighboring area.
When any of these issues occur, a dialog will be displayed (Figure 9.40). After
clicking OK to clear the dialog, a sample of cells which are causing the error
are rendered in bold yellow in the Display window (Figure 9.41). These cells
will remain rendered as long as you remain on the Solve tab or until you click
any button on the panel. This allows you the opportunity to orient the model
as necessary to view the problem cells and isolate the issue. Additionally, a
listing of problem triangles and edges is written to the Messages window
(Figure 9.42), including vertex coordinates, to facilitate diagnosis of the issue.
The following sub-sections describe the various settings found on the
Attributes (Figure 9.43) tab for the domain unstructured solver.
 9.43

Tip

Always set Full Layers to 0

(zero) when applying T-Rex lay-
ers to baffles. This allows the
solver to apply multiple normals
along the sharp edges of a baf-
fle which otherwise would not
be applied, resulting in fewer
layers on the baffle and signifi-
cant scalloping of the layers
that are completed.

Figure 9.43: The unstructured solver Attributes tab provides

c o n t r o l s f o r t h e u n s t r u c t u r e d b l o c k s o l v e r.

9 . 5 . 3 . 1 Te t r a h e d r a
The unstructured solver's grid control parameters allow you to establish the
criteria by which the solver decides whether and how a point is inserted into
the grid. As long as a cell is larger than the minimum cell size, a point will be
inserted into it if any of the other grid control parameter values are exceeded.
9.44 Pointwise User Manual
Tip
Isotropic seed layers work par-
ticularly well when you have
concave areas in your grid
where anisotropic layers were
forced to stop earlier due to
front collisions.
Min. Equilateral Edge Length allows you to specify a lower limit on
tetrahedra edges. If a cell's edge is smaller than the specified minimum edge,
a point will not be inserted into the cell.
This attribute is used to compute cell areas where each cell is assumed to be
equilateral with edge lengths equal to that of the minimum edge size on each
of its sides.
The minimum edge parameter is used primarily as a safeguard, so
combinations of the other parameters will not allow the grid to be refined to
infinitesimal sizes.
Use Boundary sets the minimum edge length on the interior of the grid to
the minimum edge length on the boundary.
Max. Equilateral Edge Length allows you to set the largest cell edge that
will be allowed in the grid. If a cell's edge is greater than the specified
maximum edge, a point will be inserted into the cell.
This attribute is used to compute cell areas where each cell is assumed to be
equilateral with edge lengths equal to that of the maximum edge length on
each of its sides.
Use Boundary sets the maximum edge length on the interior of the grid to
the maximum edge length on the boundary.
Initial Memor y Size (MB) in the Algorithm frame is an initial guess of
memory to be allocated by the solver. The default value is 0 MBytes and
instructs the solver to allocate the full anticipated memory requirement as
needed. However, the solver may still require additional automatic allocation
if its initial estimate is inadequate. A non-zero value instructs the solver to set
aside that amount initially, but it can still allocate more if necessary. In general
the solver is more efficient when it is not necessary to allocate memory
multiple times. Therefore setting a value you know will cover the process will
be most efficient. A rough estimate of memory usage is 1 MByte for every
15,000 tetrahedra. Monitoring memory usage during the initialization process
will provide you with better estimations for future cases.
Iterations in the Algorithm frame allows you to run the tetrahedral solver
when a single run produces a bad mesh and additional iterations can be
performed to improve the quality of the grid in inadequate regions. The
number of iterations always starts from an initialization, for example
iterations = 2 followed by an application of iterations = 4 will result in a total
of 4 runs of the tetrahedral solver. Default =1, maximum = 10.
Boundar y Decay in the Algorithm frame qualitatively controls how far into
the grid's interior the boundary cell size affects the interior cell size. A decay
factor of 0 turns off this attribute; interior cell size is not affected by
boundary cell size. A decay factor of 1 applies full boundary influence on the
grid's interior. Therefore, valid values for the boundary decay factor fall in the
range [0,1].
 9.45

9.5.3.2 Pyramid
Pyramid cells are created by Pointwise adjacent to any quadrilateral cell on
Tip
the faces of an unstructured block. The pyramid generation process is as
follows:
The more quality measures you
1. The area of the quadrilateral cell is computed via triangular enforce on your T-Rex layers the
decomposition. less you will likely get as more
2. The normal vector to the quadrilateral cell is computed by averaging stringent criteria force the
the cross products at the four corners. checking to stop advancing the
front in more areas. Therefore,
3. The centroid of the quadrilateral cell is computed by averaging the
location of the four corner points. try to be as relaxed as possible
on quality criteria settings.
4. The nominal pyramid heights is computed as the square root of the
quadrilateral area.
5. The true pyramid height is obtained by multiplying the nominal
pyramid height by the user specified aspect ratio.
6. The true pyramid height is then limited by the user specified
minimum and maximum.
A pyramid-face intersection algorithm is implemented to:

1. Detect pyramids intersecting one another on an unstructured block

boundary prior to calling the tetrahedra mesher.
2. Detect and correct unstructured faces defined in reverse order that
result in pyramid cells pointing outside of the face.
3. Automatically adjust the pyramid height locally to avoid face-face
intersection.
Min. Height and Max. Height allow you to specify minimum and maximum
height values for pyramids throughout the block face. Refer to the Actual
fields for reference to the actual minimum and maximum values in the face.
Type in a preferred value in the User Specified text fields for each parameter.
Or check the Not Applied toggle for either to remove that criteria. Finally, at
the bottom of the Pyramid frame is a text input field for pyramid Aspect
Ratio to specify a preferred value for this measure.
9.46 Pointwise User Manual

9 . 5 . 3 . 3 T- R e x

Tip

The Min. Component Volume

computation method for vol-
ume checking is more rigorous
than the Green-Gauss Volume
method. So while it may pro-
duce fewer layers in a given
case, the cell quality will likely
be higher.

F i g u r e 9 . 4 4 : U s e t h e s e t t i n g s o n t h e T- R e x t a b o f t h e b l o c k
unstructured solver to generate anisotropic tetrahedra.

The T-Rex tab (Figure 9.44) allows you to generate anisotropic tetrahedra
layers from the boundaries of unstructured blocks. A special case occurs only
when using recombination of anisotropic tets at CAE export and multiple
blocks (isotropic or anisotropic) are present which share domains set to a
match type boundary condition (see Section 9.5.2.7 below). Additional steps
are necessary in this case to ensure optimum recombination at export. These
steps are outlined below:

1. First be sure to initialize all blocks individually in the Solve

command with appropriate T-Rex attributes. This will allow each
block to individually achieve its natural number of layers and
possible recombination settings. It is recommended that you set
Push Attributes (see below) for only one block sharing the common
match type BC domain.
2. Next, load and initialize all blocks simultaneously in the Solve
command. In this case you will need to turn off Push Attributes
altogether. This step allows the T-Rex logic to optimize the existing
recombination settings across interfaces using the existing individual
block initializations.
3. Finally, you can export your multi-block system to your preferred
CAE which allows recombination at export and achieve the optimum
possible recombination of anisotropic tetrahedra, even across
interfacing match type BC domains.
In the Layers frame you will find the basic settings for generating anisotropic
tetrahedra layers in an unstructured block. These settings apply specifically to
 9.47

those boundaries of a block which have been set to type Wall in the
Boundar y Conditions tab (Section 9.5.3.4).
Tip
Use Max. Layers to set the total number of anisotropic tetrahedra layers you
wish to generate. This is a target number only. Various physical constraints
Just like in Set BCs for CAE
and quality controls may prevent this target from being achieved. A value of 0
input for Max. Layers turns off the T-Rex anisotropic meshing. export, you can click on, or
select, a BC in the list to have
Use Full Layers to set a target for the number of layers you wish to generate
all domains with that BC color
without any changes in the deforming front. In other words, the number of
code rendered in the Display.
target layers to generate prior to any refinement or decimation of the front.
Growth Rate specifies the rate you wish to grow each anisotropic tetrahedral
layer as layers deform from the boundary. Uncheck the Use Default toggle to
override this setting with your own rate value.
Push Attributes automatically propagates the block T-Rex attributes to
domains set with BC (Section 9.5.3.4) type Match. Specifically, the initial
spacing, the number of layers, and distribution of points on the interior of the
T-Rex block will automatically be matched on these domains. In addition, the
corresponding connectors on these domains will also have their distributions
updated to match the T-Rex volume. This option provides a great time savings
by avoiding the need for manual matching of T-Rex blocks and their perimeter
domains and connectors.

Figure 9.45: Used the Advance frame to change Isotropic Seed

Layers, Collision Buffer and Aniso-Iso Blend attributes.

The Advanced frame (Figure 9.45) provides input fields for additional
features not commonly adjusted. Isotropic Seed Layers sets the maximum
number of layers of seed points, or vertices, to be created in the isotropic
regions adjacent to anisotropic cells that were forced to stop short due to the
achievement of an ideal isotropic cell height, cell collision, or failure of cell
skew criteria. These additional vertices are marched out from the anisotropic
tetrahedra based on their defined attributes such as growth rate and layer
height. This input defaults to off, or 0.
Collision Buffer specifies the minimum buffer to be maintained between
encroaching advancing tetrahedra, in terms of multiplicative factors of the
current cell height. For example, with a factor of 0.5, a grid point will be
advanced by a distance of 0.01 only if it may also be advanced by a distance
of 0.015 without intersecting any other portion of the front. Values must be
non-negative.
Aniso-Iso Blend specifies the floating-point rate with which anisotropic
triangles on the block surface grid are blended into isotropic triangles and
tetrahedra on the block interior. Larger values decrease the number of layers
9.48 Pointwise User Manual

and distance over which the anisotropic to isotropic transition occurs

(resulting in a faster transition). Values must lie between 0 (disabled blending)
Tip and 1 (maximum blending).

When applying BCs for T-Rex

you can always leave domains
as Unspecified when you want
to use type Off since Unspeci-
fied defaults to this BC type.

Figure 9.46: Use the Skew Criteria attributes to enforce additional

quality control measures on newly formed anisotropic tetrahedra.

The Skew Criteria frame (Figure 9.46) provides input fields for quality
measures applied to all newly formed tetrahedra as a T-Rex layer advances. By
default these are all disabled. Delay Skew Criteria delays the use of the
following skew quality constraints for the specified number of layers. The
input value must be less than or equal to Max. Layers. Once the input
number of layers have been formed, cells failing skew criteria will not be
added to the mesh.
Max. Angle specifies the maximum included face and dihedral angle (Section
6.6.13) quality threshold for anisotropic tetrahedral elements. Anisotropic
tetrahedra with angles above the threshold will be modified locally in an
attempt to satisfy the criterion. If the criterion cannot be met, the anisotropic
element is discarded and the front is stopped locally. The specified threshold
must be a floating-point number between 60 (isotropic tet) and 180
(collapsed). The default value is 180.0 (no quality check).
Equi-Volume specifies the volume skew (Section 6.6.15) quality threshold for
anisotropic tetrahedral elements. Anisotropic tetrahedra with measures above
the threshold will be modified locally in an attempt to satisfy the criterion. If
the criterion cannot be met, the anisotropic element is discarded and the
front is stopped locally. The specified threshold must be a floating-point
number between 0 (perfect quality) and 1 (collapsed). The default value is 1
(no quality check).
Equi-Angle specifies the angle skew (Section 6.6.14) quality threshold for
anisotropic tetrahedral elements. Anisotropic tetrahedra with measures above
the threshold will be modified locally in an attempt to satisfy the criterion. If
the criterion cannot be met, the anisotropic element is discarded and the
front is stopped locally. The specified threshold must be a floating-point
number between 0 (perfect quality) and 1 (collapsed). The default value is 1
(no quality check).
Centroid specifies the centroid skew (Section 6.6.16) quality threshold for
anisotropic tetrahedral elements. Anisotropic tetrahedra with measures above
the threshold will be modified locally in an attempt to satisfy the criterion. If
the criterion cannot be met, the anisotropic element is discarded and the
 9.49

front is stopped locally. The specified threshold must be a floating-point

number between 0 (perfect quality) and 1 (collapsed). The default value is 1
(no quality check). Tip

Even though you can redo an

extrusion by undoing and enter-
ing the Extrude panel again, the
Re-Extrude command is more
useful because all of your set-
F i g u r e 9 . 4 7 : U s e t h e S m o o t h i n g f r a m e t o a d j u s t T- R e x s m o o t h i n g tings are recalled. You also
parameters. don’t have to completely restart
the extrusion but can continue
The Smoothing frame (Figure 9.47) provides input fields for Smooth and
from where you left off or even
Relax controlling local cell height LaPlacian smoothing. Smooth is the
remove a couple of steps.
number of smoothing iterations to be applied. Relax is a factor controlling
the influence of the smoothing, varying between 0 and 1. For both
parameters, uncheck Use Default to override the default values.

