CAD Objects

CAD objects are user-drawn geometric objects used to model interpreted shapes directly in sections or benches. In Genesis, this chapter covers three object families:

• Prisms - closed polygons with thickness, typically used for mineralized zones
• Figures - legacy bench-based polygons that are still supported, but are no longer the preferred approach for modern modeling
• Geolines - open or closed lines used to represent geological structures or support related operations

Shared digitizing workflow

Prisms, figures, and geolines all use the same basic digitizing workflow:

1. Put the software in the correct create or modify mode.
2. Click to add or move vertices.
3. Use snapping when you need to reference existing data or CAD objects.
4. Finish the operation when the object is complete.

Key behavior to keep in mind:

• Prisms and figures are constrained to the current section plane and remain coplanar.
• Geolines are not restricted in the same way and can represent more general 3D linework.
• In create mode, the point you click is normally projected onto the current section plane unless a snap mode overrides it.
• You can finish a digitized object with Enter or by double-clicking.
• Undo and redo are available during both creation and modification.
• In multi-viewport layouts, creation continues only in the viewport where it started.

Snapping

Snapping does more than place a point visually on another object. It stores a reference to the source object, which allows the point to be updated later when you use Resnap all vertices.

This is especially useful when a prism, figure, or geoline was digitized against intervals, object vertices, or object sides that may later change. It is also useful for meshing purpose since you can use the snapped point instead of the projected points.

Available snap modes

• Snap On - snaps to a valid target point on the currently selected object class
• Snap Side - snaps to the side of a prism, figure, or geoline rather than only to a vertex
• Snap Distance - places a point at a precise distance along a selected direction

• Snap Mid - places a point at the midpoint between two selected points

Practical notes

• Snap modes are available while digitizing and while modifying vertices.
• Snap Distance can be combined with the other snap modes.
• If snapped source data changes later, use Resnap all vertices to realign the object.

Modifying polygons and polylines

When you modify a prism, figure, or geoline, one vertex is marked as the anchor. The anchor is the active vertex used by the edit commands.

Typical editing tasks are:

• Select another anchor by clicking a different vertex
• Move a vertex by dragging it or by using move mode
• Add a vertex and click where the new point should be inserted
• Delete a vertex from the current anchor position

Additional behavior confirmed in the current implementation:

• Dragging a vertex honors the active snap settings.
• Holding Shift while dragging displays the current angle.
• Double-clicking ends the modify operation.

Prisms

A prism is an extruded polygon drawn on a section and given front and back thickness. It is typically used to outline a mineralized zone and to support volume, tonnage, and grade calculations.

What defines a prism

A prism stores:

• a closed polygon
• a Thickfront value
• a Thickback value
• display settings, transparency, tag, path, comment, and date information

For prisms and figures, the Display setting can be used to switch between visual modes such as Wireframe, No Light, Flat, Gouraud, Line Center Projected, Line Center Snapped, and Line Center Projected And Snapped.

Its volume is calculated from:

• surface area x (Thickfront + Thickback)

Tonnage is calculated from:

• volume x density

Prism grade calculation

Prism grade is calculated from the mineralized intervals or composites used by the prism calculation settings.

In general:

• the average grade is weighted by interval length and density
• intervals with missing values are ignored in the average
• if no valid values are available, the result is assigned the project missing value
• interval membership is determined by the interval center, even if part of the interval extends outside the prism
• density may be fixed, read from a variable, or computed from a function

The prism calculation source can be configured from Calculation Settings in the prism list dialog, where you can choose By Intervals or By Composites.

Creating a prism

Use prisms on section views, typically vertical sections.

Recommended workflow:

1. Switch to prism creation mode.
2. Select the data you want to snap to, commonly mineralized intervals.
3. Enable the appropriate snap mode.
4. Start the prism and digitize the outline.
5. Finish with Enter or double-click.

Because prism modeling is often tied to interval boundaries, snapping is usually the most efficient way to create accurate limits.

Modifying a prism

To edit a prism, select it and use its contextual commands.

Common prism commands include:

• Modify Limits - edit the prism outline
• Properties - change name, tag, thickness, display, transparency, and related properties
• Move to Section - place the prism onto the current section
• Delete - remove the prism
• Recalculate - recalculate its values
• Resnap all vertices - rebuild snapped vertices from their references
• Set Invisible - hide the prism from view

Legacy contextual operations still available for prisms include commands such as densify, undensify, copy, move, spline, convex hull, union, intersection, subtraction, Voronoi prism creation, planar envelope creation, and subtract-from-surface operations.

Prism list dialog

The prism list dialog gives access to all prisms in the project and shows user-facing fields such as:

• Show
• Thickfront
• Thickback
• Display
• Transparency
• Width
• Size
• Date
• Tag
• Comment

Prism list menus

File / Import / Export

Current list dialog commands include:

• Delete All - deletes every prism in the project, not only the current selection.
• Create Folder From Tag - creates folders based on the tags of the selected prisms.
• Import from DIG, DXF, or CSV - loads prism geometry from external files.
• Export to DIG (Projected Coordinate) - exports prism geometry using projected coordinates.
• Export to DIG (Snapped Coordinate) - exports prism geometry using snapped coordinates.
• Export to DXF (Projected Coordinate) - exports the selected prisms to DXF in projected coordinates.
• Export to DXF (Snapped Coordinate) - exports the selected prisms to DXF in snapped coordinates.
• Export to CSV - exports prism attributes and geometry-related data to CSV.

