Materialise Magics27

User manual

(Latest) English Version

Deutsche Fassung
日 本語版
한국어 버전

Note: Magics Essentials only contains a subset of the features of Magics RP

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Copyright Information
Materialise, the Materialise logo, Magics, Streamics and 3-matic are trademarks of Materialise
NV in the EU, US and/or other countries.
Microsoft and Windows are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft
Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.
© 2023 Materialise NV. All rights reserved.

This work contains software owned by Siemens Product Lifecycle Management Software Inc.
©1986 – 2023

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Table of contents

Part I: Introduction 15
Chapter 1. Installation 16
1.1. Recommended System Requirements 16
1. Hardware 16
2. Operating Systems 16
1.2. Installation 17
1.3. Silent installation 20
1. Magics silent package installation 20
2. Magics uninstallation command 21
3. MSI package installation 21
4. Floating License activation on local computer 22
Chapter 2. Getting started with Magics 23
2.1. Home Screen 23
1. Create new 23
2. Open files/Load project files 24
3. Options 24
2.2. Part & Platform Scenes 25
1. Part Scenes 25
2. Platform Scenes 25
3. Navigating between Part & Platform Scenes 25
4. Interaction between (Mesh) Part Scenes and Platform Scenes 25
5. Edit Mode from Platform Scenes 26
6. Scene management 26
2.3. Loading projects, scenes, and parts 26
2.4. Saving projects, scenes and parts 27
2.5. Getting Help 28
Chapter 3. Magics User Interface 29
3.1. Overview 29
1. Quick Access Toolbar 29
2. The Ribbon pages 30
3. Toolbars 33
4. Tool Pages 33
5. Scene 34
3.2. Customizations 37
1. Customizing Ribbon & Toolbars 37
2. Customize Toolpages 45
3. Customize Shortcuts 48
Chapter 4. The Magics Modules 53

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4.1. Magics Base module 53

4.2. Import Module 53
4.3. Structures Module 53
4.4. Slice Based Structures Module 53
4.5. Tetrashell Module 53
4.6. Slice Based Tetrashell Module 53
4.7. Sinter Module 53
4.8. SG Module 54
4.9. Tree Support Module 54
4.10. Volume SG Module 54
4.11. SG+ Module 54
4.12. Simulation Module 54
4.13. Build Processors and the Slice Module 54
Part II: Magics Features 55
Chapter 1. Quick Access Bar 56
1.1. Home 56
1.2. New Project 56
1.3. Load Project 56
1.4. Import Part 56
1.5. Open 56
1.6. New Mesh Part Scene 57
1.7. New BREP Part Scene 57
1.8. New Platform Scene 57
1.9. Save Selected Part(s) As 57
1.10. Save Scene As 57
1.11. Save Project 57
1.12. Undo 57
1.13. Redo 58
1.14. Settings 58
1.15. Quick Search 58
Chapter 2. File 59
2.1. Info 59
2.2. Home 59
2.3. New Project 60
2.4. Open 60
1. Load Project 61
2. Import Part 62
3. Import Part(s) from Materialise and 3mf file formats 63
4. Open 64

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5. Open Streamics client 71

6. Batch Import 71
2.5. Save 75
1. Save Project 76
2. Save Project As 77
3. Save selected part(s) As 77
4. Save scene As 78
5. Save All in Directory 78
6. Save Selected Part(s) to Streamics 79
7. Save Platform to Streamics 79
2.6. Reporting 79
1. Generate Report 80
2. Create Report Template 80
3. Save Part(s) As 3D PDF 94
4. Print 94
2.7. Machines 97
1. Change Machine 98
2. Machine Properties 98
3. My Machines 98
2.8. Options 98
1. Settings 98
2. Customize UI 98
3. Licences 99
4. Export Magics Profile 99
5. Import Magics Profile 99
6. Exit 99
Chapter 3. Fix 100
3.1. Automatic Fixing 100
1. AutoFix 100
2. ShrinkWrap 100
3.2. Semi-Automatic Fixing 107
1. Normals Fix 107
2. Automatic Stitching 107
3. Holes Fix 107
4. Noise Shells 107
5. Unify 107
6. Shells to parts 108
7. Remove Small Parts 108
8. Filter Sharp Triangles 109

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9. Remove Identical Triangles 109

10. Mark Overlapping Triangles 109
3.3. Manual Fixing 109
1. Invert Normals 109
2. Fill Hole Mode 109
3. Create Triangle 109
4. Translate Part Points 110
5. Move Part Points 110
3.4. Enhance 110
1. Triangle Reduction 110
2. Smoothing 111
3. Refine and Smooth Parts 112
4. Subdivide part 113
5. Remesh 113
Chapter 4. Edit 115
4.1. Insert 115
1. Create 115
2. Create from Image 116
4.2. Edit 118
1. Hollow Part 118
2. Cut or Punch 122
3. Perforator 142
4. Surface to Solid 145
5. Fillet 149
6. Chamfer 150
7. Extrude 151
8. Offset 153
9. Milling offset 157
10. Prop generation 157
11. Convert Scene to Mesh 159
4.3. Split & Merge 160
1. Shells to Parts 160
2. Boolean 160
3. Merge Parts 164
4.4. Label 164
1. Label 164
2. Mass Label 172
3. Label Tags 179
4.5. Fit 2 Ship 182

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1. RapidFit 182
2. FormFit 203
Chapter 4. Structures 205
4.6. Honeycomb Structures 205
4.7. Structures 208
4.8. Slice based structures 214
Chapter 5. Texture 216
5.1. Main 216
1. Select Texture 216
2. New Texture 216
3. Edit Texture 216
4. Update Textures 218
5. Copy Texture 219
6. Paste Texture 219
7. Delete Texture From Triangles 219
8. Delete Texture 219
9. Part to texture 219
5.2. Color 220
1. Paint Part 220
2. Color Surfaces 221
3. Split part by color 221
5.3. Visibility 222
1. Toggle Textures Visibility 222
2. Invert Textures Visibility 222
3. Triangle Colors 222
Chapter 6. Position 223
6.1. Transformation 223
1. Translate 223
2. Rotate 225
3. Pick and Place Parts 227
4. Rescale 227
5. Mirror 231
6. Alignment 232
7. Bottom/Top Plane 236
8. Minimize Bounding Box 237
9. Fit to Platform 238
6.2. Copies 239
1. Duplicate 239
2. Batch Duplicate 239

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6.3. Automatic 241

1. Automatic Placement 241
2. Orientation Optimizer 248
3. Orientation Comparator 252
4. Shape Sorter 254
5. 3D nester 256
6.4. Group 256
1. Group 256
2. Ungroup 256
3. Remove From Group 256
4. Grouping visualization 256
6.5. Coordinate System 258
1. User Coordinate System 258
2. Import UCS File 261
6.6. Defaults 261
1. Translate to Default Z Position 261
2. Translate to Default Position 261
3. Original Position 261
4. Original in New Scene 261
5. Save Current Position 261
Chapter 7. Build Preparation 262
7.1. Scenes 262
7.2. Scenes: Virtual Copies 262
1. A Part and his Virtual Copies 262
2. Edit a Virtual Copy 262
3. Naming of virtual copies 263
4. Advised ways of working 264
7.3. Platform scene management 265
1. New Platform Scene 265
2. Add Part to Platform 266
3. Duplicate Platform 266
4. Rename Scene 267
5. Save Scene As 267
6. Close Scene 267
7.4. Machine 267
1. Export Platform 267
2. Machine Properties 269
3. Change Machine 287
4. My Machines 287

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7.5. Positioning & Editing 291

1. Z-Compensation 291
2. Create base 292
7.6. Part Pages 293
7.7. Sinter 296
1. 3D Nester 296
2. 3D Nester - Nest by Bounding Box 316
3. 3D Nester - Check slices distribution 317
4. Subnester 319
5. Sinterbox 322
6. Toggle Nesting Density 328
Chapter 8. Support Generation 329
8.1. Introduction 329
8.2. Magics - Support Generation ribbon 329
1. Supported Area Preview 329
2. Generate Support 331
3. Generate Support of Selected 331
4. Manual Support 331
5. Transfer Support 332
6. Export support 333
7. Unload support 334
8. Add No-Support Zones 334
9. Toggle No-Support Zones 336
10. Support Visibility 336
11. Baseplate Visibility 336
8.3. Automatic Support Generation 336
8.4. Machine Setup 337
1. Build Time Estimation 337
2. Cost Estimation 337
3. Support Generation Mode 338
4. Support generation parameters 339
8.5. Support Parameters 346
1. General 346
2. Block 356
3. Line 369
4. Line* 377
5. Point 378
6. Point* 381
7. Web 382

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8. Contour 385
9. Gusset 389
10. Advanced Gusset 393
11. Combi 396
12. Volume 397
13. Tree 399
14. Tree* 404
15. Hybrid 405
16. Support on graphs 405
8.6. Modifying Surfaces 407
1. Modifying the surfaces 407
2. Part Info page 408
3. Surface Info page 408
4. Support List page 409
5. Support Toolbox 412
6. Support Types & Parameters 422
8.7. 2D editing of supports 422
1. 2D and 3D Editing of Supports 422
2. 2D Editing of Volume Supports 428
8.8. 3D editing of supports 431
1. Add Raft 431
2. Stabilization Wall 432
3. Create and edit tree support manually 433
8.9. Saving and Exporting Supports 434
1. Save Support 434
2. Export Support 434
8.10. Visualization of Support Structures 435
8.11. Support on 3D Texture and Slice Based Structures 435
Chapter 9. Analyze & Report 438
9.1. Analyze Build 438
1. Out of bounds 438
2. Collision Detection 438
3. Interlocking Analysis 439
4. Wall Thickness Analysis 440
5. Detect Trapped Volumes 445
6. Build Risk Analysis 448
7. Check Slices Distribution 449
9.2. Estimate 451
1. Build Time Estimation 451

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2. Cost Estimator 452

3. Material Cost Estimation 453
4. Volume Estimation 453
5. Toggle Nesting Density 454
9.3. Measure 454
1. Measurement Distance Point to Point 454
2. Measurement Thickness 454
3. Add Real Measurements 454
4. Measurements Quality 454
5. Part Comparison 455
9.4. Product and Manufacturing Information (PMI) 457
9.5. Report 459
1. Save Part(s) as 3Dpdf 459
2. Generate Report 459
3. Create Report Template 459
Chapter 10. Slicing 460
10.1. Introduction 460
10.2. The Slice ribbon 460
1. Slicer Properties 460
2. Slice Preview 462
3. Machine Setup 463
Chapter 11. Materialise Software 470
11.1. Streamics 470
1. Open Streamics client 470
2. Save Selected Part(s) to Streamics 470
3. Save Platform to Streamics 470
4. Create Quote in Streamics 470
5. Create Order in Streamics 470
11.2. CO-AM 470
1. Magics integration with CO-AM 470
2. CO-AM settings page in Magics 470
3. Connect with CO-AM 471
4. Log in with CO-AM account 471
5. Disconnect CO-AM account 473
6. Using Magics with multiple CO-AM accounts 473
7. Open CO-AM part(s) in Magics 473
8. Save parts and platforms to CO-AM 474
9. Supported Magics commands for CO-AM parts 476
10. Connection of Parts and Platforms with CO-AM 478

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11. CO-AM Machine Properties 479

12. Supports on CO-AM platforms 480
13. Export-controlled parts 481
11.3. Machine Manager 482
1. Magics integration with Machine Manager introduction 482
2. Connect and Login to Machine Manager 482
3. Machine selection 483
4. Build preparation 484
5. Strategy assignment 484
Chapter 12. View 487
12.1. Views 487
1. ISO views 487
2. Smooth Shading 487
3. Fast Preview 487
12.2. Elements 487
1. Toggle Grid 487
2. Rulers 488
3. Coordinate System 488
4. No-build zones 488
5. Part Dimensions 488
6. Gravity Center 488
7. Combined Bounding Box 488
8. Tag ID 488
9. Tag Names 489
10. Tag Path 489
11. Selection Points 489
12.3. Export View 490
1. Export to Image 490
2. Copy Viewport 490
3. Print 490
Chapter 13. Options & Help 491
13.1. Settings 491
1. Customize Mouse Input 491
2. General 492
3. Modules 502
4. Visualization 508
5. File I/O 521
6. Analyze 536
13.2. Network 537

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13.3. Customize UI 537

13.4. Magics Profile 538
1. Import settings of previous version 539
2. Import Magics Profile 540
3. Export Magics Profile 541
13.5. Licenses 542
1. Licenses 542
13.6. Help 543
1. Online Support 543
2. Manual 544
3. What's New 544
13.7. About 545
1. About Magics 545
13.8. Logging 545
1. Show log 545
2. Show history 546
Chapter 14. Toolbars 548
14.1. General toolbar 548
1. View tools 548
2. Marking tools 550
3. Errors visualization 556
14.2. Additional tools 557
1. Unload Part 557
2. Border marked Triangles 557
Chapter 15. The Toolpages 558
15.1. General Pages 559
1. Part List Page 559
2. Build Time Estimation page 564
15.2. Part Pages 566
1. Part Info page 566
2. Part Fixing Info page 567
15.3. Fixing Pages 571
1. Profiles 571
2. Autofix page 572
3. Near Bad Edges page 573
4. Hole page 574
5. Triangle page 579
6. Shell page 583
7. Point page 584

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15.4. Measurements pages 585

1. Measurements on BREP parts 586
2. Distance page 586
3. Circle page 589
4. Angle page 590
5. Info page 591
6. Final Part page 592
7. Report page 594
8. Measurements on slices 595
15.5. Annotation Pages 595
1. Annotations page 595
2. Attachments page 597
3. Textures page 597
15.6. Slices Pages 599
Part III: Extra Information 607
Chapter 1. Windows Configuration Info 608
1.1. Enabling long path support on Windows 608
1.2. Setting the default application to open specific file formats 609
1. Windows Settings 610
2. File properties page 611
Chapter 2. Contact Info 615

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Chapter 1. Installation
We recommend that you close all other applications before installing Magics. You must have
administrative privileges to install the software.

1.1. Recommended System Requirements

1. Hardware
CPU

– Intel® Core i7
– AMD Phenom II X4/ X6 at 3.0 GHz or higher with SSE2 technology

Memory

– 16 GB RAM or higher

Free Disk Space

– Win 64-bit system

– 2GB of free disk space

Display

– 1920 x 1080 resolution or higher

– 32-bit color depth (True color)
– 4K monitors are not actively supported

Video Card

– NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060’ or AMD Radeon RX 480 or better

– DirectX 11 compatible video card
– At least 4 GB of memory
– At least a memory interface width of 192-bit (256-bit is recommended)

2. Operating Systems
Materialise Magics27 is only supported on Windows 64-bit:

– Windows 11
– Windows 10 version 21H1 or later

The following Windows editions are recommended:

– Windows Pro edition

– Windows Enterprise edition

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Materialise Magics27 is not supported on following systems:

– Windows 8.1 or earlier

– Windows Server Editions
– Virtualization systems such as VMWare

Materialise Magics does not run natively on Mac OS X, Linux, or any other operating system
not listed above.
NET 4.6 or later or a working internet connection during the installation is required.

1.2. Installation
Step 1
Wait until the Windows installer is ready to start the installation.

If your operating system language is supported by Magics, the installer will default to that
language. If it is not, then Magics will be installed in English.

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Step 2

Select the folder where you want to install Magics RP. Via the browse button you can specify a
new directory, however we advise to use the default directory.
After reading the license agreement, select the “I agree with Materialise EULA and Microsoft
DirectX EULA” checkbox and click on the Next button.

Step 3

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Select which file extensions you wish to open using Magics software and click on the Install
button. It is advised to keep the standard settings.

If you would like to manually set the default apps for any supported file format, see
Setting the default application to open specific file formats, page 609

Step 4

Step 5

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The software is successfully installed. Choose if you want to launch Magics immediately by
checking or unchecking "Launch Materialise Magics 26.0" checkbox and click on the Finish
button.

1.3. Silent installation

Our standard installations work well for users who install our software themselves. Large
companies with a centralized IT organization often would like to install software from a central
location on a specific time. This is called “silent installation”. This allows the IT organization to
install software quickly and easily over multiple computers without any inconvenience for the
users.
It will allow the IT organization to write a simple program to do these installations using the
commands described below. This can be done for nearly all our software, with the exception of
some of our older products.
Below you can find the commands for the two installation packages which are used by
Materialise as well as the command to connect Magics to your floating license server.

1. Magics silent package installation

To install silently Magics RP from version 26 or lateryou should use either of the following
commands:

– when installing in the standard installation folder:

l <installer.exe> install --accept-licenses --default-answer --confirm-command

– when installing in a specific installation folder:

l <installer.exe> install --accept-licenses --default-answer --confirm-command --root

<path-to-installation-folder-wrapped-with-quotes>

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Additional reference documentation can be found here.

2. Magics uninstallation command

To uninstall Magics, use the following command:
C:\Program Files\Materialise\Magics 26.0>Uninstall.exe --default-answer --confirm-command
purge

Make sure to specify the correct Magics version in the command.

3. MSI package installation

e-Stage, 3-matic and a number of our other products have a Windows Installer package, in the
form of an .msi file. For these packages, different commands will need to be used. msiexec.exe
is the receiver of these commands, and will activate the .msi files. This means all commands
are aligned with the standard msiexec commands. The most important for the installation are
described below.

Commands
– Installation commands

l /i - install
l /uninstall – uninstall

– UI commands

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l /passive - displays minimal UI with no prompts

l /quiet – quiet mode, no user interaction
l /qn – displays no UI

– Additional commands

l /norestart – suppresses any attempts to restart by the installer

l /log <Logfile> – logs to a specific file

– Setup help

l msiexec.exe /? – setup help: will provide you more information on commands

Example
msiexec.exe /quiet /norestart /i D:/e-Stage-7.0.4.157-x64.msi

4. Floating License activation on local computer

To activate the floating license together with the installation of Magics, you can use the
command below. This is done using the Magics.exe which will appear in installation folder after
installation will be finished.

Command line:
l Magics.exe /flsregister {server_name}:{port}

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Chapter 2. Getting started with Magics

To easily get started with Magics, it’s helpful to get familiar with some of its basic concepts.
Note that in this chapter, some functionality will only be mentioned briefly to give you a high-
level overview, more detailed descriptions can be found in Part II: Magics Features, page 55.

2.1. Home Screen

When opening Magics, the first dialog you will encounter is the Home Screen. From the Home
Screen it is possible for you to perform a few tasks directly. This screen is shown when there
are no active part or platform scenes in the current Magics session. There are a few sections
on the Home Screen dialog that you should take note of :

A. Create new
B. Open files / Load project files
C. Options

You can only minimize or close this screen, at the moment it is not possible to
maximize this to full screen mode.

1. Create new
Part scene
You can create a new part scene from the home screen by selecting the appropriate create
command that is available in the Part subsection. Selecting the Mesh or BREP command will
respectively created part scenes of the specific type.

– See New Mesh Part Scene, page 57 for more information about creating new mesh part
scenes.
– See New BREP Part Scene, page 57 for more information about creating new BREP
part scenes.

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Platform scene
Your recently used machines will be listed in the Platform subsection. Clicking on the desired
machine will open a new platform scene with the target machine. If this section is empty, you
would need to edit the "My Machines" list by opening the "My Machines" dialog from the
Options section.

– See New Platform Scene, page 265 for more information about creating new platform
scene.

Default scenes
You can create a new untitled project with default scenes and parts based on a Magics project
template file. This template file needs to be set in the Settings before this can be accessed
from the home screen.

– See New Project, page 60 for more information about the New Project command.

2. Open files/Load project files

In the open files section you will be able to find the command to "Open" to select for the target
files to be opened through the Windows Explorer dialog. You can also observe and open the
most recent files that were opened or loaded in Magics from the files list in this section.

– See Open, page 64 for more information

Note: You can drag and drop one or more files into any section of the Home Screen to
open the files quickly. If you drop exactly one Magics file, then the file will be loaded
as a project file else if multiple files are dropped then they will all be opened
automatically.

For loading magics project files the command "Load project" can be used. If magics project is
loaded it's reflected on the top title bar accordingly.

– See Load Project, page 61 for more informaiton about loading your magics file as a
project.

Note: Magics project files listed in the recent files will be loaded as a project
automatically on click while all other file types will be opened automatically.

3. Options
In this section, you will be able to find the common commands needed to perform
housekeeping for your Magics application. You will be able to find command to show the
necessary settings and license dialogs in this section along with links to launch the What's New
page of your Magics version for more detailed info.

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2.2. Part & Platform Scenes

To avoid cluttering your workspace with too much functionality that is not relevant for certain
workflows, there are different types of scenes, which have different tools available.

1. Part Scenes
Within part scenes, you can focus on editing, fixing or simply viewing a single part or assembly.
There are 2 types of Part Scenes: one for mesh parts and one for BREP parts. Depending on
which type of file was opened (and whether it was converted to mesh or not), the right type of
part scene will be shown. Both part scenes contain similar tools, but adjusted to work on either
mesh or BREP parts.
If needed, it’s possible to convert a BREP part scene to a mesh part scene by using the
“Convert Scene to Mesh” command.

– See Convert Scene to Mesh, page 159 for more information.

Use the “Import Part” command to import parts from additional files within the same part scene.

2. Platform Scenes
Platform scenes contain a machine and allow you to focus on build preparation. From this
scene it is also possible to enter Support Generation mode.
Use the “Import Part” command to import parts form your files to the active platform scene.
Currently it’s only possible to place mesh parts on a platform scene. BREP parts will be
converted to mesh.

3. Navigating between Part & Platform Scenes

It’s possible to have both part & platform scenes open within one Magics instance, and to
navigate between them. When on a mesh part scene, the “Add Part to Platform” function
allows you to place a part on a platform. Since the platform scene currently does not support
BREP parts, this function is not present on BREP part scenes.
On a part scene, it’s possible to open selected parts in respective part Scenes through the “Edit
Part in Part Scene” command.

4. Interaction between (Mesh) Part Scenes and Platform Scenes

Parts on the part scene are the “master parts”, while parts on platform acenes are instances of
these master parts. This means that when geometrical changes are made to master parts,
these changes are also applied to the copies of this part on the platform scene(s).
When rotating or translating a part in the part Scene, these changes are not applied to parts on
the platform Scene, and vice-versa (changing the position or orientation of parts on Platform
Scenes does not affect the position or orientation of the master parts).

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Note: if a single instance or multiple instances with the same orientation are opened
in the part scene, the platform orientation of this instance(s) will be preserved upon
the part scene creation. Any further position or orientation changes won't have any
affect on the platform scene anymore.

When opening a part with multiple instances in the part Scene you can choose whether to edit
only the selected instance or all instances in one go. For editing only selected instances, a new
master part will be created to represent this geometrically different part and thus the link with
other (unselected) instances will be lost. If you want to make a design change to all the
instances of the part, do select 'All virtual copies' option in the dialog to proceed.

5. Edit Mode from Platform Scenes

‘Edit mode’ has been introduced at the platform level. This mode is designed to allow for limited
editing and fixing of multiple parts or virtual copies within the platform context. Edit Mode is
accessible via the command in the Home ribbon of Platform layout.

6. Scene management
– See Platform scene management, page 265 for more information.

2.3. Loading projects, scenes, and parts

Loading project
If you want to load project file in Magics, you can use "Load project" command. Only single
project file can be loaded at the same time that will replace the contents of the current session
of the Magics with the contents of the project file.

– See Load Project, page 61

Importing part(s)
If you want to import part(s) to the active scene, you can use the "Import Part" command. Since
scenes are type sensitive, this command will filter only the type of parts that can be added to
the target scene automatically.

– See Import Part, page 62

Note: You can drag and drop files to the scene view port area to import parts quickly
to the active scene.

Note: In Magics RP27, any CAD files loaded through the "Import Part" command on
any platform scenes will trigger the MatConvert CAD to Mesh conversion
automatically.

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If you want to add mesh parts from an existing Mesh part scene quickly to the target platform,
you can find the "Add Part to Platform" command from the Quick Access Toolbar or the Search
menu to choose the target platform scene to add the part to.

– See Add Part to Platform, page 266

Open
The "Open" command would allow you to open one or more files of all supported file types
quickly into the target Magics session. If you are unsure about the contents of the file you have
received, opening the file is the best way to ensure all parts in the file can be accessed in the
application.

– See Open, page 64

Note: You can drag and drop files to the Home Screen or the Scene Tab-Bars (while
Scenes are active) to open the files quickly.

If you would like to avoid loading CAD files as BREP parts when opening the files, you can
always disable this behavior in the settings.

– See File I/O, page 521

Note: When loading unsupported files, the following message willl be shown to
specify the files the problems encountered on.

2.4. Saving projects, scenes and parts

It's possible to save different types contents in to specific target files through Magics.

Projects
Lastly, if you want to save the full project with all the opened scenes to a single .magics file, you
can use the "Save Project" or "Save Project As" commands.

– See Save Project, page 76

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Closing a project with unsaved changes in any way (closing Magics, starting a new project,
loading another project) will prompt a message to ask you whether you want to save the
current project.

Scenes
You can save a target scene to an appropriate file type based on the contents of the scene
using the "Save Scene As"command. For example, a platform scene can be saved to .magics,
.matamx and .3mf file. Depending on the chosen format, the majority of the information of that
scene (parts, machine, measurements...) will be preserved.

– See Save scene As, page 78

Closing a scene with unsaved changes will prompt a message to ask you whether you want to
save the current scene.

Parts
Parts can be saved to many different formats using the "Save Selected Part(s) As" command,
including formats that are not native to Magics or other Materialise software. Note that each file
type supports different information, so some information might get lost when saving parts to
non-native formats.

– See Save selected part(s) As, page 77

Unloading a part with unsaved changes will prompt a message to ask you whether you want to
save the part.

– See Unload Part, page 557

2.5. Getting Help

For Materialise software online help, please go to: https://help.materialise.com

For support request, see Online Support, page 543

The manual of Magics offers you a clear and easy way to search for more information about a
function.

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Chapter 3. Magics User Interface

3.1. Overview
You create and manipulate your parts and projects using various elements, such as scene,
toolpages, toolbars, and windows.
The following image identifies the main elements of the user interface:

– A: Quick access bar

– B: Ribbon pages
– C: Toolbar
– D: Toolpages
– E: Scene

1. Quick Access Toolbar

The Quick Access Toolbar gives you instant access to a number of often-used options based
on the current active scene. The usual commands that are available on this toolbar are
commands that helps users to add or remove parts or scenes into the current Magics session
along with commands to save parts quickly.
The quick search allows you to find and access any option within Magics without having to
search through all the menus.

– See Quick Access Bar, page 56

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2. The Ribbon pages

Within the Ribbon pages, you can find nearly all the possible options of Magics according to
different types of scenes. All options are sorted and grouped in different ribbons in which you
can find all the relevant options. To improve the ease of use in Magics we have also created
tabbed toolpages . These toolpages contain the most used functions of the Main Menu and
show them as small icons.

File Operations - The File ribbon

Via the File ribbon, you can import and export platform files, load and save MAGICS, MGX and
STL files and import files that have a format different from these, for instance IGES, STEP…
The file ribbon provides also the access to the machine library, where machine dependent
parameters can be defined for existing and new machines. The print functionality is foreseen to
make a fast print of the parts. Further on, you can create templates and generate reports about
loaded projects that may include different snapshots of the files and all kinds of RP related
information.

– See File, page 59

Basic workflow - HOME ribbon

According to the scene types, some common used commands will be displayed in Home
ribbon. For example, in platform scenes, all commands concerning platforms like create a new
platform scene, edit machine properties, export platform… are gathered in this ribbon.

– See Build Preparation, page 262

Positioning of Parts- The Position ribbon

The position ribbon groups all necessary operations you need to manipulate the position and
orientation of the part(s). The latter contains functions to translate, rotate, rescale, mirror, …
your files. The user coordinate system can help in the aligning process, as well in positioning
and fixing.

– See Position, page 223

Part Editing- The Edit ribbon

The Edit ribbon groups a number of handy tools intended for editing of mesh or BREP part(s) .
All the tools in the ribbon are grouped in the following way: 'Insert' , 'Edit' , 'Split and Merge' ,
'Copies', 'Label' group etc. Edit ribbon in the BREP part scene also contains the 'Convert' group
with the command allowing to convert BREP scene to mesh Part scene.

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– See Edit, page 115

Repair STL files - The Fix ribbon

For mesh part scene, another important group of functions can be found in the fix ribbon. The
autofix functions guide you through the different fixing steps. It provides you functionalities to
detect double surfaces and remove them, filter sharp triangles and small parts, perform a
reduction of triangles and even smoothing processes.

– See Fix, page 100

Apply structures - The Structures ribbon

In the Structures ribbon, you can easily generate lattice structures inside your part.

– See Fix, page 100

Apply textures - The Texture ribbon

In the Texture ribbon, you can find all functions to add or alter a texture. The painting a part,
splitting parts by color or color surface options can also be found here.

– See Texture, page 216

Support Generation ribbon

In the Support generation ribbon, you can find all options to add supports to your design:
generate, view, alter and unload a support or all supports.

– See Support Generation, page 329

Slicing ribbon
The Slicing ribbon groups some options to slice your design: a preview, slice all parts, or only
slice the selected parts.

– See Slicing, page 460

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Analyze & Report ribbon

In the Analyze & Report ribbon, you can find all options to analyze your part and generate
reports. With the Analyze functionalities, you can analyze your design on possible build risks,
like e.g. out of bounds, thin walls or trapped volumes. The Estimate functionalities provide you
a good view on the estimated costs and build duration, based on your machines. The measure
functionalities provide you with tools to analyze and measure different parts in details.

– See Analyze & Report, page 438

Materialise Software ribbon

In the Materialise Software ribbon, you have quick access to functionalities of other Materialise
products, such as Streamics, Robot and e-Stage.

– See Materialise Software, page 470

Visualization and Manipulation of parts - Te View ribbon

From this ribbon on, you can choose to display the coordinate system and/or an orientation
indicator. The part can be displayed in different ways due the different shading modes and
predefined orientations. You have also the possibility to rotate and pan your view with the
mouse buttons. Different zoom options are foreseen in this menu. You have the option to show
the name of the part as a tag, the platform of the selected machine, the build envelope and the
part dimensions. You can make a screenshot of the working window, and export the current
view as a JPEG, Bitmap, GIF…

– See View, page 487

Customize your Magics RP - The Options & Help ribbon

In the Options & Help ribbon you can customize ‘your Magics RP’. In Settings you can choose
a lot of technical parameters concerning the visualization, modules and file input and output.
You are also able to define your mouse functionality, toolbars and shortcuts in the Customize
Wizard.
You can find the registration window, licenses information and your dealer ID in this ribbon.
The help options gives you access to Magics Help and the Tutorial, the Magics User
Community (an internet page where you always can find actual information about Magics, tips
& tricks…) and a link to the STLfix site. STLfix is a service of Materialise that helps you to
convert, fix and edit files.

– See Options & Help, page 491

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3. Toolbars
There is one default toolbar available: the general toolbar. This toolbar includes view and
marking tools.
The view tools allow you to manipulate the view (e.g. zoom options or standard views) and the
visualization of the parts on the scene (e.g shading modes).
The marking functions allow you to mark a STL file or parts thereof. The marking tool is used in
combination with other functions like fixing or editing tools. Due the different marking tools you
can mark very fast and accurate, you can choose to mark triangles, planes, surfaces and
shells, but you can also mark several triangles by drawing a window, a polyline or polygon.
A user may create custom toolbars.

4. Tool Pages

General Pages
These pages give you an overview on the parts present on the scene and on the build time
estimation library. The Part List page provides you a list of all parts on the active scene; in this
list you can also hide parts, change the part name (double click on Part name) or show any
additional information.

– See General Pages, page 559

Part Pages
The part pages show you all the needed information on the selected part on the scene; the Part
Info page contains general information about part dimensions, volume, mesh information,
etc…; the Part Fixing Info page can be used to analyze possible errors of the selected part and
get suggestions on how to fix it.

– See Part Pages, page 566

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Fixing Pages
You can use the fixing pages to manually fix the different errors of an STL file: near bad edges,
holes, overlapping and intersecting triangles, shells, etc…
To fix a corrupted STL file, the trial and error method is used in many cases. Sometimes, the
fixing can damage the part, for example when stitching is done with a too large tolerance. That
is why it is advised to save regularly the result of a set of fixing operations. This way, the user
does not need to start all over when severe damage was done to the part he was fixing. In case
you only want to go back on or two steps of fixing, the undo-function can be used.

– See Fixing Pages, page 571

Measurement Pages
Magics offers extended measurement functions. It is possible to measure distances or angles
between two features like points, lines, circle centers, middle lines of a cylinder, sphere
centers, etc… You also can retrieve coordinate information of a feature and create a report
based on a template.

– See Measurements pages, page 585

Annotation Pages
In the Annotations and Attachments pages you can create scenes wherein you can draw, add
comments and load attachments. This can be very helpful in the communication between
customer, sales person and production.
The Textures page allows you to add textures on a part. You can load any image format,
choose dimensions, direction and position and print the design on the selected triangles of a
part.

– See Annotation Pages, page 595

Slices Page
This page offers you the tools to visualize the slices preview of a part loaded on a scene or to
analyze a slice file loaded in Magics. Scroll through the slices and visualize the different vector
types.

– See Slices Pages, page 599

5. Scene

Rotate View

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Rotate view mode can be activated by calling the command of the same name to activate the
to rotate your scene view freely. When completing the rotation, press Esc key to exit the rotate
view mode.
When the rotate mode is active a circle in the center of your workspace is visualized to show
which behavior to expect. When the cursor is inside the circle, it will have a quadruple arrow
shape (3D movement). When it is outside the circle, it will have a circular arrow shape (2D
movement).

Rotate view mode can also be activated temporarily while holding down right mouse
button (RMB) on the scene and dragging on the scene.

Multi-plane rotate, Quadruple arrow with ball

The movement of the cursor is translated in a rotation around the three axes in the screen (3D
movement). Holding down the RM) while hovering within the rotation circle will temporarily
activate the multi-plane rotate view mouse. Holding down and dragging the mouse on the
scene, will trigger the scene view rotation.

Note: Holding Alt key while click and dragging with the RMB will allow you to change
the view respectively along the vertical or horizontal screen axes.

Screen plane rotate, Circular arrow

The movement of the cursor is translated in a rotation around the axis that is perpendicular to
the screen plane (An axes that is parallel to the camera view). Holding down the RMB while
hovering outside of the rotation circle will temporarily activate the screen plane rotate view
mouse

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Panning
The scene view can also be translates along the screen plane freely to pan the scene view
quickly. Panning view mode can be activated by calling the command. "Panning" to pan your
view freely. When completing the panning, press the Esc key to exit the panning view mode.

Panning view mode can also be activated temporarily by holding down the middle
mouse button (MMB) and dragging on the scene to pan.

Pan view, Quadruple arrow

This cursor is shown when the panning view mode is active.

Zooming
The scene view can also be zoomed such that models are enlarged to the your views. It is
advised to enable the Rulers as well to ensure zoom factors relative to the actual size of the
model can be observed easily. The zoom view mode can be activated by clicking the command
of the same name. Once activated, you can draw rectangle box on the scene to zoom in one
the rectangle box area.
Alternatively, using the scroll wheel to zoom in and out is preferable the main way to perform
zooming of the view.

Part Selection
This is the default mouse mode in a Magics scene. When this mouse mode is active, users will
be able to select parts freely by clicking on the parts directly on the scene. Alternatively if the
selection points are visible, you can also click on the selection point to select or deselect
parts.You can activate this mouse mode manually by calling the Select command.
Select part, Mouse icon with a dot
A left mouse button (LMB) click on parts will select the specific part quickly while deselecting all
other parts in the scene. You can also drag select parts based on the selection points to add
multiple parts to selection quickly.

Note: If you only want to add or remove some specific parts in the selection, then hold
down the CTRL key while clicking on a part with LMB, to toggle the selection state of
the specific part while preserving the selection state of all other parts as it is.

To clear selection quickly, you can click on an empty space in the scene to clear all selection. If
there is only one part in the current scene, then clearing selection is only possible from the Part
list or using the specific command Invert selection.

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Note: Slice parts can only be selected from the scene by clicking on the selection
points. As such always enable selection points when working with slice parts.

3.2. Customizations
It is possible to customize the different Ribbon pages, the Quick Access Bar, Toolbars and
Context menus.

A ribbon page consists of a number of icons that allow easy access to a particular dialog
window. By holding the mouse pointer on an icon, the Tooltip of the function will appear.

1. Customizing Ribbon & Toolbars

Magics gives the user total freedom to customize the ribbon pages.

– Default ribbon pages

– Custom ribbon pages

The user cannot delete, rename or edit the Build Processor and Plug-ins ribbon pages. The
other default ribbon pages can be renamed, edited and deleted. The custom ribbon pages are
created, named and defined by the user. These custom ribbon pages can be deleted.

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Remark: All the contents of the "Toolbars & Shortcuts" menus are layout sensitive. As
such please ensure the correct layout is set before making any changes.

Two lists:

– Basic commands
– Composite commands
A list of all the basic commands in
Magics. If present, the keyboard
shortcut is shown next to the
Basic commands command.
Scroll through the list, or use the
search box to find a specific
Commands command.
The second list contains all the
composite commands. A
composite command contains a
number of grouped functions.
Scroll through the list, or use the
Composite commands
search box to find a specific
command.
Make your own Composite
commands or menu by clicking the
right mouse button:

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Search box
Search box for the Basic Commands and Composite Commands lists.

Rename To rename, doubleclick on the name you wish to change.

Delete To delete a custom ribbon…
Restore Defaults Restores the defaults settings for the entire Customize UI window.
The selected function in the Function list of the commands will be added
to the Function List of the selected ribbon or toolbar. The selected
Drag & Drop
function in the Function list of the commands remains in this list, so it can
be visualized multiple times
Depending on the active licences, different layouts are listed.
Platform preparation Target the platform scene.
Part preparation (mesh) Targets the mesh part scene.
Part preparation (b-rep) Targets theBREP part scene.
Only available when SG/SG+ licenses
Layout Support generation
are available. Targets the SG Mode.
Available with Fit2Ship.
RapidFit
Targets the RapidFit Mode.
Available with Concept Laser Slicer for
Concept laser
the Concept Laser Mode.
Four lists:

– Ribbon
– Quick Access Bar
– Toolbars
– Context Menus
The Ribbon list contains all existing
Ribbon ribbon pages. The visible ribbons
and functions have a check.
Ribbon & toolbars
The Quick Access bar contains all
the functions available via the
Quick Access Bar
Quick Access Bar. The visible
functions have a check.
The Toolbars list contains all
Toolbars and their available
functions. The visible toolbars and
Toolbars functions have a check.
There is one default toolbar:
Marking.

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Other toolbars can be custom

made and added by the user.
The Context Menus list shows all
Context Menus available context menus and their
available functions.

Ribbon

Checkbox Checkmark indicates whether an item will be visible or not.

Adds a separator line before/after functions in the Function List of the
selected toolbar.
At the right side, the visualization in the ribbon or toolbar is shown.
The following visualizations are available:

Visualization – Icon only

– Text only
– Text under icon
– Text next to icon
Groups title
When checked, the groups title in the ribbons is visible
visible
Add page The Add page command adds a custom page, to make a custom ribbon.

– The Default Ribbon pages

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The default ribbon pages are standard in Magics. Each groups a number of functions that
logically fit together. Some icons may appear on multiple ribbon pages, if they fit in more than
one cluster of functions.
The default ribbon pages are:
l File
l Tools
l Fix
l Texture
l Position
l Build Preparation
l Support Generation (available with SG/SG+ or Tree Supports module)
l Analyze & Report
l Slicing (available with Slice module)
l Streamics (available with Streamics)
l View
l Options & Help

– For more information about these ribbon pages, seeOverview, page 29.

– For detailed information about every ribbon pages, see The Ribbon pages, page 30

Quick Access Bar

Checkbox Checkmark indicates whether an item will be visible or not.

At the right side, the visualization in the ribbon or toolbar is shown.
Visualization
The following visualizations are available:

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– Icon only
– Text only
– Text next to icon
Add separator The Add separator command adds a separator to the quick access bar.

Note: You can also drag and drop commands to the Quick Access Toolbar (QAT)box
to add commands that are not added by default to customize your own QAT.

Toolbars
Toolbar menus can be created by the customer according to his needs. The general toolbar is
by default present.

Checkbox Checkmark indicates whether an item will be visible or not.

At the right side, the visualization in the ribbon or toolbar is shown.
The following visualizations are available:

Visualization – Icon only

– Text only
– Text under icon
– Text next to icon
Addtoolbar The Add toolbar command adds a custom toolbar to the toolbar's menu..
Insert toolbar Visible when a toolbar is selected. Insert a toolbar before the selected
before one.

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Insert toolbar after

Visible when a toolbar is selected. Insert a toolbar after the selected one.

Delete toolbar Visible when a toolbar is selected. Delete the selected toolbar.
Visible when a toolbar or command is selected. Add a separator into the
Add separator
toolbar.

– Creating a custom toolbar

To create a custom toolbar, proceed as follows:

1. Click Add toolbar to add a new toolbar.

Enter a name for the new toolbar.
2.

Add commands by selecting a basic or composite command and dragging it to the new
3. toolbar.
By adding a separator, you can make different groups within your toolbar.
Click OK to confirm the creation.
The toolbar is now visible in the toolbars at the left side of the work area. The visibility of
the toolbar can be altered by dragging:
4.
– fixed height of the toolbar
– Location of the toolbar: below or next to other toolbars.

Context Menus
The context menu in the workspace is a quick access point to frequently used function. The
usage of the context menu can speed up the general workflow. Depending from where the
menu is called, the functions can be different.

Magics gives the user total freedom to customize the menus. Two types of menus are present:

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– Default menus
– Custom menus

The user cannot delete nor rename the default menus, the freedom concerning these menus is
limited to the removal or adding of buttons in the respective menu. The custom menus are
created, named and defined by the user. These custom menus can be deleted.

The Menu list contains some predefined menus depending on the

target layout and the location of the mouse cursor when summoning
Default menus the context menu.

– Scene
– Part
Automatically shrink
menu for optimal icons The menu will be sized according to the chosen functions.
position
Initiates the creation of a custom menu, the user has to define a
Add menu
name.

– Default menus

By default there are atleast 2 default menus available.

The predefined menus can be accessed by clicking on the right mouse button along with a
shortcut key (if defined).
The context menu shown is sensitive to:

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– The target scene

– Location of mouse cursor when the context menu is summoned.

Note: Please check the Customize UI dialog with the desired target layout to identify
the default commands available on the context menus.

2. Customize Toolpages
You can create a custom workspace by moving and visualizing toolpages, based on your
specific needs. This customization can be achieved directly from the workspace or from the
Customize UI window.

Move and group toolpages

As you move toolpages, you will see highlighted drop zones, which are areas where you can
drop the panel into – e.g. user can move a toolpage up or down in a dock by dragging it to the
narrow drop zone above or below another toolpage. The position of the mouse (not the position
of the toolpage), activates the drop zone.

– To move a single toolpage, drag it by its tab

– To move a group, drag the tab bar (the solid space next to the last tab)

A: tab – B: tab bar – C: highlighted drop zone

A toolpage can be dragged to an area where there is no drop zone: the toolpage (or toolpages
group) floats freely on the workspace – e.g. user can move a toolpage to a second screen
connected to the laptop.
You can manipulate a toolpages group:

– To move a toolpage into a group, drag the toolpage tab to the highlighted drop zone in
the group (the group tab bar)
– To rearrange toolpages in a group, drag a toolpage tab horizontally to a new location in

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the group
– To remove a toolpage from a group, drag the toolpage by its tab outside the group

Dock area
A dock is a collection of toolpages or toolpages groups displayed together on the extreme left
or right side of the workspace. The dock area occupies the entire height of the scene side, and
the toolpages are always visible.
You can dock and undock toolpages by moving them into and out of a dock.

– To dock a single toolpage, drag it by its tab into the dock, at the top, bottom or in between
other toolpages
– To dock a toolpages group, drag it by its tab bar (the solid space next to the last tab) into
the dock, at the top, bottom or in between other toolpages
– To remove a toolpage or a toolpages group, drag it out of the dock by its tab or tab bar.
You can drag it back into the dock on another position, into the toolbar or make it free-
floating

If you remove all toolpages from a dock, the dock disappears. A dock can be created again by
moving a toolpage or a toolpages group to the left or right side of the workspace until a drop
zone appears.

Toolpages toolbar
A toolpages toolbar is a collection of toolpages or toolpages groups displayed together in
between the dock area and the scene, on the left or right side of the scene.
Each toolpages group is identified by a section in the toolbar. At the top of the section there is a
dotted line. Each section contains icons, which are linked to each toolpage present in the
group. You can click on the icon to show or hide the toolpage.

– To move a toolpage on a toolbar, drag its icon

– To move a toolpages group on a toolbar, drag the section dotted line

You can move toolpages to the toolbar by moving them into and out of a toolbar:

– To add a toolpage to the toolbar, drag it by its tab into the toolbar, at the top, bottom or in
between other toolpages
– To add a toolpages group to the toolbar, drag it by its tab bar into the toolbar, at the top,
bottom or in between other toolpages
– To add a toolpage or a toolpages group to an existing group, drag it at the top, bottom of
a section or in between icons by its tab or tab bar.

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– To remove a toolpage or a toolpages group, drag it out of the toolbar by its icon or
section dotted line. You can drag it back into the toolbar on another position, into the
dock or make it free-floating

If you remove all toolpages from a toolbar, the toolbar disappears. The toolbar can be created
again by moving a toolpage or a toolpages group to the left or right side of the workspace until
a drop zone appears.

Free-floating toolpages
When user drags a toolpage or a toolpage group out of its dock or toolbar but not into a drop
zone, it floats freely. The floating toolpage allows user to position it anywhere in the workspace.
You can stack floating toolpages or toolpages groups so that they move as a unit when you
drag the topmost bar.

– To stack floating toolpages, drag a toolpage to the top or bottom of the stack or in
between other toolpages
– To change the stacking order, drag a toolpage or a toolpages group up or down by its tab
or tab bar
– To remove a toolpage or toolpages group from the stack, so that it floats by itself, drag it
out by its tab or tab bar

Customize UI window
The following customizations can be achieved from the Customize UI window:

– Control visualization of a toolpages by selecting the checkbox next to it

– Add a toolpage to an existing group by dragging the toolpage item to a group item or in
between toolpages items.
– Create a new group by dragging the toolpage item to an area item (dock area, toolbar,
floating pages)

The customization is applied automatically to the workspace, and the tree list always
represents the current location of toolpages.

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Checkbox Checkmark indicates whether an item will be visible or not.

Restore Defaults Restores the defaults settings for the entire Customize UI window.
Restore Pages Restores the default settings for the position and visibility of the
Layout pages.

3. Customize Shortcuts
Magics gives the user the freedom to assign shortcuts to frequently used functions. The user
can define shortcuts for functions that by default do not have a shortcut, or already predefined
shortcuts can be changed to the needs of the user.
Changing shortcuts for different layouts is available in the Shortcuts page.

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Default shortcuts overview

– General

Manual F1
Settings F12
Undo Ctrl+Z
Redo Ctrl+Y
Cut Ctrl+X
Copy Ctrl+C
Paste Ctrl+V
Select F2
Group Ctrl+G
Ungroup Shift+G
Customize UI Alt+C
Print Ctrl+P
Switch Units Ctrl+Alt+1

– File

Home Ctrl+N
Open Ctrl+O
Load project Ctrl+L
Save Scene As Ctrl+Shift+S
Save Selected Part(s) As Ctrl+S
Rename part(s) Shift+R
Unload Part Ctrl+U

– View

Back 9
Front 7
Left 4
Right 6
Top 8
Bottom 2

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Home View Q
Zoom Alt+Z
Zoom In Ctrl++
Zoom Out Ctrl+-
Unzoom part Alt+U
Tag ID F9
Tag Names F10
Tag Path F11

– Align

Translate T
Translate to Default Z Position Home
Original Position Ctrl+Shift+P
Rotate R
Pick and Place Parts F3
Mirror Ctrl+M
Automatic Placement Ctrl+A

– Mark

Mark Triangle F5
Mark Plane F6
Mark Shell F7

Alt+Shift+R
Mark Window with Remesh
Shrink Selection Down
Expand Selection Up
Invert Marked O
Unmark All F8
Hide Marked Ctrl+Shift+H
Make All Visible Ctrl+H
Invert Triangle Visibility Ctrl+I
Delete Marked Triangles Del
Copy Marked Alt+Shift+D
Separate Marked Alt+Shift+X

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– Fix

AutoFix Alt+F
ShrinkWrap Part W
Normals Fix Shift+N
Automatic Stitching Shift+C
Stitch (manual) Shift+E
Holes Fix Shift+H
Fill Hole Mode Ctrl+Shift+B
Shells Shift+S
Noise Shells Shift+I
Triangles Shift+T
Filter Sharp Triangles Shift+F
Detect Intersecting Ctrl+Shift+Q
Detect Overlapping Triangles Ctrl+Shift+O
Overlaps Shift+O
Create Triangle Ctrl+Shift+E
Delete Triangle Shift+D
Create Bridge Ctrl+Shift+Z
Triangle Reduction Ctrl+T

– Edit

Boolean Ctrl+B
Cut or Punch C
Duplicate Ctrl+D
Extrude Ctrl+E
Rescale Ctrl+R

– Analyze

Wall Thickness Analysis Shift+W

Measurement Thickness Ctrl+Shift+C
Measurement Distance Point to Point Ctrl+Shift+X

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– Slice

Slice Preview Alt+P

Slice Selected Alt+I

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Chapter 4. The Magics Modules

Magics is a versatile tool focused on preparing your parts for Additive Manufacturing.

4.1. Magics Base module

With the Magics Base module you have everything you need for the data preparation and basic
build preparation of your parts.
You can import a large number of mesh-based file formats as well as STEP files. Thanks to the
most extensive mesh fixing functions you can make your parts watertight and printable. With a
large set of editing tools, both for mesh and BREP parts, you can enhance your parts specific
for Additive Manufacturing without the need to go back to other software packages. Our easy-
to-use positioning and orientation tools can quickly get your parts ready on your platform. Our
analysis tools will help you determine where and how you need to change your parts or
platform. Lastly our reporting tools can help your administration and communication with
creating quotes or production documents.

4.2. Import Module

Keep full control over your files by importing them from the original CAD file format. You can
either convert them to a mesh with a set of parameters to keep your control or import them as a
BREP to have more control of the file inside Magics.

4.3. Structures Module

Save material costs and printing time while maintaining the structural integrity and decreasing
the weight of your part thanks to the Structures module. With an easy wizard you can generate
lattice structures inside your part from a mesh-based unit cell in a matter of minutes.

4.4. Slice Based Structures Module

Together with a Build Processor the Slice Based Structures module provides you the same
benefits as the Structures module. Additionally, the Slice Base Structures module allows you to
create bigger structures without the worry of data as the lattice structures are only created
when slicing the part with a Build Processor.

4.5. Tetrashell Module

Thanks to the Tetrashell module you can generate proven tetrahedron structures in your resin
parts to generate large parts with a higher quality. You can also use it for casting.

4.6. Slice Based Tetrashell Module

Like the Tetrashell module you can generate proven tetrahedron structures for your resin
parts. This module works together with the Build Processors so you can generate larger
structures as they are only created when slicing the part with a Build Processor.

4.7. Sinter Module

Speed up the 3D placement of your parts for SLS, MJF or EBM to mere minutes. With our
powerful nesting algorithms, you can reduce your build height and print faster. With features
like volume distribution optimization and sinterboxes you can ensure the quality of your printed
parts.

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4.8. SG Module
With our SG module you can generate a variety of supports for your parts for resin-based
printers or EBM. Avoid build failures or scrapped parts thanks to the semi-automatic support
generation of the SG module.

4.9. Tree Support Module

The Tree Support module is optimal for small resin or metal parts where these versatile
supports give you a lot of freedom. They keep the part steady on the platform, transfer heat
and give a good surface quality thanks to minimal contact points.

4.10. Volume SG Module

Optimize support for binder jetting and extrusion-based printers. For binder jetting the volume
supports will function as a stand in the heat treatment step to avoid deformation and possibly
can avoid sinking of your part while printing. For extrusion- based machines this volume
supports can be printed with various hatching patterns, giving you a view before printing where
the supports will be with full control over how they will be printed.

4.11. SG+ Module

As the most complete support package for metal printing out there this toolbox provides all the
features needed to get your parts printed. Draw the heat from your part, anchor it to the
platform and decrease your post-processing time by optimizing these supports to your parts.
This module contains all the functionality of the SG, Volume SG and Tree Support modules as
well as allow you to add thickness, angled support, and add teeth break-off points.

4.12. Simulation Module

The simulation module creates virtual prototypes that allows you to control part quality, and
reduce the amount of costly build failures and scrapped parts for laser-based metal printing
(e.g. SLM or DMLS). With our Simulation module you have this combined in your build
preparation software, making it easy to adapt your part or supports right away based on your
simulation results.

4.13. Build Processors and the Slice Module

Easily generate slice files for a variety of 3D printers. With Build Processors you have access
to many parameters to optimize the slice files for printers of specific machine manufacturers.
The Slide module will generate open slice files (.slc and .cli) that have less machine specific
functions, but can be interpreted by various printers.

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 Chapter 1. Quick Access Bar Page 56 of 615

Chapter 1. Quick Access Bar

Most commonly used command to load, save and undo redo projects will be found in this
section. The commands placed in this section can be customized to add or remove commands
from the Customize UI dialog.

– See Quick Access Bar, page 41 for more information on the customization of Quick
Access Toolbar.

The general commands that can be found in this section are:

1.1. Home

Close all the open scenes and return to home screen. (CTRL+N)

– See Home, page 59

1.2. New Project

Start a new untitled project with default scenes and parts from a Magics project template
file.

– See New Project, page 60 for more information.

1.3. Load Project

Load an existing project. (CTRL+L)

– See Load Project, page 61

1.4. Import Part

Import existing 3D model(s) to the current active scene.

– See Import Part, page 62

1.5. Open

Open existing file(s) in new scene(s) (CTRL+ O)

– See Open, page 60

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1.6. New Mesh Part Scene

This command will create a new mesh part scene which then you can load mesh parts in
for part preparation.

1.7. New BREP Part Scene

This command will create a new BREP part scene which then you can load brep parts in
for part preparation.

1.8. New Platform Scene

This command will show the New Platform dialog that allows user to specify the target
machine for a new platform scene.

– See New Platform Scene, page 265

1.9. Save Selected Part(s) As

Save the selected part (s) and select the desired name, file format and location.
(CTRL+S)

– See Save selected part(s) As, page 77 for more information.

1.10. Save Scene As

Save the current active scene and select the desired name, file format and location.

– See Save scene As, page 78 for more information.

1.11. Save Project

Save the current project. (CTRL+SHIFT+S)

1.12. Undo

With this command you can undo the previous action. All actions that change the STL file
will be noted in a list, the Log Window (Menubar/View/Log Window). In case of a computer-
crash when Magics is open, you will be able to recover the work you did before (auto-
recovery). (CTRL+Z)
The undo and auto-recovery functions are default ON. If you would like to change this, go to
Settings (Settings > General > Undo and Recovery)

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1.13. Redo

The actions that were undone by the undo operations can be redone by redo. (CTRL+Y)

1.14. Settings

Change Magics’ settings

– See Settings, page 491

1.15. Quick Search

Search a functionality within Magics. Start entering the name of a
functionality, and all relevant functionalities are instantly shown. Click on the desired
functionality to directly activate. (SHIFT+Q)

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Chapter 2. File
File menu provides a set of commands allowing you to open or load .magics files as well as
other supported formats, save them, going back to the home screen when the workflow is
finished. Also reporting functionality, machine information and access to the Magics options is
possible from there.
The File screen:

2.1. Info
In this section you can find more information on the Magics software:

– What’s new: the new features in your Magics version, compared to previous versions
– Manual: Reference manual on the Magics software
– Support Request: contact info to request support from Materialise or its affiliates.
– About Magics: info about your currently installed Magics version and its active licenses.

The features of this section are equally available via the Options & Help ribbon.

2.2. Home

This command removes all parts and scenes in the current Magics session and shows
the Home Screen. If the project is not saved, then the user is prompted to save the project (See
Save Project, page 76) before all the contents of the session are cleared.

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2.3. New Project

The New Project command will close the current loaded project and start a new untitled
project with default scenes and parts based on a Magics project template file. If an existing
project is already loaded, you will be prompted to save the project and proceed to start the new
untitled project.

By default creating a new project from a template file is disabled with a clean installation. This
can be enabled by modifying the Project Template settings in the settings dialog. When you
call the command without enabling this setting, a message dialog is shown and you can
navigate to the settings page automatically from the dialog.

Clicking continue in this dialog will open the Project Template preference page in the Setting
dialog automatically so that you can make the necessary changes to enable the new project
command.

– See Project Template in Settings for more information on settings page for project
template.

A project template file should be a valid Magics project file and all information that can be
saved to a project file can be loaded back automatically through the new project command.

– See Save Project, page 76 for more on information that can be saved to a Magics file.

2.4. Open
Via this section you can load a project or import a part into an open project. You can also open
a Streamics client.

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1. Load Project

The Load Project command starts the standard dialog box to load files.

Only *.magics format files can be loaded as project files in Magics.

The memory state of the loaded project can be defined, the following states can be chosen:

This is the standard memory state of a STL file. Magics knows the placement of
Standard the triangles and the mutual dependencies of the triangles. The user is able to
perform actions on STL level (E.g. deleting triangles)
The STL resides in the memory as read-only, therefore it uses far less memory
Compact than the Standard memory state. Magics does not know the placement of the
triangles nor the mutual dependencies of the triangles. The user is not able to

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perform actions on STL level.