F i g u r e 9 . 4 8 : U s e t h e Vo l u m e C r i t e r i a a t t r i b u t e s f o r f u r t h e r v o l u m e
quality settings.

The Volume Criteria frame provides input fields for additional attributes for
cell volume calculations for quality checking and for additional potential cell
checks. The Volume Computation Method pull-down allows you to choose
a method by which volumes are calculated for quality verification. The
default, Min. Component Volume, is determined in the same fashion as
for the Examine diagnostic of the same name (Section 6.6.4).
Green-Gauss Volume is a much less demanding volume quality check
which may result in more anisotropic layers but probably with a higher
number inferior cells. This volume is computed by decomposing any quad
cell faces into triangles with a common vertex at the quad’s weighted
centroid. All cell face triangles then have their area multiplied by the triangle
normal, dotted with the X directed unit vector and summed to form the cell’s
volume.
Toggle on Check Combined Pyramid/Prism Quality to determine the quality
of any potential resulting prisms and/or pyramids. Specifically, as a new layer
of anisotropic tetrahedra is formed, each possible prism which can be formed
by eventual recombination will be checked using the standard Skew Criteria
checks when those criteria are enabled. Additionally, any possible pyramids
which could be placed on exposed prism quad faces will also be checked
against the Skew Criteria. This additional checking will add significant
computation to the T-Rex algorithm and should be used only in unusual cases
9.50 Pointwise User Manual

where users are having quality problems with prisms recombined at export or
using the Convert T-Rex to Prisms command (Section 4.14).
Tip

When using the Grid, Merge 9.5.3.4 Boundary Conditions

command, some entities may
not be merged due to topology
concerns.

Figure 9.49: Use the Boundary Conditions tab to specify how each
e d g e o f a d o m a i n w i l l b e t r e a t e d f o r T- R e x m e s h i n g .

The Boundar y Conditions tab (Figure 9.49) allows you to specify how each
domain of a block will be treated when using the T-Rex anisotropic meshing
tool. The list operates nearly identically to the Set Boundary Conditions
(Section 11.4) command for CAE use. It displays information on all the BCs
that have been set (including for domains) regardless of your current block
selection. You create New boundary conditions in the list, select the domains
to apply them to, then check the box next to the desired BC to apply it to the
selected entities.
When baffles exist in the block, these domains will be listed in a second table
at the bottom of the Boundar y Conditions tab. This table provides easy list
style selection of the baffle instances. In other words, both sides of the baffle
domains appear in this list table.
 9.51

Tip

Note the connector tolerance in

the File, Properties command is
used to determine whether two
connectors with equal, non-
zero dimensions are identical or
not.
F i g u r e 9 . 5 0 : B o u n d a r i e s a r e s e l e c t e d i n t h e L i s t o r D i s p l a y w i n d o w.

When setting T-Rex BCs on the Boundary Conditions tab, the currently
selected boundaries are highlighted in white (Figure 9.50). Note that when
there is a connection where two boundaries exist or there is a baffle,
boundary normal arrows are rendered to indicate which side of the
connection you are selecting. There are four types of BC available for the T-
Rex algorithm:

Wall sets a domain boundary to have anisotropic tetrahedra deformed

from that boundary. Set the accompanying Δs as the initial spacing on
that domain.
Match sets domains on which the distribution of the interior anisotro-
pic tetrahedra should match. Those domains are expected to have a
distribution matching the growth of the anisotropic tetrahedra and
would bound domains specified with a Wall BC.
Adjacent Grid sets a domain to have anisotropic tetrahedra grown
from that boundary while matching cell height to an adjacent block.
Off sets a domain to not have anisotropic tetrahedra grown. These
domains will have isotropic tetrahedra applied along with the remain-
ing block interior outside of the anisotropic layer.
9.52 Pointwise User Manual

9.6 Re-Extrude
Tip
The Re-Extrude command is used to re-extrude previously extruded domains
You can be fairly aggressive in and blocks.
setting the Tolerance in the
Merge command for merging
pairs of entities since it gives
you a list of entities you can
pick from before actually doing
any merging.

Figure 9.51: The Re-Extrude Filter panel shows a list of extrusion

groups available for re-extrusion.

A single selection or homogeneous selection of multiple extruded structured

domains, structured blocks or prism blocks with the same extrusion method
and number of steps is required for you to enter directly into the Extrude
panel after clicking on Grid, Re-Extrude. Note that path extrusions created
along different connector paths are considered separate extrusions. Any
domains or blocks not created by extrusion, extruded domains or blocks
which were previously split, connectors and/or database entities also selected
will be ignored. A heterogeneous selection of domains and blocks, different
extrusion types and different numbers of steps will place you into the Re-
Extrude Filter panel (Figure 9.51) when Re-Extrude is selected from the Grid
menu. Simply select the extrusion group you wish to re-extrude at this time
and click on Re-Extrude.
Once you have selected an extrusion group to re-extrude, the remainder of
the task is identical to the Extrude command (Section 8.6). For example, if
the Mode of the group selected for re-extrusion is Normal, you will be placed
in the Normal, Run tab as if you were doing a Normal extrusion. To re-
extrude and be able to modify the Initial Δ s (initial step size) and Orientation
in the Attributes tab, you must first use the Restart command. Or you can
modify the existing extrusion by using Run 1, which will run a single step
forward, and Back 1, which will back up your extrusion one step.
When changes are made to the extrusion attributes for a domain or block,
linkages with adjacent domains or blocks will automatically be maintained. If
 9.53

you do not wish to keep these linkages, then you must first cut and paste the
extruded domain or block using the Edit, Cut (Section 4.4) and Edit, Paste
(Section 4.6) commands, respectively. Once you are in the Paste panel (Figure Tip
4.5), select Re-Extrude to re-extrude the domain or block without
maintaining linkages. Merge is also used for effec-
Note that if a domain belongs to a block and is selected for re-extrusion, the tively modifying a domain or
re-extruded domain should contain the same number of extrusion steps as the block boundary. For example,
original domain. If the number of steps differs from the original to the re- replace an existing edge of a
extruded domain, the resulting block will be unbalanced even though the re- structured domain/block with a
extruded domain is saved. new connector so that the
structured domain/block
doesn’t have to be reassem-
9.7 Merge bled.

Figure 9.52: The Merge panel is used to remove coincident and

overlapping connectors.

Merge is used to remove coincident and overlapping connectors. Once in

Merge, all connectors in the Display window are colored according to the
topological filter type to which they belong. For example, connectors that are
free will be displayed in red in the Display window while manifold and non-
manifold connectors will be displayed in cyan and yellow respectively.

Free connectors are used by a single domain or none.

Manifold connectors are used by two domains.
Non-Manifold connectors are used by more than two domains.
If merging candidates are members of particular group(s), remaining
connectors after merging will assume group membership of all originals
removed per remaining connector. That is, if “con-1” belonging to “group-1”
is replaced by “con-2” in “group-2”, that will make “con-2” a new member
of “group-1”.
9.54 Pointwise User Manual

9.7.1 Auto Merge

Tip If you select Auto Merge (Figure 9.52), you can specify a merge tolerance.
Pointwise will then apply the Connector-Connector and Node-Connector
The Cell Count command will merge commands with that tolerance to try to create a watertight mesh.
not distinguish between T-Rex
and isotropic tets. However, this
information can be found in the
table at the top of the Solve
panel.

Figure 9.53: Merge by Picking provides three options.

9.7.2 Merge by Picking

Replace 1st with 2nd (Figure 9.53) lets you explicitly choose which
connector will be removed. The first connector picked will be removed and
replaced with the second.
Auto Replace is similar to Replace 1st with 2nd except that the software
chooses which connector is discarded. When you click on Apply, one of the
connectors will be removed, and Pointwise will replace all references to it
with references to the other connector. You cannot control which connector
will be removed when using this option.
Auto Merge operates essentially the same as that in the Auto Merge frame
above. Here the automatic merging operation is limited to the entities you
have selected. The above Auto Merge command frame operates on the
entire topology.

9.7.3 Merge Pairs of Entities

Figure 9.54: Merge Pairs of Entities provides interactive selection of

entities to be merged.

Within the Merge Pairs of Entities frame you can specify a tolerance and the
types of grid entities you would like to merge with that tolerance. Pointwise
 9.55

will then present a list of candidate entities that fall within that tolerance.
You can then pick from the list the entities you wish to merge.
Tip
Tolerance is the distance within which to check for merge candidates. If two
entities are within the tolerance distance of each other, they are added to the
There are no commands or
list of candidates to be merged.
operations available in the Cell
Connector-Connector allows you to select pairs of dimensioned connectors Count panel. It only provides
to be merged together into a single connector. This merging is not
summary information.
topological; one of the connectors is replaced with the other. Merging
connectors is good for removing coincident connectors from your grid. This
command does not alter the connector tolerance in the File, Properties panel.
If the two connectors have the same dimension, Pointwise compares
corresponding grid points on the two connectors. If the maximum distance
between grid points is less than the tolerance you entered, the connector pair
becomes a candidate for merging. If the two connectors have different
dimensions Pointwise compares a small sampling of the grid points on one
connector to the shape of the other connector and vice versa. If the maximum
distance computed between the two connectors is less than the tolerance you
entered the connector pair becomes a candidate for merging. After all the
comparisons are complete Pointwise lists in the Merge command panel all
candidate connector pairs.
Node-Node allows you to select node pairs to be merged into a single (x,y,z)
point. It is important to note that this merging is not a topological merging.
Nor does this command alter the Node tolerance in the File, Properties
panel. Rather, this command alters the physical location of one of the nodes
of the selected pair to match the coordinates of the other node. If one or
both of the nodes are database constrained a branch segment is added.
Node-Connector combines the Node-Node functionality with a pre-
processing step that splits overlapping connectors.

9.7.4 Connectivity Filter

You can check on Only Free Connectors to make only nodes and connectors
used by a single domain pickable for merging.
9.56 Pointwise User Manual

9.8 Cell Count

Figure 9.55: The Cell Count panel shows an overall count of cells in
the grid.

The Cell Count panel (Figure 9.55) contains a table that shows how many
cells of each type, the total number of cells and the total number of points in
all blocks of the grid. When the CAE dimension is set to 2D, the table will
show totals for triangles and quadrilaterals instead (Figure 9.56).
This command provides an efficient, quick overview of your grid statistics in
terms of cell counts.

Figure 9.56: For 2D grids, Cell Count lists totals for triangles and
quadrilaterals.
 Chapter 10

Script Menu

10.1
10.2 Pointwise User Manual

10.1 Overview
Tip
The Script menu provides controls for journaling or executing Glyph scripts
Have you run into a problem in from within the Pointwise interface.
Pointwise that you wish to
share with our Support team?
An easy way to share it is to
journal the steps you took and
send that journal file to sup-
port@pointwise.com.

Figure 10.1: The Script menu provides commands related to

journaling and executing Glyph scripts from Pointwise.

10.2 Execute

The Execute command allows you execute a Glyph script within Pointwise.
While the script is running, the only commands available to you will be those
to interrupt (Figure 10.2) or abort (Section 2.2.6) the script.
Select Script, Execute. From the file browser that appears, select the Glyph
(.glf) script you wish to execute. Click Open to begin execution of the script.

Figure 10.2: While executing a script, the Interrupt Script button

can be used to stop the script at its current execution point.

