Break surface node

Breaks the input geometry using the specified cutting shape.

All

Parameters

Inputs

See also: Assemble, Shatter, Clip, Cookie

The Break operation is used to induce a fracture line into the input geometry. The fracture can be determined by a grid, sphere, box, or custom configuration. The resulting pieces are disconnected, and a new inside group of faces is created.

The operator can be used to create a fractured object for RBD simulation, or to roughly separate geometry into disconnected, whole objects.

If you do not want to cut up your geometry manually, you can use the shatter tool to do it automatically for you.

Using Break

Select the object you want to break.
Click the Break tool on the Model tab.

You can do this multiple times to create multiple breaks in a single geometry object.

Note

By default, the Break tool will select connected primitives. If you want to select individual faces, right-click the component mode button on the left toolbar and turn off Select Connected Geometry.

You can then turn your object into an RBD Fracture Object or an RBD Glue Object.

Tip

If you want to simulate pieces breaking off of something else, for example rocks breaking off a cliff, you can use the extract tool to separate the static objects from dynamic objects.

If you do not want to use this tool with dynamics, you will need to append an Assemble SOP. Turning the object into an RBD Fracture Object or an RBD Glue Object will create the Assemble node for you.

Tip

If the inside faces created by the break operator contain any bad geometry (missing or extraneous faces), various parameters can be adjusted to try to eliminate it:

Increasing the resolution of the cutting surface will improve the detail of the insides surfaces.
Choose a new Seed value or Noise Type for the cutting surface deformation.
Enable Do Jitter and adjust the seed and amount values.

Parameters

Group

The group that will be broken by the operator.

Keep Outside

Whether or not the outside part of the geometry will remain after the break occurs.

Keep Inside

Whether or not the inside part of the geometry will remain after the break occurs.

Inside Group Name

The name assigned to the group of faces created on the interior of the broken geometry.

Note

The Inside Group Name should be consistent over break operators applied to the same geometry, since it will be used by the Assemble operator to create the pieces of the object.

Visualize Break

Visualize cut geometry by applying a random color to each piece.

Cutter Settings

Cutting Shape

The initial shape of the cutting surface before any deformation.

Grid	A flat plane surface.
Box	A standard box shape with six sides.
Sphere	A closed spherical surface.

Grid Rows

The number of rows in the grid cutting plane.

Grid Columns

The number of columns in the grid cutting plane.

Box Divisions

The resolution of the box cutting surface.

Sphere Resolution

The resolution of the sphere cutting surface.

Translate

The central position of the cutting plane.

Rotate

The orientation of the cutting plane.

Scale

The scale of the cutting plane.

Height

The maximum height of the deformations applied to the cutting plane.

Tip

Use a height of 0 for a perfectly flat (or perfectly spherical) cutting surface.

Roughness

How rough or jagged the deformations of the cutting plane will be.

Fractal Depth

The number of fractal iterations performed when deforming the cutting plane.

Frequency

The frequency of the deformations in the cutting plane, in each of the three dimensions.

Seed

A randomization seed for the deformations of the cutting plane.

Tip

Change this value to give your cutting surface a different set of deformations.

Noise Type

The type of surface deformation that will be applied to the cutting plane.

Perlin Noise	Standard noise which performs a 3 dimensional hermite spline interpolation on a lattice of random values.
Sparse Convolution	Scatters points randomly through space and interpolates their values.
Alligator Noise	A variation of sparse convolution which gives higher frequency discontinuities.

Boolean Settings

3D Tolerance	This value is used to suppress potentially incorrect geometry. Any segments smaller than this value are deleted, and any gaps between segments smaller than the tolerance value are joined. Tip The default value is ideal for unit-sized geometry. However, if the geometry generated by the break has twigs or gaps, try tweaking this value.
Check for Full Enclosure	Enables a specific test to determine whether disconnected polygons are inside or outside the cutting surface. Turn this option off when using open surfaces and on when using closed surfaces.
Assume Input is Closed	Enables an additional test of the inside/outside boundaries of the cutting surface. Try turning this option on if the output pieces are being connected improperly.
Do Jitter	Enables jitter on the cutting surface. Jitter causes small, random changes to the cutting plane during the break. Tip Jitter can be used to cause very fine changes in the output geometry. Trying various jitter values can help to correct the output if the break generates any bad geometry in the inside faces.
Jitter Seed	Random number seed for jitter.
Amount of jitter	Scale of the jitter.

Inputs

Polygons to Break	The polygonal geometry that will be cut by the cutting surface.
Optional Cutting Object	If geometry is wired into the second input it will be used as the cutting surface, overriding the Cutting Surface setting. The object will be translated, but not deformed.

Usages in other examples

Example name	Example for
PointBasedRBD	Dop Import surface node	Load \| Launch