Frame Editor Reference

Attachment connections

Attachment Connections combine selected attachment ports and their owning bodies into coordinated printable components without destroying their source attachments.

Definition#

An Attachment Connection is a separate Frame entity that connects explicitly selected ports from Physical-link and Virtual-link attachments.

It does not replace, merge, or destructively edit the source attachment instances. Instead, it records:

  • which connection ports participate;
  • how their geometry should be combined;
  • the material shared by the connected component;
  • which attachment clearances must be applied across it.

This separation keeps local attachment design reusable while letting the frame describe how several placed instances manufacture together.

Participants are connection ports#

An attachment type can resolve to one or more named connection ports. Each port has its own selectable CSG region and names the body part that owns its material and manufactured geometry.

The participant identity includes both:

  • the owning Physical-link or Virtual-link attachment;
  • the particular port key within that attachment.

Connections therefore operate more precisely than “connect these two attachment cards.” A single manufactured body can expose several small ports without being split into overlapping body parts.

Physical and Virtual attachment ports can participate together, provided their owning body parts use the same material.

Creating and editing participants#

Start a new connection from the Add connection action on a selected attachment. If its type exposes several ports, choose the intended one. The new connection begins from that participant; use Edit participants to add the other ports that should belong to it.

The main editing actions are:

  • rename the connection;
  • add or remove participant ports;
  • choose Hull, Union, or Strut;
  • edit Strut radius when applicable;
  • follow participant links back to their source attachments;
  • hide, show, or delete the connection.

The editor rejects an exact duplicate participant set. If an attachment type or parameter change removes a connected port key, the connection is remapped, updated, or removed as part of dependency propagation.

Bulk connection creation#

When a frame already has several neighboring attachments, open + Add and choose Connect adjacent attachments. This explicit bulk action scans the frame for unconnected joint sites and creates their default Attachment Connections in one atomic, undoable transaction.

A site is eligible when:

  • connection ports from at least two distinct supporting links are spatially adjacent;
  • at least two port owners share a material;
  • none of the candidate attachments at that site already belongs to an Attachment Connection.

For each eligible site and material, TrussLab keeps at most one candidate from each supporting link, preferring the oldest placed attachment when several candidates overlap. It then creates a connection using the current Attachment Connection Defaults. If any candidate at a site is already connected, the whole site is treated as intentionally authored and left unchanged; the bulk action never extends or repartitions a manual connection.

Use the bulk action when the intended joints follow the spatial layout and current defaults. Use the explicit participant workflow when you need to teach each choice, select a different port, mix in a deliberately non-adjacent participant, or customize one joint before creating the others.

Hull mode#

Hull computes a convex hull around the participating port regions, then subtracts the applicable clearances. The owning body parts remain the manufactured source solids.

It is the usual choice when neighboring sleeves, sockets, feet, or mounts should become one filled printable joint. Because a convex hull fills the space between outer extremes, inspect the result for unwanted bulk, blocked access, or excessive material.

Hull contributes bridging material even when the original body parts do not intersect.

Union mode#

Union adds no connector geometry beyond the selected port regions, while grouping the owning bodies into one coordinated component and applying their shared clearances.

Use Union when the placed bodies already overlap or touch appropriately, or when the connection's purpose is to establish one coordinated component and clearance scope without wrapping the participants in a convex hull.

If separated participants remain disconnected in space, Union does not invent material between them.

Strut mode#

Strut adds circular connector struts between participating port centres and subtracts the shared clearances.

The Strut radius controls connector thickness and must be greater than zero. Strut is useful when the joint should have explicit connecting members rather than Hull's filled envelope.

Inspect strut paths carefully: a mathematically valid centre-to-centre connector may still be unsuitable for load direction, tool access, printing, or surrounding geometry.

Clearances and connected components#

Each attachment type can export clearance geometry for tubes, fasteners, inserts, or other required empty space. Within a connected component, TrussLab propagates those clearances to the other connected attachment bodies.

This matters because the final printable component is more than the visible connector:

``text owning body parts + connection geometry - shared clearances = printable component ``

Connectivity is transitive through port ownership. A chain of Attachment Connections can therefore form one printable component, while unrelated body-part branches on the same attachment remain separate.

Deleting a connection removes its connectivity and connector contribution; it does not delete the source attachments.

Materials#

All participants in one Attachment Connection must resolve to the same material. The connection material is derived from each port's owning body part and kept consistent as connected materials change.

For a multi-part attachment, material continuity follows connected body parts rather than assuming every unrelated part of the attachment must share one printable material.

Material compatibility is validated before participant changes are accepted.

Propagation#

Connection geometry and clearances are regenerated when relevant source intent changes, including:

  • participant attachment placement or rotation;
  • attachment length, thickness, or implementation parameters;
  • connection-port definitions and their owner mappings;
  • participant materials;
  • Hull, Union, or Strut mode and Strut radius;
  • addition, removal, or deletion of participants;
  • upstream node, link, or reactive-property changes that move the sources.

The source edit and its connection consequences remain one reversible transaction.

Manufacturing and export#

Attachment Connections determine printable-component grouping. Review each connected component before export:

  • confirm the exact participant ports and owning body parts;
  • isolate or hide surrounding geometry to inspect the result;
  • verify tube, fastener, and insert clearances;
  • check that Hull or Strut material is structurally and geometrically sensible;
  • confirm material consistency and likely print orientation;
  • make sure separated Union participants are intentionally separate.

Visibility is an inspection aid. A hidden connection still belongs to the model until it is deleted.

Common mistakes#

  • Selecting an attachment instead of a connection port. The type definition decides which named regions can participate.
  • Expecting Union to bridge a gap. Use Hull, Strut, or redesign the source bodies when new connector material is required.
  • Treating Hull as a local fillet. It wraps the convex envelope of all selected participant geometry and can add much more volume.
  • Connecting parts with different materials. Participants in one connection must share material.
  • Assuming all ports or body parts on a multi-part attachment join automatically. Only explicit port participant refs define connectivity.
  • Deleting source attachments to revise a joint. Edit participants or delete the Attachment Connection when the instances should remain.
  • Forgetting shared clearances. Inspect the final component, not only the positive connector geometry.

Watch the Triangle Frame narrated build combine sleeve connection ports into three printable corner joints.

Read Physical-link attachments and Virtual-link attachments for participant sources. Return to the Frame Editor Reference index to browse the remaining concepts.