67.4.2 An overview of the methods for partitioning faces

When you choose Face from the Create Partition dialog box, the Method list displays the following methods for partitioning faces:

Sketch planar partition

Partition a selected face by sketching a partition with the Sketcher, as shown in Figure 67–8. For detailed instructions, see “Using the sketch method to partition faces,” Section 67.6.1.

You can sketch directly on the face to be partitioned, or you can sketch on a second face or datum plane and then project the sketch onto the face that you want to partition. For an example of projecting a sketch from a datum plane, see “Using the Datum toolset in the Part module,” Section 11.16.1.

Figure 67–8 Partitioning a face using the Sketcher.

Shortest path between 2 points

Partition the face along the shortest path connecting two selected points; the resulting partition will be curved if the face being partitioned is curved, as shown in Figure 67–9. You can select points that are not associated with the face being partitioned; for example, the points can be located on a different face or even a different part instance. For detailed instructions, see “Using the shortest path method to partition faces,” Section 67.6.2.

Figure 67–9 Partitioning a face using the shortest path between two points.

Use datum plane

Partition a face using the intersection with the extension of a datum plane, as shown in Figure 67–10. For detailed instructions, see “Using the datum plane method to partition faces,” Section 67.6.3.

Figure 67–10 Partitioning a face using a datum plane.

Curved path normal to 2 edges

Partition the face along a Bézier curve that is normal to two of the face's edges, as shown in Figure 67–11. Position the curve by selecting two points anywhere along the two edges. The arc subtended by the two edges must be less than 180°. For detailed instructions, see “Using the curved path method to partition a face,” Section 67.6.4.

Figure 67–11 Partitioning a face using a Bézier curve.

Extend another face

Partition the face using the intersection with the extension of another face, as shown in Figure 67–12. The face being extended can be either planar, cylindrical, conical, or spherical; and it need not belong to the part containing the face to be partitioned. For detailed instructions, see “Using the extended face method to partition faces,” Section 67.6.5.

Figure 67–12 Partitioning a face using the extension of another face.

Intersect by other faces

Partition the face using the intersection of the target face with one or more other faces, as shown in Figure 67–13. The faces can be intersecting or tangential. For detailed instructions, see “Using the intersection method to partition faces,” Section 67.6.6.

Figure 67–13 Partitioning a face using an intersection of faces.

Auto-partition

When you mesh a face with quadrilateral elements using the free meshing technique, the Mesh module internally partitions the face into regions with three to five logical sides before meshing the face. For more information, see “Free meshing with quadrilateral and quadrilateral-dominated elements,” Section 17.10.2. However, if you want to view and perhaps modify the automatically generated regions before generating the mesh, you can use the auto-partitioning tool to partition the face without meshing it. This tool is available only in the Mesh module. For detailed instructions, see “Using the automatic generation method to partition faces,” Section 67.6.7.

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