2/8/22, 08:16 Block Model Display

Mine Planning & Design | Deswik.CAD | Menu Commands | Format | Block Model Display

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Block Model Display

As part of the output process, all fields and field values from the input block model file, as
well as the size (XINC, YINC, ZINC) and centroid (XC, YC, and ZC) of each block model cell are
assigned as attributes to the polygons that make up the output slices.

This command currently supports the following block model file types:
  Datamine block models (*.dm, *.dmu)
Vulcan block models (*.bmf (v6.0))
Surpac (*.mdl) block models

Currently, you cannot generate shells for Surpac block models. Only slices can be generated for
  these models.
Block geomodels (*.gmdlb)
Deswik geomodels (*.dgm)

Currently, you cannot generate shells for Deswik geomodels. Only slices can be generated for
  these models.

 If yougenerating
need information about the fields in the block model you are working with before
legends or filters (as detailed later in this topic), run the Tools | Geological
Models | Block Model Properties command for a complete list of fields and their various
properties.

Dynamic slices are currently not supported by the 2D visual style.

 Instructions:
1. On the Format menu, click Block Model Display.

OR

On the Block Model toolbar, click .

2. The Block Model Display dialog box appears.

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3. To begin, click at the lower-right corner of the grid to add a row for each block
model that you want to display.

The first row you add to the grid will be empty. Each row you add after the first row will
  automatically duplicate the row above it. This can save time if you want to create
multiple slices with the same settings (with the exception of the slice plane).

4. Use the following table to assist you with the options in this dialog box.

Field Description

Grid Use: Select this check box to generate the slice or

shell in this row when running the command. Clear
the check box to ignore the information in this row.

Use this feature to save prior entered rules. Just clear

  the Use check box for those rules you do not want
to run at any given time.

Name: Enter a name for the output layer. This

process will save all entities generated by the slice
on this row to this layer.

If you select the Dynamic check box, physical entities

  will not be generated, even if you specify a layer
name here.

Slice names default to 'Slice 1', 'Slice 2', and so on.

  Change these default names if preferred.

Visualization: Select the type of entity that you

want to create. 

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Field Description

Slice: Select to create a block model 'slice'

(that is, polygon entities for each block).

Slice No Boundary: By default, the Draw

Boundary variable property is turned on
for block polygons when generating a slice.
Select this option to turn this property off
for output polygons.

Use this feature if you want to apply hatching

  to the polygon entities, but do not want to
see the bounding outline of the polygon.

Draw Boundary

Draw Boundary

The Dynamic check box governs whether slices

  will be physical or dynamic. Because the
properties of dynamic slices cannot
changed in any way (because it is not
comprised of polygons that can actually
be selected), it makes no difference if you
choose Slice or Slice No Boundary for
dynamic slices. The result is the same.


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Field Description

Shell: Select to create a block model solid.

The solid will be saved to a 'child' layer
(called Name) under the Static Slice
Parent Layer. The fixed property Type
Name of the resultant solid will be
'BLOCKMODELSHELL'.

You cannot generate shells for Deswik

  geomodels (*.dgm) or Surpac block
models (*.mdl). Only slices can be
generated for these models.

Use the Modify | Explode command to

  explode the BLOCKMODELSHELL entity
type into POLYFACE and 3DFACE entities, if
required.

Shells and dynamic slices currently use the

  same GPU memory location. As a result,
turning both of these features on at the
same time will cause problems. If you
have chosen to create a block model shell
for one or more block models in the grid,
be sure to clear the Dynamic check box
for all other models before processing.


Block Model: Browse for the block model file that
you want to slice.
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Field Description

This field supports the use of global constants. In other

  words, if you establish the file name and directory
path for your block model as a global constant,
you can insert that constant here between curly
brackets, for example {Block Model}. Then if you
update the name (or path) in the global constant,
it will automatically update here as well.

Dynamic: Select this check box to generate a

dynamic slice along the working plane that updates
automatically as your working plane changes. The
slice is drawn dynamically, not as physical polygons.
In other words, a 'child' layer is not generated.

This field remains unavailable unless you select Slice

  or Slice No Boundary as the Visualization.

In addition to selecting this check box, you must turn

  on the Format | Show Dynamic Slice command to
see the dynamic slice in the Model Space.
Changing the layer visibility does not affect the
visibility of the dynamic slice, because this slice is
not saved to a layer.

Dynamic slices are currently not supported by the 2D

  visual style.

