Hi Will, it sounds like you may be working off of a few incorrect assumptions...
The way you wrote your message here, it sounds like you are expecting that there is only one single way to do "NURBS modeling", but that's not really the case.
The method that is used in that video is kind of an older style method that focuses on creating surfaces individually rather than working with solids. That's kind of inherited from the Alias Studio software for doing industrial design styling.
On the other hand there is a solid modeling type NURBS workflow that is based more off of creating a solid from 2D profiles, rather than building it on an individual surface by surface level.
The surface modeling toolset can be effective to construct objects that do not have much of a 2D template to them, things like swoopy freeform surfaces, etc... but it also tends to be an overall more difficult stategy that requires you to know more tools and to gain more experience about how to apply the tools, whereas the solid modeling toolset tends to be much simpler and not require as much dedication or learning curve to master.
MoI has elements of both kinds of workflows in it, stuff like doing Trim and Join of individual surfaces is using the surface modeling toolset, and things like drawing 2D curves, extrusions, and booleans are more from the solid modeling toolset.
Because the solid modeling toolset is easier to learn, I generally encourage people to focus on that aspect because it tends to get simple models done much faster but it is not the only way to use MoI.
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Even though he's making a watch, I can see myself using this technique for making my spaceship hulls way more interesting by making different shapes and joining them (bools and fillets) to the main hull.
Yeah, you can use these kinds of techniques with MoI if you want as well - typically instead of booleans you will use Trim to cut your surfaces in this workflow. Also there is a surface modeling mode for Fillet as well - if you select 2 individual surfaces when you run Fillet you will get a Surface/Surface fillet constructed.
It seems as if you are writing this as if MoI does not have a join tool? But it does, it is located right here:
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I also like how he creates his cutting planes, shapes and curves them first before he trims and cuts.
Again, you write this as if you cannot do this in MoI, but that is not the case. If you wish to, you can do the same process of building planes, shapes and curves first and then after constructing the surface, use the Trim command in MoI to cut things up. The Trim command is located here:
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The way he's easily joining surfaces to me feels like he has somewhat more freedom then what is required of us now with MoI (solids).
Well once again I don't understand - why do you write that you are required to use solids in MoI when that is not the case?
You are not required to use only solids in MoI, if you were there would not be any Join, Separate or Trim commands available. But those commands are available in MoI, you can use a surface modeling approach with those tools if you wish.
I don't tend to recommend that people start with that method because doing things with solids tends to be a much easier and faster way to operate MoI. So I tend to steer people towards the solids toolset more often.
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I realize this his how NURBS modeling is typically done (especially seeing someone else do it is inspiring) but I still model in a clunky fashion coming from a polygon mindset - I haven't achieved NURBS nirvana like in this video yet...
But again you seem to have an incorrect assumption - that's not how all NURBS modeling is typically done, it is how a certain kind of more specialized NURBS modeling is done. The actual most common method for NURBS modeling is solids modeling like SolidWorks, Pro/E, etc... use, for mechanical parts design.
Also keep in mind that in the video you are seeing someone who has spent a lot of time learning how to apply those more difficult and advanced tools. That style tends to be a more advanced and time consuming style of NURBS modeling to learn.
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I know that currently MoI's booleans behave better when working with closed surfaces / solids so attempting techniques like this now might not be that fruitful.
But again you have even another assumption here - it is true that MoI's boolean tools are oriented more towards solids. But the booleans are not the only way to cut objects in MoI, there is also the Trim command - for surfaces you use the Trim command to cut them rather than the boolean commands to cut them. The result is still a cut surface....
It sounds like you have jumped to some assumption that if you have a non-solid you cannot cut it up in MoI?? But that is totally incorrect - you just cut it with the Trim command instead.
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Michael, will MoI in the future work as easily with open surfaces as with solids - similar to say this video, or will we always need to use solids so things like the booleans and normal directions come out properly?
There's no need to wait for the future - open surfaces work already in MoI since version 1.0 .... You just use a different cutting tool to work with them, instead of using booleans use the Trim command.
So I don't really know where you got the idea that you are totally restricted from using open surfaces in MoI.... That's certainly not true!
It's just that I encourage people to use solids more often since in many cases you can get things done more quickly and easily that way.
Do you have a hangup just because of the names that MoI uses for the tools? It sounds like you would prefer if Trim was called "Surface boolean" instead of just "Trim" - some programs may label things in different ways like that, but it is just a label so don't let that get you confused.
Solids modeling and the boolean commands are a kind of assisted Trim, where the pieces that are discarded are selected automatically by the relation between volumes.
Trim and other surface modeling tools are at more of a "low level" - you can get the same result as a boolean by doing Trim + Join, it's just that it is not as convenient since you will have to do more picking on different parts of the model to specify what you want to throw away.
- Michael
