Another surface property is the Outside Normal Direction. This direction is displayed in Maxsurf with Outside Arrows, which can be displayed from the Display menu or the Outside Arrows toolbar button.

The Outside Arrows tell Maxsurf which is the inside and which is the outside of a surface. This is important for the following Maxsurf functions:

§   Skin Thickness direction

§   Curvature display

§   Correct interpretation of model in Workshop and Hydromax

§   Select Outside Arrows from the Display menu.

Selecting this menu item displays surface normal arrows in all of the display windows.

By clicking on the circles at the heads of these arrows it is possible to reverse their direction. Do this until all arrows point to the outside of the hull. It may be necessary to look at different views or to rotate the hull in the perspective window in order to see the directions clearly. Once you have specified the outside directions, save the design; these directions will be saved in the Maxsurf design file and are used automatically by Workshop and Hydromax.

Note:

The length of the outside arrow may be changed in the Preferences dialog.