10.3 Re-Execute

The Re-Execute command executes the last script run by the Execute
command.
Select Script, Re-Execute. Your last script should automatically begin
execution.
 10.3

10.4 Begin Journaling

Tip
The Begin Journaling command allows you to specify a Glyph script (.glf) file
to which your GUI commands will be echoed.
When building a script for a
Select Script, Begin Journaling. Specify the directory and file name to which utility function or a grid genera-
you wish to journal in the file browser that appears. After specifying the file tion project, debugging the
name, use the menu seen in Figure 10.3 to select initialization options to be steps the script takes is a neces-
included at the top of the journaled script file.
sary part of the process. The
Re-Execute command makes
debugging your scripts a bit
easier since it allows you to
quickly execute the last script in
memory instead of browsing for
it each time.

Figure 10.3: The Initialization frame in the Begin Journal panel

provides options by which you can send script startup information
to your journal file.

The options within the Initialization frame shape what initial steps your
script will take with each execution.

Clear/Reset All clears all entities and resets all tolerances and
defaults to their original values. You would choose this initialization
option to ensure that replaying the script starts from nothing.
Echo State to File writes your current defaults and tolerances set-
tings to the file and will not do anything to existing grid and database
entities.
No Initialization does not write any initialization commands.
Once finished journaling, the End Journaling command (Section 10.7) can be
used to stop journaling and close the file.
You can also echo these GUI commands in the Messages window so that you
can see what is being written to your Glyph script file. Allow Journal type
messages to be output via the Edit, Preferences (Section 4.33) panel or the
right-click menu in the Messages window (Section 2.2.5).

10.5 Append to Journal

The Append to Journal command allows you to select a Glyph script (.glf)
file to which you will append journaled GUI commands.
10.4 Pointwise User Manual
Tip
When learning how to use the
Pointwise scripting language,
the Add Comment to Journal is
a useful command since it
allows you to place comments
about the steps you are taking
into the file you are journaling
to. These comments can often
make reading through the
working parts of a script much
easier.
Select Script, Append to Journal. Specify the directory and script file name
to which you wish to append. After you specify the file name, the script is
executed and journaling is enabled from the end of the file.
10.6 Add Comment to Journal
The Add Comment to Journal command allows you to enter a text string to
be written to the journaled Glyph script in the form of a Tcl comment.
Select Script, Add Comment to Journal. Enter the comment and click OK to
proceed with journaling.
10.7 End Journaling
The End Journaling command provides a mechanism to save the script in
your journaled Glyph script file and cease journaling (Section 10.4).
10.8 Most Recently Executed (MRE) Files
A list of scripts most recently executed by Pointwise is shown in this list. Any
file shown in the list can be executed by clicking on it. Figure 10.4 shows the
Script pull-down menu with the MRE files listed at the bottom.
Figure 10.4: The most recently executed list is at the bottom of the
Script pull-down menu.
Chapter 11

CAE Menu

11.1
11.2 Pointwise User Manual

11.1 Overview
Tip
The C A E menu lets you choose the Computer Aided Engineering (CAE)
Select the CAE solver you will software for which you wish to export your completed grid and to set
boundary and volume conditions for the CAE software.
be using when you start your
project and Pointwise will tailor
the available grid types to those
the solver allows.

Figure 11.1: The CAE menu is used to choose the CAE solver you are
building the grid for and set its boundary and volume conditions.

Note that it is possible for you to create your own export routines and have
them linked directly to Pointwise to export your meshing projects in your own
format. See Section II.I for more information about creating a CAE plugin.

11.2 Select Solver

CAE, Select Solver opens the Select Solver panel (Figure 11.2) where you
can choose the CAE software for which you are building a grid. Once a
particular CAE solver is selected, Pointwise will limit the allowable grid types
to those the CAE solver can handle. It is a good idea to select the solver at the
beginning of a project to help ensure you are building a grid that is valid for
the particular CAE software you will use for your analysis.
Note that some solvers support 3D only, some both 2D and 3D, and some only
2D. Choosing your preferred CAE dimension is accomplished via the Set
Dimension command (Section 11.3). Some CAE solvers are listed in the table
in a slightly different form, for instance, “ACUSIM/AcuSolve”. This naming
format designates CAE solvers which are supported via a CAE plugin (Section
II.I) rather than being a natively coded part of Pointwise.
To choose a particular CAE solver, pick it in the list and then click on OK.
In addition to limiting the allowable grid types to those the selected CAE
solver supports, Pointwise will provide a custom set of default boundary
conditions for each CAE solver. The default sets use the terminology and
boundary condition types native to the selected CAE software, so it should be
familiar if you are also using the CAE software yourself.
 11.3

Tip

Boundary condition regions

defined in Pointwise will be
identified in your analysis soft-
ware files so that boundary
condition information can be
set.

Figure 11.2: The Select Solver panel is where you choose the CAE
software to which you will ultimately export your grid and
boundary conditions.

11.3 Set Dimension

The Set Dimension command allows you to choose whether you will be
creating and exporting to your CAE solver a two dimensional (2D) or three
11.4 Pointwise User Manual

dimensional (3D) grid. The command consists of only a pull-right menu

(Figure 11.3) consisting of the two choices.
Tip

Selecting rows in the Boundary

Conditions list will highlight in
the Display window any
domains with the selected
boundary conditions.

Figure 11.3: Use the Set Dimension command to choose whether to

build and export either a 2D or 3D grid.

Pointwise will open in 3D mode by default. Choosing 2D for your solver

dimension will impact the software in a number of ways:

• You will not be allowed to create blocks using either Assemble or

Assemble Special.

• You will not be allowed to create blocks using the Extrude suite of
commands. Therefore, the Extrude commands will be unavailable if
only a domain is currently selected. Domains will be ignored for
Extrude when both connectors and domains are currently selected.

• You will only be able to select a CAE solver which supports 2D grids.

• You will now be able to set boundary conditions (BCs) on connectors

and volume conditions (VCs) on domains.

• The Grid, Cell Count command will now provide totals for triangle
and quadrilateral cells and points.

• The Block heading and icon will not be shown in the List panel.

• File, Export, CAE will write a file formatted appropriately for the 2D
version of the CAE solver you currently have selected.

• Attempting to change from a 3D solver to a 2D solver when blocks

are present will result in a confirmation dialog as any existing blocks
will be automatically deleted.

11.4 Set Boundary Conditions

Set Boundary Conditions allows you to apply boundary conditions to

domains (3D) or connectors (2D) and create and delete new boundary
condition types.
 11.5

Tip

Use boundary condition names

to uniquely identify surface
regions of the grid for reference
in your analysis software. Addi-
tionally, volume conditions can
be used to identify regions of
the grid with different material
properties and to uniquely iden-
tify different volumes in your
analysis software.

Figure 11.4: On the Set BC panel, you can assign, create and delete
boundary conditions.

CAE, Set Boundar y Conditions will open the Set BC panel which contains a
table that displays information about currently set boundary conditions, lets
you assign boundary conditions to domains (3D) or connectors (2D), and lets
you change boundary condition information.
To set a boundary condition on a boundary entity or group of boundary
entities, first select the boundary or boundaries on which you will set a
boundary condition. The Set BC panel allows continuous selection, so you
can pick the boundaries even if they were not picked when the panel was
opened. You can also select groups in the List that contain the domains(3D)
or connectors (2D) you wish to set boundary conditions. This is very useful for
complex grids where many boundary conditions need to be set to a large pool
of entities. Once the boundaries are selected, click on the box in the Set
column for the row containing the boundary condition you want to assign to
those boundaries.
To set boundary conditions on another set of boundaries, select them and
repeat the above process.

11.4.1 Boundary Conditions List Columns

The columns in the Boundar y Conditions list are: Set, #, Name, Type, and
ID.
Check on the check box in the Set column to assign the boundary condition
in that row to the selected boundaries. Unchecking the check box will change
the selected boundaries to the Unspecified boundary condition type.
11.6 Pointwise User Manual
Tip
Since CAE export is based on
your selection, you can export
any portion of your grid to your
CAE solver by selecting only
those blocks you wish to export
prior to using File, Export, CAE.
The # column shows how many boundaries are set to the boundary condition
in that row.
The Name column shows the boundary condition name. The name can be
changed by double-clicking on the boundary condition name you want
changed and typing a new name.
Type shows the boundary condition type. The allowable values for Type are
different for each CAE Solver. To change the boundary condition type,
double-click on the label of the boundary condition type you want to change.
This will activate a pulldown list where you can select the desired boundary
condition type.
ID is a unique identification number for each boundary condition that will be
passed to the CAE software in the boundary condition file. To change it,
double-click on the ID number you want to change and type the new ID
number. Pointwise will not allow duplicate ID numbers. If you type a new ID
identical to an existing ID, Pointwise will not accept it, and the ID will not be
changed.
The boundary conditions can be sorted by #, Name, Type, and ID. Simply
click on the header and the order of the boundary conditions will change
accordingly. For example, if you wished to sort all boundary conditions by
their names, you would click on the Name header in the Set BC list. The
direction of the arrow in the header indicates whether the sort is in ascending
or descending order. Pointwise also remembers how you prefer to have your
boundary conditions sorted. Upon entering the Set BC panel, the boundary
conditions will be sorted in the same manner as when you exited the
command.
Note that the Name, Type and ID for the Connection and Unspecified
boundary conditions are always Connection and Unspecified, respectively.
The fields for these boundary conditions cannot be changed. These boundary
conditions also remain first and second in the Set BC list and cannot be
sorted.
11.4.2 Creating or Deleting a Boundary Condition
Create a boundary condition by clicking on the New button. A new row will
be added to the boundary conditions table and it will be filled with default
settings. You can then edit the new row in the table as you see fit.
Delete a boundary condition by selecting a row or rows from the boundary
condition list and clicking on the Delete button. The selected rows will then
be removed from the list. Any boundaries that had been assigned the deleted
boundary conditions are changed to Unspecified.
 11.7

11.4.3 Selecting a Boundary Condition

Tip

Since boundary conditions are

simply named regions, you can
change your CAE solver selec-
tion without fear of losing your
assigned boundary conditions.
Domains will retain the bound-
ary condition assignment after
a solver change. You will only
need to update the boundary
condition type associated with
each boundary condition.

F i g u r e 1 1 . 5 : S e l e c t i n g a r o w i n t he S e t B C p a n e l s h o w s d o m a i n s s e t
t o t h a t b o u n d a r y c o n d i t i o n i n i t s c o l o r i n t h e D i s p l a y w i n d o w.

Selecting a row in the Set BC list highlights the row and shows the boundary
condition color in the # column (Figure 11.5). In addition, boundaries that are
assigned this boundary condition are displayed in that color in the Display
window as shown below on domains for a 3D case.
Add to Selection is only active when at least one row of the table is selected.
It adds to the current selection any boundary entity having boundary
conditions from the selected rows.

11.4.4 Boundary Condition Connections

Unlike regular boundary condition that is associated with one side of a
domain, connection boundary condition is two-sided. It is applicable for
interfacing domains shared by adjacent blocks and baffles (Figure 11.6). Refer
to Section 8.5.1.2 for the definition of baffles.
11.8 Pointwise User Manual

Tip

Overriding a block interface

with a boundary condition
allows the creation of a baffle
at that location. Otherwise,
these boundary condition
regions may also be used for
flow integration regions, should
your solver support this capabil-
ity.
Figure 11.6: Both baffle faces and interfacing domains will be listed
as connections in the Set BC panel.

Under these circumstances, the Set BC panel expands (Figure 11.7) to include
a list of interfacing domains and baffles. Such domains cannot be selected
unless the Select Connections check box is checked.

Figure 11.7: Interfacing domains and baffles are set to Connection

Boundary Condition by default.
 11.9

Select domains you wish to set a boundary condition on either in the list
provided or in the Display window. As soon as a domain is selected, it is
highlighted in white in the Display window with the normals pointing to one Tip
side. Then check the boundary condition you wish to apply in the boundary
condition list above. That boundary condition type will have its number of If you are setting boundary con-
domains increment accordingly. ditions for a more complex grid,
Any connections where only one side has been set will have the remaining picking domains by hand can be
side added to the Unspecified boundary condition. To restore a connection tedious. To make this process
after one or both sides have been set to a boundary condition, you must go faster, enter an Angle Limit
select the sides with a boundary condition applied and set them to in the toolbar and use the
Unspecified. Once both sides are again Unspecified, the connection will Select, Adjacent command.
automatically be restored.

