Meshing Overview

The following page helps you understand the basics of the meshing on Speos.

Definition

Creating a meshing on an object, a face or a surface allows you to mobilize and concentrate computing power on one or certain areas of a geometry to obtain a better level of detail in your results. In a CAD software, meshing helps you subdivide your model into simpler blocks. By breaking an object down into smaller and simpler pieces such as triangular shapes, you can concentrate more computing power on them, and therefore improve the quality of your results. During a simulation, it will no longer be one single object that interprets the incoming rays but a multitude of small objects.

An adequate meshing respects the shape of the geometry and is watertight.

Note: An adequate meshing shape should have priority over a watertight meshing.

Meshing in Speos

The meshing in Speos can be applied different ways. A priority order is applied according to the way the meshing has been set.
  • The simulation meshing is a meshing that is always applied during the simulation of the system. The definition of the simulation meshing will be applied for all objects included in the simulation. The features on which you can define the simulation meshing are:
    • Interactive Simulation
    • Direct Simulation
    • Inverse Simulation
    • Optical Part Design Exchange
    • Light Box Export
    • 3D Texture
    Note: For the Optical Design Exchange, Light Box Export, and 3D Texture features, the Meshing parameters are directly applied in the feature's Options. The meshing set is considered as simulation meshing regarding the priority.

  • The local meshing is a meshing that you decide to apply on a specific body, face, or part of a face because you want to emphasize this area in the result. The local meshing is not mandatory. If a local meshing is applied, it has priority over the simulation meshing where it has been applied.

Therefore, the meshing priority order is:
  1. Local meshing applied on faces
  2. Local meshing applied on body
  3. Simulation meshing applied on body

Meshing parameters values from version 2025 R1

As of version 2025R1, new default meshing parameters values are applied upon creation of the following features, in order to provide a more relevant default meshing than prior versions.
  • Interactive Simulation
  • Direct Simulation
  • Inverse Simulation
  • LiDAR Simulation
  • Light Box Export
  • Local Meshing

As a consequence, the new Meshing parameters values are:



Note: If you switch the meshing Sag or Step mode, the values are adjusted to better align with the use of the mode. For more information on the difference between modes, see Understanding the Meshing Parameters.

Impact on Scripts for Local Meshing

The new behavior on the default meshing parameters comes with some impact on how the Local Meshing APIs is managed. As a consequence, if you use Proportional to Body Mode, you will have to modify your script. The following examples below guides you in better understanding the changes (changes apply the same way to Step):

Before version 2025 R1,

  • if you want to define a sag Proportional to Face:

    localMeshing = SpeosSim.LocalMeshing.Create()
localMeshing.MeshingSagMode = SpeosSim.LocalMeshing.EnumMeshingSagMode.ProportionalFace
localMeshing.MeshingSagValue = 500

  • if you want to define a sag Proportional to Body:

    localMeshing = SpeosSim.LocalMeshing.Create()
localMeshing.MeshingSagMode = SpeosSim.LocalMeshing.EnumMeshingSagMode.ProportionalBody
localMeshing.MeshingSagValue = 500

  • if you want to define a sag Fixed:

    localMeshing = SpeosSim.LocalMeshing.Create()
localMeshing.MeshingSagMode = SpeosSim.LocalMeshing.EnumMeshingSagMode.Fixed
localMeshing.MeshingSagLengthValue = 0.2
As of version 2025 R1, Speos added the MeshingSagValueProportionalToBody property. As a consequence the MeshingSagValue property now corresponds only to the Proportional to Face mode.

  • if you want to define a sag Proportional to Face:

    localMeshing = SpeosSim.LocalMeshing.Create()
localMeshing.MeshingSagMode = SpeosSim.LocalMeshing.EnumMeshingSagMode.ProportionalFace
localMeshing.MeshingSagValue = 3000

  • if you want to define a sag Proportional to Body:

    localMeshing = SpeosSim.LocalMeshing.Create()
localMeshing.MeshingSagMode = SpeosSim.LocalMeshing.EnumMeshingSagMode.ProportionalBody
localMeshing.MeshingSagValueProportionalToBody = 50000

  • if you want to define a sag Fixed:

    localMeshing = SpeosSim.LocalMeshing.Create()
localMeshing.MeshingSagMode = SpeosSim.LocalMeshing.EnumMeshingSagMode.Fixed
localMeshing.MeshingSagLengthValue = 0.2

Migration Information

  • For a file created in version 2021 R1 or before: if Sag / Step mode was Proportional, the file is migrated to used Proportional to Face size in version 2022 R2.
  • For a file created in versions 2021 R2 or 2022 R1: if Sag / Step mode was Proportional to Body size, the file is migrated with the same settings in version 2022 R2.
  • For a file created before version 2022 R2: if Sag / Step mode was Fixed, the file is migrated with no change.

  • When opening a project in 2025 R1 (or subsequent version) that has been created before 2025 R1, the meshing parameters values that you have input in the previous version are kept.

    However, if you change the meshing sag/step mode (Propertional to body/face, Fixed) of a previously created feature, the new default parameters values of the mode are applied.

Warning: If you created a file in version 2021 R1, then migrated to 2021 R2 and changed the values for Sag / Step (when it became Proportional to Body size), these values may not be good in 2022 R2 when the document is migrated back to Proportional to Face size. You cannot know that the values were changed over the versions.