[swiftBlock/swiftSnap] SwiftSnap and SwiftBlock, GUIs for OpenFOAM's meshers

Flowkersma · November 2, 2015, 13:26

Hi,

You have two objects in your blender file (Cube and Cylinder). Seems like you want to mesh the Cube. You have created the geometry but you are missing the blocking which is necessary for the mesh.

Regards,
Mikko

ce73stargazer · November 2, 2015, 19:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flowkersma

Hi,

You have two objects in your blender file (Cube and Cylinder). Seems like you want to mesh the Cube. You have created the geometry but you are missing the blocking which is necessary for the mesh.

Regards,
Mikko

Thanks for the reply, i've played around it again yesterday. It looks working atm, but it has a really werid mesh structure, i am not sure why.
I dont know why there is a cone shape on the top, the the bottom one looks weird as well

Flowkersma · November 3, 2015, 02:45

SwiftBlock is snapping to the geometry in a way you are not expecting. Use "straight" feature for the edges that you don't want snapping. Also I think you don't want mesh inside the pipe and therefore you should define a "disabled" group in which you put the vertices of the pipe block.

hswzzz · December 12, 2015, 10:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flowkersma

Hi everyone,

Here is my fork of the SwiftBlock (https://github.com/flowkersma/swiftBlock). It supports the new BlockMesh multi-grading feature. I found a couple of bugs in the new multi-grading feature which has been fixed in the latest OpenFOAM repository release (OpenFOAM 2.4.x). Thus, the latest repository release is required for this fork. It also launches the BlockMesh in the background when previewing the mesh and therefore the BlockMesh must be in the PATH.

The new meshing parameters are:

"dx1", "dx2" first cell sizes at the two ends of an edge
"exp1", "exp2" cell expansion ratio at the two ends of an edge
"maxdx" maximum cell size
"Copy to parallel edges" copies the meshing parameters to all parallel edges

I made a short example video which shows how to use the multi-grading and copy to parallel edges https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwrfuQVQ7gI

I made another video which shows how to mesh bended pipe with o-grid http://youtu.be/ZY7WDP6w7YA

Please let me know what you think about it

I don't understand "Thus, the latest repository release is required for this fork. It also launches the BlockMesh in the background when previewing the mesh and therefore the BlockMesh must be in the PATH. "

When I press 'preview' button, the error occurs from...

(
class PreviewMesh():
def __init__(self, tempdir=None):
if not shutil.which('blockMesh'):
raise RuntimeError('ERROR: No BlockMesh Found!')
)

Flowkersma · December 13, 2015, 03:19

Seems like you don't have blockMesh in your PATH environment variable. Probably if you launch Blender from terminal it will help. SwiftBlock with multi-grading works with OpenFOAM 3.0.

hswzzz · December 13, 2015, 19:29

yes.. I use OF230... I will try it with OF300.
Thank you!

ce73stargazer · January 3, 2016, 23:25

Hi there

Happy new year.

I was using swiftblock fine last year, however when i tried the same thing this year, it turned out some weird problem with the preview function (show in the pic).

The picture shows the example case and i get the same error for my own case. So i thought its not the problem caused by my own setup.

I know nothing about python, hence i dont have the ability to track down the problem myself. Anyone have any suggestion on how i can overcome this problem?

Many Thanks.

kalle · January 4, 2016, 10:03

Hi!

Ok, some 16-year-too-late millennium bug :-) You are using Flowkersma's code, https://github.com/flowkersma/swiftBlock, and the error relates to code specific to that version. I leave it to him to answer this.

Kalle

Flowkersma · January 4, 2016, 14:59

Hi,

Seems like you have created the blocking with the original swiftBlock and now you are trying to open it with my fork. To overcome this you may copy the blocking to a new object and then enable the swiftBlock again. You can copy the blocking to a new object by first selecting all in edit mode (press A) and then pressing P and choose selection.

Mikko

Flowkersma · January 15, 2016, 10:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flowkersma

Hi,

Seems like you have created the blocking with the original swiftBlock and now you are trying to open it with my fork. To overcome this you may copy the blocking to a new object and then enable the swiftBlock again. You can copy the blocking to a new object by first selecting all in edit mode (press A) and then pressing P and choose selection.

Mikko

There is a easier solution for this. Just click space and search for function "Enable Swiftblock" and then it should work.

