Option Optic3D > Features > 3D Surfaces

This sub chapter describes the available settings for the projection onto a cylindrical 3D surface.

The cylinder configuration can be accessed by selecting Cylinder from the 3D Surface drop-down menu and clicking the Settings button.

cylinder_settings

Figure 506: 3D Surfaces Cylinder Configuration Dialog

Cylinder properties: Defines the geometry and position of the cylinder.

Diameter: Defines the diameter of the cylinder. Negative values are permitted and can be used for marking on the inside of the cylinder.

X Position: Defines the X position of the center.

Y Position: Defines the Y position of the center

Angle in XY Plane: Defines the orientation angle of the cylinder in the XY plane.

Z Offset: Defines the Z position of the center point at the top of the cylinder's lateral surface. If the diameter is negative, this value defines the Z position of the center point at the bottom of the tube's lateral surface.

Z Tilt Angle: Defines the inclination angle in Z direction.

Advanced: Contains additional settings for cylindrical marking.

Line Splitting Length: Specifies the distance along a line after which an additional point is generated and transformed onto the 3D surface. Each line is processed independently.

Tube Angle: Defines the angular extent of the cylinder section. The default value of 180° represents half of the cylinder, while smaller values represent only a portion of the cylinder circumference. This parameter affects the spacing of the blue dashed guidelines displayed in View2D. The Tube Angle can be set between 0.0001° and 180°.

Please see below an example of a projected text entity in the View2D (left) and 3D View (right). Please note that the 3D View can be activated by clicking on the icon in the toolbar.

In the View2D, the outer dashed lines represent the endpoints of the circular arc defined by the configured Tube Angle. Only vectors between these lines are mapped to the cylindrical surface. The inner dashed lines represent the endpoints of the chord corresponding to the configured Tube Angle. In a cross-sectional view of the cylinder, the chord is the straight line connecting the arc endpoints.
The entities displayed in the View2D are shown in their unwrapped state and are not yet mapped to the cylindrical surface.

cylinder_2D

Figure 507: 3D Surfaces Cylinder View2D

cylinder_3D

Figure 508: 3D Surfaces 3D preview.

note

For optimal marking quality, keep the marking area centered beneath the laser. Moving it too far away from the center reduces the laser incidence angle and may result in lower marking quality.

If the cylindrical surface contains steep or highly inclined areas, better marking results can often be achieved by projecting the vectors from above, exporting the 3D vectors via CCI, and subsequently rotating the vectors to the desired angle. For additional information, refer to Marking on the side of a 3D surface.

	Please note that points and point clouds are not visible in the 3D preview.