The smallest representation of geometry in SimLab Composer is 3D Geometry. 3D Geom is a geometry that has one transform and one material applied to it. All contents of 3D Geom are moved together, and must have the same material.
Some model formats do not support saving Object Tree structure, when importing 3D models of those formats, 3D Geomcan contain many none connected parts. The Break geometry tool enables the user to break a 3D Geom that contains none connected parts into multiple 3D Geoms. Each one of the new 3D Geoms can be moved separately and can be assigned a unique material.
Break Faces
In case the break geometry tool fails, break faces will break the selected 3D model into its faces. Each face will be converted to 3D Geom, and added to the Object Tree. Unique materials can be assigned to each face.
Break by Section Plane
A section plane should be created first in the scene, using Create Section Plane from the Create menu. This function requires/enables the user to select the geometry to cut through. Using the same section plane with different orientations, different cuts can be done on the geometry.
Break Instances
Instances in SimLab Composer are multiple duplicates of an object using the same materials structure, and same transforms as the original object. Instances are created by selecting an object then clicking Ctrl+t. In the below image a second water pump was created as an instance of the original one, thus they share the same material.
Using Break Instances each pump can now have its own materials/transforms.
