Fair : Options and Results

Access: Open this function from the following location:

  • Select Faces > Modify Faces > Fair from the menu bar.

Change the shape of a face by fairing it (smoothing and reducing the number of control points).

Simplify a face by approximating analytical faces. This can be used to reduce the waviness of a face.

Required Step 1

Pick the face to be faired.

Fair

This is a dropdown list of the following options:

Fair

Smooth the selected face.

Fair & Simplify Edges

Simplify edges by merging them if they are smooth (maximum tolerance of 0.6 degrees). See below.

Simplify Edges

Simplify edges by merging them if they are smooth. See below. 

Max. Surface Change / Max. Edges Change

Enter the maximum Edge and Surface tolerance values to which the face can be changed.
Example:Example:

If a low tolerance is specified, the waviness will be slightly reduced:

The higher the tolerance, the more the face will resemble an arc:

A very high tolerance will cause the face to "flatten":

Note: The default tolerance is 0.1, which will generally give a good approximation of analytic faces. A high tolerance is used here for demonstration purposes.

Merge Edges

This option is available when Simplify Edges is selected. When it is On, selected edges of the same type, such as analytic edges or spline edges, will be automatically merged - edges of different types cannot be merged. 

Keep Slope

The option Keep Slopes will maintain the slopes at the edges of the face. Toggle to Free Slopes if you want the slopes to change in accordance with the modification.

Simplify Edges vs Fair and Simplify Edges

These options simplify edges by merging them if they are smooth (maximum tolerance of 0.6 degrees). In the following example, if you analyze the edges you will see they are splines while the face is a NURBS surface.

Using the Simplify Edges option results in 2 side lines and 1 arc. (One of the edges cannot be simplified and remains a 3D spline).

Using the Fair & Simplify Edges option achieves the same result but in addition the NURBS surface is simplified into an analytic face (cylinder).

Click OKOK or ApplyApply in the Feature Guide to complete the function.

When completed, the Fair feature will appear in the Feature Tree as follows:

Some functionality may be dependent on the product package. Contact your Reseller if you require a license.