Hello!

I have been playing with inset command again in my attempt to understand all commands better. I might be missing a specific option or function, but it appears that the most useful option for paneling (the last in my drawing) having lower perimeter and keeping the surface fixed is not there. Is this really the case? Again, it is very possible that I have missed a tickbox or setting there, but it would be a great addition to the inset command option window in my opinion.

If there is an obvious way to achieve this (without setting up sweeps or trims) I am all ears!!! ^__^

Hi Nameless,

Is this what you are looking for ?

Michel

Hi nameless, these 2 seem very similar:



Do you have an example where it would be useful to have the other variation?

I guess it could be possible to enable it by using grooved + separate height modes and then allowing the thickness here to be 0:



Right now I think it's considering a thickness of 0 to be invalid and so it won't make that. You can set grooved with a 0 groove width which will generate the inner "plug" as a separate object.

The other variation that I could probably allow with thickness = 0 with separate height set and not grooved is to carve off a full width slab like this:


I can take a look at enabling thickness = 0 in v5 once the v5 beta is underway.

- Michael

Hi Mip, that's a cool idea to use "Expand" with a negative height!

Maybe the only potential problem with that is in a case like this, it's going to cut away this area by whatever height is set:





But if it's a small amount maybe not really a problem.

- Michael

Hey Mip, that's very clever! Unfortunately it did not work in my case.

@Michael, the zero width grooved version seems very handy- the one that produces the trim as a separate object. I can already see me using that, thanks.

I am attaching an example of why I am talking about this. The panel at the bottom right is a grooved inset that looks cool but it was not the intention. I wanted a submerged border around the perimeter. The Outwards option would mean that I would have to do the same treatment to the rest of the object(Impossible in this case), or I would have the panel extruding outside of the initial object boundary.

Hi Michael and Nameless,

Thanks for the example.
And a groove width of 0 gets outwards while 1 repels the vertical face...
Is it related to the impossibility of entering 0 thickness ?
An inset without thickness is not too logical indeed...

@Nameless
I see. It really doesn't apply to your case.

Michel

Have you an image Before / After of what do you want exactly ? :)

@Pilou

A single click submerged border zone, using inset. This example is simplified for presentation- I need something that would work in curved surfaces and I do not consider sweeps to be a good solution. The Inset command has the potential to produce instant panelling, but is lacking this simple mode in my opinion.

Normal Groove don't make the trick ?

Hey Pilou, that creates a panel which is a tad smaller than intended and when put next to another similarly treated surface, it creates two "canyons" instead of one, if that makes sense.

Groove was eventually my choice out of necessity ;)

If you want the groove at any place just make it out of the surface
and reput it at any place and make a boolean Diff

Maybe Inset is not the only solution...

or this other one https://moi3d.com/forum/index.php?webtag=MOI&msg=9945.1

Here Fat Lines + Extrude + Boolean DIff
Fat Lines http://moi3d.com/forum/index.php?webtag=MOI&msg=7594.31

Thank you Pilou for the informative captures! Those solutions are too much work compared to a single click, plus they do not work as well on curved solids or imported subdiv models. I am looking at inset right now, which does exactly that (almost) ;)

One click yes but you must draw something first! ;)

One click yes but you must draw something first! ;) > You have something already, you want to create panel cuts. I mean, I am ok with us drawing spline curves to trim areas, but you should be able to jump from the trim to a panel gap around the perimeter without having to create bool objects for curved or even looped sweeps when you can select a face and just click Inset. It's ok for a cubical aligned surface, but not viable for relatively complex form with panels that wrap around it.

Do not get me wrong, I appreciate multiple paths to a goal and I learn from your flexible strategies that you often share in the forum, but this task should be simple in my opinion.

A new inset option! ;)

@Mip,

re:
> An inset without thickness is not too logical indeed...

All by itself it doesn't but if height and a groove width are set then it would be ok. That could then make the groove be the outermost piece.

- Michael

@Michael,

re:
>Do you have an example where it would be useful to have the other variation?

Do you think my example is too fringe to justify an inset setting? Outwards is geometrically very close, but with an offset from the object's surface. So the "canyon" running around the perimeter ends up being level with the rest of the object when you wanted it to be submerged.

Something like this ?


And / Or other this ?

Hi nameless,

re:
> Do you think my example is too fringe to justify an inset setting? Outwards is geometrically very close, but
> with an offset from the object's surface. So the "canyon" running around the perimeter ends up being level
> with the rest of the object when you wanted it to be submerged.

Well since they were so similar it helps for me to have an example of why the other one is needed too.

I don't think it will require an additional setting though, it should be possible to generate that if Thickness=0 is allowed with grooved mode. That should make the groove start right at the edge. That would get rid of this region marked in red, that should then give the result on the right that you want, is that correct?



- Michael