The STL is saved on disk and unloaded from the memory. The STL will stay in
On Disk
the project but the user can’t perform any actions on it.
As Saved The Project will be loaded as previously saved.

The default memory state for the loaded project is defined in the Settings -> File I/O -> Import -
> STL.

A Magics file can be loaded as a project through drag and drop to the home screen.
The memory state defined in the settings menu will be used automatically when
dragging and dropping.

All the saved contents can be loaded back when loading a project file along with the original
path of the file to ensure the file can be updated quickly with new or changed information.

– See Save Project, page 76

2. Import Part

The "Import Part" command would allow you to import parts from all supported files into
the current active scene. This command will evaluate the file formats and the contents of the
file to ensure only supported file formats and part types can be imported to the respective
active scenes.

– When importing parts from specific file formats to a platform scene, virtual copies in the
file can be preserved as is, see Import Part(s) from Materialise and 3mf file formats,
page 63

Note: You can drag and drop files to the scene view port area to import parts quickly
to the active scene.

Note: In Magics RP27, any CAD files loaded through the "Import Part" command on
any platform scenes will trigger the MatConvert CAD to Mesh conversion
automatically.

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Note: When dragging and dropping unsupported files, the following message willl be
shown to the user through any file loading flow.

3. Import Part(s) from Materialise and 3mf file formats

When loading Materialise native file formats or 3mf file formats through the "Import Part"
command, a special dialog is shown to allow users to select the specific parts to be loaded in
the active scene.
You can specify the specific parts that you want to load into scene along with related supports
or copies that may exist in the file.

When Importing from .magics or .mxp files When importing from .matamx and .3mf files

This list contains all the unique parts that are available in the
Select Part(s)
target File.
The unique part name in the file. The user is
Item name
able to select the parts that he wants to load.
This column displays whether there is support
Supports for the part. The user is able to import the
support for every single part.
Keep all parts with trans- If True, then all the design and platform copies of the
formation selected unique part(s) that may exist in the file will be loaded

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with its position preserved relative to the active coordinate

system. Default is True.

Note: Virtual copy relationship will only be

preserved as is when adding to a platform scene.

This dialog is never shown again in the future when loading similar
Never ask again files. All parts will be loaded automatically with all the last set load-
ing parameters remembered.

File formats that triggers this dialog are:

i. Magics project file (.magics)
ii. Materialise AM Exhange File - MatAMX (.matamx)
iii. Materialise 3-matic project file (.mxp) (without support for Virtual copies)
iv. 3D Manufacturing Format - 3mf (.3mf)

4. Open
The "Open" command would allow you to open one or more files of all supported file types
quickly into the target Magics session. The open command will evaluate the contents of the
files and open the appropriate scene (s) that are available in the target files. The open
command will always result in one or more scenes created in the target Magics session.

Note: Opening .magics, .matamx or .3mf is no longer considered as targeting a

project document for the target Magics session, instead only the contents of the files
are appended to the session. The existing content in the target Magics session will
stay unmodified by the open operation. To ensure that your current full Magics
session is targeting a Magics project file, please save the project once upon loading
or load magics files via 'Load project' command.

Note: You can drag and drop files to the Home Screen or the Scene Tab-Bars (while
Scenes are active) to open files quickly.

If a single Magics file is dropped to the Home Screen, the file will be loaded as a
project automatically.

Note: If you open a slice file that contains no platform information, you will need to
select a new platform in Magics in which the slice stacks will be opened. If you want to
open slice stacks in the active platform, do load the file via "Import Part" command on
an active platform scene or simply drag and drop on the platform directly.

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Remark: By default MatConvert 10.3 is included to import your files.

The following types of files can be opened (depending on your licenses and version of
MatConvert):
X - Available | O - Not Available

Name Extension Mesh BREP Slice Comment

STL files *.stl X O O
The .magics format is a
compressed format,
Magics Project containing next to the STLs
*.magics X X X
files in the workspace also all
other information like
support, scenes, etc.
The MGX format is a
compressed form of STL,
MGX files *.mgx X O O which can compress a part
10 to 20 times, depending on
the STL file.
3-Matic Project
*.mxp X O O
files
Materialise AM
*.MatAMX X O X
Exchange file
Materialise
*.matPart X O O
part file

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Name Extension Mesh BREP Slice Comment

Materialise
*.mdck X O O
Kernal file
Magics Demo
*.matdemo X O O
project files
Connect
*.mproject X O O Magics Link file format.
project file
Connect part
*.mpart X O O Magics Link file format.
file
3MF files *.3mf X O X Version 1.1 is supported
AMF files *.amf X O O
DAE files *.dae X O O
Only 3D face DXF files can
DXF files *.dxf X O O
be imported
FBX files *.fbx X O O
Version 2.1 and 3.0 are
OBJ *.obj X O O
supported
ZCP or PLY
*.zcp, *.ply X O O Version 1.0 is supported
files
Google Sketch
*.skp X O O 64- bit; Versions up till 2021
UP
*.wrl, *.vrml,
VRML X O O 1.0 and VRML 97, X3D
*.x3dv
X3D *.x3d X O O Version 3.3 is supported
ZPR files *.zpr X O O Version 1.2 is supported
6th version of 3DM is
Rhino *.3dm X O O
supported
Releases 1 to 4 are
3DS *.3ds, *.prj X O O
supported
IGES *.igs, *.iges X X O Version 5.3 is supported
This module can read Catia
Catia 5 part
*.CATPart X X O V5- files R10 to V5- 6R2021
files
(R31)
This module can read Catia
Catia 5
*.CATProduct X X O V5- files R10 to V5- 6R2021
product files
(R31)
Versions R2010x to R2021x
Catia 6 *.3dxml X X O
are supported
Versions up to 10.6 are
JT *.jt X X O
supported
Autodesk *.ipt, *.iam X X O Version 9 to 2021 are

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Name Extension Mesh BREP Slice Comment

Inventor supported
Versions V15 up to NX 1953
NX
*.prt X X O Series until 1965 are
(Unigraphics)
supported
Version V7 to V33 are
Parasolid *.x_t, *.x_b X X O
supported
This module can read Pro/E
Pro/Engineer *.prt* , *.asm X X O files till version 2020 and
Creo 7.0
Versions 2015 to 2021 are
Revit *.rvt X X O
supported
Standard ACIS Text (SAT)
ACIS SAT *.sat X X O files of versions up to 2019
1.0 are supported
Versions 10 to 2021 are
Solid Edge *.par X X O
supported
*.sldprt, Versions 2009 to 2021 are
Solidworks X X O
*.sldasm supported
The following versions are
supported: AP203 (E1,E2),
STEP *.stp,*.step X X O
AP214 (up to E3), AP242
(E1, E2)
VDAFS 1.0 and 2.0 are
VDAFS *.vda, *.vdafs X O O
supported
Common
*.cli O O X Slices visualization only
Layer interface
3D Systems Slices visualization only or
*.slc X O X
Layer Contour convert to STL
Stratasys
*.ssl O O X Slices visualization only
Layer Interface
Fockele &
*.f&s O O X Slices visualization only
Schwarze
3D Systems
*.sli O O X Slices visualization only
Layer Interface
Concept Laser
*.cls O O X
Slice files
OpenCTM files *.ctm X O O

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Remark: All supported formats for open can be loaded through a drag and drop action
as well.

The memory state of the loaded Mesh part can be defined, the following states can be chosen:

This is the standard memory state of a STL file. Magics knows the placement of
Standard the triangles and the mutual dependencies of the triangles. The user is able to
perform actions on STL level (E.g. deleting triangles).
The STL resides in the memory as read-only, therefore it uses far less memory
than the Standard memory state. Magics does not know the placement of the
Compact
triangles nor the mutual dependencies of the triangles. The user is not able to
perform actions on STL level.
The STL is saved on disk and unloaded from the memory. The STL will stay in
On Disk
the project but the user can’t perform any actions on it.

When trying to load a part in standard mode that is too large a dialog box will pop up.
An automatic rescale will be performed on the part. (For more information, see Rescale, page
227)

Magics proposes a factor to use to rescale the part so it will fit

Rescale factor
within the workspace.
Original bounding box Represent the current size of the parts bounding box
Rescaled bounding box Represents the parts bounding box after the rescale take place
Add rescale factor to
The used rescale factor will be added to the part name
part’s name
Apply to next oversized The same rescale factor will be used for other upcoming
parts oversized parts
Rescale The actual rescale is performed
Don’t import The part isn’t rescaled and will not be imported

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The default memory state for the loaded part is defined in the Settings -> File I/O -> Import ->
STL.

Remark: BREP models can only be loaded in Standard memory state.

– See Settings, page 491

As Is The original STL-position is maintained.

The part is placed at the default position. This default position is defined in the
Machine Properties and represents the minimal X, Y and Z of a part. (default
position: Xmin = 10mm; Ymin=10mm; Zmin = 10mm)
Default
Position

Parts are loaded one after the other while the original Y-position is maintained.
If a line is full, a new line is started.
Aside Of
Others

The part(s) will be added using automatic placement. The parts that already
are loaded will not be moved. This can be done later by selecting all the parts
and using Automatic Placement of the Tools menu. Changing the settings for
automatic placement can be done in the Nesting settings (see Parts placement
page, page 271).
Automatic
Placement

Opening a BREP file triggers import parameter dialog to pop up.

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If checked, each assembly in the file will

Import assembly as a single part be preserved as a unique part in Magics,
with its whole assembly structure pre-
served.
If checked, all the assembly and its
components names available in the file will
be used to name the parts and its
components in Magics.
Use original part name(s) If unchecked, Magics will assign the
appropriate names to the entities. The top
most level will be part, intermediate levels
subpart and lowest level (bodies) as
component.
If checked, file name is automatically
added as a prefix to part name, separated
by a dash "_" (e.g filename_partname).
Add file name to part name Only applied to the top most level entity.
Note: If the "Use original part name (s)" is
unchecked while this parameter is checked then
the part name will just be the file name.

If checked and color definitions are

present in the file, then the face colors are
Import colors
preserved as in the file, otherwise the part
color is used to render all the faces.
Selected parameters will be applied to all
Apply to All parts that are loaded. If unchecked, an
import dialog will be shown for each file
consecutively.

Note: When opening or adding parts, the parts name in Magics will be made unique
by appending an index to the part name if an existing part already exists with the
same name.

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5. Open Streamics client

Opens the associated Streamics Clients. The client can be associated in the settings.
(Settings – Modules – Streamics Client)

6. Batch Import

This command loads automatically CAD, STL, MGX and *.MAGICS files on the current
platform from a selected location. All CAD files that are loaded are translated into STL-files. If
no machine is selected, the part can be processed also. To load several parts at the same
time, the CTRL or the Shift button are used. In this list, you can select parts by highlighting a
row. The same type of files can be loaded as with the import part.
This command can save you a lot of time. For example: You need to load a large amount of
files. You can specify which files need to be loaded, the files can be loaded overnight, and the
next morning all files can be imported in Magics.
This command is only available with an additional license.

Parts to be The list contains all parts that you added to the queue.
Processed Magics will convert these files from top to bottom
Part
The name of the part.
name
When the checkbox is checked, the part will be fixed after
importing, using the parameters of the parameters Dialog
Fix box.
The best is to use this function only for parts you know. The
automatic fixing can change the geometry of a part.

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Type The type of CAD-file.

Path The location of the CAD file.
File
Size of the selected part in KB.
Size
With this button, you can add a CAD-part to the list.
Add parts A dialog box opens, where you can select the parts you want to add to
the import-list.
Remove selected
Use this button to remove the selected files from the list.
parts
Parameters Opens the parameters-Dialogue box
Up Move a part upwards in the list so it will be converted earlier.
Down Move a part downwards in the list so it will be converted later.
Export parts to
Specify a folder to export the file to.
Use Parameters to set its default value
Same folder as
Export the files to the same folder as the Cad-file
Input File

Parameters

1. Import parameters

Here you can specify the parameters for the files you want to load. You can apply these
parameters for all the files in the list.

– See Open, page 64 for the file types.

2. Fixing parameters

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Here you can select in what way the file is fixed after it’s imported.
There are two fixing methods available: automatic or manual combined fixing.

– Automatic Combined Fixing

If selected, Magics will do a predefined list of fixing actions. Some actions are
conditional, this means that the action will only be performed when Magics is sure
that the result will be ok.

As mentioned above, be careful with this option. Only use it on parts you know.

– Manual Combined Fixing

Instead of the fully automatic fixing algorithm, it might be safer to use a manual
selection of fixing functionality.
The user can decided which fixing functions he wants to apply.
Normal Fixing A normal fix is applied.
A stitching is applied with the estimated stitching
Stitch
tolerance
All contours that seem to be holes are filled
Fill Holes automatically. (Type of hole fixing see combined
fixing)
This will remove all internal geometry and
Unify intersecting triangles. This operation will only be
done if the geometry allows it.
Filter Sharp Sharp triangles will be removed to improve
Triangles surface quality.

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The automatic removal of detected noise shells,

Remove Noise these noise shells make no geometrical sense:
Shells they are not connected to the bigger part, nor
have a volume.

3. Export - parameters

Here you can set how the converted CAD-files are saved to disk.

4. Default Export Folder

Default Export folder

Take current working Export the files to the current working
folder folder.
Specify a folder to export the file to.
Each time, it will take this folder.
Set a limit of triangles. When the limit is reached, Magics will stop the
Abort part import and moves to the next part in the queue. This option can be set
import after … when you need to load a very large file, to avoid that all the memory is
being used.
Create a folder
For each imported part, a folder is created. The name of the folder is
for each CAD-
the name of the CAD-part.
part
For each part, a log file is saved in the same folder as the Magics file
Save log files
(or STL) is saved.

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This log file contains:

– the CAD File

– To which version it is converted.
– When it is converted
– Result of the batch import
Existing Files
Replace files Files that already exist in the chosen folder will be overwritten.
Rename files Files that already exist in the chosen folder will be renamed
automatically automatically.

2.5. Save
Via this section you can save your opened project, select part(s) or scene. You can save
selected part(s) or the platform to Streamics.

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1. Save Project

When you have prepared a project in Magics, you can save it to disk in order to load it
again later on.

Magics Project Files

The Magics Project File is a dedicated file format for Magics. The Project File can contain
information concerning:

– Mesh Parts and Composed Mesh Parts

– Slice Parts
– BREP Parts and Assemblies
– Support
– RapidFit
– Measurements and annotations
– Machine information
– Annotation and Platform Scenes

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The user is able to save a whole project instead of saving all parts and supports separately.
Another advantage of the Magics Project File is that the information is stored together with the
preprocessed data, so the loading of a project file is much faster than loading the individual
parts. The Magics Project File format is also a compressed format, dedicated for the RP
industry.
For support, Magics will automatically extend the project name with ‘_sup’ if this option is
checked in the Settings. So the reader is noticed that a file contains support data.

– See Settings, page 491

2. Save Project As

Save Project As allows you to save the project with another name, it contains the same
functionality as Save Project.

3. Save selected part(s) As

This command allows you to save all the selected parts quickly. The destination of the
saved parts can be changed when using this option. Each part can be saved either in a
separate files or to the same file with the option "Save parts to one file".
Note: be aware that not all formats support the option to save parts to one file.
The supported target files to save to may different per type of the selected part.

The file can be saved to the following file types:

X - Available | O - Not Available

Multi-parts
Name Mesh BREP Slice saving in Extension
single file
Magics Project files X X X X *.magics
STL files X O O O *.stl

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Multi-parts
Name Mesh BREP Slice saving in Extension
single file
STL (ASCII) files X O O O *.stl
STL (COLOR) files X O O O *.stl
Materialise AM exchange
X O X X *.MatAMX
files
Connect part files X O O O *.mpart
Materialise Kernel files X O O O *.mdck
AMF files X O O X *.amf
MGX files X O O X *.mgx
Materialise part files X O O O *.matpart
PLY files X O O O *.ply, *.zcp
DXF files X O O O *.dxf
ZPR files X O O O *.zpr
VRML files X O O O *.wrl , *.vrml
3D PDF files X O O X *.pdf
Iges Wireframe files O O O O *.igs
X3D files X O O O *.x3d
OBJ files X O O O *.obj
3MF files X O X X *.3mf
STEP files O X O O *.step

Remark: The Save Selected Part(s) As dialog will only show the appropriate file
formats that the selected part can be saved to.

4. Save scene As

Save the active scene in to a target file.

5. Save All in Directory

This command allows all the selected mesh parts on the current active scene (Part or
Platform) to be saved to a .stl file quickly at a target output directory. You can use an existing
directory, or create a new one.

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6. Save Selected Part(s) to Streamics

Save selected part(s) to Streamics.

7. Save Platform to Streamics

Save the platform to Streamics.

2.6. Reporting
In the Reporting section, you can generate a report, create a report template, save part(s) as
3Dpdf, print or export a view.

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1. Generate Report

Magics can use Microsoft WORD and EXCEL templates to generate reports. In these
templates some specific tags are used. When generating the report, these tags will be
replaced by the value that they are representing. Off course, you have the freedom to create
the templates yourself.

Choose the template Magics should process. When processing the template, Magics will
replace the tags by the values they are representing.

2. Create Report Template

Magics will start the desired template in Microsoft Word or Microsoft Excel for further
editing. ‘Start here’ is an empty template with all the tags in the menu. For Office 2007 these
tags can be found under the Add-Ins menu, older version of Office can find the tags under the
Insert menu.
Save the template you made in the directory C:\Program Files\Common
Files\Materialise\Templates.

The Templates
1. Saving a Report Template

When saving your own report template, the file type has to be changed to “Excel Macro-
Enabled Template (*.xltm)”.

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Remark: By default, selecting this file format will change the current folder to
“C:\Users\[username]\Documents\Custom Office Templates”. This is standard
Excel-behavior and cannot be changed by Magics. Because of this, it is easier
to select the “Excel Macro-Enabled Template” first, and only then navigate to
the desired save location.

If you often create templates, changing the default save format and the default templates
location might speed up your workflow. This can be done in Excel by going to File ->
Options -> Save.

Alternatively, it is also possible to change the default Report Template Working Folder in
Magics by going to Settings -> File I/O -> Working Folders -> Report Template Working
Folder. Using “C:\Users\ [username]\Documents\Custom Office Templates” here can
also result in a smoother workflow.

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2. Tags

A tag is code representing a certain value; Magics will scan the document, recognize the
tags and replace them with the wanted value. You have 2 kinds of tags.

– Text

Text tags are tags, which will be replaced by text. They begin with %% and ends
with %%. In between, the property is placed (for example: %%SurfaceArea%%).
These tags can be inserted using the insert Materialise field’s menu or just by
typing the right syntax.

– Pictures

You can also insert pictures (screenshots). They are inserted with a menu. The
macro will place a dummy JPEG where the screenshot shall come. When Magics
is using the template to generate the document, he will replace this dummy JPEG
by the wanted view. A screenshot can only be inserted using the insert Materialise
fields menu.
In Office 2000 – 2003 you can find the Materialise fields under the Insert menu. In
Office 2007 they can be found under the Add-Ins menu.

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In this column, you indicate which view you want. You will
recognize the standard views (ISO, top, bottom, etc...).
Perspectives
The Current will be the view that is shown in Magics when
generating the document.
You can just take the current active mode or you can make sure
Mode that a certain mode (shaded, shaded and wireframe, etc.) will
always be used.
You can use the current background color but sometimes it can
Background be better that the background color is forced to be white or
black.
Unzoom will always do an unzoom before taking the
Unzoom
screenshot.
Show platform
The platform can either be shown or hidden in print screens.

A JPEG will be inserted; the entered properties just entered are linked to the
JPEG. You can now resize, move, align, etc. the JPEG. When generating the
view, Magics replaces this dummy image by the selected view with exactly the
same position and size. The properties of the JPEG can be reviewed by using the
‘show all shape names’ dialog. In Office 2000 – 2003 you can find the Materialise
fields under the Insert menu. In Office 2007 they can be found under the Add-Ins
menu.

3. List of tags

– General tags

These tags are representing general information.

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Name Description
%%UserName%% The user name that is currently logged on
The current time
Extension:
%%CurrentTime:%H:%M:%S%%
%%CurrentTime%%
%H Hours
%M Minutes
%S Seconds
The current date
Extension:
%%CurrentDate:%A, %d %B, %Y%%

%%CurrentDate%% %A Name of the day

%d Day (number)
%B Month (name of the month)
%Y Year
The current date and time
Extension:
%%CurrentDateTime: %H:%M:%S , %A, %B %d,
%Y%%
%H Hours
%%CurrentDateTime%% %M Minutes
%S Seconds
%A Name of the day
%B Month (name of the month)
%d Day (number)

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Name Description
%Y Year
The current unit size used in Magics (mm or
%%Unit%%
inches)

– Group tags

These tags are representing the properties of groups of STL-files.

Tag Description
Common view

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Tag Description
Show all names
The name of the platform file (only
%%FileName%%
useable in the RP-version)
The name of the platform file + path
%%FileFullName%%
(only useable in the RP-version)
The number of STL- files in the
%%NumOfStl%% active scene at the moment the
document is generated
The total volume of all the parts in
%%Volume%% the active scene using the current
unit size
The total volume of all the parts in
%%VolumeMM%%
the active scene in cubic mm
The total volume of all the parts in
%%VolumeInch%%
the active scene in cubic inches
The total volume of the support of all
%%SupportVolume%% parts in the active scene using the
current unit size
The total volume of the supports of
%%VolumeMM%% all the parts in the active scene in
cubic mm
The total volume of the supports of
%%VolumeInch%% all the parts in the active scene in
cubic inches
The total surface of all the parts in
%%SurfaceArea%% the active scene using the current
unit size
The total surface of all the parts in
%%SurfaceAreaMM%%
the active scene in square mm
The total surface of all the parts in
%%SurfaceAreaInch%%
the active scene in square inches
The X- dimension of the bounding
box around all loaded STL-parts in
%%DimX%%
the active scene in the current unit
size
The Y- dimension of the bounding
box around all loaded STL-parts in
%%DimY%%
the active scene in the current unit
size

%%DimZ%% The Z- dimension of the bounding

box around all loaded STL-parts in

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Tag Description
the active scene in the current unit
size
%%MaxZ%% Maximum height of the build
The X- dimension of the bounding
%%DimXmm%% box around all loaded STL-parts in
the active scene in mm
The Y- dimension of the bounding
%%DimYmm%% box around all loaded STL-parts in
the active scene in mm
The Z- dimension of the bounding
%%DimZmm%% box around all loaded STL-parts in
the active scene in mm
The X- dimension of the bounding
%%DimXInch%% box around all loaded STL-parts in
the active scene in inches
The Y- dimension of the bounding
%%DimYInch%% box around all loaded STL-parts in
the active scene in inches
The Z- dimension of the bounding
%%DimZInch%% box around all loaded STL-parts in
the active scene in inches
Total amount of bad edges of the
%%NumOfBadEdges%%
loaded parts in the active scene
Total amount of bad contours of the
%%NumOfBadContours%%
loaded parts in the active scene
The total number of shells in the
%%NumOfShells%%
active scene
The name of the selected machine
%%Machinename%%
in the active scene
The material name of the selected
%%Materialname%%
machine in the active scene
The comments concerning that
%%Comments%%
machine in the active scene
STL View Insert a JPEG
The estimated scan time in the
%%ScanTimeEstimation%%
active scene
The estimated recoat time in the
%%RecoatTimeEstimation%%
active scene

%%BuildTimeEstimation%% Estimation of build time of the

loaded parts (only used in the RP-

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Tag Description
version) in the active scene
Estimation of cost of the loaded
%%CostEstimation%% parts (only used in the RP-version)
in the active scene
The cost fragment depending on the
%%CostEstimationBuildtime%%
build time
The cost fragment depending on the
%%CostEstimationFixed%%
fixed time
The cost fragment depending on the
%%CostEstimationVolume%%
volume
The cost fragment depending on the
%%CostEstimationSupportVolume%%
support volume
The cost fragment depending on the
%%CostEstimationSurface%%
surface
The cost fragment depending on the
%%CostEstimationDeltaX%%
delta X value
The cost fragment depending on the
%%CostEstimationDeltaY%%
delta Y value
The cost fragment depending on the
%%CostEstimationDeltaZ%%
delta Z value
The cost fragment depending on the
%%CostEstimationNumberOfSTL%%
number of STLs
The cost fragment depending on the
%%CostEstimationBoundingBoxVol%%
bounding box volume
While generating the document, a
%%UserDef:"Remark"%%
dialog box will pop up for user input

– Measurement fields

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These tags serve to make measuring reports. The Labels for the measuring report
are made with the “Report” button in the measuring functionality. Use these tags in
a label or in a loop.

Tag Description
The label that is given to measurement by
%%Measlabel%%
Magics by pressing the “report” button.
%%MeasNominalValue%% The value of the Measurement
The type of measurement: a distance, radius or
%%MeasType%%
angle.

– STL fields

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These tags will be replaced with the information of one single part. In cases where
multiple parts are loaded, this information will be repeated once for each part. To
achieve this, the tags must be placed into a table or a loop. Magics will repeat this
information in the table for each part. See below how to make a loop.

Tag Description
%%StlName%% The separate name of the STL-part
The separate name of the STL-part +
%%StlFullName%%
path
%%StlGuid%% The GUID identifies the STL-part
An index number will appear in this
%%StlIndex%%
column
The number of virtual copier of an
%%NumOfCopies%%
STL part in the active scene
%%StlNumOfPoints%% The amount of points of the STL-part
%%StlNumOfTriangles%% The amount of triangles of the STL-

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Tag Description
part
The volume of the part using the
%%StlVolume%%
current unit size
%%StlVolumeMM%% The volume of the part in cubic mm
The volume of the part in cubic
%%StlVolumeInch%%
inches
The surface of the part using the
%%StlSurfaceArea%%
current unit size
The surface of the part using square
%%StlSurfaceAreaMM%%
mm
The surface of the part using square
%%StlSurfaceAreaInch%%
inches
The X- dimension of the bounding
%%StlDimX%% box in the current unit size in the
active scene
The Y- dimension of the bounding
%%StlDimY%% box in the current unit size in the
active scene
The Z- dimension of the bounding
%%StlDimZ%% box in the current unit size in the
active scene
The X- dimension of the bounding
%%StlDimXmm%%
box in mm in the active scene
The Y- dimension of the bounding
%%StlDimYmm%%
box in mm in the active scene
The Z- dimension of the bounding
%%StlDimZmm%%
box in mm in the active scene
The X- dimension of the bounding
%%StlDimXInch%%
box in inches in the active scene
The Y- dimension of the bounding
%%StlDimYInch%%
box in inches in the active scene
The Z- dimension of the bounding
%%StlDimZInch%%
box in inches in the active scene
The minimal X value of the bounding
%%StlMinPosX%% of the parts in the active scene in the
current unit size
The minimal Y value of the bounding
%%StlMinPosY%% of the parts in the active scene in the
current unit size
%%StlMinPosZ%% The minimal Z value of the bounding

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Tag Description
of the parts in the active scene in the
current unit size
The minimal X value of the bounding
%%StlMinPosXmm%%
of the parts in the active scene in mm
The minimal Y value of the bounding
%%StlMinPosYmm%%
of the parts in the active scene in mm
The minimal Z value of the bounding
%% StlMinPosZmm%%
of the parts in the active scene in mm
The minimal X value of the bounding
%%StlMinPosXInch%% of the parts in the active scene in
inches
The minimal Y value of the bounding
%%StlMinPosYInch%% of the parts in the active scene in
inches
The minimal Z value of the bounding
%%StlMinPosZInch%% of the parts in the active scene in
inches
The X value of the center point of the
%%StlCenterPosX%% parts in the active scene in the
current unit size
The Y value of the center point of the
%%StlCenterPosY%% parts in the active scene in the
current unit size
The Z value of the center point of the
%%StlCenterPosZ%% parts in the active scene in the
current unit size
The X value of the center point of the
%%StlCenterPosXmm%%
parts in the active scene in mm
The Y value of the center point of the
%%StlCenterPosYmm%%
parts in the active scene in mm
The Z value of the center point of the
%%StlCenterPosZmm%%
parts in the active scene in mm
The X value of the center point of the
%%StlCenterPosXInch%%
parts in the active scene in inches
The Y value of the center point of the
%%StlCenterPosYInch%%
parts in the active scene in inches
The Z value of the center point of the
%%StlCenterPosZInch%%
parts in the active scene in inches
%%StlNumOfBadEdges%% The amount of bad edges of the part
%%StlNumOfBadContours%% The amount of bad contours of the

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Tag Description
part
%%StlNumOfShells%% The amount of shells
The estimated scan time of the
%%StlSupportScanTimeEstimation%%
supports of the part
%%StlPartScanTimeEstimation%% The estimated scantime of the part
%%StlScanTimeEstimation%% The total scantime of the part
While generating the document, a
%%StlUserDef:"Remark"%% dialog box will pop up for user input
for each STL-file

Remark: for excel templates the ‘STL view’ tag is available for row and
columns.

– Machine properties fields

Tag Description
The platform settings and Z- compensation
%%MachinePlatZComp%%
settings from the machine properties
The support parameter settings from the
%%MachineSupport%%
machine

– Object fields

Specific tags for documenting Objet set-ups.

– RapidFit fields

Specific tags for documenting RapidFit set-ups are documented in the RapidFit
section of the manual.

– Loops

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Instead of using tables for STL-fields, Measurements and EDM’s, you can use
loops. All the text and tags between the loop- tags %%For Each:
MEASUREMENT%% and %%Next:MEASUREMENT%% will be repeated for
each (in this example) measurement. This allows E.g. a complete page per part.

3. Save Part(s) As 3D PDF

By saving parts as 3D PDF, you create a PDF-file which can be viewed in 3D with a
default Adobe Acrobat Reader. This enables you to send or view the design in 3D without
specific software needed.
The user can save the parts by clicking on ‘Save Part (s) as 3Dpdf’ in the report ribbon.
Alternatively the user can click ‘Save Selected Parts As’ in the toolbar and then select the ‘3D
PDF (*.pdf)’ file type.
If the drop down menu is set to ‘Apply to all’, all parts will be saved individually under their
respective names. If it is set to ‘One by one’, the user can change the file name of every part,
with all the parts still being saved individually. Setting it to ‘Save parts to one file’ will save all
the parts in one file, which can be viewed by the Adobe Acrobat Reader as an assembly or a
collection of parts.
If there’s support connected to the part, it will also be visible in the reader. When viewing the
part, it’s possible to hide the support by going to the Model Tree tab and unchecking the box in
front of ‘Support [filename]’ or right clicking it and clicking ‘Hide’. The same can be done with
the part, to only show the support.

4. Print

This command starts the Magics print wizard that leads you to the Page Setup and the
standard Windows Print dialog box.

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Print The Print Preview is visible in the Print-action. The right half of the print dialog
Preview box is the Print preview.
This feature allows you to print in scale. This means that you can measure on
the printed page.
True Scale
Printing
Remark: Be aware of the fact that perspective views never allow
measuring.

Font… This allows you to define the font of the labels.

Specify the information about the part that should be printed.
Labels…
For instance: File name, Height, Width, Depth, Number of triangles….
Print The user can choose another printer, paper size and paper orientation using
Setup… the standard printer setup interface.
Page With Page Setup, one can define a print style. It is a standard Windows dialog
Setup… box.

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Edit Labels

Part Info
This can be used to see information about the part, but it is also the information that will appear
on paper when a part is printed (only one part may be visible to show this information). This info
is selected via the Label Sheet.

Labels
A New Label and Field are added at the bottom of the list. The user can
New
immediately change the label and the field type.
Del To delete a label and a field: Select the label, and press on the Delete button.
Edit The user can edit a label by selecting one, and pressing the Edit button.
Rearrange The order of the labels can be changed with the arrow buttons. Select a label,
Label and use the arrow buttons to move it one place up, or one place down the list.

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Field Types Several Field Types are predefined. See the following tale.
Changing
Select a Label, and select another field type.
Field Types

– Field types

Label Comment
Delta X Width of the STL part
Delta Y Depth of the STL part
Delta Z Height of the STL part
Dimensions Start and end coordinates in all three dimensions
File Name Name of the STL file
File Path File Path of the STL file
Triangles Number of triangles in the file
Volume Volume of the STL part
Surface Surface of the STL-part

With the 'User Input' field, the user can input any string before printing (e.g. reference
number, client name...). It is always possible to change to another field type.

2.7. Machines

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1. Change Machine
– See Change Machine, page 287

2. Machine Properties
– See Machine Properties, page 269

3. My Machines
– See My Machines, page 287

2.8. Options

1. Settings
– See Settings, page 491

2. Customize UI
– See Customizations, page 37

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3. Licences
– For details, please go to: https://help.materialise.com/

4. Export Magics Profile

– See Export Magics Profile, page 541

5. Import Magics Profile

– See Import Magics Profile, page 540

6. Exit
Closes Magics.

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Chapter 3. Fix
3.1. Automatic Fixing
1. AutoFix

Clicking on Auto Fix will perform the fixing operation automatically.

2. ShrinkWrap

Principle
The principle is that a new surface is wrapped around the existing geometry so it takes over its
shape and then the original geometry is removed. You can compare it with the real life shrink-
wrapping, were plastic is wrapped around a part and shrinked to fit.
The main aim for the shrinkwrap is to make a part buildable, accuracy is the second priority.

Part before being shrink-wrapped Shrink-wrapped part

When to use ShrinkWrap?

If the STL-file contains following kind of errors, consider using the ShrinkWrap to fix the part.

– Complex inverted surfaces: Inverted surfaces are so complex that automatic or manual
flipping of the triangles is almost infeasible.
– Shells
– High shell count: Due to the way of drawing, the amount of shells can be very high. Then
it’s getting difficult for Magics to fix handle this amount of shells. For example, each
beam of a windowframe is a separate shell and the building has a few hundred windows.
– Many of those shells are touching and/or coming together at the same spot, resulting in
many triangle sides on exact the same spot. This confuses the traditional fixing
algorithms because he cannot determine which triangle is connected to which triangle.
– Internal shells: Some models contain a lot of internal shells that are not necessary for
building the part. Due to the nature of the part, it’s difficult to isolate these shells for an
efficient removal.
– Complicated bad edges: The bad edges are so complex that stitching, hole filling or the
creation of triangles does not help.
– Gaps

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– The elements of the part are not properly connected to each other. There’s sometimes a
small gap between the parts.
– Single surfaces
– Some sides are represented by single surfaces having no thickness. This is ok for
visualization but not for building on a RP machine.

How does ShrinkWrap fix these problems?

1. Flipped triangles

The ShrinkWrap algorithm will lay the surface on triangles, regardless their orientation.

Before After

2. Outer geometry

The Shrink-wrapped surface will

– Only take the outer geometry in account

– Joining all the shells (and so handling overlapping & double surfaces)
– Ignoring inner geometry, noise shells and their errors (complex bad edges)
– Treat single surfaces (surface with no thickness) as outer geometry
– Bridge small gaps
– Bad edges very close to each other
– Different shells not joined properly

This contains Shrink-wrapped

– Single surfaces (the – Single surface is seen as outer

window) geometry

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– Overlapping Multiple – Only the outer geometry of the shells

shells
is kept
– Gaps between beam &
– Small gaps are bridged
Window

All internal features are removed.

Many internal features inside the house.
Only the outside is kept.

Dialog Box and its parameters

1. Sample Interval

The smaller, the more precise the Shrink- wrapped surface will follow the original
geometry.
Please consider:

– The smaller the sample interval, the higher the memory usage. Because we’re
dealing with an object in 3D object, a division of the sample interval by 2 will
increase the memory use by 8 (each dimension gets 2 times more samples à
2*2*2=8).

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– The smaller the sample interval, the more details will be preserved. Details that fall
between 2 sample points (E.g. small walls, ribs, decorations, etc…) typically fall
away. (see below “Wall thinner than…”)
– The smaller the detail, the more sensitive the Shrink-wrapped surface is for gaps
and the surface might “leak” to the inside via a gap. To compensate this, use Gap
Fill.

Sometimes sharp edges are not followed perfectly. This can happen into areas with a
high complexity.

2. Relation between Sample Interval & Gaps

The surface will fill small gaps and holes.

But if you use a smaller sample rate, the accuracy of the wrapped surface will increase. It
might increase so much that the gaps will be considered as geometry and these defects
will be shrink-wrapped. The result is that the surface might “leak” to the inside so that all
internal geometry will be shrink-wrapped too and there’s also the risk that walls might
disappear because they are too thin. If this is the case, use “gap fill” to compensate.

ShrinkWrap High Accuracy

ShrinkWrap low
Original Geometry accuracy So accurate, the gap is seen as
geometry and the surface “leaks” to
The Gap is bridged
the inside.

Walls thinner than ... might disappear

Depending on the sample interval, geometry thinner than the given thickness might disappear.
This might be a problem with walls & pipes from architectural parts.
Keep in mind that only geometry will disappear that is shrink-wrapped at both sides. Thin walls
on the outside of a house, where the inside is not wrapped will not disappear.
How to deal with this:

– Use “Add thickness” to avoid removal of this geometry (see below)

– Try to detect the thin areas (use double surface detector)
– Try using offset to make them thicker

Try to separate these thin areas from the main part & process these parts separately.

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Sample Data to process

This gives you an indication of the size of the 3D Sample data.
Please keep in account that this is not the final memory usage.
Pay attention because the algorithm is also needing memory to create the triangle surface
around the part (the ShrinkWrap surface) and (depending of the complexity of the geometry)
this can also need a lot of memory.

Advanced Parameters
1. Gap fill

If you notice that there are still gaps that need to be filled, you can increase the gap filling
rate with this function.

S.W. with Gap fill, the

Original geometry S.W. without Gap fill
hole is filled

2. Organic shape

If you have a part with a shape without essential edges, you can skip the step of
restoring these by checking “Organic shape”. This will also save you time.

3. Add extra thickness

If the part contains features that are too thin, checking this checkbox will add extra
thickness.
Please take in account that:

– The thickness will be added to the whole part

– The thickness has a minimal value, depending of the ShrinkWrap parameters.

You can use Add extra thickness

– To avoid that geometry disappears because it’s too thin

– To add thickness to the part to make it build able.

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Working with the ShrinkWrap

– Please take in account the high processing time & memory use of this algorithm. Some
parts are still faster & more accurate to fix with the Fixing Wizard.
– The ShrinkWrap algorithm should be considered as a step in the fixing process. You
need to prepare the model. You can check if the model is “closed” so that the outside is
not leaking to the inside. If this happens, the risk that geometry will disappear because
the walls are too thin is very high. You can close the model using hole filling, creating
triangles or by extruding sides of walls.

Below is an example what might happen if you don’t prepare a part properly.

– Red: outside
– Green: Inside

A gap is not closed

Part is closed properly.
The “outside leaks inside”.
The result is that the “outside’ stays at the outside and
the result will be a solid block. This results also in the thin wall
that will disappear.

– You can run some quick test to see if the part is shrink-wrapped correctly by using the
add thickness option.

When using add Thickness, some steps are skipped what gives you faster feedback so you
can have an idea of the end result or an indication where it goes wrong.

Local ShrinkWrap
The user can also perform a Local ShrinkWrap, which means that the ShrinkWrap operation
will be applied only on an indicated area. The Local Shrinkwrap is located in the ShrinkWrap
Part dialog box, under the ‘Local’ tab.
In order to mark the surface and, implicitly, the triangles on which the Local ShrinkWrap will be
applied, use the already available marking tools from the marking toolbar.

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After marking the area, open the ShrinkWrap window, switch the tab to “Local” and indicate
what parameters should be used. For further details on the parameters, please read again
through sections Dialog Box and its parameters and its parameters & Advanced Parameters.

The Local ShrinkWrap will be applied on the surface that you have selected and will create an
organic tie between this surface and the rest of the part.

The Local ShrinkWrap operation might encounter issues if:

– The selection is a shell that is made out of inverted triangles

Solution: When selecting, use a marking tool that allows you to select also non-inverted
triangles around the shell made out of inverted triangles

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3.2. Semi-Automatic Fixing

1. Normals Fix

This option allows you to automatically fix inverted normals on the selected part(s).

– See Inverted Normals, page 568.

2. Automatic Stitching

This option allows to automatically stitch near edges on the selected part(s). Magics will
do an estimation of the needed tolerance and stitch iteratively using this tolerance.

– See Bad edges, page 568.

3. Holes Fix

This option allows to automatically fix holes on the selected part(s). When pressing the
button, all the detected planar holes will be filled. A planar hole will not be filled with triangles if
Magics detects that these new triangles will intersect with other (existing) triangles.
After the hole filling, check if the holes are filled correctly. It can be that the geometry was
misunderstood.

– See Planar hole, page 569.

4. Noise Shells

This option allows to automatically remove noise shells from the selected part(s). We
prefer to play it on the safe side. Occasionally the algorithm does not remove some noise
shells.

– See Noise shells, page 571.

5. Unify

When applying the unify function to a part, only the outer triangles will be preserved and
all the inner triangles will be thrown away.
Example:

You see there are 4 changes:

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– Sphere: The triangles of a sphere are all internal triangles, so they are removed.
– Cylinder: The cylinder intersects the cube. As you see, only the triangles that are outside
remain. The internal surfaces are removed after a re-triangulation was done.
– Overlap: the internal part of the intersection is removed.
– Intersection at the outside: Surfaces, which are inverted, are removed.

For parts with a lot of internal intersections, unify will help you to make clean parts.

6. Shells to parts

Converts shells to parts.

– See Shells, page 570.

7. Remove Small Parts

When doing a Shells to Parts (See Shells, page 570), the result may be a lot of small
parts, which are just noise and which are not needed anymore. You can define yourself what
you consider as small. The Small Part Filter will remove these small parts. You can choose to
remove all small parts, or only the selected.

The selected parts that fulfill the conditions set

Only on selected parts
in Surface, Volume or Triangles.
Filter
All parts that fulfill the conditions set in Surface,
All Parts
Volume or Triangles.
Parts with a surface area smaller than the defined one are removed, following
Surface
the condition set in Filter.
Parts that are smaller than the defined volume are removed, following the
Volume
condition set in Filter.
Parts that contain fewer triangles than the defined amount are removed,
Triangles
following the condition set in Filter.

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8. Filter Sharp Triangles

When the part has long thin triangles, this filter will remove them.

– The parameters used for this command are synchronized with the ones in Triangle tool
page: See Triangle page, page 579.

9. Remove Identical Triangles

This tool gives you the opportunity to remove identical triangles quickly. Two parameters
define when two triangles are considered identical.

– The parameters used for this command can be found in Triangle tool page: See Triangle
page, page 1.

10. Mark Overlapping Triangles

This tool allows you to detect overlapping triangles (double surfaces). The definition of an
overlapping triangle is made with the help of some parameters.

– The parameters used for this command can be found in Triangle tool page: See Triangle
page, page 1.

3.3. Manual Fixing

1. Invert Normals

Click to activate. You can now manually invert all the marked triangles.

2. Fill Hole Mode

Click to activate. You can now manually select and fill holes.

– See Single or Multi-contour hole, page 576.

3. Create Triangle

Click to activate. You can now manually create a triangle or bridge.

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– See Create triangle, page 577.

4. Translate Part Points

Click to activate. You can now manually select and translate a part point. Select multiple
points by holding CRTL while selecting, or by drawing a window.

– See Translate, page 223

5. Move Part Points

Click to activate. You can now manually select a part point and replace it. This point will
snap to the neighboring edge or points.

3.4. Enhance
1. Triangle Reduction

Magics allows you to reduce the number of triangles in an STL file. This makes it easier to
manipulate the file. You can re-triangulate the whole part, or only a selected portion. A Local
Triangle Reduction will reduce only the marked triangles, but some neighboring triangles can
be changed too.

If 2 triangles are replaced by one triangle, there may be a little deviation in

Tolerance position. The tolerance indicates the maximum deviation allowed between the
original surface and the new one.
The Max angle value defines two limits:

– When two triangles have an angle value bigger than Max angle, they may
Max angle not be reduced. The edge between them may not be eliminated;
otherwise too much geometrical information would be lost. When the
program meets such an edge, the reduction will keep the edge but
reduce the number of points on it.

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– When there is no critical edge, this Max angle value determines the
maximum angle that can be created during the reduction. This means
where there is an edge present, there will remain one. Where there is no
edge, no edge will be added.
Magics can perform the operation in different iterations to improve the reduction
Iterations of triangles. It is better to increase the number of iterations than performing the
triangle reduction twice (to maintain the smallest detail).
Keep
Textures on the part stay intact. Some triangles may not be filtered out due to
textures
texture that is kept.
intact
Keep
Colors on the part stay intact. Some triangles may not be filtered out due to
colors
color that is kept.
intact

It is advised not to use the reducer on very noisy objects. In this case it is better to
perform a smoothing first.

If the tolerance and angle values are too big, essential part information may get lost.

2. Smoothing

Smooth the selected part or marked area.

Global / Global will smooth the whole part. Local will smooth only the selected
Local triangles.
We will explain this factor with the figure below. The figure shows eight
triangles with one common point in the center.
Strength

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The algorithm changes the position of this center point according to the
positions of the eight other points. The importance of the other points can be
raised or lowered by adjusting the Ratio-parameter. If this Ratio is low (0.01)
the new position is mainly dependent on the old position of the point. If this
ratio is 1, the dependency is spread over the points. The new position is still
50% dependent on the old position. With high values for the ratio, the new
position is mainly determined by the position of the other points of the
triangles. In this last case it is obvious that we talk about smoothing. This
algorithm is exercised on every point of the part.
Avoid To avoid the creation of flipped triangles, the movement of the points will be
Inverted aborted when the angle between the normal of the neighboring triangles is
Triangles bigger as the given angle.
Skip points
When the point is on the part boundaries edges (with Global option) or on the
on
marked area boundaries edges (with Local option), the point won't be moved.
boundaries

3. Refine and Smooth Parts

This feature has as purpose to give gaunty parts a more smooth surface while making
sure that the original shape is maintained as much as possible.

Global / Local Global will smooth the whole part. Local will smooth only the marked
triangles.
Geometrical Geometrical indicates the maximum deviation allowed between the original
error surface and the new one.
Preprocess Before the refine and smooth algorithm is performed, a filtering of sharp
triangles triangles is done.
Sharp features will be preserved. The refine and smooth algorithm will only
Preserve
smooth the surfaces that are already pretty smooth. This makes sure that
features
surfaces that don’t need smoothing will keep their geometry.
Keep
Textures on the part stay intact. Some triangles may not be smoothed due to
textures
texture that is kept.
intact

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4. Subdivide part

With the Subdivide Part option, you can add extra triangles to the selected part or area
without changing its appearance.

Global / Global will subdivide the whole part. Local will subdivide only the marked
Local triangles.
Number of iterations indicates the number of iterations that will be executed.
Number of
The more iterations, the more additional triangles the will be added. The
iterations
maximum number of iterations is 1,000
Max edge
Max. Edge Size indicates the maximum edge size that will be subdivided.
size
Subdivide
Bad edges will be subdivided.
Bad Edges
Subdivide
Marked The border of the selected triangles will be subdivided.
Border

5. Remesh

Remesh feature gives users a option to generate new mesh topology in frames of
existing part. It can be applied to the whole part or marked region.

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Chapter 4. Edit
4.1. Insert
1. Create

With this command, basic shapes can be created (Mesh or BREP Part).

A window with two panes respectively will be opened. The first pane contains a list with the
volumes the user can choose. The second pane contains the object definition for the specified
volume. A third pane, accessed by clicking “PART CENTER” enables to enter position
coordinates.
The Create command is accessible from mesh and BREP part scenes where it creates
primitives in the respective types. From the respective part scenes, only the specific primitives
relevant for the scenes are shown in the Create dialog.
Note: BREP Part creation is only supported on Magics RP version

Object Definition
The object definition-sheet contains all the parameters to define the object that the user would
like to create. The parameters correspond with certain dimensions that are illustrated on the
drawings. The tolerance parameter influences the number of triangles that will be created. The
first time, the default values are displayed. When you change these values and execute the
operation, the used values will be remembered.
Note: Only a limited set of objects are included for creation as a BREP part.

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Part Center

Here you can enter the coordinates of the center of the created part.

2. Create from Image

This function will create a new mesh part of a kind of 3D-picture from a given image.
Example:

Above you see an image and below you see the created mesh part.

Nothing special, the only thing you can notice if you really look close is that the dark parts on
the image are thick and the light areas are thin. But if you keep it in front of a light source with
the relief pointing to you, you will see this.

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Because of the relief, the picture will be visible. This part was made with a ThermoJet (a kind of
3D-wax printer from 3D systems) but of course other techniques will also give nice results. As
long as the material lets light through but is not too clear, the result should be fine.

Source image from which you would like to make an STL-file. An image with a
File Name
lot of contrast is advised.
Picture
size: X & Y The size of the picture inside the frame.

Keep
aspect The aspect ratio expresses the proportion between the X and Y direction.
ratio
The relief is based on the gray values of the pixels of the bitmap. If a pixel is
white, the thickness of the part will be minimal at that place, so a maximum of
Depth light will get through. If a pixel is black, the thickness is maximal and so a
maximum of light will be blocked and so it will seem darker. Depending of the
material, this value must be adapted. Some small experiments can be useful.

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Frame
height &
Frame & The size of the borders around the picture.
bottom
thickness

4.2. Edit
1. Hollow Part

You can use this command to easily remove material from a part; final printed parts will
become lighter, saving you material and build time. The result of the hollow operation is one
STL file that present a cavity with a constant wall thickness. This cavity is build from triangles
whose size is determined by the parameter detail size. There is the option to keep the original
part closed with all the faces (Hollow tab), or choose to remove selected faces (Shell tab).
Note: Hollow operation is also available for BREP Part(s)

Hollow for Mesh Part(s)

The result of the hollow operation is one STL file with two shells: the original shell and a new
one that gives the part a constant thickness. You can select several parts and make them
hollow in one operation.

Wall This value displays the distance over which the triangles of the original shell
Thickness get an offset in order to generate a hollow part.
This value displays the level of detail that will remain in the new shell.
Standard, this value should be the same as the smallest detail of the part.
Detail Size
The smaller this value, the more triangles will be included in the new shell
and the more detail can thus be incorporated.

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Remark: If the value is chosen too high, it is possible that the

internal wall intersects with the external wall.

Here you determine if you want to create a new shell at the interior or at the
exterior of the existing shell, or create a self-supporting structure.
If you only wish to retain the newly created shell, you can
check this box.
Keep Core
Only
Note: available for inside and outside values of
Type parameter.

By checking this option a smoothing will be performed on

the created core.
Type (See Smoothing, page 111)
Smoothen
Core
Note: available for inside and outside values of
Type parameter.

This value defines the self- supporting angle used to

generate the internal cavity, making sure that no support is
needed to build the part successfully.
Surface
angle
Note: available for self-support value of Type
parameter.

While you set the parameters, Magics makes an estimation of the quantity of
free RAM that will be needed during the calculation and of the number of
triangles that will be created. You’ll need to enter new values in the Wall
Memory
thickness and Detail size fields to see a new estimation of the amount of
requirements
RAM and new triangles. The amount of triangles can later on be reduced
with the Triangle Reduction function (see Advanced, page 121 ). The
memory requirements depend greatly on the value set for Detail size.

Original Hollow: inside direction Detail size value too big

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Shell

Mark the surfaces on the part that you would like to remove; the remaining part will be hollowed
out. The result of the shell operation is normally one STL with one shell, but, depending on the
marked surfaces and the part geometry, multiple shells can be created too.

Wall This value displays the distance over which the triangles of the original shell
Thickness get an offset in order to generate a hollow part.
This value displays the level of detail that will remain in the new shell.
Standard, this value should be the same as the smallest detail of the part.
The smaller this value, the more triangles will be included in the new shell
and the more detail can thus be incorporated.
Detail Size

Remark: If the value is chosen too high, it is possible that the

internal wall intersects with the external wall.

You can generate an extra border on the open side of the part, to increase
strength around the open area or to add stability to the part when the open
side lies on the part base.

Reinforced Remark: the reinforced border will follow the original shape of the
border marked surface that created the open side.

You can assign a specific thickness to the border which can

Thickness
be different compared to the wall thickness.
This value determines the distance between the inner cavity
Length
and the end of the border.
Memory While you set the parameters, Magics makes an estimation of the quantity of
requirements free RAM that will be needed during the calculation and of the number of

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triangles that will be created. You’ll need to enter new values in the Wall
thickness and Detail size fields to see a new estimation of the amount of
RAM and new triangles. The amount of triangles can later on be reduced
with the Triangle Reduction function (see Advanced, page 121 ). The
memory requirements depend greatly on the value set for Detail size.

Original Shell: one marked face Reinforced border

removed generated

Advanced

Because the hollow function creates a lot of triangles,

you have the possibility to reduce these at once.
Reduce Tolerance
triangles of The following parameters are
Core Angle explained in more detail in Triangle
Reduction function. See Triangle
Number of
Reduction, page 110
Iterations

Hollow for BREP Part(s)

Hollow tool is intended to create an inner or an outer shell on BREP Part(s). It comes with
instant preview allowing you to assess result before applying the operation

Hollow Outer Preview Hollow Outer Result

Hollow Inner Preview Hollow Inner Result

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Wall This value displays the distance over which the faces of the original BREP Part
Thickness get an offset in order to generate a hollow part.

Inner Shell type defines direction in which BREP Part(s) will be hollowed
Shell type
Outer out

2. Cut or Punch

With this command you can cut parts and punch holes into STL-files. First a cutting line
needs to be defined. Then the cut will take place along this cutting line, perpendicular on the
screen. There are three different ways to define the cutting line.

– Polyline
– Circle
– Section

Polyline

Draw polyline

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Click here to start drawing the polyline by clicking on the screen. Each click
Indicate
will make a new point. Holding ALT while drawing the polyline will snap to 90°
polyline
or 45° turns..
Clear all
All points will be removed
points
Move point Modify your drawn polyline by selecting points and moving them to the
(s) required position

Delete point
Only the last specified point will be removed
(s)

If you have drawn a closed polyline you can click on close so the program
Close knows this is the polyline you would like to use for the cut. If the polyline you
contour have drawn is not closed, Magics will close it automatically via the outside of
the part.

Cut preview
The cut preview gives you a first indication how the actual cut will be after applying. In this
stage it is still possible to move your part according to the defined cutting line.

Play Start the preview of the indicated polyline

Stop Stop the preview of the indicated polyline

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Preview
Two different types of preview are available:
type
The polyline preview cut is represented by a plane.

Plane (fast)

The polyline preview cut is represented by a projection on the part

where the actual cut will take place.

Projection

Polyline parameters

Round
You can choose to round the corners of the polyline with the given
polyline
radius
If checked, the intersecting line gets an offset towards the inner,
other or both sides of the parts. This way you introduce a little gap
between the parts that result from the cut.

Inside

Clearance
Outside

Both

Lock polyline The polyline is locked to your part while panning and zooming is
to part used, this to easier define the required cutting line.
Cut only on Hide some sections of the part with the multi-section view options
visible and only perform your cut on the ‘visible’ triangles

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triangles

Polyline indication Polyline locked and zoom

performed

1. Add Teeth

Select part of the polyline to define required teeth.

Select teeth line(s)
Selections can be made in between two definied points.
Remove teeth Remove previously definied teeth

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1. Define teeth line parameters

Different teeth type can be selected for every ‘part’ of the polyline.

Triangle

Square

Teeth
type Jigsaw

User Next to the predefined teeth type, the possibility of

defined customizing teeth is available.
Height
Base length
Top length
Interval
Offset
Round Sharp corners can break easily. Rounding of the corners will reduce
teeth this and allow a better fitting.
Flip teeth Teeth are reinverted.
Size By changing the size, more or less teeth are shown.
This is the distance between the wall of the part and the step in the
Offset
cutting surface

2. Advised way of working

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– Draw a polyline by defining different points

– Press the ‘select teeth line(s)’ button to assign different types
– Select parts of the polyline where teeth need to be added
– Specify per part of the polyline which teeth type is required
– Press ‘Apply’ or ‘OK’ to apply the teeth on the polyline

2. Advanced Options

This will stop the incision at the plane defined by the given z-
Cut till Z
coordinate. This option only works in the top view.
Enter
The polyline moves to the entered coordinates.
Coordinate
Show Shows the coordinates of the indicated points
Coordinate
Color parts
After cutting the resulted parts with be colored
after cutting

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Circle Cut

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1. Draw circle

Indicate You can indicate a point on the part. This point will be the center of the
Center circle.
Here you determine the radius of the circle, and thus the cylinder you
Radius
will cut out of the loaded part.
The tolerance value determines the deviation between the circle
drawn by the program (a polygon) and a real circle. It is the distance
along the radius perpendicular on and through the middle of one of the
Tolerance
edges of the polygon between the cross point of the radius with the
polygon and the cross point of the radius with the circle. The higher the
tolerance, the bigger the deviation.
You can choose to add a small notch. The notch is defined by the
parameters Angle, Width and Height.

Use Notch Width

Height

Angle
If you check this box, the intersection line gets an offset towards the
Clearance inner side. This way you introduce a little gap between the parts that
result from the cut.
Cut only on
Hide some sections of the part with the multi-section view options and
visible
only perform your cut on the ‘visible’ triangles.
triangles

2. Cut preview

The cut preview gives you a first indication how the actual cut will be after applying. In
this stage it is still possible to move your part according to the defined cutting line.

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Play Start the preview of the indicated polyline

Stop Stop the preview of the indicated polyline
Preview
Two different types of preview are available:
type
The polyline preview cut is represented by a plane.

Plane (fast)

The polyline preview cut is represented by a projection on the

part where the actual cut will take place.

