Ray Tracing modes
TracePro is already in Analysis Mode. After the raytrace is complete, you will be able to examine the irradiance at any surface. You will also be able to display candela plots.
Saving and Restoring a Ray-Trace
An analysis mode raytrace can be saved to disk for later display. To do this, first put TracePro into Ray Saving Mode by selecting File|Save Ray Data.
This action toggles the Save Ray Data menu item on and off. When the menu item is checked and you save a TracePro model, a second file with the extension ray is also saved. The ray file contains data for all the rays from the most recently completed raytrace.
To save ray data, first be sure that TracePro is in ray saving mode. You can check this by looking at the File menu and confirming that the Save Ray Data item is checked. (If there is a √ next to the menu item, it is checked. Selecting it again makes it unchecked.) Then select File|Save As and type in a file name for the oml file. Press Save to save the file, and TracePro will save both the oml file and the ray file.
It is important that the oml file and ray file stay synchronized. Changes to the geometry and properties in the oml file will make the saved rays obsolete and unrepresentative of the model. Therefore, you should not change the model unless you are planning to re-do the raytrace. If you wish to keep a progression of models with their associated ray data, same the OML file to a new name using
File|Save As with the menu option File|Save Ray Data checked on.
To restore a saved raytrace, simply open an oml file that has an associated ray file. TracePro will find and open the ray file at the same time, and display the rays (providing the Analysis|Display Rays menu item is checked). Once the rays are restored, you can sort them using Analysis|Ray Sort and display irradiance maps and Candela plots.
Simulation Mode
In Simulation Mode, only a small amount of ray data is saved during the raytrace. This allows you to trace many more rays before virtual memory is used or before all memory is used. Thus you can do raytraces with much larger numbers of rays in Simulation Mode than in Analysis Mode. However, since much less ray data is saved for a Simulation Mode raytrace, you do not have the flexibility of displaying irradiance for any surface after the raytrace is completed.
Before you begin a raytrace, you must select one or more Exit Surfaces for which ray data will be saved during the raytrace or the option to save Candela Data. During the raytrace, only the segments of the rays that are incident on the defined Exist Surfaces and/or Candela data rays will be saved.
The exit surfaces can be any surface in the model. To select an exit surface, first select Edit|Select Surface or press the Select Surface button on the toolbar to go into surface selection mode. Then select Define|Apply to open the Apply Properties dialog box, and press the Exit Surface tab. Select the surface that you wish to be the exit surface either graphically or using the System Tree. This surface is the one for which you will be able to display irradiance maps. Finally, check the Exit Surface check box and press Apply.
TracePro 5.0 User’s Manual |
5.49 |
Ray Tracing
Simulation Dialog
After the raytrace is started, a dialog is displayed to confirm that the proper data will be collected. The dialog prompt is optional but is defined to be active by default. To disable/enable the prompt see “View Options” on page 2.50.
FIGURE 5.28 - Simulation Prompt.
When data is being saved to SIM files, an entry for Notes is provided. See “Index file name” on page 5.40
FIGURE 5.29 - Simulation Prompt when data is being saved to a file.
Simulation Options Standard Expert
In order for TracePro to save data during the raytrace, you must indicate whether you want to save exit surface data, data for candela plots, or both. Do this by selectingRaytrace|Raytrace Options. The Simulation & Output tab lets you choose what type of data will be saved during the raytrace. You can choose Collect Exit Surface Data and/or Collect Candela data. You must check the appropriate box or boxes before performing the raytrace in order to be able to view the results after the raytrace is finished.
5.50 |
TracePro 5.0 User’s Manual |
Ray Tracing modes
FIGURE 5.30 - Raytrace Options dialog box for TracePro Standard and Expert.
The Save data to disk during raytrace option stores data for an irradiance plot to a binary file on disk. No RAM is used to collect the Exit Surface data. See the online help for details on the use and limitation of this option. See “Index file name” on page 5.40
Three output text files can also be generated during the raytrace, and the Save Bulk Scatter data to disk option can be used in Analysis and Simulation modes.
When the Save Ray History to disk option is enabled,
•A ray history table for the Exit surface is generated and saved into a text file for the model. See “Ray Histories” on page 6.44
•The file name is formed by appending “-rayhistory.txt” to the model name.
•The format is identical to an exported ray history from analysis mode. See “Saving the Ray History Table in a File” on page 6.46
When Sort Ray Paths is enabled, a set of ray paths absorbed at the Exit surface is generated and saved into a text file for the model. The file name is formed by appending “-raypaths.txt” to the model name. Each ray path is unique, such that any two paths are considered the same if the sequence of the surface intersections and intercept type of each intersection is identical. The output file lists the number of paths, the flux in each path and the intersection order with
TracePro 5.0 User’s Manual |
5.51 |
Ray Tracing
intercept type and surface name. Ray paths are used in stray light analysis and are very useful for ghost ray identification.
When Save Bulk Scatter data to disk is enabled, a set of positions and flux values for each bulk scattered ray is generated and saved into a text file for the model. The file name is formed by appending “-scatter.txt” to the model name. The object in which the scatter occurred is also listed.
NOTE: This option is also available during analysis mode.
Simulation Data for LC LC
The Collect Exit Surface Data and Collect Candela Data options are found on the Options tab in TracePro LC.
5.52 |
TracePro 5.0 User’s Manual |