Show a Part's Heat Map (Geometry Analysis)

If you cost your part with the Stock Machining process group, you can display it in the Component Viewer as a heat map.

Click the Geometry Analysis icon () to show your part as a heat map, with a Geometry Analysis bar graph:

Heat Map Display

Each of the part’s GCDs has a color showing the value range for the GCD of a specified metric.

  • If more than one finishing operation is assigned to the GCD, the color indicates the average rate across operations.

  • Warmer colors (such as orange and red) indicate higher values; cooler colors (such as green and blue) indicate lower values.

Bar Graph Options

  • Criterion: select the heat map metric. For example, if you select General Area Removal Rate, each GCD in the heat map has a color showing the rate of removal for finishing operations assigned to that GCD.

  • Min and Max fields: adjust the colors used to display the range of values.

  • Click Reset Color Thresholds to restore the default color spectrum for the component.

Tip: The Design Guidance Tool for Machined Parts presents the same types of machinability issues as the Heat Map, but in a format that is more user-friendly for casual users who are not experts in machining. See Validation and Design Guidance tabs.