1 1 . 5 S e t Vo l u m e C o n d i t i o n s

Set Volume Conditions opens the Set VC panel where you can set volume
conditions for each block (3D) or domain (2D) in the grid. Operation and
appearance of the Set VC panel is identical to the Set BC panel except that it
operates on blocks or domains instead of domains or connectors. Refer to
Section 11.4 for operating details of this panel.

11.6 Set Solver Attributes

Figure 11.8: Specific solver attributes are supported for some

solvers.
11.10 Pointwise User Manual

Set Solver Attributes is enabled only if additional solver attributes are

supported for the selected solver. As shown in Figure 11.8, for instance, you
Tip can specify the boundary style, version number and mach for NPARC. You can
also specify the unit if WIND (structured) or WIND (unstructured) is used.
Note the solver attributes have
to be defined prior to CAE
export.
Chapter 12

Help Menu

12.1
12.2 Pointwise User Manual

12.1 Overview
Tip
The Help menu provides access to the Pointwise Help Viewer as well as
Not sure how to use a com- several other educational resources.
mand? Reference our Pointwise
Help Viewer for details about
what each command does and
steps you can take to use it.

Figure 12.1: The Help menu provides several resources by which

users can obtain help or learn more about Pointwise.

12.2 Pointwise Help

The Pointwise Help command activates the Pointwise Help Viewer which
provides brief details and steps related to all Pointwise commands. The Help
Viewer (Figure 12.2) can also be activated by pressing the accelerator F1.

F i g u r e 1 2 . 2 : T h e P o i n t w i s e H e l p Vi e w e r a l l o w s u s e r s t o b r o w s e h e l p
topics by menu categories.
 12.3

There are three main areas within the Pointwise Help Viewer: Contents
window, Display window, Help toolbar. The Contents window provides an
expandable/collapsible tree containing all current help topics. The help topics Tip
within the tree are organized by menu, just as they are seen within the
Pointwise GUI (Figure 12.3). Help topics are organized in the
same manner they are seen in
the graphical user interface, by
menu, so that they are easy to
find. Each help page also
shows where it falls within the
Contents panel organizational
tree so that you can easily look
back at the “parent” page if
you need to.

Figure 12.3: Help topics are organized by menu in the Contents

w i n d o w.

Within the tree structure, a white arrow (or plus sign for some platforms) next
to a topic indicates that it and its subtopics are currently collapsed. A dark
arrow (or minus sign) denotes that all subtopics for that topic have been
expanded. The Display window is used to show the help material for a topic
once it is clicked on within the Contents window.
12.4 Pointwise User Manual

Tip

Your Pointwise Help Viewer

should install with all the files it
needs in its default directory.
However, if you need to move
those help files to a different
directory or receive an updated
set of help files, you can easily
set the root directory for the
files using the commands found
within Options.

F i g u r e 1 2 . 4 : To p i c s s e l e c t e d f r o m t h e C o n t e n t s w i n d o w a r e s h o w n
( w i t h t h e i r l o c a t i o n ) w i t h i n t h e D i s p l a y w i n d o w.

Note that your current help location will be displayed at the bottom of the
Display window as well as highlighted in the Contents window.
The Help toolbar provides controls for navigating through help pages and
setting up help preferences.

Back navigates backwards through the Help Viewer page

history from the current browser location.
Forward navigates forwards through the Help Viewer
page history from the current browser location.

Home resets Help Viewer to home help page.

Print sends the currently viewed help page to your default

printer.

Options contains controls for setting the root Help and

resetting the Help Viewer location.

Within Options:
 12.5

Set Help Root allows you to browse for the folder in which your
Help files are kept. The default location for the installed Help files is
pointwise_home_path/doc/Help where pointwise_home_path is Tip
the directory in which Pointwise was installed.
Default Help Root sets the location in which the Help Viewer looks If the information that you need
for Help files back to the default of pointwise_home_path/doc/ is not found within our Help
Help. Viewer or within any of the
Default Window Placement sets the Help Viewer back to its Pointwise manuals, feel free to
default location and size. contact support directly at sup-
port@pointwise.com.

12.3 User Manual

This command is a direct link to the User Manual PDF installed with Pointwise.

1 2 . 4 Tu t o r i a l W o r k b o o k

This command is a direct link to the Tutorial Workbook PDF installed with
Pointwise.

12.5 Glyph Reference Manual

This command is a direct link to the Glyph Reference Manual PDF installed
with Pointwise.

12.6 Glyph Manual Pages

This command is a direct link to Pointwise’s Glyph Manual Pages home

webpage at:
http://www.pointwise.com/glyph2/files/Glyph/cxx/GgGlyph-cxx.html

12.7 Installation Instructions

This command is a direct link to the Installation Instructions webpage at:

http:/www.pointwise.com/library/pw_install.pdf

12.8 Online Support

This command is a direct link to the Pointwise Support webpage at:

http://www.pointwise.com/support/
12.6 Pointwise User Manual
Tip
There is no need to search in
your installation files for Point-
wise’s documentation; the Help
menu provides quick access to
all manuals and web pages.
12.9 About
The About command provides information relevant to the version of
Pointwise you are currently using. Additionally, the About Pointwise
interface contains notifications concerning important trademarks and
copyrights.
When contacting Pointwise for technical support or help, please report the
first line in the About Pointwise interface which contains the version of
Pointwise, the Release Build Number, and the platform version that you are
running.
Figure 12.5: The About Pointwise dialog provides information about
the version of Pointwise you are using.
Chapter 13

Index
13.2 Pointwise User Manual

Numerics Domains & Blocks 8 Block special assembly 14

Models 9 Boundary Condition Connections 7
2 Point Curves 7 Quilts 11
boundary condition creation or de-
2D Grid 3 Assemble Special 14 letion 6
3D Grid 3 Baffle 17
Boundary Conditions
3D Motion Controller 29 Block 14
Fixed 27
Domain-Face Linkages 18
A Floating 27
Domain 21
Orthogonal 27
Structured block 14
About Pointwise 6 T-Rex Block - Adjacent Grid 51
Structured domain 21
Accelerators 37 T-Rex Block - Match 51
Unstructured block 16
T-Rex Block - Off 51
ACUSIM/AcuSolve 27 Unstructured domain 22
T-Rex Block - Wall 51
Add Comment to Journal 4 Assembling edges for extrusion 25 T-Rex Domain - Adjacent Grid 39
Add subgrids 28 Assembling faces for extrusion 28 T-Rex Domain - Match 39
Adjacent 3 Assign BC to group 5 T-Rex Domain - Off 39
Adjacent Grid angle control 27 Attributes 3 T-Rex Domain - Wall 39
Adjacent Grid spacing control 26 Apply Rainbow Colors 4 Boundary Conditions for CAE 4
ADPAC 27 Color Mode 6 Boundary Conditions List Columns
Display 5
Akima segment 4
Wireframe 5
Algebraic Extrusion 29, 33 Display Style
Boundary Control Functions 25
Align orientation 47 Hilgenstock-White 25
All Lines 5
None 25
All Adjacent 3 Boundaries 5
Steger-Sorenson 25
All Lines 5 Flat 5
Hidden Line 5 boundary decay factor 36, 44
analysis software 2
No Lines 6 Boundary Proximity Diagnostic 21
Angle Controls 26
Shaded 5 Break Periodic 50
Angle Hide 4
Adjacent Grid 27 Layer 4 C
Current Grid 27 Name 4
Interpolate 26 CAE
Show 4
Orthogonal 26 Plugins II
Show/Hide 4
Blending Select Solver 2
Auto Merge 54 Set Boundary Conditions 4
Exponential 27
Linear 27 average spacing 5 Set Dimension (2D/3D) 3
User Specified 27 Set Solver attributes 9
B Set Volume Conditions 9
Angle Limit 3
ANSYS CFX 28 Background 52 CAE Export 24
ANSYS FLUENT 28, 29 Baffle 48, 49, 7 Catmull-Rom segment 4
Topology Restrictions 29 balanced domains 3, 5 Cell Count 56
Append to Journal 3 Begin Journaling 3 Centroid Skewness Diagnostic 19
Apply Rainbow Colors 4 Clear/Reset All 3 CFD++ 30
Apply Rules 14 Echo State to File 3 CFDSHIP-IOWA 30
No Initialization 3 CFL3D 30
Area Diagnostic 16
Bezier segment 4 CGNS 30
Area Ratio Diagnostic 17
Blank Project 3 Circle segment 5
Aspect Ratio Diagnostic 17
block 3 Clear Existing General Distributions
Assemble 8
 13.3

6 Condition 6 Points 57
Clear Paste Buffer 5 CRUNCH 31 Ruled Surface 54
Surface of Revolution 50
CNSFV 31 Ctrl-A 2
Sweep Surface 51
COBALT 31 Ctrl-D 2
database 3
Collapsing Command Frame 21 Current Grid angle control 27
Database Associativity Diagnostic
Color Coding 21 Current Grid spacing control 26 20
Color Mode 6 Current working directory 53
database constrained surface shape
COMO 31 Curvature 22
Component Volume Diagnostic 16 Max. Angle 5
Database curve creation 2
Computer Aided Engineering 2 Max. Deviation 6
Use Database Curvature 6 Database Export 21
Conic segment 6 decimate unstructured domains 32
Connectivity Filter 55 Curve 27
Akima 4 Defaults 13
connector 3 Delete 6
Bezier 4
Connector creation 2 Catmull-Rom 4 Delete Special 6
Connectors on Database Entities 47 Curve on Database segment 5 Delete subgrids 30
Context Menus 38 Curve segment 4 Demote 11
control function Customization 22 Diagonalize 47
interior 22 Customize Dimension 2
Convert T-Rex to Prisms 22 Icon Size 15 Advanced 6
Coons Patch 54 Icon Text 15 Copy From 6
Coordinate Systems 28 Reset to Defaults 15 Curvature 5
Copy 4 Toolbars 14 Dimension 5
Create Cut 4 Reset to Last Balanced 5
Cuts Tab 5 Set Dimension 5
2 Point Curves 7
Assemble 8 Cutting 6 dimensionally balanced 3
Assemble Special 14 IJK Cuts 8 Display Window 16
Coons Patch 54 Saved Cuts 8 Distribute 7
Diagonalize 47 Cutting 6 Functions Tab 9
Draw Curves 2 Scrolling Spacing Tab 7
Extrude 24 Bounce 7 Distribution Function
Normal 29 Dead End 7 General 10
Fillet 52 Recycle 7 Geometric 10
Group 60 Style Growth 10
Interpolate 54 Cells 7 MRQS 9
Intersect 60 Crinkle 7 Shape 10
Notes 59 Flat 7 Tanh 9
Offset 48
On Database Entities 45 D domain 3
Periodic 44 surface shape 22
Planes 55 Database Domain special assembly 21
Points 57 Coons Patch Surface 54 Domain with hole 24
Revolve 50 Fillet Surface 52
Domains & Blocks assembly 8
Rules 12 Intersections 60
Notes 59 Domains on Database Entities 47
Sweep 51
Offset Curve 48 Draw Curves 2
Creating or Deleting a Boundary
Planes 55 Segment Type 4
13.4 Pointwise User Manual

