Cool video Ambimind!

Cheers

WOW!

Thanks Ambimind! It amazing to discover new things about MoI (even ones that were there already).
First, (What?) Somewhere, I missed the fact that you could input commands in the data box below...
I might have read about, but you just have to see things in action to remember they're there sometimes.
Second, neat to know what you can do with the combination of using multiple profiles in a Loft along with history.
I've got to give that a try.


...And just discovered that the order of profile object selection is followed in the loft.

Hi Mike,

> First, (What?) Somewhere, I missed the fact that you could
> input commands in the data box below...

Yup, type tab first to put focus into that xyz control, and then it is possible to type in a command name and press Enter to run that command. Also if you type in the name of a named object there it will select it.

And of course if you're in a drawing command that is asking you for a point there is a variety of point input that you can enter there as well, see:
http://moi3d.com/2.0/docs/moi_command_reference1.htm#__XYZ%20/%20Distance%20/%20Angle


> ...And just discovered that the order of profile object
> selection is followed in the loft.

Yup, if you have selected the profiles by individual clicks on each profile, the order that you clicked on them will be taken as the order they are lofted between. If you do something else like window select them then MoI will try to figure out the order automatically - if they're on parallel planes it will sort them by distance along that plane normal.

- Michael

Now that was pretty easy!

Glad you found it useful guys.

Mike said : "It amazing to discover new things about MoI (even ones that were there already)"
I thought the same thing when, after reading your latest mini-tut, I discovered the 'Revolve by profile tool', which I had never even noticed - and is a huge time saver since it avoids duplicating and placing multiple profiles, when achieving the same effect with the Rail tool.

Regarding command input: I use it all the time with "rebuild" and "merge" - the former especially, because MOI still has a few hiccups when it comes to chamfering, lofting, blending compound-surfaces.
Rebuild, with "keep corners" disabled is also a great alternative to chamfering curves, although I wish point placement was more adaptive to reduce point counts and corners did not need constant fixing:

Today's tutorial shows you one use for the "ArrayGem" command:::

Also known as the "Fifth Wheel of the Array Toolset", it is not presented in the standard UI and needs to be activated from the command input or by keyboard assignment.
Guess what? - ArrayGem isn't a crazy extra that makes gem stones - IT CAN USE AND ARRAY ANY OBJECT!

Briefly described - it takes any selected object, and using a reference circle (usually at a base point of the object) arrays copies of it not only along any selection of curve paths, but also in orientation to an associated surface.
For more on ArrayGem, see MoI's documentation in the additional commands section.


How to model a common hair brush:

We'll be making a Network Mesh to get the plastic molded handle.
1) Create your side profile curves. One Freeform curve will work the best.


2) Go to a side view and manipulate the points to give the profiles a interesting lateral shape like an undulating curve, doing what stylish handles do...


Yes! - You can Network Mesh funky 3D curves...


3) Draw curves to define the perpendicular boundaries of the brush handle shape.


4) Rings are made laterally along the general path of the profile curves to define the shape through the network.
Note: The rings do not have to be near the ends, infact, they'll create a smoother start and end if they are set back some.


Use as many rings as you need to "emphasize" the shape along the length of the network mesh.
5) Fit the width and height of the rings to match the profile edges in all directions. They are hard to see from the ends, so guessing is fine - you can adjust them later with it's history ability.
Also: try to rotate and orient the facing direction of the rings to best suit the flow of the network shape - as you can see in the image. Note the angles of the ring's orientation...


6) Create the Network Mesh - adjust the shape and position of the profiles and rings to get the best shape - as network meshes average the profiles to each other.


7) Boolean Trim a hole in the handle for where a hook or loop strap would go.
Trim a circle through, then Fillet the edges.
- I could write a whole tutorial on how I got that hole to work... the stupid seam curve on the mesh didn't play nice with the Fillet. I had to do half a dozen go-arounds to make it work.


8) Make profiles for the rubber bristle pad base and Network Mesh them. Use the Top view for reference.


9) Make sure the bristle pad base "sinks" into the handle.


10) Trim the handle object from the bristle pad base object.


The resulting shape...


11) Draw a line or curve and Array Direction duplicate it to fill in the pad area.


12) Draw an inset curve to trim the pattern, so that it resides more on the inside of the pad and not too close to the edges.


13) Trim and delete the excess. Mirror Copy the pattern to the other side.
Also - I added a straight line down the middle of the pad (not shown here) to complete the arrangement.


14) Project the whole pattern to the base pad object face.
This will be used for the ArrayGem to follow...


15) Create a bristle, with a little ball on top using Revolve on a profile.


16) ArrayGem needs a reference circle (maybe other shapes will work - need to find out).
If there is one handy, copy and past it. Move it up a little also - this will essentially sink the bristle into the pad a little when you array it.


