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CGAspects

CGAspects is a scientific GUI application for analysing and visualising crystal growth simulation data produced by CrystoGen (formerly CrystalGrower). It provides interactive 3D visualisation of crystal point clouds, quantitative shape analysis, growth rate analysis, and site crystallization analysis.

What CGAspects Does

  • Visualises crystal structures from XYZ point cloud files in an interactive 3D viewport
  • Analyses crystal shape using aspect ratio metrics and Zingg classification
  • Tracks crystal growth rates over time from time-series simulation data
  • Characterises crystallization events at individual lattice sites
  • Plots analysis results with customisable scatter plots, histograms, and trend lines
  • Exports results as CSV data, publication-quality plots, and 3D mesh files

Quick Start

  1. Install CGAspects
  2. Launch with cgaspects from the terminal
  3. Follow the Basic Workflow Tutorial

Key Features at a Glance

Feature Description
3D Viewport Interactive OpenGL crystal visualisation with orbit camera
Crystallographic Planes Add Miller-index or Cartesian planes; slice point cloud
Crystallographic Directions Visualise direction vectors as lines, arrows, or cylinders
Aspect Ratio Analysis Zingg shape classification and CDA from simulation data
Growth Rate Analysis Track crystal size over time with smoothing and trend fitting
Site Analysis Analyse crystallization events, site energies, and interaction patterns
Plotting Dialog Configurable scatter plots, histograms, heatmaps
Movie Playback Animate crystal growth trajectories frame by frame

System Requirements

  • Python 3.10 or newer
  • macOS, Windows, or Linux
  • OpenGL 3.3-compatible GPU

Status

CGAspects is currently in alpha (v0.9.8). Expect active development and occasional breaking changes.

Source Code & Issues