Layers enable you to organize and categorize components of your model. You can use layers to visualize, manipulate, and edit your model more efficiently.
Typically you will want to organize layers either by function or by entity type, as shown in the table below. Functional layers are more common and offer more flexibility because you can access entity types within layers.
| Example of layers categorized by function | Example of layers categorized by entity type |
|---|---|
| Top Cover | Node Layer |
| Bottom Cover | Beam Layer |
| Hose | Triangle Layer |
| Runner |
When you perform a mesh diagnostic check, you have the option to place the result in a diagnostic layer. Only two diagnostic layers are ever created because there is often an overlap between the elements that make up the different diagnostics and no element can belong to more than one layer.
For example, if you display bad aspect ratio elements on a diagnostic layer, and then display overlapping elements on a diagnostic layer, some elements may be removed from the aspect ratio diagnostic layer and placed on the overlapping elements diagnostic layer. The layers are named diagnostic/old diagnostic to indicate that the data is not valid in the long term.
You can use layers to isolate and view deflections and other results of a model. First create a new layer, and then assign the entities you want to view, to that layer. Make sure only the layer for which you want to view results is visible. Then when you view results, they are displayed and scaled to visible layers only.
As an example, suppose you are interested in how far a part is warping out of plane (Z direction) on the bottom surface of a model. To isolate the results, place the bottom surface into a new layer called Bottom. The results will be scaled to the visible layer, and it will be much easier to view the results for that area.