Wireframe Decimation

Wireframe decimation reduces the amount of data in a wireframe by reducing the number of edge and wireframe faces according to selected and definable criteria. This reduction in data should be sensibly applied so as not to degrade wireframe data beyond the point at which it is meaningful.

By the very nature of the command, decimation results in a loss of data. This means that best practices should be adopted to provide the optimum balance between a meaningless data set and one that is small enough to be easily managed in day-to-day engineering.

Decimation Guidelines

The verification process should always be run before a wireframe is decimated, using the Wireframe Decimate Dialog.
You can only verify entire wireframe data objects - it is not possible to verify a subset of a wireframe object.
When running a pre-decimation verification, the Remove Duplicate Vertices option should be selected.
The Maximum Error and Percentage Reduction options are key to a successful decimation; in most cases, it is advised to use a Maximum Error instead of a Percentage Reduction. A sensible value for the former will normally preserve important features, whereas the latter will use a less elegant (although quicker) algorithm in order to achieve the expected data reduction.
The best Maximum Error value will vary greatly depending on the context of the wireframe (e.g. topologies may be able to cope with large errors, but an engineering design may not). It is for this reason that Maximum Error is not specified by default, even though it it preferred.

Regardless of how the command is initiated, the parameters controlling verification are entered using the Wireframe Verify dialog. Verification can include, with or without tolerance values, a check for open edges, shared edges and/or crossover areas. You also have the option to remove duplicate vertices and/or faces when these entities are intercepted.

Wireframe-verify can also be triggered when the option is selected during other boolean and plane operations. The following commands support the option to verify before attempting a wireframe modification:

Verification Essentials

The Verify command is used to perform a number of validation checks, including:

Identifying holes within a wireframe surface
Identifying intersections of different surfaces with different IDs
Identifying crossovers within, or between, surfaces
Checking for duplicate points
Renumbering wireframe surfaces.

The Verify command is controlled by a number of settings accessed through Wireframe Settings.

	Related Topics
	Wireframe Decimate Dialog Wireframe Verify Dialog Wireframe Clean Dialog.htm