Projection

Section Cut

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1. Basic Section Cut

1. Cut Visible Sections

If you define some sections, you can make a cut along all these sections. For more
information about how to define sections, please see Sections.
In the figure below, an X, Y and Z section are defined. If you select ‘Cut Visible
Sections’ this is what happens:

If you would like to have a little gap between the two parts that
result from the cutting line, you can add a clearance. This either to
the inside, outside or on both sides.

Inside
Total
Clearance
Outside

Both sides

2. Cut Visible Triangles

If you have defined a section (Sections), you can clip and flip to visualize only the
part behind or before the section. With the Cut Visible Triangles function, you can
cut out the visible part. It is possible to make different combinations of sections,
with each their own clip or flip.

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In the figure below, three sections are defined, and a clip is applied on each of
them so only the part before the section is made visible. By selecting cut visible
triangles, the visible part becomes a separate part.

3. Cut Selected Contours

If you have defined a section, and you only would like to cut away some parts at
one side of it, you can do so with the cut selected contours function. Select the
contour (the intersection line between the part and the section) you would like to
cut with the Indicate Contour button and press the Apply button.
In the figure below a Z section is made. The contour on the right is selected, so
only the right ‘leg’ will be separated from the main part.
If you have indicated a section, and you would like to erase the indication, you can
use the Reset button.

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Lap Joint Cut

1. Lap Joint cut on a closed contour

You can make a lap joint cut along a predefined section:

1. Select Multi-section preview on the part
2. With the mouse, click on the contour on which the cut will be applied
3. Set the parameters of the cut
4. Click on apply
This type of cut makes it possible to place printed parts back together. When the Contour
radio button is selected, the following option is available:

Select the contour (the intersection line between the part and the section)
Contour
you would like to cut.
Reset Erases the defined contour selection.

Select outer contour and apply cut: Result:

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Select inner contour and apply cut:

Result:

Select outer and inner contour and apply

Result:
cut:

By defining 4 parameters and using the available options, this cutting operation has a
variety of alternatives.

Notch This parameter defines the z-coordinate of the incision (height between

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Height the top and bottom incision plane.)

This is the distance between the wall of the part and the step in the
cutting surface.

Offset
Remark: The offset cannot be taken too big. It is also important
that the part is uniform in the Z direction over the length of the
step. Otherwise deformations will occur.

Notch You can decide to make a little gap along the cut. This way the two parts
Clearance can easily slide into each other if you have to assemble them.
Front
Clearance added in the direction perpendicular to the section.
Clearance
Back
Gap left at the back side of the cut
clearance
Show
Shows the cut before it is applied.
preview

2. Lap joint cut between 2 points

The Lap joint cut can be performed between two customizable points. In order to be able
to make a cut between two selected points, the radio button Two points needs to be
selected. The two points can be indicated only on a multisection contour.
Once the points have been indicated on the contour, the shortest line between them will
be marked as selected.
The user can click Apply to perform the cut on the indicated part of the contour.
Sometimes an Autofix operation needs to be applied on the part after the Cut operation.
When the radio button Two points is selected, the following possibilities become
available:

Two Select the points between which the cut will be applied. Selection of
points multiple sets of 2 points is possible on any contour of a section.
Invert Inverts the selection made between the 2 customizable. Invert selection is
selection inactive is multiple sets of 2 points are selected on one section.

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Snap
Opens the Settings for Selection and Snapping.
settings
Reset Resets the point selection
Show
Shows the cut before it is applied.
preview

Select 2 points on a hollowed part and apply

cut: Result:

Select two points on a non-hollowed part and

Result:
apply cut:

Select two points on a hollowed part and Result:

apply cut:

Select multiple areas on a non-hollowed part

Result:
and apply cut:

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3. Advanced options

Add Notch
in
Negative
Direction
(Default
OFF)

Straight
Cut
(Default
ON)

Color part
Assigns different colors to the
after
pieces of the cut part.
cutting

Connector Pins/Holes Section Cut

Parts with a complex geometry can be cut with connector pins. Instead of just making a straight
cut, connector pins will be placed. This makes it possible to fit the parts back together once
they are built.

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1. Connector type

Specify which type of connections has to be created.

Pins/Holes – Pins on one site and holes on the other side

– OR
– Holes at 2 sides of the performed cut

2. Cylinder

Radius Here you determine the radius of the connector pin.

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Height Here you determine the height of the connector pin.

The tolerance parameter influences the number of triangles that
Tolerance
will be created.
Indicates the distance, starting from the side of the part till where
Side distance
the cylinders will be placed.

Side distance = 4 mm Side distance = 12 mm

3. Clearance and Spacing

Defining parameters for clearance and spacing between the different cylinders.

Top clearance Clearance add the end of the pin

Side clearance Clearance that should be applied to the sides of the pins
Indicate the distance there must be between the pins.

Spacing
Remark: The actual spacing between the pins differs in
some cases.

You can decide to make a little gap along the cut. This way the two
Face clearance parts can easily slide into each other if you have to assemble
them.

Spacing = 4 mm
Spacing = 12 mm

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If you have defined an connector Pins/ Holes section, and you only would like to perform
the cut on a specific contour of the section, you can do so by using the ‘indicate contour’
function.

Indicate Select the contour (the intersection line between the part and the
contour section) you would like to cut
Reset Erases the defined contour section

In the figure above a Z section is made. The contour on the right is selected, so only the
right ‘leg’ will be separated from the main part using an advanced cutting.

4. Advanced options

Add Notch in Negative Direction

(Default OFF)

Offset Inner Contours

(Default OFF)

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Straight Cut
(Default ON)

Cut or Punch for BREP Part(s)

Cut or Punch for BREP models allows to perform section based cutting with or without
clearance in specified direction.

All active section (s)

Cut will be performed along all active sections
Cut will be performed along all active sections with clipping. Only
Cut based on All active sections(s)
the visible clipped regions of the parts will be preserved in the cut
with clipping
result
Defines size of the gap between the BREP parts that result from
Distance
the cut.

[Direction] Inside

Clearance [Direction] Outside

[Direction] Both

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3. Perforator

With this command you can make perforations through your parts. The perforation is
defined by a flattened cone that will be subtracted from the part, thus creating a perforation.
This is especially useful if you work with hollow parts(See Hollow).
Firstly click on a point of the part to create a preview of the perforation. This preview is shown in
BLUE color. When a preview is selected, this will be colored in GREEN.

– Edit the parameters. Hold CTRL key to select multiple previews and edit them at the
same time.
– Translate selected preview to the desired position by clicking and holding left mouse
button.
– Apply preview(s) to the STL by clicking Apply.
– Delete selected preview(s) by pressing Delete key or Delete button.

Selected perforation preview Perforation applied to the STL

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The perforation can be defined by either two radii (Radius based type), or one
radius and an angle (Angle based type).
Radius outer Here you determine the radius of the outer circle of the
Perforation circle (r2) perforation.
type
Radius inner Here you can determine the radius of the inner circle of the
circle (r1) perforation.
Angle (a) Here you can determine the angle of the perforation
Show A preview of the perforation is shown. This gives you immediately an
preview indication of how the perforation will be executed.
You can choose to add a notch to the perforation. The notch is
defined by the parameters Angle, Width and Height. The notch
Add notch
is particularly useful in combination with “Keep Subtracted
Parts” option, for part alignment after printing the parts.
Notch
Width

Height

Angle

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Advanced options

Detect Collisions will be detected when the added cone is intersecting with more
Unwanted than one wall. (See Remark: Unwanted Intersections)
Intersections Default OFF
When checked, the subtracted part(s) are kept. If not checked subtracted
part(s) are unloaded automatically.

Keep
Subtracted
Parts

With subtractions Without subtractions

If you would like to have a little gap between the two parts that result from the
perforation, you can add a clearance. This either to the inside, outside or on
both sides.

Total Inside Subtract clearance from cone

Clearance Outside Subtract clearance from wall
Subtract clearance from both: half of the
Both sides clearance is taken from one side and half of
clearance is taken from the other side

Remark: Unwanted Intersections

When you want to make a perforation, Magics might detect that an unwanted intersections will
take place. Normally a perforation should go through only one wall (crossing just one red area).
If the detect unwanted intersections option is selected, the warning will be given when the
perforation goes through more than one wall of the same part. When you allow unwanted
intersections, your subtracted part will be split into two pieces.

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Ok The cone will be constructed with the intersection.

Cancel The flattened cone is not constructed.

4. Surface to Solid

This function creates a solid from a surface. In some applications (e.g. GIS) only a
surface is generated, but that cannot be built on an RP machine. Therefore you have to make a
solid part.

Offset based

This value displays the distance over which the triangles of the
Shell Thickness original shell get an offset in order to generate the required
shell
Detail Size This value displays the level of detail that will remain in the new

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shell.

Shell without thickness Offset based thickness added to surface

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1. Advanced

Remove noise
All noise shells (no geometrical sense) are removed from the part
shells
Filter out long thin triangles on the original surface.
Triangles thinner than this distance will be
Max width filter
removed, depending on your choice.
Apply filter sharp
triangles on The thin triangle will only be removed when
original surface the angle it makes with its neighbors is
Max angle bigger than the given angle. This is easy to
filter only thin triangles of folds and leave
thin triangles of curves untouched.
When checked, the gap in between the original surface and newly
created surface is automatically closed
The gap in between the two surfaces will be
Straight edge
closed by using a straight edge.

Close hole (s)

automatically
The gap in between the two surfaces will be
Sloped edge closed by using a sloped edge, as the
internally created surface is slightly smaller.

When checked, Triangle Reduction is applied to the newly

created surface.
If 2 triangles are replaced by one triangle,
there may be a little deviation in position.
Apply Triangle Smallest detail The tolerance indicates the maximum
Reduction for new deviation allowed between the original
surface surface and the new one.
Max Angle The Max Angle value defines two limits:

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– When two triangles have an angle

value bigger than Max Angle, they
may not be reduced. The edge
between them may not be eliminated;
otherwise too much geometrical
information would be lost. When the
program meets such an edge, the
reduction will keep the edge but
reduce the number of points on it.
– When there is no critical edge, this
Max Angle value determines the
maximum angle that can be created
during the reduction. This means
where there is an edge present, there
will remain one. Where there is no
edge, no edge will be added.
Magics can perform the operation in
different iterations to improve the reduction
Number of of triangles. It is better to increase the
Iterations number of iterations than performing the
triangle reduction twice (to maintain the
smallest detail).

Block based

Stop Solid The surface you want to make a solid from needs to be positioned above the
at XY plane.
z0 Extrude the solid till this Z value
dz Extrude the solid over this Z distance
Hollow You can hollow the solid to save material.
The wall thickness of the hollowed
Shell Thickness (w)
solid.

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Original Surface Created Solid Hollowed Solid

5. Fillet

This command allows you to round interior and exterior sharp edges with a constant
radius. Before applying the fillet, select single edge(s) of a part on the scene, or hold Alt key to
select one closed contour. You can also select multiple edges and/or contours and run the fillet
operation at the same time.
Note: Fillet operation is also available for BREP Part(s).

Selected edges Fillet Result

Preview on Mesh Preview on BREP
Mesh Result BREP Result
operation operation

Note: When the operation is unable to perform the rounding successfully, all previews will be hidden. For
the operation on BREP Part, at least 1 failing edge will be highlighted in red to indicate a need to modify
the selection or the set parameters. You may also attempt to perform the fillet operation one after
another in such cases to improve the possibility of operation success.

Fillet Dialog for Mesh Part(s) Fillet Dialog for BREP Part(s)

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This value defines the radius of the resulting circular edge. Fillet is
Radius
performed with a constant radius over the entire edge.
This value determines the maximum deviation allowed between the
circle drawn by the software (a polygon) and a parametric circle; the
Tolerance *
higher the tolerance, the bigger the deviation. The tolerance has also
influence on the number of triangles that will be created.
*Tolerance parameter is unavailable for the Fillet operation for BREP Part(s)

6. Chamfer

This command allows you to create a slanted edge between two surfaces of a part.
Before applying the Chamfer, select single edge(s) of a part on the scene, or hold Alt key to
select one closed contour.
Note: Chamfer operation is also available for BREP Part(s).

Chamfer Preview for Mesh Part(s) Chamfer Result for Mesh Part(s)

Chamfer Preview for BREP Part(s) Chamfer Result for BREP Part(s)

Note: in case the Chamfer operation can't be applied on specific edge (s) of BREP Part (s), the failing
edge will be highlighted in red color. In this case, you should adjust the edge or change parameters
accordingly

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Chamfer Dialog for Mesh Part(s) Chamfer Dialog for BREP Part(s)

This value defines the equal distances calculated starting from

Distance
Equal the selected edges in both directions.
distance
Distance This value defines the first distance calculated starting from the
1 selected edges.
Distance This value defines the second distance calculated starting from
Two 2 the selected edges.
distances Reverse When selected, Distance 1 and Distance 2 will be calculated as
direction opposite.
This value defines the distance calculated starting from the
Distance
selected edges in one direction.
This value defines the angle created by the part surface where the
Angle
Distance distance is calculated and the surface of the chamfer.
and angle
Reverse When selected, the distance and angle will be calculated on the
direction opposite side of the edge.

7. Extrude

This command allows you to extrude surface (s) in a certain direction. Before the
extrusion, you first have to mark the triangles or faces you’d like to extrude. All marked
surfaces are moved in the same direction, over a defined distance. A surface can be made up
one or more triangles on a mesh part.
Note: Extrude operation is also available on BREP Part(s). On a BREP Part, a surface can be made up
of one or more faces.

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Extrude Dialog for Mesh Part(s) Extrude Dialog for BREP Part(s)

The user must specify the extrude offset. Each surface will undergo an offset in
Offset the defined direction over a distance defined by this value. The area of the
extruded marked surfaces will be unchanged after the operation
When this button is focused, user will be able to mark any of the faces on the
selected parts for the Extrude operation. User can enable/disable the marking
mouse mode by clicking on this button.
Note: Currently this is only available for Extrude operation for BREP part(s).
Indicated
Face Button
Remark: Once at least 1 face is marked on the selected part(s), the
cross mark will turn to a check mark to indicate that at least some face
is marked.

The triangles or faces adjacent to the selected

surfaces will be redrawn. They are extended like
shown in the figure below to preserve the current
Move Points
topology as much as possible. The common points
are moved. The gradient of the adjacent triangles
or faces may be changed.
The triangles or faces adjacent to the marked
surfaces that are extruded will be unchanged. The
Connection
common points of the selected and adjacent
Add Triangles/Add Faces geometries remain on their position. The gap
between the offset geometry and existing
geometry is filled with new triangles or faces. This
is shown in the figure below.
The program will make the choice between Move
Automatic Points or Add Triangles.
Note: This option is not currently available on the

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Extrude for BREP Part(s).

Original part Move points Add triangles

Select the direction that the extrusion will follow. The direction is defined by a
vector: fill in the direction vector in the X, Y and Z fields
Note: For the Extrude for BREP Part(s), it is not possible to set the direction
vector manually. You'd have to pick a direction from an edge or planar face.
You can click the Reverse direction button to
Reverse direction quickly change the direction of the vector to the
opposite side.
You can click the Indicate line button and
Direction Indicate line** afterwards click on a line. The extrude offset will be
in the direction of the line.
You can click the Indicate triangle button and
Indicate triangle** afterwards click on a triangle. The extrude offset
will be in the direction of the triangle normal.
You can click the Indicate direction button and
afterwards click on a straight edge or a planar face.
Indicate direction*
The extrude offset for will be along the edge dir-
ection or the face normal.
* Indicate direction button is only available on Extrude for BREP Part(s).
** Indicate line and triangle button is only available on Extrude for Mesh Part(s).

8. Offset

The Offset function for STL Part(s) allows offsetting the whole part or some selected
triangles. The triangles are moved along a direction proper to the normal of that triangle over a
defined distance, which is the same for all triangles.

The Offset function for BREP Part(s) is similar and allows offsetting the whole body or local
face(s) along the same direction.

Offset Operation
The offset will offset the points of the triangles/faces over the offset distance in a direction
defined by the mean of the normal of the triangles/faces adjacent to the point. When looking at
a 2D-representation the offset looks like this:

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The nodes represent the corners of the triangles/faces; the lines between the nodes represent
the triangles/faces; the arrows represent the direction and distance (the vector) of the offset.
The offset works on open shells as shown in the example.

In case of a closed surface, we will get the following:

The nodes represent the corners of the triangles/faces; The lines between the nodes represent
the triangles/faces; The small arrows represent the direction and distance (the vector) of the
offset; 'd' represents the distance one would measure. This will be smaller than the offset
distance mentioned in the dialog box.

If the STL-file you are working on has some irregularities like in the figure below, the result may
not be as expected, but as shown in the right figure.

So when you have STL noise, the offset could amplify the noise at bad portions of your part.
Therefore we would recommend not using this feature for offsetting over large distances, it is
better to use hollow (Menu/ Tools/ Hollow) with the option 'keep core only' checked.

The Offset operation for BREP Part(s) is enhanced with real time preview allowing you to
assess the output before applying the operation. If preview is not generated, the operation
can't be applied and thus some of the parameters must be adjusted to make it a success.

Global Offset Preview Inside Global Offset Preview Outside

Local Offset Preview Inside Local Offset Preview Outside

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Global

Global Offset Dialog for Mesh Part(s) Global Offset Dialog for BREP Part(s)

In this field, you enter the offset value. Each triangle/face will be
Offset moved along the direction of its normal over a distance set by the
offset value.
Select uniform if you wish that the offset is uniformly applied in X, Y
Uniform* and Z. If you switch it off, the dialog box will change so you can put
different offset values in the X, Y and Z direction fields.
Direction Choose whether you want the offset to be inward or outward.
Create If you selected global you can choose to create a thickness. In this
thickness* case, the original shell will remain and a thickness is created.
* These parameters are unavailable for Offset operation for BREP Part(s)

Local
For STL Part(s) you can select (mark) triangles on the part that you would like to offset. These
triangles will move. The algorithm is made so that no holes are introduced. There are two
possibilities to fill the gap that rises when some triangles have undergone an offset.

For BREP Part(s) you can select local faces after launching the Offset dialog. Once selection is
done, the green check icon appears in the Offset dialog allowing you to proceed with the
operation
.
Local Office Dialog for Mesh Part(s) Local Offset Dialog for BREP Part(s)

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When this button is focused, you will be able to mark any of the faces on the
selected parts for the Offset operation. You can enable/disable the marking
mouse mode by clicking on this button.
Note: Currently this is only available for the Offset operation for BREP part(s).
Indicate
Face Button
Remark: Once at least 1 face is marked on the selected part(s), the
cross mark will turn to a check mark to indicate that at least some
face is marked.

In this field, you enter the offset value. Each triangle will be moved along the
Offset
direction of its normal over a distance set by the offset value.
Direction Choose whether you want the offset to be inward or outward.
The triangles adjacent to the selected triangles will be
changed. They are stretched like shown in the figure
Move Points below. The common points are moved. The area of the
triangles selected remains the same after the offset. The
slope of the adjacent triangles will change a bit.
The common points of the selected and adjacent
triangles/faces remain on their position. The gap
Add
between these triangles/faces and the triangle/faces that
Faces/Triangles
have undergone an offset is filled with new
Connection triangles/faces. This is shown in the figure below.
The program will make the choice between Move Points
Auto Detect*
or Add Triangles.
Original part Move Points Add Triangles/Faces

* This parameter is unavailable for Local Offset for BREP Part(s)

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Remark: The local offset differs from the Extrude operation. In an extrude operation
all triangles/faces are moved along the same direction. In the local offset operation,
the direction of offset depends on the triangle/face and its neighbors.

9. Milling offset

The milling offset will add a specified thickness for the marked triangle(s), the edges of
the marked area are rounded based on the specified detail size.
By adding this thickness there will be no distortion of the original surface contour.

Thickness The amount of material to be added.

This value displays the level of detail that will remain. As a rule, this value
Detail size should be the same as the smallest detail of the part. The smaller this value, the
more triangles will be included and the more detail can thus be incorporated.
Automatic
Run automatic combined fixing after the milling offset operation to fix small
combined
errors.
fixing

10. Prop generation

To avoid distortion on your part during building you can create ‘props’ to make sure that
the shape of the part is kept.

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Prop Shape Circle/ Square

The shape of prop of this cross section can be changed between a circle or
a square.

Strong- section
The width of the circle/ square connector
width (a)

End- section The width of the connection (in between the

width (b) strong section and the part)

End- section The length of the connection between the

length (c) strong section and the part.

Perform The part and prop(s) are united into one file and all surfaces are trimmed to
Boolean Unite make one shell of both parts.
While adding the props a preview is created of how the prop will be placed
on the part.

Show Preview

After indicating the prop’s starting point, holding SHIFT will make sure the
Hold SHIFT for
generated props are straight (aligned to the world coordinate system, not
90° snapping
locally)

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Hold CTRL to
enter Remove Hold CTRL and click unapplied props to remove them.
mode

Remark: After creating the prop, it will be merged together with the part.

11. Convert Scene to Mesh

With this command, you would be able to quickly convert BREP parts in the current active
BREP part scene into mesh parts. All the converted mesh parts will be added to a new mesh
part scene. This command is only activated and can be performed in a BREP part scene with
at least 1 BREP part. Topological information such as faces and edges that exist on the original
BREP part is lost upon the conversion to mesh and the new edges are generated based on the
mesh edge calculation. Assembly parts will be converted to mesh in a single merged part.
The default parameters are optimized for best quality for models designed for practical
manufacturing models with the average bounding box scales of 10 mm to 500 mm.

Specifies maximum deviation of the mesh representation from its boundary

representation (BREP) model. Bigger values produces less triangles, but
Surface accuracy
rougher surfaces while smaller values produce smoother surfaces but more
triangles. This unit is in the target system unit always.
Specifies the maximum angle deviation allowed between the triangles of the
mesh representation on a curved feature. With a smaller angle tolerance
much more smoother representations of curved features can be generated
Angle tolerance
on meshes. This parameter is only advised to be changed, when the output
mesh representation has long thin triangles or intersecting triangles in its
output. This unit is always in degrees of angle.

If your part is a larger part, larger than 500 mm, you are advised to consider using a
larger surface accuracy value for much more scalable mesh representation.

BREP part before conversion Mesh part after conversion

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4.3. Split & Merge

1. Shells to Parts

If a part consists of several shells, it can be divided so that every shell becomes a distinct
part. These parts will be named "shell_#_of" where # is a number. The parts will be sorted in
order of amount of triangles. Shell_ 1 has more triangles than shell_ 2. This is the inverse
operation of Merge Parts.

2. Boolean

Using the Boolean operation enables you to combine different designs. There are four
kinds of Boolean operations: Unite, Intersect, Subtract and Clip. At least two parts need to be
selected to perform a Boolean operation.
Indicate parts button will allow user to select/deselect parts directly from the scene; the
selected parts will be added to the list in the Boolean dialog. Moreover, once a part is selected,
it will change color on the scene. To deselect a part, user can click again on the part from the
scene, or select one part in the list and press Delete key. In case of Subtract and Clip
operations, two different lists are present; user can also drag and drop parts from one list to the
other to use them as main bodies or bodies to subtract.
Note: Basic Boolean operation is available for BREP Part(s)

Boolean Dialog for Mesh Part(s) Boolean Dialog for BREP Part(s)

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– Unite

The Unite command merges the selected files into one part and trims all the surfaces to make
one shell of both parts. There is no limit on the number of parts that can be united.

– Intersect

The intersection of several parts is made with the Intersect command. There is no limit on the
number of parts that can intersect.

– Subtract

To subtract one part from the other, the user has to specify which part has to be subtracted
from the other. The selected parts automatically get two different colors: the main body is
green and the part to subtract is red. There is no limit on the number of parts that can be
subtracted.
The user has the option to set a clearance for Subtract operation. If this option is checked, the
intersecting line gets an offset towards the inner side. This way the user can introduce a little
gap between the parts that result from the subtraction; the gap is defined by the clearance
value.
Note: Clearance option is not available for the Subtract method on BREP Part(s)

– Clip

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Clip operation can be used to create pins or fitted parts in one step. With this operation, user
can perform two Boolean operations at the same time: one Intersect operation and one
Subtract operation. Each operation will result in the end into a separate part. There is no limit
on the number of parts that can be clipped.
The user has to option to set a clearance that will be used during the Subtract operation. If this
option is checked, the intersecting line gets an offset towards the inner side. This way the user
can introduce a little gap between the parts that result from the subtraction; the gap is defined
by the clearance value.
Note: Clip method is not available for BREP Part(s)

– General options

It is recommended to use Fast option; this option is

selected by default. In some specific cases, issues
on resulting part might appear; in these cases, user
Mode can switch to Accurate option for better results.
Note: these options are not available on Boolean for
BREP Part(s)
The original parts can be unloaded after the Boolean
Unload original parts
operation. This option is by default ON.
This option allows to set custom name for Boolean
Set result part name
result

Boolean undercut
The Boolean undercut is mostly used in complex situations where the end product is build in
separate parts that need to be assembled afterwards. It will detect undercuts along an
indicated direction and will then decide to add material from one part to another to have the
easiest assembly after the parts have been produced.

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Switch color Switch the red and green color of the parts
Add to red/ Add to Indicate to which part (red or green) the material effected by the
green undercut should be added.
Indicate moving Indicate in which direction the undercut detection needs to be
direction performed
Flip Change the direction to the opposite direction

Starting point Add to Red Add to Green

1. Advanced options

At an offset in between the resulting parts. This way you introduce a little
Clearance
gap between the parts that result from the cut.
Filter sharp
Remove sharp triangles created during the operation
triangles
Perform
Simple fixing steps are performed on the parts automatically.
Autofix

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3. Merge Parts

Shells can be merged to one STL part. This function is used to save all loaded parts as
one STL. This is the inverse operation of Convert Shells to Parts. Please note that merge will
not remove intersecting volumes, like the Boolean operation will do.

4.4. Label
1. Label
This feature allows you to put text or a figure on a part. First you need to indicate the area
where you want the label to be applied. There are 2 options for the label. Or you chose to have
a rectangular label or you chose for the circular label.

The rectangular label area needs to be defined by clicking on the part and drawing a rectangle.
In the picture point 1 is the starting point of the rectangle, point 2 is the end point. This
rectangular area can then be used as label area. Make sure the label area completely fits on
the part. A warning message will be shown when the label doesn’t fit on the part.

The circular label area needs to be defined by defining 3 points to define the main circular
shape. The fourth point will define the size of the label area. The fifth and sixth click will
determine the start and end point of the label area.

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Specify in this box the text which should be used as label content.
Add the part name of the selected part automatically to
Auto part name
the label content.
Label
content The last entered value will be remembered the next
Remember text
time the labeling functionality is used.
Pushing this button will automatically add the current
Part name
part name to the label content.
Font Specify the font type for the label.
Bold Select if the font should be Bold.
Italic Select if the font should be Italic.
Underline Select if the font should be Underlined.
Specify the color for the label.

Font
options Color

Specify the dimension of the label text. The dimension

can be specified in mm or pt. If the dimension is
Font size specified in mm, then the size in pt will be automatically
deduced. If the dimension is specified in pt, then the
size in mm will be automatically filled in. *
Paragraph Will work only if Fit text to label boundaries is switched
off. Align the text in the label area to Left/Center/Right
or Top/Middle/Bottom.

Paragraph Flip The label content will be flipped before being applied.
options
Mirror The label content will be mirrored before being applied.

Fit text to label Will use the maximal possible size of the text in the
label planning area. Overrules any specification on
boundaries Font size (Font size is greyed out if Fit text to label

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boundaries is checked).
Specify the height of the label (in or outside).
Label
Raised / Engraved Specify if the label needs to be raised (outside) or
height
engraved (inside).

* How is the size determined?

The Size of the text is dependent on the selected Font. The Size of the text is calculated as the
distance between the tallest letter and the lowest letter of the selected Font, regardless of the
letters used in your label. This makes it easy to be constant in the sizes of the labels created
across your applications. It also provides the same understanding and application of Font Size
between Magics and other software programs that you are using.

– Advanced options

Use this option to label multiple parts at once with the same label.
Label through
Make sure the parts are aligned perpendicular to the view
The label planning area on the part is automatically saved on the part
Automatically when applied. If the box is unchecked, then the label area will be
save planning saved only when the button Save planning (at the bottom of the win-
dow) is pressed.
Apply as
The label will be generated as a separate part.
separate STL

Delete
Use this button to delete previously defined label planning areas.
planning
Pressing this button will keep the label planned, but not yet generate
Save planning
it as STL. It can still be edited in a later stage.
Apply Pressing this button will generate the label and modify the STL.
Close Press this button to close the dialog.

* In order to process the Label Planning by a Build Processor, an extra license is required and
you will have to reach out to your local Materialise contact for it. If the Label Planning is Applied
as STL before saving the project and sending it to the Build Processor, no extra license is
required.

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Save label to STL

A part with label planning can be saved as STL, without having to apply the Label to STL in the
Label window. The user needs to go to File -> Save as and select STL as the file format. The
user will be asked if he/she wants to apply the label planning to the part as an STL. If selected
yes, the label with be saved as STL to the part and the part will be saved in a STL file.
The part with Label planning inside Magics will remain unchanged. So the user can continue
editing the label planning or save the part with label planning as a Magics project for later
editing.

Drawing

Import
Browse to the wanted DXF file by clicking on the folder icon.
DXF
Scale Resize the label to the desired size.
Pushing this button allows you to move the 2D label over your screen in order to
Move
position it in the optimal position.
Center Reposition the label text in the center of the screen.
Color Select the color to be applied on the label.
Specify the height or depth of the label.
Height Choose whether the label should go inside the
Raised / Engraved part or be placed on top of the part

– Advanced Options

Apply as separate STL The text will be applied as separate part.

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Remark: Pieces of the part can be hidden by using a section view, this allows you to
apply labels in the most flexible way.

Projection
This feature allows you to put text on a part, without having to make a planning first. The label
text is first shown on the screen and then perpendicularly projected on the part when applying
the label.

Label
Specify in this box the text which should be used as label content.
content
Auto part Add the part name of the selected part automatically to the label
name content.
Remember The last entered value will be remembered the next time the
text labeling functionality is used.
Pushing this button will automatically add the current part name to
Part name
the label content.

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Font Specify the font type for the label.

Bold Select if the font should be Bold.
Italic Select if the font should be Italic.
Underline Select if the font should be Underlined.

Mirror The label content will be mirrored before being applied.

Specify the color for the label.

Font
options
Color

Specify the dimension of the label text. The dimension can be

specified in mm or pt. If the dimension is specified in mm, then the
Font size
size in pt will be automatically deduced. If the dimension is
specified in pt, then the size in mm will be automatically filled in. *
Specify the height of the label (in or outside).
Label Raised /
height Engraved Specify if the label needs to be raised (outside) or engraved
(inside).

Pushing this button allows you to move the 2D label over your screen in order to
Move
position it in the optimal position.
Center Reposition the label text in the center of the screen.

* How is the size determined?

The Size of the text is dependent on the selected Font. The Size of the text is calculated as the
distance between the tallest letter and the lowest letter of the selected Font, regardless of the
letters used in your label. This makes it easy to be constant in the sizes of the labels created
across your applications. It also provides the same understanding and application of Font Size
between Magics and other software programs that you are using.

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– Advanced Options

Label Use this option to label multiple parts at once with the same label. Make
through sure the parts are aligned perpendicular to the view
Apply as
separate The label will be generated as a separate part.
STL

Data matrix label

This feature allows you to convert text into a Data matrix and apply it to the part as STL. The
user needs in the first place to select the area on the part where the label planning will be
applied. Once a size is selected from the label window, a preview of the label planning area will
be shown together with the mouse cursor. The user needs to position the cursor with the area
on the part and click on the part to apply the label planning area.
Once applied, the label planning area can be selected and moved around the part, similar to
label planning areas created with other label features.
The following parameters help define the data matrix within the label planning area:

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This parameter defines the size of the label planning area and, implicitly, of
Size the data matrix. The default shape of the data matrix is a square, therefore
all sides equal the value set for the parameter Size (mm).
The quiet zone is not specified in the UI. The value of the quiet zone is
(Quiet zone)
predefined and equals 2mm.
Defines the number of pixels that will appear on each side of the data
# pixels matrix. The bigger the number of pixels, the larger amount of characters
that can be encoded.
Pixel size (Size – Quiet zone)/Number of pixels
Label content The text that needs to be encoded
Max numeric
The maximum number of numeric characters that can be encoded.
characters
Max
alphanumeric The maximum number of alphanumeric characters that can be encoded.
characters
Pixel height (a) The height assigned to the pixels which will be read by the scanning device.

Height applied Black pixels The black pixels will be elevated.

to White pixels The white pixels will be elevated.
Offset label
Add an engraved margin around the label area.
area
The label planning area on the part is automatically saved on the part when
Automatically
applied. If the box is unchecked, then the label area will be saved only when
save planning
the button Save planning (at the bottom of the window) is pressed.

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Delete
Removes a label planning area
planning
Apply Applies the label planning as STL to the part
Closes the window without making any changes. If the window is closed
Close without applying the label as STL, then the label planning is automatically
removed before the window is closed.

Result:

2. Mass Label

This feature allows you to apply a custom text label on a series of parts in a single batch.
First the user needs to select the part which shall be used for the mass labeling operation. This
part will be duplicated and a predefined label can be applied on the newly created part. When
the master part is selected the user needs to define the label area. There are two different
options for the label area: a rectangular label or a circular label.

The rectangular label area needs to be defined by clicking on the part and drawing a rectangle.
In the picture point 1 is the starting point of the rectangle, point 2 is the end point. This
rectangular area can then be used as label area. Make sure the label area completely fits on
the part. A warning message will be shown when the label doesn’t fit on the part.

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The circular label area needs to be defined by defining 3 points to define the main circular
shape. The fourth point will define the size of the label area. The fifth and sixth click will
determine the start and end point of the label area.

CSV labeling
The label content can be retrieved from a predefined CSV document from which the location
needs to be specified inside the CSV tab.

When a CSV file is selected the location will be visible in the CSV tab. Also a preview of the
content is shown. In this window you can define if the first row will be used as header or not.
You can use the first row to easily distinguish between different columns like for example final
part name and label content. In our example it looks like this:

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In the example below we use a file with 2 columns. The first column contains the desired part
name after the mass labeling operation and the second column contains the label content for
the specific parts.
Once a proper CSV document is selected the label content and part name content edit boxes
become active. You can type any text in these text boxes or use the Add content button.
Behind this button you can choose the part name or the content from the CSV file. As you can
see in this example there are 2 CSV options: Name and Label.

After selecting the name and label for the desired result the editboxes look like this

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Also a preview is shown in the label planning area.

Counter labeling
In addition to the CSV labeling option you can add a counter to a label which you can specify
manually in the Label content editbox.

The counter allows you to define the number of copies that will be created and also allows you
to create a unique label content by use of a counter.
In the Add content dropdown menu you can select the counter option which can be added in
the Label content and Part name content editboxes.

In this case a possible option would be:

Finally some additional parameters can be defined for the label.

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Use this dropdown button to load counter content in the label area and in the
Add content
Part name area.
Font Specify the font type for the label.
Bold Select if the font should be Bold.
Italic Select if the font should be Italic.
Underline Select if the font should be Underlined.
Specify the color for the label.

Font
options Color

Specify the dimension of the label text. The dimension can be

specified in mm or pt. If the dimension is specified in mm, then
Font size the size in pt will be automatically deduced. If the dimension is
specified in pt, then the size in mm will be automatically filled
in. *

Paragraph Will work only if Fit text to label boundaries is switched off.
Align the text in the label area to Left/Center/Right or
Top/Middle/Bottom.

Flip The label content will be flipped before being applied.

Paragraph
options Mirror The label content will be mirrored before being applied.
Fit text to
label Will use the maximal possible size of the text in the label
boundaries planning area. Overrules any specification on Font size (Font
size is greyed out if Fit text to label boundaries is checked).

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Specify the height of the label (in or outside).

Label Raised /
height Engraved Specify if the label needs to be raised (outside) or engraved
(inside).

* How is the size determined?

The Size of the text is dependent on the selected Font. The Size of the text is calculated as the
distance between the tallest letter and the lowest letter of the selected Font, regardless of the
letters used in your label. This makes it easy to be constant in the sizes of the labels created
across your applications. It also provides the same understanding and application of Font Size
between Magics and other software programs that you are using.

The parts can be positioned on the platform by using the Array placement. Both negative and
positive values can be used for Spacing.
A preview of the arrangement is shown automatically. To switch this off, in Advanced settings,
the checkbox Auto update preview needs to be unchecked.

The advanced options:

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The master part used for the mass labeling will be kept after the
Keep original part
operation.
Automatically update The content of the label content textbox will be automatically updated
preview in the label planning area.
As separate STL The label will be generated as a separate part.

Pressing this button will allow you to go in the delete mode to actually delete
Delete
previously created label planning areas.
Apply as Pressing this button will generate the mass labels according to the settings
STL specified in the mass labeling dialog.
This button will close the dialog without performing the actual mass labeling
Close
operation.

In our example for the CSV labeling the result will be as follows after the label is applied.
5 parts with all different labels and different part names.

In the case of the counter labeling example, the result would be like this:
5 parts with all a unique name and label defined by the counter.

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3. Label Tags

This feature allows you to connect a label tag at a part. You need to identify on the part
where the label tag must be placed; just click on desired location on the part, and a preview of
the label tag will be shown in BLUE color. To select a preview, just click on it, and it will become
GREEN. Since the tag is not yet generated, you are still able to:

– Edit the parameters. Hold CTRL key to select multiple previews and edit them at the
same time.
– Translate selected preview(s) by holding Shift key.
– Delete selected preview(s) by pressing Delete key.

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This shows a library with unit tags which can be used to create label
Choose tag
tags.
Create a new tag out of part that is selected on the scene. This part can
contain label planning information; this will be saved together with the
Create tag part for fast editing once adding this tag to a part.
The tag will be automatically saved as a *.matPart file in the Label Tags
library.
Load tag Import an existing *.matPart file and add it to the Label Tags library.
Delete tag Remove the selected tag from the Label Tags library.

Connector Length
(a) and Connector
thickness (b)

The possibility exists that an unwanted intersection is created. Magics

will detect this and give a warning.

Detect Unwanted
Intersections

Label tag preview in blue

As separate STL The generated tag will become a separate part on the Part list.

Delete Remove the selected preview(s).

Apply Convert the preview(s) to STL and boolean it to the part.
Close Close the dialog.

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Advanced Options

Tip Diameter (a)

Break off point

Offset (b)

The label tag will be rotated perpendicular to the selected surface.

Rotate
structure

Not rotated Rotated

The label tag is always and only rotated

Lock Rotation Z
into the Z direction.
The label tag is always and only rotated
Lock Rotation 90°
with steps of 90°.
OFF = the connector is parallel ON = the connector is parallel to the XY
to the normal plane

Horizontal
connector

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4.5. Fit 2 Ship

1. RapidFit

The automated solution for manufacturing operations and quality control on complex
components. Quickly design cost-efficient fixtures to secure complex, large or unstable parts!
Firmly positioned, these parts can then easily be checked, measured, machined, transported,
glued or assembled. Speed and quality control are two of the biggest concerns in Rapid
Prototyping. You can achieve both when creating and using Magics RapidFit fixtures. It’s the
ideal solution for the design and setup of a support system for your parts.

Introduction
Magics RapidFit software automatically designs fixtures based on your customized settings. It
takes only a few steps:

– Create the supporting system with base plates and/or beams

– Indicate on the part the contact points where the fixtures are needed
– Define the type of fixture (e.g. shape and orientation)
– Let Magics create the fixture automatically

The fixtures have a unique and well-defined fit: they will only fit to the part on the exact spots
you’ve chosen. The fixtures are automatically labeled with the assembly position and the name
of the parts. This doesn’t only allow for setting up the system in no time, but also for easy
identification, storage and reuse if required. Due to a very simple assembly method, the
system is ready for use in a few minutes. The fixtures can be fixed quickly on a RapidFit
reference plate or on beams of a fixture system. You can combine Magics RapidFit fixtures
with modular fixture systems as the software can design fixtures that are compatible with any
type of beam.
Once created, you can easily produce the fixtures with any RP technique. As RP technologies
are functional and cost-effective, these are interesting techniques for fixture manufacturing.
The fixtures can be built simultaneously with the part, which further increases your gain in time.
The fixtures fit either on beams or on standard grids (baseplates).

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The following picture shows the placement of fixtures on a base plate.

We thus can distinguish 4 typical features in the RapidFit module: the part itself, the fixtures
(supporting pillars for the part), the beams (supporting pillars for the fixtures) and/or the base
plates (standard grids).

Base Plate
The base plate is a standard metal plate with a grid of threaded holes that can be bought or
made. An example of a base plate is:

As you can see the sides of the plate are marked with '1' and 'A'. This is the coordinate system
for the holes in the plate. It works just like the grid of a spreadsheet. The hole in the front is 'A1'.
Each hole has a unique reference.

– The Base Plate Toolpage

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List of Plates
ID This is the ID of the base plate
Hide the selected base plate.
Wireframe shows the edges of
the selected base plate.
Vis(ibility)
The selected base plate is
showed in a combination of the
shade-mode and the wireframe-
mode.
Each Base Plate has a name that can be changed. If you use
Name several base plates for one setup, they can be distinguished by
their name. The default name is 'Base Plate' + ID
The orientation can be compared with Landscape and Portrait
Orientation
of a page setup in other programs
X X-position of the plate
Y Y-position of the plate
Z Z-position of the plate
Creates a new item in the Base Plate list and leads you to the Base Plate
Parameters dialog box
Leads you to Base Plate Parameters dialog box

Deletes the marked base plate from the list

Leads you to a small dialog box to change the X, Y and Z column of the list
This will import a bpd – file that contains a baseplate configuration. When you
import an mrf-file, only the baseplates will be imported.
This will save the current baseplate setup as a bpd – file

Moves the Base Plate over ‘gridsize’ in the positive X-direction.

Moves the Base Plate over ‘gridsize’ in the negative X-direction.

Moves the Base Plate over ‘gridsize’ in the positive Y-direction.

Moves the Base Plate over ‘gridsize’ in the negative Y-direction.

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You need to select the type of baseplate you want to use in the dialog box base
plate table.
This wizard will make a baseplate setup which is adapted to the size of the
particular part. You have to choose the type of baseplate.

1. Base Plate Properties

This is a unique number that represents the Base Plate. You cannot
ID
change it.
The name is a string that has a default value 'Base Plate'+ ID. This
Name name can be changed and you'll use this name for reference to the
plate.
You choose a Plate Type out of the list, which is filtered in baseplates
Type List linked to the chosen grid size. The Base Plates are standardized. The
type mentions the size of the plate in X and Y and also the Grid size.
The grid Parameter is a property of a Plate Type and can thus not be
changed. It is the distance between the centers of the threaded holes.
Grid
The distance between the side edge and the first row of holes is half the
Spacing
grid Parameter. Therefore the size of the plate is a multiple of this grid
parameter.
Number of The Number of holes in the plate is the size (here 325) divided by the
Holes grid spacing (here 25).
Position This is the position of the hole with lowest X and Y coordinate.
The orientation can be compared with Landscape and Portrait of a page
Orientation
setup in other programs.

2. Make Table

First you need to select the type of baseplate you want to use in the dialog box base
plate table.

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Then, the following dialog box pops up:

Plates The user can choose whether to place the baseplates horizontal or
Layout vertical.
# of Plates Enter here how much baseplates you want in the X and Y direction
Actual Size Magics indicates the actual size of the chosen base plates
Position Over here you can adapt the position of the setup (X, Y and Z position)

When you press finish, Magics will create this setup. The baseplates are horizontal, 3
rows in the X-direction and 5 rows in the Y-direction.

3. Fit to Part

This wizard will make a baseplate setup which is adapted to the size of the particular
part. After having chosen the type of baseplate:

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The following base plate layout dialog box pops up:

The setup will be a bit smaller as

Minimum
Fit to Part’s the part.
Dimensions The setup will be bigger as the
Maximum
part.

# of Plates Magics will show how much plates will be used in the X and Y-
direction.
Plates Layout The user can choose whether to place the baseplates horizontal or
vertical.
Position Over here you can adapt the position of the setup.
When automatic is selected, the plate layout will be chosen
Automatic
automatically so that the amount of baseplates is minimized.

As you can see in the following picture, Magics has automatically generated 5
baseplates to cover the whole part.

4. Pick & Place Base Plates

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You can also move the baseplates by dragging the baseplates. Select the
baseplates you want to move by clicking on the tags or by drawing a rectangle around
the tags. Move the cursor to the center of the baseplate indicated by the red dot, hold the
left mouse button and move the baseplates in the XY plane.

Beam
A beam is a post that can replace the baseplates or be added to the setup with baseplates.
Fixtures can be attached to these beams. The advantage of the beams is the possibility of
placement in the X, Y and Z direction.
A beam looks like:

The picture clearly shows the arrows on each side of the beam. With those arrows, both the
position as the size of the beam can be changed. This will be discussed in more detail at Pick &
Place & Edit.

– The Beams Toolpage

List of Beams

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ID The ID of the beam.

Each beam has a name that can be changed. If you use
Name several beams, they can be distinguished by their name. The
default name is Beam + ID
Hide the selected beam.
The beam is displayed with
shades according to the direction
of the triangles.
Wireframe shows the edges of
the selected beam.
Vis(ibility) The selected beam is showed in a
combination of the shade- mode
and the wireframe-mode.
The triangles of the beam will be
displayed.
The bounding box of the beam is
showed.
The (x, y, z) position where the beam will appear after
Pos
creation.
dX The length of the beam in the X direction.
dY The length of the beam in the Y direction
dZ The length of the beam in the Z direction
Click on the button create in order to create a new beam. The dialog box Beam
Properties appears.
If you highlight a row in the Beams Toolpage and you click on edit, the Beam
Properties dialog box appears in order to edit the selected beam.
To delete a selected (highlighted) beam.

1. Beam Properties

There are 2 ways to change the properties of a beam. After creation you can either use
the following dialog box, or you can use the ‘Pick and Place beams mode’ (arrows
attached to the beam).

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ID The ID of the beam.

One can also chose predefined types of beams (particular size) from
Type List
the type list.
Name The name of the beam
The Grid Size of the Base Plate. The Grid Size indicates the step of
Grid Size
the movement on the base plate.
Position The (x, y, z) position where the beam will appear.
Size The size of the beam.
If the user wants to work with a self-defined type of beam, a particular
size (of a beam) can be saved by clicking Add to Type List and giving a
name to the newly created type.

2. Pick & Place & Edit

The position and size of the can be changed by using the Pick & Place & Edit
mode. First enter the mode, then click on the beam (CTRL+click in order to select more
than one beam). There are 3 possible actions:

After selecting the beam, go to the arrow indicating the desired

Drag direction and move the beam in the desired direction. You can pull or
push the beam.
By clicking CTRL+left click mouse on arrow and moving in the
Resize
desired direction, the beam will be resized.
By clicking SHIFT+left click mouse on arrow, the beam will rotate 90°
Rotate
around the arrow.

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Fixture
The fixture is the pillar that is created to support and hold the part. A fixture looks like:

– The Fixtures Toolpage

List of Fixtures
This is the name of the fixture. It helps the user to
Name
see which fixture is manipulated.

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Hide the selected fixture.

The fixture is displayed
with shades according to
the direction of the
triangles.
Wireframe shows the
edges of the selected
fixture.
Visible
The selected fixture is
showed in a combination
of the shade- mode and
the wireframe-mode.
The triangles of the fixture
will be displayed.
The bounding box of the
fixture is showed.
The circle shows the color of the fixture. Clicking
Color on this circle and selecting a different color can
change the color.
This is the label that will appear on the base of the
fixture. By default, this is the part name but it can
Label
be changed to the name of an assembly, a project
or whatever.
To create a new fixture.

To delete the selected fixture.

Magics will create the selected beam so you can study it in its final form.

This button refreshes the preview of the fixtures on the screen.

This button renumbers your fixtures should you have a list, in which
fixtures have been created and deleted.
Reposition recalculates the position of the fixture. Suppose that the base
of the fixture has been moved away from the shaft or a beam has been
replaced and the fixture isn’t connected anymore to the beam, than
Reposition solves these problems.

The fixtures will be converted to stl

This button prompts the user to save the beam as an STL file hence an
automatic conversion will be done. The user thus can enter the name and
the path in order to save an STL-file of this fixture.

– Contact Properties

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These are the properties of the Contact (the upper side of the pillar). The contact tab deals with
the position, the shape and the removal of undercuts of the contact.

With indicate which point, point on wireframe or which center of a

circle to use as a center of the contact. After clicking by mouse,
Indicate
the parameters (X, Y, Z) can be used to make the position round
numbers.
If the user selects the function ‘indicate direction’, upon indicating
Indicate to point of contact an arrow will appear with which the user can
Position
Direction direct in which direction the base will have to be attached to a
beam or a baseplate.
X X-position of the contact.
Y Y-position of the contact.
Z Z-position of the contact.
Type Shape of the contact. It can be a box or a cylinder.
X dimension of the box- contact (will change depending of
dX
orientation).
Y dimension of the box- contact (will change depending of
dY
orientation).
Radius The radius of the cylinder-contact.
Shape Tolerance The tolerance of the STL representation of the cylinder-contact.
Extra height of the contact. The contact is automatically as high
Height as the distance from the base plate until the part This height is
added to that distance.
This allows the user to define some clearance. A 4 mm pin never
fits in a 4 mm hole. Thus the pin will be a bit smaller or the hole a
Clearance
bit bigger. When we say a bit, we don't think of 1 mm but rather of
0.01 mm. This 0.01 mm is the clearance.
Remove
Indicate whether you want to remove undercuts and in which direction.
Undercuts

1. Remove Undercuts

If we take a short look on a section of an assembly of part and fixture we see:

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or without the undercut

Thus you can see that a fixture with a big undercut cannot be taken out of the part. In the
combo box, the user can choose the orientation (X, -X, Y, -Y, Z, -Z) of the undercut
removal.

Undercut removal in Z direction for Undercut removal in - X direction for

insertion of the part from above. insertion of the part from the side.

– Base Properties

Global Grid The fixture is placed on the global grid.

X X position in grids.
Position
Y Y position in grids.
Z Z position in grids.
Shape Orientation The user can choose the orientation of the base. This indicates the

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direction of the fixtures (X, -X, Y, -Y, Z, -Z). This setting is related
with the indicate direction feature (See )
Advanced base properties. These give you more freedom for the
design of the base, especially concerning the placement of the
base on the base plate.

You can now create fixtures that will fit on every system by using
STL-bases. When a base is not in the drop down list, you can add
From file a base by using the – button.
Create the wanted beam in the STL format, save the file so that the
WCS is in the bottom corner of the STL.
The user can choose from the
Type combo box: normal, caps,
Rexroth

Dynamic dX X dimension in grids.

dY Y dimension in grids
The height of the base of the
Height
fixture.

– Hollow Properties

Dependent on how the fixtures are made it can be useful to make them hollow. When they are
made with Stereolithography or LS, the Hollow version is a gain of time.

Hollow Make the fixture hollow or not.

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Type The inner shape can be a circle or a square independent of the outer shape.
Shell
The thickness of the wall.
Thickness
This can be automatic (check-box). Then the fixture is hollow until a certain
Starting height. That height is a 'shell thickness' away from the position of the contact. If
from you wish, you can enter a height manually by checking off the Automatic check
box and entering the height in the Starting from edit box.
Extend To improve the stability of the shaft, you can extend it to the bottom so it will
shaft make contact with the base plate.

Settings
Here, the user is able to define the default properties of RapidFit. To reach the Settings of
RapidFit go to Menubar/Options/Settings/Modules/RapidFit

– General

One should know that there is a difference between the grid and the base plate.
The grid, of which the reference point can be predefined in this General tab of
the Settings, is virtual. You can imagine an infinite series of circles in x and y.
The distance between the centers of these circles
Global Grid Size
of the grid.
Grid
The Reference point is the position of the center
point of one of the circles. When you make a new
Reference Point Base Plate, it will start from the circle on the
reference point and extend in the positive x- and
y-direction.
Magics will translate the part centered above the
Automatic
platforms. The distance used between the part
Part Distance Above Plates
and the plates will be the given height Distance
Centering
Above Plates in this menu.

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– Base Plates

This is the type of Base Plate. The drop – down menu lets you choose between
existing Base Plates. They are filtered on the selected grid size.
Type The distance between the centers of these circles of the
Grid Spacing
grid.
Number of Holes The amount of holes of the Base Plate.
The position of the base plates can be altered but only with
XYZ reference to this grid, hence only in steps that are a multiple
of the grid size.
Position The orientation plays the role of Portrait and Landscape in a
print Setup of any program. If you use it on a square shaped
Orientation
Base Plate, only the text at the sides of the plate will tell you
that you changed the orientation.

– Beams

One can also chose predefined types of beams (particular size) from the type
Type List
list.
Name The name of the beam.

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The Grid Size of the Base Plate. The Grid Size indicates the step of the
Grid Size
movement on the base plate.
Position The (x, y, z) position where the beam will appear.
Size The size of the beam.
If the user wants to work with a self-defined type of beam, a particular size (of
a beam) can be saved by clicking Add to Type List and giving a name to the
newly created type.

Fixtures
– Contact

Type Shape of the contact. It can be a box or a cylinder.

dX X dimension of the box-contact (will change depending of orientation).
dY Y dimension of the box-contact (will change depending of orientation).
Radius The radius of the cylinder-contact.
Tolerance The tolerance of the STL representation of the cylinder-contact.
Extra height of the contact. The contact is automatically as high as the distance
Height
from the base plate until the part This height is added to that distance.

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This allows the user to define some clearance. A 4 mm pin never fits in a 4 mm
hole. Thus the pin will be a bit smaller or the hole a bit bigger. When we say a
Clearance
bit, we don't think of 1 mm but rather of 0.01 mm. This 0.01 mm is the
clearance.
Remove
Indicate whether you want to remove undercuts and in which direction.
Undercuts

– Base

From file You can now create fixtures that will fit on every system by using STL-bases.
Type The user can choose from the combo box: normal, caps, Rexroth
dX X dimension in grids.
dY Y dimension in grids
Dynamic
Height The height of the base of the fixture.
The user can choose the orientation of the base. This indicates
Orientation the direction of the fixtures (X, -X, Y, -Y, Z, -Z). This setting is
related with the indicate direction feature (See )

1. Advanced

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Normal These properties give you more freedom for the design of the base,
Bosch especially concerning the placement of the base on the base plate.
Caps These properties give you more freedom for the design of the caps.

– Hollow

Hollow Make the fixture hollow or not.

For Box The inner shape can be a circle or a square.
For
The inner shape can be a circle or a square
Cylinder
This can be automatic (check-box). Then the fixture is hollow until a certain
Starting height. That height is a 'shell thickness' away from the position of the contact. If
from you wish, you can enter a height manually by checking off the Automatic check
box and entering the height in the Starting from edit box.
Shell
The thickness of the wall.
Thickness
Extend To improve the stability of the shaft, you can extend it to the bottom so it will
shaft make contact with the base plate.

– Labels

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Font The user can define the font of the labels.

Preview A preview is given of the chosen font.
Depth The depth of the label
Text Properties Height The height of the text.
Depth Direction The text can be directed out of the base or into the base.
Color Text Colors the text of the label.
Project Label Displays the part name or a name defined by the user.
Create Vertical Displays the checked items on the base of the fixture.

File Operations
The information of this module can be stored in a Magics Project File.

Tools
– Center Part(s)

The loaded part(s) are centered on the base plates.

Document Generation
The document generation, as explained before (The reader is referred to the Manual of Magics
Base for further information on the topic of Document Generation), can also be used to
generate reports of the rapid fit set-ups. These are the additional fields for documenting the
RapidFit setups.

– General RapidFit tags

RapidFitProjectName The name of the RapidFit file

The gridsize used (=distance between holes, default
RapidFitGridSize
25mm)
RapidFitGridSizeZ If applied, the gridsize in the Z direction
BasePlatesRefPoint The reference point of the baseplate setup
BasePlatesSetupXDimension The X dimension of the total baseplate setup
BasePlatesSetupYDimension The Y dimension of the total baseplate setup
BasePlatesSetupZDimension The Z dimension of the total baseplate setup
BasePlatesSetupDimensions The total dimensions of the total baseplate setup
FixturesBoundingBoxDimensions The dimensions of the bounding box of all the fixtures

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The Setup View allows inserting a picture of the complete set-up.

– Baseplate Tags

These tags are to represent the information of the baseplates. In case of using multiple
baseplates, this information will be repeated once for each baseplate. To achieve this, the tags
must be placed into a table. Magics will repeat this information in the table for each baseplate.

BasePlateID The ID number of the baseplate

BasePlateName The name of the baseplate
BasePlateNumHolesX The amount of holes in the X direction
BasePlateNumHolesY The amount of holes in the Y direction
BasePlateOrientation The orientation of the baseplate (horizontal or vertical)
BasePlatePositionX The X position of the baseplate
BasePlatePositionY The Y position of the baseplate
BasePlatePositionZ The Z position of the baseplate

Pictures of the base plates can be inserted via the Base Plate View part of the Materialise
menu in the insert menu of Word.

– Beam Tags

These tags are to represent the information of the beams. In case of using multiple beams, this
information will be repeated once for each beam. To achieve this, the tags must be placed into
a table. Magics will repeat this information in the table for each beam.

BeamID The ID number of the beam

BeamName The name of the beam
BeamPositionX The X position of the beam
BeamPositionY The Y position of the beam
BeamPositionZ The Z position of the beam
BeamDimensions The dimensions of the beam
BeamSizeX The X-dimension of the beam
BeamSizeY The Y-dimension of the beam
BeamSizeZ The Z-dimension of the beam

Pictures of the beams can be inserted via the Beams View part of the Materialise menu in the
insert menu of Word.

