pyvista.PolyDataFilters.subdivide#

PolyDataFilters.subdivide(nsub, subfilter='linear', inplace=False, progress_bar=False)[source]#

Increase the number of triangles in a single, connected triangular mesh.

Uses one of the following vtk subdivision filters to subdivide a mesh:

  • vtkButterflySubdivisionFilter

  • vtkLoopSubdivisionFilter

  • vtkLinearSubdivisionFilter

Linear subdivision results in the fastest mesh subdivision, but it does not smooth mesh edges, but rather splits each triangle into 4 smaller triangles.

Butterfly and loop subdivision perform smoothing when dividing, and may introduce artifacts into the mesh when dividing.

Note

Subdivision filter sometimes fails for multiple part meshes. The input should be one connected mesh.

Parameters:
nsubint

Number of subdivisions. Each subdivision creates 4 new triangles, so the number of resulting triangles is nface*4**nsub where nface is the current number of faces.

subfilterstr, default: “linear”

Can be one of the following:

  • 'butterfly'

  • 'loop'

  • 'linear'

inplacebool, default: False

Updates mesh in-place.

progress_barbool, default: False

Display a progress bar to indicate progress.

Returns:
pyvista.PolyData

Subdivided mesh.

Examples

First, create an example coarse sphere mesh and plot it.

>>> from pyvista import examples
>>> import pyvista as pv
>>> mesh = pv.Sphere(phi_resolution=10, theta_resolution=10)
>>> mesh.plot(show_edges=True, line_width=3)
../../../_images/pyvista-PolyDataFilters-subdivide-1_00_00.png

Subdivide the sphere mesh using linear subdivision.

>>> submesh = mesh.subdivide(1, 'linear')
>>> submesh.plot(show_edges=True, line_width=3)
../../../_images/pyvista-PolyDataFilters-subdivide-1_01_00.png

Subdivide the sphere mesh using loop subdivision.

>>> submesh = mesh.subdivide(1, 'loop')
>>> submesh.plot(show_edges=True, line_width=3)
../../../_images/pyvista-PolyDataFilters-subdivide-1_02_00.png

Subdivide the sphere mesh using butterfly subdivision.

>>> submesh = mesh.subdivide(1, 'butterfly')
>>> submesh.plot(show_edges=True, line_width=3)
../../../_images/pyvista-PolyDataFilters-subdivide-1_03_00.png