The geometry files you import might not match your simulation requirements, or your geometry is broken up into multiple files that you need to unite before you can use them in a simulation.

With our built-in geometry modification tools, you can add, delete, transform, imprint, and perform boolean operations on your geometry.

To get started, upload your geometry to Luminary. You’ll be taken to the Geometry tab where you can make modifications.

Toolbar and Modification List

The toolbar is where you can find all geometry modification operations (described in the sections below) in addition to tools that help you measure, probe, clip, or toggle the exploded view.

The Modification List is where you view, edit, or delete the modifications you’ve made.

Click on an item in the list to adjust any associated properties or delete a modification with the trash icon. When you’re ready to move on to meshing and simulation set up, click Load to Setup.

Add

Add a cylinder, box, sphere, half sphere, or additional CAD files to your uploaded geometry. Click on the add icon and choose an option from the list.

When you select CAD, you’ll be prompted to upload an additional CAD file.

Note: You may delete any additional geometry that you upload, but not the initial geometry that you started with. If you need to replace the initial geometry, you'll need to start a new project.

When you select a shape, each one requires the following inputs:

Box	Center point of the box Lengths of each side of the box
Cylinder	Start point of the cylinder central axis, defined in Cartesian coordinates End point of the cylinder central axis, defined in Cartesian coordinates Radius of the cylinder
Sphere and Half Sphere	Center point of the sphere, defined in Cartesian coordinates Radius of the sphere (Half sphere only) Normal of the plane cutting the half sphere.

Far-Field

External flow simulations around models such as aircraft require far-field surfaces that wrap the entire flow domain. When generating a mesh from uploaded CAD for this type, you will first need to create a far-field if your model doesn't already have one.

This can either be done within your CAD program before importing the model or directly within Luminary Cloud following import.

To create a far-field:

Upload a CAD model. You'll be taken to the Geometry tab.
In the toolbar at the top, click the Far-Field icon .
In the panel, choose a shape (sphere, half sphere, box, or cylinder). Depending on which shape you select, you can then set up the size and position of the far-field.
Click Apply.

The far-field should be large enough so that there are no flow reflection effects back into the domain from this boundary. For low-speed flow simulations, the far-field should be about 20 to 50 times the size of the model.

Delete

To delete volumes, click the delete icon , then select the volumes you want to delete from the Geometry panel. Click Apply.

Boolean Operations

Use boolean operations to merge, separate, or create geometry from existing volumes. These tools allow you to create complex shapes within your geometry.

When performing a boolean operation, you’ll need to specify Target and/or Tool volumes. In the examples below, we'll use the following volumes:

Unite

Unite merges two or more volumes into a single volume by merging their overlapping areas. Volumes must be overlapping to unite them.

To unite volumes:

Select Unite from the boolean dropdown. A dialog box will open on the right with the Target Volumes section highlighted.
In the Geometry panel on the left, select the target volumes you want to unite. The selected volumes will be highlighted in the 3D Viewer.
If needed, set Keep Original Target Volumes:
1. When unchecked, the original volumes become a part of the new merged volume.
2. When checked, the new merged volume and the original separate volumes are available in your project.
Click Apply.

In this example, the cube and the cylinder become a single volume:

Subtract

Subtract removes the overlapping areas of one volume from another. Volumes must be overlapping to subtract them.

To subtract volumes:

Select Subtract from the boolean dropdown. A dialog box will open on the right with the Target Volumes section highlighted and the Tool Volumes section below it.
In the geometry panel on the left, select the Target Volumes you want to subtract from.
Click the Tool Volumes box and select the volumes you want to subtract.
If needed, set Keep Original Target Volumes and Keep Original Tool Volumes:
1. Both boxes unchecked: This is the default setting. Only the results of the subtract operation will remain. The original volumes are removed.
2. Both boxes checked: The results of the subtraction result in a new volume and both original volumes are still available.
3. Target Volumes only: The results of the subtraction result in a new volume and the original target volumes are still available. The tool volumes are removed.
4. Tool Volumes: The results of the subtraction result in a new volume and the original tool volumes are still available. The target volumes are removed.
Click Apply.

