Hi Steve,

> Now that is easy to create in MOI and not much more difficult
> to create in a poly modeller. But if you output a mesh directly
> from MOI from the model as it is, then the mesh would not be
> so easy to edit into quads.

Yup, but that's also a good example of a model where there would not be any particular purpose (that I can tell anyway, let me know if there is one) for why you would need that model to be all quads.

It's got all rounded parts in it already, it's not like a rough mesh that you're trying to smooth out by applying sub-d smoothing on to it.

It does seem to be fairly common for people to want to get things as all quads even if there is not any particular benefit for their particular case, I guess because they've heard that it's good to have all quads if you are going to be doing sub-d modeling.

But when you create a model like you show there, it's all finished up, it's not like you need to apply sub-d on to it additionally. In cases like that there is no need to have all quads, you just export that model from MoI and take it into your rendering program and render it.

In general the output from MoI is oriented towards that kind of use where you're going to take the model into your rendering program and render it. Taking it in as a sub-d control cage and then applying smoothing to it is kind of a weird thing to do to CAD models since that sub-d smoothing actually kind of melts and changes the shape.

If you already have the thing in the shape you want, then you're all done with the model... Running sub-d smoothing on something that is finished does not just automatically "improve" it, it can mutate it and even potentially introduce ripples and bumps in it if the topology is not organized in a sub-d friendly layout.

By the way these comments are not necessarily directed at you in particular, these are just some things that come up fairly often with a variety of people, particularly people who come from a sub-d background where they're so accustomed to only working with quads.

- Michael