Pile Mode
Define the pile mode and the initial object position.
Pile Mode
Select from the pull-down menu whether the objects should fall one after another (Object after Object) or all should fall at once (All Objects at Once).
Object Position
When choosing Object after Object, the pull-down menu for Initial Object Position allows setting the initial position from which the piling objects are set to fall: the whole initial position plane (On Inflow Plane), from its center (On Inflow Plane Center), or to originate from an existing structure (Objects from gad File). When All Objects at Once is selected, the objects must be loaded from a *.gad file.
On Inflow Plane or On Inflow Plane Center
When piling objects On Inflow Plane or On Inflow Plane Center, the Number of Positioning Trials can be adjusted at the cost of additional runtime to increase the quality of the piled structure.
Objects from gad file
When piling from an existing *.gad file, the objects are taken from that file. Thus, no objects (and their geometry parameters) need to be selected through the lay-down Options tab. Clicking Browse, a structure saved in GAD format can be selected as the origin of the objects.
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Important! Structures in GAD format to be used for piling must conform to certain requirements (no overlapping, periodicity, no objects crossing bottom plate) and should be generated for later piling with these requirements in mind. Overlap can be removed after generation using GadGeo → Remove Object Overlap, as explained in the GadGeo handbook.
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Requirements for objects from gad-file
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Important! Before piling, the domain size in all three directions under the Pile Options tab must be set to at least the size of the gad file.
For example, consider the example gad file in the image below. It has a domain size of 200x200x200 voxel. Thus, entering less voxels in one direction lead to an error message:
But the following domain size settings are valid:
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Assuming the Z-direction to be the piling direction, and downwards to be the positive direction (Z+), the following situations have to be considered:
- Touching, but not overlapping, is allowed for piling. The initial structure must be generated without overlapping. For example, by selecting Remove Overlap when generating with Create (or other GeoDict structure generators).
- Periodicity is needed in the X and Y directions for piling, to avoid undesired intersections at the edge of the structure. The initial GAD file must be generated to be periodic (in all directions).
- No objects are allowed to drop off the bottom of the structure. When this happens, the dimensions of the initial *.gad file must be processed to include the extruding object.
The dimensions of the initial *.gad file can be changed by adding enough empty voxels in Z+ direction. The number of voxels to be added depends on how far objects overlap the original domain in Z-direction. Two different possibilities are available for this task:
- Model → ProcessGeo → Embed and check Embed Analytic Objects. This explicitly adds voxels in the specified direction. For more information refer to the ProcessGeo handbook.
- Model → GadGeo → Edit Domain. This changes the domain size as defined. For more information refer to the GadGeo handbook.
Example:
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Parameters for objects from gad file
Before the piling process starts from a structure in GAD-format, the initial position of the contained objects can be slightly changed by two parameters.
The distance between the objects in the piling direction can be enlarged by the factor entered in Loosen Objects.
Additionally, all objects can be lifted by the distance entered in Lift Objects. For example, these parameters can be used to generate structures similar to those from sieving processes combined with additional shaking.
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