DTNS 32 Insert 29 All Lines 4

Dynamic View Preset 10 Insert segments 33 Color Bar 4
Options 35 Flat 4
E Restore 28 Hidden Line 4
Segment type 28, 29 Histogram 4
Edit No Lines 4
elliptic PDE solver 18
Add Edge 48 Probe 5
solution algorithm 23
Add Face 49 Shaded 4
Break Periodic 50 End Journaling 4
Show Cells 4
Clear Paste Buffer 5 Entity Count 5 Shrink Factor 4
Convert T-Rex to Prisms 22 Equiangle Skewness Diagnostic 18 Wireframe 3
Copy 4 Equiarea Skewness Diagnostic 19 Function 3
Curve 27 Equivolume Skewness Diagnostic Selection 5
Cut 4 Execute 2
19
Delete 6
Delete Special 6 Evaluate Rules 10, 14 Exit 47
Extract 41 Examine EXODUS II 32
Fit 43 Cuts Tab 5 Exponential angle control for
Group 50 Examine Function Types 15 blending 27
Join 23 Examine Tab 3 Exponential spacing control for
Join Tolerance 24 Extrema Tab 8 blending 26
Note 35 Rules 9
Export 17
Orient 45 Scan Planes 5
CAE 24
Paste 4 Examine Function Types
ACUSIM/AcuSolve 27
Preferences 51 Area 16 ADPAC 27
Project 13 Area Ratio 17 ANSYS CFX 28
Redo 3 Aspect Ratio 17 ANSYS FLUENT 28
Remove Edge 48 Boundary Proximity 21 ANSYS FLUENT v15 29
Remove Face 49 Centroid Skewness 19 CFD++ 30
Smooth 44 Component Volume 16 CFDSHIP-IOWA 30
Spline 44 Database Associativity 20 CFL3D 30
Split 19 Equiangle Skewness 18 CGNS 30
Transform 6 Equiarea Skewness 19 CNSFV 31
Mirror 13 Equivolume Skewness 19 COBALT 31
Rotate 11 Jacobian 15 COMO 31
Scale 9 Length I, J, or K 17 CRUNCH 31
Stretch 10 Length Ratio I, J, or K 17 DTNS 32
Translate 7 Maximum Included Angle 18 EXODUS II 32
Undo 2 Minimum Included Angle 18 FALCON v3 32
UnGroup 50 None 15 FANS 32
Edit Curve Smoothness I, J, or K 18 FDNS/UNIC 32
Add 29 Surface Proximity 22 FLUENT v4 32
Add a control point 30 U,V 22 FrontFlow 32
Add segments 33 Volume 16 GASP 33
Current Segment 29 Volume Ratio 17 INCA v2 33
Delete 28, 29 Wall Orthogonality 20 NCC 33
Delete control points 32 Wall Spacing 19 NPARC 34
Delete segments 35 Examine Tab 3 NSAERO 34
Editing a control point 29 Display 3 OpenFOAM 35
 13.5

OVERFLOW 35 Split Angle 42 G

PHOENICS 35 Extrema Tab 8
SCRYU 35 Extrude 24 GASP 33
SCRYU/Tetra 35 general distribution 6
Assemble Tab 25
Splitflow 36 Glyph Manual Pages 5
Normal 29
STAR-CCM+ 35
Path 42 Glyph Reference Manual 5
STAR-CD 36
Rotate 40 Graphical User Interface 2
TACOMA 36
Translate 38 Graphics
TASCFlow 37
TEAM 37 extrude redo 52 Preferences 52
Tecplot 37 Extrusion, Boundary Condition 27 Grid
TETREX 37 Cell Count 56
UGRID 37
F
Dimension 2
USM3D 38 FALCON v3 32 Distribute 7
VSAERO 38 Merge 53
FANS 32
VSAEROhybrid 38 Re-Extrude 52
WIND 38 fault-tolerant meshing 53
Set Type 2
WIND (structured) 38 FDNS/UNIC 32 Solve 17
WIND (unstructured) 38 File Grid Export 17
Database 21 Exit 47
Grid Import 8
Gridgen 22 Export 17
IGES 22 Export to Gridgen 38 grid point distribution 7
Nastran 23 Import 6 grid points 2
Patran 23 Most Recently Used (MRU) Files 45 Group 8, 12, 19, 23, 50, 4, 5
PLOT3D 23 New 2 Growth Rate for T-Rex 37, 47
Segment 23 Open 4 GUI 2
STL 23 Print to File 43
Accelerators 37
UCD 23 Print to File Setup 41
Collapsing Command Frame 21
VRML 23 Properties 43
Color Coding 21
Xpatch 24 Save 5
Context Menus 38
Grid 17 Save As 6
Coordinate Systems 28
CGNS 19 Save Database As 6
Customization 22
FV-UNS 19 Save Grid As 6
Defaults 25
Gridgen 19 Sort 38
Display Window 16
IGES 20 Fillet 52 GUI Layout
Nastran 20
Fit 43 Customization 22
Patran 20
Fixed boundary condition 27 Help 38
PLOT3D 20
Fixed Grid interior control function Icons 20
Segment 20
22 Menus 3
STL 20
Messages Window 17
UCD 21 fixed surface shape 22
Tear Off 23
VRML 21 Flat 5 Model Manipulations 27
Xpatch 21
Floating boundary condition 27 Mouse Functions 26
Export to Gridgen 38 FLUENT 28, 29 Noun-verb Style 26
Extract 41 OK - Cancel - Apply 37
FLUENT v4 32
Extract 43 Panels 6
free surface shape 22
Curves 43 Defaults 13
Shells 43 FrontFlow 32 Layers 9
Selection 43 Full Layers for T-Rex 37, 47 List 6
13.6 Pointwise User Manual

Tear Off 22 CATIA V4 12 Thomas-Middlecoff 22

Point Placement 34 CATIA V5 12 Interpolate 54
Preferences 25 Database Import 10 Interpolate angle control 26
Progress Bar 19 Gridgen 12
Interpolate spacing control 26
Selection 30 Gridgen Style Network 12
Mask 31 IGES 13 Intersect 60
Status Bar 18 Nastran 14
J
Text Entry 33 NX Unigraphics 14
Toolbars 5 Panel Settings 16 Jacobian Diagnostic 15
Customization 24 Parasolid XT 14 Join 23
Zoom 30 Patran 15
Caveats 24
GUI Layout PLOT3D 15
Pro/ENGINEER 15 Join group members 23
Customization 22
Segment 15 Join Tolerance 24
H Solidworks 15 journaling 3
STEP 15
Help 38 STL 15 L
About 6 UCD 16
Glyph Manual Pages 5 Laplace interior control function 22
VRML 16
Glyph Reference Manual 5 Xpatch 16 Layer 4
Help Viewer 2 Grid 8 Layers 9
Installation Instructions 5 CGNS 8 Length I, J, or K Diagnostic 17
Online Support 5 FV-UNS 9 Length Ratio I, J, or K Diagnostic 17
Tutorial Workbook 5 Gridgen 9 Line on Database segment 4
User Manual 5 Gridgen Style Network 9
Line segment 4
Help Viewer Nastran 9
Contents 3 Patran 9 Linear angle control for blending 27
Default Help Root 5 PLOT3D 9 Linear spacing control for blending
Default Window Placement 5 Segment 10 26
Display 3 STL 10 Linear TFI 20
Options 4 UCD 10 List 6
Set Help Root 5 UGRID 10
Toolbar 4 VRML 10 M
Hidden Color 54 Xpatch 10
Import Database Panel 16 Manage Views 9
Hidden Line 5
INCA v2 33 Dynamic View Preset 10
Hide 4 Preset Views 10
Initialization 19
Hilgenstock-White boundary con- User Views 9
Linear 20
trol function 25
Parametric 20 Mask 31, 3
Hybrid grid 2 Parametric Fit 21 Master orientation 47
Hyperbolic Extrusion 29, 33 Polar 20 Max. Layers for T-Rex 37, 47
Standard 20 Max. MRE Files 53
I
initialize unstructured blocks 40 Max. MRU Files 53
Icons 20 initialize unstructured domains 32 Max. Rule Violations 53
IJK Cuts 8 Installation Instructions 5 Max. Undo Levels 53
Import 6 Interior Control Functions 22 Maximum Included Angle Diagnos-
Database Fixed Grid 22 tic 18
ACIS SAT 12 Laplace 22 memory clear for unstructured
 13.7

blocks 40 No Lines 6 Parametric Line Diagnostic 22

Menus 3 Normal Extrusion 29 Parametric TFI 20
CAE 2 Attributes Tab 31 Paste 4
Create 2 Boundary Conditions Tab 36 Path Extrusion 42
Edit 2 Run Tab 30 Attributes Tab 44
Examine 2 Note 35 Run Tab 43
File 2 Notes 59 Periodic 44
Grid 2
Noun-verb Style 26 Rotate 45
Help 2
Script 2 NPARC 34 Translate 45
Select 2 NSAERO 34 Perspective 12
View 2 Perspective View 12
Merge 53
O PHOENICS 35
Auto Merge 54 Offset 48 Planes 55
Connectivity Filter 55 OK - Cancel - Apply 37 Coefficients 57
Merge by Picking 54 Constant X, Y, or Z 57
On Database Entities 45
Merge Pairs of Entities 54 Point and Normal 56
AutoMerge Tolerance 46
Merge by Picking 54 Connector Join Angle 46 Three Points 56
Merge Pairs of Entities 54 Connector Split Angle 46 Plugins II
merging gids 53 Domain Join Angle 47 Point Placement 34
Messages Window 17 Online Support 5 Point Probe 36
Preferences 54 Open 4 Points 57
Min/Max Values 8 Append 5 Polar TFI 20
Minimum Included Angle Diagnos- Replace 5 Pole segment 6
tic 18 OpenFOAM 35 Preferences 25, 51
Mirror 13 Orient 45 Background 52
Plane Mode 13 Align 47 File Dialogs Start In Current Direc-
Model Manipulations 27 Color Key 47 tory 53
Database entities 45 Graphics 52
Models assembly 9
Grid entities 46 Hidden Color 54
Modify subgrids 29 Reverse 48 Max. MRE Files 53
Most Recently Executed (MRE) Files Select Lefthanded Blocks 47 Max. MRU Files 53
4 Set Master 47 Max. Rule Violations 53
Most Recently Used (MRU) Files 45 Swap directions 48 Max. Undo Levels 53
Mouse Orthogonal angle control 26 Messages Window 54
Functions 26 Orthogonal boundary condition 27 Miscellaneous 53
Preferences 53 Mouse Style 53
Orthonormal 12
Reset Defaults 54
MRE list 4 Orthonormal View 12 Selection 52
Multigrid solution algorithm 24 OVERFLOW 35 Preset Views 10
N P Print to File 43
Print to File Setup 41
Name 4 Panels 6 Background Color 42
NCC 33 Defaults 13 Dots per inch (DPI) 42
New 2 Layers 9 Foreground Color 42
Blank Project 3 List 6 Image Size 42
Restart 3 Parametric Fit TFI 21 Lock Aspect Ratio 42
13.8 Pointwise User Manual

Show Cropping Guide 43 Rotation Point 11 Scan Planes 5

Probe 5, 8 View 11 Script
Status Bar 19 Zoom 11 Add Comment to Journal 4
Probe, Point 36 Restart 3 Append to Journal 3
Progress Bar 19 Clear Database 3 Begin Journaling 3
Clear Grids 3 End Journaling 4
Project 13
Reset CAE 3 Execute 2
Closest Point 16 Reset Defaults 4 Most Recently Executed (MRE) Files
Cylindrical 17 Reset Layers 4 4
Cylindrical Axis 17 Reset Tolerances 3 Re-Execute 2
Direction 15
Revolve 50 scripting 3
In 15
Out 15 Rotate 11 SCRYU 35
Interior Only 15 Angle 12 SCRYU/Tetra 35
Linear 16 Axis Selection 12 Segment Type 4
Linear Projection Direction 16 Clear Axis 12
Circle 5
Percent Off 15 Define Arc 12
Conic 6
Percent On 15 Delete Last Point 12
Curve 4
Points Off 15 Rotate Extrusion 40 Curve on Database 5
Points On 15 Attributes Tab 42 Line 4
Projection Control 15 Run Tab 41 Line on Database 4
Spherical 18 rotation point 7 Pole 6
Spherical Center Point 18
Ruled Surface 54 Select
Target Database Selection 19
Rules 9 Adjacent 3
Type 15
Apply Rules 14 All Adjacent 3
Project File 54 Angle Limit 3
Creation 12
project unstructured domains 32 Evaluate Rules 10, 14 Entity Count 5
Properties 43 Manage Rules 12 Mask 3
Connector Tolerance 45 Max. Rule Violations 10 Select All 2
Grid Point Tolerance 45 Rules List 12 Toggle Selection 2
Model Size Tolerance 44 Show/Hide Rules 10 Unselect All 2
Node Tolerance 44 Rules List 12 Select All 2
Select Solver 2
Q S Selecting a Boundary Condition 7
Quilts assembly 11 Save 5 selecting a CAE software interface
Quit 47 Save As 6 2
Save Database As 6 selecting a CFD solver 2
R
Save Grid As 6 Selection 30, 60
Recombine Prisms 31, 22 Saved Cuts 8 Mask 31
Redo 3 Preferences 52
Saved Views 9
Multiple operations 3 Set Boundary Conditions 5, 6, 7
Scale 9
Re-Execute 2 Anchor 9 Set Boundary Conditions for CAE 4
Re-Extrude 52 Begin Point 9 Set Dimension
refine unstructured domains 32, 33 Clear Scale Vector 10 Average Ds 5
Reset End Point 9 Number of Points 5
Pan 11 Repick Anchor 10 Use Current 5
Rotate 11 Scale Factors 9 Set Dimension for CAE 3
 13.9

