Geometry: Organize by Easy Grouping of Similar Parts
In this tips and tricks video, we will demonstrate how to group a set of similar CAD features with only a few mouse clicks, followed by a fill holes operation to repair a broken geometry. These steps are useful for converting 3D CAD models with unnecessary features and surfaces into a less detailed model suitable for CFD analysis. We begin with our geometry imported into the 3D cad tool in Star-CCM. We expand the 3D search tool in the upper right corner and choose options for searching the entire CAD model and selecting inputs based on surfaces. We then use the rubber band selector to choose surfaces corresponding to bolts that would be unnecessary to include in an external aerodynamic simulation. We perform the search and see that all of the similar bolt surfaces have been selected and proceed to include those in an active selection. We then use the surface delete operation to eliminate the bolts leading behind holes in the model. We then right-click the body and choose the repair fill holes operation to recover a closed manifold body.