HyperMorph Module

Location: Tool page

The HyperMorph module allows you to alter models in useful, logical, and intuitive ways while keeping mesh distortion to a minimum.

See HyperMorph Strategies for an in-depth description of HyperMorph as well as numerous examples and figures illustrating how to get the most out of the morphing tool.

HyperMorph provides four major methods of morphing:

•	Global Domains and Handles: This method is ideal for space frames. Handles can be placed anywhere in the model — such as at the intersections of parts — and used to alter the shape of the model while stretching or compacting the mesh between the handles.

•	Local Domains and Handles: This method is ideal for parametric changes. HyperMorph creates a framework of domains and handles for the mesh, which can be used to change lengths, angles, radii, and arc angles as well as more general shape changes.

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Morph Volumes: This method is ideal for making simple changes to complex models. This method encloses the mesh in one or more deformable 3-D blocks. Each block is a "morph volume" (often referred to as "mvol" for brevity) and governs the movement of the mesh within its boundaries. Thus, by changing the shapes of the blocks, you can change the shape of the mesh.

•	Freehand: ideal for new users and for making arbitrary, rapid, and custom changes. This method applies morphing directly to the mesh without needing any additional entities (such as domains or morph volumes) set up first.

HyperMorph supports each of these processes with the same basic features, such as unlimited levels of undo, automatic element quality checking, automatic mesh smoothing, automatic remeshing, and morph constraints. In addition, each approach can be used separately or they can be combined to enhance the degree of control that you have over the model.

The panels in the HyperMorph module are arranged in four columns, based on their function:

•	The first column contains features that affect morphing: Constraints, Systems, Symmetry, and Shapes.

•	The second column contains methods of creating and editing morph entities: Morph Volumes, Domains, and Handles.

•	The third column contains panels that allow you to perform mesh morphing: Morph, Map to Geom, and Freehand.

•	The fourth column contains the Morph Options panel.

The morphing panels and their functions are:

Morph Constraints	Create limits on morphing by constraining or enforcing the movement of nodes and handles.
Systems	Add and edit local coordinate systems.
Symmetry	Create symmetries that influence handles and domains and enable the reflection of shapes and morph volumes.
Shapes	Create, save, load, apply, animate, and convert shapes.
Morph Volumes	Create deformable volumetric sections enclosing your mesh, which can then be morphed to morph the mesh.
Domains	Add and edit domains or update HyperMorph parameters.
Handles	Add and edit handles, or save/load global handles to or from a file.
Morph	Use existing domains, handles, and morph volumes to morph the model, and to create and apply shape entities.
Map to Geom	Morph parts of the model to fit selected lines, planes, surfaces, meshes, functions, interpolated surfaces, and section lines—as well as applying line differences, surface differences, and normal offsets to the model.
Freehand	Intuitively reshape meshes using a variety of tools, without the need for domains, handles, and morph volumes.
Morph Options	Set morphing behavior for all other morph panels.

To begin, you can enter either the Domains panel to create global or local domains and handles, the Morph Volumes panel to create morph volumes, or the Freehand or Map to Geom panels to morph the mesh directly. Morphing using domains, handles, and morph volumes is done in the Morph panel by moving the handles and in the Map to Geom panel by mapping domains, nodes, elements, or morph volume edges to geometric entities. The Freehand panel can be used with models that have (or lack) domains, handles, and morph volumes.

HyperMorph Module

HyperMorph Module

HyperMorph Module

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