Maimouna · February 1, 2016, 09:16

Hi all,

I'm just trying to use swiftBlock in order to use it for such OpenFOAM cases. How could extract swiftBlock to addons directory? If you have any useful tutorial that would be great. As I'm new in blender and swiftBlock, I need to understand the way of work step by step.

Many thanks in advanced.

Maimouna

ce73stargazer · February 1, 2016, 17:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maimouna

Hi all,

I'm just trying to use swiftBlock in order to use it for such OpenFOAM cases. How could extract swiftBlock to addons directory? If you have any useful tutorial that would be great. As I'm new in blender and swiftBlock, I need to understand the way of work step by step.

Many thanks in advanced.

Maimouna

Hi

I was learning swiftblock and blender few months ago, Here is the link i found on youtube for swiftblock tutorial

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3ULmJe8I1o

Its not that easy to follow, but after you watch it few times, it explains itself. Hopefully thats helpful.

Maimouna · February 2, 2016, 05:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by ce73stargazer

Hi

I was learning swiftblock and blender few months ago, Here is the link i found on youtube for swiftblock tutorial

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3ULmJe8I1o

Its not that easy to follow, but after you watch it few times, it explains itself. Hopefully thats helpful.

HiZhifang Hu,

many thanks for your reply. But before this step, I couldn't able to extract swiftBlock to addons directory. Any help please? Send me please your way to install blender and then extract swiftBlock. May be I did someting wrong during installation.

lots of thanks in advanced.

Maimouna

Flowkersma · February 2, 2016, 08:10

Hi,

Here are the steps for Linux:

Download the latest version of Blender from www.blender.org
Go to your blender/2.7x/scripts/addons/ directory
write "git clone https://github.com/nogenmyr/swiftBlock" or "git clone https://github.com/flowkersma/swiftBlock" depending on which version you want
Open your Blender and then activate SwiftBlock by opening user preferences (CTRL+ALT+U), Add-ons tab, OpenFOAM category on left and then check the enable add-on box next to OpenFOAM: SwiftBlock.

I just updated my fork for a bit. Now the Repair function should work again.

Regards, Mikko

Maimouna · February 2, 2016, 11:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flowkersma

Hi,

Here are the steps for Linux:

Download the latest version of Blender from www.blender.org
Go to your blender/2.7x/scripts/addons/ directory
write "git clone https://github.com/nogenmyr/swiftBlock" or "git clone https://github.com/flowkersma/swiftBlock" depending on which version you want
Open your Blender and then activate SwiftBlock by opening user preferences (CTRL+ALT+U), Add-ons tab, OpenFOAM category on left and then check the enable add-on box next to OpenFOAM: SwiftBlock.

I just updated my fork for a bit. Now the Repair function should work again.

Regards, Mikko

Manny thanks Mikko, all done.

Now, I could start learning swiftBlock how its work.

Best regards

Maimouna

gautami · July 28, 2016, 14:34

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } Dear All,

I was able to successfully download blender and swiftBlock and work on the example tutorial following the directions as given by Mr. Flowkersma. Thank you for detailed explanation.
(OpenFOAM version 2.3, blender version 2.66a and swiftBlock was from the following link:https://github.com/nogenmyr/swiftBlock.git)

Kindly can anyone please guide me as to how to create a 3D tank with a 3D floating object using swiftBlock. Similar to the the computational domain as in 'floatingObject' tutorial where in the 'topoSet' option was used.

How to create a cylinder in a 3D tank (cube/cuboid) using swiftBlock?. Thank you.

Most&More,
Gautami Erukulla.

Simjoh · September 27, 2016, 10:38

I just found the swiftblock and really appreciate the work done. However I struggle to get it to work in blender 2.77. And I've already done the mistake to not using git clone so I think I installed it the correct way now.
Can anyone please confirm that it works with this blender version. For me it doesn't.
I'm a beginner of blender as well but I've been able do dig through my error messages and I think I found the error and I think it is the the lines 89-92 in __init__.py that causes the problem

Code:

            try:
                bpy.ops.mesh.select_vertex_path(type='EDGE_LENGTH')
            except:
                bpy.ops.mesh.shortest_path_select(use_length=True)

I can only guess but the try and except are probably used to handle different blender version. And to version 2.77 the function bpy.ops.mesh.shortest_path_select() need some more parameters.
I tried

Code:

            try:
                bpy.ops.mesh.select_vertex_path(type='EDGE_LENGTH')
            except:
                bpy.ops.mesh.shortest_path_select(use_face_step=False, use_topology_distance=False, nth=inf, skip=1, offset=0)

which are the API default settings. But since I'm too much of a beginner with the blender terminology I'm stuck here.

