Full Version: Engrave tool

From: stevecim [#1]
22 Apr 2012
To: ALL

Hi all

I'm guessing the answer for this is no, but I thought I'll ask anyway. :)

I have a need to apply some organic type engraving onto sphere , I can use flow to place the curves onto a sphere, but I can't solidify the curves so I can't Boolean diff from the sphere. To create the engraving

I can sweep a circle on the curves but because of the nature of the curves edges ended folded up in side. Not good.

Mucked around with various things and found if I place a sphere centred on the curve, and then use array to curve with 1000s of items moi had no problems placing the spheres along the curve.

What I would like is a way to boolean diff each sphere that array to curve creates , has it creates them.

Sure I would end up with 1000s of very small edges, and look messy on computer screen , but when made has a 20mm sphere with .3mm engraving , the wax printer would not even be able to produce the small edges.

Thoughts anyone ?

From: bemfarmer [#2]
22 Apr 2012
To: ALL

Do you have a .3dm of an "organic curve?"

Tried a catenary flow to a sphere, just for fun...

From: Michael Gibson [#3]
22 Apr 2012
To: ALL

Hi steve, you might want to look at ZSurf for generating a base surface - it works by taking in a grayscale bitmap that is used as a heightfield with light and dark areas of the bitmap being used to make valleys or ridges in the output surface.

So to prepare the bitmap for that you would use something like Photoshop to put in some brush strokes and blur their edges.

It should probably be a better route to make a kind of continuous surface that has a relief pattern in it, it's not practical to just try and boolean away a zillion different spheres, you will be making too many little slivery surface bits that way.

See here for some links to some ZSurf information:
http://moi3d.com/forum/index.php?webtag=MOI&msg=3825.2

ZSurf can also wrap its result directly on some kinds of shapes instead like a cylinder or I think a sphere too.

There are also programs out there that specialize in deforming a mesh model by applying brush strokes to it, those are probably more directly oriented with the type of stuff that I think you are describing (stuff like raised relief patterns), you might want to check out Sculptris which is one of the easiest to use of those types of programs: http://www.pixologic.com/sculptris/ - these types of programs make polygon mesh output though and not NURBS surface output so you can only load the geometry they create into a polygon mesh program and not into MoI unless you do some more specialized type of conversions.

- Michael

From: stevecim [#4]
22 Apr 2012
To: ALL

thanks bemfarmer, I don't have my 3dm file with me, but what I was trying to do was a globe :) just the basic outline of the continents onto a 15-20mm sphere.

From: stevecim [#5]
22 Apr 2012
To: ALL

thanks, michael

I'll have a look at ZSurf, looks like something that could be very useful.

I have a copy of sculptris and hexagon and blender. but I either can't drive these programs or have no idea on how to get their output back into MoI, I just like using MoI . so I try to do everything in it :) I wonder if someone/company could create a mesh handling 3D app with MoI's interface :)

From: stevecim [#6]
22 Apr 2012
To: ALL

Hi Michael

had a 10sec play with ZSurf, is there any technical reason why I can't use Flow with the imported iges surfaces ZSurf creates? (only have the free 2.0 MoI with me at work :)

ZSurf looks like the right tool for a few other models I was having trouble with, like adding animals to the faces of some shields :)

From: BurrMan [#7]
22 Apr 2012
To: ALL

"""""""I have a need to apply some organic type engraving onto sphere , I can use flow to place the curves onto a sphere, but I can't solidify the curves so I can't Boolean diff from the sphere. To create the engraving"""""""

Did you know flow works with surfaces and solids too? You could make your curves extrude "FIRST" then use a plane and the sphere to flow solids onto the sphere, then boolean diff those.

From: Michael Gibson [#8]
22 Apr 2012
To: ALL

Hi Steve,

> had a 10sec play with ZSurf, is there any technical reason why
> I can't use Flow with the imported iges surfaces ZSurf creates?
> (only have the free 2.0 MoI with me at work :)

You should be able to but ZSurf creates some surfaces that have pretty high control point counts in a single surface, it could be possible that you might run into some refinement limits in MoI if they get to a really really high level of density.

So if you are doing something really complex using ZSurf's built in wrap around cylinder or sphere could be helpful.

- Michael

From: BurrMan [#9]
24 Apr 2012
To: ALL

Here is a file where I extruded some 2d dxf continents into solids, the used flow to apply them to a sphere.. You can boolean dif these from the sphere if you want. You can see how it was setup.

Link on skydrive: https://skydrive.live.com/redir.aspx?cid=641344b395278ed0&resid=641344B395278ED0!190&parid=641344B395278ED0!189&authkey=!ANbUKd_vWyml4tc

From: mjs (MSHIDELER) [#10]
25 Apr 2012
To: ALL

nice!

From: Michael T. (MICTU_UTCIM) [#11]
25 Apr 2012
To: ALL

Very cool Burrman! I had tried this with curves without success, but now I will try it by extruding to solids.

Where is Antarctica? Just kidding :-)

This will come in hady when I am reviewing world geography with my kids. Better than a globe!

Michael T.

From: BurrMan [#12]
25 Apr 2012
To: ALL

"""""""""Where is Antarctica?""""""""

Surf was up that day in geography.. Sorry. :o

From: stevecim [#13]
25 Apr 2012
To: ALL

Hi BurrMan

working with solids like that works well, my client had wanted just the outlines, but I think solids look better, I'll see what he say.

( just trying to drum up some quick work so I can afford to by MoI :) I know MoI is well priced, but still out of my reach :) )

From: BurrMan [#14]
25 Apr 2012
To: ALL

Hi Stevecim,
In your original post you were speaking of needing to boolean the continents away from the globe.. If all you want is lines, then you could probably do an "isect" command and generate outlines of the continents.

Look under construct-curve-isect and give that a whirl. Then you could also trim the globe surface with those curves and have continent surfaces too... Maybe run "ExplodeMove" on the seperated lot, to make a cool 3d image of the thing.

From: stevecim [#15]
25 Apr 2012
To: ALL

thanks Burrman, I'll give it a try :)

From: BurrMan [#16]
25 Apr 2012
To: ALL

Earth.. ExplodeMove!!!!!

From: bigseb [#17]
25 Apr 2012
To: ALL

I love ZSurf. Used it quite a lot. Here are two examples:

http://grabcad.com/library/peugeot-badge-and-loge
http://grabcad.com/library/relief-with-frame

From: stevecim [#18]
25 Apr 2012
To: ALL

Nice work Sebastian, Like most MoI users here, your work is at a level I can only bream of reaching :)

here is what I done so far with Moi + ZSurf.

Image Attachments:
MWSnap061 2012-04-26, 16_02_46.jpg MWSnap062 2012-04-26, 16_04_29.jpg MWSnap063 2012-04-26, 16_05_12.jpg

From: bemfarmer [#19]
25 Apr 2012
To: ALL

Made an Antarctica from NASA map.
Outline is mostly ice...
Probably too many control points.
Planar and extrude work, but are very slow.
Not to scale...

From: BurrMan [#20]
25 Apr 2012
To: ALL

a 3d pdf for the kids to learn from???

"Hey, where's antarctica???"

Very good johnny... :)

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