Set Rotation Point 10 SpaceBall 29 Structured domain special assembly

Set Solver Attributes for CAE 9 Spacing Constraint 8 21
Set Type 2 Spacing Controls Structured Domains
Set View Type 12 Blending 26 Surface Shape 22
Orthonormal 12 Exponential 26 Target Database Selection 23
Perspective 12 Linear 26 Structured Domains and Blocks
Set Volume Conditions for CAE 9 Spacing Angle Controls 26
Adjacent Grid 26 Boundary Conditions 27
setting a new rotation point 7
Current Grid 26 Boundary Control Functions 25
Shaded 5 Interpolate 26 Initialization 19
Show 4 User Specified 26 Interior Control Functions 22
Show Axes 13 Spline 44 Solution Algorithm 23
Show Connectors 12 spline 8 Spacing Controls 26
Show Database 13 Split 19 Subgrids 28
Show Domains 12 Delete Last Point 21 Structured grid 2
Show Hidden 7 Percent of Length 21 Structured Subgrids 24
Show Nodes 13 Slide Point 21 Subgrids 24
Split Anywhere 21 Add 28
Show XYZ Axes 13
Split Direction 22 Delete 30
Show/Hide 4 Split Location 21 Modify 29
Show/Hide Rules 10 Split Only at Control Points 21 Successive Over Relaxation solution
Smooth 44 Split Only At Coordinate 21
algorithm 24
smooth unstructured domains 32 Split Only At Grid Points 21
Surface of Revolution 50
Smoothness I, J, or K Diagnostic 18 Split group member 19
Surface Proximity Diagnostic 22
Solution Algorithm 23 Splitflow 36
surface shape 22
Multigrid 24 Standard TFI 20
Sweep 51
Successive Over Relaxation 24 STAR-CCM+ 35
Solve 17 STAR-CD 36 T
Structured Domains and Blocks 18 Status Bar 18
Unstructured Blocks 39 TACOMA 36
Steger-Sorenson boundary control
BCs 50 TASCFlow 37
function 25
Pyramids 45 TEAM 37
Step Suppression 27
Tetrahedra 43 Tear Off
T-Rex 46 Stretch 10
Messages Window 23
Unstructured Domains 31 Anchor 11
Panels 22
BCs 38 Begin Point 11
Clear Stretch Vector 11 Tecplot 37
T-Rex 37
Direction 11 TETREX 37
Solver Attributes for CAE 9
End Point 11 Text Entry 33
Solver Export 24
Factor 11 TFI 19
SOR solution algorithm 24 Repick Anchor 11 Thomas-Middlecoff interior control
Sort 38 structured block solver/smoothing function 22
Column Headings 40 18
Drag and Drop 41 Toggle Selection 2
Structured block special assembly Tolerances
Order Number 40
14 Connector 45
Selection 39
Up, Down, Top and Bottom 41 structured domain solver/smooth- Grid Point 45
ing 18
13.10 Pointwise User Manual

Model Size 44 Undo Zoom 8 Max. Surface Deviation 36

Node 44 Ungroup 50 Min. Equilateral Edge Length
Toolbars 5, 13 Unselect Al 2 35
Customization 24 Unspecified volume condition 29 Unstructured grid 2
Customize 14 User Interface 2
Unstructred Blocks
Icon Size 15 User Linked CAE Library II
Icon Text 15 Boundary Conditions 50
Pyramid 45 User Manual 5
Reset to Defaults 15
Aspect Ratio 45 User Specified 26
transfinite interpolation 19
Max. Height 45 User Specified angle control for
Transformations 6 Min. Height 45 blending 27
Defining a Vector 7 Tetrahedra 43
Mirror 13 User Specified spacing control 26
T-Rex 46
Rotate 11 User Specified spacing control for
Unstructred Domains
Scale 9 blending 26
Boundary Conditions 38
Stretch 10 User Views 9
T-Rex 37
Translate 7
Layers 37, 46 USM3D 38
Translate 7 Smoothing 37, 49
Begin Point 8 Triangles 35
V
Clear Translation Vector 8 Unstructured block special assem- Vector 7
End Point 8
bly 16, 17 Begin Point 7
Offset Vector 8
Unstructured Blocks End Point 7
Total Distance 8
Initialize 40 View
Translate Extrusion 38
Release 40 Attributes 3
Attributes Tab 40
Tetrahedra Demote 11
Run Tab 39
Algorithm 44 Manage Views 9
T-Rex Boundary Decay 44 Reset 11
Block Boundary Conditions Initial Memory Size 44 Pan 11
Adjacent Grid 51 Max. Equilateral Edge Length Rotate 11
Match 51 44 Rotation Point 11
Off 51 Min. Equilateral Edge Length View 11
Wall 51 44 Zoom 11
Domain Boundary Conditions Unstructured domain special as- Saved 9
Adjacent Grid 39 Set Rotation Point 10
sembly 22
Match 39 Set View Type 12
Off 39 Unstructured Domains
Show Axes 13
Wall 39 Decimate 32
Show Connectors 12
Layers Initialize 32
Show Database 13
Full Layers 37, 47 Project 32
Show Domains 12
Growth Rate 37, 47 Refine 32, 33
Show Hidden 7
Max. Layers 37, 47 Smooth 32
Show Nodes 13
Smoothing 35
Tutorial Workbook 5 Show XYZ Axes 13
Surface Shape 34
Toolbars 13
U Target Database Selection 34
Customize 14
Triangles
U,V Diagnostic 22 Zoom 8
Boundary Decay 36
Undo Zoom 8
UGRID 37 Max. Angular Deviation 35
Zoom To Fit 8
Undo 2 Max. Equilateral Edge Length
Zoom To Selection 9
Multiple operations 3 35
Zoom Box 9
 13.11

Volume Conditions for CAE 9

Volume Diagnostic 16
Volume Ratio Diagnostic 17
von Lavante-Hilgenstock-White
boundary control function 25
VSAERO 38
VSAEROhybrid 38
W
Wall Orthogonality Diagnostic 20
Wall Spacing Diagnostic 19
WIND 38
WIND (structured) 38
WIND (unstructured) 38
Wireframe 5
Z
Zoom 30, 8
Undo Zoom 8
Zoom To Fit 8
Zoom To Selection 9
Zoom Box 9
Zoom To Fit 8
Zoom To Selection 9
13.12 Pointwise User Manual
 Appendix I

References

I.I
I.II Pointwise User Manual

1.Abolhassani, J., Sadrehaghighi, I., Smith, R.E., and Tiwari, S.N., “Application of Lagrangian Blending
Functions for Grid Generation Around Airplane Geometries”, Journal of Aircraft, Vol. 27, No. 10, October
1990, pp. 873-877.
2.Advanced Visual Systems, Inc., “Unstructured Cell Data”, AVS User’s Guide, pp. 2-39, Release 4, May
1992, Part Number 320-0011-02, Rev B.
3.Buning, Pieter G., et al, OVERFLOW User's Manual, Version 1.6ak, NASA Ames Research Center, Sep. 1992.
4.Chan, W.M., and Steger, J.L., “A Generalized Scheme for Three-Dimensional Hyperbolic Grid Generation”,
AIAA paper no. 91-1588-CP, 1991.
5.Cooper, G.K., and Sirbaugh, J.R., "PARC Code: Theory and Usage", AEDC TR-89-15, United States Air Force
Arnold Engineering and Development Center, 1989.
6.Davies, D.E., Salmond, Deborah J., “Calculation of the Volume of a General Hexahedron for Flow
Predictions”, AIAA Journal, Vol. 23, No. 6, June 1985, pp 954-956.
7.Ehrlich, Louis W., “An Ad Hoc SOR Method”, Journal of Computational Physics, Vol. 44, pp. 31-45, 1981.
8.Goble, B.D., Raj, P., Kinnard, T.A., Three-dimensional Euler/Navier-Stokes Aerodynamic Method (TEAM)
Upgrade: Version 713 User's Manual, United States Air Force Wright Laboratory, November 1993.
9.Gordon, W.J., "Blending Function Methods of Bivariate and Multivariate Interpolation", SIAM Journal of
Numerical Analysis, Vol. 8, No. 158, 1971.
10.Hilgenstock, A., "A Fast Method For The Elliptic Generation of Three-Dimensional Grids With Full
Boundary Control", Numerical Grid Generation in Computational Fluid Mechanics `88, ed. by Sengupta, S.,
et al, Pineridge Press Ltd., Swansea, UK, 1988, pp. 137-146.
11.Klopfer, G.H. and Molvik, G.A., "Conservative Multizonal Interface Algorithm for the 3D Navier-Stokes
Equations", AIAA Paper 91-1601-CP, June, 1991.
12.Matus, R.J., Steinbrenner, J.P., and Chawner, J.R., “Preprocessing Complex Geometries for Computational
Analysis”, presented at the ASME Energy Sources and Technology Conference, 01-03 Feb. 1999.
13.PDA Engineering, Inc., PATRAN Plus User Manual, Vols. I and II, Release 2.5, Publication Number 2191025,
1990.
14.Raj, P., Sikora, J.S., and Olling, C.R., Three-dimensional Euler/Navier-Stokes Aerodynamic Method (TEAM),
Vols. I-III, AFWAL TR-87-3074, United States Air Force Wright Research and Development Center, June
1989.
15.Reed, K., "The Initial Graphics Exchange Specification (IGES)", NISTIR 4412, National Institute of
Standards and Technology, September 1991.
16.Reymond, Michael, and Miller, Mark, MSC/NASTRAN Quick Reference Guide Version 69, The MacNeal-
Schwendler Corp., 1996.
17.Rizzi, A., and Eriksson, L.E., "Transfinite Mesh Generation and Damped Euler Equation Algorithm for
Transonic Flow Around Wing-Body Configurations", AIAA paper no. 81-0999, 1981.
18.Shoof, Larry A., and Yarberry, Victor R., "EXODUS II: A Finite Element Data Model", Sandia Report
SAND92-2137, September 1994.
19.Smith, R.E., "Algebraic Grid Generation", Numerical Grid Generation, ed. by Thompson, J., North-
Holland, NY, 1982, pp. 137-170.
20.Soni, B.K., "Two- and Three-Dimensional Grid Generation for Internal Flow Applications of Computational
Fluid Dynamics", AIAA paper no. 85-1526.
21.Sorenson, R.L., The 3DGRAPE Book: Theory, Users' Manual, Examples, NASA TM-102224, July 1989.
 I.III

