Hi Oskar,

> But wouldn't I loose the vertex normals in any app
> when I start to modify the mesh?

Yes, you will - the vertex normals are tied to the particular shape so once you modify the shape you also need to have new vertex normals to go along with the new shape.

But like I mentioned, the original vertex normals are more useful if you want a super smooth and non-perturbed shading that looks exactly like the original NURBS model, which tends to be what people are usually more focused on with "hard surface" type mechanical models.

You seem to be talking about making bumps and imperfections on your shapes, so maintaining super smooth precision shading and uniform reflections does not seem like it would be as much of a priority for you.

Just as a general tip, if you do need to work on output generated from MoI without preserving vertex normals, it tends to help if you generate a more evenly diced up mesh instead of having a mix of large polygons (from stuff like planes) right next to small polygons for more curved areas. Meshes that are made up of more evenly sized polygons tend to work better when they are edited and have new vertex normals created just based off of the polygons.

- Michael