Hi Burr, I cooked up a plug-in command to handle that kind of tolerance based drawing of lines between selected points.

If you install and run the attached ConnectPoints command, it will let you select point objects, then prompt you for a tolerance value.

After you enter a tolerance, any of the points that are within that distance of one another will have a line generated between them.

That's not going to really work in all cases for doing a continuing chain of things (unless there is a very even spacing between the points), because there can be a kind of web of connections between points, but it should work for the kind of close together paired points like you have in this case.

- Michael

EDIT: updated ConnectPoints command to have a units designator on the tolerance field.

EDIT2: updated ConnectPoints command to remove selection from points that were not targeted for connection.

Thank you! I'll post back my results.

And Just to be sure, the tolerance setting is "distance"?

Hi Burr, yes it is the distance that is tested between points.

Any points that are under that distance from one another will have a line drawn between them.

It looks like I forgot to put a units designator in the UI for that field, I've updated the ConnectPoints.zip file in that previous message to have that now.

- Michael

Alrighty then!
I would like to ask if one last tweak would be possible for this command?

All points that get connected "stay selected" and anything that doesnt becomes "deselected".

Or vise versa, (preferably the former).

Working on this particular cloud, going too big right off will create the "web matrix" that we dont want. being able to get rid of the "just connected" points would be a huge plus to continue, leaving the ones that need further attn selected. Is this possible?

Hi Burr, sure that is an easy adjustment to make, I have updated the attachment in the previous message to have that now - points that were not targeted for connection should get deselected now. Let me know if that is not what you needed.

- Michael

In the same subject does exist a "points collapse" tollerance? (or this above make it also)
so 2 points become one

Thanks michael! This works perfectly. I easily created the segments betweent he 2 points (where the wire intersects the panels) which I could do a slot cut with my CNC. Here are a couple screen caps of a backplot and verification simulation from the CAM software.






I am still interested to know how angelo would benefit from having the holes produced in 3d? THough the Pipe command will work well with the segments created with this command also.




This is the rightmost pane cut using a profile toolpath on the segments, essentially making a "slot" if there is any angle. Unless he has access to a 5 axis machine??

Thanks again Michael,
Burr

Hi Pilou, no I don't think there is anything currently for collapsing points.

This new one is not for collapsing points, it is for drawing line segments in between points.

Is there some task in particular that you could use a method for collapsing points together for?

- Michael

Hi Burr you're welcome, I'm glad that helped.

> THough the Pipe command will work well with the segments
> created with this command also.

Yup, and actually having those straight cylinder pipes will be much, much lighter geometry (less dense with control points, etc...) than pipes that actually tried to follow along the curved paths. So that could help a lot to keep things more manageable, things like file size and memory consumption would not bloat up as much with these as the cutting objects.

Also maybe easier for actual assembly to have the holes be straight even if they are angled, rather than actually having sort of "bending holes" ?

- Michael

Yes I agree. Although if I was going to bool out the cylinders, then I would have to adjust the thickness of the panels on both sides by the diameter of my cylinders before I do the construct Isect command so the pipes would actually cut a clean through hole!

I also rethunk the "Why 3d holes". A 3d Printer would be nice to have, Eh! Then you could template drill all the angle holes.

Anyway, this "slicing" has come up before and I think the couple tools you've provided here are a great addition in this area.

< Is there some task in particular that you could use a method for collapsing points together for?

In case of big zoom to be sure that the curves are connected?
And for a new sort of connection
Seems different than Chamfer or extend

Hi Pilou, is that something you need for a project you are currently working on?

In the future I do want to add in some additional tools for manipulating points, probably some kind of "set point location" option that will show up in the properties panel when you have control points selected.

But also currently one way to get the result you want there is to use the "Flat" snap feature of the edit frame twice in succession like this:



Does that handle what you need currently?

- Michael

I have no need actually, it's just for the possibilities :)

And yes i can make that you show for some points by hands :)

But for many lines computer is more friendly (with tolerance) :)

To Michael, Blurr and Pilou

I am silent reading the thread because I'm better reading English then writing : )
It's hard to me to reply more consistently, with a more subtle and fluid English.

@Blurr

What I need is EXACTLY What you done. Better saying... what I supposed I need. When I'm doing my pieces things changes all the time. In other words, the process to achieve a "form" is equal or more important then the envised form. In this particular piece perhaps I'll abandon the wires and cut closed plexiglass shapes for the slices. I done something like that in the past with hand cut glass.
To finish this boring talk, is something like achieve an imbalance between the technical problems to build the piece and unleash the emergence of the form.