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– Fixture tags

FixtureName The name of the fixture

FixtureGridPositionX The X position of the fixture relative to the baseplate
FixtureAbsPositionX
FixtureGridPositionY The Y position of the fixture relative to the baseplate
FixtureAbsPositionY
FixtureGridPositionZ The Z position of the fixture relative to the baseplate
FixtureAbsPositionZ
FixtureGlobalPositionX The global X position of the fixture (using the origin as 0)
FixtureGlobalPositionY The global Y position of the fixture (using the origin as 0)
FixtureGlobalPositionZ The global Z position of the fixture (using the origin as 0)
FixtureBoundingBoxDimensions The bounding box dimensions of the fixture
FixtureOwningPlateID The ID of the baseplate on which the fixture is put
FixtureOwningPlateName The name of the baseplate on which the fixture is put
FixtureClearanceX The clearance used in X
FixtureClearanceY The clearance used in Y
FixtureView

Pictures of the fixtures can be inserted via the Fixtures View part of the Materialise menu in the
insert menu of Word.

2. FormFit

Very fragile parts (e.g. figurines) or large parts which can easily deform or get damaged
during transport are often created with Additive Manufacturing. With the new FormFit function
you can quickly create packaging files which can then be used to secure fragile, expensive,
complex, large or unstable parts. The generated packaging file follows the shape of your object
perfectly but avoids undercuts so that the stl file can be used to generate e.g. a foam which
optimally supports your part.
Two options are available to create a FormFit file: one in which the bounding box dimensions of
the file are defined relative to the part (e.g. to have 50mm of surrounding material around the
object) and one in which the dimensions are absolute (e.g. the file should fit a known shape).

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Chapter 4. Structures
4.6. Honeycomb Structures

With this command you can easily create a hollowed part filled with a honeycomb
structure; by marking the desired surface, an open side can be created to remove trapped
material. The operation is similar to the traditional hollowing, where material is removed from
the original part; the final printed part will become lighter, allowing you to save material and
build time. In addition, the generated honeycomb structure will let you keep maximal part
strength and functional use.

Original part with marked surface to be removed Resulting part with honeycomb structure generated

Global/Local When selecting “Global”, the honeycomb structure will be applied to the full

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part.
When selecting “Local”, the honeycomb structure will only be applied to the
marked area.
Wall This value displays the distance over which the triangles of the original shell
Thickness (a) get an offset in order to generate a hollow part.
This value displays the level of detail that will remain in the new shell.
Standard, this value should be the same as the smallest detail of the part.
The smaller this value, the more triangles will be included in the new shell
and the more detail can thus be incorporated.
Detail Size

Remark: If the value is chosen too high, it is possible that the

internal wall intersects with the external wall.

Hole diameter This value corresponds to the distance of the opposing corners of the
(b) hexagonal hole profile of the honeycomb structure.
Infill thickness
It’s the thickness of the walls between the hexagonal holes of the structure.
(c)
Enable the honeycomb structure to be generated only for a specified depth in
the part. The depth will be calculated as an offset from the part surface along
the infill direction selected.

Infill depth (d)

Select the direction that the hexagonal holes will follow when being
generated.
Normal to marked The direction of the hexagonal holes corresponds to
area the average normal of the marked surface area.
The direction is defined by a vector: fill in the
coordinates in the X, Y and Z field.

Infill direction
Note: You can also click the Indicate line
button and afterwards click on a line: the
User defined infill structure will be in the direction of the
line. Otherwise, by clicking the Indicate
triangle button and afterwards clicking on a
triangle, the infill structure will be in the
direction of the normal of the selected
triangle.

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Delete
When this option is selected, the marked surface will be deleted to create an
marked
open side of the part.
triangles
When this option is selected, the resulting honeycomb structure will be self-
Self- supporting, without the need to generate support in a later moment.
supporting This value defines the self-supporting angle used to
structure Surface angle generate the infill, making sure that no support is
needed to build the part successfully.

– Transformation

X Move the honeycomb structure along the X axis of the structure

translation coordinate system
Y Move the honeycomb structure along the Y axis of the structure
translation coordinate system
Rotate the honeycomb structure around the Z axis of the structure
Rotation
coordinate system
Click on this button to align the viewport to the structure coordinate
Align view system; this makes it easy to understand how the structure will be
translated/rotated

– Perforations

Perforations
Add circular perforations to the infill walls to further drain the material
(toggle
that might be trapped in closed areas of the honeycomb structure.
switch)

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Diameter The size of the perforation.

Distance between 2 consecutive
Interval
perforations.

– Preview

User can now see the preview of the walls and/or of the infill of the honeycomb structure
that will be generated. This will guide the user during the definition of the structure
parameters.
The preview can also be used in combination with Multi-section in order to inspect the
part inside, and how the structure will be generated.

4.7. Structures

To create structures, select the desired part(s) and open the Structures dialog.

The wizard consists out of 3 pages:

– Define outer Shell

– Choose Structure
– Add Drain Holes

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Define outer shell

No outer shell The part will be fully replaced by a lattice and will not have an outer shell
Outer shell The part will receive a shell
This value displays the distance over which the triangles of the original shell
Thickness
get an offset in order to generate a hollow part.
This value displays the level of detail that will remain in the new shell.
Standard, this value should be the same as the smallest detail of the part.
The smaller this value, the more triangles will be included in the new shell
and the more detail can thus be incorporated.
Detail Size

Remark: If the smallest detail is chosen too high, it is possible that

the internal wall intersects with the external wall.

Here you determine if you want to create a new shell at the interior or at the
Direction
exterior of the existing shell.
While you set the parameters, Magics makes an estimation of the quantity of
free RAM that will be needed during the calculation and of the number of
triangles that will be created. You’ll need to enter new values in the Wall
Memory
Thickness and Smallest Detail fields to see a new estimation of the amount
requirements
of RAM and new triangles. The amount of triangles can later on be reduced
with the Triangle Reduction function. The memory requirements depend
greatly on the value set for Smallest Detail.

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Because the hollow function creates a lot of triangles, you have the
possibility to reduce these at once.
Reduce
triangles of Tolerance
Core Angle 1 Triangle Reduction
Number of Iterations
Smoothen
By checking this option a smoothing will be performed on the created core.
Core

Choose Structure

Choose This shows a library with unit structures that can be used for lattice
Structure generation.
Add Add structures to the library
Delete Delete structures from the library
Structure Preview A preview of the unit structure is shown
Structure
Here you can specify the length in X, Y and Z of the unit structure
Dimensions
When this is checked the Y and Z length will be
Keep Aspect Ratio
rescaled uniformly with the X length

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Instead of converting the part by the lattice, the

Invert Structure
lattice will be subtracted from the part
Sample Data to The amount of memory necessary to create
Process specified lattice
A spacing will be given between the bounding boxes
Spacing
of the unit structure

Advanced
Options

Start position The start position of structure can be defined

The whole lattice will be generated under specified

Angled Growth
angle

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Add Drain Holes

Unwanted perforation can be deleted

Delete
when pressing this button.
Perforation size Define the size of the perforation
Here you determine the radius of the outer
Radius outer circle (r2)
circle of the perforation.
Here you can determine the radius of the
Radius inner circle (r1)
inner circle of the perforation.
Here you can determine the angle of the
Angle
perforation
Use notch Define the size of the notch

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Width (b)

Height (c)

Angle (a)
When checked, the subtracted part(s) are
Keep subtracted parts kept. If not checked subtracted part(s) are
unloaded automatically.

With subtractions Without subtractions

Collisions will be detected when a cone is
Detect unwanted intersections added. Default on. (See
Perforator/Advanced options, page 144)
Advanced options
When checked a preview of the perforation
Show preview
is shown
Define an offset towards the inner, outer or
both sides of the intersecting line between
Total clearance the parts.
This way you introduce a little gap between
the parts that result from the perforation.

Inside

Outside

Both sides

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4.8. Slice based structures

The wizard consists out of 3 pages:

– Define outer Shell

– Choose Structure
– Add Drain Holes

Define outer shell

– See Define outer shell, page 209

Choose Structure

Choose
This shows a library with unit structures that can be used for lattice generation.
Structure
Add Add structures to the library
Delete Delete structures from the library
Structure Preview A preview of the unit structure is shown
Structure Here you can specify the length in X, Y and Z of the unit structure

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No Visualization
Choose to preview the structure generation or not
Indication Preview
When this is checked the Y and Z length will be
Keep Aspect Ratio
rescaled uniformly with the X length
Instead of converting the part by the lattice, the lattice
Invert Structure
will be subtracted from the part
A spacing will be given between the bounding boxes
Spacing
of the unit structure

Advanced
Options

Start position The start position of structure can be defined

The whole lattice will be generated under specified

Angled Growth
angle

Add Drain Holes

– See Add Drain Holes, page 212

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Chapter 5. Texture
5.1. Main
1. Select Texture

Select an existing texture in your design.

2. New Texture

Apply a new texture to a selected are or part.

You can browse to images to use as a texture. Any image file type is allowed. Select the image
you want to use and click Open.
Next, the Textures dialog appears, allowing you to change the application of the texture.

– See Edit Texture, page 216 below.

3. Edit Texture

In the Textures Dialog you can change the used image, and adjust the usage and
appearance of the selected texture image. After making the desired changes, click Apply to
stay in the Textures dialog after applying the changes. Click OK to apply and close the dialog.
Click Close to close the dialog without applying the changes.

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Texture

Name of the surface where the texture is applied to. By default the name of the
Name
texture file used, but can be changed.
Next
Texture Click to go to the next texture on the selected part.
(>)
Shows the file used. You can select any other loaded texture from the drop-down
File
menu, or load a new texture using the -button.

Dimensions

When applying a texture, the height and width of the loaded image is used. Change the units or
the percentage by typing, or use the slider bar.

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By default, the width/height ratio is locked. Click the -button to change width and height
independently.

Rotation

By default the rotation angle is 0 degrees. Enter a degree, or use the slider bar to interactively
change the rotation. Align a texture to a specific edge by using the Align Wireframe button,
then selecting the desired wireframe edge.

Position

Position allows you the change the actual placement of the image. By default, the image is
centered. Use Y+, X-, X+, Y- to change the positioning, or use the slider bars. Click Center to
center the image. Step lets you change the number of units that the position will be changed
with each position change when using the buttons.

Advanced options

Straight Projection is the most common option. For cylindrical objects, the Cylindrical
Projection helps to map a texture with less distortion.”

4. Update Textures

Updates textures of the selected part(s).

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Remark: more info about the status of the textures can be found in Textures page,
page 597.

5. Copy Texture

Copy a selected texture.

6. Paste Texture

Paste a previously copied texture to a new area or part.

7. Delete Texture From Triangles

This option deletes the texture from selected triangles.

8. Delete Texture

This option deletes the texture of the selected part(s).

9. Part to texture

With this function, you can create a texture on a marked area by projecting another
(textured) part onto that area. This can be useful when you want to preserve details that are too
small or fragile to print.

For this operation, you will need two parts:

– The part which will be converted into a texture (part to texturize)

– The part onto which the texture will be applied (area to be textured).

Position the part to texturize on top of the area you want to texture, mark the area, and open
the function. Use the “Indicate part” buttons to fill in the correct parts and click “Apply” to
perform the operation.

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Part to
This part will be converted to a texture.
texturize
Marked
area to be This part should contain the marked area onto which the texture will be applied.
textured
Indicate
Click this button, then click a part to fill it in into the corresponding field.
part
The bigger the texture size, the more detailed the texture will be, but the more
Texture
time the operation will take. In general, the bigger the area you want to cover,
size
the bigger the texture should be.
Unmark
The area needs to be unmarked to see the result, but if you want to re-use the
area when
marked area for another operation, this function can be disabled.
finished
Apply Perform the operation without closing the dialog.
Close Close the dialog without performing the operation.

Remark: The fastest way to use Part to texture is to already position the parts
correctly, mark the desired area, selecting the involved parts and then activating the
function. This way, the correct parts will be filled in automatically. If only one part is
selected, it will be filled in as “part to texturize”.

5.2. Color
1. Paint Part

Parts and triangles can be painted. When you load a part it also has a color. This color is
not a property of the part. It just acts like a background color to visualize the part. We call it the
STL color. You can over paint this color with this paint function. When you use the paint
functionality, the assigned colors can be saved if you save the part as 'STL (Colored)'.

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A dialog pops up and a color palette opens. You can choose a color. We call
this color the paint color.
If you want to change the paint color to a color of some triangles on the part,
you can push the pick button and click on a triangle with the desired color, or
Pick
pick a color out of a texture. It is also possible to pick a color from a color per
vertex map. The paint color will become the picked one.
When you push the Color Marked button the marked triangles are painted in
Color Marked
the paint color.
Uncolor When you push the Uncolor Marked button the marked triangles get their
Marked STL color.
With the Auto button, each surface (amount of triangles surrounded by a
wireframe) will get a separate color.

Autocolor

Reset The Reset button erases the colors. The part will get the STL color.
Adjust Enables the user to adjust the brightness, contrast and gamma of the color.

2. Color Surfaces

Apply a different color to each surface of the selected part(s).

3. Split part by color

All triangles with the same color will be split off the original and converted into a part. The
new parts are listed in the part list.

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5.3. Visibility
1. Toggle Textures Visibility

Toggle the texture visibility on and off, allowing to view the design without the applied
texture(s).

2. Invert Textures Visibility

Inverts the texture visibility. If only one texture is used on a part, this function acts similar
to the Toggle Textures Visibility. If multiple textures are used, visible textures will be made
invisible, and invisible visible.

3. Triangle Colors

Show/Hide the painted colors (triangle & vertex color) of the part(s) in the current scene.

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Chapter 6. Position
6.1. Transformation
1. Translate

Move the selected part(s) interactively or by inputting values.

Note: Translate operation is available for Mesh, BREP and Slice part(s).
Resulting Use the resulting coordinates fields if you want to move a part to a specific
coordinates location.
Relative Use the relative translation fields if you want to move the part a specific
translation distance away from the current position.
Enable if you want to translate with specified intervals. (For example: only
Enable
move per 1 mm.) You can use the snapping option both for interactive
snapping
translation and with coordinate fields.
Size The snapping value used.
Translate After enabling, select a line (part/triangle edge) along which you want to
along line translate. This function can only be used when translating interactively.

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Enable if you want to make a copy on the desired place and keep the original
Make Copy
part on its place.
Show
When enabled, a preview will appear to show the result of the inputted values.
preview
Define the translation origin of the part to select which point of the part should
be moved (to which point in space).
– Common for selection: all parts will be moved
around the same origin
Define origin Multiple parts selected
– Individual per part: each part will be moved
for selected
parts around its own origin
Select between minimum, middle, maximum or
user defined. You can also click on “Indicate
Origin definition
point” and select a point directly on the scene. The
gizmo will move to visualize your choice.
To default Click to move the origin of the translation to the default position (see Translate
position to Default Position, page 261).
To default Z Click to move the part to the default Z-height. X and Y will remain unchanged.
Apply the changes. The dialog box won’t close, so you can easily perform the
Apply
translation in multiple steps.
OK Apply the changes. The dialog will be closed automatically.

To move interactively, click on an axis of the translation gizmo and drag to move the part along
that axis. It is also possible to click on a plane of the gizmo to move the part within that plane.

The translate function will always take the active user coordinate system into account.

By default, if only one part is selected, the translation gizmo will appear in the
minimum point* of the bounding box of the part. If multiple parts are selected, the
gizmo will appear in the minimum point of the bounding box of all selected parts. All
the parts will then be translated together, without changing the distances between the
parts.

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*The position of where the gizmo appears depends on what you select in “Define origin for
selected parts”.

2. Rotate

Rotate the selected part(s) interactively or by inputting values.

Note: Rotate operation is available for Mesh, BREP and Slice part(s).

Rotation Fill in the desired rotation angles in the X, Y and Z fields.

Angles The positive rotation sense is counter clockwise (CCK).
Enable if you want to rotate with specified intervals. (For example: rotate per
Enable
45°) You can use the snapping option both for interactive rotation and with angle
snapping
fields.
Size The snapping value used.
After enabling, select a line (part/triangle edge) around which you want to rotate.
You can then rotate interactively or by inputting a value.
Rotate
around
line

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Remark: With this function it is fairly easy to create living hinges

Keep
original Z When enabled, the part’s minimal Z-position will stay the same while rotating.
position
Make Magics will create a copy on the desired place and keep the original part on his
copy place.
Show
When enabled, a preview will appear to show the result of the inputted values.
preview
There are 3 options available:

– Center of selection : If multiple parts are selected, they will all rotate
around the center of the selection, moving their position.
Rotation – Individual part center: Each part will rotate around its own center, so
Center their position won’t change, only the orientation.
– Custom rotation center : You can define a point around which the
selected part(s) should rotate. With “Indicate point”, you can easily select
a rotation center. “Default center” resets the values to the center of the
selection.
Apply the changes. The dialog box won’t close, so you can easily perform the
Apply
rotation in multiple steps.
OK Apply the changes. The dialog will be closed automatically.

To rotate interactively, click on an axis of the rotation gizmo and drag to rotate the part along
that axis. To rotate perpendicularly to the screen, use the outer (blue) circle. To rotate in an
unrestricted way, click in between the axes of the rotation gizmo and drag.

Remark: The interactive rotate function will always take the selected user
coordination system into account.

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3. Pick and Place Parts

This command allows the user to translate and rotate (around the axis perpendicular to
the platform) selected parts on a platform by mouse movements. You can select the part by
first clicking on the icon and then clicking on the part. The pick and place tags will appear.
There are nine tags on a selected part in the pick and place mode:

– One translation tag: the filled green or white circle located in the center of the part.
– Eight rotation tags: the hollow green or white tags located on the corners of the bounding
box.

This command allows easy positioning and nesting of the parts on the building platform.
If the cursor is positioned above the translation tag, the cursor will change to the translation
cursor ( ). To translate the part, push the left mouse button. If several parts are selected, they
will all move in the same direction over the same distance.

4. Rescale

A part can be rescaled with different factors in the three main directions or set to a certain
size in the three main directions.
Note: Rescale operation is available for Mesh and BREP part(s).

Rescale factor

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The factor is a multiplying value for the dimensions in that direction. When the factor is 1, no
rescaling is done, when the factor is 2, the size is doubled. A factor bigger than 1 will enlarge
the part, a factor smaller than 1 will shrink the part.

Resulting Size
The resulting size column has a dual function. First of all it is showing the actual dimensions of
the selected part but it also allows to set the dimensions of the part in the 3 main directions in
absolute values.

Checkbox Options
Uniform Rescale The rescale factor is identical in all directions.
Show Preview Checking this box will show a preview of the rescale.
Make copy Make a copy of the original part before resizing or rescaling

Difference Dimensions

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If you want a part to become for instance 2mm bigger in the X-direction, enter 2 in the dX edit
box. The corresponding factor(s) will change accordingly.

Rescale Factor Library

This library contains all stored rescale factors. This allows you to rescale your part very fast
with the most common rescale factors. Two predefined ones (inch->mm and mm->inch) are
provided to you. They can be easily accessed as Convert inch to mm and Convert mm to
inch from the Quick Search as well.

You can edit and add new rescale factors very easily.
New Create a new rescale factor. (see dialog box below)
Edit Open the selected rescale factor so you can edit it.
Delete Delete the selected rescale factor.

1. Add Rescale Factor

Name The name of the rescale factor

Direction Different directions can be specified to perform the rescale
Uniform Rescale The rescale factor is identical in all directions

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Match

A required value or indicated measurement can be used to rescale the part.

The part can be rescaled in X, Y and Z direction. (Following the

Size bounding box
bounding box)
Measurement (M) A defined measurement can be used to rescale the part.
Select By clicking the ‘Select Measurement’ button a measurement can be
Measurement selected.
Current value The indicated value is shown.
New value The desired value.

*Note: Match Measurement Mode is not available on measurement annotations made on BREP part(s)
currently.

Advanced options
1. Rescale Center

Rescaling is by default done around the center of each part individually. Rescale Center
allows the user to define a rescale center different than the center of the WCS and enter
the desired coordinates. Each part will now be rescaled around this new center. The
original z-position can be maintained. You can also choose to add the scale factors to
the part name.

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5. Mirror

Note: Mirror operation is available for Mesh and BREP part(s).

When mirroring parts, you can choose to do this about:

– YZ - plane
– XZ - plane
– XY - plane
– 3-points plane
– Plane perpendicular to indicated line
– Plane coincident with indicated face
– Plane parallel to the screen

If ‘Make Copy' checkbox is checked, a new part is created and the original input part is
preserved with no changes. When several parts are selected, they will be mirrored around their
common center, in case you accept the default option of mirroring around the center of the
Parts.

Note: The naming template for the mirrored part can be set in Settings > General
> Naming

If the ‘Preview’ checkbox is checked, a preview is shown before any changes are made.
Changes are only applied when you click on Apply.

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Picking entities for fit planes

When any of the Mirror about method that requires a information to be picked is selected, you
would need to specify the appropriate input for the Mirror operation to be performed. You are
shown a check mark if the appropriate entity is already set.
The mouse mode to pick entity can be activated manually by clicking on the icon button for the
entity picker.
Appropriate entity is set Appropriate entity is not set

Mirror Plane Position

The real position of the mirror plane can be further modified by setting an offset distance along
the plane normal. The plane normal is a vector direction perpendicular to the plane. To be able
to switch the direction of the offset the switch direction button can be clicked.

Note: In the current version, some Mirror plane positions are not available for some
specific Mirror method options.

If 'Through the center of selection' is checked the plane is automatically offset such that the
plane is going through the center of the combined bounding box of all the selected parts.

Note: The current active user coordinate system is used as the main axis when
computing the starting position of the mirror plane.

6. Alignment

The alignment feature allows you to align one part to another. To align two parts you use
ne entity (point, line, circle…) on each part and you define the desired relation between the

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entities. The relation is called an operation.

Background Information:
A part has, in a 3D-space, 6 degrees of freedom (=dof): 3 translation (t1, t2, t3) and 3 rotation
(r1, r2, r3) degrees of freedom. The directions 1, 2, 3, 1', 2' and 3' are two sets of 3 directions,
perpendicular to each other. Each alignment action of two parts will decrease the amount of
dof's with at least 1. At the end no degrees of freedom are left, then the parts are aligned.

A dialog pops up where the user has to define the entities to align and
Add Constraint
the relation.
Remove Last
Removes the last added constraint.
Constraint
Remove All Removes all the constraints.

The Add Constraint dialog box has three buttons:

– The first and the second select the entities

– The third is used to select a relation between the entities.

At the right of each button, there is an arrow. Pushing these arrows pops up a list with the
possibilities for this entity. Pushing the arrow next to the Relation button shows the possible

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operations for that particular combination of entities. If you agree with the constraint, you can
add it to the list by clicking the OK button.

The Entities
There are six entities you can use to align parts. Each entity has its specific properties. The
properties are shortly mentioned in the following table together with a brief explanation. There
are eight (so called 'Defaults') you can use to align a part to the coordinate system.

‘First’ Entities ‘Second’ Entities and Defaults The Defaults

Entity Property Description

Point properties are its coordinates. There is no direction on a
Point
Point point. Thus, when one of the entities is a point, only coincident
Coordinates
can be chosen as a relation.
A line is defined by its starting- and endpoint. It also has a
Starting- and
Line direction. Thus you can make a line parallel or perpendicular to
Endpoint
another entity with a direction.
A center point, a radius and a normal define a circle. The normal
Centre point,
is representing the plane containing the circle. It is shown on the
Circle Radius and
screen because the user needs to know the direction of the
the normal
normal in order to choose between 'Parallel' and 'Face to face'.
The normal of
A plane is defined by its normal and by the point you marked the
the plane and
plane with. The normal of a plane can be derived from the STL
Plane the point
data. It follows the normal of the triangles of the plane (i.e. outside
where you
of the object)
marked
Direction of
The properties of a cylinder are the radius, the direction of the
the axis,
axis and a point on the axis. A cylinder is internally treated as a
Cylinder radius and a
line (the cylinders axis). Thus, a certain operation on a line or on a
point on the
cylinder will result in the same change of dof's.
axis
Centre point The properties of a sphere are the center of the sphere and its
Sphere
and radius radius. A sphere is treated as a point (the center of the sphere).

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Remark: Using the align function for the creation of a new UCS will show the defaults
and not the first entities like in the image above.

Relations

There are five possible relations. You can make two entities Parallel, Perpendicular,
Coincident, Face-to-Face or Coincident Face-to-Face.

This operation will make the two entities parallel, their normal pointing in
Parallel
the same sense.
When for example two planes are perpendicular, there will be an angle of
Perpendicular
90° (π/2 rad) between them.
Coincident is chosen when you want two entities to be on the same
Coincident
location.
The two entities will be parallel, and their normal will point in the opposite
Face to Face
sense.
Coincident Face
This is a combination of 'coincident' and 'face to face'.
to Face

Advised Way of Working

Select 2 parts and push the alignment button (Tools Toolbar by default) or choose for
Menu/Tools/Alignment to enter the alignment mode.

– Click on the Add Constraint button.

– Only the Select First Entity button is available. Click it and mark the first entity.
– The Select Second Entity button becomes available. Once you marked the second
entity, the Relation button becomes available as well.
– From now on you can change the first entity (type can also be changed) and the second
entity (and if desired its type) until you choose a relation.
– If the listed set of instructions aligns the parts as desired, push the OK button.
– Now you can proceed with another constraint.

If you want to exit, push the OK button on the dialog box or if you don’t want to save the
operations, close the dialog box with the Cancel button of the dialog box in the upper right
corner of the window.

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A closer look on the relations and entities

Strictly there are only two kinds of relations: an orienting and a locating operation. The Parallel,
Perpendicular and Face to face are pure orienting operations. The directions of the two entities
are opposite in the Face to face orientation. Coincident is a locating operation. When you
choose Coincident, an orientation is added if the entities have a direction, as is the case for a
plane. Coincident Face to face is again a combination. It's the same as Coincident and Face to
face.

7. Bottom/Top Plane

This command allows easy orientation of the part by indicating a plane as the bottom/top
plane. This plane will be automatically oriented parallel to the platform. The bottom/top plane
window looks like this:

The user selects one triangle and a whole plane (according to the plane selection
parameters) will be indicated by the default green marking color. The selected
plane will be placed parallel to the platform (// XY- plane). E.g. Bottom plane
selection in the following figure.

Indicate
Plane

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Advanced

Plane Selection Parameters

Surface Indicates the maximum deviation in mm or inches that a related triangle may
Tolerance have to be part of the same plane that contains the selected triangle
Angle Indicates the maximum angle in degrees between the normals of a related
Deviation triangle and the selected triangle, in order to be part of the same plane.
Positioning
None No translation is done.
Keep Original The part first will be rotated and next will be translated in such a way that the
Z Position original minimum Z position remains the same.
Translate to
The part first will be rotated and next will be translated to the default part
Default
position.
Position
Translate to
Default Z The part will be translated to the default Z position.
position

The indicate place function is only performed when the part is loaded in standard
mode. If the part is loaded in compact mode, the indicate plane function is going to act
like indicate triangle.

Use CTRL+click left mouse button so select multiple parts. Click a part a second time
to deselect.

8. Minimize Bounding Box

The part will be rotated in such a way that its bounding box is minimized. The scale of the
part itself will not change. This function can help with quoting and efficient build preparation.

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9. Fit to Platform

Fit to platform scales the selected part(s) so it fits in the build envelope of the active
machine.

Rescale When this option is selected, the part will be rescaled without changing the
only orientation.
Rotate & The part will be rotated so it can be rescaled to be as big as possible. The
rescale algorithm takes the shape of the build envelope into account.
The distance between the platform edge and the part. The default value is taken
Platform
from the Machine properties (Platform - > Automatic placement - > Platform
margin
margin).

Remark: If multiple parts are selected, they will all be rescaled individually. If you want
them to be rescaled as one, you will first have to merge them. The default part height
(Machine properties -> Platform -> Default part position -> Minimum Z) will also be
taken into account to ensure the part will fit into the build envelope.

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6.2. Copies
1. Duplicate

This command duplicates the selected parts. The new parts automatically get the name
of the original part with a counter at the end, like this: “PartName_1”. The operation always
produces virtual copies in the Platform preparation scene and produces new unique part(s) in
Part preparation scene.

Note: Duplicate operation is available for Mesh, BREP and Slice part(s).
Total Number of Here you have to indicate the total number of parts (the original part
Copies included) you would like to have in the end.
Show Preview When enabled, a preview will be shown
Number of copies (original included) you would like to have in the
Number of Copies
indicated directions (X, Y, Z)
Spacing & Remember The distance between 2 parts. Check “ Remember Value ” if you
Value checkbox want this value to be remembered.

2. Batch Duplicate

Batch Duplicate enables you to make a different amount of copies for multiple parts at the
same time. It will help you save time by immediately placing the desired amount of duplicates
of each part onto a platform.
When you have Streamics, Batch Duplicate will detect how many copies were ordered and
immediately fill in the required number, taking into account already planned and built parts.

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Dialog without Streamics

Open Batch Duplicate on the scene where you want to add copies. All the unique parts that are
loaded in the Part Scene will be listed. Enable the checkbox of the parts you want to add. In
“Total # of copies” you can input the desired number of copies. “# of copies on active platform”
shows the amount of copies that are already present on the current scene. Press OK to make
the copies. They will be placed through automatic placement.

Dialog with Streamics

When using Batch Duplicate in combination with Streamics parts, a few extra columns will
appear: “Need to be added” will show you how many parts still need to be planned, minus the
ones already on the platform. This value takes into account parts that are already built, parts
that are planned on a build, and parts on other platforms in the same Magics session. It does
not take into account platforms saved in Streamics. The formula looks like this:
Need to be added = ordered amount - parts built - parts planned - parts on platforms

Other extra columns are “Spare parts” and “# of spare parts”. This allows you to easily add
some extra copies for fragile parts that might break. If you do this often, it might be interesting
to enable “Use by default” and insert a fitting default amount. Whenever you open this Batch
Duplicate again, the spare parts fields will be filled in and enabled. You can always disable
them and change the amount of spare parts.

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6.3. Automatic
1. Automatic Placement

This command will nest the loaded parts on the building platform. Please note that for
nesting the parts in 3D, the Sintermodule (see Sinter Module, page 53) is required.
There are two options:

– Geometry based nesting

– Bounding box based nesting

Please recall, that while importing multiple parts you can also use the automatic placement
algorithm to immediately position your parts on the platform. Automatic placement is also
possible when the platform isn't big enough to load all the specified parts on the platform. A
dialog box will appear indicating no solution is found, but a search is performed to find a
solution outside platform borders. So even if the parts don't fit the platform, they are spread out
to have a better overview.

Bounding box
Magics will nest the parts, representing the parts by their bounding boxes. This will result in a
fast nesting, however the full surface of your machine will not be used due to the rough
representation of the parts.

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Parts to All Parts

Nests all the parts or only the selected parts.
place Selected Parts
Part
The minimum distance between two parts.
Interval
Platform The minimum distance between (the bounding box of) a part and the edge of
Margin the platform.
Translate
part to
Moves the parts to the default z-height, but will remove the support.
default Z
position
Allow multi- If this option is checked and the nested parts don’t fit on the current Platform,
platform Magics will create as many as needed new Platforms to nest all (or the
placement selected) Parts.
Placement solution
First
With this option, Magics offers the first placement he finds for which all parts
Possible
are nested on the platform.
Solution
Max Z- Arrange parts in the
The total surface area of all Range by height first
Minimal XY order of their height
the loaded parts is part Z-
area Min Z- (either ascending or
minimized. height
height first descending).

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The delta- X of the total Max Z- Arrange parts in the

Range by height first order of their height
surface area of the loaded
part Z-
parts is minimized.
height Min Z- (either ascending or
Minimal X
Invert direction: The total height first descending).
area
surface area of the loaded Invert The total surface area of the
parts is minimized on the placement loaded parts is minimized on the
opposite side of the platform. direction opposite side of the platform.

The delta- Y of the total Max Z- Arrange parts in the

Range by height first order of their height
surface area of the loaded
part Z-
parts is minimized.
height Min Z- (either ascending or
Minimal Y
Invert direction: The total height first descending).
area
surface area of the loaded Invert The total surface area of the
parts is minimized on the placement loaded parts is minimized on the
opposite side of the platform. direction opposite side of the platform.
Max Z- Arrange parts in the
Parts are nested around the Range by height first
Platform order of their height
center of the platform. A part Z-
center Min Z- (either ascending or
circular shape is created. height
height first descending).

Geometry
A nesting based on bounding box can cause a waste of capacity in case of parts, which are
having a big bounding box but a small projected area. Magics will nest the parts using the
actual form of the parts and so increase the efficiency of the nesting.

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Parts to All Parts

Nests all the parts or only the selected parts.
place Selected Parts
Part
The minimum distance between two parts.
Interval
Platform The minimum distance between (the bounding box of) a part and the edge of
Margin the platform.
Translate
part to
Moves the parts to the default z-height, but will remove the support.
default Z
position
Allow part Z rotation will give Magics the liberty to rotate the parts while
Allow part Z Autoplacing. The angle with which the parts can be rotated can be specified in
rotation the dropdown menu. Smaller angles will take longer to calculate, but might
result in a denser nesting.
Allow multi- If this option is checked and the nested parts don’t fit on the current Platform,
platform Magics will create as many as needed new Platforms to nest all (or the
placement selected) Parts.
Placement solution
First
With this option, Magics offers the first placement he finds for which all parts
Possible
are nested on the platform.
Solution

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The total surface area of

all the loaded parts is Max Z- height
minimized. first Arrange parts in
the order of their
Minimal XY Range by part
height (either
area Z-height
ascending or
Min Z- height descending).
first

The delta- X of the total Max Z- height Arrange parts in

surface area of the first the order of their
loaded parts is Range by part
height (either
minimized. Z-height
Min Z- height ascending or
Minimal X
first descending).
area

Invert The total surface area of the

placement loaded parts is minimized on the
direction opposite side of the platform.

The delta- Y of the total Max Z- height Arrange parts in

surface area of the first the order of their
loaded parts is Range by part
height (either
minimized. Z-height
Min Z- height ascending or
Minimal Y
first descending).
area

Invert The total surface area of the

placement loaded parts is minimized on the
direction opposite side of the platform.

Parts are nested around

the center of the
Max Z- height
platform. A circular
first Arrange parts in
shape is created.
the order of their
Platform Range by part
height (either
center Z-height
ascending or
Min Z- height descending).
first

With this option, you can Arrange parts in

Custom add a grayscale image to Range by part Max Z- height the order of their
solution assign priority or penalty Z-height first height (either
zones for ascending or

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Autoplacement.

descending).
Min Z- height
first

Allow multi-
If the parts don’t fit on one platform, new platform(s) are automatically opened
platform
and the remaining part(s) are placed on them.
placement

3D Geometry (for e-Stage users only)

Magics will nest the parts while making sure that the projection on the platform of the parts
does not intersect.

Parts to All Parts

Nests all the parts or only the selected parts.
place Selected Parts
Part
The minimum distance between two parts.
Interval
Platform The minimum distance between (the bounding box of) a part and the edge of
Margin the platform.
Allow part Z Allow part Z rotation will give Magics the liberty to rotate the parts while

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Autoplacing. The angle with which the parts can be rotated can be specified in
rotation the dropdown menu. Smaller angles will take longer to calculate, but might
result in a denser nesting.
Allow multi- If this option is checked and the nested parts don’t fit on the current Platform,
platform Magics will create as many as needed new Platforms to nest all (or the
placement selected) Parts.
Placement solution
With this option, Magics offers the first placement he finds for which all parts
are nested on the platform.
First
Possible
Solution

The total surface area of

all the loaded parts is Max Z- height
minimized. first Arrange parts in
the order of their
Minimal XY Range by part
height (either
area Z-height
ascending or
Min Z- height descending).
first

The delta- X of the total Max Z- height Arrange parts in

surface area of the first the order of their
loaded parts is Range by part
height (either
minimized. Z-height
Min Z- height ascending or
Minimal X
first descending).
area

Invert The total surface area of the

placement loaded parts is minimized on the
direction opposite side of the platform.

The delta- Y of the total Max Z- height Arrange parts in

surface area of the first the order of their
loaded parts is Range by part
height (either
minimized. Z-height
Min Z- height ascending or
Minimal Y
first descending).
area

Invert The total surface area of the

placement loaded parts is minimized on the
direction opposite side of the platform.

Parts are nested around Arrange parts in

Platform the center of the Range by part Max Z- height the order of their
center platform. A circular Z-height first height (either
shape is created. ascending or

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descending).
Min Z- height
first

With this option, you can

add a grayscale image to
assign priority or penalty Max Z- height
zones for first Arrange parts in
Autoplacement. the order of their
Custom Range by part
height (either
solution Z-height
ascending or
descending).
Min Z- height
first

2. Orientation Optimizer
Introduction

The orientation tool was designed to help in analyzing and providing the best orientation
for your part. It gives you the possibility to perform an analysis on your part(s) orientation or to
automatically calculate the optimal part orientation based on specific criteria. The following
criteria are implemented:

– Z-height (build height)

– Support surface
– Maximal cross section
– XY projection
– Support on marked

Depending on the technique that is used different parameters can play a role in the orientation
of your parts:
For all techniques the z-height or build height is a very important factor. By reducing the build
height, the build time can be reduced. The limited build height can also lead to the saving of
expensive material.
In Stereolithography, two of the implemented criteria are of particular interest: to minimize the
amount of support surface and to minimize the XY projection area. By orientating the part in
such a way that the amount of support surface is minimized, less material and less finishing
time is needed for the particular part. Currently, no attention is given to A or B-faces etc. so
user interaction will be needed if this has to be taken into account. By minimizing the XY
projection area, the parts are oriented in such a way that the total amount of parts on a
Stereolithography platform can be maximized. Off course this contradicts with the minimum z-
height criterion.
For Laser Sintering (plastics but more importantly in metal sintering) large cross sections
should be avoided since an object can deform due to thermal stresses generated during the

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building process. Large cross sections typically generate a lot of thermal stress and should
therefore by avoided.
For several techniques, support is needed in order to be able to build the part. There might be
surfaces where the support structure is not wanted. For example, on surfaces where it is hard
to remove the support in postprocessing.
The criteria Support on marked represents percentagewise how much area of the marked area
that will need support. A Support on marked value of 10%, for example, implies that 10% of the
marked area will need support. The lower the value, the better.

Remark: The parameters that are available within the orientation optimizer are
depending on the type of license that is active. Z-height and XY projection are
available for all users. Support surface and Maximal cross section are linked to other
modules (SG and/or e-stage for support surface and SG+ for the maximal cross
section)

Orientation optimizer: Analyze

The first page of the orientation optimizer consists of the analysis tool. By pressing the update
measurements button, the flagged criteria are calculated on the current orientation of the part.
A user can observe the z-height, support surface, etc. in the current orientation of the part.

The analysis is performed part per part. With the “next” button you can
Current part
navigate to the following part.
The measurements are the criteria that are used to analyze the current
part(s) orientation.
Measurements
Z-height This gives you the possibility to check per part
what the current z- height is (distance from

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platform to highest point of the part)

This gives you the total amount of surface area
Support surface (in m²) that needs support in the current
orientation of the part.
The maximum cross sectional area is shown.
Maximal cross section This is found by slicing the part and calculating
the cross section surface area in each slice.
Magics shows the maximal cross section on the
View
part
This is the projection of the part in the XY plane
XY projection
(on the platform)
This represents how much area of the marked
Support on marked
area that will need support (%)
Update
The analysis is performed/ executed again.
measurements

Orientation optimizer: Optimize

The second page of the orientation optimizer is the real optimization. The current part or
multiple parts (the parts selected in the part list) can be automatically oriented by using the
criteria given below. The criteria which the user wants to use should be selected and with the
sliders a relative weighting of the parameters can be made (e.g. for metal machines one might
consider using the parameters Max cross section and support surface together). By pressing
“first optimization” the full solution space is calculated by the software and the optimal
orientation is applied to the part(s). Afterwards, the sliders can be used to change the relative
weighting of the parameters and the orientation of the parts will change on the fly. The more
parameters are flagged and the more detail that is required (in the settings tab) the longer the
calculation will take.

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Current part The optimization is performed on the current part

Selected part The optimization is performed on the selected parts in the parts list

Orientate the part in such a way, that the

Z-height
height is minimal
Orientate the part with the lowest amount of
Support surface
support area
Minimization
criteria Orientate the part to have the smallest
Maximal cross section
maximal cross section.
Orientate the part with the lowest amount of
XY projection
XY-projection area.
Orientate the part to have the smallest
Support on marked
support area on the marked surface.
First This button will calculate the values of the selected parameters in the
optimization current part orientation.

1. Settings

The optimization algorithm calculates all possible 3D orientations for the selected criteria
for each part leading to a very large amount of possible solutions. To avoid lengthy
calculations, the fast algorithm limits itself to 320 possible orientations whereas the
accurate algorithm has a solution space of 1280 orientations.

Optimize
Fast 320 possible orientations are calculated
algorithm
Accurate 1280 possible orientations are calculated

The parameter that was set in the

Use selection angle machine properties is used in the
Supported
value from machine orientation tool.
area selection
properties
angle See
Specify the support area selection angle
Specify manually
manually.

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3. Orientation Comparator

This tool allows you to compare different orientation options and make a good judgement
on different parameters. You can analyze the consequences linked to an orientation which can
sometimes be hard to notice.

Orientation List

In this dialog, the orientations that will be compared, are listed. By default, the orientations with
minimum z-height, support surface and max XY section are included. By clicking ‘Add…’, you
can add an orientation to the list. It is also possible to rename orientations, delete them from
the list or change the setting of the comparator. The ‘Compare’ button will start the calculation
and show you the comparison.

1. Add...

Adding orientations can be done in two ways. Either you can use the minimization
criteria from the orientation optimizer or it is possible to use the current orientation of the
part.

2. Settings

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In this dialog, the comparator can be configured.

Optimize To avoid lengthy calculations, the algorithms is limited to an

Algorithm amount of orientations.
Fast 320 possible orientations are calculated
Accurate 1280 possible orientations are calculated
Calculate When the checkbox in front of a parameter is checked, this
Parameters parameter will be calculated when pressing ‘Compare’.
Bounding
The volume of the bounding box is calculated.
Box
Gravity
The z- coordinate of the gravity center is
Center
calculated.
Height
An estimation of the support volume is
Support
calculated. This estimation is based on the
Volume
support preview in the supported area preview.
Support
The amount of support surfaces when entering
Surface
SG is calculated.
Count
Trapped
The sum of all trapped volumes is calculated.
Volume
Home You can choose whether you want the lowest point of the part
Position to be placed on a specific z-height during the calculation.
Current Z- The current z-coordinate of the lowest point will
Height be used.
Default
The default platform z-height that is defined in
platform Z-
the machine properties will be used.
Height
Custom You can define a custom value.

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Other
settings
Show
When checked, this will show the support
support
preview in the orientation preview.
preview
Show
relative When checked and the comparing toggle is on,
values the parameters will be shown as relative values
when with respect to the reference orientation.
comparing

Orientation Comparator dialog

After clicking ‘Compare’ and some calculation time, the Orientation Comparator dialog opens.
A preview of the calculated orientations is shown. When you click on the preview, the
orientation of the part will change in the scene. This allows more in-depth inspection.
Below the preview, you can find the parameters that correspond with the orientation. It is
possible to compare these values with color codes by pressing the Compare toggle . All
orientations will be compared with the reference orientation. A green color indication for a
certain parameter means that the corresponding orientation is scoring better than the
reference orientation on this parameter. The red color stands for a worse score compared to
the reference.
In this dialog, it is also possible to add more orientations by pressing ‘Add orientation…’.
When you found an orientation that you like, select the preview and press Ok. When pressed
cancel, the part will go back in the orientation before entering the orientation comparator.

4. Shape Sorter

The shape sorter is designed to arrange parts with a similar geometry. The parts can be:

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– Rotated only according to the orientation of the Master part

– Translated only, while keeping the orientation of the part
– Both Rotated according to the orientation of the master part and then translated

Remark: To utilize the shape sorter functionality you either must have a
“Sintermodule” license or a “Support generation” license.

Click the icon to indicate the master part you want to use. The ‘master
Indicate
part’ mouse mode will become active.
Horizontal Indicate the number of copies and the spacing between them that will
placement be placed on the horizontal axes
Indicate the number of copies and the spacing between them that will
Vertical placement
be placed vertically
Specify the total amount of parts to be placed in a single row or
Copies column. Exiting this amount will start a new row based on the master
part.
Spacing The minimum distance between two parts.
Group parts All selected parts will be grouped together as one.

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Result: Sorting based on Result: Sorting based on position of

Indication of master
position of master part on master part on horizontal and
part
horizontal only vertical

Advised way of working

– Import multiple similar parts

– Place the part you want to use as master in the correct orientation
– Select all similar parts
– Assign the master part
– Parts are arranged according to the orientation of the master part

5. 3D nester

More information can be found in the 3D Nester module itself.

– See 1 3D Nester

6.4. Group
Sometimes people want to make sub-assemblies of parts.
With the grouping functionality parts can be placed in groups and these are handled as one
part for a number of operations.

1. Group

The group functionality groups selected parts in a group. The parts you can group can be
either single parts or already defined groups. Nested groups don’t exist.
A group and a part that are grouped result in the part being added to the group.
A group and a group that are grouped result in a new group where the existing ones are
combined.

2. Ungroup

The Ungroup function can only be performed on a group of parts.

All part in the group becomes individual parts again.
The ungroup functionality is disabled when you select a part that doesn’t belong to a group.

3. Remove From Group

The remove from group will remove selected part from the existing group.
This option is only enabled when 1 or more parts of a group in the parts list are selected.

4. Grouping visualization
Parts that are part of a group can be recognized by the ‘red’ center point.

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Not grouped Grouped

Within the part list the groups are displayed at the end of the list.
By default, the naming of the groups start with “Group1”.

Remark: The name of the group can be changed by double clicking the name.

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6.5. Coordinate System

1. User Coordinate System

When working in the mesh part scene, you can define custom coordinate system(s) and
activate them instead of the World Coordinate system (WCS) to achieve advanced
transformed outputs from some operation(s). Each mesh part scene can have its own set of
unique set of unique User Coordinate System (UCS). You can save and load the UCS in a
Magics project files through the Save Scene As or Save Project As commands.

Column Description
If you have more coordinate systems, you can make one of them active.
Internally, the program works as if the active coordinate system is the only
one. Importing, exportin, creating primitive part (s), measuring, cutting,
Active (A) transforming, labeling and other operations are relative to the active
coordinate system whenever necessary. Hence, only one coordinate system
can be active at any time to ensure the outcome is predictable and
reproducible always. Thus, you can only see one checkbox indicated in the A

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Column Description
(Active) column of the list. In the example above, WCS is active.

Note: When switching between scenes, the active coordinate

system will always be reset to the World Coordinate System of the
active scene.

Remark: If you load a part, it will be loaded in the active coordinate

system. If in a previous Magics session, you saved a part at
position (10,10,10) in a particular coordinate system it will be
loaded at (10,10,10) in the active coordinate system. If the two
coordinate systems are different, the part will have a different
absolute position in the World Coordinate System, the reference
system of Magics.

It can be useful to have a few coordinate systems shown on the screen. The
second column of the list has glasses for the coordinate systems to show
and grayed glasses for coordinate systems to hide.

Visualization
(V) Remark: If the Coordinate System indicator toggle button is toggled
ON then it is set such that all coordinate system indicators shall be
visible. However, this still relies on the individual coordinate system
visibility to be toggled on.

The name of the coordinate systems can be changed by double clicking on

UCS Name the name. Name of the coordinate system is also shown below the CS
indicator in the viewport.
When an UCS is attached to a part, the name of the part is shown in this
STL
column. Only one mesh part can be assigned to each custom CS at once.

Button Description
New UCS is always created based on the currently focused UCS (highlighted in
blue). If no UCS is currently focused, then the UCS will be created based on the
New UCS WCS. Upo the creation, the new UCS will be in the same position as the CS it is
based on. To modify the UCS, please use the command to Move, Rotate, Align
the focused UCS.
The move command will allow you to specify the displacement of the UCS
Move UCS
along X, Y and Z direction of the focused coordinate system.
The rotate command will allow you to specify the rotational displacement in
Rotate
degrees you want the UCS to rotate about the X, Y and Z-axis of the focused
UCS
coordinate system.
The align button will lead you to the align dialog. The align functionality allows
Align you to align axes or planes (XY-plane, etc.) of the UCS to a plane, cylinder, etc.
of a part. For further explanation about the align function, see Alignment, page

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Button Description
232.
3-poins method allows the focused UCS to be realigned based on 3 cartersioan
points indicated by the user. When the command is launched, the cursor
pointer will change into 1, 2, and 3.
i. The first point you indicate will be the origin of the selected UCS.
ii. The second point will be the reference point for X- axis such that the
3-Points direction of the X-axis is the vector between point 1 and 2. The Y-axis is
drawn through the origin; parallel with a line that is drawn perpendicular
on the X-axis through the third point indicated.
iii. The third point will be the reference point to determine the direction of Y-
axis. The Z-axis is drawn through the origin, perpendicular on the XY
plane.
Deletes the focused coordinate system.

Delete
UCS Note: The WCS cannot be deleted. If you delete the active UCS, the
WCS become active.

Note: The current active User Coordinate System and the World Coordinate System
cannot be modified.

Attach UCS to STL

You can also attach a user coordinate system to a any of the selected mesh part. When the
UCS is attached to a mesh part, transforming the mesh part will also result in the coordinate
system being transformed appropriately.
If the UCS is attached to the part, exporting the part will result in a custom UCS file to be
created as well in the same folder as the exported part file.

You can attach a UCS to a part. When an UCS is attached to a part it will
make the same movement as the part and the relative position of the UCS
Attach UCS to according to the part will stay fixed.
STL To attach a UCS to a part, select the UCS (mark the row in blue) and select
the part. When a UCS is attached to a part, it will be shown in the column
STL.
Detach UCS to You detach an UCS from a part by selecting the UCS in the list, and pushing

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STL the button detaches STL.

When a UCS is attached to a part, you can make it coincide with the WCS.
Align UCS to
The attached part will make the same rotation and translation as the UCS.
WCS
To do so, select an attached UCS and click the button.

Note: Placing the part on platform will not add the custom coordinate system to the
platform scene as well since platform scene does not currently support custom
coordinate systems.

2. Import UCS File

You can load a User Coordinate System (.ucs) file into mesh part scene to add the
custom UCS to the list of coordinate system within the target scene.

6.6. Defaults
1. Translate to Default Z Position

This command will move the selected parts to the default Z position (see Bottom/Top
Plane, page 236). If more than one part is selected, the entire group will be moved while their
mutual position is kept. This option is also executed when pressing the Home button on your
keyboard.

2. Translate to Default Position

This command will move the selected parts to the default position (see Bottom/Top
Plane, page 1). If more than one part is selected, each part will be individually moved to the
default position. The translation origin is fixed on the minimum X, Y, Z points of the part
bounding box.

3. Original Position

Move all selected parts in the current scene to their original position.

4. Original in New Scene

Move all selected parts in the current scene to their original position AND open them in a
newly chosen scene. Current scene will not be affected.

5. Save Current Position

Save the current position as original position. The previous original position will be
overwritten.

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Chapter 7. Build Preparation

7.1. Scenes
With Scenes, platforms can be created to prepare your build. It gives you a workspace where
you can orientate and position your parts in the same way as they should be built by the
machine. A lot of parameters can be stored in such a scene. This enables you to create your
own, customized platforms. Saving these machine profiles (.mmcf files) will ensure you can
work in a fast and standardized way. You can also work on different platforms in parallel. The
active scene is the one showed on the screen. You can switch between different scenes by
clicking on the name of the platform in the main window (see picture below).

To orientate a part on the platform Indicate top or bottom view can be used. There is also a
collision detection tool (see Collision Detection, page 438 ) to see if the parts are well
positioned on the platform. The automatic placement tool (see Automatic Placement, page
241) makes it possible to easily and economically position different parts on the platform. You
can calculate the build time and the cost of building some parts.

7.2. Scenes: Virtual Copies

This section will explain what virtual copies are and how you have to handle them. The goal of
using virtual copies is to save memory. If you need e.g. 100 copies of a part, there will be a big
difference in memory usage if you have to load (and save) 100 parts or only 1 part.

1. A Part and his Virtual Copies

The real parts are collected in a database. From this database you can create virtual copies on
platforms. This virtual copy contains a reference to the real part and a translation matrix.

2. Edit a Virtual Copy

If you edit a real part (in the part scene), all virtual copies of that part, present in the current
Magics session, will be edited in the same way.

Example
Suppose you select and edit one of the virtual copies of part B on platform 2.
Magics will ask if you want to apply the changes only on the selected copy or on all virtual
copies of part B present on platform 2:
If you apply the changes only on the selected copy, this is the result:

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A new part is created in the part database. The edited copy will refer to a new real part.
If you apply the changes on all virtual copies of that mother part, this is the result:

All the virtual copies of the same mother part, present on that platform, will refer to a new
database part.

3. Naming of virtual copies

Virtual copies inherit the name of the mother part when it is created.
Within the platform scene however, virtual copies can be assigned with a unique/ different
name.

Example

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Editing virtual copies is only possible for virtual copies of the same mother part and
present on the current platform! This is for safety reasons. If you want to edit all virtual
copies of the same mother part, present on all the platforms, you should edit the STL
files in the part scene.

Names of virtual copies change when the name of the mother part (in the part scene)
is changed. Even if virtual copies are already renamed. The part status however stays
the same.

4. Advised ways of working

A predefined scene also be opened by default if Magics opens. Choosing your default
machines can be done in the machine library (see Edit machine properties, page 289).
If you use Magics mostly for platform independent operation e.g. fixing STL files or creating
RapidFit, we advise you to work in the part scene.
If you use Magics mainly for preparing platforms, you can follow one of the following method of
working.
Open Magics with the default Platform Scene or create a new Platform Scene. Make the
Platform, where you want to work on, active – by clicking on the platform name in the main
window.
Load or create a part. In the background this part will be loaded in the Part Scene (part
database) and immediately a Virtual Copy of that part is created on the platform. You can edit
and prepare this part in the Platform Scene, like you are used to in previous version of Magics.
Each operation you do on the copy in the Platform Scene will automatically be performed on
the real part in the Part Scene.

Multiple Copies
If you want to build more than one copy of a part on that Platform, you can duplicate the part
(see Duplicate, page 239).

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Most advised is to create the copies after you finished the preparation of the files. Otherwise,
Magics will ask for each operation if you want to apply it on all copies or only on the selected
ones. (If you select all copies, of course, the message won’t be prompted).

7.3. Platform scene management

In this section, some common utility commands to create, modify and close platform scenes
quickly are described in detail.

1. New Platform Scene

With this command, you can create a new platform scene by specifying the machine for the
platform scene. The platform properties will depend on the properties of the machine you
select.
It’s also possible to select directly from this window a specific support profile previously
generated.
(See Support Generation, page 329 chapter on how to generate support profiles). The new
Platform Scene will be open with selected support properties ready to be applied.

The new scene will appear as the right most tab in the scene tab header.
If you create more than one platform scene for the same machine, the platform name will be
the machine name extended with a number, e.g. ‘Machine ABC (2)’ . You can organize
machines via drag and drop.

Original Situation

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Add New Scene

2. Add Part to Platform

This command is only shown in the Mesh part scene to add the selected parts to a target
platform scene. If an existing platform does not exist then the New Machine dialog is shown
else you can specify which platform to add to from a pop-up menu.

– See New Platform Scene, page 265 for more information on creating new platforms.

3. Duplicate Platform

This operation creates a Platform Scene, identical to the active Platform Scene. The
Platform name will be the machine name extended with a number, e.g. ‘3D Systems SLA 250
(mm) (2)’.

Original Situation

Copy Scene

If the platform contains parts, also the parts will be copied on the new platform.

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4. Rename Scene

This operation can be found in the right mouse button context menu. It pops up a
‘Rename Scene’ dialog box in which you can change the name of the selected scene.

5. Save Scene As

This operation pops up a ‘Save As’ dialog box in which you can change the name and
destination of the project you want to save. The scene is saved with all positioned parts,
measurements, …

6. Close Scene

With this operation you can close the target platform scene. If there are parts present on
the platform scene, Magics show dialog boxes to save both the scene and parts on it as well
before closing the scene.

7.4. Machine
1. Export Platform

Exporting a platform slices the parts and the supports saved in the Magics project. This is
the last step in work preparation. The result of the export platform operation is a file that can be
sent to the RP-machine.

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Export to You can define the directory for the exported files.
An overview is given of the operation(s) which are performed during the export
Export of the platform.
processes The export processes parameters are defined in the Machine Properties –
Export processes (see Processes, page 283 for more information).
Materialise e-Stage is a separate software from Materialise, used to build fully
Materialise
automated and revolutionary support. Here you can define the profile that is
e-Stage
used to generate automatic support during the export process.
Automatically export all the files you need together with the platform file.
Export STL files for all parts and support present
on the active scene. The parameters are defined in
STL export the Machine Properties/Export platform page (see
Export Export platform page, page 283 for more
output information).
Export sliced files for all parts and support present
on the active scene. The parameters are defined in
Slice export
the Machine Properties/Export slice page (see
Export slice page, page 284 for more information).

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Remark: The file name is based on the specified format in the ‘Export Platform
Working folder’ setting.

2. Machine Properties

This function will pop up the Machine Properties dialog of the active Platform.
The machine properties contain all the information related to the chosen machine type.

General info page

Each machine type has to have a name. If you are building with different
Machine
parameters, it is best to have a machine type for each set of parameters (e.g.
Name
layer thickness).
Material
The material of the selected machine.
name
Comment Comment on the selected machine.

– Build envelope

Platform
The platform of the machine can be rectangular or circular.
Shape
Size The X, Y and Z values of the platform size.

