1) Start the volume selection tool by pressing button.

One can now select volume object(s) in the model.

2) Select object(s) in which the parallel planes are to be defined.

Select one or more object(s) which form a continuous volume and which will contain the parallel planes.

3) Start the parallel plane setting tool by pressing button.

Get into the parallel plane setting mode by clicking button in the tool palette. Then, a rectangular box will surround the selected object(s). The initial state of the parallel planes is also shown within the box. At the same time, menu appears on the menu bar as shown below. The parallel plane setting mode is deactivated simply by activating any other tool in the tool palette.

Setting the orientation of the parallel planes : The orientation of the parallel planes can be set normal to X, Y or Z axis by choosing respectively "Normal to X", "Normal to Y" or "Normal to Z" item from menu.

Determining the number of parallel planes : The number of parallel planes can be specified simply by choosing "1 Plane" through "10 Planes" item from menu, or choosing "Others..," item. In the last case, any number of planes can be set by inserting the desired number in the editable text box of the following dialog.

  Locating the parallel planes by mouse dragging : The parallel planes can be located at desired points by dragging each of the planes using mouse. Place the screen cursor over the image of a parallel plane, and drag the plane to the desired point. The plane moves along with mouse movement.

1) Select the parallel plane to move.

Place the cursor over the image of the plane, and click the mouse button.

2) Drag the plane with the mouse button pressed.

The selected parallel plane moves along with the cursor.

3) Release the mouse button.

The parallel plane settles at the position where the button is released.

4) Repeat step 1) 2) and 3) until all the parallel planes are positioned as desired.

Placing the parallel planes by keyboard input : While the parallel plane setting mode is active, the editable text box labeled "Para Plane" is shown at the lower part of the tool palette. The location of the parallel planes can be specified by direct keyboard input in this text box by the following steps:

1) Select the parallel plane to be located.

Place the screen cursor over the image of the plane, and click the mouse button. The location of the plane is given in the text box.

2) Edit the text.

Change the location by editing the text of location represented either by coordinates or by ratio.

3) Press key (Windows : key).

The edited text of the location is applied by pressing key (Windows : key), and the parallel plane moves to the specified location.

< Editable text item for keyboard input of parallel plane location>

In the above procedure, the location can be specified either by the coordinates or as the ratio depending on whether "By Coordinates" or "By Ratio" item is checked in menu.

In case of "By Coordinates" one of X, Y and Z coordinates applies depending on which coordinates axis the parallel plane is normal to.

etting the number of parallel planes : Insert the number of parallel planes in the editable text box labeled as "No. of planes"

  Setting the orientation of the parallel planes :X Set the orientation of the parallel planes by turning one of the radio buttons labeled "X", "Y" and "Z" which represent direction normal to X, Y and Z coordinates axis, respectively.

  Deciding the rule of plane allocation : The parallel planes are initially located automatically at the points evenly dividing the total length of the model in the direction normal to the planes. There are 3 different rules of determining the division points. One of these 3 rules should be chosen by turning on the  corresponding radio button. The example in the following table shows how the 10 parallel planes are located over the distance 100 by applying each one of the rules.

Setting the mode of representing the location of a parallel plane : The location of a parallel plane may be represented either by coordinates or by ratio. If the mode is set to  "by coordinates" the location of a parallel plane should be defined by the actual coordinates along the axis normal to the plane. Otherwise, location should be defined by the ratio scaled from 0 to 1 along the total length of the model in the direction normal to the plane. Check the box labeled "Location represented by coordinates" in order to set the mode to "By coordinates" or uncheck the box to set mode to "by ratio".

  Editing the text string of parallel plane locations: The locations of all the parallel planes are displayed as text strings in the list box of the dialog. The initial locations are determined automatically by the size of the selected parts, number of planes, etc. The parallel plane location may be altered by editing the text strings of the initial setting by the following steps:

1) Click the text string to modify.

The clicked text is highlighted, and an identical text string is placed in the editable text box in the dialog.

2) Edit the text string in the editable text box.

The selected text string in the list box is updated while the string in the editable text box is being edited. The edited string re p resents the modified location of the parallel plane.

3) Repeat step 1) and 2) for all the parallel plane locations to modify.

Edit the text strings one after another until all the relevant text strings are modified as desired.