Sample part showing two selected surfaces with vectors shown

Notice in this example that this surface vector is incorrect; the vector arrow points down into the part:

Notice that the surface vector arrow now points in the correct direction:

## Editing CAD Vectors

The Edit | Graphics Display Window | CAD Vectors... menu item displays the Edit CAD Vectors dialog box. This dialog box lets you view and manipulate surface vectors.

Edit CAD Vectors dialog box

Surfaces Selected

With the dialog box open, click on a CAD surface in the Graphics Display window to select or deselect that surface. You can also drag a box across a portion of your part to box select several surfaces at once. PC-DMIS highlights any selected surface and shows the number of selected surfaces in the Surfaces Selected box.

Deselect

The Deselect button clears all selected CAD surfaces.

Show Vectors

If you select the Show Vectors check box, PC-DMIS will display a green arrow on each selected CAD surface to represent its vector.

Flip Surface Vectors

The Flip Surface Vector button flips your surface vectors, causing the vector arrows to point in the opposite direction. PC-DMIS then clears the selected surfaces, and they will appear with the flipped surface vector the next time you select them.

Fix Surface Vectors

Some surfaces, when initially selected, will have improper vectors. A proper vector will point away from the part.

The Fix Surface Vectors button uses internal mathematical algorithms to correct selected surface vectors, automatically causing the vector arrows to point in the proper direction. PC-DMIS then clears the selected surfaces, and they will appear with the corrected surface vector the next time you select them.

To fix the surface vectors of the entire CAD model, follow these steps:

1. Display your CAD model in Solid view by selecting the Toggle Graphic Window in Solid icon from the Graphic View toolbar.

2. Select the Edit | Graphics Display Window | Lighting, Materials... menu item. The CAD and Graphic Setup dialog box appears.

3. Select the Lighting tab.

4. Clear the Two sided lighting check box.

5. Click the OK button. In the graphics window, notice how some of the CAD surfaces appear dark. This is a visual indication that the surface normal for that surface is pointing in the wrong direction.

6. Select Edit | Graphics Display Window | CAD Vectors. The Edit CAD Vectors dialog box appears.

7. Box-select the entire CAD model.

8. Click the Fix Vectors button. If the algorithm can fix all of the surface vectors, PC-DMIS will change the dark surfaces to the part's usual color, signifying that the surface vectors now point in the proper direction outside the part. If any of the surfaces remain with a dark shade, you can select those surfaces and manually flip their vectors by using the Flip Surface Vectors button.

Close

This button closes the dialog box and clears any selected vectors.