Also since the try and except doesn't allow multiple exceptions without more sophisticated error handling it might be an idea to check for different blender versions.

I save you some googling by attaching the links. The functions are marked in yellow in both links.
https://www.blender.org/api/blender_...st_path_select

https://www.blender.org/api/blender_...st_path_select

Really appreciate any help or guidance
Simon

Flowkersma · September 27, 2016, 11:11

Hi Simon,

I got the same error as you did so it seems like SwiftBlock is not compatible with Blender 2.77. However, as you suggested, by replacing

Code:

bpy.ops.mesh.shortest_path_select(use_length=True)

with

Code:

bpy.ops.mesh.shortest_path_select()

it seems to work again. Actually, this should work with older versions of Blender as well because use_length=True is the default value.
Best,
Mikko

kalle · September 27, 2016, 14:48

Errors like these are very typical when taking addons to a new version. Blender's API is constantly changing. Finding all these issues is a rather lengthy process to carry out, and is the major reason why I do not update the addons along with Blender. Old versions of Blender are also easily available, and newer versions do not provide any advantages when it comes to these addons... afterall, this is not the stuff Blender was designed for :-)

Get back if you have more trouble!

Kalle

Simjoh · September 27, 2016, 15:06

I fully understand your point Kalle. I might install a slightly older version of blender then. Just thought that it might be a simple task too update.
But I can see that it is hard too keep the script updated for each and every single update of blender. Thanks for a great job!

February 2, 2016, 08:10		#234
Flowkersma Senior Member Mikko Join Date: Jul 2014 Location: The Hague, The Netherlands Posts: 243 Rep Power: 12	Hi, Here are the steps for Linux: Download the latest version of Blender from www.blender.org Go to your blender/2.7x/scripts/addons/ directory write "git clone https://github.com/nogenmyr/swiftBlock" or "git clone https://github.com/flowkersma/swiftBlock" depending on which version you want Open your Blender and then activate SwiftBlock by opening user preferences (CTRL+ALT+U), Add-ons tab, OpenFOAM category on left and then check the enable add-on box next to OpenFOAM: SwiftBlock. I just updated my fork for a bit. Now the Repair function should work again. Regards, Mikko

July 28, 2016, 14:34	3D tank with a floating cylinder	#236
gautami Member Gautami Erukulla Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 71 Rep Power: 17	P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }A:link { } Dear All, I was able to successfully download blender and swiftBlock and work on the example tutorial following the directions as given by Mr. Flowkersma. Thank you for detailed explanation. (OpenFOAM version 2.3, blender version 2.66a and swiftBlock was from the following link:https://github.com/nogenmyr/swiftBlock.git) Kindly can anyone please guide me as to how to create a 3D tank with a 3D floating object using swiftBlock. Similar to the the computational domain as in 'floatingObject' tutorial where in the 'topoSet' option was used. How to create a cylinder in a 3D tank (cube/cuboid) using swiftBlock?. Thank you. Most&More, Gautami Erukulla.

September 27, 2016, 10:38		#237
Simjoh New Member Simon Johansson Join Date: Sep 2011 Posts: 15 Rep Power: 14	I just found the swiftblock and really appreciate the work done. However I struggle to get it to work in blender 2.77. And I've already done the mistake to not using git clone so I think I installed it the correct way now. Can anyone please confirm that it works with this blender version. For me it doesn't. I'm a beginner of blender as well but I've been able do dig through my error messages and I think I found the error and I think it is the the lines 89-92 in __init__.py that causes the problem Code: try: bpy.ops.mesh.select_vertex_path(type='EDGE_LENGTH') except: bpy.ops.mesh.shortest_path_select(use_length=True) I can only guess but the try and except are probably used to handle different blender version. And to version 2.77 the function bpy.ops.mesh.shortest_path_select() need some more parameters. I tried Code: try: bpy.ops.mesh.select_vertex_path(type='EDGE_LENGTH') except: bpy.ops.mesh.shortest_path_select(use_face_step=False, use_topology_distance=False, nth=inf, skip=1, offset=0) which are the API default settings. But since I'm too much of a beginner with the blender terminology I'm stuck here. Also since the try and except doesn't allow multiple exceptions without more sophisticated error handling it might be an idea to check for different blender versions. I save you some googling by attaching the links. The functions are marked in yellow in both links. https://www.blender.org/api/blender_...st_path_select https://www.blender.org/api/blender_...st_path_select Really appreciate any help or guidance Simon

