Geometry Tool is available to supplement the capabilities of CAD systems. Most CAD packages produce water-tight STL models suitable for DEFORM. Those that do not may produce models with folds, cracks or illegal polygons. Geometry Tool has the capability to automatically repair a wide range of illegal STL geometry. For severe cases, a user can detect and correct geometry interactively. Geometry Tool also imports 3D IGES and STEP files, converting the geometry to STL format.

Geometry Tool allows users to modify geometries at the STL level. Surfaces can easily be offset or extruded, as shown below, where the extrudates of a steady-state extrusion workpiece were elongated. Boolean operations will combine objects or subtract one geometry from another. Trimming functionality allows users to cut a geometry based on a contour drawn around a part. This is very useful for trimming flash off of a part between operations. Mirroring, slicing and other operations are also available.

Geometry Tool

• Geometry Tool is a stand-alone module.
• Inputs include STL, IGES and STEP.
• Capabilities include geometry repair, translation from IGES/STEP to STL and Boolean operations.