22.Steinbrenner, J.P., Chawner, J.R., and Matus, R.J., "Evolution of Gridgen's Data Hierarchy to Unstructured
Grids", from 6th International Conference on Numerical Grid Generation in Computational Field
Simulations, ed. by Cross, M., et al, publ. May 1998 by NSF Research Center for CFS, Mississippi, pp. 833-
842.
23.Steinbrenner, J.P., and Chawner, J.R., "Gridgen's Synergistic Implementation of CAD and Grid Geometry
Modeling", from Numerical Grid Generation in Computational Field Simulations, ed. by Soni, B.K., et al,
publ. by Engineering Research Center for CFS, Mississippi, 1996, pp. 363-372.
24.Steinbrenner, J.P., and Chawner, J.R., "Automatic Structured Grid Generation Using Gridgen (Some
Restrictions Apply)", NASA CP-3291, Surface Modeling, Grid Generation, and Related Issues in CFD
Solutions, NASA Lewis Research Center, Cleveland, OH May 1995.
25.Steinbrenner, J.P., and Chawner, J.R., "Incorporation of a Hierarchical Grid Component Structure into
GRIDGEN", AIAA paper no. 93-0429, AIAA 31st Aerospace Sciences Mtg., Reno, NV, Jan. 1993.
26.Steinbrenner, J.P. and Chawner, J.R., "Recent Enhancements to the GRIDGEN Structured Grid Generation
System", NASA CP-3142, Software Systems for Surface Modeling and Grid Generation, ed. by Smith, R.E.,
NASA Langley Research Center, Apr. 1992, pp. 253-271.
27.Steinbrenner, J.P., Chawner, J.R., and Anderson, D.A., "Enhancements to the GRIDGEN System for
Increased User Efficiency and Grid Quality", AIAA paper no. 92-0662, AIAA 30th Aerospace Sciences Mtg,
Reno, NV, Jan. 1992.
28.Steinbrenner, J.P., and Anderson, D.A., "Grid-Generation Methodology in Applied Aerodynamics", from
Applied Computational Aerodynamics, ed. by Henne, P.A., AIAA, 1990, pp. 91-130.
29.Steinbrenner, J.P., Chawner, J.R., and Fouts, C.L., "The GRIDGEN 3D Multiple Block Grid Generation
System", WRDC-TR-90-3022, Vols. I and II, Wright Research and Development Center, Wright-Patterson
AFB, OH, Jul. 1990 and Oct. 1990.
30.Steinbrenner, J.P. Chawner, J.R., and Fouts, C.L., "Multiple Block Grid Generation in the Interactive
Environment", AIAA paper no. 90-1602, AIAA 21st Fluid Dynamics Conference, Seattle, WA Jun. 1990.
31.Steinbrenner, J.P., Chawner, J.R., and Fouts, C.L., "A Structured Approach to Interactive Multiple Block
Grid Generation", from AGARD CP-464, Applications of Mesh Generation to Complex 3-D Configurations,
Mar. 1990, pp. 8-1 - 8-12.
32.Steinbrenner, J.P. and Anderson, D.A., "Three-Dimensional Parametric Block Grid Regeneration With
Localized Solution Adaption", from Numerical Grid Generation in Computational Fluid Dynamics `88, ed. by
Sengupta, S., et al, Pineridge Press Ltd., Swansea, UK, 1988, pp. 539-548.
33.Steinbrenner, J.P., Karman, S.L. Jr., and Chawner, J.R., "Generation of Multiple Block Grids for Arbitrary 3D
Geometries", from AGARDograph No. 309, Three Dimension Grid Generaion for Complex Configurations -
Recent Progress, ed. by Yoshihara, H., Mar. 1988, pp. 40-55.
34.Thomas, P.D., and Middlecoff, J.F., "Direct Control of the Grid Point Distribution in Meshes Generated by
Elliptic Equations", AIAA Journal, Vol. 18, pp. 652-656, 1979.
35.Thompson, J.F., Thames, F.C., and Mastin, C.W., "Boundary-Fitted Curvilinear Coordinate Systems for
Solution of Partial Differential Equations on Fields Containing Any Number of Arbitrary Two Dimensional
Bodies", NASA CR-2729, July 1977.
36.Vinokur, M., "On One-Dimensional Stretching Functions for Finite-Difference Calculations", NASA CR
3313, 1980.
37.von Lavante, E., "Elliptic Generation of Two-Dimensional Grids For Internal Flow Calculations", TEES
Technical Report No. 12415-82-01, March 1982
38.Walatka, P.P., and Buning, P.G., "PLOT3D User's Manual", NASA TM-101067, 1989.
I.IV Pointwise User Manual

39.White, J.A., "Elliptic Grid Generation With Orthogonality and Spacing Control On An Arbitrary Number of
Boundaries", AIAA paper no. 90-1568, June 1990.
40.Winslow, A., "Equipotential Zoning of Two-Dimensional Meshes", Journal of Computational Physics, Vol.
149, pp. 153-172, 1966.
41.http://www.vrml.org/, "Home of the VRML Consortium."
42.3D Systems, Inc., "StereoLithography Interface Specification", October 1989.
43.Intelligent Light, "FIELDVIEW User's Manual, Software Release Version 5.5", November 1996.
Appendix II

Plugins

II.I
II.II Pointwise User Manual

II.I Introduction

Pointwise provides capability allowing you to write your own CAE flow solver libraries and link them directly into
the software for export of correctly formatted solver input files. Once developed and properly added to your
Pointwise installation, your CAE solver will appear automatically in Pointwise’s list of CAE solvers in the CAE, Select
Solver command panel. Once you have selected your CAE solver plugin and created your grid, you can use the
File, Export, CAE option as with any other CAE solver selection to export files created by your plugin.
If you wish to install a plugin in a particular directory (i.e., /home/John/PluginProject) rather than the Pointwise
installation directory, point the environment variable, PWI_PLUGINS_SEARCH_PATH, to it then launch Pointwise
from there. For instance, type the following commands in a terminal on Mac:
export PWI_PLUGINS_SEARCH_PATH=/home/John/PluginProject/
/home/Applications/Pointwise/macosx/Pointwise.app/Contents/MacOS/Pointwise

II.II Online Documentation

Thorough SDK (software development kit) documentation for the CAE plugin capability can be found at the
Pointwise web site at:
www.pointwise.com/plugins
Support for plugins will be limited to the basics of file locations, proper linkage, etc. Further support regarding
specific plugin logic will be referred to Pointwise’s Applied Research group for consulting consideration.

II.III PWP_SITE_GROUPIDs

If you plan on releasing a plugin publicly outside your company, you will need to obtain a PWP_SITE_GROUPID
value from Pointwise support. This ensures uniqueness with other third-party plugins that may implement the same
solver format. More information about this globally unique site identifier and usage can be found in the SDK
documentation referenced in Section II.II.

II.IV Guide to Creating a Plugin

Here we will present an overview of implementing a new CAE plugin based upon the existing USM3D plugin
distributed with production Pointwise installations. The process will follow this brief outline:

1. Verify your Pointwise CAE plugin SDK installation.

2. Create a new plugin in your project's folder.
3. Edit the runtime header files that were copied to your project folder.
4. Edit the runtimeWrite() function to implement the plugin's export behavior.
5. Build the plugin on your platforms of choice.
The following information can be found in the /path/to/your/PluginSDK/src/plugins/README.txt file.

I I . 4 . 1 Ve r i f y Yo u r P o i n t w i s e C A E P l u g i n S D K I n s t a l l a t i o n
 II.III

It is suggested you verify your Pointwise CAE plugin SDK installation before making any of the changes detailed in
the following sections.
To verify on windows:

Open the VisualStudio soltuion file .../PluginSDK/PluginSDK.sln (created in VS2008).

Select the Build/Batch Build... menu.
Press the Select All button.
Press the Rebuild button.
The CaeUnsXML and CaeStrXML sample plugins should build for all platforms (win32, win64) and all build types
(debug, release). The resulting DLL plugins are located under the .../PluginSDK/dist/<platform> folders.
Please take note that these instructions assume that your VisualStudio installation supports building both the win32
and the win64 platform types.
To verify on unix and macOSX:

Open a command shell.

cd .../PluginSDK/
Run make machine=platform plugins-dr
where platform is macosx for Mac.
The CaeUnsXML and CaeStrXML sample plugins should build for the platforms (linux, linux_x86_64, macosx) and all
build types (debug, release). The resulting plugins (.so or .dynlib) are located under the .../PluginSDK/dist/
<platform> folders.

I I . 4 . 2 C r e a t e a N e w P l u g i n i n Yo u r P r o j e c t F o l d e r
If you have access to a tcl shell (tclsh) on your development machine, you can use the included scripts (mkplugin and
mkplugin.bat) to easily create a new CAE plugin project. For details, see the Section II.4.2.2 below. The script
manages the proper integration of the new plugin project into the SDK framework. For example:

Each plugin is assigned a unique id.

pluginRegistry.h is updated.
A make target is added.
Some plugin runtime data is initialized.
It is recommended that you use the script, but if you do not have access to a tcl shell, see the Section II.4.2.3 below.
A tcl shell is included with your Pointwise installation. The pointwise tcl shell is invoked on unix using the script:

/your/pointwise/installation/pointwise -b
and on winOS using:

bin/tclsh
If Pointwise is not installed on your development machine, you will need to download and install a tcl shell on your
machine. There are free installations available on the web. Try http://www.activestate.com/activetcl/ for a good tcl
shell.
The scripts assume that the tcl shell (tclsh) can be launched by name only. That is, typing “tclsh” on the command
line will start the tcl shell without errors. If not already working, you may want to add the tclsh folder to the shell's
path or create an alias (unix) or a tclsh.bat file (winOS).
II.IV Pointwise User Manual

If you do not want to make shell changes as outlined above, you can invoke the underlying tcl file using the
following command line:

/path/to/your/tclsh mkplugin.tcl <command-line-arguments>

The <command-line-arguments> are detailed in the script.

II.4.2.1 Additional Comments

A Pointwise CAE plugin must be declared as exporting structured or unstructured grids. The CAE solver being
targeted determines the type. If a solver supports both structured and unstructured grids, two seperate plugins
must be created.
The set of PluginSDK API calls available to a given plugin will be determined by the plugin type. If you get an
“undefined” function compile error, you may be using an API call unsupported for your plugin’s type.
Though not technically required, it is suggested that the plugin name start with a prefix designating the type of
plugin. The following are suggested prefixes:

Table II.1: Naming Prefixes

API Prefix Example Plugin Name(s)

Export-CAE Cae CaeOpenFoam, CaeXml

In the sections below, we will be creating the new plugin named “CaeUSM3DVGRID”. When complete, the cross-
platform build will produce binaries similar to the following examples:
for BUILD=Release

/path/to/your/PluginSDK/dist/win32/plugins/CaeUSM3DVGRID.dll
/path/to/your/PluginSDK/dist/linux/plugins/libCaeUSM3DVGRID.so
for BUILD=Debug

/path/to/your/PluginSDK/dist/win32/plugins/debug/CaeUSM3DVGRIDd.dll
/path/to/your/PluginSDK/dist/linux/plugins/debug/libCaeUSM3DVGRIDd.so

II.4.2.2 Create a New CAE Plugin Project with the mkplugin Script
Open a shell on your development platform. Change to the /path/to/your/PluginSDK folder. On the
command line, enter the following...
for unix and macOSX:

./mkplugin -str CaeUSM3DVGRID

./mkplugin -uns CaeUSM3DVGRID
for windows:

mkplugin -str CaeUSM3DVGRID

 II.V

mkplugin -uns CaeUSM3DVGRID

The -str/-uns switch indicates we are creating a structured/unstructured plugin project.
If all goes well, you should see a message similar to the following:

creating new structured plugin 'CaeUSM3DVGRID' with ID=20...

creating new unstructured plugin 'CaeUSM3DVGRID' with ID=20...
To see the full command line usage, enter the following...
for unix and macOSX:

./mkplugin -h
for windows:

mkplugin -h

II.4.2.3 Manual Steps to Create a New CAE Plugin Project

Create the project folder as:

/path/to/your/PluginSDK/src/plugins/CaeUSM3DVGRID/.
Copy the following project files over to your new project folder (do NOT copy the folders, just the files):

.../src/plugins/templates/CAEP/*.*
.../src/plugins/templates/PWP/*.*
Make the following changes to the files in your new project folder. For the steps below, I will use the folder name
CaeUSM3DVGRID. Rename the file CaeUSM3DVGRID/CaeTemplate.vcproj to CaeUSM3DVGRID/
CaeUSM3DVGRID.vcproj. Then, with a text editor, open the CaeUSM3DVGRID.vcproj file and replace all string
occurances according to the following. Replace all CaeTemplate substrings with the project folder name. The case
must match exactly. In this example, replace CaeTemplate with CaeUSM3DVGRID. For a structured plugin, replace
all plugintype substrings with the string structured. The case must match exactly. For an unstructured plugin,
replace all plugintype substrings with the string unstructured. The case must match exactly. Save
CaeUSM3DVGRID.vcproj.
Next, with a text editor, open the CaeUSM3DVGRID/module.mk file. Replace all CaeXxxxx substrings with the
project folder name. The case must match exactly. In this example, replace CaeXxxxx with CaeUSM3DVGRID.
Replace all CAEXXXXX substrings with the project folder name in UPPERCASE. In this example, replace CAEXXXXX
with CAEMYEXPORTER. Save module.mk.
Next, with a text editor, open the CaeUSM3DVGRID/rtCaepInitItems.h file. Replace all CaeXxxxx substrings
with the project folder name. The case must match exactly. In this example, replace CaeXxxxx with
CaeUSM3DVGRID. Replace the __ID__ substring with the plugin’s unique ID number. This ID must be an integer
value that is unique for all plugins in your build environment. This ID will also be added to the pluginRegistry.h
file below. Save rtCaeInitItems.h. Please take note that you will need to make additional changes to this file to
properly implement your plugin. Those changes are not covered here.
Next, with a text editor, open the CaeUSM3DVGRID/rtCaepSupportData.h file. Replace all CaeXxxxx substrings
with the project folder name. The case must match exactly. In this example, replace CaeXxxxx with
CaeUSM3DVGRID. Replace the __ID__ substring with the plugin’s unique ID number. This ID must be an integer
value that is unique for all plugins in your build environment. This ID will also be added to the pluginRegistry.h
file below. In this example, replace __ID__ with 20. Save rtCaepSupportData.h. Please take note that you will
II.VI Pointwise User Manual

need to make additional changes to this file to properly implement your plugin. Those changes are not covered
here.
Next, with a text editor, open the .../plugins/modulelocal.mk file. Add the CaeUSM3DVGRID target to the
target-list defined in ALL_PLUGIN_MODULES. If you do not want to build the example XML plugins shipped with
the SDK, you may remove them from the target-list. Save modulelocal.mk.
Next, with a text editor, open the .../plugins/pluginRegistry.h file. Add a macro defining the plugin’s
unique ID value. This ID must be unique for all plugins in your build environment. Be sure to place the new macro
at the end of the list above the appropriate comment. For example,

# define ID_CaeStrXML 9
# define ID_CaeUnsXML 10
# define ID_CaeUnsManual 20
// add new plugin ID above this line
Save pluginRegistry.h.
The End (for now).

