Use the Block () node to create blocks (boxes) or bounding boxes in your geometry, as shown in Figure 7-23.

To add a Block node, on the 3D Geometry toolbar, click Block (). You can also right-click the Geometry node to add this node from the context menu. Then enter the properties of the block using the following sections:

From the Type list, select Solid (default) or Surface to specify if the block is a solid object or a (hollow) surface object.

From the Defined by list, select Size and position (default) to specify the width, depth, and height for the block as well as specify its position. Select Bounding box (approximate) to create a block that approximately bounds a selection of objects or entities. A bounding box is useful to replace a complicated imported object with a block or to create a fluid domain around objects.

From the Orientation list, select Principal axes (default) to let the orientation of the bounding box be determined by the principal axes of the input entities. Select Manual to manually specify the orientation in the Axis section.

This section is shown if Defined by is set to Size and position. Define the edge lengths in the Width, Depth, and Height fields. With the default axis (representing the z-axis) and no rotation, the width, depth, and height correspond to the dimensions in the x, y, and z directions, respectively.

This section is shown if Defined by is set to Size and position. From the Base list, choose Center if the block is centered about the position, or choose Corner (default) if the block has one corner in this position. For Position type set to Coordinates (default), enter the position using the x, y, and z fields. For Vertex, select a point in the Graphics window. Click the Activate Selection button to toggle between turning ON and OFF the Position selections.

This section is shown if Defined by is set to Bounding box (approximate). From the Geometric entity level list, choose the level of the entities to bound: Object (default), Domain, or Boundary, Edge, or Point. From the Selection list, choose Manual (default) to select the geometry objects or entities that you want to bound in the Graphics window. If the geometry sequence includes user-defined selections above the Block node, you can choose one of the selections from the Selection list. Click the Activate Selection button to toggle between turning ON and OFF the Input objects selections. Alternatively, choose All objects to select all objects or choose All nonconstruction objects to automatically select all objects that have not been marked as Construction Geometry.

For the setting Geometric entity level: Object, select the checkbox Keep input objects (selected by default) to keep the objects that are bounded. Clear the checkbox to delete the selected objects.

This section is shown if Defined by is set to Bounding box (approximate). Fill in the edit fields to enlarge the bounding box on one or more sides (or shrink it if the values are negative). See the definitions of the left, right, front, back, bottom, and top sides of the block in the Layers section below.

Specify the direction of the block’s third axis — that is, the direction of the edges corresponding to the height. From the Axis type list, choose x-axis, y-axis, or z-axis (the default) to obtain an axis aligned with the specified coordinate axis. Choose Cartesian to enter a direction vector in the x, y, and z fields. Choose Spherical to enter the direction using the angles theta (polar, zenith) and phi (azimuth).

Specify the rotational angle about the block’s third axis in the Rotation field. When this angle is zero (the default), the block’s second axis is parallel to the xy-plane.

The coordinate system in which the position, axis, and rotation angles above are interpreted. From the Take work plane from list, select This sequence (the default) to use a work plane earlier in the same geometry sequence, or choose a part instance earlier in the sequence to choose a work plane from that part. From the Work plane list, select xy-plane (the default, for a standard global Cartesian coordinate system) or select any work plane defined above this node in the geometry sequence. If you choose a work plane, the work plane and its coordinate system appear in the Graphics window, using an extra coordinate triad with the directions xw, yw, and zw (which are then used to specify the block’s position).

Layers can be used to create sandwich primitives by adding layers on one or more sides, as shown in Figure 7-23 and Figure 7-24. This is especially useful when specifying artificial domains in the physics, such as Infinite Element Domains and Perfectly Matched Layers. Specify the thicknesses of layers in the Layers table, and optionally a name for each layer. The outermost layer comes first. Select the checkboxes under Layer position to specify where to apply the layers (see the graphics to the right of the checkboxes to see the definitions of the left, right, front, back, bottom, and top sides of the block). Each layer must have a minimal thickness (depending on the size of the geometry).

Select the Create Parameters checkbox to automatically create parameters for the coordinates and size of the block to be used in further geometry creation, mesh size settings, or physics set up. The created parameters can be seen in the variable tree that appears when pressing Ctrl+Space in an edit field in another feature.

Select the Resulting objects selection checkbox to create predefined selections (for all levels — objects, domains, boundaries, edges, and points — that are applicable) in subsequent nodes in the geometry sequence. To also make all or one of the types of resulting entities (domains, boundaries, edges, and points) that the block consists of available as selections in all applicable selection lists (in physics and materials settings, for example), choose an option from the Show in physics (Show in instances if in a geometry part) list: All levels, Domain selection, Boundary selection, Edge selection, or Point selection. The default is Domain selection, which is suitable for use with materials and physics defined in domains. For use with a boundary condition, for example, choose Boundary selection. These selections do not appear as separate selection nodes in the model tree. Select Off to not make any selection available outside of the geometry sequence. From the Color list, choose a color for highlighting the resulting objects selection. See Selection Colors.

When the Layers table is nonempty, select the Create layer selections checkbox to create predefined domain selections for each specified layer and for the core domain. To also make the domains available as selections in all applicable selection lists (in physics and materials settings, for example), select the Show in physics (Show in instances if in a geometry part) checkbox (ON by default).

If you want to make the resulting entities contribute to a cumulative selection, select a cumulative selection from the Contribute to list (the default, None, gives no contribution), or click the New button to create a new cumulative selection (see Cumulative Selections).

Select the Construction geometry checkbox to make the resulting objects available only in the feature’s geometry sequence. For more information, see Construction Geometry.