Hi Michael;

I thought is better to ask the question here rather than creating new discussion. In the attached image file, on the left side I used the LineWeb script to create lines (vertical and Horizontal), the vertical lines are fine. The horizontal lines after I join them are polyline, Is there any way that I could convert these polyline to freeform curve which follows the surface curvature? or is it possible to add the function of "align to surface" in the script?.

On the Right side of image, I tried to use Array along the curve tool to see if I could get the result I was looking. In this method, the horizontal line are fine and they follow the surface curvature but the vertical lines not.

Well at least there is a solution know that to use LineWeb tool for vertical lines and Array tool for Horizontal curve line, unless there are other methods that I am not aware of it. It will be nice if you could do both of them in one command either Array or LineWeb.

Thanks

Hi Sharif, well LineWeb itself does not have any knowledge of surfaces at all, it's purely a curve oriented tool that connects lines between curves.

Do you definitely need it to follow the surface exactly, or would it be enough to put a smooth curve through there by interpolating the line ends the same as doing a Draw curve > Freeform > Through points on each of those points?

If that would work, I could modify LineWeb to have an option to make curves instead of only line segments when you have selected more than 2 sections.

To see what this would look like you can use Draw curve > Freeform > Through points and snap on to those polyline endpoints, that's what I did in the attached model to add smooth curves to your previous file, is it what you need?

Then if you need a surface that goes directly along that curve structure maybe you could delete your existing one and make a new one with Network from those curves. When you use Network, watch out for any duplicated curves that might be stacked on top of each other.

- Michael

I would like to have "CurveWeb" tool also. I am using these to make some freeform surfaces. Using just a straight loft or network, without the extra lines works, but there is a different result, and the ability to rebuild the extra curves and manupulate the surface outcome is huge for me. For me, this eliminates an old method of creating a "grid network patch" for use as a surface manipulation method. I can create the patch with more flexability in original intent.

Hi Burr & Sharif, I've updated LineWeb so that there is now an option to build either lines, polylines, a smooth curve, or point objects.

I've updated the LineWeb.zip attachment in the previous message here:
http://moi3d.com/forum/index.php?webtag=MOI&msg=3666.10




Hope that will help!

- Michael

Thanks you , this is great!

Supermans got nothin on you!

AND, it even recognizes the "pick/direction order". Sweet!

Hi Burr, yup when selecting the input curves, click on them in the order that you want them to be connected.

I'm glad that you like it! :)

- Michael

Hi Michael, That should work, the only thing I would do differently is I make the curve with LineWeb tool and then project the curves on the origional surface. because I need to keep the orgional surface. The purpose of this exercise was to be able to divide a given surface (panalized the surface).

Thanks

Ultra cool new function!
Bravo again!

Or "Create" the surface with the tool.

Here is your original file "panelized" with the lineweb tool and a trim.

or... :)

hi is very good tool to create building facade glass and alluminum panels with the inset tool here some test pictures

Thank you for the tip to panalize the surface

Sharif

Hi BurrMan;

I tried your tip to use the lineweb and trim to divide the surface, But it is not working, see attached file. any idea

Thanks
Sharif

Hi Sharif, could you possibly simplify your file to contain just 1 surface and 1 curve that you want to cut it with? That would help to make it easier to understand what you are trying to do there.

One thing to note is that to cut a surface with a curve, the curve has to fully divide the surface into separate pieces.

For example here is a plane and a line, the plane cannot be trimmed by the line because it does not clearly divide the plane into different pieces:



Here I have enlarged the line somewhat, so that maybe it kind of looks like it would almost divide the plane, however it actually still does not divide it and will still have the exact same problem as above:



You may be running into something like that.

- Michael

I think you are refering to all those little fragmented pieces that arent supposed to be in the trimmed facets. WHen you do the cross trim. you will want to make the trim curves "planar" and move them away from the surface a bit. This will allow them to trim the surface properly. AND what Michael said about making them be larger than the surface.

So if these were the trim curves:



I can go to the right view and use the edit frame to flatten (Planar) them out:



Then I would have a configuration like this for trimming:



WHen I run trim on these planar and extended curves. they trim without those little fragments:




Sometimes you have to work your trim curves a bit because MoI does this kind of "automatic projection/extrusion" thing and this can cause these self intersecting anomolies when the trim curves kindof float in 3d and trim in "Multiple directions"...

Here's your file back just before the trim. I just flattened out those trim curves.

Hi Michael and BurrMan;

Thanks for the responses. What I bascally did, I creaed those curves via LineWeb Tool, Then I made a surface from them via network command, then I used the trim command to divide the surface.

Well I did another method as follow and it worked without moving the curves:

1. Create a loft surface between two curves
2. Create curves on the surface with LineWeb Tool in both dirction
3. Trim the surface with the LineWeb tool curves and worked like a charm. See Attachment

Two more question

How do you get to the flat command?
How do you offset a curve that is on a surface on the same surface? Does the offset command works only in XY plane?

Thanks again

Sharif

This script is great for making railings if you combine it with the pipe script.

"""""""""""""""How do you get to the flat command?""""""""""""

Using the edit frame. If you look in the screenshot I posted of it, you will see I circled the handle to the one side. If you grab that handle and drag it to the middle, you will get a "flat" snap, which means you have scaled everything in 1d to flat.

The trimming is supposed to work like it did for you. Just if you see it trim a bunch of weird stuff in multiple directions, you can refer to what I posted to give it a chance..


""""""""""""""How do you offset a curve that is on a surface on the same surface?""""""""""

The offset wont do a "stay on the surface" operation, but you could use projection to do this. Since you already have a curve, you can view it in one of the planar views, duplicate it (Use the flat again), move it over the amount you want, then project it onto the surface again.