Clear this check box to create a static, physical slice

along the slicing plane defined by the X, Y, Z, Azimuth
and Dip fields (see later in this topic). Note that this
slicing plane may not be the same as the working
plane, and it does not update automatically if you
change the working plane. However, you can click
Update slice plane to manually update the static
slice plane properties to those of the working plane.
When generating static slices, output polygons are
saved to a 'child' layer (called Name) under the
Static Slice Parent Layer.


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Field Description

You can generate multiple static slices through the

  same block model. However, there can be only one
dynamic slice at any given time. Selecting the
Dynamic check box in one row will automatically
clear the Dynamic check box in all other rows.

Shells and dynamic slices currently use the same GPU

  memory location. As a result, turning both of these
features on at the same time will cause problems.
Be sure to clear this check box for all other models
before processing if you have chosen to create a
block model shell for one or more block models in
the grid,

Legend: Select a legend to color the blocks (slice

polygons or shell solids, depending on the
Visualization specified) based on the block
attribute values. Select <No Legend> if you do not
want to apply a legend.

Use the Modify legends feature in the lower-left

  corner of the dialog box to generate legends based
on fields from the input block model.

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Field Description

When you use the Modify legends feature to

  create or edit legends, the Field list will only
include fields from the input block model
(and values for the selected block model field
will be read directly from the block model).
This is also true when running
the  Create | Value Bins or Range Bins
commands from this command. However,
block model fields will not be available in the
Field list if you are accessing legends through
the Edit | Legends | Edit command. Instead,
the list will populate with a list of attributes
and common properties from the active file.
Therefore, when generating legends to apply
to your block model, it is important that you
do so from this dialog box.

You can also import existing legends from other

  documents using the File | Import |
Miscellaneous | Project Settings command
before running this command, and then select
from the imported legends.

Filter: Optional; click to the right of the field to

apply a filter to the resultant slice polygons or shell
solids, depending on the Visualization specified.
The Block Model Filter dialog box appears.


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Field Description

 See instructions for block model filtering

Filled: Select this check box to display the resultant

blocks as filled. Clear the check box to display the
blocks as outlines.

If you have applied a legend to your block model, this

  option works together with that legend. Clear the
Filled check box to display the blocks as outlines
and honor only the color of the legend applied
when displaying blocks. Select the Filled check box
to honor the legend settings including Pen color,
Opacity, Line type, Line weight, and Fill
properties. Note that Fill mode (one of the Fill
properties) has some important caveats:
If the Fill mode is set to None, it will display as Solid.

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Field Description

If the slice you are generating is dynamic, if the Fill

mode is set to any other value, for example,
HatchDiagonalCross, it is still displayed as Solid
(this is a known limitation).
If the slice you are generating is static, if the Fill
mode is set to any other value, for example,
HatchDiagonalCross, that setting is also honored. In
other words, if you have set up your legend such that
some of your bins have varying fill modes applied, we
recommend generating a static slice to see those
formats.
Filled

Filled, dynamic slice

Filled, static slice

Opacity: Enter a number between 0 and 255 to set

the transparency of the polylines (and fill). The
larger the number, the less transparent the fill color
will be. 0 is completely transparent and 255 is 
completely opaque.

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Field Description

Line Width: Enter the width of the polylines for

dynamic slices. The larger the number, the thicker
the line.

Line Width: 1

Line Width: 3

This line width is particularly important when plotting

  dynamic block model slices to PDF documents.
Static block model slices are generated as
polylines in the Model Space. Polylines have a line
weight, line type, scale, and so on, and are easily
converted to vectorized objects in PDF documents.
As a result, these lines retain their shape and
edges when you zoom in the PDF file. However,
dynamic slices are not physically drawn in the
Model Space. Therefore, they are converted into
color pixels in PDF instead, which will blur when
you zoom in. If you plan on plotting a dynamic
slice, increase the line width to improve plotting.

Draw Annotations: Select this check box to

annotate resultant block model slices.

This field remains unavailable unless you select Slice

  or Slice No Boundary as the Visualization

method.

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Field Description

Annotations: Click to display the Block

Model Annotations dialog box.

If the Enable automatic offset check box is

  selected, the OffsetY and OffsetX
columns will remain hidden.