Edit

• Find And Replace - updates text-based properties across the selected prisms.
• Set Tag - assigns the same tag to all selected prisms.
• Create Copy - duplicates the selected prisms.
• Set Line Width - changes the display line width of the selected prisms.
• Set Thickfront - sets the front thickness for all selected prisms.
• Set Thickback - sets the back thickness for all selected prisms.
• Clip - creates new prism geometry from the intersection of selected polygons.

Report / Operation / Calculation

• Report Prism - generates a prism report for the selected prisms.
• Generate Envelope - creates an envelope from the selected prism geometry.
• Transform to Figure - converts the selected prisms into figures.
• Transform to GeoLine - converts the selected prisms into geolines.
• Create From Polygon Envelope - creates prisms from polygons stored in a polygon envelope.
• Cut to Surface - trims selected prisms against a chosen surface.
• Create Section - creates a compatible section from each selected prism.
• Tag Intervals - applies prism tags to intervals whose centers fall inside the selected prisms.
• Calculation Settings - chooses whether prism calculations use intervals or composites.

Useful details from the current implementation:

• Create Section creates a compatible section from each selected prism.
• Tag Intervals applies the prism tag to intervals whose centers fall inside the selected prism.
• Cut to Surface can be used to trim a prism against a selected surface.
• Create From Polygon Envelope builds prisms from polygon-envelope geometry.

Figures

Figures are legacy CAD objects. They remain available in the software, but they are not the standard choice for modern modeling.

A figure is a polygon with thickness, usually created on evenly spaced horizontal benches. Historically, figures were used in a bench-based workflow where each figure grouped several prisms.

Figure grade calculation

Figure grade follows the same general concept as prism grade, but the contributing objects are typically prisms rather than intervals.

Depending on the geometry:

• perpendicular intersections are weighted by intersection length
• coplanar intersections are weighted by intersection area
• if coplanar and perpendicular cases are mixed, the coplanar intersections take precedence

As with prisms:

• missing values are ignored
• density may be fixed, variable, or calculated
• volume is based on area and thickness
• tonnage is based on volume and density

Creating a figure

The workflow is the same as for a prism:

1. Switch to figure creation mode.
2. Work on the correct bench or horizontal section.
3. Use snapping if you want the figure to follow interpreted controls.
4. Digitize the outline.
5. Finish with Enter or double-click.

In older workflows, figures were often snapped to pseudo-holes or bench interpretations.

Modifying a figure

Figures support the same core editing approach as prisms:

• Modify Limits
• Properties
• Move to Section
• Delete
• Recalculate
• Resnap all vertices
• Set Invisible

Legacy contextual operations such as densify, copy, move, spline, convex hull, union, intersection, subtraction, link handling, caps, and subtract-from-surface are also still part of the figure workflow.

Figure list dialog

The figure list uses the same main columns as the prism list:

• Show
• Thickfront
• Thickback
• Display
• Transparency
• Width
• Size
• Date
• Tag
• Comment

Figure list menus

File / Import / Export

Current list dialog commands include:

• Delete All - deletes every figure in the project, not only the current selection.
• Create Folder From Tag - creates folders based on the tags of the selected figures.
• Import from DIG, DXF, or CSV - loads figure geometry from external files.
• Export to DIG (Projected Coordinate) - exports figure geometry using projected coordinates.
• Export to DIG (Snapped Coordinate) - exports figure geometry using snapped coordinates.
• Export to DXF (Projected Coordinate) - exports the selected figures to DXF in projected coordinates.
• Export to DXF (Snapped Coordinate) - exports the selected figures to DXF in snapped coordinates.
• Export to CSV - exports figure attributes and geometry-related data to CSV.

Edit

• Find And Replace - updates text-based properties across the selected figures.
• Set Tag - assigns the same tag to all selected figures.
• Create Copy - duplicates the selected figures.
• Set Line Width - changes the display line width of the selected figures.
• Set Thickfront - sets the front thickness for all selected figures.
• Set Thickback - sets the back thickness for all selected figures.
• Clip - creates new figure geometry from the intersection of selected polygons.

Report / Operation

• Summary - produces the standard figure summary report.
• Extensive - reports figures with a more detailed breakdown of contributing prisms.
• Average Width - reports average width using the discretization plane orientation and spacing.
• Blending - generates the figure blending report.
• Generate Envelope - creates an envelope from the selected figure geometry.
• Transform to Prism - converts the selected figures into prisms.
• Create Section - creates a compatible section from each selected figure.

Useful details:

• Summary reports the main figure quantities and grades.
• Extensive breaks figures down by contributing prisms.
• Average Width uses the discretization plane orientation and spacing.
• Blending is available in the current list dialog for figure reporting.
• Create Section creates a compatible section from each selected figure.

