Mesh BREP (boundary representation) bodies
and graphics mesh
bodies are made up of triangular polygons, called facets. Each facet
has three vertices and three edges, referred to as fins.
The facets of a mesh BREP body can be collected into faces. These faces
are similar to the faces in standard SOLIDWORKS BREP bodies, except that mesh faces do
not have a geometric description. For example, the facets of a mesh face can make up a
rectangle, but that face is defined simply as a collection of facets, not as rectangle
with a height and width.
Body Types Created from Mesh
You can convert mesh files into three types of bodies:
- Standard SOLIDWORKS BREP bodies
- Mesh BREP bodies
- Graphics bodies
You can
add standard BREP geometry to create hybrid mesh
models.
SOLIDWORKS BREP bodies are the standard bodies used in the SOLIDWORKS
software. They can be solid or surface bodies. They do not include mesh surfaces.
Every point on a face of these bodies can be determined with a mathematical
equation.
Mesh BREP bodies can be solid or surface bodies. The bodies are made up of
mesh facets. The facets can be grouped into faces. Facets can form a geometric shape
such as a rectangle, and the rectangle can have a BREP face associated with it, but
not every point on every face can be determined with a mathematical equation.
You have the
option to display or hide facet fins on mesh BREP bodies. In , select or clear the option
Display facet
fins in Mesh BREP bodies. This includes bodies you create with the
Convert to Mesh Body
tool. It also includes bodies
imported from
*.stl and
*.3mf files with the
Graphics Body import option selected and that you later convert to
mesh BREP bodies.
This option does not affect the display of
regular edges on mesh BREP bodies, which includes edges created directly on
import or created later with the
Segment Imported
Mesh Body
tool.
Graphics bodies are defined entirely by their facets, without
reference to equations. For example, what appears to be a circle in a graphics body
is actually a large number of triangles, some of whose edges approximate the
circumference of a circle. These mesh edges do not actually form a mathematical
curve.
Hybrid solid or surface bodies include mesh BREP geometry and
standard SOLIDWORKS BREP geometry in the same model. In general, you create hybrid
mesh bodies by adding SOLIDWORKS features to mesh BREP bodies. The faces and edges
created by the SOLIDWORKS features contain as much SW standard BREP geometry as
possible, instead of mesh BREP geometry.
Geometry Elements
The edges of mesh BREP bodies may approximate mathematical curves, but do not
have any geometric
attributes. Hybrid
mesh bodies can contain a continuous face where one region of the face is mesh BREP
geometry, and the other region of the face is standard BREP geometry. A continuous
edge is one region comprised of facet fins that form a mesh BREP edge and a standard
BREP edge. These are not new geometry types, but rather combinations of existing
geometry types in a hybrid mesh body.