Use a Cut Line 2D (
) or
Cut Line 3D (
) dataset to create lines through 2D or 3D geometries to visualize along the line. All plots and results analysis nodes available in 1D are available for cut line datasets as well as 3D plots and results analysis nodes for edges. These datasets are also used to create cross-section line plots. The resolution of cut lines is controlled by the resolution of the underlying mesh and by the resolution setting in the
Quality section in plots. If you need full control over the resolution, use a Parameterized Curve dataset (see
Parameterized Curve 2D and Parameterized Curve 3D). You can right-click a
Cut Line 2D or
Cut Line 3D dataset node to add a
Selection subnode if desired.
Use Line entry method to specify the cut line either by
Two points or by a
Point and direction. If
Two points is selected, enter
x and
y coordinates (2D) or
x,
y, and
z coordinates (3D) in the
Point 1 and
Point 2 fields ((SI unit: m). If
Point and direction is selected, enter
x and
y coordinates (2D) or
x,
y, and
z coordinates (3D) in the
Point (SI unit: m) and
Direction fields.
The Bounded by points check box is selected by default to constrain the line between the defined points.
From the Snapping list, choose
None for no snapping (the default),
Snap to closest boundary to snap the cut lines to the closest boundary in the geometry, or
Snap to closest edge (Cut Line 3D only) to snap the cut lines to the closest edge in the geometry. Use this option when evaluating a variable that is available on boundaries but not in domains, for example. Otherwise, leave the snapping off (the default setting,
None) to avoid the additional computational cost. However, snapping always happens if the underlying dataset has a shell geometry.
For Cut Line 2D, also select the
Additional parallel lines check box to define multiple lines for plotting or evaluation, for example. Then enter
Distances from the original line in the field. The
Distances field refers to a direction that is normal to the cut line and rotated 90 degrees counterclockwise relative to the cut line’s direction. For example, if the cut line is from (0, 0) to (1, 0), then the distances are along the vector (0, 1) from any point on the cut line.
Under Space variable, you can change the name of the space variable for the cut line’s coordinate from its default value (
cln1x, for example). The space variable name shows in the
Table window when displaying the data. For Cut Line 2D nodes, normal variables are created, and under
Normal variables, you can change the default names (
cln1nx and
cln1ny, for example) in the
nx and
ny fields. Tangent variables are also created for Cut Line 2D and Cut Line 3D nodes. Under
Tangent variables, you can change the default names (
cln1tx,
cln1ty, and
cln1tz, for example, in 3D) in the
tx,
ny, and
tz fields. The normal and tangent vectors defined using these variables have unit length.
