Summary of changes in MPanel version 11.

12 May 2005

All mesh relaxation tools are now capable of handling multiple meshes.

Relax Fixed edge meshes..... all edges are fixed on all meshes.

Relax Cabled edge meshes..... all edges are cabled on all meshes, unless fixed by a 3Dpolyline.

Relax Joined edge meshes..... same as old multi mesh, the edges will flow together if the corners are joined.

The limits on model size (was 16K mesh links) and the number of links joining at a node (was 32) have been removed. The model data storage is more efficient, so large models slow the computer down less.

All Panelling tools now report the flattening errors as the equivalent shear strain, that is how much a square in the fabric is distorted into a slanted square (rhomboid). There is a description of the shear starin definition in the help file. The warning when the shear strain exceeds a threshold level is optional.

Panel between Polylines

Now supports creating a single panel from a set of 3Dpolys. This tool internally panels between adjacent seams, and then merges the panels to produce a single panel that is output to AutoCAD.

The old option "Equal Number of Points" used to prevent extra points being added during panelling between two 3Dpolys. The new option "Add Extra Points" allows extra points to be added, and should normally be unchecked.

Panel a Complete Mesh.

Optionally supports panel orientation to the mean mesh direction, or as before to the local mesh direction. Orienting to the mean mesh direction avoids the "pile of panels" that can occur with some meshes.

Panel Merge

Calculates the best position to start the merge to get the lowest shear strain. This avoids problems on triangular shaped panels during merging. This feature can optionally can be turned off to hand select the merge starting point.

Compensation

Can cope with weft and warp compensation that vary along the length of the panel.

Cross Section

Supports fixed panel widths between seams. See the drawing "MPanel 11 demo" for the method used. The program internally creates a panel based on the supplied cut line and the previous seam, measures the panel width, and adjusts the cut line accordingly to get closer to the required panel width.

Supports automatic extra seams for use in over panelling. These extra seams can be used by the "Panel between Polylines" tool to create a single panel with end curvature

Extended Data

Editing and viewing extended data now has it's own tab in the options. All the extended data for a model can be edited or viewed in one go. Each mesh and link has a default name, that the user can change. So on a 4 mesh tent you could have North Mesh, East Mesh, NE Link, etc. If the "Use Extended Data" option is selected then any data that is set will be used on the next relaxation. (Link data, ie original length, is always used)