*fix_surfaces_orientation

Flips surface normals from a selected surface (or set of surfaces) and any surfaces attached to the selection to all point in the same direction.

Syntax

*fix_surfaces_orientation surfaces orientation

Type

HyperMesh Tcl Modify

Description

The direction in which reoriented normals point can then be collectively reoriented based on treating the group of 2D surfaces as if they were surfaces of a 3D entity. For example, three adjacent triangular surfaces might define a tetrahedral space even if they are not actually faces of a tetrahedral entity.

Inputs

surfaces
The surfaces you want to make normals consistent.
orientation
1 - Normals point away from the center of the hypothetical 3D element.
0 - All normals point toward the center of the hypothetical 3D element.

Example

If a surface with ID 72 has two adjacent surfaces, and all three of these surfaces form three adjacent sides of a cubic space, then this example will orient all three surfaces such that their normals point toward the center of the cube:
*fix_surfaces_orientation(72,1)

If the selection includes T-intersections, the results will be unpredictable. Similarly, if the selected surfaces do not define a 3D space (such as in the case of coplanar surfaces) then the final swap of normals determined by the orientation argument may be unpredictable.