 See instructions for block model

annotations

Draw Above: This option governs which entities are

drawn if they align exactly to the slice plane. Select
this check box to draw the entities that sit above the
slice plane. Clear the check box to draw the entities
that sit below. In the following example, the slice
plane has been drawn in red. If Draw above is
selected, block 1 would be drawn. If Draw above is
cleared, block 2 would be drawn.

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Field Description

USING CLIPPING?

The Draw Above setting can affect what

displays when clipping is applied. In the
following image, we compare results if clipping
is applied as shown.

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Field Description

Output = Slice
Draw Above

Output = Slice
Draw Above

Output = Shell
Draw Above is not applicable

Scale: Set the scale to alter the size of the output

blocks. Enter a number between '0' and '1' to


display blocks smaller than their actual size. Enter a
number greater than '1' to display blocks larger
than their actual size.

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Field Description

X, Y, Z, Azimuth, Dip: Enter the X, Y And Z

coordinates, azimuth and dip of the slice plane that
you want to use to govern the slicing of the block
model.

Click Update slice plane to automatically populate

  these coordinates based on the current working
plane.

If the slice has been defined as a dynamic slice, that is,

  you selected the Dynamic check box, these fields
will be unavailable.

Data Extents: Select this check box to zoom to the

extents of the data that is currently visible in the
Model Space.

This feature can be extremely useful (and fast) when

  you have a huge block model that covers an entire
lease, and you only want to display the region
around your pit design. We have provided an
example of this exact situation in the image that
follows.

If you selected the Data Extents check box, but there is

  no data in the region of the visible entities, no slice
will display. 

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Field Description

Show Box: Select this check box to show the

extents of the boundary of the loaded block model
as a three-dimensional box in the Model Space.

You must turn on the Format | Show Model

  Extents command to see the bounding box
generated by this feature.

The display of the box is independent of the model

  being displayed as a slice or shell. In other words,
even if you clear the Use check box for a model
(which governs the slicing), if you select the Show
Box check box it will still be honored.

Overlay Type: Display the block model slice (static

and dynamic) in the foreground or background
regardless of its actual depth.

None: Show the slice in its regular depth

order.

Background: Select to display the slice in

the background, that is, ensure that the
slice does not obscure other entities in the
view plane.

Foreground: Select to display the slice as

an overlay, that is, display the slice in front
of all other entities in the view plane.

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Field Description

Use the Overlay Type property with caution. Values

  other than None can impact performance when
working with large block models. They may also
have unpredictable effects in the case of geometry
with significant depth (for example, polyfaces),
because depth-order is bypassed. Snapping also
does not take into account an object's
Background or Foreground setting.

If you have generated a static slice, and changed the

  Color Mode of any of the block polylines, the color
mode will be ignored if its Overlay Type is
Background or Foreground.

Update slice plane Click to set the slice plane properties of the currently
selected slice based on the current working plane.

Prior knowledge of your block model relative to your design is

  necessary to ensure you have set up your working plane
properly before using this tool.

Static slice parent Browse for the existing layer for the output entities. This
layer process saves all entities to 'child' layers under this layer. To
create a new layer during the output process, type the layer
name in the field. If a layer of the same name already exists,
the output saves to the existing layer.

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Field Description

Modify legends Click to create new or edit existing legends. See Edit |
Legends | Edit for detailed instructions on this process.

When you use the Modify legends feature to create or

  edit legends, the Field list will only include fields from
the input block model (and values for the selected
block model field will be read directly from the block
model). This is also true when running
the  Create | Value Bins or Range Bins commands
from this command. However, block model fields will
not be available in the Field list if you are accessing
legends through the Edit | Legends | Edit command.
Instead, the list will populate with a list of attributes
and common properties from the active file.
Therefore, when generating legends to apply to your
block model, it is important that you do so from this
dialog box.

Modify filters Click to create new or edit existing filters. See Edit |
Filters | Edit for detailed instructions on this process.

When you use this feature to create or edit filters, the list of
  available attributes and properties will include the fields in
the input block model. These fields will not be available if
you are accessing filters through the Edit command. When
you auto-generate filters, the values for the specified block
model field are read directly from the block model.

The process of creating and editing filters via the Modify

  filters command and the Edit | Filters | Edit command
is the same, except that when you auto-generate filters
from within the Block Model Display dialog box, you are not
required to specify a layer containing the attributes that
you want to use as criteria. This means that you can create
multiple filters.

Apply Click to run the command based on the current settings

without closing the dialog box.


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5. Click OK .

 PLAY
Related topics:

 Show Dynamic Slice

 Show Model Extents

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