In this example, the tool volume (cylinder) is subtracted from the target volume (cube):

Intersect

Intersect creates a new volume from the intersection of overlapping volumes. You must have at least two overlapping volumes to use this tool.

To intersect volumes:

Select Intersect from the boolean dropdown. A dialog box will open on the right with the Target Volumes box highlighted.
In the geometry panel on the left, select the target volumes you want to intersect. The selected volumes will be highlighted in the 3D Viewer.
If needed, set Keep Original Target Volumes:
1. When unchecked, the results of the intersection are created as a new volume and the original target volumes are removed.
2. When checked, the results of the intersection are created as a new volume and the original target volumes remain in your project.
Click Apply.

In this example, without keeping the target volumes, we're left with the area where the cube and cylinder overlapped:

Chop

Chop simultaneously subtracts the tool volume from the target volume and intersects the tool with the target.

To chop volumes:

Select Chop from the boolean dropdown. A dialog box will open on the right with the Target Volumes box highlighted and the Tool Volumes box below it.
In the geometry panel on the left, select the Target Volumes you want to modify.
Click the Tool Volumes box and select the volumes.
Click Apply.

In this example, the portion of the tool volume (cylinder) that overlapped the cube was retained, then intersected with the cube. The other half of the cylinder was subtracted and removed:

Transform Tools

The Transform Tools dropdown contains Scale, Translate, Rotate, Mirror, and Pattern tools. Use these to transform volumes as needed.

Scale volumes with respect to a point of origin. Select Scale from the Transform Tools dropdown and choose the volumes you want to scale, then choose a Scale Factor and Scale Origin.

Translate , or move, volumes along each axis. Select Translate, then choose the volumes and set the distance along each axis to move the volume. Check Copy Volumes to create a copy of the volume before applying the operation.

Rotate volumes with respect to an axis origin and direction. Select Rotate, then choose the volumes to rotate and set a rotation angle.

Mirror volumes with respect to a plane origin. Select Mirror, then choose the volumes and use the plane origin and plane normal. This tool creates a copy of the selected volumes.

All transform tools have a Copy Volumes option. Check this box to keep a copy of the original volume.

💡Tip: Turn on the axes grid by clicking the grid icon at the top left of the toolbar to help you determine your desired points or planes of origin, or to determine how far along each axis you want to move a volume.

Patterns

You can create copies of selected objects to be arranged in a linear or circular pattern.

Circular patterns replicate the selected volumes around an axis. Select Circular Pattern from the Transform Tools dropdown and set the following:

Select the volume(s) you'd like to copy.
Set the Axis Origin, or the axis the selected volumes will replicate around.
Set the Axis Direction, or the direction the pattern will follow.
Set the Quantity, or how many copies of the selected volumes you'd like to make.
Set the distribution angle, or check Full to distribute the copied volumes over a full circle.
Check the Symmetric box if you'd like to make the pattern symmetric around the original volumes.
Click Apply.

For example, to take a single fan blade and turn it into a complete fan, use a circular pattern:

Linear patterns replicate the selected volumes in a row. Select Linear Pattern from the Transform Tools dropdown and set the following:

Select the volume(s) you'd like to copy.
Set the Direction, in Cartesian coordinates, that you'd like the pattern to follow.
Set the Quantity, or how many copies of the selected volumes you'd like to make.
Set the Spacing between each copy.
Check the Symmetric box if you'd like to make the pattern symmetric around the original volumes.
Click Apply.

For example, to create multiple fans in a row, use a linear pattern:

Imprint

Use the Imprint tool to modify surfaces by embedding the edges or outlines of one geometric entity (surfaces or volumes) onto another. When overlapping volumes or surfaces are detected, new edges will be introduced without changing the overall volume definition.

This tool is useful for splitting an existing CAD surface into new surfaces and is important for constructing conformal interface surfaces between adjacent volumes.

Click Imprint, then click Apply.

Select and Group Geometry

Generate a Manual Mesh

Surface LIC