SpaceClaim Online Help

Mass properties

Use the MassAnalysis tool used to display mass properties, or volume information for the solids and surfaces in your design. tool to display volume information for the solids and surfaces in your design.

If you use the tool on a surface, it will display the total surface area. If there are multiple surfaces on the same plane, the tool displays the total surface area for all the surfaces. To display the surfaces’ individual surface areas, use the Measure tool.

To view mass properties of a solid

1. Click Mass in the Inspect group on the MeasureTools for displaying measurement properties of the edges, faces, and solids in your design. tab.

   Click a solid in the Structure treeDisplay in the Structure panel that shows you each of the objects in your design. You can expand or collapse the nodes of the tree to view the objects. You can rename objects, create, modify, replace, and delete objects, as well as work with components. or by triple-clicking it in the Design windowArea in the user interface that displays your model or assembly. Also known as Workspace. to display its volume, center of mass, and principle moments and axes.

2. A small origin appears at the center of volume with its axes oriented in the direction of the principle axes. To calculate the principle moments and axes for another point, hold Alt and select an origin to add it to your selection.

   To calculate the actual moment of inertia, multiply the moment measurement by the density of the solid.

   The axis is indicated with x, y, z values; in the figure above, these values are (0, -1, 0). The first number is the red axis of the origin, the second is the green axis, and the third is the blue axis.

To measure the projected area of an object or objects

1. Click Mass in the Inspect group on the Measure tab.

2. Click the Select datum plane tool guide.

3. Select the objects you want to measure.

   You can also hold Alt and select the object without using the tool guide.

   The projected area and estimated precision is displayed in the Design2D or 3D model that contains at least one top-level component. window.

To measure the properties of a planar section

1. Click Mass in the Inspect group on the Measure tab.

2. Click the Select planar area tool guide.

3. Select a planar area.