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Rapidform XOR/XOS can create a body on a mesh using “Auto Surfacing” command. This method can quickly and automatically wrap the mesh and create a surface/solid body with just one click of a button, but it might be possible for gaps to be created between patches on complicated and sharp areas of a mesh. So in such cases if you want to export the created model from XOR/XOS to other CAD system such as CATIA, UGS NX or PRO/E Wildfire, you need to perform additional processes to heal the gaps after transferring to other CAD system.

This technical tip is useful when you export a surface / solid body as neutral format (IGES or STEP) into CATIA to create a complete watertight solid model.

As you see the model tree as shown in the image above, the patches are broken after importing a body into CATIA. If you want to create a complete body, you need to use healing Process in CATIA such as heal and join in Healing Assistant.

Method

This method is used in the Healing Assistant Workbench or Part Design Workbench. If created model has many patches and curves, this model has highly possibility of error occurrence. Therefore it needs to be healed for broken patches.

In Assistant Workbench
1. Click Start > Mechanical Design > Healing Assistant in the menu and click the (Heal) button in the Tool bar. Select all imported surfaces and click OK button as shown in the image below. If CATIA cannot heal some edges, these edges are displayed in green. In that case, increase the tolerance value little by little (max. 0.1) and try to heal again.

Note
The Heal command improves surface connection condition. If adjacent surfaces are completely connected and closed within the given allowable tolerance, then you can skip this stage.

Note
If you skip the above healing process, you can create a combined body by clicking the (Join) button in the tool bar as shown in the image below. Click the OK button.

In Part Design Workbench
1. Click the Start > Mechanical Design > Part Design in the menu and click the (Close Surface) button in the Tool bar and select the joined body in the Model Tree as shown in the image below. Click the OK button.

2. This command transfers the surface body to a solid body and registers it in the model tree. Finally, you will obtain a Closed Solid body.

This technical tip is useful when you export a surface or solid body as a neutral format (IGES or STEP) into CATIA to create a complete, watertight solid model.

As you can see in the model tree as shown in the image above, the patches are broken after importing a body into CATIA. If you want to create a complete body, you need to use healing processes in CATIA, such as heal and join in the Healing Assistant.

Method:
This method is used in the Healing Assistant Workbench or Part Design Workbench. If the model has many patches and curves, it has a higher probability of producing errors. Therefore, it needs to be healed for broken patches.

In the Assistant Workbench:
1. Click Start > Mechanical Design > Healing Assistant in the menu, and click the “Heal” button in the toolbar. Select all imported surfaces and click the OK button, as shown in the image below. If CATIA cannot heal some edges, these edges are displayed in green. In that case, increase the tolerance value little by little (max. 0.1), and try to heal again.

Note
The Heal command improves surface connecting conditions. If surface connections are completely closed within the allowable tolerance, you can skip this stage.

Note
If you skip above the healing process, you can create a combined body by clicking the “Join” button in the tool bar as shown in the image below. Click the OK button.

In the Part Design Workbench:
1. Click Start > Mechanical Design > Part Design in the menu, and click the “Close Surface” button in the toolbar. Select the joined body in the model tree, as shown in the below image. Click the OK button.

2. This command converts the surface body to a solid body and registers it in the model tree. Finally, you will have created a closed solid body.