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Rescaled When you choose to rescale parts during export of the platform, the size of the
platform build envelope is automatically adjusted in the opposite direction.
Position The minimum X, Y and Z values of the platform position.

– Configuration

Enable the visualization of the recoater direction on the platform. This feature
can be used for all machines presenting a recoater.
Show
Axis Specify along which axis the reacoter moves.
recoater
direction Specify if the recoater moves from left to
Direction right, from right to left, or if it is a double-side
recoater.
Enable the visualization of the gas flow direction on the platform. This feature
can be used for laser melting (LM) technology.
Show gas
flow Axis Specify along which axis the gas blows.
direction
Specify if the gas blows from left to right or
Direction
from right to left of the specified axis.

– Fields overlaps

Laser overlaps can be defined. Click on Add button to add an overlap that will be
Overlaps
displayed on the platform, or select an existing overlap to edit it or delete it with
list
the Delete button.
Color The color used to visualize the overlap.
Axis The axis of the overlap (X or Y axis of the platform).
Position The position of the overlap.
Width The width of the overlap.

– Laser parameters

Laser power Intensity of the laser (W).

Ask for laser power When this checkbox is selected, a specific value of laser power can be
when estimating input at the moment of running the build time estimation.
Laser spot diameter
The diameter of the laser spot.

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– Slice visualization

Slice Select on which position the slices represent the part: top, middle or bottom of
position the slice.

Parts placement page

– Default part position

Minimum X, Y and Z Coordinates that a part has by default on the platform.

– Automatic placement

Allow multi-
When this option is selected and the parts do not fit on the current platform
platform
scene, Magics will create as many platform as needed to place all parts.
placement

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Part interval The interval between parts.

Platform margin The margin of the platform.
The placement solution that will be applied:

– First solution
Placement – Minimal XY area
Type: – Minimal X area
Bounding – Minimal Y area
box
– Platform center
When this option is selected, parts will be placed
accordingly to their Z height; it is possible to start from
Range by part Z- the part with highest value or lowest value of Z height.
height
– Start with min Z-height first
– Start with max Z-height first

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Part interval The interval between parts.

Platform margin The margin of the platform.
The placement solution that will be applied:

– First solution
– Minimal XY Area
Placement – Minimal X area
– Minimal Y area
– Platform center
– Custom solution*
When checkbox is deselected, parts are only
translated; when checkbox is selected, parts are
Allow part Z rotation
translated and rotated of the specified angle during
automatic placements.
When this option is selected, parts will be placed
Range by part Z-
accordingly to their Z height; it is possible to start from
height
the part with highest value or lowest value of Z height.
Type:
Geometry

Load an image that can be shown on the platform: the

loaded image will be first converted to grayscale and
then scaled to fill the platform.
*Custom solution The darker areas of the image indicate higher priority,
options while the lighter areas indicate lower priority.
Export the Platform image to get an image with the
correct platform dimensions, that you can immediately
edit.

Note: lower accuracy will be faster, but the

image used for the positioning of parts will be
less detailed. Higher accuracy will give a
more detailed image, but might be slower.

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Defaults parts page

– No-Build zones

With the No-Build zone functionality you can indicate areas in which you don’t want to build
parts. These areas will be taken into account during nesting or automatic placement
operations.
This feature can be useful in different situations. (e.g. metal machines, multiple lasers, …)

Enable no-
Activate and visualize the no-build zones on the platform.
build zones

Create a new no-build zone with default shapes (cylindrical or rectangular).

Add zone
Import STL files to have customized shapes of no-build zones. More complex
shapes can be used.
The X, Y and Z coordinates are used to define the position of
Import part as Min the STL on the platform. The minimum point of the part
zone coordinates bounding box (for all axes) will be translated to the specified
coordinates.

Load zones Load no-build zones from another machine with defined no-build zones.
from another
machine

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Delete the selected no-build zone from the list.

Delete zone
The X and Y coordinates are
Center X, Y used to define the center point
of the cylinder section.
Radius Define the radius of the cylindrical no-build zone.
Define the height of the cylindrical no-build zone.
Shape: The starting height of the no-
Cylindrical Z Min
Height build zone.
The ending height of the no-
Z Max
build zone.
The no- build zone is active for the full height of the build
Full platform
envelope. ‘Height’ will be disabled when choosing ‘Full
height
platform height’.
The X and Y coordinates are
Center X, Y used to define the center point
of the rectangle section.
Define the size of the
Width X, Y
rectangular no-build zone.
Define the height of the rectangular no-build zone.
Shape:
Rectangular The starting height of the no-
Z Min
Height build zone.
The ending height of the no-
Z Max
build zone.
The no build zone is active for the full height of the platform
Full platform
build envelope. ‘Height’ will be disabled when choosing ‘full
height
platform height’.

– Quality parts

In the Quality parts tab you are able to define models that will be loaded automatically when
opening a new scene. The position of these models can be specified.

Enable quality Activate and visualize the quality parts on the platform. These parts are also
parts added to the Part list.
Group quality
parts on All quality parts added will be grouped in one group.
scene
Keep parts Quality parts will remain in their position defined in Machine properties when
position on running Automatic Placement or 3D Nester.
Automatic

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Placement
and 3D Nester
Select and manage the profiles of quality parts.
Create new profile Click this button to create a new profile.
Click this button to create a copy of the current
Duplicate profile
profile.
Profile
Load profile from Click this button to load an existing profile from
another machine another machine.
Delete profile Click this button to delete the current profile.
Name Type the name of the profile.
Create a quality part by importing an *.stl or a *.matpart file. When using
*.matpart files, you are able to retain label planning information and support
Import part structures that are saved in the part loaded.
The X, Y and Z coordinates are used to define the
position of the quality part on the platform. The
Min coordinates minimum point of the part bounding box (for all
axes) will be translated to the specified
coordinates.

Delete the selected quality part from the list.

Delete part

Z-Compensation page
For models built with Stereolithography and Laser Sintering, overcure may cause extra
material to build up on down- facing surfaces. To avoid the time- consuming process of
manually correcting these errors after the part is finished, the Z-Compensation function can be
used.

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Default The value that is displayed by default when the user applies a Z-compensation
Value on a part located on the respective platform.
Advanced When you prefer to perform Z-compensation during export, you can choose the
Options Z-compensation algorithm. (see Z-Compensation, page 291)

Build time estimation page

There are 2 methods available for the build time estimation: the first one is focused on
Stereolithography technology, while the second one uses a self- learning algorithm that is
based on teaching platform data that you can add over time.

Remark: The laser parameters defined in the General info page, page 269 will be
taken into account during the build time estimation.

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1. Stereolithography method

– Part parameters

Layer
The thickness of the layers.
thickness
Border
The overcure of the border.
overcure
Hatch
The overcure of the hatching.
overcure
Hatch
The interval distance of the hatchings.
Distance
Recoat Time The time needed to put a new layer of resin/powder on top of the
already made construction.

– Support parameters

Layer
The thickness of the layers.
thickness
Border
The overcure of the border.
overcure
Hatch The overcure of the hatching.

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overcure
Hatch
The interval distance of the hatchings.
Distance
Recoat Time The time needed to put a new layer of resin/powder on top of the
already made construction.

– Resin parameters

Critical exposure (Ec) The critical dose of energy.

Penetration depth (Dp) The curing depth of the laser.

2. Self-learning method

The self- learning method requires a list of teaching platform files. These platforms
should be actually built on the machine, thus providing real information of printed builds.
Putting together such a list will allow Magics to accurately estimate the build time of new
platforms.
The platform and the appropriate parameters used to calculate the build time must be
selected.

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– Parameters

The two parameters lists show you the parameters that can be used for build time
calculation of a platform. The list on the left contains all the parameters that may be
included in the build time calculation, while the list on the right contains the parameters
that will be included in the calculation. You can drag and drop parameters from one list to
the other.
When the Laser-based system checkbox is selected, one extra option will appear on the
Used parameters list; you can decide if the specific parameter depends or not on the
laser power by flagging it in the Laser-based column.

Note: You should have at least as much teaching platforms as there are
parameters.

– Teaching platforms

Here you can visualize and manage the data of your teaching platforms used for the
build time estimation calculations.

Platform The file name of the Magics project used as a teaching platform.
The value corresponds to the date when the teaching platform has been
Date
imported.
Insert the real build time of the teaching platform (hours and minutes).
Time
Double click on the field to edit the value.
Estimated The value corresponds to the estimated build time of the teaching
time platform.
Absolute The absolute and relative errors give the statistical errors between the
and estimated and the actual build time of the teaching platform. Absolute
Relative error is difference in hours and minutes, while the relative error is
errors expresses as a percentage of the real build time.
You have the possibility to add or remove additional columns; right
mouse click on the table headers to display a list of additional columns.

Extend list
with
additional
data

Import
Click on this icon to import a Magics project as a teaching platform.
platform
Delete After selecting one or more teaching platforms from the list, click on this

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platform icon to delete the selected teaching platform(s) from the list.
Select this option to display in the Platform column the file path instead of
Show path
the Magics project file name.
This value is related to all the relative errors of the teaching platforms
Standard
added to the table; it gives an idea of the average deviation of the value
deviation
resulting from the build time estimation compared to the real build time.

Cost estimation page

Cost estimation is a primary need of a company. The cost estimation is done in the tools menu
and is done based on parameters which are machine dependent and thus are defined in the
Machine Properties.

The Currency can be entered at the top of the page. A cost can be added, edited or removed.
To edit a cost fragment, just double-click on the desired field in the table.

– You can give the cost a name (appears in the column Name)
– The dependency determines the variable of the cost. It can be one of the following list. In
the first column, you find the dependency, in the second column you find the unit in
which this parameter is expressed.

Dependency Unit
Estimated Build Time Hour
Fixed Cost Platform

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Dependency Unit
Volume Liter
Support Volume Liter
Surface cm²
Delta X mm
Delta Y mm
Delta Z mm
Number of STL Files Part
Bounding Box Volume Liter

– Define the cost per unit for each fragment

Remark: When you choose Estimated Build Time, the build time has to be calculated
as well and thus all the parameters for these calculations have to be correct. Magics
will also ask you for the laser power.

Support Generation mode

– See 3 Support Generation Mode

Support Generation parameters

– See 4 Support generation parameters .

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Export platform page

– Processes

During export colliding parts can be detected.

Perform collision
detection Use a defined clearance to detect
With clearance
collision between different parts.
When selected, a check is performed to see that all parts within the
Detect out of bounds
platform scene are included within the platform bounds.
Rescale platform and When exporting, platform and parts can be rescaled by a given
parts during export factor. (See Rescale, page 227 for more information)
Apply Z compensation You can apply Z compensation when exporting.
Save Platform as When exporting the platform is saved as a magics file.
.magics file when Define the naming template by adding the predefined tags; you can
exporting see a preview of the resulting name for the current platform.

– STL export

Export part
When selected, the part is exported as STL.
as STL

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Choose a default name convention.

Filename
Note: when saving the part, the symbol * is
replaced by the part name

When selected, the support is exported as STL. This also includes e-Stage
supports.
Choose a default name convention for non- solid
Non-solid supports
supports
Solid supports Choose a default name convention for solid supports
Export
support as Thickness Define the thickness of your support.
STL
A stitch operation is performed on the support before
Stitch supports
exporting, in order to reduce the bad edges.
A triangle reduction is performed before exporting, in
Reduce triangles
order to reduce the amount of triangles
Unify A unify operation is performed before exporting.

Export slice page

More information can be found under the ‘Slicing’ module.

– See Machine Setup, page 463

Post-process slices page

More information can be found under the ‘Slicing’ module.

– See Post-process slices page, page 465

Materialise e-Stage export page

Materialise e-Stage is a separate program used to build fully automated and revolutionary
support. In Magics it is possible to activate Materialise e-Stage as an export process. You can
find it therefore as an option in the machine properties. Each machine can have its own
Materialise e-Stage parameter set. More information of the parameters, you can find in the
manual of Materialise e-Stage itself.

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Enable
support
generation
When selected, it activates Materialise e-Stage as an export process.
when
exporting
platforms
Parameter A dropdown menu gives you the possibility to choose an e-Stage *.par file from
file the e-Stage parameter folder defined in the Magics Settings.
The e- Stage parameter window opens with the default e-
Stage parameters. By default the parameter editor will
New propose to store the file in the e-Stage parameter folder. You
can save it somewhere else but in that case you will not be
able to select it in Magics.
The selected parameter file opens in the e-Stage parameter
Edit
window.
Define which parts of the platform will be supported by e-Stage support.

Parts to – All parts

support
– Selected parts
– Parts without solid or volume support

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One platform is exported including all the supports.

One Naming Add the content which has to be displayed in the project
platform template name.
support
A preview is shown of the naming for .magics files that are
Preview
created via the export platform functionality
Merge with
SG supports are merged together into one with e-Stage if SG supports are
Magics
exported as STL.
support
Load
generated
The generated support is loaded into Magics as an STL part.
support on
the scene
Use No-
When this checkbox is selected, areas that are indicated as No-Support Zones
Support
will not be supported by e-Stage support.
Zones

If you want to open a .par file that is older than your e-Stage version, a dialog box will
pop up. When you want to update your e-Stage par file, the e-Stage parameter
window will open with the parameters found in the file and the absent parameters with
the default values from e-Stage.

If you want to open an e-Stage .par file that is newer then your e-Stage version, a
dialog box will pop up. A message is shown that your e-Stage version cannot load this
e-Stage par file.

Save changes in

Active Platform Changes made in the machine properties are only saved in the active
Scene platform scene
All Platform Scenes Changes made in the machine properties will be saved for all active
Alike platform scenes.
Changes made in the machine properties are saved in the machine
Machine Library
library.

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Remark: To have a clear overview of all used parameters per machine a report can
be generated. (File > Generate Report > ‘Select the template corresponding with the
used version of office’ >Machine properties report)

3. Change Machine

If you want to change the machine of the active Platform Scene, you can do this with this
operation. The Select Machine dialog will pop up and you can choose another machine and
another support profile for this machine.

4. My Machines

The My Machines command is meant to setup Magics for the user’s RP-machine. As a
user you can choose to use one of the available machines or specify your own machine.
The machine selection consists out of two lists:

– My Machines: The machines that are used by the user, they are stored in a designated
folder. This folder allows adding, copying, deleting and editing the parameters of the
machines.
– Machine Library: This is a list of all machines installed in Magics. To edit the parameters
of these machines, the user needs to first copy them to the folder “My machines”.

The “My Machines” – list is empty in the beginning, and the user has to define the desired
machines to work with. The user must add machines from the “Machine Library”. Once added
in the “My Machines” – list, the user can:

– Change the parameters (includes renaming) of the machines

– Copy the machines
– Delete machines

Advised way of working

1) The first time you want to use the Machine Library, the list is empty. The user must add
machine files from the “Machine Library” to the “My Machines” via Add from Library. The
following dialog pops up:

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2) The user selects the required machines by browsing the predefined list in the “Machine
Library”.

3) The machines are copied to the “My Machines” list by drag & drop.
4) Now, the user can perform the desired modifications on the machines present in the list by
clicking the right mouse button on the desired machine and selecting ‘Edit’.

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1. Add machines from library

The Machine library is structured in folders:

– Mm-files
– Brands
– List of all machines made by the manufacturer
– Inch-files
– Brands
– List of all machines made by the manufacturer

2. Edit machine properties

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By clicking the right mouse button on a specific machine, the user accesses a contextual
menu where he can:

– Edit the parameters of the machine: the Machine Properties dialog will be shown,
where user is able to define the machine properties.
– Duplicate the machine: the selected machine will be copied to the “My Machines”
list with "Copy" added to the name of the duplicate machine.The Duplicate option
enables user to create new machines based on a selected one.
– Delete the machine: the selected machine can be removed from the “My
Machines” list. Confirmation about this action is asked.

The top side of the dialog contains the “My Machines” list, while at the bottom user can
find controllers for the table.

This value defines the position of the machine in the list. The order defined
here will be used when displaying the machines list in other Magics
functions (e.g. see Change Machine, page 287)
#
Double click the left mouse button to change value, or simply drag and
(Priority)
drop a machine in the desired position.
When a machine icon is displayed, that machine is a Build Processor
machine.

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It displays the name of the machine. To change it, double click the left
Name
mouse button on the machine name and simply type the new name.

Up Move the selected machine one position up in the priority order.

Down Move the selected machine one position down in the priority order.
New Create a completely new machine based on default parameters.
It allows the user to import machine files. The opened dialog box filters on
Import
*.mmcf files.
Add from It opens up the Add Machines From Library dialog, so the user can add
Library new machines to the “My Machines” list.

7.5. Positioning & Editing

1. Z-Compensation

For models built with Stereolithography and Laser Sintering, overcure may cause extra
material to build up on down facing surfaces. To avoid the time- consuming process of
manually correcting these errors after the part is finished, the Z-compensation function can be
used. To Z-compensate the selected parts, the user has to fill in a Z-compensation value in mm
or inches and choose a Z-compensation algorithm in the following dialog:

The Z-compensation will classify all down facing surfaces that need compensation and offset
them with the desired value. Appropriate modifications are made to adjacent triangles to keep
the part consistent and error free.

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The figures above display the result of a Z-compensation:

– The first figure represents the original part.

– The second figure represents the same part, but Z-compensated with a value of 3 mm.

Remark: A Z-compensation value will in reality never be bigger than 0.5 mm and this
case 3 mm is used for an educational purpose. If a part already has been Z-
compensated, Magics gives a warning shown in the Z Compensated field on the 1
Part Info page.

2. Create base

With this command, user could make an extrusion from the marked triangle (s) to
generate a part base. It is available with SG+ license.
This function is for metal printing that uses wire cutting in the post processing steps. This kind
of rounded edges base attached to the build platform could help conducting the heat and
lowering the chance of printing failure.

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Part with marked triangles After applying

7.6. Part Pages

– See Part Info page, page 566

Triangles thinner as this distance will be marked or removed,

Filter sharp triangles
depending on your choice.
Add Z- compensation value This will add the value of the Z compensation to the Part
to part name Name.

Remark: The parameters used for ‘Filter Sharp Triangles’ are linked to the ones in the
fixing wizard.

Advanced Options
In the Advanced Options, you can choose which algorithm Magics should use to perform the Z
compensation. Also extra options to refine the Z compensation are available.

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This algorithm will detect all down

facing triangles and will move them in
the Z direction over a distance
determined by the entered Z
compensation value.

Triangle
Based

Features thinner than – measured in

Min Z-thickness the Z direction – this value will not be
Z compensated.

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This algorithm will detect all down

facing triangles and will move the
points of those triangles in the Z
direction over a distance determined
by the entered Z compensation value.

Point
Based Remove Self-Intersections
Remove Self- Intersections: By
moving the down facing surfaces
upwards, sometimes self-
intersections may occur. When
'remove self-intersections' is switched
on, a post processing will remove
these intersections. This might take a
while if the file is big.

Checking this function will apply a Z-compensation depending on the angle of

Use Angle
the down facing triangle. If the angle is orientated horizontal, a full Z-
Based
compensation is performed. If the angle approaches an upright position,
Correction
almost no Z-compensation is performed. This can be useful if you work with
Factor
very accurate machines.

In most cases, the triangle based algorithm will give much nicer results. The figures below
show an example.

Point based Z compensation Triangle based Z compensation

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7.7. Sinter
1. 3D Nester

Magics 3D Nester assures an optimal load for your sintering machine(s).

Considering the parts’ geometry, the software automatically nests your parts, maximizing the
number of parts in the build envelope and/or minimizing the build time.
At the same time, the software ensures that none of the parts collides with either another part
or with the container.
A live preview is available during the nesting of your platform. You can exactly follow where
parts are placed, which ones still have to be processed and/ or which part(s) don’t fit in the
build envelope. (E.g. part is too large, platform is already fully loaded, …)
The Magics 3D Nester is designed so that any type of user can work with it. Non-advanced
users can run it by a single click using the included ‘Fit to platform’ profile, advanced users can
create profiles and use them to run the 3D Nester.

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Workflow

– Import part(s)
– Define orientation
– Position large part(s)
– Create virtual copies
– Pre nest parts
– Protect small/ fragile part(s)
– Run 3D Nester
– Export platform

Remark: More information on the other items within the workflow can be obtained
during one of our training sessions.

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3D Nester

– Profile

To make it as easy as possible to work with the 3D Nester, profiles can be created.

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A default profile with default nesting values is always available for selection. This is called
“Magics Defaults”. If any value of “Magics Defaults” is changed, this setup can be saved to a
new profile.
If the parameters are modified while a profile is selected, this profile will be marked with a *.
The changes will become permanent if the profile is saved again.

– Interval settings

Clearly define the interval between the parts and the margins from your platform.
Part interval This value refers to the minimal distance between two parts (pre-processing).

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This is the minimum distance to the building envelope of the machine, selected
in the Machine Setup.

Margin to
sides

Remark: A warning message is shown when the chosen part interval is smaller than 4
mm.

– Stop criteria

The 3D Nester provides 3 different types of stop/ end criteria, which can be combined with a
defined time frame.

The nesting will be ended as soon as all parts are processed and
Stop at first solution
packed inside the build envelope.
Choosing the second option, the nesting will end when the
Optimize until nesting predefined nesting density is reached.
density …%

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The nesting density is calculated according to the following formula:

ND: Nest Density

Pa: Platform area
Z pos: Z position

Remark: Parts are only taken into account when the center
of the part lays inside the platform bounds

The user manually ends the nesting process based upon the nesting
Manually end nesting height and nesting density visible.
process
At this moment the current status of the nesting can be kept.
When checked, the user can enter a mas duration of nestingin
Stop after
hours, minutes and seconds.

Remark: Independently of which stop criteria is chosen, the 3D Nester will always
perform an interlocking test at the end.

– Part selection

Selected Only the selected parts in the part list are taken into account during nesting.
parts Unselected parts are considered by 3D nester as ‘locked parts’ by default.
All parts in
All parts loaded into the scene are taken into account during nesting.
scene
Selected Part loaded in a scene, which are selected will be nested first. These are parts
parts first with a higher priority compared to the others.

– Re-nest parts above

Add parts to your already nested build.

Nest additional parts above a specified Z – height even if your build

Re – nest all parts is already launched.
above … mm

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Re-nest all parts above = 195 mm

Run 3D Nester
Start position Processed parts: 11 of 105

Processed parts: 72 of 105 Processed parts: 105 of 105

Start position Processed parts: 11 of 105

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Processed parts: 72 of 105 Processed parts: 105 of 105

– Nesting properties used

Part interval 5 mm
Margin to sides 2 mm
Stop criteria Stop at first solution
– Rotate 90° and
translate
Freedom of parts
– Fix bottom plane
and xy

– 3D Nester Progress

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During the nesting, the progress is shown by different progress bars. The nesting is divided
into 4 different steps. For every step an indication is shown of the already performed action.

1. Step 1: Preprocessing parts

Parts are being analyzed before the actual nesting is taking place. During
preprocessing, the parts are removed from the platform build envelope.

2. Step 2: Nesting parts

The actual nesting of parts takes place in this step. During nesting the following
information is displayed

– Number of parts that are already processed/ nested

– Total amount of parts that must be nested
– Amount of parts placed outside the platform boundaries (failed parts)
– Nesting density
– Nesting height
– A graph showing the evolution of nesting density and height in real time

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The graph can be managed during nesting in the following way:

Action Result
Click + hold left mouse button and Selects a certain period of time from the chart to
move the mouse visualize in more detail
Scroll mouse wheel Zoom in/out of the chart
Double left click Zoom out to the main view of the chart
Hover with the mouse over the The density/height values at the indicated time on
points on the charts the chart are shown
Save as PNG Exports a PNG of the chart
Export to CSV Exports the values of the chart to a CSV file

3. Step 3: Nesting optimization

Depending on the chosen ‘Stop criteria’, the 3D nester further optimizes the nesting.
During this optimization the nesting height is lowered, together with an increase of the
nest density.

4. Step 4: Interlocking test

During the final step an interlocking test is performed.

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Interlocking means that 2 (or more) parts cannot be separated due to the positions they
are nested in. If interlocking is detected, the progress bar will color red and all suspected
interlocking parts are visualized, while the other parts are hidden.
An action is required if interlocking exist. Possible actions could be: perform a new
nesting, remove one of the problem parts from the platform, translate/ rotate one of the
problem parts, …

Interlocking No interlocking

3D Nester advanced options

Utilize the advanced nesting settings to further optimize your result. Use the nesting and part
settings to re-nest your build(s) from a certain position even if it is already launched, use
another part interval for special parts and/ or set different translation/ rotation properties per
part.

– Nesting settings

1. Start from current platform configuration

When checked, the 3D nester will start from the current platform configuration: all parts that are
within the build envelope will remain there. They might still move around during the
optimization phase.

2. Nest special parts in the platform center

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When checked, you are able to assign priority to special parts and nest them automatically in
the platform center.

3. Build height

The maximal used height is the height used during nesting. By default the height,
specified in the machine setup, of the selected machine is used. This value can
be changed though obviously this value must be smaller than the real height of
the building envelope.

Maximal used height is 195 mm

Maximal
used
height

4. Distribute parts

Distribute parts in The parts on the platform are uniformly distributed over the specified
height height.
Maximal used height = 200mm

Maximal used height = 300mm

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Optimize slice The volume of the slices is made as identical as possible amongst the
volume (*) maximal used height of the platform.
The volume of the slices is made as identical as possible and the
Optimize slice height of the platform is brought back to its minimum.
volume and height
(*) This calculation method will take some more time than the other
options.

5. (*) See ‘Check slices distribution’ for additional information.

6. Avoid interlocking

The 3D nester has an option to avoid interlocking of parts during nesting. You can either
choose to let Magics try to detect all parts that can cause interlocking or you can help by
indicating the parts which are candidates for interlocking manually. This second option will be
faster. If you choose not to use this option, an interlocking test will still be performed after the
nesting operation. If interlocking is detected after nesting, you will have the option to renest the
parts that are interlocking to solve the issue.

Option to manually indicate which parts are candidates for interlocking. The
Define nester will use this information to avoid interlocking with these parts. The
candidates manually selected candidates are colored in “orange”.
manually

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When this option is checked the 3D nester will try to analyze all parts and
Automatic identify the ones that can cause interlocking. This information will be taken into
account during nesting.

If interlocking is detected during nesting, then the nesting process is paused, only interlocked
parts are visible, and a dialog is shown. You can click on "Solve interlocking" to have Magics
renest interlocked parts, or click on "Keep current state" and manually resolve the interlocking.
When you select the "Solve interlocking" option, Magics will take into account the "Freedom of
parts" assigned to the interlocked parts before the start of the nesting (see Part settings ->
Freedom of parts).

7. Enable multiplatform placement

The 3D nester can calculate and distribute the parts between different platforms.

Nest on opened platforms The parts will only be nested on opened platforms.

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– Part settings

1. Freedom of parts

Specify which type of freedom for parts is used during nesting and this for all
Default involved parts. More information on the different types can be found below
‘Possible restrictions’.
Specify
Add different translation/ rotation restrictions to all your parts individually.
per part

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This list displays all the parts of the part list and their respective freedom.
Part Name The name of the part.
The freedom of the part, this freedom
Freedom of Parts
can be restricted.
The freedom of part can be modified by double clicking on it and selecting the
wanted value from the drop down. The angle can be modified as well for the
freedom of parts that support it.
Volume, mm³ The total amount of volume of the part
List
Also known as packing factor.

Part density, %

PD: Part density

PVol: Part volume
BBVol: Bounding box volume

2. Possible restrictions

The part will be completely fixed, meaning no rotation or translation will

Fixed
be done with the part.
Rotate 90°
The part is rotated with steps of 90°, translation is free.
and translate
The part will only turn around the X and Y axis with angles of 180° and
Fix Z will rotate freely around the Z axis, translation is free.
direction
Around the Z-axis, the part can rotate by 15°, 30°, 45° or 90°.
Fix XY The part can rotate around any axis with steps of 180° only,
directions translations are free.
Fix bottom The part will only turn around the Z axis, translation is free.
plane Around the Z-axis, the part can rotate by 15°, 30°, 45° or 90°.
Fix bottom
The part will only turn around the Z axis with steps of 180°, translation
plane and XY
is free.

Translate
The part will only be translated.
only

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Rotation Translation
Around axis Direction
X Y Z X Y Z
Rotate 90° and translate 90° 90° 90° Yes Yes Yes
15°
30°
Fix Z direction 180° 180° Yes Yes Yes
45°
90°
15°
30°
Fix bottom plane No No Yes Yes Yes
45°
90°
Fix X-Y directions 180° 180° 180° Yes Yes Yes
Fix bottom plane and X-Y No No 180° Yes Yes Yes
Translate only No No No Yes Yes Yes
Fixed No No No No No No

3. Set different interval for special parts

Define different part intervals based on the size of the parts.

Special parts interval
Large or dense parts preferably use a special part interval.

– Normal part interval = 8 mm

– Normal - large interval = 10 mm
– Large interval = 12 mm

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This list displays all the parts of the Part List

Name The name of the part.
Special part Check to indicate the special parts
The freedom of part can be modified by double clicking on it and selecting the
wanted value from the drop down. The angle can be modified as well for the
freedom of parts that support it.
Volume, mm3 The total amount of volume of the part
List Also known as packing factor.

Part Density, %

PD: Part density

PVol: Part volume
BBVol: Bounding box volume

4. How is it working?

The normal interval is equal to the specified value at the part interval.

– Large interval

The large interval is equal to the specified value at the special parts interval.

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– Normal – Large interval

The normal – large interval is equal to the average of the part interval and the interval for
special parts.

5. Normal interval

6. Parts on machine layer

Parts are slightly post- shifted so that the minimal z-

Place on a machine layer coordinate of each part is located precisely on a layer
of the machine.

The layer thickness defined in the machine library is

Get from machine properties
taken into account when placing parts at the layers
Manually specify the layer thickness to use when
Specify
placing parts on the layers

3D Nesting Profiles

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The 3D Nester gives you the possibility to work with different profiles. These profiles must be
created once and can then be transferred amongst others.
For non – advanced users it is easy to nest parts since only the correct profile has to be
chosen; for the advanced users it might be a time saver since the parameter defining only has
to be done once.

Once all parameters are defined in the 3D Nester the profile can be saved easily by pressing
the ‘Save profile’ button: just input the profile name and click OK button.

To remove profiles, click on the ‘Delete profile’ button in the 3D Nester dialog box, and confirm
the profile deletion.

– Transfer profiles

Profiles can easily be transferred to other systems via the Magics profile. The profile has to be
created on one system and can then be exported. To use these profiles on another system, the
profile has to be imported again.

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2. 3D Nester - Nest by Bounding Box

When nesting by bounding box, the algorithm takes into account just the bounding box of the
parts when arranging them inside the platform. This type of nesting is favorable for a fast
nesting process. All parameters that are used to nest by geometry and can apply for nesting by
bounding box are available.

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3. 3D Nester - Check slices distribution

The slice distribution chart gives you the possibility to analyze the surface area for each layer
and distribution within your build. Less difference between the layers will increase the build
quality.
There are 2 options within the 3D nester dialog that have an influence on the slices distribution
graph. (3D Nester – Nesting settings – Optimization criteria)

Distribute in height

Maximal used height: Complete build height

Part interval: 5mm

Margin to sides: 5mm

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Distribute in height

Distribution
Smooth curves
Peak size
Amount of peaks

Optimize slice volume

Maximal used height: Complete build height

Part interval: 5mm

Margin to sides: 5mm

Distribution
Smooth curves
Peak size
Amount of peaks

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Optimize slice volume and height

Maximal used height: Complete build height

Part interval: 5mm

Margin to sides: 5mm

Distribution
Smooth curves
Difference between top/ bottom hills
Number of hills

Remark: Manual ending of the nesting procedure is needed when using one of the
optimization methods.

4. Subnester

The Subnester is a pre–nester which can be executed before creating your Sinterbox. It
will nest selected parts according to the specifications set by you. In this way small and fragile
parts are nicely nested together.
The Subnester provides 2 different types of placement solution: a box based or sphere based
solution.

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Workflow

– Import part(s)
– Define orientation
– Position large part(s)
– Create virtual copies
– Pre nest parts
– Protect small/ fragile part(s)
– Run 3D Nester
– Export platform

Subnester dialog
– Box / Sphere

The Subnester part exists out of one simple dialog, providing you all possibilities to easily pre–
nest your parts.

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The selected parts are nested in a box The selected parts are nested in a sphere
based shape. based shape.
The box placement solution is best chosen The sphere placement solution is best chosen
when creating afterwards a box based when creating afterwards a freeform based
Sinterbox. Sinterbox.

Part interval This value refers to the minimal distance between two parts
Choose the type restriction to translate and rotate your parts
The part will only turn around the Z axis,
Fix bottom plane
Freedom of translation is free.
parts Translate only The part will only be translated.
The part will be translated and rotated by
Rotate 90° and translate
90°
When checked the parts pre- nested parts are placed in a group and are
Group parts
treated as one part.

– Custom Box

The user can create a custom box to pre-nest parts to fit within the still available space (box) on
the platform.

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Part interval This value refers to the minimal distance between two parts
Choose the type restriction to translate and rotate your parts
The part will only turn around the Z axis,
Fix bottom plane
Freedom of translation is free.
parts Translate only The part will only be translated.
The part will be translated and rotated by
Rotate 90° and translate
90°
XYZ locked/
Specify the maximum amount of space available
unlocked
When checked the parts pre-nested parts are placed in a group and are
Group parts
treated as one part.

Parts nested based upon ‘free’ space and placed within the
Platform with ‘free’ space
build

5. Sinterbox

The Sinterboxes can be used to protect your small and fragile parts. After building they
can easily be found due to the box around them.
There are 2 different types of Sinterboxes that can be created: a box based Sinterbox or a
freeform Sinterbox following the shape of your parts.

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The box is created within 3 easy steps.

Workflow

– Import part(s)
– Define orientation
– Position large part(s)
– Create virtual copies
– Pre nest parts
– Protect small/ fragile part(s)
– Run 3D Nester
– Export platform

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Sinterbox window

Choose between a Rectangular shaped sinterbox and a Freeform sinterbox which

follows the outer line of your parts.

– Rectangular sinterbox

Directly create a rectangular sinterbox around the selected parts.

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Sinterbox
The minimum distance between (the bounding box of) a part and the
Margin to part (a)
edge of the Sinterbox
Thickness (b) The wall thickness of the box, except the cover thickness
Cover thickness
The wall thickness of the cover of the box
(c)
Creates walls in between parts within the rectangular sinterbox. At the
end, each part will have its own compartment in the sinterbox. The
thickness of the internal walls is the same as Beam thickness (e), the
Create internal thickness defined for the perforations.
walls

Note: To calculate the position of the walls, the bounding box

of each part is used.

Perforations
Hole size (d) You can define the size of the perforation
Beam thickness
The distance between two perforations
(e)

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Label
Part names will enter all the part names as text to the label. Amount of
Add content
parts will enter the total amount of parts inside the sinterbox to the label.
Content Type here the text you’d like to have on the sinterbox.
Font Indicates the style of the text of the label.
Size Indicate the size of the text in pt or mm.
Raised/Engraved Indicate if the text of the label should be raised or engraved.
Height Indicate the height or depth of the label.
Margin Distance between text and edge of the box.
Preview
Preview Shows a preview of the sinterbox.

Rectangle sinterbox; No internal walls; Preview Rectangle sinterbox; Internal walls; Preview

Rectangle sinterbox; No internal walls; Applied Rectangle sinterbox; Internal walls; Applied

– Freeform Sinterbox

Directly create a freeform Sinterbox around the selected parts.

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Sinterbox
The minimum distance between (the bounding box of) a part and the
Margin to part (a)
edge of the Sinterbox
Creates walls in between parts within the rectangular sinterbox. At the
end, each part will have its own compartment in the sinterbox. The
thickness of the internal walls is the same as Beam thickness (e), the
Create internal thickness defined for the perforations.
walls

Note: To calculate the position of the walls, the bounding box

of each part is used.

Perforations
Hole size (d) You can define the size of the perforation
Beam thickness
The distance between two perforations
(e)
Label
Part names will enter all the part names as text to the label. Amount of
Add content
parts will enter the total amount of parts inside the sinterbox to the label.
Content Type here the text you’d like to have on the sinterbox.
Font Indicates the style of the text of the label.
Size Indicate the size of the text in pt or mm.
Raised/Engraved Indicate if the text of the label should be raised or engraved.

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Height Indicate the height or depth of the label.

Margin Distance between text and edge of the box.
Preview
Preview Shows a preview of the sinterbox.

Freeform sinterbox; Internal walls; Preview

Freeform sinterbox; Internal walls; Applied

6. Toggle Nesting Density

Show /hide the nesting density of the current platform.

– See Toggle Nesting Density, page 454

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Chapter 8. Support Generation

8.1. Introduction
Magics RP is equipped with a module for support generation. The support generator allows
you to generate supports for a whole platform and then edit the support on each surface
individually. This support generation work routine allows you to easily adapt supports also after
the part has been replaced on the building platform.
Support is only needed under certain surfaces. The selection is based upon the selection
parameters from the Machine Properties (1: Support generation parameters). Magics selects
these surfaces when entering the support generation module (2: Automatic support
generation). Once you’ve arrived in the support generator module, Magics allows you to adapt
the support to your needs (3: Modifying surfaces, support types and parameters). The support
generation parameters are crucial during the initial automatic support generation but can be
modified for each individual support. In the first place you can adapt the construction
parameters, which are defined in the Machine Setup. This interactive change applies only to
the active support. The active support is the one that is visible on your screen or when you
made them all visible, it is the one with a different color (the bad edges color; default yellow).
Secondly you can remove parts of the support in 3D or remove and if necessary redraw
portions of the support in the 2D-edit window. At last you can save or export the support you’ve
made.
Schematically a support is generated in the following steps:
1. Definition of the selection and the construction parameters in the Machine Setup;
2. Automatic support generation;
3. Modification of the support types and construction parameters;
4. 2D and 3D editing of the supports;
5. Saving and exporting the supports.

There are also special visualization options for the visualization of volume supports.

8.2. Magics - Support Generation ribbon

1. Supported Area Preview

Before generating your support within the support generation module, you can in
advance visualize the areas that would need support. Based on the surface angle, the
supported areas are indicated with color codes. Additionally, it is possible to highlight the down
facing edges. When checking the ‘Show support preview’ checkbox, a provisional display of
the support is visualized. At the same time of the visualization, you can change the surface
angle or re-position your part based on the analysis of the surfaces and edges.

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Surface Adjust the surface angle and see immediately on your part how the surfaces
Angle that need support change.
Mark
Marks the highlighted areas.
highlighted

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2. Generate Support

Easily create support structures on your part. Simply choose your platform, place your
parts and generate your support.

3. Generate Support of Selected

Generate support for selected parts without accessing the support generation module. It
will generate support for a mesh part.
To generate the supports, Magics will utilize the support parameters which are found within the
actual support profile without entering Support Generation mode.

4. Manual Support

Let Magics subdivide your part into the different surfaces that need support. Within the
support generation module you can manually create the needed support structures for the
already existing surfaces.

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5. Transfer Support

By clicking on transfer support button from the support generation ribbon user can select
the “master part” (part with support) and the “destination part(s)”. Automatic orientation will
change the orientation “destination part(s)” to “master part”. After clicking on “Ok” button the
algorithm will transfer all possible supports.
If the algorithm finds new support surfaces it will generate new surfaces based on automatic
supports criteria in machine properties.

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Results dialogue
This dialogue will show successfully, unsuccessfully and newly generated support surfaces.
Unsuccessful supports will be highlighted as red.

6. Export support

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Export supports as STL files.

Open loops (contours with gaps in it) or gaps in the
Stitch
STL File contours are closed.
During export a reduction of triangles is performed on
Triangle Reduction
the support.
Export supports directly as slices.

Slice File
Remark: Type depends on specifications made in machine properties

Solid
Select how the file name must be displayed for your machine.
supports

7. Unload support

Unload generated supports of parts that are selected.

8. Add No-Support Zones

Some parts have surfaces that are very difficult to access and thus present complications for
post-processing. Under these circumstances, it may be preferential to prevent supports from
being generated in these zones, especially when achieving a higher quality surface finish
outweighs a possible deformation due to lack of supports.

Important remark: In principle, these surfaces require supports to prevent surface

deformation and prohibiting the generation of supports in these zones should be
avoided as much as possible in combination with automatic support generation (like
e-stage).

How to create ‘no-support zones’:

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1. Press the ‘add No-Support Zones’ icon

2. The ‘Indicate No-Support Zones’ window will pop up, and the cursor will change into a
“marking” cursor. The view and marking tools can also be used to indicate the desired
areas.

3. Mark the surfaces where no support is required.

4. Click on ‘Add marked are’ to define the marked triangles as ‘No-Support Zones’. The
marked triangles will turn orange.

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Depending on the checkboxes that are turned on or off in the ‘Indicate No-Support Zones’
window, SG or E-stage will not generate support on the No-Support Zones. You can see the
difference below.

9. Toggle No-Support Zones

Toggle the visualization of the No-Support Zones.

10. Support Visibility

Toggle the visibility of the supports structures for all parts present in the scene.

– For support visualization settings, see paragraph Supports in Settings

11. Baseplate Visibility

Toggle the visibility of the baseplate.

8.3. Automatic Support Generation

Automatic support generation can be done in different steps. The parameters for the support
generation are defined like all other machine parameters and they are stored in support
profiles.

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8.4. Machine Setup

Machine properties can be consulted by going to File/Machines/My Machines. Select the
appropriate machine and then click with the right mouse button and select Edit option.

1. Build Time Estimation

– See Build time estimation page, page 277

2. Cost Estimation
– See Cost estimation page, page 281

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3. Support Generation Mode

Generate support surfaces at Manual support is a useful feature for those who want to mark
specific areas for support and do not want to wait too long for auto-generating of support
surfaces which are not needed. Disable “Generate support surfaces at Manual support” to not
calculate and generate these support surfaces in your support list.
If Use No-support zones for Support Generation mode is checked, No-support zones will be
taken into account when generating the support surfaces.
Supports can be converted to STL on Exit SG. You can choose to create a separate STL with a
specific naming convention or you can merge the STL with the STL of the part. There is the
option to use various fixing operations.

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4. Support generation parameters

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Magics offers the possibility to manage different support parameters profiles for
the same machine. This represents something useful when working with
different kind of parts, different materials or different part size which might
request different supports and parameters.
Create a new support profile for the selected
Create new profile
machine.
Use an existing profile to create a new profile by
copying. After copying the profile you can make the
Profile Copy profile needed modifications. Make sure to save your
modifications to the ‘Machine library’.
(Select ‘Machine library in the left down corner)
Load an already existing profile into your instance of
Load profile Magics. Profiles generated on other systems can also
be loaded.
Rename profile Add a new name for the profile
Remove a profile from the list when it is no longer
Delete profile
used
Support The user can define which types of support are generated automatically.
type

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selection
For every support type, you can define a default support type profile. These
profiles can be created in Support Generation Mode.
Select the type for which you want to choose the
Type
default.
The support type profiles in this dropdown, will be
available in Support Generation Mode. The selected
Default profile will be the default profile that is used.
support It is possible to load
type Load profile from another support type profiles that
profiles machine were created for another
Profile machine.
Add a new name for the
Rename profile
profile.
Remove a profile from the
Delete profile list when it is no longer
used.

– Surface filters section

The Surface Angle defines which triangles are selected for support
generation and which are not. It is defined as the angle between the
horizontal plane and the surface. Surfaces whose angle to the horizontal
Surface angle plane is bigger than the selection angle are supposed to be self-supporting.
This angle can be changed individually for each supported surface in the
Support Generation Module (see Modifying Surfaces, Support, Types and
Parameters).
Noise in the STL file can give rise to a huge amount of surfaces. The
Surface Filter will filter out all surfaces which are smaller than this
Surface filter
parameter, and which are supported by at least one other triangle. These
surfaces will not be visible in the interactive support generator.
Unconditional The unconditional surface filter will filter out all surfaces smaller than this
surface filter parameter, also those that are not supported by other triangles.
Magics will support sharp down facing edges or points in the STL-file, in
cases where there is no complete down facing surface available like for
example in the following figures:

Sharp edge
filter
The surface area of a sharp edge support is 0. Consequently these sharp
edges will be found at the end of the surface list in the Support Generation
Module. This functionality is very sensitive to STL noise. STL noise can
create a lot of situations in which sharp edge supports are placed. The
Sharp Edge Filter will minimize the effect of STL noise and avoid

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unnecessary supports. The value of the Sharp Edge Filter determines the
height of the details for which sharp edge supports will be generated. If this
value is 0, all sharp edges will be supported. Typically you can set this
parameter at the same value as the slice distance.

Maximum
Surfaces higher than the maximum height will not be supported.
height
Automerge
Surfaces with small sharp triangles can be automerged.
surfaces
Part to part support will be filtered out with exceptions criteria, available
options are: only keep support on partial platform contact, only keep
Filter part to
support on full platform contact, only keep individual support segments on
part supports
full platform contact, only keep individual support segments on full platform
contact while avoiding internal support.

– Support type thresholds section

A Point Support will typically be selected for very small surfaces, where a Block
Support would be too small and unstable.

Point
support

A Point Support will be selected if the surface is smaller than the

Max area
'Max Area' defined on this page.
A line support is used for narrow down facing areas. This support type consists of
a single wall down the center of the area and a number of crossing walls. A line
support is not as strong, but easier to remove than classical block support. Since
high line supports can become unstable, the user can reinforce them with an
additional contour wall.

Line
support
The thinness of the surface area must at least be equal to this value.
The thinness indicates how narrow the shape of the surface is. It is
Min
calculated as the ratio of the square contour length and the area of
thinness
the surface. With this parameter the user can influence the number
of automatically generated line supports.
Max
In order to receive a line support automatically, the average width of
surface
the surface area may not exceed this value.
width

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Line* supports are a special kind of line supports. They support down facing
edges. They do not support a surface (the surface is 0 mm² and contains 0
triangles).

Line*
support

Point* on When the edge is shorter than the given length, a point support will
edge be set.
No support This filter will not put supports when the edge is shorter than the
on edge given length.
Gussets will support on a sidewall, rather than on the platform or on a surface
below.

Gusset
support
Minimum Gussets are only interesting for surfaces that are positioned rather
surface high (save resin). The surface must be higher than the Minimum
height Surface Height in order to receive a Gusset Support automatically.
Maximum
This parameter determines how far the supporting wall can be from
distance to
the supported surface.
wall
Search for
Create gusset supports between a surface and a wall that are not
remote
directly connected.
walls

– Baseplate

When enabled, a baseplate will automatically be generated for each part on the platform. This
plate will also be printed and will be considered as support. It is often used in DLP printing, so
parts can easily be removed from the platform, but it can also be useful in other technologies,
like metal.

Switch Toggles the baseplate on or off

Method The baseplate that is generated will
Contour
roughly follow the contour of the parts.

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The baseplate that is generated will

be rectangular, according to the
bounding box of the parts.

Bounding Box

The thickness of the generated baseplate.

Thickness

Offset The offset that will be given to the baseplate, from the edge of the parts.
When enabled, the edge of the baseplate will be lifted up. This can make
Lift edge
it easier to remove from the platform.
Height The height with which the edge is lifted.
When enabled, the baseplate will be perforated. This can be used to
consume less material.

Add perforations

Size The size of the edge of the (square) perforations.

The space between the perforations, as measured from the edge of one
Spacing
perforation to the edge of the next perforation.

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Baseplate Visibility button can be found in the SUPPORT ribbon.

– Part based parameters section

No teeth at Create teeth at platform at the bottom of a support when this is touching the
platform platform, for easy support removal.
When no teeth are generated, the solid height
parameter determines a non- perforated
Solid height
support zone when perforations are applied to
the support.
Point Point support reinforcement creates a box around the support; when a point
reinforcement support height is smaller than the defined value, the reinforcement will not
min height be generated.
Line Line support reinforcement creates a box around the support; when a line
reinforcement support height is smaller than the defined value, the reinforcement will not
min height be generated.
Supports will be trimmed with all other parts on the platform. It is advised to
Trim supports
only turn this on if needed because it will slow down the generation of the
on other parts
supports.

8.5. Support Parameters

1. General
Offset

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1. XY offset

XY offset

Determine the distance between the edge of the part

and the border of the support.

2. Z offset

Z offset

Determine the distance between the top and/or the bottom of the
support and their respective surfaces. Positive values ensure the
support penetrates the part. This is recommended to properly
connect the support to the part.

Upper Z Offset You can specify an offset in the supported surface.

Lower Z Offset You can specify an offset in the supporting surface.

3. Vertical wall offset

Vertical wall offset

In case a support is generated beside a vertical wall, the
parameter Vertical Wall Offset makes sure a distance is kept
between the vertical wall and the support. This avoids support
being attached to the vertical wall and hence, unnecessary
difficulties and marks on the part when removing the support.

4. No support offset

No support offset
A (more or less) vertical wall gives support to another surface; in
this case, no support needs to be generated for very small
overhangs.
Define the distance up till an overhang is self-supporting and the
minimum height for a wall to be considered a supporting wall.

Wall offset (a) Define the distance up till where the vertical wall is supporting.

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Min height
Define the minimum height of the wall to be a supporting wall.
supporting wall (b)

Critical points

1. Lowest line

Lowest line
support

Automatically generate an extra line of support to ensure the

lower line (the imaginary line connecting the lowest points of the
surface) is supported

Min Length (a) Lowest lines smaller than this length will be filtered out.

2. Local minima support

It can happen that some local minima are not supported. This can
cause problems when building the part with some RP –
Local minima
techniques. When Local Minima is checked, a support will be
support
placed. Local Minima is most convenient when building organic
parts.
Move the hatching intersection to support the local minima
Adjust hatching
(lowest points of the part)

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Add Point Support

Add a point support to support local minima. When needed, rotate

the point to match the hatching rotation.

Will rotate the added point support to have the same angle of
Align with hatching
rotation as the hatching of the block support.

3. Filter short segments

Filter short A support with a length less than the given one will be filtered
segments out.
Max length Supports shorter than max lengths will be filtered out.

4. Solid border

Solid Border

A border will connect support that otherwise would be loosely

connected. It is used mostly for small supports with large teeth in
comparison to the rest of the support.

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Reinforcement line

Reinforcement line

A line support that is manually drawn to reinforce an existing support

that may be too fragile to stand on its own. To use this function, select
"Draw reinforcement line" found in 2D edit tools.

Max height The Maximum height of the reinforcement line.

Delete line(s) Will remove the drawn reinforcement line.

Support height

Support height Adapt the height of the support

Connect to platform The length of the support reaches till the platform

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Fixed height

Customize the height of the support by defining a fixed height

Support thickness

Thickness Set the thickness for non-solid supports.

Upper teeth The thickness of the upper teeth in mm.
Wall The thickness of the wall in mm.
Lower teeth The thickness of the lower teeth in mm.

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Angled support

Support angle and Create supports under a certain angle to prevent that the supports are
rescale located on up – facing surfaces
Angle a part to part support to ensure that it is not located on up-facing
Vertical angled
surfaces. Support will be angled starting from the lowest point of the
support
surface, or from the defined distance (a) from the surface.

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In- line angled

support

Angle a part to art support to ensure that it is not located on up-facing

surfaces. Support will be angled from the connection point with the part.

Top (a) Define top straight part of the support.

Bottom (b) Define bottom straight part of the support.
Shift (c) Define the translation distance of the support on X and/or Y axis.
Angle (d) Define the angle of support on X and/or Y axis.
Show current
Shows current support before applying changes.
support
Preview support Preview angled support without applying changes.

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Rescale support

Define a new projection area to be used when generating angled

Rescale support
support.
Indicate on X and / or Y axis the multiplication factor of the projection
Factor
area
Center Indicate the center of scaling
Rescale lower
teeth

Rescale support’s lower teeth to synchronize the teeth number with the
upper teeth.

Show current
Shows current support before applying changes.
support
Preview support Preview angled support without applying changes.

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Support reinforcement

Support
reinforcement

Create a step-like base at the support bottom to increase its size and
create a stronger connection with the platform.

Manual Define parameters manually

Inner Create extra support starting from the outer border, reaching inwards
Outer border Create extra support starting from the outer border, reaching outwards
Create extra supports starting from the internal hatching, reaching both
Internal
directions perpendicular to the hatching
The distance between the existing support structure and the furthest
Reach (a)
newly created structure
Spacing (b) The space between each line support

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Max height (c) The height of the biggest “step”

Min height (d) Set the minimum height of each line support
Automatic Supports are automatically broadened during generation
Minimum length All supports smaller than this minimum length will be broadened
The distance between the existing support structure and the furthest
Reach (a)
newly created structure
Spacing (b) The space between each line support
Max height (c) The height of the biggest “step”
Min height (d) Set the minimum height of each line support

2. Block
Hatching

Block support are made of a grid of X and Y lines, called hatching.

Define the distance between these lines and the rotation angle around
the Z axis.

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X Hatching (a) The distance between two X or Y hatching.

Y Hatching (b)
The hatching on the first picture have no angle and they are parallel to
the X- and Y-axes. On the second picture, they have an angle of 45°.

Rotation Angle (c)

Filter hatching
segments
In some cases it might happen that very small hatches are created close
to the support border. Remove the hatches that are closer to the border
than the defined minimum distance and have an angle with the border
smaller than the defined minimum angle.

Min distance (d) Minimum distance of hatching stays away from the border.
Angle defines the minimum angle a rib has to make with the border in
Min angle (e) order not to be withdrawn with the clearance distance.

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Hatching teeth

Upper teeth - You can specify whether you want Upper Teeth and/or Lower Teeth.

l Height (a)
l Top length (b)
l Base length (c)
l Base interval (d)

Break-off points - Create break-off points on teeth to break the supports on these points and
easily remove it. Note that b value corresponds to the Top length parameter defined in Teeth
page

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Top addition (e) - Broaden your teeth on top. Total length = Top addition + Top length
Waist Z-shift (f) - Move the break-off point of the tooth with this parameter in the Z-direction

Lower teeth - Enable generation of lower teeth. Lower Teeth are only used if the support is
trimming on another part. If the support is trimmed on the platform, there are no lower teeth.

l Use different values for lower teeth - Check it to set different values for lower teeth and
break-off points of lower teeth
l Height (a)
l Top length (b)
l Base length (c)
l Base interval (d)

Break-off points - Create break-off points on teeth to break the supports on these points and
easily remove it. Note that b value corresponds to the Top length parameter defined in Teeth
page

Top addition (e) - Broaden your teeth on top. Total length = Top addition + Top length
Waist Z-shift (f) - Move the break-off point of the tooth with this parameter in the Z-direction

Keep teeth top in ends - You can decide to have a full tooth at the end of a support, instead of
half a tooth.

Teeth synchronization - If switch is off, teeth won't be synchronized

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Teeth top at intersection - Teeth of X and Y hatching intersect each other in the middle of the
top of the teeth

Teeth base at intersection - Teeth of X and Y hatching intersect each other in the middle of the
base of the teeth

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Border

Border

The borders of the support will be reinforced with a contour wall.

Set separate
thickness for Set a separate thickness for a non-solid border.
border
Set the thickness of the upper teeth that reach the different upper
Upper teeth
surfaces.
Set the thickness of the wall in between the upper teeth and platform/
Wall
lower teeth.
Lower teeth Set the thickness of the lower teeth that touches lower surfaces.
Create a gusset border to decrease the size of the block support. The
Gusset border
gusset support will be attached to the surface and the block support.

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Length The length of the gusset is the length of the rib attached to the part.
Interval The interval determines the distance between the gussets.
The notch parameter indicates how much the gusset is extracted from
Notch
the corner.
The gusset angle, the angle between the overhang and the free border
Angle
of the gusset, can be determined.

Border teeth

Upper teeth - You can specify whether you want Upper Teeth and/or Lower Teeth.

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l Height (a)
l Top length (b)
l Base length (c)
l Base interval (d)

Break-off points - Create break-off points on teeth to break the supports on these points and
easily remove it. Note that b value corresponds to the Top length parameter defined in Teeth
page

Top addition (e) - Broaden your teeth on top. Total length = Top addition + Top length
Waist Z-shift (f) - Move the break-off point of the tooth with this parameter in the Z-direction

Lower teeth - Enable generation of lower teeth. Lower Teeth are only used if the support is
trimming on another part. If the support is trimmed on the platform, there are no lower teeth.

l Use different values for lower teeth - Check it to set different values for lower teeth and
break-off points of lower teeth
l Height (a)
l Top length (b)
l Base length (c)
l Base interval (d)

Break-off points - Create break-off points on teeth to break the supports on these points and
easily remove it. Note that b value corresponds to the Top length parameter defined in Teeth
page

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Top addition (e) - Broaden your teeth on top. Total length = Top addition + Top length
Waist Z-shift (f) - Move the break-off point of the tooth with this parameter in the Z-direction

Keep teeth top in ends - You can decide to have a full tooth at the end of a support, instead of
half a tooth.

Fragmentation

To facilitate the removal of the support, create

gaps in the hatching by selecting fragmentation
Hatching fragmentation option

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X Interval (a) The interval of the gaps according the X direction.

Y Interval (b) The interval of the gaps according the X direction.
Separation Width (c) The width of the gaps in the hatching.
Hatching fragmentation at crossing

To facilitate the removal of the support, create

gaps at crossing of points X and Y hatching.

X Interval (d) The interval of the gaps according the X direction.

Y Interval (e) The interval of the gaps according the X direction.
Separation Width (f) The width of the gaps in the hatching.
Border fragmentation Gaps in the border support will be generated
Separation Width (g) Gaps width
Fragment along the border

Distance between the end of a gap and the

Interval (h)
starting of the next
Gaps in the border support will be generated just
Fragment at crossing with hatching where a crossing point (between hatching and
support borders) is located

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Perforations

Border perforations - To strengthen the support, do not add perforations for the border.

