Reflection of an object in space

This tool can reflect any object in space with respect to an arbitrary plane. The plane about which reflection is to be performed is defined by a point and normal. This helps to visually correlate the 3D geometric transformations with the underlying mathematical formulation.

Installation Manual

  1. Download and extract the contents of the .zip file named Reflection of an object in space.zip.
  2. Open the extracted folder named Reflection of an object in space.
  3. Open the folder named ug_customization. Right click on the Windows Batch File named nx and open with Notepad/Notepad++.
  4. Find the current file path of the nx file in your computer (Right click >> Properties). Copy the file path and paste it in the first line (the highlighted portion in the notepad as shown below).
  5. Change the version of Siemens NX to the one you are using (module works for Siemens NX 10.0, 11.0, and 12.0) in the third line of the notepad file (as highlighted below).
  6. Once these steps are carried out, you have completed the installation procedures before launching the application.
Support Accessibility Output Window
Support Accessibility Output Window

Instruction Manual

  1. Now, double-click nx to launch the Windows Batch File. This will launch the Siemens NX window and a terminal window (you can minimize it or close it – it contains the information you input in steps 4 and 5). You may notice the UC Geometric Modeling Modules tab in the top toolbar. Click on it. The Reflection of an object in space module will be visible.
  2. Before using the module, the user is supposed to import/create a Parasolid File of a part within Siemens NX. For illustration purposes, the Parasolid File (.x_t) is saved in the folder named Example Parts. Import the Parasolid file into Siemens NX. Follow the step mentioned below to import a Parasolid file of the part. Open >> (Choose the file location of Reflection of an object in space Folder) >> Example Parts >> Part_1.x_t >> Ok
  3. Once the file is opened in Siemens NX, you can click on the Reflection of an object in space button on the Command Ribbon. 
  4. The Reflection of an object in space GUI is shown in the figure below. The detailed explanation of each option in the GUI is given below.
NX API based GUI

a) Select Object
This option is used to select the body for which reflection is to be performed.

b) Specify vector
The normal of the arbitrary plane about which reflection must be performed. The vector can be selected from the NX window or can be defined by using the two points.

c) Specify Point
Any point on the plane about which reflection is to be performed. 

5. The output window of the Reflection of an object in space module is shown below. The results consist of the defined arbitrary plane, original object and the reflected object.    

Original and the reflected object about the specified plane

Please watch the video tutorial of the module for an example part included with the zip file of the module.

Example Problem

Use the Parasolid Files named Part_1.x_t and Part_2.x_t in the Example Parts folder attached in the Reflection of an object in space module folder that you have extracted from the website.

Perform reflection by defining planes with different normals and points on the plane.