Module: Explode Surface ()

Description:

This is an experimental module from the Xtra Library: https://xtras.amira-avizo.com.

The Explode Surface module can be used to animate patches of a surface moving away from the center of the data. This is done by creating new surface views of each patch and using the TranslateObject script contained in $AMIRA_ROOT/share/script-objects/TranslateObject.scro.

The module will run as soon as a valid surface is selected in the Data port. Performance is known to be slow for a large number of patches (e.g., greater than 100). If you subsample a label object before making a surface, re-index the labels to avoid empty materials. Otherwise, the script will take much longer than necessary. Not intended for use with recipes.

It is recommended that you save your work before using this script. It may also be worth creating a new project with only the surface loaded for animation. This is because a new Surface, Surface View, and TranslateObject.scro is created for each patch, and for some projects this will cause the interface to be very slow until the script is finished.

There is a known error when the surface is very far from the global origin. The source of the error has to do with inaccuracies of the getCenter command in certain circumstances.

Connections:

Data [required]
The Data port connects the module to the surface object that is to be "exploded".

Ports:

Time

The time slider is used to animate the explosion translation. The port will always range from 0 to 1.

Drawstyle

Sets the surface draw style.

Transparency

Sets the transparency of the surfaces. This port is only visible if the Drawstyle is set to 'Transparent.'

Normals

Sets the normal rendering behavior.