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Hatching perforations - To strengthen the support, do not add perforations for the hatching.

l Non perforated zone from the border - The hatching will not be perforated for the given
distance, measured from the border to the inside. This will reinforce the support.

Shape - diamond

l Beam (a) - The beam thickness defines the thickness of the beams.
l Angle (b) - The perforation angle determines the angle of the perforations
l Height (c) - The height of the vertical part is set with this parameter.
l Solid Height (d) - The separate parameter Solid Height guarantees a good connection to
the platform and the teeth.

Shape - rectangle

l Width (a) - Define the width of the rectangular holes.

l Interval (b) - Define the interval between the holes.
l Height (c) - Define the height of the rectangular holes
l Solid Height (d) - This parameter guarantees a good connection to the platform and the
part.
l Perforate only (rows) - The support will only be perforated for the given rows, starting
from the bottom. This enables the drainage of resin and ensures stable supports.

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Trim hatching by border - If not checked, the hatching of the support are extended outside the
border of the surface.

Heat sink

Solids supports

Create solid support in between the already existing supports, to aid

heat transfer from part to the platform

Upper (a) Distance between the part and heat transferring support
Lower (b) Distance between the heat transferring support and the platform
Inner (c) Distance between existing support and the heat transferring support

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3. Line
Teeth

Upper teeth - You can specify whether you want Upper Teeth and/or Lower Teeth.

l Height (a)
l Top length (b)
l Base length (c)
l Base interval (d)

Break-off points - Create break-off points on teeth to break the supports on these points and
easily remove it. Note that b value corresponds to the Top length parameter defined in Teeth
page

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Top addition (e) - Broaden your teeth on top. Total length = Top addition + Top length
Waist Z-shift (f) - Move the break-off point of the tooth with this parameter in the Z-direction

Lower teeth - Enable generation of lower teeth. Lower Teeth are only used if the support is
trimming on another part. If the support is trimmed on the platform, there are no lower teeth.

l Use different values for lower teeth - Check it to set different values for lower teeth and
break-off points of lower teeth
l Height (a)
l Top length (b)
l Base length (c)
l Base interval (d)

Break-off points - Create break-off points on teeth to break the supports on these points and
easily remove it. Note that b value corresponds to the Top length parameter defined in Teeth
page

Top addition (e) - Broaden your teeth on top. Total length = Top addition + Top length
Waist Z-shift (f) - Move the break-off point of the tooth with this parameter in the Z-direction

Keep teeth top in ends - You can decide to have a full tooth at the end of a support, instead of
half a tooth.

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Cross line

Determine the length of the cross line, taking into account that large
cross lines are more stable but harder to remove, and define the length
of the contact between the cross line and the surface.

Min Rib Length (a) The length of the crossing lines.

Max Contact
The contact length of the crossing lines with the support.
Length (b)
Cross lines interval
The interval between two consecutive cross lines.
(c)
To minimize the contact area of the support with the parts, the cross
Sunken Cross lines can be sunken, this means that they will not go till the part. They
Lines will stop at a certain distance before the part.

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Distance The distance that a sunken cross line will stop before the part.
Line reinforcement

You can decide to reinforce a support by adding an extra contour by

checking the reinforcement checkbox. This is only done automatically if
the height of the surface is bigger than the Reinforcement Height.

Cross line teeth

Upper teeth - You can specify whether you want Upper Teeth and/or Lower Teeth.

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l Height (a)
l Top length (b)
l Base length (c)
l Base interval (d)

Break-off points - Create break-off points on teeth to break the supports on these points and
easily remove it. Note that b value corresponds to the Top length parameter defined in Teeth
page

Top addition (e) - Broaden your teeth on top. Total length = Top addition + Top length
Waist Z-shift (f) - Move the break-off point of the tooth with this parameter in the Z-direction

Lower teeth - Enable generation of lower teeth. Lower Teeth are only used if the support is
trimming on another part. If the support is trimmed on the platform, there are no lower teeth.

l Use different values for lower teeth - Check it to set different values for lower teeth and
break-off points of lower teeth
l Height (a)
l Top length (b)
l Base length (c)
l Base interval (d)

Break-off points - Create break-off points on teeth to break the supports on these points and
easily remove it. Note that b value corresponds to the Top length parameter defined in Teeth
page

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Top addition (e) - Broaden your teeth on top. Total length = Top addition + Top length
Waist Z-shift (f) - Move the break-off point of the tooth with this parameter in the Z-direction

Teeth synchronization - If switch is off, teeth won't be synchronized

Teeth top at intersection - Teeth of X and Y hatching intersect each other in the middle of the
top of the teeth

Teeth base at intersection - Teeth of X and Y hatching intersect each other in the middle of the
base of the teeth

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Perforations

Perforations - To strengthen the support, do not add perforations for the border.

Shape - diamond

l Beam (a) - The beam thickness defines the thickness of the beams.
l Angle (b) - The perforation angle determines the angle of the perforations
l Height (c) - The height of the vertical part is set with this parameter.
l Solid Height (d) - The separate parameter Solid Height guarantees a good connection to
the platform and the teeth.

Shape - rectangle

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l Width (a) - Define the width of the rectangular holes.

l Interval (b) - Define the interval between the holes.
l Height (c) - Define the height of the rectangular holes
l Solid Height (d) - This parameter guarantees a good connection to the platform and the
part.
l Perforate only (rows) - The support will only be perforated for the given rows, starting
from the bottom. This enables the drainage of resin and ensures stable supports.

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4. Line*

Line* is placed automatically under down-facing edges. It has the same parameters as 3 Line

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5. Point
Rib

Define the size of the support connection with the

part and ensure support stability.

Number of ribs Determine the number of ribs

Determines the length of the ribs.

Note: you need a minimal length in

Minimum Rib Length (a)
order to have enough stability and to
prevent the support from falling through
the platform grid.

You also can define whether to support the

Max contact length (b) complete surface or only a certain Contact
Length.

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You can choose the angle from the support to the

Contact slope - Angle (c)
part.
You can choose the distance from the support to
Contact slope - Height (d)
the part.
Sink ribs

To minimize the contact area of the support with

the parts, some ribs of the point support can be
sunken. This means that they will not go till the
part. They will stop at a certain distance before
the part.

Number of sunken ribs Determine the number of the ribs to be sunk.

The distance that a sunken rib will stop before the
Distance
part.
Reinforce point support

You can decide to reinforce a support by adding

an extra contour.

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Teeth

Lower teeth - Enable generation of lower teeth. Lower Teeth are only used if the support is
trimming on another part. If the support is trimmed on the platform, there are no lower teeth.

l Use different values for lower teeth - Check it to set different values for lower teeth and
break-off points of lower teeth
l Height (a)
l Top length (b)
l Base length (c)
l Base interval (d)

Break-off points - Create break-off points on teeth to break the supports on these points and
easily remove it. Note that b value corresponds to the Top length parameter defined in Teeth
page

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Top addition (e) - Broaden your teeth on top. Total length = Top addition + Top length
Waist Z-shift (f) - Move the break-off point of the tooth with this parameter in the Z-direction

6. Point*

Point* will be added automatically on down-facing vertices. Parameters are similar to 5 Point

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7. Web
Web

Web support consists of a bundle of ribs, all directed to the center of the
surface, and a number of circular walls that connect these ribs. With
automatic radius calculation option, the optimal radius for the web will
be automatically defined.

Number of ribs This parameter specifies the number of ribs.

Manually calculate If checked, define the radius of the web. If unchecked, the radius is

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automatically calculated - it is the local width decreased with the XY-

web radius
offset value.
This parameter specifies the length of the ribs from the center to the
Radius (r)
border of the surface.
This parameter specifies the distance between 2 subsequent circular
Walls distance (a)
walls. It also determines the radius of the inner circular wall.

Teeth

Upper teeth - You can specify whether you want Upper Teeth and/or Lower Teeth.

l Height (a)
l Top length (b)

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l Base length (c)

l Base interval (d)

Break-off points - Create break-off points on teeth to break the supports on these points and
easily remove it. Note that b value corresponds to the Top length parameter defined in Teeth
page

Top addition (e) - Broaden your teeth on top. Total length = Top addition + Top length
Waist Z-shift (f) - Move the break-off point of the tooth with this parameter in the Z-direction

Lower teeth - Enable generation of lower teeth. Lower Teeth are only used if the support is
trimming on another part. If the support is trimmed on the platform, there are no lower teeth.

l Use different values for lower teeth - Check it to set different values for lower teeth and
break-off points of lower teeth
l Height (a)
l Top length (b)
l Base length (c)
l Base interval (d)

Break-off points - Create break-off points on teeth to break the supports on these points and
easily remove it. Note that b value corresponds to the Top length parameter defined in Teeth
page

Top addition (e) - Broaden your teeth on top. Total length = Top addition + Top length
Waist Z-shift (f) - Move the break-off point of the tooth with this parameter in the Z-direction

Keep teeth top in ends - You can decide to have a full tooth at the end of a support, instead of
half a tooth.

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8. Contour
Wall

Walls distance

Contour support consists of a bundle of walls placed one inside the

other, that will follow the contour of the surface. Define the distance
between two walls.

Fragmentation

To facilitate the removal of the support, create gaps in the walls by

selecting fragmentation option.

Separation width Width of the gaps

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(a)
Interval (b) Distance between the end of a gap and the starting of the next one

Teeth

Upper teeth - You can specify whether you want Upper Teeth and/or Lower Teeth.

l Height (a)
l Top length (b)
l Base length (c)
l Base interval (d)

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Break-off points - Create break-off points on teeth to break the supports on these points and
easily remove it. Note that b value corresponds to the Top length parameter defined in Teeth
page

Top addition (e) - Broaden your teeth on top. Total length = Top addition + Top length
Waist Z-shift (f) - Move the break-off point of the tooth with this parameter in the Z-direction

Lower teeth - Enable generation of lower teeth. Lower Teeth are only used if the support is
trimming on another part. If the support is trimmed on the platform, there are no lower teeth.

l Use different values for lower teeth - Check it to set different values for lower teeth and
break-off points of lower teeth
l Height (a)
l Top length (b)
l Base length (c)
l Base interval (d)

Break-off points - Create break-off points on teeth to break the supports on these points and
easily remove it. Note that b value corresponds to the Top length parameter defined in Teeth
page

Top addition (e) - Broaden your teeth on top. Total length = Top addition + Top length
Waist Z-shift (f) - Move the break-off point of the tooth with this parameter in the Z-direction

Keep teeth top in ends - You can decide to have a full tooth at the end of a support, instead of
half a tooth.

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Perforations

Perforations - To strengthen the support, do not add perforations for the border.

Shape - diamond

l Beam (a) - The beam thickness defines the thickness of the beams.
l Angle (b) - The perforation angle determines the angle of the perforations
l Height (c) - The height of the vertical part is set with this parameter.
l Solid Height (d) - The separate parameter Solid Height guarantees a good connection to
the platform and the teeth.

Shape - rectangle

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l Width (a) - Define the width of the rectangular holes.

l Interval (b) - Define the interval between the holes.
l Height (c) - Define the height of the rectangular holes
l Solid Height (d) - This parameter guarantees a good connection to the platform and the
part.
l Perforate only (rows) - The support will only be perforated for the given rows, starting
from the bottom. This enables the drainage of resin and ensures stable supports.

9. Gusset
Gusset

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Gusset supports are used to support overhangs which are large enough
to have support, but not too large so that a Block Support is not needed.
Gussets will support on a sidewall instead of on the platform or a lower
surface.

Maximal length (a) The length of the gussets is the length of the rib attached to the part.
If the overhang is smaller than the minimal length, support isn’t
Minimal length (a)
necessary.
The notch parameter indicates how much the gusset is extracted from
Notch (b)
the corner.
The gusset angle, the angle between the overhang and the free border
Angle (c)
of the gusset, can be determined.
Gusset interval

The interval determines the distance between gussets.

Remove when Self The gusset support will be removed when the overhang is self-
Supporting supporting.
Search for remote
walls
Create gusset support between a surface and a wall that are not directly
connected. Gusset support will be generated if the distance from the
supporting wall to the end of the supported wall is smaller than the
defined value in Machine Properties.

Corner Will add a gusset on the corner of the part, gusset interval value will be
reinforcement ignored in this region.

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Teeth

Upper teeth - You can specify whether you want Upper Teeth and/or Lower Teeth.

l Height (a)
l Top length (b)
l Base length (c)
l Base interval (d)

Break-off points - Create break-off points on teeth to break the supports on these points and
easily remove it. Note that b value corresponds to the Top length parameter defined in Teeth
page

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Top addition (e) - Broaden your teeth on top. Total length = Top addition + Top length
Waist Z-shift (f) - Move the break-off point of the tooth with this parameter in the Z-direction

Lower teeth - Enable generation of lower teeth. Lower Teeth are only used if the support is
trimming on another part. If the support is trimmed on the platform, there are no lower teeth.

l Use different values for lower teeth - Check it to set different values for lower teeth and
break-off points of lower teeth
l Height (a)
l Top length (b)
l Base length (c)
l Base interval (d)

Break-off points - Create break-off points on teeth to break the supports on these points and
easily remove it. Note that b value corresponds to the Top length parameter defined in Teeth
page

Top addition (e) - Broaden your teeth on top. Total length = Top addition + Top length
Waist Z-shift (f) - Move the break-off point of the tooth with this parameter in the Z-direction

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10. Advanced Gusset

Advanced gusset
1. Advanced gussets

The length of the gussets is the length of the rib attached to the
Length (a)
part.
The notch parameter indicates how much the gusset is extracted
Notch (b)
from the corner.
The gusset angle, the angle between the overhang and the free
Angle (c)
border of the gusset, can be determined.
Top straight
Top section that is not angled, including teeth.
section (d)
Gusset interval Space in between different gussets
Rotation angle Rotation of gussets around Z axis
Reinforcement Create reinforcements for manually created gussets
Min lower
The building height of support must exceed an adjustable threshold
connection
height
height
Interval Space in between the reinforcement gussets
Skipped gussets Start adding reinforcement gussets after skipping the specified
at start amount.

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Delete advanced
Will permanently remove drawn advanced gussets
gusset

2. Teeth

Upper teeth - You can specify whether you want Upper Teeth and/or Lower Teeth.

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l Height (a)
l Top length (b)
l Base length (c)
l Base interval (d)

Break-off points - Create break-off points on teeth to break the supports on these points
and easily remove it. Note that b value corresponds to the Top length parameter defined
in Teeth page

Top addition (e) - Broaden your teeth on top. Total length = Top addition + Top length
Waist Z-shift (f) - Move the break-off point of the tooth with this parameter in the Z-
direction

Lower teeth - Enable generation of lower teeth. Lower Teeth are only used if the support
is trimming on another part. If the support is trimmed on the platform, there are no lower
teeth.

l Use different values for lower teeth - Check it to set different values for lower teeth
and break-off points of lower teeth
l Height (a)
l Top length (b)
l Base length (c)
l Base interval (d)

Break-off points - Create break-off points on teeth to break the supports on these points
and easily remove it. Note that b value corresponds to the Top length parameter defined
in Teeth page

Top addition (e) - Broaden your teeth on top. Total length = Top addition + Top length

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Waist Z-shift (f) - Move the break-off point of the tooth with this parameter in the Z-
direction

Keep teeth top in ends - You can decide to have a full tooth at the end of a support,
instead of half a tooth.

11. Combi
Combi

In some cases it is beneficial to place different types of supports on one

single surface. Specify which types of supports will be combined

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You can specify which types of supports will be combined. In the

Block support generation mode you can also alter the parameters of the
different support types. The default values are taken from the respective
base support types.

Line

Gusset

Prefer Block
It can be selected which support is preferred: block or line support.
Prefer Line

12. Volume
Volume
1. Volume

When fragmenting volume support you avoid large cross sections

in your support, this won’t result in high thermal stress and
Fragmentation increases build successes.
Fragmentation can also be rotated, to avoid fragmentation slots
which are parallel to the recoater of the machine.

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Invert
fragmentation
X interval (a)
Y interval (b)
Separation width (c)
Rotation angle (d)

2. Post processing

Shell

When selected the support will be hollowed an receive a shell

Shell Wall Thickness Thickness of the shell
Detail Size Allowed deviation for the wall thickness
Amount of memory necessary to perform this hollow
Sample data to process
operation

Internal lattice

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When selected the support will be converted to a lattice

The list shows the library of unit structures that can be used to create
Internal
Structure the lattice. The location of the library is given in your settings. One
lattice
can manually add new structures to be used for the lattice creation
X Size of unit structure in X direction
Y Size of unit structure in Y direction
Z Size of unit structure in Z direction
Sample
data to Amount of memory necessary to perform this hollow operation
process

13. Tree
Tree
1. Spacing

Min distance between

Space between connection points
connection points
Min distance between rows Space between rows of connection points
Max distance between The maximum space between connection points

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connection points
Place branches on sur-
When checked, will add branches even if the surface is
faces smaller than the con-
smaller than the set top diameter of branch.
tact point
When checked will disable parameters that would regen-
Allow only changes that pre-
erate entire structure, preserving manual changes to the
serve support structure
tree.

2. Branch

Define the branch top and bottom diameters

Max branches per

Number of maximum branches for each of the generated trunk.
trunk
Diameter top (d1) Diameter of the branch at the top (where connected to the part)

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Diameter bottom Diameter of the branch at the bottom (where connected to the
(d2) trunk)
Add break off point at the extremity of your branch in contact
Add break-off point
with the part
Diameter (d3) Break off point diameter
Distance from top
Distance between your break off point and the part
(a)

3. Trunk

Define the trunk top diameter, trunk bottom diameter and trunk
height.

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Diameter top (d1) Diameter of the trunk at the top

Diameter bottom
Diameter of the trunk at the bottom
(d2)
Calculate
Calculates automatically the height of the trunk
automatically
Set max height Set manual max height of the trunk
Set branch max
Set manual max angle of the branch
angle

4. Critical points

Lowest Line When lowest line is checked, an extra connection points will be placed
support so that this lowest line is correctly supported.
Minimal Defines the minimal spacing between the connection points along the
spacing lowest line.
Minimum
Lowest lines smaller then this value (length) will be filtered out
length

5. Post processing

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Parameters are similar to Volume support

When one of the modes (Shell, Internal lattice) is switched on, post
Visualize
processing will be applied. If checked, post-processing will be executed
post
in SG mode, if unchecked - post processing will be executed at exiting
processing
SG mode.

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14. Tree*

Tree* will be placed automatically under down-facing edges. Parameters are similar to 13 Tree

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15. Hybrid
Hybrid

Upper support height Defines the height of the upper part of the hybrid support structure
Middle plate thickness Defines the height of the middle part of the hybrid support structure

16. Support on graphs

This feature is only available in combination with the Magics Lightweight Structures license.
Supports will be automatically generated on graphs coming from 3-matic. All connected graphs
will be treated as one support ID in the support list.

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Support on graphs

Support
type: Point / You can use points or trees to support the graphs.
Tree
Spacing Defines the space in between the points or trees.
Support is only wanted on the outer side of the structure. The angle filter is
used to determine whether a point can be considered as internal.
Angle filter From every point, we draw a cone like shape (depending on the angle filter)
down and see if this is intersecting with the structure. When it is intersecting
we filter it out from the set of points that need support.
When the checkbox is deselected, only the endpoints of graphs will be
Support on
considered as points that need support. When it is selected, intermediate
graph edges
support points will be created.
Max
Is used to determine if and how many intermediate support points will be
unsupported
created on a graph.
edge length
Always
Local minima will always be supported independently of the spacing
support local
parameter.
minima

Size

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Contact part (r1) Diameter of the contact point to the part of the Tree type support.
Contact platform (r2) Diameter of the Tree node connected to the platform.

8.6. Modifying Surfaces

1. Modifying the surfaces
In the ribbon of the support mode you can find tools to modify the selected surfaces.

The marked triangles will be added to the current surface. When you press
Regenerate 2D & 3D, Magics will also generate support for these triangles.
Add To Triangles to be added Triangles are added to
Begin situation
Current are marked support
Surface

The marked triangles will be removed from the current surface. When you
click Regenerate 2D & 3D, Magics won't generate supports anymore for the
marked triangles.
Remove
Triangles to be removed Triangles are removed
From Current Begin situation
are marked from surface
Surface

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The marked triangles will become a new surface, which you can support.
Triangles to be added as Triangles are added as
Begin situation
Create New new surface are marked new surface
Surface

Magics will merge the current surface with a given support.

Begin situation The middle surface will The surfaces are

Merge
be merged with surface merged
Surfaces
nr 1

When a surface makes an angle smaller than the entered surface angle it is
Change
considered not self – supporting, so support is generated for the respective
surface angle
surface.

2. Part Info page

– See Part Info page, page 566

3. Surface Info page

Min X Y Z
Dimensions Max X Y Z The dimensions of the surface.
Delta X Y Z
Contour
The contour length of the surface.
Length
Surface The surface area of the surface.
Thinness This parameter represents the thinness (slenderness) of the surface.
Browsing Browsing buttons are used to browse through the different surfaces. The

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buttons buttons are explained above.

4. Support List page

The support list gives you an overview of all surfaces created with their support type. It is also
possible to enable a filter for the support list to only visualize supports per type.

The red items in the list indicate that the support touches a lower surface of the part itself.

The columns of the Surface List can be selected by right-clicking on the title of the column; the
following dialog will pop up:

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ID The unique number of the surface

Type The support type given to this surface.
Triangles Amount of triangles of the surface.
X Min
Y Min The starting dimensions of the surface.
Z Min
X Max
Y Max The ending dimensions of the surface.
Z Max
Surface Area The surface area of the surface.
Border Length The border length of the surface.
On Part The support surface is attached to the part.
On Platform The support surface is attached to the platform.
Surface Profile A support profile, created by the user, is used.

A right mouse click in the surface list will pop up the following:

The unselected surfaces will become selected and the selected surfaces
Invert Selection
will not be selected anymore.

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Select All All surfaces will be selected.

Select None All surfaces will be deselected.
Delete Surface All selected surfaces will be removed from the surface list.
The selected surface will be duplicated. This gives the possibility to use
Duplicate different support types for one surface.
Surfaces (e.g. Volume support in combination with block support for the metal
market)

Copy
Parameters
From

Copy the support type and all parameters from the given support number
to the selected support numbers.
Merge Selected
The selected surfaces will be merged into one surface.
Surfaces
Save Order The order is saved.

Browsing through the supports

The complete down facing surface will be split into multiple surfaces, which each have their
support structure. You can browse through these surfaces in two ways :

– By enabling the type filter to visualize only the supports of a desired type
– By using the navigation buttons

This is a dropdown list. Click on the field to open the list of support types to choose
Type
from. Only the created support types will be visualized in the list, in alphabetical
filter
order.
Switch Click once to enable the filter, and click again to disable it.

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Return to surface one.

Return to the previous surface.

Window showing surface number.

Go to the next surface.

Go to the last selected surface.

Skip All surfaces which are selected by the surface angle but do not need supports
Empty following the selection parameters (no support offset, surface filter…), are
Supports skipped.

5. Support Toolbox

The Support Toolbox is a dynamic box, when selecting a surface the box will display the
Toolpages regarding the selected surface.

A new window appears with a 2D representation of the part, you can start 2D
2D Edit
editing.
Regenerate The 2D ground plan will be used and the supports will be trimmed again on
3D the part using the wanted parameters.
Regenerate The selected support type will be completely regenerated. The changes

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done in the 2D-editing mode will be ignored. When you changed a parameter
2D & 3D (E.g. teeth) and you want to apply those settings after you did some 2D
changes, press the Regenerate 3D button.
Cones and volume supports can be made hollow and/or supports can be
Postprocess
filled with a lattice structure via post processing.
Save Any type of support parameters can be saved.
Load Load a set of support parameters that you have defined earlier.
Restores the parameters of the selected surfaces with the parameters from
Reset
the current machine file.

Remark: The save and load functionality makes it possible to use different
parameters for the same support types. The support parameter file is by default
saved in the Support Library folder. ( See Settings – Supports Library folder)

Type Toolpage

The support type given to this surface. You can change the type of the active
support simply by clicking on the dropdown menu and select the desired type. If the
Type surface does not need any support, None is marked.
E.g. from Block support to Contour support:

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This is a 2D overview to see where the surface with the support is located on the
part. The top view of the part is displayed. The user is able to zoom and pan in this
2D
window by use of the mouse. To pan: click the mouse middle button somewhere in
Plan
the window and pan. To zoom: press Ctrl and the right mouse button to zoom while
moving the mouse, or simply scroll with the mouse middle button.
Zoom Click to zoom in on the 2D plan, or draw the rectangular area you want to zoom into.
Zoom
on part Click to zoom until the part is completely visible on the 2D plan.

Flip
Switch view of the part between top and bottom.
View

General Toolpage

Detailed explanation on the common parameters can be found at the common support
parameters from the machine properties.

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– See General, page 346

Block Toolpage

Detailed explanation on the block parameters can be found at the block support parameters
from the machine properties.

– See Block, page 356

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Line Toolpage

Detailed explanation on the line parameters can be found at the line support parameters from
the machine properties.

– See Line, page 369

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Point Toolpage

Detailed explanation on the point parameters can be found at the point support parameters
from the machine properties.

– SeePoint, page 378

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Web Toolpage

Detailed explanation on the web parameters can be found at the web support parameters from
the machine properties.

– SeeWeb, page 382

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Contour Toolpage

Detailed explanation on the contour parameters can be found at the contour support
parameters from the machine properties.

– See Contour, page 385

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Gusset Toolpage

Detailed explanation on the gusset parameters can be found at the gusset support parameters
from the machine properties.

– See Gusset, page 389

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Combi Toolpage

Detailed explanation on the combi parameters can be found at the combi support parameters
from the machine properties.

– SeeCombi, page 396

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Support on graphs Toolpage

Detailed explanation on the ‘support on graphs’ parameters can be found at the ‘support on
graphs’ support parameters from the machine properties.

– See Support on graphs, page 405

6. Support Types & Parameters

Magics will propose support structures based on the selection and construction parameters
you have set in the Machine properties. In the support mode, you can change the proposed
support type on a downfacing surface, for example from a line support to a block support. You
can also adapt the support parameters of an individual support structure, for example lower the
hatch distance of a block support.

8.7. 2D editing of supports

1. 2D and 3D Editing of Supports
Magics RP allows you to do 2D and 3D editing of supports.
The basic 2D operations are:
1. Selecting support structures or parts of support structures.
2. Deleting selections.
3. Cutting support.
4. 2D drawing of supports, which are then directly trimmed in 3D on the part.

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The basic 3D operations are:

1. Selecting support structures or parts of support structures.
2. Deleting selections.

2D Editing
To start the editing in 2D, click the 2D Edit button in the Type Toolpage. A new window appears
with a 2D representation of the part (see figure below).

1. Zoom toolbar

Zoom: Click and drag to zoom in on the desired window.

Zoom on part: This is an automatic zoom to make the entire

part visible.
Zoom on surface: This is an automatic zoom to make the
entire selected surface visible.
When a new surface is selected, the zoom on surface will be
automatically performed.
Zoom in and Zoom out: By clicking either of these buttons you
zoom in/out around the center of the image with a fixed zoom
factor.

Flip view: Switch view of the part between top and bottom.

The regular zoom and pan buttons allow you also to zoom and pan in the 2D edit
window.

2. Selection toolbar

While selecting or cutting, pan and zoom functions are available.

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Item: Selects one line of the active support. A second click will deselect it.

Select Polyline: Selects a polyline of the active support. A second click will
deselect it.
Part to Part Items: Selects all lines of the active support that have a part to part
connection.

Support: selects the whole support.

Deselect all: Deselect all selected supports.

Delete selected: Delete all selected support structures.

Cut: Click and drag on the 2D image to create a window selection. All support
items inside the window will be cut and deleted.
Polyline cut: Draw a polyline on the 2D image. Close the polyline or click the
right mouse button to exit the command. All support items inside the polyline
will be cut and deleted.

3. Drawing toolbar

While editing support, pan and zoom functions are available. This means you can zoom
on a certain detail, indicate the first point of e.g. a line support, then zoom and pan to
another detail and indicate the second point of the line support.

Draw a line support without cross lines. Click to place points.

Draw a single cross line support.

Draw a line support with cross lines. Click to place points

Draw a freeform line support. Click and drag to draw a freeform shape.

Draw a line support in a rectangular shape. Click to define the rectangle

corners.
Draw a line support in a circular shape.
There are 2 possible ways to create a circular support:

– Draw circle by 3 points

– Draw circle by center and radius

Select the appropriate option to use at the right side of the 2D edit-box.
Draw a single line support with direction, by indicating one point and the
direction. The line will be trimmed on the border.
Draw multiple line supports with direction, by indicating one point and the
direction. Define the number of lines and the distance between the lines with

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the parameters on the right side of the 2D edit-box. The lines will be trimmed on
the border.

Draw a reinforcement line to strengthen existing support.

Draw a point support. Click to define the center and the direction of the ribs.

Draw a single gusset support. 1st point sets the base side, while 2nd point sets
the gusset length.

Draw multiple gusset supports by indicating the shape of the base side.
Gussets will be placed perpendicular to the base.

4. Support browsing and Apply

Browse through the supports

First button Return to surface one.
Second button Return to the previous surface
Window Surface number.
Third button Go to the next surface
Fourth button Go to the last selected surface
All surfaces which are selected by the surface angle but do not need
Skip Empty
supports following the selection parameters (no support offset, surface
Supports
filter…), are skipped.
Show All Shows all the supports
Visualize the thickness for the non-solid support. The default value
Thickness corresponds to the laser spot diameter defined in the Machine
Properties.
When the Auto apply checkbox is selected, all manual drawing of the
support will be calculated and visualized in 3D automatically.
The manual drawing of the support will be calculated and visualized in
3D.

You can find the 3D editing tools in the Support ribbon and in the Surface ribbon or
Menubar/Tools.

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3D Editing
1. The Support ribbon

Show / Hide e-
Show the generated e-Stage support
Stage
Exit SG Exit SG mode
Select Select a part on the platform
Import support
Export support
Regenerate
Regenerates all support of the selected part
support
Add point
The user can draw point support in 3D.
support
Add line support The user can draw line support in 3D.
Add gusset
The user can draw gusset support in 3D.
support
Add Tree The user can draw Tree support in 3D
Add Brace Manually add a brace to a tree support with multiple trunks
Manually add branches to a tree support by adding more
Add Branch
connection points on the part
Add Stabilization The user can add a vertical support wall to support thin and tall
Wall parts during FDM printing process
Add Raft The user can add smear raft under the support in 3D
Move Nodes Move nodes of a tree support
Select support Selects entire support surface. A second click will deselect it.
Select part to Automatically selects the items of a support which are going from
part items part to part.
Select item Select an item of the support. A second click will deselect it.
Selects a polyline of the active support. A second click will deselect
Select polyline
it.
Deselect all Deselects all selected support.
Delete selected Deletes all selected support structures.
Delete range of A dialog box that allows inserting a range of supports that you want
supports to have deleted pops up.

Remark 1: Changing the active part without exiting SG

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When the ‘View all parts’ is on, it is possible to change the active part in SG by launching
"Select part" command and left clicking on the desired part in the scene.

Remark 2: Draw line, point, gusset on non-marked surface

It is possible to draw a line, point or gusset supports directly on the part surface without
creating support surfaces. This is very useful to add additional supports without the need
to first mark the area and create a support surface out of it.
In order to manually draw supports please click on the specific type of support you would
like to generate (point, line, gusset). In case of line support draw the path using points
and once completed click on the right mouse button to generate support. If you are trying
to generate gusset support please select first the starting point then the final point of your
gusset.
Magics will automatically generate new surfaces in the support list.
Please hold CTRL to add new support to the existing surface. Surface will be
automatically updated. Notice that new type of support always starts new surface.

2. Using marking with remesh options in SG

Once you have automatically generated support surfaces in the SG module you have
the possibility to mark triangles and add/remove them to/from triangles to certain
surfaces or generate new surfaces made by the marked triangles. Marking with remesh
can be used to select specific areas of the part that need additional support. This marked
area can be used to create a new support surface to generate specific supports for this
area. Please mark specific triangles using one of the marking with remesh functionalities
(Window, Freeform, Polygon) and try to remove them from the current surface (see
section below).

Already after marking you are able to see Magics remeshes triangles around the
selected ones. After removing from the surface regenerate support 2D&3D to apply
results.

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This tool allows flexible manipulation of support surfaces in SG mode to create better
customized support surfaces.

2. 2D Editing of Volume Supports

Type Selection

Here you can make a selection of the support type. There are only two options to place a
volume support on a surface: either you place one or you don’t. If you do the automatic support
generation with the Select All None Support ON, Magics will select surfaces following the
parameters set, but it will not place supports. You can use this buttons to place a support under
the selected surfaces where you think it is necessary.

Surface Selection

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During the automatic support generation, a number of surfaces are selected based on the
surface selection parameters. Default the biggest surface is catalogued as the first surface in
the list. With the arrows you can inspect all the surfaces and supports.
From left to right:

Return to surface one.

Return to the previous surface.

Window showing surface number.

Go to the next surface.

Go to the last selected surface.

Skip All surfaces, which are selected by the surface angle but do not need supports
Empty following the selection parameters (no support offset, surface filter…), are
Supports skipped.

2D edit dialog
To start the editing in 2D, click the 2D Edit button in the Type Toolpage. A new window appears
with a 2D representation of the part (see figure below).

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1. Zoom toolbar

Zoom: Click and drag to zoom in on the desired window.

Zoom on part: This is an automatic zoom to make the entire

part visible.
Zoom on surface: This is an automatic zoom to make the
entire selected surface visible.
When a new surface is selected, the zoom on surface will be
automatically performed.
Zoom in and Zoom out: By clicking either of these buttons you
zoom in/out around the center of the image with a fixed zoom
factor.

Flip view: Switch view of the part between top and bottom.

The regular zoom and pan buttons allow you also to zoom and pan in the 2D edit
window.

2. Draw Shapes

In the 2D edit mode, you can draw 2D volume supports yourself. You draw them in 2D
and when you apply them (click on the Apply button), the volume supports are trimmed
in 3D on the part. There are three default shapes: polyline, rectangle and circle. When
you draw a freeform surface, mind the fact that no crossing lines are allowed.

Draw a polygonal volume support.

Draw a rectangular volume support.

Draw a circular volume support.

3. Change Drawn Shapes

Once you have drawn a standard shape, you still can change the shape. You can add a
point to the contour, you can delete a point or you can move the point.

Select anchor point: Select a point of the contour. Hold and drag to move the
point.

Add anchor point: Add a point to the contour by clicking on it.

Remove anchor point: Delete a point of the contour by clicking on an existing

one.

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4. Select and Delete

You can also select and delete support structures in the 2D window.

Select Polyline: select a closed polyline of the active support.

Deselect all: Deselect all selected supports.

Delete selected: Delete all selected support structures.

5. Detect Shape Intersections

Since the generated supports are volume supports, the supports may not
intersect. The intersection button does a check on this rule. If an intersecting
contour is found it the modifications to the support cannot be applied.

8.8. 3D editing of supports

1. Add Raft
The user can add smear raft under the support in 3D.

Generate a raft below the support and attached to the platform to

prevent the part from smearing. Define the raft shape, the thickness and
the clearance from the part.

Add Raft

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Offset (a) Offset from the part to the margin of the raft
Thickness (b) Thickness of the raft
Clearance (c) Clearance between the part and the raft, to ease removal of the raft.

Add and additional support plate to establish a stable base for sintering.
This base is generated above the raft at the desired distance, and is
attached directly to the support.

Additional support
base
Thickness (d) Thickness of the additional plate.
Distance (e) Distance between the main base and the additional plate.

2. Stabilization Wall
The user can add a vertical support wall to support thin and tall parts during FDM printing
process

Vibrational forces within the machine can affect large, tall parts and may
lead to dimensional inaccuracies. Mark the desired surface and add a
stabilization wall to prevent it.

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XY Offset (a) Horizontal offset from the margins of the selected triangles.
Z offset (b) Vertical offset from the margins of the selected triangles.
Support
Penetration of the stabilization wall into the part.
penetration
Extrude length (c) Distance from the part to the wall of the stabilization wall.
Wall width (d)
Bridge width (e)

Teeth height (f)

Teeth angle (g)

Preview instantly the effect of changed parameters before applying

Preview
changes.

3. Create and edit tree support manually

To start a manual tree support, you have to press ‘Add Tree’. After that, you can add
connection points on the part using left mouse button click. First connection point will create a
new support ID in the support list. To finish adding connection points and generate the Tree
support, click the right mouse button. Following commands are used in the manual editing of
tree supports:

Add
Tree Manually add a Tree support. Parameters used to create support are based on the
default Tree profile in Machine Properties. Left mouse button click will add a new
connection point, right mouse click will finalize the manual tree creation.

Add
Branch
Manually add branch on current Tree surface.

Add
Brace Manually add brace on current Tree surface with multiple trunks by adding
connection points on the part.

Move
Nodes Manually move nodes of the branches, braces and trunks of the selected Tree
surfaces.

Select
item
Select one or more branches, braces, trunks.

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8.9. Saving and Exporting Supports

1. Save Support
You can save the generated supports in the Magics application. This can be done by going to
File/Save part as. The file is then saved as a .magics file. You can quit the program, and load
the .magics project again. A dialog box appears to ask if you want to open the part with or
without support (see figure below). Support made in Magics 9 or earlier versions was saved as
.sup file. These support files can be loaded into the project by Modules/Support
Generation/Load Support File(s).

2. Export Support
You can also Export the generated supports towards different slice formats and the STL
format. The choice of export file depends on your machine. To use the supports on your RP
machine, you must use the Export functions, not the Save functions.

– If you also have the Slice Module (Slicing of Parts):

Go to File and select Export Support. Fill in a name, choose the directory in which all export
files will be placed. Now you can set your slice parameters. Press OK and Magics starts
generating the STL files and starts the slicing of both the part and the support. (see Slicing for
the explanation of the parameters).

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– If you do not have the Slice Module:

Go to Support Generation in the Modules Menu and select Export Support or in the support
mode choose file in the menubar, and Export support. Now you can set your slice parameters.
Press OK and Magics starts generating the STL file and the slice file of the supports.

8.10. Visualization of Support Structures

Visualization options of the support structures are defined in the Settings, on the page
Supports (Settings/Visualization/Supports).

– See Supports, page 511

Show or hide the support of all parts present on the scene by using the command Support
Visibility (see more information in paragraph Support Visibility).

8.11. Support on 3D Texture and Slice Based Structures

Thanks to our software solution, it’s today possible to apply texture on your part in Magics
which will be processed and considered as a 3D texture when processed by the build
processor.

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What you can see on Magics is than just a 2D preview on your part (for 3D texturing, see
section above and BP). Support Generation module allows you to apply supports on a part
where texture is applied.

Carefully consider that 3d texture offset is not taken into account by support. The user might
compensate the gaps using z- offset in supports. Also when a slice based structure is
generated SG allows to generate support on the part. This can help in order to obtain a
complete preview part-support-structure before sending everything to the machine via BP.

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All the SG module parameters are editable and applicable.

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Chapter 9. Analyze & Report

9.1. Analyze Build
1. Out of bounds

The out of bounds function will color parts which are placed outside of the platform
bounds. Any placement tool can be used without losing the color indications.

Out of bound: OFF Out of bound: ON

Remark: On round platforms, the whole part is colored when it (or its support) is out of
bounds.

2. Collision Detection

If several parts are loaded on the platform, Magics can detect if there is a collision.
Collision can be detected between intersecting triangles or with an indicated clearance
between different parts and supports. A message-box appears to tell you if there are or aren't
colliding parts and/or supports. The involved triangles are marked (parts only, supports can’t
be marked).

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Analysis
All parts Collision is detected between all loaded parts on the platform scene.
Selected
Collision is only detected between selected parts
parts
Collision is detected between the part(s) and active ‘No-Build-Zones’

Analyze No-
Build-Zones

Define the spacing allowed between parts. If they are located within a
Clearance
distance smaller than this value, they will be identified as colliding parts.
Identification
Hide parts
with no Make parts where no collision is detected invisible after the analysis
conflict
Color
colliding Color triangles where collision is detected
triangles

3. Interlocking Analysis

Interlocking means that 2 (or more) parts cannot be separated due to the positions they
are nested in. When performing an Interlocking Analysis, the user can choose to analyze all
parts or only the selected parts. One can choose how to identify the interlocked parts by
checking or unchecking the boxes under Identification:

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– ‘Hide Parts with no Conflict’ hides all parts that are not interlocked with one another.
– ‘Color Interlocking Parts’ will color the detected interlocked parts to the specified color.

If interlocking is detected, all suspected interlocking parts are visualized, while the other parts
are hidden (if the user chose this option).

4. Wall Thickness Analysis

The wall thickness analysis helps you to detect small details, thin and/or thick walls. This
can be very helpful, because you can predict where problems can pop up during building.

Principle
Magics determine for each triangle separately the local wall thickness. If requested, Magics
divides bigger triangles in smaller ones according to the refine triangles parameters entered.
This way, a more detailed figure of the wall thickness can be calculated.

Gradient coloring
The triangles are colored corresponding their wall thickness. In the Legend you can see which
wall thickness corresponds to which color.

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This parameter defines the minimum wall thickness needed. Every

Minimum thickness triangle with a local wall thickness smaller than the entered value, will
receive the begin color.
The maximum thickness is the wall thickness for which you no longer
expect to have problems. Local thickness bigger than the maximum
thickness do not need special attention and will have the end color.

Maximum thickness Triangles with local thickness situated between the minimum and the
maximum thickness will have a color gradually changing from the
begin color (minimum) to the end color (maximum wall thickness)
over the color spectrum. The minimum and maximum wall thickness
also forms the borders of the Wall Thickness Color Legend.
If checked, the triangles that met the criteria are retriangulated. The
Refine triangles
analysis is based on the newly created triangles.

Triangles that met the criteria can be colored after the analysis.

In the legend you can see which wall thicknesses correspond to

which color.

Color range can be customized from the customization settings.

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Remark: For the "Gradient coloring" the triangles are being

retriangulated temproraly for the purpose to visualize results
of WTA. Once the "Legend" dialog closes, the analyzed part
gets back to its original mesh.

Note: Wall Thickness Analysis in Gradient coloring is also available for BREP part(s).

Marking

Detect
Choose one of the detectors (Thinner than, Thicker than, Between or
triangles of
Outside) and enter the limiting value in the edit box.
walls
Thinner than Search walls thinner than the entered value
Thicker than Search walls thicker than the entered value
Between Search walls between the entered values
Outside Search walls outside the entered values
Refine If checked, the triangles that met the criteria are retriangulated. The analysis
triangles is based on the newly created triangles.

After the analysis of the part(s) a list is shown with areas that match the WTA conditions.
Every group of triangles is indicated as a bad area. The list gives a clear overview of all
problem areas on the part(s). By clicking on the magnifying glass, the view will zoom to that
specific bad area.

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Visible/
Hide/ unhide bad areas
Invisible
Part Part name is displayed
Every bad area is indicated with a unique ID to
ID
easily identify regions
Zoom Zoom to indicated area
Delete Remove the indicated area from the list
Reanalyze
The list is updated by performing a new wall
selected
thickness analysis
parts
Isolate Only the selected part in the part list is isolated.
highlighted To have a good overview all other parts on the
parts platform are invisible.
Zooms automatically to the bad area that is
Autozoom
highlighted

Advanced

Defining a wall angle makes it possible to exclude certain areas/ surfaces from
Wall angle the analysis.

(More information below)

Refine triangles parameters (More information below)
The value entered as the number of iterations places an upper limit on the
Iterations
number of iterations.
A triangle will only be split up in a smaller triangle if one dimension of that
Max edge triangle is bigger than the maximum edge size. This parameter thus decides the
size accuracy with which you are going to visualize (and measure) the thickness
distribution.

1. Wall angle

During the analysis of the part, certain areas of the part can be excluded from the
calculations.
The following 2D drawing illustrates the case where you have a wall with two rectangular
angles.

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From a triangle point-of-view the local wall thickness approaches zero when coming
closer to the edge of the part. The real thickness though remains the same throughout
the whole wall. Therefore we can exclude the area around these edges from the
thickness calculations.

The wall angle is the parameter that avoids that the above areas are taken into account.
When the wall angle is for instance set to 60 degrees, thickness calculations will only be
done for edges whose angle is smaller than 60 degrees. These edges will be interpreted
as functional edges of the part and not just 'wall borders'.
On the figure below you can see a sample of a file where the triangles have an angle of
45 degrees between each other.

Set Wall Angle value less than the angle between triangles (in this case it is less than 45
deg.), these triangles won’t be detected by WTA tool.
Set Wall Angle value higher than the angle between triangles (in this case higher than 45
deg.), these triangles will be detected by WTA tool.

Wall Angle = 50° Wall angle = 70°

Critical gap angle = 180-(2*50)= 80° Critical gap angle = 180-(2*70)= 40°

60° < 80°: the local thickness reduction is 60°>40°: the local thickness reduction is
not taken into account taken into account

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1. Refine triangles parameters

Now let us take a look at the following part.

At the bottom of the rectangular gap, there is a significant thickness reduction.

Therefore we expect that on the bottom plane, close to the gap, a region will show
up to indicate this smaller thickness.
However, there is a small problem ... the bottom plane will probably exist out of
two big triangles. During the analysis the complete plane will become indicated.
‘Refining the triangles of the bottom plane solves this problem. The two big
triangles are spitted up in smaller triangles, and the thickness variation can now be
visualized more accurately.
Three parameters define this remeshing process.

Analysis and refine

Analysis performed on
Original part triangles performed on
original part
original part

5. Detect Trapped Volumes

This functionality can be used to easily detect trapped volumes (cavities) in your part(s).
Before building parts with SL technology many users will try to identify if their parts consist out
of any cavities. During building there will be a height difference between the resin within the
cavity and the bin itself. This difference can lead to deformation of surfaces.
To pass this problem you can utilize the ‘Detect Trapped Volumes’ functionality to identify the
trapped volumes on your part easily, once these areas are detected some perforation can be
made to avoid deformation or parts can be repositioned to minimize the trapped volumes.
Another way to overcome this problem without creating perforations is to use the ‘Detect
Trapped Volumes’ function to indicate the Z min and Z max values of the trapped volumes.
These values can then be used within the machine software to adapt the build process.
(Change the number of times that the recoater passes for each layer. More resin will be put in
the trapped volume areas so that the resin level is the same at the inside and outside of the
trapped volume.)

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Type of trapped volumes

There are 2 types of trapped volumes that can be detected on your part, which are open
volumes and closed volumes.

– Open trapped volumes:

These are cavities in your part which have a connection to the outside world. During the
building process there might occur an issue due to a difference in height of the resin on the in-
and outside of the part.

– Closed volumes:

Internal cavities with a volume bigger than the specified value.

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How does it work?

Skip smaller
Eliminate cavities which are smaller than the entered value in mm³
than
Accurate High accuracy, slow analysis
Medium Medium accuracy, medium speed
Algorithm
Fast Low accuracy, high speed
User User defined accuracy
Depending on the chosen algorithm a predefined or user indicates step is
Grid step
used
Analyze The analysis of the trapped volumes is performed

2 trapped volumes detected = 1 open volume + 1 closed volume (hollow)

Further specifications of the found trapped volumes are shown in the print screen below.

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Visible/ Invisible Hide/ unhide trapped volumes

ID Every trapped volume is indicated with a unique ID to easily identify them
Part Part name is displayed
Zoom Zoom in to the indicated trapped volume
Delete Remove the indicated trapped volume from the list
Z min The starting height of the trapped volume
Z max The ending height of the trapped volume
Volume The total volume of the cavity
Type The type of trapped volume
Reanalyze
The list is updated by performing a new analysis on trapped volumes
selected parts
Isolate Only the selected part in the list is isolated. To have a good overview all
highlighted part other parts on the platform are visible
Autozoom Zoom automatically to the trapped volume that is highlighted
Part opacity
Use the slide bar to change the opacity level of your part
level

6. Build Risk Analysis

Visualize the risk of failure or distortion on the selected part(s) according to the slice
distribution.
The risk is visualized by red, yellow or green. Areas with a high risk are shown in red, areas
with medium risk in yellow, and areas with no risk are shown in green.

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– For the settings, see Build risk analysis, page 536

7. Check Slices Distribution

The slice distribution chart gives you the possibility to analyze the surface area for each
layer and the distribution within your build. Hover over the chart with the mouse and visualize
the values of Z height and slice area for each point.
By adjusting the accuracy, you can control the distance between layers, which will be taken
into account during the calculation; the bigger the accuracy, the further the layers will be
between each other.
You are able to view the chart for the entire build or for the selected parts only. Supports
structures are also taken into account in the slice area.

When fields are defined in the Machine Properties (see General info page, page 269), you can
use those to split the chart data in multiple zones. This makes it possible to analyze the
workload of multi-optic machines. Every zone of the chart represents the slice area of one scan
field. You can decide to visualize or not the total slice area together with all the zones. The
color on the chart corresponds to the color on the platform.

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The data from the graph can also be exported to an Excel document.

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For more information on the usage of the Slices Distribution together with the Sintermodule:

– See 3D Nester - Check slices distribution, page 317

9.2. Estimate
1. Build Time Estimation

There are two ways to calculate build time:

– Stereolithography based: If the user is building with a Stereolithography machine, he can

use the Stereolithography parameters of his machine. The program will take an artificial
support structure into account (a grid below the part).
– Self-learning: In all other cases, self-learning build-time calculation is possible. The user
can work with or without generated support structures.

In both cases, choosing the Build Time Estimation calculation function will display the results in
the working area, for an easy overview on the estimation. This data is automatically updated in
case transformations are applied to the parts present in the scene. To hide the results from the
working area, you can just click again the Build Time Estimation button.
In the Machine Properties, under the Laser parameters options, you can specify a default value
for the Laser power of the specific machine. Moreover, you can select if you want the software
to ask you for the laser power each time the Build Time Estimation function is started. In case
this option is selected, the dialog below will be shown when you start the Build Time Estimation
function.

Remark: this dialog is available for:

– Laser parameters method (Stereolithography based machines)

– Self-learning method in combination with selection of Laser-based system option. This

option can be specified in the Machine Properties, under the Self-learning settings.

Build Time calculation with Laser parameters

In case of SL-based build-time calculation you will get the following result:

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Five values are displayed: the scan time of the part, the scan time of all the supports, the total
recoating time, the total building time and the machine laser power selected.

Self-learning Build Time Calculation

In case of self-learning Build Time calculation the following result will be displayed:

This build time is calculated for the current platform (all loaded parts) and is based on the
teaching platforms which where specified in the Machine Properties.

2. Cost Estimator

The Cost Estimation is based upon parameters, which are machine dependent.
Therefore, these parameters are defined in the Machine Settings. When you enter this
function, the Select Machine dialog will appear, where you can choose a machine. The cost
estimator calculates the cost of making the parts. For further details on the parameters used in
the Cost Estimator, see Support Generation Manual.

Remark: When you use Copy To Clipboard you can enter these data in Excel, Word,
etc.

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3. Material Cost Estimation

Show an estimation of the material cost of the selected part (s). To calculate the
estimation, the cost parameters in Machine Properties need to be filled in. The following dialog
will pop up:

Click Parameters to directly go to the Parameters in Machine Poperties.

– See Stereolithography method, page 278

Click OK to close the dialog. The estimation is made based on the available parameters and is
shown:

4. Volume Estimation

Show an estimation of the materials volume of the selected part(s). When toggled the
icon gets a blue background. To calculate the estimation, the laser spot diameter parameter in
Machine Properties need to be filled in. The following dialog will pop up:

Click Parameters to directly go to the Parameters in Machine Poperties.

– See Stereolithography method, page 1

Click OK to close the dialog. The estimation is made based on the available parameters and in
shown:

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5. Toggle Nesting Density

Show/hide the nesting density of the current platform. Activating the nesting density gives
an easy overview in the working area of the current volume utilization of the platform, the
current nesting density and the build height of the nested build. When toggled the icon gets a
blue background. This functionality is ONLY accessible when Sintermodule license is present.

9.3. Measure
1. Measurement Distance Point to Point

Measure a distance point to point (CTRL+SHIFT+X).

Extra information on the measurement is shown in the Measurements pages.

– See Measurements pages, page 585

2. Measurement Thickness

Measure the thickness of an area. (CTRL+SHIFT+C)

Extra information on the measurement is shown in the Measurements pages.

– See Measurements pages, page 1

3. Add Real Measurements

– See Add real measurement, page 592

4. Measurements Quality

Measurements Quality brings you directly to the Measurements Quality dialog in the
Settings.

– See Measurements Quality, page 494

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5. Part Comparison

The Part Comparison tool allows you to compare two meshes based on their triangle
vertexes. The results are visualized in a color gradient map on the reference part, helping you
to find the differences between the two selected parts.
Reference part Comparison part

Color map on reference part

This tool can be used in various flows:

– Compare parts from different design iterations, to spot where the small differences are
– Analyze the shape deviation before-and-after repairing or editing the part mesh, to check
if your part still lies in the tolerances you set
– Analyze the part deformation derived from the printing process or to compare the
generated counter-deformed part that will compensate those distortions (in combination
with Magics Simulation)

Settings

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Reference Select the part that will be used as a reference during the comparison. The
part gradient color map of the results will be visualized on this part.
Comparison
Select the part that will be used as a comparison part.
part
Select the analysis type used during the comparison. The type can also be
changed on the spot later when visualizing the results.
Negative and positive deviations are used to
differentiate between areas where reference part is
Deviation Signed values inside the comparison part (negative) and where
calculation reference part is outside the comparison part
(positive).
No difference is made on values sign, only absolute
Absolute values values of deviation between both parts are
calculated.
Automatic Enable this option when the 2 parts to be compared are not aligned with each
parts other. An automatic alignment between the 2 parts will be performed before
alignment calculating the results.

Results visualization

Select the analysis type used during the comparison. The type can also be
changed on the spot later when visualizing the results.
Negative and positive deviations are used to differentiate
Deviation between areas where reference part is inside the
Signed values
calculation comparison part (negative) and where reference part is
outside the comparison part (positive).
No difference is made on values sign, only absolute
Absolute values
values of deviation between both parts are calculated.

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Enable this option to automatically visualize results on the part accordingly to

the minimum and maximum deviation values present in the comparison.
Auto- define Manually define the minimum value of the color map.
Min. value
plot range Deviations outside the range will be colored in grey.
Manually define the maximum value of the color map.
Max. value
Deviations outside the range will be colored in grey.
Update Click on this button to update the chart based on top defined settings.

9.4. Product and Manufacturing Information (PMI)

PMI is a set of data used to describe the technical specifications of a part that will be produced.
This data can be added in 3D directly on the part, when the part is being designed in CAD, and
saved together with the part in the proprietary file format. Magics has extended its import and
can load not only the CAD part, but also the PMI information that has been added on the part,
in the CAD software, during the design of the part. With it dimensions and annotations can be
visualized. These measurements or annotations cannot be edited in Magics.
The following PMI elements can be loaded in Magics:

– Dimensions

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– Annotations

Note: This extended import is possible only with the NX and Solidworks import
modules and only if the part has, in fact, been saved with PMI information.

Under the “Analyze & Report” tab the PMI section can be found. It consists of three main
commands as shown below.

Allows the user to choose a specific view for the part or show
PMI Views
them all.
Shows all measurements and annotations that were placed on
All views
the part.
Default Enables the user to switch between the default views of a part.
views Note: If the coordinates of the default views are different in the

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(Top,
CAD software than in Magics, then these views will appear under
Bottom,
Custom Views.
…)
ISO, Enables the user to quickly switch between Isometric and
Trimetric Trimetric views. The note from default views applies.
Custom Shows the views that have been created by the user inside the
views CAD software.
Align to PMI
Re-aligns the part to the previously selected view.
view
Toggle PMI Shows/hides all PMI measurements/ annotations.

9.5. Report
1. Save Part(s) as 3Dpdf

Save the selected part(s) as 3Dpdf.

– See Save Part(s) As 3D PDF, page 94

2. Generate Report

Generate a Report in a document.

– See Generate Report, page 80

3. Create Report Template

Create a report template in Microsoft Word or Microsoft Excel.

– See Create Report Template, page 80

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Chapter 10. Slicing

Prepare sliced files for production on your RP machine. The Slice module generates files that
can be sent directly to most RP machines. The preview function allows you to inspect the slices
before the slice command is executed. In addition, the module can repair slices automatically.

10.1. Introduction
Magics allows you to output sliced files starting from STL-information. When you slice an STL-
file, you make XY-cuts at different Z-positions that are related to the layer thickness used by
the RP machine. If there are open contours, Magics' contour fixer automatically closes or fixes
them. With the on-line slice preview, you can check the result before the slicing took place. The
color of the contours indicates if you are working with a closed or an open contour.

10.2. The Slice ribbon

The slice preview shows the contours of each slice

Opens up the Slicer Properties Dialog Box, where you can set the parameters for the
slices.
Opens up the Slicer Properties Dialog Box, where you can set the parameters for the
slices for the selected files.

1. Slicer Properties
Slice all, Slice selected and the parameter option in the preview slicer dialog box all bring you
to the Slicer Properties dialog box, where you can set the parameters for the slices. The
parameters set in the dialog are those of the currently selected machine, these parameters can
be defined in the Machine Setup. (Menubar\ File\ Machine Set-up). The slicer properties dialog
has two parts: the fix parameters and slice format part.

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Fix Parameters
Open loops (contours with gaps in it) or gaps in the contours are closed.
This value displays the maximum gap
Maximum
that can be closed in a contour.
Gap Fill
The contour fixer can work with
Iterations iterations. Working with iterations
results in more accurate fixing.
The contour filter removes small or short contours automatically.
All open contours shorter than this
Contour Open
value are removed.
Filter
All closed contours shorter than this
Closed
value are removed
Overlapping vector points are united and the number of vectors is reduced.
Smoothing This reduces the size of the slice file but details may get lost. You can choose
between Off, Normal and Heavy smoothing.

