Hi everybody.
I just bought Moi and allow me to say that it already looks like an excellent program.
I especially love the way I can draw curves on the screen.
I have a question for Michael or anybody else that can help.
I'm trying to model a PC mouse using a network of curves.
I tried to draw each curve so that they touch each other. Have a look at the image I'm posting.

The outter curve is continuous. When I clicked the network button I got nothing. Not even an error message.
So I though about splitting the outter curve into smaller curves.
This time the network command worked, but gave me something weird, as you can see on the other screenshot I'm posting.


Tell me what I'm doing wrong.

Thanks and congratulations on a great program.

Mark

Hi Mark,

Could you possibly attach your model (the 3dm file) it would certainly help.

I have played with the network, and do see various results depending on the curves (closed/open etc).

I know michael is probably the best to help, but it may be a simple problem with construction, and therefore others can help. So if you post 3dm, then Michael and others can look at the problem.

Regards,
Steve

Hi Mark, definitely like Steve mentioned it would help a lot if you could post the model file with the curves in it.

From the look of it, the most likely problem is that your curves don't have a full grid layout.

Most of your curves do, but probably the curves around the outside are breaking up the layout.


For Network to work properly, the curves involved must form a kind of 2D like grid sort of like latitude and longitude lines.

If those are 2 curves around the outside that touch each other at a point, then all the interior curves should also come to the same point to make a kind of "pole" region there (kind of like where longitude lines converge at the pole of a globe). Something like this:




You can't have just the 2 outside curves touching at a pole only and not the others.



The other type of layout which may work better, is to do a kind of extended grid with sharp corners, like this:



Then trim off the exterior of that surface with a rounded outline to make it roundy, that can be a more controllable than trying to construct to the final rounded exterior outline right from the beginning.

- Michael

With my first making of a Mouse I went down a different work path.
I hope the image is self explanitory, and of interest

Thanks for the fast reply everybody.

Here's the 3dm file.

Bear in mind that this is the second method I tried. The outter curve is split into smaller ones.

Thanks again.

Mark

Probably not the ideal solution, but I trimmed the spine into small sections then went around doing individual networks of small areas.

Though this was simpler doing network with 4 selections. two shown.
And spine not altered from yours.

Hey, this is great!!

You are absolutely right. It does work if I do it one stripe at a time!!

It's weird why it cannot do the whole thing in one go. Maybe the outter curve confuses it...

Thanks for all the help.

I think that your original method works IF you cut the outermost loop in half and then
mirror attach the networked shape.

Mike Fitz

Hi contact7

You can network your model, you have to change the size of the outer control curve segments, this gives more control points per segment.

I did network your model, but did find a bulge in the middle of the created surface due to the top control curves being different. So I deleted one, then Mirror the other.



I have attached the model with the changes.

Thanks Manz.

Are there any specific guidelines when working with networks, or is it just experimenting?

For me, the method I tried looked reasonable (but I'm a MOI newbie).

Hi contact7 - Steve shows the way the curves need to be arranged.

In your current arrangement, the pieces at the end don't form a complete 2d grid - for example:



Imagine if you had longitude lines on a map - you wouldn't have 2 longitude lines like you have there - one of them there is too short and does not traverse the full extent of the "map".

For it to work, you need to have a layout where each of those longitude lines crosses over the same number of latitude lines.

- Michael

Hi contact7,

> Are there any specific guidelines when working with networks, or
> is it just experimenting?

The guideline is that your curves should be arranged so that they have a 2D grid type arrangement to them, the same kind of thing where latitude and longitude lines on a globe of the world form a grid that can be re-arranged to a 2D rectangular map.

Each of your longitude lines should cross over the full set of latitude lines.


> For me, the method I tried looked reasonable (but I'm a MOI newbie).

Visually it looked good, but the actual arrangement and sizing of the curves at the ends there did not make a "formal" grid layout (shown above with that small piece not matching the rest of the grid).

Unfortunately MoI needs the curves you give it to definitively form a regular grid pattern, it isn't able to handle it if your curves visually look similar to a grid but need some re-arranging (including merging or splitting pieces) to actually form a true grid.


I hope that helps!

- Michael

Just out of couriousity.... what do you need the second
set of longtitudinal lines for in the first place ?
Network does very well construct without them b y using the form
of the latitudinal lines... see this...

Hi Rayman. I said I was a newbie, didn't I?
Well I kind of followed "The more, the better" rule.

Michael thanks again for your comments. I see what you mean now. Mine looked like a 2D grid , but in fact it wasn't.

Anyway, I'm improving bit by bit. So here's what it looks like right now.



One question. If a have a curve like the one shown below, with a lot of control points. Is there a way to reduce the number of control points while retaining the actual shape?



Thanks

Mark

Side tracking I know, but here are a couple of renders from my first MoI Mouse!
(Do you need to see the HUGE folder containing all my learning efforts?--but what fun!)

Hi Mark,

>>>If a have a curve like the one shown below, with a lot of control points. Is there a way to reduce the number of control points while retaining the actual shape?

Removing control points will change the shape, although it may only be very slightly (depending on the gap left between the adjacent control points). Removing control points is a way to refine the shape/surface, as MoI will give to real_time feedback and show the change when a control point is removed.

- Steve

Hi Mark,

> One question. If a have a curve like the one shown below,
> with a lot of control points. Is there a way to reduce the number
> of control points while retaining the actual shape?

There isn't any automated "rebuild" type command in version 1.0 .

If you want to make a big change in the point structure, probably the best method right now is to draw a new curve and use the old one as a snapping guide to make it follow the general shape.

- Michael