Hi Anis, yes I do expect that you will be able to use the Flow command to wrap 3D solid text from a base plane onto a target surface, at least if I can solve some of the remaining issues with surface quality.


> The scenario is just import the scorpion mesh data in
> to MoI ( not create ) then use flow command to wrap
> on to 3D nurbs surface inside MoI.

No, I do not expect for this part to work - as I wrote previously STL mesh data is a different kind of data than NURBS data.

MoI is designed as a NURBS editor, not as an editor for polygon data. So because of this it does not have any functions in it to load and modify polygon data - loading and editing polygon data is something that you should look for in a polygon modeling program, not in a NURBS-focused program like MoI.

You can use Rhino to do that particular kind of editing though - Rhino is kind of a combination NURBS and kind of limited polygon editing program, but it does allow for doing a Flow command on polygon data. If that's what you need then you should get Rhino to do that function - I don't expect for MoI to load and edit STL polygon data in MoI v3.

Just in general MoI is not focused on working directly on polygon data - it can generate polygon data for export to rendering programs though.

For modeling using polygon data (either "creating" the polygon data in the first place, or editing it - it's basically the same thing - using modeling functions to work with polygon data) you will need to use a different program than MoI for that.

- Michael

Anis, would it be possible for you to create the ring in MoI, and create the scorpion in a polygon modelling software package, and then apply the scorpion as a displacement map onto the surface of the ring in your polygon software?

Hi Michael...

Thanks for your detail for your current plan. MoI with its own flow command is already a good modeling choice :).

Hi NightCabbage,

I just found the ring picture on the web, so I dont know how to map the scorpion. But as far I know, delcam powershape can map a mesh on to surface.

thanks

re: Flow - I've managed to get the surface-to-surface flow working with a lot better quality.

You basically set up some objects and have them arranged on a base plane, then you run the Flow command, pick the base plane and then pick the target surface and the objects morph from the base surface to the same relation on the target surface.

Here are some examples:







Here's a pattern that was easy to do all flat:



Then using a sphere or a tube as the target surface:



Will give a result like this:




Now I actually need to get the curve-to-curve one (flowing between base spine curve to target spine curve) up to the same level of quality. At the moment the surface to surface one is actually working best, the curve-to-curve one is still a bit lumpy.

- Michael

This stuff:



Mapped on to a sphere:

Some kind of crazy things are possible - here's a box pattern thing:



Mapped on to a curly cue thing that was itself a tube that was mapped on to a sphere (from the previous post):



- Michael

Some text spackled on as well:



- Michael

Very cool.... :)
I think SWX, INVENTOR, SolidEdge dont have this feature, MoI win here :)

Thanks Michael....

Hi Michael...

How if the target surface contains several faces, base on your example the target surface in only single face ( sphere, tabular... ) ?

Thank you...

How will it be placed. Will it be possible to move it on the surface, or can it be scaled. Perhabs, when the originial will be conserved, moving it to X the copy also will move to X and so on.

Rudl

Wow - what an awesome addition to MoI!

This will get me a lot closer to the functionality I've been looking for.

Will there be a way to inset and subtract the applied object? That is, wrap text onto a sphere and make it look like it is engraved (recessed) into the sphere?

I see how this could be done as a multi-step manual process after the letters are morphed, but it would be cool to have function that does this.

Basically it would be used as a "Stamping Tool" that would stamp any pattern into an object.

Ed

Hi Anis,

> How if the target surface contains several faces, base on
> your example the target surface in only single face
> ( sphere, tabular... ) ?

The mapping is between a base surface and a target surface - meaning 1 single base surface and 1 single target surface. When you have an object made up of multiple faces there is one separate surface for each face so that means you can target just one face in a situation like that.

It will best be used to target a somewhat broader and larger piece of a multi-surface object. Usually it is best for smooth shaped areas of a model to be made out of one large surface anyway though instead of out of a bunch of little separate faces.

- Michael

Hi Rudl,

> How will it be placed.

It is placed on to the target surface in the same relation that it has to the base plane.

So you can adjust the position of either the object inside of that plane, or increase the size of the plane itself to alter how it ends up being placed on to the target surface.


> Will it be possible to move it on the surface, or can it be scaled.

You would move or scale the base object around inside of its base plane to do stuff like that.


> Perhabs, when the originial will be conserved, moving it to X
> the copy also will move to X and so on.

It will be possible to enable history updates so that you could change the original object and see the result update.

- Michael

Hi Ed,

> Will there be a way to inset and subtract the applied object?
> That is, wrap text onto a sphere and make it look like it is
> engraved (recessed) into the sphere?

Yes, you just use the regular Boolean commands after you've made the transformed object.

Use Boolean difference for example to cut the objects away from the base, or Boolean union to cut off the interior parts and leave the pieces that protrude to the outside.


> I see how this could be done as a multi-step manual process
> after the letters are morphed, but it would be cool to have
> function that does this.

It's just one more step to use the boolean command to get what you need after the transformation.

Adding too many things directly into a single command that can already be handled by a combination of some existing tools tends to make that command get complicated and end up with too many options inside of it.

It just generally helps to keep complexity down when you can use a couple of different commands in combination with one another to get the final result that you need. That helps make each individual command a bit more simple with fewer stages and UI within each one.

It's the same reason why there isn't a Boolean option built into other transform commands like the rotate or move commands, etc...


But maybe that could eventually be a plug-in that had more extensive options for a combined flow + boolean together in one package - a lot of times plug-ins are the best way for me to make a tool that kind of combines several different things together.

- Michael

I can hardly wait!!!!!!

Michael T.

Awesome Michael :)

Looking forward to Version 3 Beta.

Nigel

Hi Michael...

See image below :


Please read my question on those image....

Thank you

Did a google scholar search for (nurbs surface uv mapping), and also for (nurbs composition mapping).
Came across interesting papers, and even a few interesting patents.
(Cannot understand most of it.)

I am looking forward to Flow and MoI3!

Hi Anis - you write that "the 2 faces already join as a single surface" - but no that's not quite accurate. They join together into a "Joined surface" which is an object made up of several faces joined together. But that's not the same thing as an actual "single surface" which means just 1 face. The way the model structure works each face that you see in the model has its own surface underneath it, so if you have more than 1 face that means that you have more than one surface as well.

So no the surface to surface mapping would not work for applying directly to the penguin belly as you have shown there.

But there are a variety of things you can still do - since that area is mostly curved just in one direction probably a curve to curve flow would work for that area rather than a surface to surface one.

Also you could create a single surface across that area by various techniques like projecting some lines onto there and the lofting them.

Also at some point I want to add in a tool that will let you merge 2 surfaces that share a common natural trim edge into one larger surface.

- Michael

Michael, I have to say - that's sick and twisted! ;-)

I mean, "sick and twisted" in a fiendishly clever and diabolical world taking-over kind of way!

...ohhh, the possibilities.

If you wanted to put type on two surfaces at one like that penguin's belly, could one just cut the type on the plane in two representative sections and wrap them on the two respective surfaces?
Is there some measure to control on where things line up and are positioned once processed?