BTW this job will be done with a router, a french one. I don't have the machine myself. I use this router and a laser cutter as a service.
Usually I send to them 2D vector files. This is the first time that I'm trying to use a 3D tool to go a step forward, not only to sketch and better visualize something.
Another BTW: How can I export from MOI the "flatten" project to be understood by the router? Something tell me that this is a silly question : )

(My stock of words are lowering, time to brake!)

Many many thanks to all of you.
I'll keap reading (and learning)

Angelo

Hi Angelo,

>>>>>BTW: How can I export from MOI the "flatten" project to be understood by the router? : )

This depends on the software your machinist has. If he has 3d Cam software, most likely you just send him the 3DM file, along with an understanding of what you want, and his software does what you need. (There are a few other export formats that MoI does that he may ask for. IGES, STEP...etc.) If he requests a format you arent sure of, post back here as there are many that can help.

The assembly of this piece seems it would need to happen at "design time" ( wires formed while inserting into plexiglass). A very cool project. Are you an artist or a scientist?

Its amazing the different methods/approaches people use (Grendels is very cool).

I have a stange feeling that MoI can do "ANYTHING".

Thanks Michael.

BTW: Angelo, you use english well.

Hi Angelo,

> Another BTW: How can I export from MOI the "flatten"
> project to be understood by the router? Something tell me
> that this is a silly question : )

Like Burr mentions, what format you send can vary depending on exactly what hardware/software your service is using.

Some may be able to take in a 3D CAD file, such as 3DM, IGES, or STEP, but others may expect to get a 2D illustrator file. For those ones you would get your flattened curves arranged in one of the ortho Top/Front/Right views and then use the AI format export out of MoI to save a 2D snapshot of your curves from one of those views. There is an option that pops up for AI export for which view to use.

Some programs may want to take in flattened curves in the world XY (Top) plane in DXF format. MoI does not currently have a direct export to DXF but there is a 3DM to DXF curve converter here which you can use to get curve data from MoI into DXF format.

But you'll need to ask your service which format they require.

If they are able to take a 3DM file then that would be the one to prefer.

- Michael

Hi Burr,

>Are you an artist or a scientist?


I'm a 55 years old artist. And I love some cross sections between the way new things came alive in science and in art. The way that a "invention" coagulates from given knowledge but also from an invisible stream, articulated in background. Silently.
I am assembling structures a little bit from an organic reference, but not representational, from the eighties.

Like this big piece in corten steel. This was done in a PVC model, directly cut with a jigsaw. The corten piece was build in a shipyard. Acetylene cut, an old machine with an optical "reader".


Some years after I've been cutting and reassembling some given organic objects, like a femur head. This one I saw a plaster model them I scanned the slabs and use the blend function in Illustrator to create intermediate pieces as I can't saw thin slices.


If you have interest here are some visual information: www.angelovenosa.com

Regards
Angelo

Hi Burr, Hi Michael

The people that machine my pieces uses a Meca router and Laser cutter.
The proprietary Cam sofware is something like "Type3"...
The workflow they uses is Solidworks / some 2D export / Type3

I usually send 2D Illustrator files. But now, with MOI, I'm "thinking" 3D.
(I hate to delegate, I love to put my hands in all the stages of the work. But this is limiting) So... using MOI I tried to export to illustrator and after some revision send the files. I tried this on this file:

http://moi3d.com/forum/get_attachment.php?webtag=MOI&hash=d7f970fda89516901d9bf1e9e21836cf&filename=plywood.3dm

And I had some minor problems.
If I export all the pieces, with the superposition of different objects, they lines will be indistinguishable. Each object was transformed in a collection of "unglued" lines. I had to export one by one. Not a big problem. But... It exports a screen shot of the 3D. I had to choose the top surface and clean the lines of the bottom surface.

(Michael don't waste you time with this file, I dismiss this project, actually I redone it)

So I decided to delegate and send the 3dm file to a young guy, full of time and energy to read the file in Solidworks and do the rest of the job. (But I think that next time I will go till the end!)

Angelo

Hi Angelo, I checked out your web site, that's a lot of very cool and interesting stuff, I liked it!

- Michael