II.4.3 Edit Runtime Header Files

The following configuration header files will need to be edited to define a plugin's capabilities. This data is used by
the SDK to implement the PWP-API and CAEP-API specifications. At runtime, Pointwise uses this information in the
user interface. This includes such things as the available volume and boundary conditions, supported file
extensions, and plugin version numbers. More information can be found on each file’s details in the SDK
documentation referenced in Section II.II.

rtPwpVersions.h
rtPwpPluginInfo.h
rtPwpInitItems.h
rtCaepInstanceData.h
rtCaepSupportData.h
rtCaepInitItems.h

II.4.4 Edit the runtimeWrite() Function

This is the starting point for a CAE export. When a CAE export is initiated, the SDK initializes the plugin and calls
the function runtimeWrite().
To implement the exporter logic, The plugin author must edit the copy of the file runtimeWrite.c located in the
/path/to/your/PluginSDK/src/plugins/CaeUSM3DVGRID folder. More information can be found on each
file’s details in the SDK documentation referenced in Section II.II.

II.4.5 Build the Plugin

Please be sure to follow all the steps in Section II.4.1 before proceeding with the following build instructions.

II.4.5.1 Building on Microsoft Windows Using Visual Studio

1. Open the PluginSDK/PluginSDK.sln solution file.

2. If not already there, add the CaeUSM3DVGRID.vcproj file to the solution.
 II.VII

3. Set the build type to Debug or Release.

4. Build the solution (menu Build, Build Solution).

II.4.5.2 Building on Unix and Mac OSX Using gmake

1. Change the working directory to the PluginSDK folder.

2. run gmake machine=M BUILD=Release to build plugins for the release.
3. run gmake machine=M BUILD=Debug or gmake machine=M to build plugins for debug (the default).
In the commands above, M represents one of the supported platforms. At this time, M is one of:

1. linux - 32-bit linux-based OS

2. linux_x86_64 - 64-bit linux-based OS
3. macosx - Max OSX
If you want, gmake will use environment variables to control the build. Run gmake BUILD=help to see build usage
information.
II.VIII Pointwise User Manual
 Appendix III

File Formats

III.I
III.II Pointwise User Manual

III.I Plot3D File

The following piece of pseudo-code describes the format the data found in a Plot3D file should take:

c.....nmax is number of networks

c.....ni(n) number of points in the i direction for the nth network
c.....nj(n) number of points in the j direction for the nth network
c.....nk(n) number of points in the k direction for the nth network

integer ni(nmax), nj(nmax), nk(nmax)

real x(imax,jmax,nmax),
& y(imax,jmax,nmax),
& z(imax,jmax,nmax)

write(1) nmax
write(1) ( ( ni(n), nj(n), nk(n) ), n=1,nmax )
do 10 n = 1, nmax
write(1) ( ( x(i,j,n), i=1,ni(n) ), j=1,nj(n) ),
& ( ( y(i,j,n), i=1,ni(n) ), j=1,nj(n) ),
& ( ( z(i,j,n), i=1,ni(n) ), j=1,nj(n) )
10 continue

III.II Segment File

The following piece of pseudo-code describes the format the data found in a segment file should take:
c.....nmax is the number of segments
c.....ni(n) is the number of points on segment n
c.....imax is the number of points

integer nmax
integer ni(nmax)

real x(imax), y(imax), z(imax)

do n = 1, nmax
write(1,*) ni(n)
do i = 1, ni(n)
write(1,*) x(i,n), y(i,n), z(i,n)
 III.III

end do
end do
III.IV Pointwise User Manual
 Appendix IV

Accelerators

IV.I
IV.II Pointwise User Manual

I V. I P o i n t w i s e A c c e l e r a t o r s

The Pointwise user interface uses accelerators, or hot keys, common to many other commercial software packages.
Accelerators are key combinations you may find useful for model manipulation or other miscellaneous functions.
The table below provides a reference for the most common accelerators used within Pointwise.

Table IV.I: Common Pointwise Accelerators

Command Windows/Unix Accelerator Mac Accelerator

File, New Ctrl+N Command+N

File, Open Ctrl+O Command+O

File, Save Ctrl+S Command+S

File, Save As Ctrl+Shift+S Command+Shift+S

File, Print to File Setup Ctrl+Shift+P Command+Shift+P

File, Print to File Ctrl+P Command+P

Edit, Undo Ctrl+Z Command+Z

Edit, Redo Ctrl+Y Command+Y

Edit, Cut Ctrl+X Command+X

Edit, Copy Ctrl+C Command+C

Edit, Paste Ctrl+V Command+V

Edit, Delete Delete Pad-Delete

Edit, Delete Special Ctrl+Delete Command+Pad-Delete

Edit, Project Ctrl+Shift+J Command+Shift+J

Edit, Split Ctrl+Q Command+Q

Edit, Join Ctrl+J Command+J

View, Zoom, Undo Zoom Ctrl+F2 Command+F2

View, Zoom, Zoom to Fit F2 F2

View, Zoom, Zoom to Selection Shift+F2 Shift+F2

View, Manage Views, Recall View 1 Ctrl+1 Command+1

View, Manage Views, Recall View 2 Ctrl+2 Command+2

View, Manage Views, Recall View 3 Ctrl+3 Command+3

 IV.III

Table IV.I: Common Pointwise Accelerators

Command Windows/Unix Accelerator Mac Accelerator

View, Manage Views, Recall View 4 Ctrl+4 Command+4

View, Manage Views, Recall View 5 Ctrl+5 Command+5

View, Manage Views, Recall View 6 Ctrl+6 Command+6

View, Manage Views, Save View 1 Alt+1 Alt+1

View, Manage Views, Save View 2 Alt+2 Alt+2

View, Manage Views, Save View 3 Alt+3 Alt+3

View, Manage Views, Save View 4 Alt+4 Alt+4

View, Manage Views, Save View 5 Alt+5 Alt+5

View, Manage Views, Save View 6 Alt+6 Alt+6

View, Set Rotation Point Ctrl+Shift+Right Mouse Button Command+Shift+Right Mouse

Button

View, Reset, View Ctrl+R Command+R

View, Reset, Pan Ctrl+U Command+U

View, Reset, Rotation Point Ctrl+Shift+R Command+Shift+R

View, Demote, Redraw F5 F5

View, Show Domains Ctrl+F3 Command+F3

View, Show Connectors Ctrl+F4 Command+F4

View, Show Nodes Ctrl+F5 Command+F5

View, Show Database Ctrl+Shift+F5 Command+Shift+F5

View, Show Axes Ctrl+Shift+F3 Command+Shift+F3

View, Show XYZ Axes Ctrl+Shift+F4 Command+Shift+F4

Select, Select All Ctrl+A Command+A

Select, Unselect All Ctrl+D Command+D

Select, Toggle Selection Ctrl+T Command+T

Select, Adjacent Ctrl+Shift+N Command+Shift+N

Select, All Adjacent Ctrl+Shift+A Command+Shift+A

Select, Mask Ctrl+M Command+M

IV.IV Pointwise User Manual

Table IV.I: Common Pointwise Accelerators

Command Windows/Unix Accelerator Mac Accelerator

Assemble domains (Not open the Ctrl+B Command+B

Assemble Domains panel)

Assemble blocks (Not open the Ctrl+Shift+B Command+Shift+B

Assemble Blocks panel)

Grid, Dimension Ctrl+W Command+W

Grid, Distribute Ctrl+G Command+G

Initialize Selected Domains/Blocks Ctrl+I Command+I

Script, Re-Execute Ctrl+E Command+E

Help, Pointwise Help F1 F1

Command Panel Text Entry NumPad-Enter NumPad-Enter

OK (Save changes and exit any Ctrl+Enter Command+Enter

command panel)

Do It! (Any command button Ctrl+F Command+F

containing a lightning bolt)

Apply Ctrl+Shift+Enter Command+Shift+Enter

Cancel Esc Esc

Clear message window Ctrl+Shift+Delete Command+Shift+Delete

Display point position and distance Alt+Right Mouse Button Alt+Right Mouse Button
between it and last selected point

Cycle through selectable entities Spacebar Spacebar

under cursor

Cycle through selectable entities Ctrl+Spacebar Ctrl+Spacebar

under cursor in reversed order

Zoom Box Shift+Middle Mouse Button

Pan Shift+Right Mouse Button Shift+Right Mouse Button

X and Y screen-axis rotation Ctrl+Right Mouse Button Command+Right Mouse Button

Z screen-axis rotation Ctrl+Middle Mouse Button

X body-axis rotation NumLock Clear

Y body-axis rotation NumPad / NumPad =

 IV.V

Table IV.I: Common Pointwise Accelerators

Command Windows/Unix Accelerator Mac Accelerator

Z body-axis rotation NumPad * NumPad /

Reverse direction of rotation NumPad - NumPad *

X screen-axis rotation NumPad 7 NumPad 7

Y screen-axis rotation NumPad 8 NumPad 8

Z screen-axis rotation NumPad 9 NumPad 9

90° rotations (used with rotation keys) PageDown PageDown

3° rotations (used with rotation keys) Alt Alt

Unmask Δs’s, F7 F7
Mask all other entities

Unmask Blocks, F9 F9
Mask all other entities

Unmask Domains, F10 F10

Mask all other entities

Unmask Connectors, F11 F11*

Mask all other entities

Unmask Database, F12 F12

Mask all other entities

Toggle Entity Mask Shift+Mask Function Key Shift+Mask Function Key

Mask Δs’s, Ctrl+F7 Command+F7

Unmask all other entities

Mask Blocks, Ctrl+F9 Command+F9

Unmask all other entities

Mask Domains, Ctrl+F10 Command+F10

Unmask all other entities

Mask Connectors, Ctrl+F11 Command+F11

Unmask all other entities

Mask Database, Ctrl+F12 Command+F12

Unmask all other entities
IV.VI Pointwise User Manual

I V. I I U s i n g A c c e l e r a t o r s w i t h a M a c

As can be seen in Table IV.I, the Mac platform accelerators differ slightly from Windows/Linux/Unix accelerators for
some commands. In particular, for Mac users who wish to use the Rotate or Mask accelerators, there are a few
additional steps that need to be taken within your operating system to enable you to use these accelerators:

• Rotation - Go to System Preferences, Keyboard & Mouse, Mouse. Select Secondar y Button in the right
pull-down menu.

• Mask - Go to System Preferences, Keyboard & Mouse, Keyboard Shortcuts. Toggle off F9, F10, F11,
and F12. This removes any conflicts that may exist between the Mac keyboard defaults and Pointwise’s.
For users with a standard Mac mouse, Pointwise’s Zoom Box function will be unavailable. Use of a three-button
mouse or a Mac Mighty Mouse with scroll ball will enable the use of the Zoom Box function via the Shift+Scroll
Ball accelerator.