Input

Action

base name

Name for the ellipsoids (max length of 160 characters)

coordinates /entities

Toggle for choosing the method of determining the ellipsoid center.

center x /y /z

Appears when coordinates is selected.

X, Y, and Z coordinates of the desired center of the ellipsoid.

nodes /points selector

Appears when entities is selected.

Select one or more nodes or points on the screen

multibody

Associate the ellipsoid with an existing multibody.

radius definition

by value: contains three number fields that specify the length of the ellipsoid’s A, B, and C axis respectively.

by vector: contains three node selection boxes that define the length of the A, B, and C axis as the distance between the ellipsoid’s centroid to the selected axis nodes.  The by vector radius definition option also specifies the orientation of the ellipsoid by using the A node to define the A axis and the B node to define the A-B plane.

A =

Axis lengths

B =

Axis lengths

C =

Axis lengths

N =

Defines the shape factor of an ellipsoid.

This is the "order" of the ellipsoid; higher numbers make the ellipsoid more rectangular.  Typical values range from 2 to 10, because above a certain number the differences become very slight.

color

Select a color for the ellipsoid.

orientation

body system: aligns the axis of the ellipsoid along its collector’s local coordinate system.  If a current multibody collector is not specified in the Model browser, both the created ellipsoids and auto-created collector are aligned with the global coordinate system.

create system: provides node selection fields that define the ellipsoid coordinate axis.  The functionality is the same as the local coordinate system creation in the Systems panel.

system: provides a local coordinate system selection box.  When the ellipsoid is created, the selected system will be copied to the ellipsoid’s centroid.

create: ellipsoide

Create an ellipsoid.

create: cylinder

Create a simple cylinder.

Input

Action

ellipsoids selector

Choose the ellipsoids that you want to update.

radius definition

by value: contains three number fields that specify the length of the ellipsoid’s A, B, and C axis respectively.

A =

Axis lengths

B =

Axis lengths

C =

Axis lengths

N =

Defines the shape factor of an ellipsoid.

This is the "order" of the ellipsoid; higher numbers make the ellipsoid more rectangular.  Typical values range from 2 to 10, because above a certain number the differences become very slight.

color

Select a color for the ellipsoid.

orientation

body system: aligns the axis of the ellipsoid along its collector’s local coordinate system.  If a current multibody collector is not specified in the Model browser, both the created ellipsoids and auto-created collector are aligned with the global coordinate system.

system:

no chang:.

create: ellipsoide

Create an ellipsoid.

create: cylinder

Create a simple cylinder.

Button

Action

create

Create the ellipsoid/cylinder.

reject

Revert the last changes.

update

Update the ellipsoid with the recent changes.

review

To review an ellipsoid’s current settings without changing them, select the ellipsoid and then click review.

return

Exit the panel.