Overview
In nTop 5.6, there will be a library update to improve the quality of quad meshes generated by nTop. This will directly affect the Quadrangulate Mesh block and indirectly affect blocks that take quad meshes as inputs. See our recommended actions in section 5.0 below.
The previous versions of this block will be deprecated and will no longer be available. Your previous notebooks can still be opened and viewed in nTop 5.6. Your geometry and analysis results will be cached and available. To re-run the block in 5.6, update it to the newest version. Updating the blocks will automatically trigger them to re-run and produce new results. Previously cached geometry and results will be overwritten.
Table of Contents
1.0 Why is this change happening?
2.0 Impacted Blocks
3.0 Example Differences
Example 1 - Quadrangulate Mesh applied to a bracket
Example 2 - Quadrangulate Mesh applied to ribs
4.0 How does this affect you?
5.0 Recommended Actions
6.0. Effective Release
1.0 Why is this change happening?
- We are upgrading our quad meshing technology to improve the quality of the quad meshes generated from triangle meshes. Additionally, this update fixes certain scenarios that caused nTop to crash as a result of the Quadrangulate Mesh block. As a result, there may be differences in the vertex locations, face counts, and mesh quality compared to previous versions (nTop 5.5 and prior).
- The new version of the block will, in general, have better sharp feature preservation.
2.0 Impacted Blocks
| Block Name | Function | Updated Version | Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quadrangulate Mesh | Quadrangulate a triangular or quad mesh by remeshing. | 1.1.0 | Minor differences in mesh output |
3.0 Example Differences
This section contains a few examples detailing the expected differences in quad meshing workflows between nTop 5.5 and nTop 5.6.
Example 1 - Quadrangulate Mesh applied to a bracket
| nTop 5.5 | nTop 5.6 | |
|
Face Count (Target=10k) |
19269 | 16293 |
| Vertex Count | 19214 | 16267 |
In this example, the mesh quads flow around sharp features better in this area, and the face count is closer to the target face count.
Example 2 - Quadrangulate Mesh applied to ribs
| nTop 5.5 | nTop 5.6 | |
|
Face Count (Target=10k) |
15591 | 10792 |
| Vertex Count | 15571 | 10776 |
In this example, the mesh quads flow differently but are approximately the same overall quality. The face count is closer to the target face count.
4.0 How does this affect you?
- The Quadrangulate Mesh implementation from 5.5 and prior will not be available in nTop 5.6. Consequently, if you have an existing notebook with older block versions, you cannot re-run it until you update the block version.
- This update will have a minimal to positive impact on your quad meshing workflows. You can expect a minor difference in the mesh characteristics generated from the updated block. In many cases, the quads will follow features better. In other cases, results may differ slightly, but neither better nor worse.
- When opening files saved in nTop 5.5 and prior in 5.6, you can see, interact with, and export the previously generated meshes. You will be prompted to update the blocks to the latest version. If you choose to update the block, your previous results will be erased, and the new output will be generated. This will also restore your ability to re-run the block. Note that results will not be cached in nTop Automate.
5.0 Recommended Actions
Here are a few scenarios and the recommended actions to follow when using the Quadrangulate Mesh block after this update:
- If you need to generate the same results, do not upgrade to 5.6. If you have already upgraded, please contact support@ntop.com to revert to nTop 5.5.
- Accessing results from an existing notebook: No action necessary. You can open a notebook created in a version before the update and access your results. You will notice warning messages in the blocks that require an update. You can ignore these messages if you do not intend to re-run them and generate new results.
- Modifying or reusing a notebook: You must select the “Update” button for each block in the block’s warning panel. We do not auto-update your blocks in notebooks created with older versions. This will update it to the latest version and trigger the block to run. Previous results will be erased, and the new output will be generated. Optionally, save a copy of the notebook with a different name before running the update to preserve your old results and workflows.
- Composing a new notebook: No action necessary. All the updated blocks will be available by default as you add them to your notebook from the ribbon or the search bar.
6.0. Effective Release
These changes will be effective in nTop 5.6, which is expected to be released the week of September 16th.