Slice Format
The slicer supports the formats:
l CLI (Common Layer Interface from EOS),
l CLI (float) (a CLI option for slicing at a higher resolution)
Format
l SLC (3D systems Layer Contour, SPI)
l SSL (Stratasys),
l F&S
If you work with the EOS CLI format, a resolution is also asked. The default value
Units
is 0.05 mm.

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CLI (float) has a resolution of 10^38 pixels. Using CLI (float) it is possible
to slice a file at a higher resolution than with the regular CLI. Please note
that in this case, the size of the resulting file will be roughly twice the size
of the file sliced with the regular CLI option.

Slice Parameters
Layer
Displays the layer thickness, as it will be used on the machine.
Thickness
Displays the tool compensation (machine dependent). This is standard the
Tool
radius of the used laser beam or the radius of particles of the used build
Compensation
material.

Slice Files Folder

Slice Files Folder Defines the output folder for the slice files.

2. Slice Preview
The slice preview shows the contours of each slice. The contours are color encoded:
1. Yellow: external contours
2. Blue: internal contours
3. Red: open contours

The slice preview also closes the gaps in open contours (contour fixer). The combination of the
preview slice and the STL-fixer, gives you a powerful tool for effective fixing. While you are
fixing, you can use the slice preview to see if the contour fixer closes the open loops due to
gaps between triangles. The slices are taken in the middle of a layer.

The Preview Slicer can be accessed via the toolbar:

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This value displays the Z-position of the slice. You can change the position of
the slice by typing in the desired value. Next press the enter-button. The slice
Height
height position should be a multiple of the Layer thickness. If you enter another
number, this number will be rounded to the nearest layer position.
Slider You can change the position of the slice using the slide bar.
This button activates the Indicate Slice Pointer. You can indicate a point on the
part and a slice preview will be displayed.
Slice
Increment
This value displays how many layers the increment is, which is used while you
(Times
inspect slices with the slice preview.
Layer
Thickness)
Slice Walker You can walk through the part and each slice preview will be made on top of
each physical slice.

The slicer properties dialog is displayed.

Show STL
If this option is on, the slice is real-time displayed on the shaded image.
files
A preview of the hatching is displayed on the screen. This allows you to predict
Show
if the machine will draw the hatching correctly on the part and if the hatching
Hatchings
will be correctly trimmed.
When this option is selected, only the part that is located behind the slice (as
Hide Front
you see it on the screen) will be visible.

3. Machine Setup
Export slice page
The user is able to export the part and support as slices.

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– Slice export

Layer
Displays the layer thickness, as it will be used on the machine.
thickness
Export
Format The format of the part slices
part as
slices The naming template of the file containing the slices. The character
File name “*” will be replaced by the part name, while “ext” will be replaced by
the slicing format chosen.
Layer
Displays the layer thickness, as it will be used on the machine.
thickness
Format The format of the support slices
Export
support If you work with the EOS CLI format, a resolution is also asked. The
Units
as slices default value is 0.05 mm.
The naming template of the file containing the slices. The character
File name “*” will be replaced by the part name, while “ext” will be replaced by
the slicing format chosen.
Post
process Slices can be post processed. The format must be inserted.
slices

– Slice fixing

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Beam The beam compensation takes into account the thickness of the laser
compensation beam to ensure the correct dimensions of the parts.
Open loops (contours with gaps in it) or
gaps in the contours will be closed.
Max gap size
The maximum gap that must be fixed by
Gap fill
stitching.
The number of iterations used when
Iterations
performing a stitch.
All open contours are filtered out when the
Open contour contour length is less than the entered
value.
Contour filter
All closed contours are filtered out when
Closed contour the contour length is less than the entered
value.
Point reduction is used to reduce the amount of vectors. Successive
Point reduction vectors that lay on one line are merged.
This reduces the size of the slice file but details may get lost.

Post-process slices page

Post processing is an extra conversion to transform the slice format to a machine dependent
slice format. It is then a two-step process: first the file is sliced to the format determined in the
Slice properties dialog (see the section “Slicing”), and then this format is converted to the
format you determine here.
Magics can post process to:

– SLI (3D systems) (License for C-Tools needed)

– SLI (EOS)
– SCDB (License for C-Tools needed)

Different parameters are present depending on the specific format requirements.

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Unit size
A position in the slice format is determined by 2 numbers

– The unit size

– A unit value

The final position is determined by multiplying those 2 values. For example:

when the unit size is 0.01 mm and the unit value is 1254, the position is (0.01 x
1254) = 12.54mm
It is clear that to keep a maximum of details, the unit size should be as small as
possible. For the regular CLI slicing format the only restriction is that the
maximum value for the unit value is 65536 (2^16). So the maximum distance
Resolution you can cover with a unit size of 0.01 mm is 655.36 mm. (=0.01 x 65536). If you
have a bigger machine, the solution is to make the unit size bigger. (For
example the EOS 700 has a platform with a length of 700mm, so a bigger unit
size must be used to cover the whole platform).
Thus, the first restriction for the unit size is: Unit size > max distance machine /
65536
In the slice format, the layer thickness is also expressed in the unit size. This
results in the restriction that Layer thickness/unit size is an integer.

So we should minimize the unit size keeping this in mind:

Unit size > max distance machine / 65536
Unit size = layer thickness * N (where N is an integer)
When a user works in inch, the unit size stays in mm, so the factor 25.4 is

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introduced.

Resolution
An SL machine internally works with a resolution (the amount of defined
positions per millimeter). Some machines use a unit size.
Both values are linked: Resolution [1/mm] =1 / Unit size [mm]
A value is used to express the position of a point. The position is retrieved with
the following formula:
Position [mm] = value / resolution [1/mm] = value x unit size [mm]
The value that is used is mostly expressed with 2 bytes, so it has a maximum
value (2^16=65536). This results in the fact that the higher the resolution, the
smaller the covered area because the maximum value is reached faster.

CLI (float) has a resolution of 10^38 pixels, so for practical purposes

there is almost no limit. Using CLI (float) it is possible to slice a file at
a higher resolution than with the regular CLI. Please note that in this
case, the size of the resulting file will be two or more times bigger
than with the regular CLI option.

Based on the differences, CLI or CLI (float) format option may suit the
user’s needs better depending on the platform size, expected
precision, or resulting file size requirements.

The hatchings are the hatches the laser makes to cure the volume inside the
part. There are different parameters:
The distance between 2 hatches in the X-
X Hatch
direction.
The distance between 2 hatches in the Y-
Y Hatch
direction.
When switched off, each layer is hatched
in both directions (X and Y). When
switched on, a layer is only hatched in one
Alternate Layers
Hatching direction (e.g. X-direction), the next layer
will be hatched in the other direction (e.g.
Y-direction).
This is the distance between the border
and the hatches. This parameter is to
Hatch Offset
compensate the thickness of the laser
beam.
Hatches shorter than this length will be
Hatch Filter
ignored.
Save first By determining what is saved first, you

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can determine if the laser first scans the

borders or the hatching.
A cured resin will shrink and this shrinkage will cause internal stress, this
internal stress can cause deformations. Using special techniques of hatching,
the internal stress can be minimized. This will minimize the deformations.
Hatch style Instead of always hatching the part from
e.g. left to right, alternated will hatch one
Alternated
layer from left to right en the next layer
from right to left.
The hatches are connecting the 2 borders
of the part with each other. Because the
cured resin of the hatches will shrink, they
will pull at the borders and a deformation
will occur.

Retracted

To prevent that the hatches are

connecting the 2 borders, you can use the
retracted-option. The hatches will only be
connected to one border and leave a
space at the other border so the hatch is
not connecting the 2 borders anymore
and so the deformation will be minimized.
When staggered is checked, the hatches
will move each layer. In this way, the
hatch comes between the 2 hatches of
Staggered the layer below. You can compare it with
building a wall with bricks, they are not
placed perfectly on top of each other but
they are moved a half brick each layer.
To improve the quality of the bottom and upper layer, you can apply extra
hatching, called skinfills.
When the angle of the surface is lower
Angle than the parameter ‘angle’, skin fills will be
applied.
Skinfills
The amount of layers below/above the
Number upfacing/downfacing layers that should
contain skinfills.
The distance between the hatches of the
Hatch
skinfill.
Merge When slicing a platform with multiple parts, each part is sliced separately.

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Merging these slice files, they will become 1 big SLI-file.

All the SLI-files of the parts will be sliced
Merge all parts
in one SLI-file
All the SLI- files of the supports will be
Merge all Supports
sliced in one SLI-file
To decide if Magics should first merge or
hatch. When you choose to hatch before
merging, the result is that the laser will
hatch the parts one by one. When you first
First
merge before hatching, the hatches will
be calculated for all parts together, so it
can be that multiple parts are hatched at
the same time.
To decide whether Magics should keep
Original files
the original files it used for merging or not.

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Chapter 11. Materialise Software

11.1. Streamics
1. Open Streamics client

Opens the associated Streamics Clients. The client can be associated in the settings.
(Settings – Modules – Streamics Client)

2. Save Selected Part(s) to Streamics

Saves the selected part to the Streamics Control System.

3. Save Platform to Streamics

Saves the active platform to the Streamics Control System.

4. Create Quote in Streamics

Create a quote from the selected part(s) in Streamics.

5. Create Order in Streamics

Create an order from the selected part(s) in Streamics.

11.2. CO-AM

1. Magics integration with CO-AM

The CO-AM Software Platform is a cloud-based solution that allows manufacturers to scale
their digital supply chain with:
l Modular solutions (e.g. order management, MES, quality module, Materialise Apps)
l Partner ecosystem of 3rd party software and hardware systems
CO-AM improves collaboration, manufacturing repeatability, quality compliance and end-to-
end data security, and now Magics can be a part of the CO- AM workflows through the
seamless integration.

2. CO-AM settings page in Magics

There is a CO-AM settings page in Settings -> Modules -> CO-AM.
To start working with CO-AM parts in Magics, first go to your CO-AM account on the web, and
initiate a connection. Until then, you will see that your Magics instance is not connected to any
CO-AM accounts as shown below.

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3. Connect with CO-AM

To connect Magics to a CO- AM account, go to the CO- AM web portal and initiate the
connection. Consult CO-AM documentation or you customer success representative for more
information on how to do it.
When you see a pop-up in your browser with the title "Open Materialise Magics xx.x?" and
agree to open Magics, then Magics will be launched and the dialog will the log-in form will open
on Settings -> Modules -> CO-AM page.

4. Log in with CO-AM account

When you see the log- in form, use the same account credentials as in your CO- AM web
account and click the Connect button.

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When you successfully connect an account, you will see the account and the CO-AM server
you are connected to.

After connecting the account click the OK button in the settings dialog to apply this CO-AM
account to your Magics instance.

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5. Disconnect CO-AM account

When you click on the Disconnect button on the CO-AM settings page, then you will see the
log-in form again. To finish disconnecting, click OK in the Settings dialog.

6. Using Magics with multiple CO-AM accounts

If you are working with multiple CO-AM web accounts on the same or different servers, when
you initiate a connection from a different account than the one you are already logged in with,
then Magics will open a new instance for each account and ask you to log in.

7. Open CO-AM part(s) in Magics

In CO-AM interface there are multiple pages that give the option to open parts in Magics.
l Locate "Open in Magics" button in CO-AM.
l Depending on the flow, select one or more parts and click "Open in Magics".
l If there is one or more Magics instances already opened, then Magics will show a dialog
for selecting an instance and scene for the part(s).

Select this option to open a new Magics

Open new instance instance; each part will be opened in a
Select Magics instance new part scene in the new instance.
Select this option to open parts in a Magics
{Instance name}
instance that is already opened.
For an existing instance pick to open each
New part scene(s)
part in a new part scene.
Select a CO-AM platform already opened in
Add part(s) to the Magics instance for opening parts directly
{Platform name} on the platform. Platforms that were not cre-
ated from CO-AM will not be shown as
options.

Click OK to start loading the parts. Magics will show a progress dialog while it is opening
selected parts.

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8. Save parts and platforms to CO-AM

When Magics is connected to a CO-AM account, then Save selected part(s) to CO-AM and
Save Platform to CO-AM buttons appear in Magics interface:
(1) (2) in the quick access bar
(3) in the part context menu
(4) under File -> Save menu

(1)

(2)

(3)

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(4)

If user made any changes to the part since you opened or last saved the part to CO-AM, then
the Save selected part(s) to CO-AM button will be disabled.

It is possible to save one or more CO-AM parts at a time.

When Magics is saving a platform or part(s) to CO-AM, then a progress dialog will be shown:

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Given part meshes were changed on the CO-AM platform in Magics, when user clicks Save
Platform to CO-AM button, then changes to the parts will be saved automatically.

If user applies "Change Machine" command in Magics, then the platform disconnects
from CO-AM, and the metadata and traceability with CO-AM get lost. Only machines
originating from CO-AM can be saved back to CO-AM.

9. Supported Magics commands for CO-AM parts

Part commands
You can use most Magics commands on a part scene.

You cannot save to CO-AM duplicates of the original CO-AM part that you create through the
following commands:

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l Duplicate
l Rotate with “Make copy” enabled
l Translate with “Make copy” enabled
l Mirror with “Make Copy” enabled
l Rescale with “Make Copy” enabled

You will see a warning when you try to perform a command that is not supported or that will
break the link with CO-AM.

Platform commands
Most platform preparation commands work with CO-AM platforms.
Primary limitations for platform preparation in Magics 27:
l Sinterboxes cannot be saved to CO-AM
l Labels can only be saved as stls
l Parametric supports are converted to stl when saved to CO-AM

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10. Connection of Parts and Platforms with CO-AM

Parts opened in Magics from CO-AM maintain a connection with CO-AM for traceability and
auditability.
The connection is maintained in the following cases:
l While the instance of Magics with the part or platform is open
l In the Emergency mode in case of losing a Magics license
l When parts or platforms are captured for autorecovery in case of a crash

A part loses the link with CO-AM if you perform one of the following operations:
l When you save a CO-AM part locally. The local copy of the part will not have the link with
CO-AM anymore, you will lose CO-AM traceability and metadata, and will not be able to
save the part to CO-AM.
l Merge a CO-AM part with another CO-AM part (cutting a part and saving the cut parts to
CO-AM will result in having multiple CO-AM parts on the same scene)
l Boolean - unite
l Boolean - intersect parts
l Create new composed part

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A platform loses the link with CO-AM if you save a CO-AM platform locally. The local copy of
the platform will not have the link with CO-AM anymore, you will lose CO-AM traceability and
metadata, and will not be able to save the platform to CO-AM.

11. CO-AM Machine Properties

Machine Properties dialog contains physical machine parameters usually found on the
General info page (Build envelope, Configuration, Fields overlaps etc.) and build preparation
parameters(Parts placement, Support Generation, Export platform etc.).
General info parameters are managed from CO-AM side. Build preparation parameters on the
other hand are controlled from Magics.
When a machine is opened from CO- AM for the first time, then the physical machine
parameters are received from CO-AM. The rest of the parameters are generated from Magics
defaults.
Given the Machine Properties dialog is open and one or more parameters are changed, when
the parameters are applied to the current scene, then they are also saved to CO-AM.

When Machine Properties are changed in Magics and applied to the current scene, then the
other scenes in the current instance of Magics with the same CO-AM machine will be updated
with the same parameters.

When the machine with updated parameters is reopened in Magics from CO-AM, then the
latest saved parameters are applied to the scene in Magics.

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Some parameters are not saved and are set to the defaults every time the machine is opened
from CO-AM.

Machine Properties pages overview for CO-AM machines:

Parameters page CO-AM integration support
General info Managed from CO-AM side. Parameters page is hid-
den
Parts placement Managed from Magics and saved to CO-AM
Can be changed in Magics for the current scene but
Default Parts
can't be saved to CO-AM in Magics 27
Z Compensation Managed from Magics and saved to CO-AM
Can be changed in Magics for the current scene but
Build Time Estimation
can't be saved to CO-AM in Magics 27
Cost Estimation Can be changed in Magics for the current scene but
can't be saved to CO-AM in Magics 27
Support Generation mode Managed from Magics and saved to CO-AM
Support Generation parameters Managed from Magics and saved to CO-AM
Materialise e-Stage support parameters Managed from Magics and saved to CO-AM
Export platform Managed from Magics and saved to CO-AM
Can be changed in Magics for the current scene but
Export slices
can't be saved to CO-AM in Magics 27
Can be changed in Magics for the current scene but
Post-process slices
can't be saved to CO-AM in Magics 27
Materialise e-Stage export Managed from Magics and saved to CO-AM

12. Supports on CO-AM platforms

To be able to generate supports for parts on CO-AM platforms, it is necessary to manually
choose set Support generation parameters in the Machineproperties(see4 Support generation
parameters ).

Platforms with supports can be saved to CO-AM as usual, but in the current version of Magics
supports will be converted to stl supports during saving, so after reopening a saved platform
with supports from CO-AM the supports can not be modified, and need to be regenerated
again if necessary.

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13. Export-controlled parts

CO-AM as a platform supports workflows with exported-controlled parts. Export-controlled
parts are parts the production of which falls under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations
(ITAR).
Magics is aware when ITAR parts are opened from CO-AM. If an ITAR part is being added to a
CO-AM platform without any other ITAR parts, then Magics will notify the user about it in a
message.

If a non-ITAR part is being added to a platform with ITAR parts, Magics will also notify about it.

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These messages can be dismissed from being shown again. To re-enable the messages, go to
Options & Help -> Settings -> General -> Warnings and select the corresponding checkbox.

11.3. Machine Manager

1. Magics integration with Machine Manager introduction

The Machine Manager is the home for the next generation of Build Processors. It is a cloud-
based solution to manage machines, process parameters and build jobs. This new generation
of Build Processors increase the versatility and scalability of your production as well as the
productivity of your applications.
To enable an end-to-end work flow the integration of Magics with the Machine Manager is
crucial. Below you can find out how this integration works.

2. Connect and Login to Machine Manager

To start working on a Machine Manager machine, first go to Settings page in Magics, under the
Modules category, select Materialise Machine Manager page, where the server address needs
to be added.

After "Proceed to login" button was clicked, the login page will be prompted:

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After you have pressed the "Log in" button, you will have access to the machines available on
the server. A stable connection to the server is needed to work seamlessly on a Machine
Manager machine in Magics.

3. Machine selection
A machine or a New platform can be opened following the familiar work flow, also described
in1 New Platform Scene chapter.
Available machines on the selected server will be present in the Select Machine drop down list
together with local library machines and Build Processor System machines.
On the New Machine / New Platform / Change machine dialog Support profile can be selected
from available ones on the server.

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After a platform was opened, you can proceed with data and build preparation operations as on
a regular local library machine or Build Processor System machine.

4. Build preparation
Support generation profiles
Compared to local library machines and Build Processor System machines, Machine
Managers machines store the support generation profiles of the machine on the server,
together with the instance of the machine. Users with access to the machine will be able to use
previously saved support generation profiles.

Saving support generation profiles to Machine Manager server

Support generation profiles can be saved on Machine Manager server from Magics by
selecting "Machine Manager" check box of the "Save changes to" options on the Machine
properties dialog.
Changes made on Part placement, Z compensation, Support generation mode, Support
generation parameters, Materialise e-Stage support parameters, Export platform, Materialise
e-Stage export pages in Machine properties will be saved to Machine Manager together with
the machine.

5. Strategy assignment
Default strategies
Strategies are defined on Machine Manager terminal. When opening a Machine Manager
machine in Magics, on the platform scene, in the Tool pages - the "Strategies" tool sheet will be
available with relevant strategies for the opened machine:

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Available strategies represent the default strategies for platform and parts on the platform.
Star icon in front of the strategy name in the drop down list indicates the strategies marked "Set
as default preferred" on Machine Manager.
"Reset to defaults" button will reset selections of the strategies to the ones marked "Set as
default preferred" on Machine Manager.

Overriding default part and support strategies

For each of the parts on the platform it is possible to select an overriding strategy. Available
strategies to override part and support strategies can be found in Strategy column on the Part
list tool sheet. Supports of a part are treated as one entity and the processing strategy will be
applied to the merged support surfaces.

Sending for processing on Machine Manager

After strategies have been assigned, the platform is ready to be sent for processing to Machine
Manager.
For an opened Machine Manager machine, a new ribbon is available, carrying the name of the
machine. On the ribbon, the "Build" button will initiate upload of the platform to Machine
Manager

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With a successful upload and creation of a processing job on the Machine Manager, a
confirmation message will be prompted in Magics:

"Open job list" button will redirect to the Job list page on Machine Manager portal, where
progress of the processing can be checked.

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Chapter 12. View

12.1. Views

1. ISO views

This dropdown allows you to access the following views:

These views are also accessible by hovering over the corners of the interactive view cube,
situated at the bottom right of the scene.

2. Smooth Shading
When Smooth Shading is enabled, the variations in color will be shown more gradually and no
longer as separate triangles. Note that only the visualization of the part changes, the number of
triangles and the accuracy of the STL are not changed.

3. Fast Preview

Fast Preview allows the application to only render wireframes or points of parts. It will
speed up the visualization of 3D views.

12.2. Elements
1. Toggle Grid

Toggles the visibility of the grid.

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– For grid settings, see paragraph Grid, page 519.

2. Rulers

Toggle the visibility of the Rulers. Rulers have been introduced into Magics to give the
user the possibility to estimate the dimensions in which he is working. The rulers can be placed
at the bottom of the working area and/or in the left side of the working area.
These settings can be defined in the Rulers visualization parameter window (Settings >
Visualization > Rulers).

3. Coordinate System

The Coordinate System is called WCS (World Coordinate System) and it is the default
coordinate system in which you work. The origin is set in (0,0,0).
Sometimes, for example when the part is zoomed in, or when the part is positioned far from the
origin, this coordinate system is not visible on the screen. Therefore, you can switch on the
Orientation Indicator.

4. No-build zones

No-build Zones Toggle to show the No-build zones, if present.

Field Overlaps Toggle to show Field overlaps, if present.

Platform Visibility Toggle the Platform Visibility. (F11)

5. Part Dimensions

Activating the part dimensions gives a view on the bounding box with the dimension of
each rib indicated.

6. Gravity Center

This command visualizes the gravity center of the selected part with a green dot.

7. Combined Bounding Box

This command toggles the visibility of the bounding box of all selected parts. In addition,
every minimum and maximum value of x, y and z are shown.

8. Tag ID

Every loaded part receives an ID in Magics, with this functionality it can be visualized.

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9. Tag Names

This command pasts the name of the part to the selection tag of the part. (F10)

10. Tag Path

By selecting this, it shows the path of the part nears its selection tag. (F12)

11. Selection Points

This command hides or shows the selection points on the parts. This can be useful if the
you want to take screenshot of the parts.

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On Off

12.3. Export View

1. Export to Image

The current view can be exported as Bitmap, GIF, JPEG, TIFF, PNG file. You can enable
the rulers and choose a background color. When no background color is selected, the color of
the scene will be used.

2. Copy Viewport

To make screenshots of the Main Window, you can use this feature.

3. Print

This command starts the Magics print wizard that leads you to the Page Setup and the
standard Windows Print dialog box.

– See Print, page 94

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Chapter 13. Options & Help

13.1. Settings

In the Settings dialog you can alter all parameters of your Magics Software.

1. Customize Mouse Input

The mouse buttons are fully customizable by the user.

Command This list contains the available functions for the mouse.
This list represents the current shortcuts for the selected function in the
Shortcuts
Function List.
Delete Deletes the selected shortcut.
Reset The shortcuts for the selected function will be reset.
New By clicking in this textbox and clicking on the desired combination of (mouse)
Shortcut buttons, the shortcut will appear in this box.
Add Adds the shortcut to the Shortcuts List.
This message alerts whether a shortcut for the selected function is in conflict
Conflicts
with another shortcut of another function.
Designates the shortcut to the selected Command, the user is able to define
Apply
more shortcuts without leaving the dialog.

Advised Way of Working

– Select a command from the Command list. E.g. Panning. Panning already has a
shortcut: SHIFT+Right Button and the middle mouse button. We’ll create a new one.

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– Activate the New Shortcut textbox by clicking in it and push your desired shortcut.
– Click on the Add button, the shortcut is added to the Shortcut List.
– Click OK. You can now use your newly created shortcut.

"Flip Mouse Wheel Input for Zooming" checkbox

Allows the user to change the direction of the zooming behavior by the use of the mouse
wheel.

"Show rotation circle" checkbox

Allows the user to decide whether or not to show the rotation circle on screen during rotation of
the view. The size of the rotation circle can be adjusted to fit the user needs.

2. General
Unit Size

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1. Units
You can choose between mm and inches. You will have to select the units before you
load the STL file. If the STL file was originally in millimeters, you have to choose mm. If
the file is in inches, you will have to choose Inch. If several parts are loaded, some in
millimeters and some in inches, the Unit Conversion has to be used otherwise parts are
out of proportion. The program always remembers the last used unit and takes this as
default the next time you start up the program.

2. Automatic Unit Conversion

The automatic unit conversion is used to avoid mistakes due to the units you work in. It
may be that you are working in millimeters, and that you load a part whose dimensions
are expressed in inches. A part of 2inch*2inch*2inch, will then become a part of
2mm*2mm*2mm. The size of the part is not correct anymore.
Because 1inch is 25.4mm, the dimensions of the part expressed in millimeters are
bigger than those when the part is expressed in inches. A part of 2inch*2inch*2inch, is as
big as a part of 50.8mm*50.8mm* 50.8mm.
When you are working in millimeters and you load a part and the dimensions are very
small (you can define ‘very small’ in the options –see the figure above), it may be that the
part you loaded was originally expressed in inches. Magics will then multiply the
dimensions with 25.4 (inch to mm conversion), so the part will now be expressed in
millimeters. When you are working in inches and you load a part and the dimensions are
very big (you can define ‘very big’ in the settings – see figure above), it may be that the
part you loaded was originally expressed in millimeters. Magics will then divide the
dimensions with 25.4, so the part will now be expressed in inches.

Marking

1. Plane Marking

These parameters describe how accurate the program should search for triangles in one
plane.

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– See Marking tools, page 550

2. Brush Marking

Size of Brush Marking allows marking triangles on an active part by a brush. The
Brush user can define the size of the brush.

3. Vertical Marking

Angle Vertical Marking allows marking triangles on an active part vertically. The
deviation user can define the deviation.

4. Horizontal Marking

Angle Horizontal Marking allows marking triangles on an active part horizontally.

deviation The user can define the deviation

Measurements Quality

Measurements quality
A simple quality measurement is performed based on the parameters: relative
tolerance and absolute tolerance.
Specify the tolerance for the absolute deviation from
Absolute tolerance the real measurement compared to the STL
Basic measurement.
Only check for values that are smaller or equal to
For values
the entered value.
Relative tolerance Specify the tolerance for the relative deviation from

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the real measurement compared to the STL

measurement
An advanced quality measurement is performed based on a defined profile.
Specify which profile has to be used to check the
quality of the measurement(s).
Advanced The profile is an *.xml document saved in the
Profile
‘Advanced Tolerance’ folder.
(Settings > File I/O >Working folders > Advanced
measurements)

Selection & Snapping

Some functions in Magics RP (for example measuring and aligning) require that you snap to a
feature of the part: a point, a line, a plane, a circle, a cylinder, and sphere.

This sets the changes the visualization preferences fo snapped entities when
the mouse is hovered over the appropriate entity.

Appearance – Size : Defines the radius of the point picker preview circle in pixels.
– Color: Defines the general highlight color of all the snapped entities
such as points, lines and circles.
This sets the list of entities that can are allowed to be used as an anchor for a
point picker .
Points
– Wireframe: If On, point pickercan snap to visible wireframe lines on
parts.

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– Sections: If On, points picker can snap to visible section lines on parts.
– Bad Edges: If On, point picker can snap to visible bad edges on parts.
– Triangle Vertices: If On, point picker can snap to triangle vertices of all
visible triangles on parts.
– Manual Points: If On, point picker can snap to manually created points
from the points toolpage.
– Surface: If On, point picker can snap to visible faces that are on parts.
– Grid: If On, point picker can snap to the grid if the grid visibility is
toggled on. See ,1 Toggle Grid.
– Gravity Center: If On, point picker can snap to the gravity center
indicator if the gravity center visibility is toggled on. See, 6 Gravity
Center
– Slices Preview: If On, point picker can snap to the slice lines on slice
parts.

This sets the list of entities that can are allowed to be used as an anchor for a
point picker .

– Wireframe: If On, line and circle picker can snap to appropriate visible
Lines, Circles wireframe curves on parts.
– Section: If On, line and circle picker can snap to appropriate visible sec-
tion curves on parts.
– Bad Edge, If On, line and circle picker can snap to visible bad edges on
parts.
This sets if the mouse pickers should actively snap to appropriate entities
while on hover with highlights or to perform the snapping only on click.
If you are experiencing slow downs while accessing some mouse modes,
you are adviced to set the Snap to options to off so that snapping is only done
on click and not on hover.
Snap to
– If On, the pickers willactively seek for anchors on hover and show a
point picker preview for appropriate snapping entity
– If Off, the pickers will only seek for anchors on click and no preview will
be shown on hover.

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Undo and Recovery

By default this option is On. A temporary file with the history of the operations
Enable performedin an active application session is created and maintained throughout
Undo the lifecycle of the session. This enable an undo and redo operations. When you
close Magics, the undo file of that session is erased.
Maximal You can enter a maximum size of the file where the operations you do are
Undo File saved. When the file size gets too big, the descriptions of the first actions you
size did in Magics will be removed. The default value is 1000 MB.
After a crash, Magics will ask you if you would like to go back to the previous
status, if Auto Recovery is enabled. You can only recover when you enabled
Enable
undo. During a crash the undo file will not be erased in this case. An Auto
Auto
Recovery will search for the undo file of your last session when you start up
Recovery
Magics again. When the option is OFF, you will not be able to recover the partial
undo file to be reloaded back into the session.

The Undo and Auto Recovery files can be found in the sub-directory 'Magics RP
Undo' of the regular Windows temporary directory.

When you enabled the Auto Recovery option it is possible that during a crash this
recovery file gets corrupted. When Magics wants to start it will prompt if you want to
recover. If the recovery file is corrupt, Magics might not be able to recover or function
correctly if thishappens. Do not choose to recover the next time or go to the standard
Windows Temporary '\Magics RP Undo'-folder and delete the file.

History
Magics RP keeps a track of the history of every part once an operation is performed. Enabling
this option can slow Magics down. By default this option is ON.

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User process Flow Improvement

Magics will collect user experience feedback to ensure future improvements and best software
quality.

Languages
You can change the language of you Magics installation. The language change is only applied
after restarting Magics.

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Naming
In this section the settings to related to part naming can be found and changed.

Always use English names for newly created parts

If this option is set to true, then newly created part names will not be translated to the
application language instead be preserved in the English language. The default value is false
and intended to be changed by the user who need the part names to always be in latin
characters.

Always use a default English name for the Build Job

If this option is set to true, when a platform is sent for processing via the "Build" button, then the
default Build Job name in the Build dialog will not be translated to the application language and

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instead will be set to "Untitled" and shown in English language. The Build Job name can be
changed by the user.

Custom names after operations

This setting group is for you to customize the name of result part names after specific
operations. You are advised to follow the placeholders correctly to achieve the most desired
output part naming.
Custom names after For every function in this list you can specify the used naming
operations convention
A suffix can be selected from the list or customized suffixes can be
created, keeping some rules in mind.

Symbols are standing for:

* : part name
#: index number
$p: parameter value
$P: special parameter value (currently only available for Rescale
operation)

Naming template Example

Simple type the desired notation into the combo box. Magics will save
this format into its preferences

Remark: Use only a ‘*’ if no suffix is requested after the

operation.

Warnings
Turn warning messages on/ off for particular functions/ actions to complete.

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Reporting
Show data of virtual copies separated.

– Enabled: Report tags show information of each virtual copy separated.

– Disabled: Report tags show information only about original parts which copies are
present; amount of copies on active scene is shown near the part name but doesn’t
influence on the part parameters.

Project Template
You can set the path to the Magics project template file with default scenes and parts for the
new project command.

– See New Project, page 60 for more information for creating a new untitled project with
default scenes.

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If this is set to true, then the Magics project template that

is set in the next input is used as the template for a new
Use default project template project always. Default is set to False. You will be shown
a message dialog when calling the New Project com-
mand when this setting is set to false.
Path to a Magics project file in the local device to be used
as the default template project. The template path is set
to a file in the ProgramData created during the
Path to Magics project template installation of Magics.
If the path is set to non-Magics file then the field will be
reverted to the default path automatically.
If this is set to true, then when starting a new project from
Always use latest machine properties from the template, if the template has platform scenes in it
machine library for platform scenes. then the latest machine properties from the machine lib-
rary will be used for the new platform scenes.

3. Modules
Support Generation
Will allow you to set the support mode (Manual – Automatic) when switching to the support
module (SG).

Streamics Client
Here you can change the settings of the Streamics Client. It also enables the user to perform a
collision detection and out of bounds detection check before uploading platforms to Streamics.

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In addition there is an option to change the revision settings between full mode and limited
mode.

CO-AM
If user is not connected to any CO- AM accounts, then a message is shown to iniate a
connection by openning a part or a platform from the CO-AM website.

Once a connection is initiated from CO-AM, the user will see a login form for linking a CO-
AM account.

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Materialise Robot
In this tab you can specify the installation folder of the Materialise Robot that you want to use
for processing Robot content from Magics.

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e-Stage

Locate e- Location of e-Stage. The e-Stage link is only active in Magics when the path
Stage folder to e-Stage is defined properly.

MatConvert
If you have multiple MatConvert versions installed on your pc, this setting will allow you to
switch between different versions of MatConvert. This also allows you to upgrade your
MatConvert to the latest release without installing a new Magics.

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Rapid Fit

1. General

Global grid size The size of the grid

Grid The position of the
Reference point
reference point
The distance
Automatic
between a plate
Part Distance Above Plates
and part in z-
centering
direction.

2. Base Plates

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You choose a Plate Type out of the list, which is filtered in

The size of the baseplates linked to the chosen grid size. The Base Plates
base plate are standardized. The type mentions the size of the plate
in X and Y and also the Grid size.
The grid Parameter is a property of a Plate Type and can
thus not be changed. It is the distance between the
Type
centers of the threaded holes. The distance between the
Grid spacing
side edge and the first row of holes is half the grid
Parameter. Therefore the size of the plate is a multiple of
this grid parameter.
Number of The Number of holes in the plate is the size (here 325)
holes divided by the grid spacing (here 25).
This is the position of the hole with lowest X and Y coordinate. The
Position orientation can be compared with Landscape and Portrait of a page setup
in other programs.

3. Beams

Type You can choose the type of beam you want

Name The name of the beam can be changed

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The Grid Size of the Base Plate. The Grid Size indicates the step of the
Grid size
movement on the base plate.
Position The (x, y, z) position where the beam will appear.
Size The default size of the beam
Add to
You can add the current defined beam type to the Type list at the top.
Type List

EOS - RP Tools
Deprecated from Magics version 27.0.

4. Visualization
Renderer
Modern video cards have specialized hardware to make rendering faster. Magics uses Direct
3D rendering. This will make rendering a lot faster because the CPU is not specialist in
rendering and a 3D card is.
The principle is that the computer sends the triangles to the memory of the video card and the
card will do the rendering of the part, following the instructions of Magics.
This has directly 2 consequences:

– To have optimal results, the memory on the video card must be large enough (1 MB STL
needs approx. 1,5MB ram on the 3D-card).
– Each time the part has been changed, the whole list of triangles must be send again to
the video card. This can cause delays depending of the size of the part. When you have
a huge amount of triangles (millions of triangles), delays can be avoided by switching
back to software rendering. Each 3D-card has a limit.

Remark: We recommend that you try each mode and see what the results are. Not
only the hardware is important, but also the drivers. If you're having problems, try
again with other (more recent) drivers.

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High

Image
Medium
quality

Low

A copy of the triangles is saved on the memory of the graphics

Performance card, this should significantly speed up the rendering on most
systems.
Optimize
The memory usage is limited when this option is flagged. The
Memory
performance will be less though when working with large parts
usage
this option is best to choose.
The part can be visualized using smooth shading. The
variations in color will now be shown more gradually and no
Smooth shading longer as separate triangles. Note that only the visualization of
the part changes, the number of triangles and the accuracy of
the STL are not changed.
OFF: When you click on the colored round in the part list sheet ,
Use Material Editor
a color palette appears.

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ON: When you click on the colored round in the part list sheet,
the material editor dialog appears. Besides the color, you can
also select the material properties.
The colors can be described in 2 ways: RGB (red, green, Blue)
and HLS (Hue, Lightness, Saturation).
This flag allows the application to only render wireframes or
Show wireframe when
points of parts when rotating the view thus interaction speeds up
framerate drops below
in the 3D-views.
This is the reaction to the ambient light that exists everywhere in
Ambient the scene, this light is scattered equally in all directions on the
Lighting surface.
This is the reaction to directional light; it reflects more in one
Diffuse
direction.

Slice Stacks
To speed up the process of visualizing slice stacks after import, the amount of slice stacks
displayed at once can be specified in the settings.

Reduction of display stack Indicate how many slices of the full stack should be displayed.

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Supports

The border of the surface where the selected support is trimmed on is

View surface border
visualized in yellow.
Highlight surface The border of the surface where the selected support is trimmed on is
border visualized with a thicker line.
The line showing the surface border is only visible when it is in the
Hidden Line
front.
View support edge Edges of support are shown in light blue for better visualization.
Show perforations Perforations are shown
Cut support with
When enabled, the section also influences the supports.
section view

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Graphs

Beam (thickness) Beam thickness will be rendered by default

Render by default as Beam thickness won't be rendered with this set-
Lines (no thickness)
ting. The beams will be visualized as lines
Color of graphs with
Defines the color of beams without thickness
no thickness

Colors
1. STL Colors

When you select random colors, random colors are used for the different parts you
import.
When you select Preset colors, the colors of this window are used.

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These five buttons represent the five colors as they will be assigned to
Part 1 to
the loaded parts. The first part you load will get the first color. The
Part 5
second part will get the second color and so on.
Flipped
The color of the flipped triangles.
Triangles
Bad Edges The color of the bad edges.
Triangle
The color of the triangle borders.
Border
Wireframe The color of the wireframe.
Marked
The color of the marked triangles.
Triangles
Marked
Triangles’ The color of the marked triangles’ borders.
Borders
Marked
Borders’ The color of the marked borders’ thickness.
Thickness
Marked
Textures’ The color of the marked textures’ borders.
Borders
Marked
Textures’ The color of the marked textures’ thickness.
Thickness
Allow
Autocolor
When checked, Autocolor is allowed to reset painting.
reset
painting

2. Support Colors

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3. Slice Preview Colors

4. Out of bounds Colors

Color parts on the side of When activated the parts that exceed the bounds of the
the platform platform are colored.
Color parts above and When activated, the parts that exceed the bounds of the
below the platform platform above and below are colored.
Color Specify the color of the parts that are out of bounds

5. Other Colors

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The user can define the colors of the background for the Part Scene, the Annotation
Scenes and the Platform Scenes. Furthermore, he can choose the color of
measurement lines, created points, the build envelope and the grid.
The user can choose to have sections colored as part.

6. Wall Thickness Analysis Colors

End color When showing result as gradient coloring, this defines the maximum
range thickness color in the legend.
Begin color When showing result as gradient coloring, this defines the minimum
range thickness color in the legend.
Reference The color gradient reference.

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Annotations and Measurements

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1. Measurement

Arrows can be placed at the end of the line that indicates the distance
Arrows between two features. An open, a closed, or a closed filled arrow can be
chosen. The color of the arrows can be adapted.
Width The width of the arrows can be adapted.
Height The height of the arrows can be adapted.
Extension
You can choose to draw extension lines or not. The color can be adapted.
Lines
When you select a measurement, some grips (rounds) will appear on the
measurement’s lines. They allow changing the position of the
measurement lines. The grip (1 in the figure) on the intersection of the
line that indicates the length and an extension line allows you to turn the
former around the axis between the features. The grip (2 in the figure) in
the middle of the line that indicates the length allows you to extend or
shorten the extension lines. The grips (3 in the figure) that mark the
feature (in the case shown below it is a point), can be dragged to the
Grip Size same feature (in this case a point), positioned somewhere else on the
part. The measurement value will be adapted.You can define the size

and color of the grip.

A point is indicated with a cross, a line and a circle will be colored in the
Draw selected color, the axes of a cylinder will be drawn and the contours of its
Features two discs will be colored in the indicated color, a sphere will be marked
with three circumpolar circles. You can define the color of the features.

2. Text

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Checked

Aligned

Not Checked

You can adapt the font of the text.

Show X, Y and Z Checked, the measurement value is

distances not aligned.

Show Label Only Only show labels

Show Tolerances Show Tolerances

Show Label and

Show both label and icons
Icons

Number of decimal Specify the amount of decimal to take

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places into account.

Grid

Hide
from The grid will be hidden when rotating the view below the XY plane.
bottom
The axes form the intersection of the grid with the XZ an YZ planes through the
Axis
origin. By default they are part of the major and minor grid. To see these axes, you
Visible
can check this box. The axes will turn light blue.
Auto When this box is checked, the grid will be adapted depending on the Z projection
Extend of the loaded parts.
Total
Grid Here you can set the total grid size.
Size
Z height You can put the grid at a certain height under or above the XY plane.
Minor
You can define the grid size here. The minor grid is colored light gray.
grid line
If you would like to have a second less detailed grid, you can fill in a number n
Major
here. The lines of the major grid will lie n times the lines of the minor grid. The
grid line
major grid is colored dark grey.

Rulers
The rulers can be placed at the bottom of the working area and/or in the left side of the working
area.

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Wireframe

A line of the wireframe is drawn when the angle between 2 triangles is exceeding a
Angle
certain value. The default value is 30°. Here, you can adjust this value.

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View cube

Show view
Toggle the visibility of the view cube on the scene.
cube
Lock view
When selected, the view cube will not be linked anymore to the rotation of the
cube
viewport, and it will always remain in the default ISO view front-left-top.
rotation
On screen Select the preferred corner of the scene to position the view cube. By default,
position it’s positioned in the bottom-right corner.

5. File I/O
Working Folders
1. Application Working Folders

Application working folders settings allows the user the specify the default folders that
will be accessed or shown when a Windows Explorer dialog is launched from Magics for
file input output.

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You can browse your device and network directories and set a folder as default
folder.

Load folder is the folder used when loading files into Magics by default.

Always uses the last used folder for loading files from the previous Magics ses-
Option 1
sion if exist. Else uses the User documents folder for the first time.
User can specify a folder to be the main fixed folder when loading files. The
default folder path will be the User documents folder.
After the first execution of file loading, the subsequent oper-
Option 2 Option 2a ation will show the folder location of the previously loaded file
till the end of the current Magics session.
Windows Explorer dialog will always point to the default fixed
Option 2b
folder set.

2. Export Platform Working folder

Export platform working folder allows users to set the default folders to be used when
exporting platforms and its content a build job folder.

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You can browse your device and network directories and set a folder as default
folder.

– Advanced Options

Magics always proposes this folder when exporting a

Option 1
platform.
Magics only proposes the chosen folder the first time
Option 2 a file dialog pops up. On subsequent operations a file
dialog pops up, the previously selected folder is used.
Option 3 The folder where the last loaded file was from is used.

3. Logging

Application logging will allow you to specify where you will store the log file and if log file
size will be limited and with how much.

Magics keeps a log file. In this file all performed operations and actions are written.

Here you can define where you would like to save the log file.

Limit You can define the maximum size for the log folder or not.

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Log
Folder
Size
Set the maximum size for the log folder. If the size is reached, the first
Max
actions of the Magics session will be erased, so that the latest actions can
Size
be written in the file.

4. My Machines Folder

Here you can define my machines folder. The My Machines Folder contains
the machine files that are used by the user. (Machine Setup)

– Advanced Options

Disable Build Processor Build

Disable the Build Processor Build button.
Button
No longer use any of the defined build
Disable all Build Processors
processors.

5. Structure folder

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Here you can define the structure folder. This folder contains all structures
which can be used by the user.

6. Label Tags folder

Here you can define the label tag folder. This folder contains all label tags
which can be used by the user.

7. 3D Nester Profile

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Here you can define the 3D Nester profile folder. This folder contains all 3D
nester profiles which can be used by the user.

8. Fix Profile Folder

Here you can define the Fix Profile Folder. The Fix Profile Folder contains the
fix profile that is used by the user.

9. Report Template Working Folder

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Here you can define the Report Template Folder. The Report Template Folder
contains the templates that are used by the user.

10. Advanced measurements quality

Here you can define the advanced measurement folder. The advanced quality
folder contains the quality documents that are used by the user.

11. Support Library Folder

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Specify in which folder your support parameter settings will be stored.

Import
1. Import

Within this window you can control preferred option for opening CAD files either as
BREP or STL by switching the checkbox 'Convert CAD part(s) to mesh during import'.If
you are not keen on working with BREP models in Magics you can check this option on.
In this case CAD files will be converted to mesh during import.

Part orientation

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Part orientation dialog is shown when importing parts directly to a platform scene.
Through this dialog you can quickly specify the desired orientation for your parts based
on four main options when loading your parts.

Select the desired orientation by clicking on the preview, then clicking “Ok”. If “Never ask
again” is enabled, the selected option will be remembered as the default one in the
Settings page.
Original The original orientation of the part will be used.
Minimize Z-
The part will be rotated so the Z-height is minimized.
height
Minimize XY
The part will be rotated so the XY projection is minimized.
projection
Minimize
The part will be rotated so the support surface is minimized. This
support
option is only available with a Support Generation license.
surface
Never ask The selected option will be used without prompting the user to choose
again an orientation.

When importing multiple parts at once, the dialog will appear for each part with the origin
file of the part shown above:

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The “File path” can help you identify which part exactly is being imported.
By checking “Apply to all”, the selected orientation will be applied to all parts that are
being imported at once.

Part placement

Part placement options allows users to set a default way to arrange parts when importing
parts to any of the active scenes through the "Import Part" command.
As Is The original position of the part will be preserved as is.
The part will be placed on the default position defined based on the
Default target scene. For platform scenes this is the 'Default position' set
Position in Machine properties, while for Part scenes this is by default 0,0,0
relative to active coordinate system.
Aside of Each individual part will be placed next to each to previously loaded
others parts as they are being loaded.
The part will be placed according to the Automatic Placement method
defined in the machine file. Parts that are already on the platform will not
move, but will be taken into account while placing the newly imported
Automatic parts.
Placement

Note: This option is not available in Part Scenes, if set this

setting will be ignored and Parts will be loaded As is.

Unzoom at
After importing the file, the view will change to focus on the part.
import

When using the "Import Part command, the options are available on the bottom panel of
the Windows Explorer dialog:

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Autofix during import (in Standard mode)

If this is set to true, then all mesh parts that are loaded in the standard mode will be fixed
automatically.

Unzoom at import

If this is set to true, the active scene the part was loaded in will be automaticalled
unzoomed such that all visible parts are within the screen view.

Convert CAD part(s) to mesh during import

If this is set to true, even if a CAD file can be loaded preserving the BREP parts, it will be
loaded as a mesh part automatically.

Note: This setting is not used when importing parts directly to the BREP part
scene, where parts from CAD file(s) are always loaded as BREP parts based
on available import license.

2. STL

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– Identical Triangles

Identical triangles have their normals in the same direction. You can
Identical
choose to leave these triangles, leave one of the two triangles or
Triangles
remove them both.
Opposite Triangles have their normals in opposite directions. You
Opposite
can choose to leave these triangles, leave one of the two triangles
Triangles
or remove them both.

– STL Memory State

You can define in which memory state you want to load a project.
This memory state becomes the default when importing a project.
This is the standard memory state of a STL file.
Magics knows the placement of the triangles and
Standard their mutual dependencies. The user is able to
perform actions on STL level (E.g. deleting
.magics triangles).
Project The STL resides in the memory as read- only,
Loading therefore it uses far less memory than the Standard
Compact memory state. Magics does not know the placement
of the triangles nor their mutual dependencies. The
user is not able to perform actions on STL level.
The STL is saved on disk and unloaded from the
On Disk memory. The STL will stay in the project but the user
cannot perform any actions on it.

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As Saved The Project will be loaded as previously saved.

You can define in which memory state you want to load a project.
This memory state becomes the default when importing a project.
This is the standard memory state of an STL file.
Magics knows the placement of the triangles and
Standard their mutual dependencies. The user is able to
perform actions on STL level (E.g. deleting
triangles).
STL
Importing The STL resides in the memory as read- only,
therefore it uses far less memory than the Standard
Compact memory state. Magics does not know the placement
of the triangles nor their mutual dependencies. The
user is not able to perform actions on STL level.
The STL is saved on disk and unloaded from the
On Disk memory. The STL will stay in the project but the user
cannot perform any actions on it.
Always
An STL with more triangles than defined by the user, will always be
load STL’s
loaded on disk.
on disk

– Importing .magics, .MatAMX and .3mf files

Check this option when you want to see a list of the parts saved in
Show part
the imported .magics, .MatAMX, or .3mf file. In that list you can
list when
check the parts you want to be loaded. For more information, see 2
importing
Import Part

3. Slices

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Convert to STL .slc file will be imported as mesh

Import as stack of slices .slc file will be imported as slices

Export

When this option is checked, the parts will by default be saved

Save Colors in STL
as colored STL (Menu/Tools/Paint Part)
When the user has created support for a certain file, the
Use _sup postscripts extension ‘_sup’ will appear behind the name of the part at the
moment the user saves the part.
Checking this option will overwrite parts without a warning
Save All in Directory
message.
.magics name at Export platform
Template Add the content which has to be displayed in the project name.
A preview is shown of the naming for .magics files that are
Preview
created via the export platform functionality
Add Content
Actual year the
Year (YYYY)
platform is created
Actual month the
Month (MM)
platform is created
Actual day the
Day (DD)
platform is created

Build counter Counts the amount of

builds per day per

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platform
Displays the name of
User name the system user who
created the platform
The name of the
Machine name
platform that is created
The name of the
Project name
Magics platform
Example

Remark: As seen in the example above, additional

separation characters can be used.

Saving project default format

Remember last The default project saving format will be the last one used.
Default format when saving Specify which format will be selected by default when saving a
project project
Saving part default format
Remember last The default part saving format will be the last one used.
Default format when saving Specify which format will be selected by default when saving a
part part
Export .zpr file
Custom color for non- Select the color non-textured surfaces should receive when
textured surfaces printed
Use Part List color for non- The printed color of non-textured surfaces will be the part color
textured surfaces from the part list, as shown in the scene.
Use logo in 3d pdf Selected image will be used as the logo in 3d pdf file.

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6. Analyze
Diagnostic

Consider hollow parts During automatic fixing, hollow parts are taken into consideration

Build risk analysis

To analyze your part on risk of failure due to differences between the layer surface areas.

The smaller the size, the longer the calculation will take, but the more precise
Layer size
the result will be.
Upper range High risk: show a red color when the layer has more deviation than the
(a) (red) specified percentage, compared with the previous layer.
Might cause problems: Orange is shown for deviations that are between the
(orange)
upper and lover range.
Lower range Should build correct: show a green color when the layer has less deviation

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(b) (green) than the specified percentage, compared with the previous layer.
Default Select a previously created custom profile to load or save the settings, or
profile change the default profile.

13.2. Network
gRPC
The gRPC settings page under the Network section has a general setting to enable "GRPC_
DNS_RESOLVER" : "native" variable on the local PC. When enabled, it make the connection
with services using a gRPC connector, such as CO-AM, more stable. Connection issues most
commonly occur when using a VPN.

If using CO-AM, it is recommended to enable this option when the following error is present in
the Magics log: "Error code: 14, message: DNS resolution failed for {environmentName}: C-
ares status is not ARES_SUCCESS qtype=AAAA name={environmentName} is_balancer=0:
DNS server returned answer with no data, details:"

13.3. Customize UI

In this dialog you can customize the ribbons, quick access bar, toolbars, context menus,
toolpages and shortcuts.

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Import UI Settings allows you to import UI settings file in .uimpf format. Once imported, the
existing customization will be completely replaced with the new one.
Example: if in next Magics version a new command is added and placed by default in a specific
place. When you import a profile created from a previous Magics version, Magics will not try to
position this new command somewhere in the imported profile, but the new command will be
available only via Quick search bar.
Export UI Settings allows you to export UI settings file in .uimpf format.
The saved profile contains information about position & visibility of commands in different UI
areas (ribbons, quick access bar, toolbars, context menus), commands shortcuts, composite
commands, position & visibility of toolpages, visual style

13.4. Magics Profile

A Magics profile is a profile that contains all user customizable settings in Magics. Each user
can have its own Magics profile. These files have the extension *.mpf. It replaces or includes all
previous profiles. It should include all user configurations of Magics.
This includes

– General settings
– RapidFit Files
– Fix profiles
– Report templates
– Machine parameters
– Streamics e-Stage parameters
– Structures
– 3D Nester profiles

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1. Import settings of previous version

If you install a new Magics, it will look for existing settings on your computer. If it finds settings
of the same Magics version, it will use these settings. If it finds settings of an older version,
Magics will propose to upgrade these settings. This actually works very similar to importing a
Magics profile.
Magics will import the general and customized settings of the previous version. Doing so, it will
also refer to the correct location for machine files, e-Stage parameters, document generation
templates and fix profiles.

1st situation
You are a new Magics user. The installation of Magics is performed for the first time.

Summary:
If you start Magics for the first time, Magics will search for existing settings. Because it is the
first time that you start Magics, it is not able to find any settings of a previous installation.
Default settings are created with all the default toolbars, Toolpages and shortcuts. You can
either use these default settings to work with or you can customize them.
(See The Toolbars & The Shortcuts)

2nd situation
You already worked with Magics in the past. Previously you worked with Magics X and now
you want to work with the latest version of Magics.

Summary:
Like in the first situation Magics will search for existing settings at startup. Because it is the first
time that you install the latest version of Magics, Magics isn’t able to find up to date settings.
But old settings can be found. In this case Magics is going to give you the opportunity to
upgrade your settings to the latest Magics version. If you want to take advantage of this
opportunity, Magics will load your own customized settings. If you don’t choose to do an
upgrade, Magics will load the default settings.

3rd situation
You performed a re-installation of the same version of Magics. NO older version of Magics is
installed.

Summary:
At startup Magics will be able to find up to date settings. (The same version of Magics was
installed before) Magics will start up with the same settings as before. This can be the default
settings (when no changes are made) or customized settings (when new toolbars, shortcuts
are created).

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4th situation
You performed a re-installation of the same version of Magics. Also an older version of Magics
is installed.

Summary:
What happens when you perform a reinstallation of a Magics version, but you had in the past
an older version installed? Since the same version of Magics already was installed on your
computer, Magics will find the profile and will start up with this profile.

2. Import Magics Profile

A Magics profile can be imported from a certain location. When you import a *.mpf file,
you will be asked what you want to import from the *.mpf file.
By default Magics will import the complete configuration and the configuration files will be
stored in the default locations defined Magics.
The ‘Advanced’ options give you the possibility to choose what you want to import form the
*.mpf file, and where you want to import it.

– General settings and RapidFit files will be placed in a predefined folder.

– For the fix profiles, report templates, mmcf files, and e- Stage par file, the user can
choose between:
– Importing the files in the path from profile
– Importing the files in the folders assigned in the Magics settings.
– Only referring to the path from profile and not importing the files.

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Remark: A warning message appears when Magics detect that there is already an
existing profile. This warning message is shown for each selected file type. (Fix
profile, report templates, machine parameters & e-Stage parameters)

1st situation
You want to configure seven Magics installations of seven computers in the same way, but the
users can have their own customization, like toolbars, background color, etc...

Summary:
You install Magics on one computer. You configure Magics like you want it to be. When you are
ready configuring Magics, you export a Magics Profile.
You transfer the profile to each other computer you want to configure and you import the
profile.

2nd situation
You want to restore your settings but the machine files and e-Stage parameters are on a
shared network drive and you don’t want to overwrite these files.

Summary:
You have to make sure you have a .mpf file with settings you want to roll back to. During import
you open the advanced options and you disable ‘import files’ for the ‘Machine Parameters’ and
for the ‘e- Stage Parameters’. Also you enable ‘Use path form profile’ for both ‘Machine
Parameters’ and ‘e-Stage Parameters’. If you continue the import of the profile, Magics will
point to the correct network drives, but it will add settings to this location.

3. Export Magics Profile

You can create a .mpf file in the ‘Options’ menu with the function ‘Export Magics Profile
…’. Magics will export all the configuration listed above to this file.
The export Magics profile option gives you the possibility to export your Magics profile to a
certain directory. Magics will only save relevant files. (mmcf, e-Stage par file, stl files, *.dot files
and *.xlt files) in the .mpf file.

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13.5. Licenses
1. Licenses

In the Registration dialog you can display your current license situation and contact
information, request key files and register new modules.

– For details, please go to: https://help.materialise.com/

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13.6. Help
1. Online Support

Direct user to the Materialise Software Help Center or send a support request
automatically out of Magics to our customer support team.

Support Request - Required information

Fill out the support request form, select your nearest Materialise office and you can send an e-
mail directly.
Please make sure the required fields are properly filled in. Our customer support team will then
have all information to contact you as soon as possible.

Support Request - Additional information

To make sure that our customer support team has enough information regarding the problem
some additional information can be included. You can select to add additional information to
your support request which will give the customer support team more information about your

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Magics configuration. By sharing this information it is more likely that your support case will be
solved more swiftly.