Geolines

A geoline is a line object used to represent geological structures such as faults, dykes, traces, or other interpreted linework. A geoline has no area, volume, or grade, so it is not used directly in resource calculations.

Typical uses

Geolines can be used for:

• geological structure interpretation
• generating surfaces
• generating fault envelopes
• generating variable ellipsoid directions
• planned-hole support
• section creation
• support for some envelope workflows

Geoline properties

A geoline can store:

• name
• tag
• color
• line width
• transparency
• a display mode of Projected, Snapped, or Intervals
• orientation arrow display
• collar color for planned-hole style geolines

Creating a geoline

Geolines are created with the same digitize workflow used for prisms and figures:

1. Switch to geoline creation mode.
2. Start the geoline.
3. Click to place vertices.
4. Finish with Enter or double-click.

Modifying a geoline

Common geoline commands include:

• Modify Lines or Modify Limits
• Properties
• Move
• Move to Section
• Delete
• Resnap all vertices
• Set Invisible

Advanced geoline digitizing

The current implementation includes several geoline-specific behaviors that are useful in practice:

• A geoline can be digitized with snapping like any other CAD object.
• When a mapped image is attached to a selected surface, Ctrl+click can be used to digitize a chain along the mapped path.
• Ctrl+middle-click opens digitize parameters for chain extraction, including Resolution and Translation.
• A preference named Create Geoline Intervals can automatically end each 2-point geoline segment and immediately start the next one.

Geoline list dialog

The geoline list shows fields such as:

• Show
• Color
• Display
• Transparency
• Width
• Size
• Date
• Tag
• Comment

Geoline list menus

File / Import / Export

Current list dialog commands include:

• Delete All - deletes every geoline in the project, not only the current selection.
• Create Folder From Tag - creates folders based on the tags of the selected geolines.
• Import from DIG, DXF, or CSV - loads geoline geometry from external files.
• Import From Hole Trace - creates geolines from hole-trace input data.
• Export to DIG (Projected Coordinate) - exports geoline geometry using projected coordinates.
• Export to DIG (Snapped Coordinate) - exports geoline geometry using snapped coordinates.
• Export to DXF (Projected Coordinate) - exports the selected geolines to DXF in projected coordinates.
• Export to DXF (Snapped Coordinate) - exports the selected geolines to DXF in snapped coordinates.
• Export to CSV - exports geoline attributes and geometry-related data to CSV.
• Export As Hole Trace - exports the selected geolines in hole-trace format.

Edit

• Find And Replace - updates text-based properties across the selected geolines.
• Set Tag - assigns the same tag to all selected geolines.
• Create Copy - duplicates the selected geolines.
• Properties - edits geoline properties such as name, tag, color, display mode, path, width, and transparency.
• Set Line Width - changes the display line width of the selected geolines.

Operation / Display

• Generate Fault - creates a fault envelope from the selected geolines.
• Generate Surface - creates a surface from the selected geolines.
• Generate Variable Ellipsoid - derives variable ellipsoid directions from the selected geolines.
• Transform to Prism - closes the selected geolines and converts them into prisms.
• Densify - inserts additional points along the selected geolines.
• Drap On Surface - creates new geolines projected onto a selected surface.
• Envelope Intersections - creates geolines from intersections between envelopes.
• Spline - smooths the selected geolines by rounding the geometry.
• Create Section - creates a compatible section from each selected geoline.
• Orientation Arrow - controls whether an orientation arrow is displayed on the selected geolines.
• Swap Direction - reverses the direction of the selected geolines.
• Set Collar Color - sets the collar color used for planned-hole style geolines.

Useful details from the current implementation:

• Densify lets you choose the point spacing, whether to work in 2D or 3D, and whether to create copies before densifying.
• Drap On Surface creates a new geoline projected to the selected surface elevation. New objects are created with the prefix Drapped_.
• For planned-hole style geolines, Drap On Surface adjusts only the collar point.
• Create Section creates a compatible section from the selected geoline. For planned-hole style geolines, the section is generated as a best-fit section.
• Swap Direction reverses the line direction, which is useful when orientation matters.

Choosing the right CAD object

Use the object type that matches the purpose of your interpretation:

prism

• Use a prism when you need a mineralized polygon with thickness, volume, and grade.
• Use a prism when you want to create a mesh using tie lines, or when you want to generate a prism envelope for reporting or modeling.
• Use a prism ffor a quick volume for filtering, reporting, or comparison purposes.

geoline

• Use a geoline when you need interpreted linework, structural traces, or line-based operations.
• Use a geoline for creating or adding points to surfaces or fault envelopes
• Use a geoline for creating variable ellipsoid directions.
• Use geoline for creating or managing planned hole

figure

Figures are legacy polygon used for sectional interpretation. They are not used for modern modeling workflows.

• Use a figure only when you are working in an existing legacy figure-based workflow.

Related tips

• If you rely heavily on snapping, periodically use Resnap all vertices after major data updates.
• Keep tags consistent. Many operations, reports, and folder-generation tools depend on them.