September 27, 2016, 11:11		#238
Flowkersma Senior Member Mikko Join Date: Jul 2014 Location: The Hague, The Netherlands Posts: 243 Rep Power: 12	Hi Simon, I got the same error as you did so it seems like SwiftBlock is not compatible with Blender 2.77. However, as you suggested, by replacing Code: bpy.ops.mesh.shortest_path_select(use_length=True) with Code: bpy.ops.mesh.shortest_path_select() it seems to work again. Actually, this should work with older versions of Blender as well because use_length=True is the default value. Best, Mikko

November 2, 2015, 13:26		#221
Flowkersma Senior Member Mikko Join Date: Jul 2014 Location: The Hague, The Netherlands Posts: 243 Rep Power: 12	Hi, You have two objects in your blender file (Cube and Cylinder). Seems like you want to mesh the Cube. You have created the geometry but you are missing the blocking which is necessary for the mesh. Regards, Mikko

November 3, 2015, 02:45		#223
Flowkersma Senior Member Mikko Join Date: Jul 2014 Location: The Hague, The Netherlands Posts: 243 Rep Power: 12	SwiftBlock is snapping to the geometry in a way you are not expecting. Use "straight" feature for the edges that you don't want snapping. Also I think you don't want mesh inside the pipe and therefore you should define a "disabled" group in which you put the vertices of the pipe block.

December 13, 2015, 03:19		#225
Flowkersma Senior Member Mikko Join Date: Jul 2014 Location: The Hague, The Netherlands Posts: 243 Rep Power: 12	Seems like you don't have blockMesh in your PATH environment variable. Probably if you launch Blender from terminal it will help. SwiftBlock with multi-grading works with OpenFOAM 3.0.

December 13, 2015, 19:29		#226
hswzzz New Member Seokwon Whang Join Date: May 2012 Posts: 25 Rep Power: 13	yes.. I use OF230... I will try it with OF300. Thank you!

January 4, 2016, 10:03		#228
kalle Senior Member Karl-Johan Nogenmyr Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Linköping Posts: 279 Rep Power: 21	Hi! Ok, some 16-year-too-late millennium bug :-) You are using Flowkersma's code, https://github.com/flowkersma/swiftBlock, and the error relates to code specific to that version. I leave it to him to answer this. Kalle

January 4, 2016, 14:59		#229
Flowkersma Senior Member Mikko Join Date: Jul 2014 Location: The Hague, The Netherlands Posts: 243 Rep Power: 12	Hi, Seems like you have created the blocking with the original swiftBlock and now you are trying to open it with my fork. To overcome this you may copy the blocking to a new object and then enable the swiftBlock again. You can copy the blocking to a new object by first selecting all in edit mode (press A) and then pressing P and choose selection. Mikko

February 1, 2016, 09:16		#231
Maimouna Senior Member ok Join Date: Oct 2013 Posts: 346 Rep Power: 13	Hi all, I'm just trying to use swiftBlock in order to use it for such OpenFOAM cases. How could extract swiftBlock to addons directory? If you have any useful tutorial that would be great. As I'm new in blender and swiftBlock, I need to understand the way of work step by step. Many thanks in advanced. Maimouna

September 27, 2016, 14:48		#239
kalle Senior Member Karl-Johan Nogenmyr Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Linköping Posts: 279 Rep Power: 21	Errors like these are very typical when taking addons to a new version. Blender's API is constantly changing. Finding all these issues is a rather lengthy process to carry out, and is the major reason why I do not update the addons along with Blender. Old versions of Blender are also easily available, and newer versions do not provide any advantages when it comes to these addons... afterall, this is not the stuff Blender was designed for :-) Get back if you have more trouble! Kalle

September 27, 2016, 15:06		#240
Simjoh New Member Simon Johansson Join Date: Sep 2011 Posts: 15 Rep Power: 14	I fully understand your point Kalle. I might install a slightly older version of blender then. Just thought that it might be a simple task too update. But I can see that it is hard too keep the script updated for each and every single update of blender. Thanks for a great job!