2. Manual

The manual of Magics offers you a clear and easy way to search for more information
about a function. In almost each dialog is a Help button present to open directly the Magics
manual.

3. What's New

Gives an overview of the new features in the Magics software, compared to the previous
version.

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13.7. About
1. About Magics

Gives the version details of the Magics software, and the performance parameters of the
computer the software is running on.

13.8. Logging
1. Show log

Shows the log of the last performed actions by the Magics software. From the moment
Magics runs, all the performed actions are written down in a log file. This file is automatically
saved as a *.log file. Its name * is composed in the following way: ‘Magics_year_month_date_
time of first operation (hour, minutes, and seconds)’.

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In the Settings (Settings > File I/O > Working Folder > Logging) you can define where you
would like the files to be saved.

2. Show history

The history functionality lets you trace the full history of your part and platform. All
operations performed in Magics are stored in a magics project file.
History information that is stored:

Description Performed operations

Time Time the operations is performed
User Who performed the operation
Application Magics full build number
Computer Name Name of the computer used
Comment Parameters of the operation

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Remark: Some operations have an influence on the platform’s history.

Example:
The cut & punch operation will add a part to the platform.

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Chapter 14. Toolbars

Toolbar menus can be created by the customer according to his needs. The Marking Toolbar is
by default present.

14.1. General toolbar

1. View tools
Zoom

To zoom in on a region, this region has to be defined by means of a box (drag from the left
upper corner to the right bottom corner). When the mouse button was pressed, but no
rectangle was drawn, the Zoom In 25% function will be applied. Zooming in and out can also be
done using the mouse scroll.

Unzoom part

The zoom factor will be set so that all the active parts are displayed.

Unzoom platform

The zoom factor will be set so that the entire platform is displayed on the screen in the
current view.

Home View

This button combines the Unzoom function and the Top Front Left ISO view option which
allows the user to go back to the initial position with the best possible overview.

Standard views
The dropdown menu will display the list of standard views; by clicking on one view, the
viewport will be updated to the selection.

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These views are also accessible by hovering over the faces of the interactive view cube,
situated at the bottom right of the scene.

Indicate View Orientation

By selecting one triangle of a part, the indicate view orientation will automatically update
the viewport so that the triangle normal is perpendicular to the screen.

The indicated triangle is used to perform the alignment. Aligned perpendicular to the screen

Shade modes
The shade modes are the ways to visualize a part.

This visualization mode will display the part with shades according
Shade
to the direction of the triangles.
In Triangle mode, the triangles will be displayed upon the shaded
Triangle
part.
This mode will show a combination of the Shade mode and the
Shade&Wire
Wireframe mode.

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This visualization mode shows the edges of the object. This

representation is deduced from the STL file. It has been tried to
approach the normal wireframe representation as good as
possible. But due to the limited information, STL errors and noise in
Wireframe
the STL file, abnormalities in this representation may show up. A
line of wireframe is drawn when the angle between 2 triangles
exceeds a certain value. You can change this value and so adapt
the wireframe view (Settings > Visualization > Wireframe).
This mode will only show the bounding box of the part. This mode is
Bounding Box
quick in visualization.

Slice Preview This mode will give you a preview of the slices.

Transparency Parts are shown in a transparent mode.

Support
Supports are shown in a transparent mode.
Transparency

No Shade Parts are shown without rendering shadows.

2. Marking tools
In order to fix a corrupted STL file, the user can mark triangles of a selected part. The part must
first be selected before triangles can be marked! To indicate that a triangle is marked the
triangle turns (default) green. The marked triangles and edges color can be defined in the
Settings. When applying one of the options below, keep CTRL pressed to mark through your
part, equally marking the triangles at the other side of your part.
In the general toolbar, the user can select what they would like to mark: triangles, planes,
surfaces, shells… When selecting these commands, a toolbar with marking options will appear
below the ribbons.

Within this toolbar, the user can switch between what they want to mark, but they can also
select how they would like to mark: rectangular/free- form/brush/… selection. Additionally,
more options may be shown depending on the selected tools and methods.

What can be marked?

Mark Triangle : (un)mark individual triangles Triangles can be marked one by one.
Marked triangles can be unmarked by indicating them with the Mark Triangle cursor again.

Note: The “Remesh” option is only available when “Mark Triangle” is selected.

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Mark Plane: (Un)mark planes. By clicking one triangle, a whole plane can be selected or
unselected.The plane is not necessary perfectly flat: the tolerance can be defined by the plane
selection parameters, which will appear in the marking toolbar when selecting “Mark Plane”.
These you can define in the Settings (Settings > General > Marking).

The indicated triangle will be the reference to mark the plane. Triangles that differ too much
from the reference, will not be marked anymore. The user selects one triangle with the indicate
plane cursor and an entire plane is marked. In order to do so, two tolerances have to be
defined:

Surface Indicates the maximum deviation in mm or inches that a related triangle may
Tolerance have to be part of the same plane that contains the selected triangle
Angle Indicates the maximum angle in degrees between the normals of a related
Deviation triangle and the selected triangle, in order to be part of the same plane.

Mark Surface: (Un)mark surfaces. You have the possibility to mark a surface at once. A
surface is defined by the wireframe (Settings > Visualization > Wireframe), which can be seen
as the black lines on the parts, when the “Shade & Wire” or “Wireframe” view is activated.
These black lines indicate the zones where two adjacent triangles have an angle more than the
active value. (This value can be changed in Settings > Visualization > Wireframe, see
Wireframe, page 520). Using the Mark Surface option, you will thus mark a smooth surface
which ends at the sharp edges.

Mark Shell : (Un)mark shells. A shell is defined as a limited collection of triangles

correctly connected to each other. A triangle is part of a shell when the direction of rotation of
the vectors of two adjacent triangles is opposite:

Direction of rotation of triangles in a shell

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how can you mark?

Clicking: There is no separate option for marking through clicking. You can mark with a single
click when “Rectangular Selection”, “Freeform Selection” or “Brush Selection” is active.

Rectangular Selection: Make a rectangular selection by click-and-dragging. Hold Alt to

make a square selection.

Brush Selection: Make a selection by painting through click-and-dragging. Hold Ctrl and
scroll to change the brush size.

Note: “Remesh” is not available when using the Brush Selection method.

Freeform Selection: Make a freeform selection by click-and-dragging.

Polygon Selection : Make a polygon selection by clicking to place points and right-
clicking to close the loop. Hold Alt to snap at 45˚ angles.

Ellipse Selection: Make an elliptical selection by clicking to place 3 points. Hold Alt to
make a circular selection.

Note: All triangles that are touching or within the selection will be marked. So triangles
(or other objects) don’t have to be completely within the selection to be marked.

Additional tips and options for marking

Unmark: You can unmark objects (triangles, planes, surfaces, shells) by clicking them again. If
you want to unmark using another type of selection, hold Shift.
Mark through: You can hold Ctrl to mark through a part.
Mark flipped triangles: By default, you can only mark triangles that are not flipped. To mark
flipped triangles (when the red side is visible), hold X.
Mark with Remesh: When marking triangles, it is possible to enable “Remesh” in the marking
toolbar. When “Remesh” is enabled, new triangles will be created to allow for a precise
marking.

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Rectangular marking without Remesh Rectangular marking with Remesh

Note: You can also remesh parts with this tool without marking, by holding Shift.

Confine marking: This option is available for Mark plane, Mark surface and Mark shell. When
this option is on, marking or unmarking will be limited with the boundaries that defined by the
previously marked area or the invisible triangles.
Context menus: these are introduced for an easy switch under the marking mode.

M + RMB to switch among marking objectives. The Ctrl + RMB to switch among
shortcut can be customized in the Customize UI dialog. marking options

Advanced markingmm
1. Mark Color

When you use this button, you can select any area of triangles with the same color.
When pressing “Shift” when clicking on a colored triangle, all triangles of the part with the
same color will be marked (they do not have to be connected).

2. Mark Texture

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Click a texture on your part to mark all the triangles it covers.

3. Mark Horizonal

Mark all horizontal triangles.

4. Mark Vertical

Mark all vertical triangles.

5. Mark Contour

Mark all triangles that are part of the selected contour.

6. Select Noise Shells

Mark all noise shells of the selected part(s).

Invert Marked

With the toggle button the selection of marked triangles is inverted: all unmarked triangles
turn green (or the defined marked triangles color) and vice versa.

Modify marking
1. Expand Selection

The group of selected triangles will become bigger. All unmarked triangles lying
next to a marked triangle will be marked.

2. Shrink Selection

The group of selected triangles will become smaller. All triangles lying at the border
of the group will be unmarked.

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3. Connect Marked

When marking triangles, it can be difficult to select the very thin triangles. With this
function, Magics will mark thin triangles between 2 marked triangles. When you click on
this icon, you need to enter two parameters.

Max
When the distance between 2 marked triangles is smaller than the given
edge
value, the triangles in between will be marked.
length
If the two selected triangles are too inclined towards each other- if their
Angle normals have an angle bigger then the value – the connect function will not
work.

Delete marked triangles

The marked triangles are deleted.

Copy marked

The marked triangles are copied, a new part is created in the part list.

Separate marked

The marked triangles are separated from the original part and stored in a separate part.

Unmark All

All triangles will be unmarked.

Hide Marked

The marked triangles are hidden.

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Make All Visible

Make all triangles visible.

Invert Triangle Visibility

Make invisible triangles visible and vice versa.

3. Errors visualization
Bad edges visibility
1. Bad Edges Visible

Defects in the STL file can be detected graphically. All edges that are not shared by
exactly 2 triangles will be displayed in yellow on the screen.

2. Bad Edges Hidden Line

Hide the indication of the bad edges that are situated behind or inside the part.

3. Highlight Bad Edges

Bad edges are sometimes difficult to spot. The bad edges are drawn with thick
lines to be seen easily.

Flipped triangles visibility

1. Flipped Triangles Visible

Defects in the STL file can be detected graphically. All triangles with a normal
pointing into the screen are displayed in the Flipped Triangles color, which is by default
red. Remaining red triangles in the shading indicate defects in the STL file (triangles with
wrong-oriented normal, missing or overlapping triangles).

2. Flipped Triangles As Normal

Shows the flipped triangles as normal triangles.

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14.2. Additional tools

1. Unload Part

This command removes the selected parts from the active scene. If the user has selected
several parts, these parts are removed at once. The Unload function does not affect any of the
existing properties of the active scene or machine. The default shortcut for this command is
CTRL + U.

Prompt to save the part before unloading

The user is prompted to save the parts that will be unloaded if the part has been changed since
the initial import. On save the save selected part(s) as dialog to save the part to file of the user's
choice. This prompt will be shown when unloading part(s) from any scene.

Prompt to unload part from all platform scene

When user is unloading a part from the part scene, if one or more copies of the part may exist
on one or more platforms, an additional prompt is shown to the user to unload all the parts from
all possible platforms. If user chooses yes, then the part will be removed from the current active
scene and all other platform scene that it may exist on.

2. Border marked Triangles

The border of the marked triangles is indicated by a red line or not shown.
This command is not present by default in the toolbar, but it can be added via the Customize UI
dialog.

– See Customizations, page 37 for more information

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Chapter 15. The Toolpages

The toolpages are panels that contain content and actions about a single topic – e.g.
measurements too to determine a distance. You get easy access to relevant content and/or
actions grouped on a single topic per toolpage. You can decide which toolpages to visualize,
depending on specific needs: dock a toolpage on the side of the scene, create toolbars
containing single or grouped toolpages, leave toolpages floating. Toolpages can be collapsed
or expanded by clicking on the specific toolpage tab or by clicking on the option in the menu
button.

A: tab – B: tab bar – C: menu button – D: scroll button

The menu button offers you few options to control the visibility of the toolpage:

– Pin: pinning a toolpage (or a toolpages group) automatically expands it. When pinned, a
toolpage (or a group) can’t be collapsed manually or automatically by the auto-collapse
feature
o This option is available only for docked toolpages
– Collapse/Expand: click this option to manually collapse or expand a toolpage
o This option is available only for docked and floating toolpages
– Close: click this option to close the active toolpage. You can visualize again the toolpage
by enabling its visibility via the Customize UI window (see Customize UI window, page
47 for more information)
– Close tab group: click this option to close the entire toolpages group. You can visualize
again the toolpage by enabling its visibility via the Customize UI window (See Customize
UI window, page 1 for more information)

When a toolpages group contains multiple tabs and these cannot be visualized all, a scroll
button appears on the right side of the tab bar. Click to open a menu list of all toolpages present
in the group and select the toolpage to activate.
For some toolpages, Magics determines the height automatically (e.g. Part List or Surface List
in the Support Generation module). This is dependent of:

– The space left over

– The space needed

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15.1. General Pages

1. Part List Page
The Part List Toolpage keeps track of the parts in the Part Scene and of the virtual copies in the
Platform Scenes.

For a BREP assembly, all its components have a tree structure representation and act as a
single part entity in the Part List .

Note: BREP Part(s)assemblies are only available in the Part List Toolpage in the Part
Scene in Magics.

Selected parts: Number of selected parts / Total parts in the scene

# Number of the part. Can be used for ordering.

Selected When the checkbox of a part is checked, then the part is selected.
Visible Show/hide the part by clicking the “eye” icon.
The user is able to define a separate visualization for each part. (Changing
the visualization of a virtual copy on a Platform Scene will change the
Shading visualization of all virtual copies of the same mother part).
Visualization mode of parts

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Hide Hide the respective part.

Shade will display the respective part with shades
Shade
according to the direction of the triangles.
Wireframe Wireframe shows the edges of the respective part.
The respective part is showed in a combination of the
Shade&Wire
shade mode and the wireframe mode.
The triangles of the respective parts will be displayed
Triangle*
upon the shaded part.
This mode will only show the bounding box of the
Bounding Box
respective part.
This mode will show the respective part as
Transparent
transparent.
No Shade This mode shows the part without shading.
Visualization mode of slices
This mode will only show the slices of the respective
Slices*
part.
This mode will only show the bounding box of the
Bounding Box
respective part.
Transparency Toggle the transparency of the part
The color in the circle represents the color of the matching part. Clicking this
circle leads you to the material editor dialog or to the color palette.
Color*
(Changing the color of a virtual copy on a Platform Scene will change the
color of all virtual copies of the same mother part).
The user is able to define a separate memory state for every part.
(Changing the memory state of a virtual copy on a Platform Scene will
change the memory state of all virtual copies of the same mother part).
The STL resides in the memory as read- only;
therefore it uses far less memory than the Standard
memory state. Magics does not know the placement
Compact
of the triangles nor the mutual dependencies of the
triangles. The user is not able to perform actions on
Memory State* STL level.
This is the standard memory state of a STL file.
Magics knows the placement of the triangles and the
Normal mutual dependencies of the triangles. The user is
able to perform actions on STL level (E.g. deleting
triangles)
The STL is saved on disk and unloaded from the
On Disk memory. The STL will stay in the project but the user
can’t perform any actions on it.

Part Name This column contains the names or the path of the loaded parts. In case of a
Platform Scene, this column will show the name of the virtual copies. The
/Copy of name of a virtual copy is the same as the name of the mother part.

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If the name doesn’t fit in the column a pop up, containing the full part name,
will be shown when hovering over the name.
This colums contains the fix status of the part. Double clicking on “n/a” will
FixInfo*
diagnose the part, double clicking again will perform an autofix on the part.
Extend with Here you have the possibility to add or remove additional columns to the
columns part list overview
*this parameter is unavailable for BREP Part(s) and assemblies
Select All Selects every part in the list.
Select
Selects all visible parts on the current scene.
Visible
All selected parts are unselected and the unselected parts are selected. The
Invert
Invert Selected functionality works on the Selected (S) column. Invisible parts
Selection
will thus become visible.
Show All All invisible parts are made visible.
Hide
Hides all unselected parts.
Unselected
Unload
Selected Unloads all selected parts.
Parts
Auto Color* This button colors the parts as if they were newly loaded in Magics.
New The Select Machine dialog will pop up, where you can select the machine of
Scene** the newly created Platform.
Export This function is only available when a platform scene is loaded. It gives the
platform ** possibility to export all loaded parts from Magics in one mouse click.
Save
Saves the new order of parts after drag ‘n dropping them in the list.
Order**
*this function is unavailable for BREP Part(s)/assemblie(s)
** this function is available only for Platform Scene(s)

Remark: When “Out of Bounds” is enabled, parts that are out of bounds will be also
be marked in red in the Part List.

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Select All Selects every part in the list.

Select
Visible Selects all visible parts on the current scene.
All selected parts are unselected and the unselected parts are selected. The
Invert
Invert Selected functionality works on the Selected (S) column. Invisible parts
Selection
will thus become visible.
Show All Visualize all parts
Hide
Hides all unselected parts.
Unselected
Cut Part(s) Selected virtual copies of a platform can be cut to the clipboard.
Copy Part(s) The selected parts or virtual copies are copied to the clipboard.
Paste Part(s)
Parts are pasted from the clipboard in the active scene.

Shells to This function will split the selected parts, if they consist of more shells, into
Parts different parts. Now, each shell will represent one part.
Merge
Selected The selected parts are merged into one STL.
Parts
The grouping functionality places parts in groups so that these are handled as
Grouping
one part for a number of operations.

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Group Create a group of selected parts

All parts within the group become
Ungroup
individual parts again.
Remove selected parts from an existing
Remove from group
group
Diagnostics Runs Diagnostics
Combined
Executes the Combined Fix
Fix
This button assigns random colors to the parts that are newly loaded in
Autocolor
Magics.
Assign Assign selected parts as support.
Selected as
Support

Rename part Rename selected part(s). If multiple parts are selected, only same prefix and
suffix will be added to the parts.
Unload
Selected Deletes all the selected parts from the workspace.
Parts
Show history Trace all steps performed of your part and platform in a history overview

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Pops up a sub menu where the user can define the visualized columns.
# Part order.
Selected Shows the part is selected or not.
Visible Shows the visibility of the part.
Shading Shows the visualization of the part.
Transparency Shows the part is transparent or not.
Color Shows the color of the part.
Shows the Memory State of the part in the
Memory state
Part List.
Name Shows the part name of the parts.
Shows the path of the part in the Part
Path
Set Columns Name column.
Copy of Shows the master part.
Shows the Surface of the parts in the Part
Surface
List.
Shows the Volume of the part in the Part
Volume
List.
Shows the amount of triangles used in the
Number of Triangles
Part List.
Shows the amount of points in the Part
Number of Points
List.
Shows the amount of invisible triangles in
Number of Invisible Triangles
the Part List.
Wireframe angle Shows the wireframe angle.
Support Shows the part is a support or not.
Solid Shows the part is solid or not.
FixInfo Shows the fixing info of the part.
Shows the attribute of the part: Master,
Attribute Shaping unite, Shaping subtract, Shaping
Intersect, Auxiliary or Zoning.

2. Build Time Estimation page

The Build Time Estimation Toolpage keeps track of the settings for the build time estimation
calculations; all machines stored in the My Machines library, including the Build Processor
machines, are available in the toolpage.

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This is a dropdown list containing all machines stored in the My Machines

Machine library. The machines are displayed following the priority assigned in the My
Machines library.
The method chosen for build time estimation calculations is displayed. Click on
Method the icon on the right side to edit the settings for the method chosen; the Machine
Properties dialog will be automatically open.
The list is enabled only when the build time estimation method chosen is Self-
learning. Here you can visualize and manage the data of your teaching
platforms used for the build time estimation calculations.
The file name of the Magics project used as
Platform
a teaching platform is displayed.
The value corresponds to the date when the
Date
teaching platform has been imported.
This value shows if it is a laser- based
Laser
system.
Insert the real build time of the teaching
Time platform (hours and minutes). Double click
List of on the field to edit the value.
teaching The value corresponds to the estimated build
platforms Estimated time time of the teaching platform.
You have the possibility to add or remove
additional columns; right mouse click on the
list headers to display a list of additional
columns.

Extend list with additional data

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Click on this icon to automatically add the

Add current platform
current scene as a teaching platform.
Click on this icon to import a Magics project
Import platform
as a teaching platform.
After selecting one or more teaching
platforms from the list, click on this icon to
Delete platform
delete the selected teaching platform(s) from
the list.
Select this option to display in the Platform
Show path column the file path instead of the Magics
project file name.

Remark: Teaching platforms that miss teaching information are displayed in red in the
teaching platforms list.

15.2. Part Pages

1. Part Info page
The properties of the parts in the Part List are displayed. All dimensions are displayed in the
selected units. Select one part on the scene to visualize its part information on this toolpage.

The dimensions of the part. The minimum and maximum coordinates (X, Y, Z)
of the part. The delta value is the difference between the minimum and
maximum.

Dimensions Volume The volume of the part.

Surface The surface of the part.
If checked, the Volume and Surface will be
Automatic update
updated automatically.

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Manually update all the information by clicking

Update on this button; by default the Volume and
Surface information has to be updated.
# Triangles The amount of triangles of the part.
# Points The amount of points of the part.
Mesh info*
# Marked The amount of marked triangles of the part.
# Invisible The amount of invisible triangles of the part.
The status of the STL- part. If no modifications
are made to the loaded part, the status is Not
Extra info* Status
Changed. In the other case, the status is
Changed.
Z Compensated Indicates if the part is z-compensated or not.
*These properties are not available for BREP Part(s)

2. Part Fixing Info page

The Part Fixing Information Toolpage will guide you through the essential steps to fix a corrupt
STL.

Diagnostics
1. Introduction

The Diagnostics section is the key-step in the part fixing process. In this step you can
always determine what is wrong with the STL-file. Based on the Diagnostic, a suggestion
will be given as a guideline through the fixing process.

2. Advised way of working

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– Check the items you want to analyze

–
You can auto fix the item by pressing the Fix button on the right.
– A Full Analysis will get you the best results

–
Press the “Refresh” icon if the “Autorefresh” option is off
– The errors are shown
– Look at the “Suggestion” section: An advice is given on the available data.
– Items that are not checked are not taken in account to determine the advise
– Press the “Follow” button to perform the advised action.
– For the errors that cannot be fixed in this way, go to Fixing Pages to do a manual
fix.

– See Fixing Pages, page 571.

3. Tips and tricks

Change the advice

You can influence the advice with the check boxes. When unselecting a checkbox, the
advice will not take this parameter in account. When Magics keeps on sending you to a
certain fixing step, you can skip it this way.

Do I need a full analysis?

A full analysis is giving you the best result but consider that

– Each analysis takes time (especially the overlapping triangles and intersecting
triangles)
– In the beginning you often do not need all information (especially the overlapping
triangles and intersecting triangles)
– Depending for what you're going to use your STL-file afterwards, you may not
need to repair intersecting and overlapping triangles.

Errors explained
1. Inverted Normals

In the STL format, a normal indicates the outside of a triangle. When the normal points to
the wrong direction (the inside), the triangle needs to be inverted to have a watertight
STL. This triangle is then called a flipped triangle.

2. Bad edges

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To have a correct STL file, all edges of each triangle should be connected properly to a
neighbor. If an edge is not connected properly, the edge is called a bad edge and is
indicated with a yellow line. A group of connected bad edges will make a bad contour.
The STL file will be sliced in a subsequent step. To process the slicefiles correctly, every
slice needs to be closed. This is why Bad edges need to be fixed.

3. Bad contours

A group of bad edges connected to each other form a bad contour. E.g. the hole below
has 1 bad contour that consists of 5 bad edges.
Some examples of common problems

Flipped triangles Near bad edges Hole Untrimmed triangles

– Near bad edges

Near bad edges are bad edges that are near other bad edges. These are mainly
caused by 2 surfaces that are not well connected. You can recognize them as long
yellow lines on the part. You can fix them easily by stitching. Stitching is an
automatic operation that will unite two neighboring triangles which both have a
bad contour right next to each other.

Near Bad edge After stitching

– Planar hole

A hole consists of missing triangles. Use fill hole to fill it up. Magics is only able to
recognize planar holes, which are recognized by the open contour which lies more
or less in one plane. Holes caused by more irregular contours will not be
recognized by Magics and be shown as a bad contour.

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Planar hole Bad Contour

4. Intersecting triangles

Intersecting triangles are triangles cutting each other. It can happen sometimes that the
STL surface has intersections. Depending of the application of the STL file, it's advised
to remove the intersections. You can remove them with the Unify function on the
Triangles Page.

– For Rapid Prototyping: This depends of your post processor. Normally,

intersecting triangles are not a problem, however, some (older) slicers require a
perfect shell without intersections.
– FEA: It is REQUIRED that there are no intersecting triangles.

5. Overlapping Triangles

An STL-file sometimes has overlapping triangles. These triangles can be removed with
the tools in the double surfaces page.
2 triangles are considered as overlapping as:

– The distance between them is smaller than the given tolerance. (E.g. 0,1 mm or
0,005 inch)
– The angle between the normal of the triangles is smaller than the given angle.
(E.g. 5°)

Take into account that some "false alerts" may occur. When the triangles comply with
the parameters, they will be marked as overlapping triangles, even when they are part of
the geometry.

6. Shells

A shell is a collection of triangles connected to each other. Normally a part has only one
shell because every triangle of the part is (indirectly) connected to every other triangle.
Parts with:

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1 shell 2 shells 2 shells

The cylinder is not connected properly The part is hollow. The inner
Every triangle
to the part. The overlap between the shell is not connected with
is connected
two shells can cause build failure. This the outer shell. This is
to each other.
can be solved with a Unify. normal with hollow parts.

7. Noise shells

Some shells have no geometrical meaning and are considered as noise (waste) that we
can throw away. However, it is recommended to look at these shells first before
removing them. Even a shell of a few triangles can be important.

15.3. Fixing Pages

For all the possible errors, please see Errors explained, page 568.

1. Profiles
Maybe you're having STL's coming from different sources and for each "type" of STL file you
need different settings for optimal fixing. With profiles, you can easily store your settings in
profiles and load them again.

A default profile with default fixing parameters is always available for selection. This is called
“default”. If any value of “default” is changed, this setup can be saved to a new profile.
If the parameters are modified while a profile is selected, this profile will be marked with a *.
The changes will become permanent if the profile is saved again.

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2. Autofix page

Here you can decide yourself what actions you want.

Invert
Magics will reorient the normal of the triangles automatically.
normals
Two bad edges (yellow lines) which are close enough to each other can stitched
automatically by pulling the open edges towards each other. This way, you get a
watertight stl. As soon as the bad edges are too far apart (Tolerance parameter),
stitching will deform the design and the bad edge is treated as a hole.
Stitch
Here you indicate what distance a point
near bad Max gap size
may be moved to fix the near bad edge.
edges
To get better results, the stitching is
done in iterations, starting with a small
Iteration
tolerance and ending with the given
tolerance
Remove
The automatic removal of detected noise shells, these noise shells make no
Noise
geometrical sense.
Shells
Magics will only fill a contour when it recognizes it as a hole. Some contours are
not holes.
Magics will only fill a contour when it
Only planar holes recognizes it as a planar hole. Some
contours are not planar holes.
Fill holes
Planar The hole will be filled as a planar hole
Complex shaped contours are better
filled using the freeform algorithm.
Freeform
Grid: The triangle size of the surface
that is used to fill the contour
Unify This will remove all internal geometry and intersecting triangles. This operation
shells will only be done if the geometry allows it.

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Filter
Sharp Sharp triangles will be removed to improve surface quality.
triangles

3. Near Bad Edges page

Magics will reposition points of triangles so that surfaces fit 100% correctly. For a Manual
stitch, 2 parameters are needed.

The Stitch function will close gaps between all bad edges if the gap is
Max gap size smaller than this value. If the value is too small, not all near bad edges
will be solved; if the value is too high, the geometry will be changed.
How many times the stitch algorithm should be applied. To avoid errors
Iteration caused by high tolerances, Magics can stitch in iterations, starting with a
stitch with a very small tolerance and ending with the given tolerance.

Max gap size was too small. Still Max gap size was too high.
Original file
near bad edges visible Deformations of the part

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4. Hole page

Introduction
In some STL's some triangles are missing. A hole is in fact a special kind of bad contour: It's a
bad contour with no triangles on the inside.
First you’ll need to identify what kind of hole you're dealing with:

– Fill type

Planar Ruled Freeform

A simple hole which For correct fixing, the user should A smooth surface will
can be solved determine a direction (or rule) how the be generated to fill up
automatically hole should be fixed the hole

– Single or Multi-contour hole

Single Contour Multi - Contour

The hole is a simple hole, consisting The hole consists of multiple contours that must
of 1 contour be connected

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– Triangle creation

Create triangle
By creating a triangle or a bridge, you can manually draw new triangle (s) which
connect two bad edges. This way, complex holes can be subdivided more simple
holes

Fill type
Planar: Use this hole filling-type for simple holes. The hole will be filled as planar as possible,
with respect to the shape of the contour

Ruled: Use this hole filling for holes that shouldn’t be filled as planar as possible but where the
triangles should be positioned parallel to a certain direction. This extra indication of the "filling
direction" helps Magics to understand the geometry and has to be indicated manually.

Planar hole fill Ruled hole fill

Filling direction: In what direction the triangles have to cross the hole to fill the hole correctly.

– You can select the X, Y or Z direction

– Select User defined option and click on Indicate line button to indicate a line on the wire-
frame or a bad edge as filling direction

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Freeform: For freeform hole filling, Magics will put a grid of triangles in the bad contour to
ensure a fluent surface.

– Grid size: the size of the triangles

– Automatic: When Automatic is switched on, the generated grid wil be generated
according to a selected setting between Very coarse and Very fine.
– Tangent: When Tangent is switched on, the generated surface hole fits perfectly on the
surrounding triangles.

Non tangent to surrounding surface Tangent to surrounding surface

Single or Multi-contour hole

Single Contour
The easiest way to fill Single Contour holes is to use the “Fill hole mode”.

– Be sure you choose the right hole filling mode (Planar, Ruled or Freeform)
– Go with the cursor to the bad contour of the hole and click.
– New triangles will be created automatically to fill up the hole.

Go to the bad contour in hole filling mode Click and the contour is filled

Multiple Contour
To fill Multi Contour holes, the combination of ‘Fill hole mode’ and ‘Treat as one hole’
functionality might be used. This command uses the selected contours to close the gap in
between the different contours.

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Select the contours that are part of the hole

This is the multi The hole is filled
with “Fill hole mode” and “Treat as one
contour hole automatically.
hole”option on.

Create triangle
The create triangle function is used to help fixing complex holes. With a selection of point(s) or
edge(s), triangle or bridge could be created.

Triangle is created with a selection of 3 vertices (or 1 Bridge is created with a selection
edge and 1 vertex). of 2 edges.

Tips and tricks

1. The force of Planar Holes

You'll be amazed how many non- planar holes the Planar Hole filling can handle.
Because the Planar Hole filling is very fast, it does not harm to try to fill the hole with a
Planar Hole filling first. If it's not ok, use "undo".

2. Auto Multiple Contour hole filling

When filling a single hole and Magics finds another contour in the inside of the bad
contour, Magics supposes that the hole is in fact a multi contour hole. He will propose to
use the found contour and perform a multi contour hole.

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– How to recognize a hole?

You can see the inside geometry through the hole.

You will see the other side of the part

When taking a section through the hole, there's no

line drawn in the hole

In triangle view, the triangles on the other side are

not triangular. The marked triangle is not triangular

– Use the hole list to find holes.

In this list all the holes are shown. You can sort them by clicking on the column
headers. You can select holes by clicking on them in the table, and zoom into
them by double clicking.

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5. Triangle page

Filter Sharp Triangles

Max Triangles thinner than this distance will be marked or removed, depending on your
width choice.
The thin triangle will only be selected when the angle it makes with its neighbors is
Min
bigger than the given angle. This is easy to filter only thin triangles of folds and
angle
leave thin triangles of curves untouched.
The thin triangle will be removed and its
Collapse neighbors will be connected to each
Action other.
Mark The thin triangles will be marked.

Overlapping triangles
Overlaps (causing double surfaces) must be removed for some applications (E.g. Milling or
FEA).
The maximum distance between two triangles (surfaces) in order
Max distance
to be considered as double triangles (surfaces).
If two triangles are inclined more than this angle, they are
Max angle
considered not to be double triangles.

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Opposite
Triangles with their normal in the opposite direction.
normals
Triangles Same
Triangles with their normal in the same direction.
selection normals
All
Opposite normals and Same normals
overlapping

Intersecting triangles
To solve the bad edges that are still left, more creative fixing is needed. Some possible errors
you can still encounter are trimmed surfaces. In this case, a surface is sticking outside of the
design and needs to be cut off (see picture below)

This will remove self-intersections and trim surfaces automatically. It's not advised
Unify to continue when a bad edge is intersecting a triangle because it will produce a
corrupt part.

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This will trim the marked triangles

2 surfaces on this cube are not trimmed correctly. They are

too long and intersecting. You can detect these
intersections with the button detect intersecting.

Mark the triangles that you want to trim

Press Trim marked, the triangles are re- triangulated so

Trim there's an edge on the intersection line.
marked

Before After

Mark the triangles you do not need anymore and delete

them.

The result.

l Tips and Tricks

What does the message: "Magics detected bad edges intersecting with triangles. The
Unify could go wrong. Continue Unify?” mean?

The Unify function won't have a good result if a bad edge is intersecting a triangle. Try to
manually remove the bad edges that are intersecting the triangles. There are multiple
ways doing this:

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– Continue anyway the Unify

However it can damage your part, you can always try to continue. Sometimes the
damage can be solved very easily with filling up the holes. Sometimes you’ll need to
undo and use an alternative way

– By making a hole

Delete triangles so that the bad contour becomes a hole that you can fill. Trim marked
can help here to re-triangulate the intersecting triangles so you can minimize the surface
you need to delete.

Mark all the triangles that are involved in the

This is the intersection
problem

Create a hole by deleting the marked

Fill the hole with the hole filling functions
triangles

– By closing the bad contour

Fill the bad contour as if it was a hole. (A Freeform Hole fill will fill almost all bad
contours). The internal geometry can be removed with Unify.

This is the trimming With a fill hole the contour is After a Unify, the internal
error. filled with triangles geometry is gone.

Identical triangles
The triangles have their normal in opposite directions. When you check this box,
Opposite
only the identical ‘opposite’ triangles are removed. You can choose to leave one
normals
of the two triangles or remove them both.

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The triangles have their normal in the same direction. When you check this box,
Same
only the identical triangles are removed. You can choose to leave one of the two
normals
triangles or remove them both.

6. Shell page

Introduction
It can happen that your part consists of multiple shells. Use this tool to manipulate the shells.
Because this is not really an error, there's no automatic way to solve this problem.

In detail
– Shell list

In this list all the shells are shown. You can sort them by clicking on the column headers.
You can select shells by clicking on them in the table. To easily find the shells on your part,
double click the items from the list. Shells can be quite small and therefore make it difficult to
find them.

– Actions

Mark
noise The noise shells will be selected.
shells
This will remove self-intersections and trim surfaces automatically. It's not
Unify advised to continue when a bad edge is intersecting a triangle because it will
produce a corrupt part.
Shells -
This will make a part of each shell.
> Parts

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7. Point page

User points

The user creates user points by using the Create button. The coordinates you need to
create those points can be retrieved from the info box in the measuring Toolpage (these values
are copy-pasteable via the right mouse button)

Free points

These points are created when all the triangles, which are using this point, are deleted.
When all these connected triangles are deleted, Magics will keep the points so you can use
them again later.

Check this to show the currently present points. You can

Show Points only see and use the points in Magics when they are
visible

Manual
Point Create point by
Add new points manually on a surface.
Fixing snapping
Create point by Use X – Y – Z fields to enter the coordinates of the newly
coordinate created point.
Add point A new point will be created using the given coordinates.
Move point Move selected part point.
Delete point Select points manually to remove them.
Delete all points All present points are removed.

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To snap to these points the following selection has to be made in the settings overview of
Magics: “Points with Triangles” & “Points without Triangles”. This can be activated via Options
– Settings – General – Snapping.

15.4. Measurements pages

Magics recognizes different features: a point, a line, a plane, a circle, a cylinder and a sphere.
You select a feature by moving the pointer of the mouse. Magics will snap (the feature will be
marked when you move over it) to all features of the type you selected. For example points -
see figure - are marked with a round. In the Settings you can choose which features Magics
should recognize. You may for example determine that you only want to snap to points that are
in a section, or on a wireframe.

By clicking the left mouse button, you will select the marked feature. When all features of the
measurement are selected, they will be marked if the draw feature in the measurement part of
the settings is checked.
For example a point is indicated with a cross (see figure), a line with a line (see figure), and a
sphere with 3 circumpolar circles. When the draw feature in the measurement part of the
settings window is not on, the feature may be selected but is not indicated in a special way.

To select a measurement, you click on the icon ‘select parts’ in the main toolbar ( ) or in the
measurement Toolpage. The mouse pointer gets a green round to show you are in the
selection mode. Click on the measurement value to select the measurement. When the
measurement is selected some grips will appear. In the figure, the measurement with value 10
is selected. There is a grip in the middle of the measurement line and on one of the
intersections of the extension line with the measurement line.

It is possible to adapt a measurement by dragging one of the feature indicators to a same

feature positioned elsewhere on the part. This way you get a new measurement. To do so you
first have to select a measurement.
In the Settings window, you can indicate how you would like to display the measurement (with
or without arrows and extension lines, the size of the grips….).

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If you are not satisfied with the position of the measurement value on the screen, you can
change this position. First, select a measurement with the mouse. If you select the grips at the
cross points of the extension lines, you can turn the measurement indication line around the
axis that connects the selected features. When you select the grip in the middle of the
measurement line, you can make the extension lines longer or shorter.
Selected measurements can be deleted with the Delete button on the keyboard.
To delete one or more measurements (but not all), one has to follow these two steps:

– Select the dimensions you want to delete (keep the shift button down to select several
dimensions)
– Hit the Delete button on the keyboard.

All measurements can be deleted at once by clicking the Clear Measurements button in the
respective Toolpage.

Hide When checked, the made measurements are hidden. Uncheck to see the
measurements measurements.
Clear
Deletes all measurements.
Measurements
Brings you to the Settings window. You can indicate how you would like to
Snap Settings
display the measurement.

1. Measurements on BREP parts

Currently the options for measurements on BREP parts are allowed for distance, circle and
angle measurement with only a subset of entity types compared to measurements on mesh
parts. The supported entities are:
i. Point(s)
ii. Line(s)
iii. Circle(s)
iv. Plane(s) - (Planar Face)
v. Thickness
vi. Bounding box

2. Distance page
The Distance Toolpage allows you to measure the distance between several features.

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Feature Measurement Description

Point The length from the second feature to the point.
Line The length of the perpendicular through the second feature on the line.
Circle The length of the perpendicular through the second feature on the circle.
The length of the perpendicular through the second feature on the plane. If you
Plane
select a plane, Magics will snap to a triangle in that plane.
The length of the perpendicular through the second feature on the middle line
Cylinder
of the cylinder.
Sphere The length from the second feature to the center of the sphere.
Measuring thickness is a special way of measuring: you do not have to select a
second entity. When clicking on the part, Magics will measure the distance
Thickness perpendicular on the triangles surface through the inside till it reaches another
triangle (=the other side of the part). When measuring thickness, the snapping
on the STL-surface is switched on automatically.
Bounding
Measures the bounding box of the indicated part.
box

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Snapping restrictions
3D View The measurement is allowed in 3D
2D XY The measurement is restricted to the 2D XY plane.
2D XZ The measurement is restricted to the 2D XZ plane.
2D YZ The measurement is restricted to the 2D YZ plane.
X-axis The measurement is restricted to the 1D X axis.
Y-axis The measurement is restricted to the 1D Y axis.
Z-axis The measurement is restricted to the 1D Z axis.

Remark: The measurement is dynamic: When you have selected the first feature,
Magics will look for the second feature as you move your mouse over the part. The
measurement value will change as you snap to features at different positions.

Advised way of working

– Choose the restriction of the measurement. This is possible in 1, 2 or 3 dimensions.

– Choose the first feature in the menu (by clicking on it), snap the feature on the part and
click on it to select it.

– Choose the second feature in the second menu (by clicking on it) and snap to the feature
on the part and then click on it to select it.

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– Choose where you want to display the measurement on the screen, by dragging the
extension lines of the measurement.

– When you click a last time, the measurement will be fixed.

3. Circle page

Feature Measurement description

Circle Select an arc. The radius (or diameter) of the arc will be displayed.
Select three points. The radius (or diameters) of the circle defined by these three
points will be displayed.

3-Points Be aware that it is possible to indicate three random points. This can result in a
non-existing arc! It is advised to use the radius of an arc measure function when
possible. Use this function only when the arc is not recognized by Magics as a
feature.
Sphere Select a sphere. The radius (or diameter) of the sphere will be displayed.
Radius or
You can choose whether you want to measure the radius or the diameter.
Diameter

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4. Angle page

Feature Measurement Description

Select three points. Two imaginary lines will be drawn between those points:
between points 1 and 2, and between points 2 and 3. The resulting angle is the
angle between those two lines defined by the three points.

3 points
Remark: It is advised to measure the angle between two line features
when possible. Only use this function when the lines can't be
recognized by Magics as features.

Select the two intersecting lines. Both lines will be highlighted, and the
Line intersection point will be drawn. The resulting angle is the angle between those
two lines.
Plane Select two planes.
You can also measure the angle between a line or plane and an axis or plane of
Defaults
the coordinate center.

Snapping restrictions
3D View The measurement is allowed in 3D
2D XY The measurement is restricted to the 2D XY plane.
2D XZ The measurement is restricted to the 2D XZ plane.
2D YZ The measurement is restricted to the 2D YZ plane.

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Snapping restrictions
X-axis The measurement is restricted to the 1D X axis.
Y-axis The measurement is restricted to the 1D Y axis.
Z-axis The measurement is restricted to the 1D Z axis.

5. Info page

When you snap to a feature, or you select it, some coordinate information of the features is
given. This information allows you to draw exactly the same feature on the same point in
space.

Point The X, Y and Z coordinate of the point will be displayed.

The X, Y and Z coordinate of the beginning and end points will be displayed,
Line
together with the length of the line.
The X, Y and Z coordinate of the center of the circle is given, together with its
Circle
radius.
The X, Y, Z coordinates of the corner points and the direction coefficient of the
Triangle
normal will be displayed.
The X, Y and Z coordinate of the middle point of the bounding discs is given,
Cylinder
together with the radius.
The X, Y and Z coordinate of the middle point of the sphere is given, together with
Sphere
its radius.
Section The Length and surface of the selected contour is given.

Measurements can be selected now. A measurement is selected when on

Select the label green dots are visible. When active the measurement or label
position can be changed.
Hide When checked, the made measurements are hidden. Uncheck to see the
Measurements measurements.
Clear
Deletes all measurements.
Measurements
Brings you to the Settings window. You can indicate how you would like to
Snap Settings
display the measurement.

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6. Final Part page

Within the final part Toolpage real life measurements of the part, can be added next to the
measurements made in Magics.

Add real Add measurements made in real life to the existing ones in Magics to
measurements compare them.
Measurements Brings you to the measurements quality settings where you can adjust
quality the used tolerance.

Add real measurement

1. Basic measurement quality

ID Every measurement is indicated by a unique ID

Nominal,
Displays the value of the active measurement, measured in Magics
mm
Measured,
Enter the real life measurement which matches the one in Magics
mm
Shows the deviation in percentage between the measurement made in
Dev, %
Magics and the one in real life.
Shows the deviation in millimeters between the measurement made in
Dev, mm
Magics and the one in real life.
Browsing
Navigate easily between the different measurements
buttons

2. Advanced measurement quality

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ID Every measurement is indicated by a unique ID

Nominal,
Displays the value of the active measurement, measured in Magics
mm
Measured,
Enter the real life measurement which matches the one in Magics
mm
Shows the deviation in millimeters between the measurement made in
Dev, mm
Magics and the one in real life.
Choose the type of deviation. This is based on the selected
Type
measurement profile within the settings.
Browsing
Navigate easily between the different measurements
buttons

Remark: Via ‘Settings’ > ‘General’ > ‘Measurements quality’ it can be defined
which measurement quality is used.

Analyzing measurements (Showing basic measurement quality)

There are 3 possible outcomes after entering the real life measurements to Magics.
Depending on the defined tolerance in the settings, the measurements will get one of the
following color codes. (Default are ‘Relative tolerance (Dev,%) = 0,3%’; ‘Absolute tolerance
(Dev, mm) = 0,2mm)

Green = Dev, % < 0.30% and Dev, mm < 0.2mm

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Red = Dev, % > 0.30% and Dev, mm > 0.2mm

7. Report page
The Report Toolpage allows you to generate a measuring report.

Selected Template The template you’ve selected.

Create a customized template report. A ‘start here’ template is
Create report template
available to start from.
Load report template Load an available template.
Remove selected template
Erases the selected template
from the list
Clear template list The entire template list will be erased.
Generate report Create the actual report

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8. Measurements on slices
Once parts are viewed as slices, measurements can also be made on them.
All available measurement tools can be used to measure.

15.5. Annotation Pages

Adding extra information to the *.magics project has never been so easy. Now, it is possible to
add texts and drawings; files can be attached and textures can be printed on parts. For keeping
a well-organized overview of your project, working with annotation scenes is advised.

1. Annotations page
The Annotations Toolpage makes it easy to add a text to the Magics project or to draw in the
active scene.

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– Text section

Text Choose between adding a simple textbox or a referring textbox with an

dropdown arrow.
Once the text annotation is created on the scene, add the desired
Annotation
annotation content to this text box. When selecting one existing text
content
annotation on the scene, use this text box to modify its content.
Font Change the font, font style, font size and text color for the selected text
parameters annotation.
By default, a Text and arrow annotation is fixed to the part. When
rotating, panning or zooming the scene, the positions of the text
annotation will move accordingly. Select this option to block the position
Make of the text annotation on the scene.
annotation
text fixed
Note: this option is available only for Text and arrow
annotation.

– Drawing section

Drawing Choose between drawing a rectangle, an ellipse or to make a drawing by

dropdown freehand.
Change the thickness or the color of the brush. These options can be
Brush edited before drawing a shape or to modify the properties of the selected
drawing on the scene.
A drawing is not fixed to the part. When rotating, panning or zooming the
Restore scene, the drawing will not move simultaneously. You can restore a
View certain view point by selecting the relevant drawing and clicking Restore
View button.

– General options

Hide When checked, the created annotations are hidden. Uncheck to see
annotations the annotations.
Clear
All created texts and drawings annotations will be removed.
annotations
Settings The general settings of the annotations can be changed.

Advised way of working

If you want to create an annotation fixed to a certain point, choose Text and Arrow. Snap a
point on the part and click on it to select it. A preview of the annotation will appear. Start typing

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the desired content for the annotation. If you need to change the position of the annotation,
drag the preview to the desired location and release the left mouse button.

2. Attachments page
The Attachment Toolpage makes it easy to attach a file to the Magics project.

Browse With the Browse button you can browse to the file that has to be attached.
Select By clicking the Select button an annotation can be selected.
Clear all All texts, drawings and attachments will be removed.
Settings General settings can be changed.

3. Textures page
Texturing is the printing of an image on selected triangles of a part. You can read, create and
save textured parts as ZPR, VRML or Magics files.

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Visibility Click the “eye” icon to show/hide the texture

Name of the textured surface. By default this is the name of the file used for the
Name
texturing, but it’s possible to change this name.
3D Enable this checkbox if the texture should be converted to a 3D texture while
Textures slicing
The location of the used texture. No path is shown when the texture isn’t applied
Path
through the Magics Texturing feature.
Reflects whether the texture was found on the specified path and whether it was
edited since it was reloaded in Magics.
Status Green checkmark: texture found and up to date
Pencil: Texture found, not up to date
Red cross: texture not found
Last
Date & time of the latest attempt of loading the texture.
checked

New Texture Add a new texture

Select Texture A texture can be selected on the part.
Edit Texture A texture can be edited
Update textures Updates the selected texture(s).
Copy Texture Copy a texture
Paste Texture Paste a copied texture
Delete Texture A selected texture can be removed.
Delete Texture from triangles A texture can be deleted from selected triangles.
Toggle Texture Visibility Toggle the visibility of all textures
Invert Textures Visibility Invert the visibility of textures.

Context menu

Feature Description
Copy Copy (CTRL+C) the selected part texture
Paste Paste (CTRL+V) the previously copied texture to (a) selected triangle(s).
Export As… Save (CTRL+S) the selected texture as an image file.

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Advised way of working

First, you have to mark the triangles where you want to put the texture on. Then you create a
new Texture in the texture Toolpage. Follow each step of the Toolpage to adjust the projection.
Each change in the texturing dialog will be visualized in real-time.

Mark triangles Select image Adjust projection

Remark: After texturing, a part can be edited and/or fixed without loss of the texture.
The figure below shows a textured part that is cut with a teeth cut.

15.6. Slices Pages

The Slice Toolpage allows the user to visualize the slices of the part. The slices can be
visualized in 2D and 3D view. Measurements can also be taken on the slices.

Activate slices
The Slice Toolpage comes available when slices are present in the viewport. The view mode of
each individual part can be controlled through the Part List.

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– STL parts (blue icons)

To activate slice preview on STL parts, turn their visual style to ‘Slice Preview’ in the part
list. A shortcut to change the visual style of all STL parts at once can be found in the
Shade modes button from toolbar.

– Imported Slice Stacks (green icons)

To show the slices inside an imported slice stack, turn their visual style to ‘Slices’ in the
part list. Slice Stack is activated when importing a slice file into Magics. A shortcut to
change the visual style of all Slice Stacks at once can be found in the Slices page.

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Visualize slices

Slice Stack: Visualization (affects only Slice Stacks)

Slices Turns all Slice Stacks in the drawing to view mode ‘Slices’
Bounding Turns all Slice Stacks in the drawing to view mode ‘Bounding
Box Box’
Solid Parts: Slice preview (affects only Solid parts = STL parts)
On platform scene
Slice
Shows the current layer thickness specified in the machine file
Show solid
The remainder of the solid part is still shown below as solid
part
View Range
Show All Visualize all slices of the imported part(s)
Slices Set the number of slices in the view range
Height Set the height of the view range
Set the bottom of the view range. This value can also be
Z min
manipulated with the slider on the side

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Display
Solid
Show all the slices filled.
Slices
Show the slices thick and filled. If 3D Slices is turned on, all other information
3D Slices
in the slice stack is hidden.
Turned on: only the border (=contour) is shown.
Borders
only Turned off: all available information is shown. This can be controlled more in
detail through the Advanced View Settings
2D/ 3D 2D: Locks the viewport to TOP view
View 3D: Releases the viewport and enables orbiting

Advanced View Settings

A slice stack can contain a range of information. If that information is present in the source file,
this dialog allows more control over the set of information that is shown.

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Show Types

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Border Turn border on/off

Turn additional borders on/off
Additional Borders If the border is offset a number of times, it’s called Additional
Borders.
Turn normal hatching on/off
Normal Hatching is the collection of vectors used to fill the
layer during the scan process.

Hatching example
Normal Hatching

Turn support on/off

Support
Sliced support

Show Direction
Turn normal vectors on/off
Normal
All slice information that is not upfacing nor downfacing
Turn upfacing vectors on/off
Upfacing
The result of slicing a horizontal region without geometry on top of it.
Turn downfacing vectors on/off
Downfacing
The result of slicing a horizontal region without geometry below it.

Show Subsets
If the slice stack kept information about the original models (parts)
Models
before slicing, they are indexed from 0 to the amount of models.

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 Chapter 15. The Toolpages Page 605 of 615

All Show all the models

A range can be entered as:

– a list: 2,5,6,9
– a range: 3-8
Range
– combination of both: 2,6-9

and will only show the models with

that index
The additional borders are numbered starting from 0 for the outer most
additional border, inwards.

Additional
Borders

All Show all the additional borders

Show only a subset of the
Range
additional borders
When certain hatches are collected into groups, they are called patterns.

Patterns

All Show all the patterns

Range Show only a subset of the patterns

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Color Settings
All color settings regarding the slice visualization can be adapted here.

Remark: Open contours overwrites other colors.

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Part III: Extra Information

materialise.com
 Chapter 1. Windows Configuration Info Page 608 of 615

Chapter 1. Windows Configuration Info

In this chapter, topics related configuring Windows systems to enable or disable some
additional features for Magics RP. You may use this as a guide to configure your systems to
enable certain work flow or features on the application.

1.1. Enabling long path support on Windows

Windows by default only supports file paths with a maximum of 256 characters. However, you
may have a folder names or file names that causes the overall length of the file path to exceed
256 characters. When such files are attempted to be loaded into the application, the
application will fail to load the file without any warning currently.
As such you are advised to enable the support for long paths on your system to ensure such
random failure due to file path lengths does not block you from loading files into the application.
To learn more about long paths in Windows system, you are advised to read this article by
Microsoft.

Administrator privileges are required: If you do not have the administrator privileges
over your system then you would not able to make the necessary system changed.
Please contact your IT team.

Note: This guide is only applicable if you are on Windows 10, version 1607 or later. If
you are not, you would need to update your system before proceeding.

1. Modify your Windows Registry to enable Long paths

i. Run Registry Editor as an administrator.
ii. Navigate to the folder,
"HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem"
iii. Modify the field, "LongPathsEnabled" and set the value to 1.

iv. Close the Registry Editor.

2. Reboot your computer.

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If all goes well you should now be able to load files that have full path length exceeding
256 characters into Magics successfully.

Note: When your windows file path exceeds 256 characters, Windows operation
system will create a shorter reference of the path as the filepath which is then
correctly consumed by application if long path support are enabled. However, any
additional features that relies on the original file path text will not work as intended.

For example, "Add file name to part name option" when importing BREP Parts will
only be able to keep the shorterned reference name generated by Windows and not
the original file name.

Currently long path support is only available for a limited number of file formats that are native
to the Magics application as shown below.
i. Magics Project file (.magics)
ii. Materialise AM Exchange file (.matamx)
iii. STL file (.stl)
iv. STL Zip file (.mgx)
v. Materialise 3-matic Project file (.mxp)
vi. MDCK file (.mdck)
vii. Parasolid kernel file (.x_t & .x_b)*
For all other file formats support will be extended as per need, if you are interested in other file
format getting similar support feel free to reach or to our customer support.
*Parasolid kernel file supports long path only when loaded into the BREP Part scene

1.2. Setting the default application to open specific file formats

During the installation of a new Magics application, you will be prompted to associate a handful
of 3D file formats to the installed application version.

– See Installation, page 17

Installation, page 17
i. Through Windows Settings
ii. Through File Properties page of respective files

Both of these method should be compatible with Windows versions of Windows 10 build 1907
and newer. You are advised to first attempt method 1 before attempting method 2.

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 Chapter 1. Windows Configuration Info Page 610 of 615

1. Windows Settings
i. Go to Windows Settings > System > Apps & Features > Default apps page.

ii. Locate and click the Choose default apps by file type button

iii. Select the file format that you are interested in from the list and click on the app button.

iv. When the "Choose An app" pop-up is shown all the default apps installed on your PC
that can be set for the file format will be shown. Click on the desired on to set it as the

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 Chapter 1. Windows Configuration Info Page 611 of 615

default application.

If everything went as per the steps, now the file format should have been set correctly, and
double clicking the file should open in the application set as the default app.

If the desired version of the application is not found on the "Choose an app" pop up
window then proceed to method 2 to set your default application.

2. File properties page

i. Locate a file with the type of file format you would like to set default app to in your File
explorer

ii. Right mouse button (RMB) click on the file, locate and click on the Properties button on
the context menu

iii. In the "General" tab of the File properties window, locate the "Opens with"

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column

iv. Click the "Change" button and the file application list pop up will be shown

v. Select the appropriate application from the list of applications on the pop-up and click
"Ok"

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 Chapter 1. Windows Configuration Info Page 613 of 615

vi. On the file properties page, click "Apply".

If in step V, you are not able to find the appropriate application from the displayed list
then see below.

When an appropriate application is not listed automatically by Windows then you would have to
manually define the path the executable of the installed application that you would like to use.
Follow this steps from step v onwards from the previous steps.
v. Select the "Look for another app on this pc" and the Windows File explorer windows will
be shown

vi. Navigate to the installed location of the application which is usually in the Program Files
folder of your C:// drive
vii. Locate the application executable with an ".exe" extension, select it and click "Open"

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 Chapter 1. Windows Configuration Info Page 614 of 615

viii. On the file properties page, click "Apply"

If none of these methods work for you, please contact your sales application engineer
for assistance.

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 Chapter 2. Contact Info Page 615 of 615

Chapter 2. Contact Info

USA & Canada
Europe (Headquarters)
44650 Helm Court
Technologielaan 15
Plymouth, MI 48170
3001 Leuven
USA
Belgium
Phone: +1 734 259 6445
Phone +32 16 39 66 11
Phone (toll-free): +1 888 662 5057
[email protected]
[email protected]
United Kingdom
AMP Technology Centre Germany
Advanced Manufacturing Park Friedrichshafener Str. 3
Brunel Way, Catcliffe 82205 Gilching Germany
Sheffield, S60 5WG Phone: + 49 8105 77 859 20
Phone +44 1143 997 845 [email protected]
[email protected]
China
Baoshan District Japan
Hutai Road 2999 Yokohama Portside Bldg. 2F
1F Building no 1 Sakae-cho 8-1
Shanghai 200444 Kanagawa-ku, Yokohama
P.R.China Phone +81 45 440 4591
Phone +86 21 583 124 06 [email protected]
[email protected]
Asia – Pacific
Unit 5-01, Menara OBYU
No. 4, Jalan PJU 8/8A, Damansara
Perdana
47820 Petaling Jaya
Selangor Darul Ehsan - Malaysia
Phone: +603 7724 1415
[email protected]
Website:
http://software.materialise.com/

Materialise NV - Technologielaan 15 - 3001 Leuven - Belgium