17) Input the command "ArrayGem" in the input box at the bottom of the screen or use a keyboard shortcut.
There are four objects that ArrayGem will ask for in two steps:
You'll first grab the [Object to be Arrayed] along with the [Orientation Reference Ring]
Then, you'll be prompted to select the [Path Curves] and the [Face for Orientation] (not necessarily called those things).
Note: The path curves must be oriented along the surface of the face. Use Projection...


Then After 18) Selecting the array distance, ArrayGem will magically make copies of your object and arrange them along the curves with the object oriented where the reference circle is rested on the surface.
Ehhh.... hmmm... Not what I wanted. Puzzled for only a few seconds, I figured it was the physical orientation of the reference ring on the object...


I flipped it across, or mirrored the circle on it's center axis...


AFTER FIVE MINUTES!!! Be patient, it takes some time to copy hundreds of your favorite objects along convoluted surfaces and paths...
You may need to change the Spacing variable...


Sweet!
Note: I have found that as the array moves along sharper curvatures, the distance seems to increase. You may have problems getting a nice arrangement around more curved surfaces.
This takes true trial and error.


Introducing the New MOI hair brush series!!! (oohs and ahhs) Comes in 22 Fabulous Colors!



Michael: Just another wish suggestion, think nothing of it, if it is too esoteric. Another Array option could be made to place a grid or diamond configured (offset) grid of objects on a surface, starting from a chosen middle point and with the ability not to place objects too close to each other, or to even space them out. For instance, I tried to create cylinders to cut holes on a curved surface for a speaker grill. It was a mess.
It would essentially "blanket" a larger object with evenly spaced smaller objects in an even pattern... You could put hair follicles on a head... weird, I know.
Just a thought off the top of my head... could be kept off the UI along with this array tool. ;-)

I've seen your example of the ArrayGem function in the commands instruction list all along... but for the life of me... I thought you really meant that it was some kind of funny "gem stone" making tool!
It should've been called "ArraySurface" or something - but I guess it really is a nice "Gem".

Woooow, these are really awesome tutorials!!! Thanks for doing all that extra effort!

I like the color scheme you use for MOI's interface a lot. That's cool! What settings did you change to archive that?

Cheers,
Chyman

Hi Mike, that's a really cool use of ArrayGem!

And yes, although ArrayGem was developed to help with placing gemstones on a surface you can use it to place any kind of object along a curve on a surface as well.

A couple of notes:


> ArrayGem needs a reference circle (maybe other shapes will
> work - need to find out).

No other shapes won't work - it definitely expects to have a circle included in your selection and it uses some pieces of the circle to control the placement - the origin of the circle will be mapped to the point on the surface (so placing your other objects relative to this allows you to control the "sink in" amount like you mentioned), and also the radius of the circle is taken as the item's size - the way spacing in array gem works is that the spacing you enter will be used as the distance between each circle. That's a different style of measurement than ArrayCurve - the spacing for array curve is taken between points and the distance measured as distance traveled along the curve.


> Ehhh.... hmmm... Not what I wanted. Puzzled for only a few seconds, I figured
> it was the physical orientation of the reference ring on the object...

So what happened there is that ArrayGem maps the upward normal of the circle to the positive direction surface normal on the surface. If your target surface is an open surface instead of a solid, it can easily be possible that the positive normal direction on it is not necessarily in the way that you want. Most commands in MoI are not sensitive to that, but ArrayGem is. You can use the Flip command to flip the surface in this case to make the surface's positive normal direction to be the other side.


> Michael: Just another wish suggestion, think nothing of it, if it is too esoteric.
> Another Array option could be made to place a grid or diamond configured
> (offset) grid of objects on a surface, starting from a chosen middle point and
> with the ability not to place objects too close to each other, or to even space
> them out.

Yeah I would like to try something like that in the future - unfortunately making a robust mechanism to do that is really quite difficult, especially something that would try to work on any kind of irregular surface that is not of uniform width throughout it.

With that kind of a thing it's not like you can just solve a simple equation and get the answer, you kind of have to make a mechanism that tries to make judgement calls on how to place things to pack them in well, and trying to give an algorithm judgment is a difficult thing to do.

If you need to do that kind of surface item arrangement, I think there are a couple of Rhino plug-ins that you could get to add on to Rhino to help with that particular task.

- Michael

Magic,
Time to load up Jing!!! It would be much better.

@Magic
Maybe you can use these 2 colors scripts for some variations ;)
(all by Michael ;)

script: /* Assign random styles to solids */ var styles = moi.geometryDatabase.getObjectStyles(); var breps = moi.geometryDatabase.getObjects().getBReps(); for ( var i = 0; i < breps.length; ++i ) { var brep = breps.item(i); var style_index = Math.floor(Math.random() * styles.length); brep.styleIndex = style_index; }

script: /* Assign random styles to faces and edges */ var styles = moi.geometryDatabase.getObjectStyles(); var breps = moi.geometryDatabase.getObjects().getBReps(); for ( var i = 0; i < breps.length; ++i ) { var brep = breps.item(i); var edges = brep.getEdges(); for ( var j = 0; j < edges.length; ++j ) { edges.item(j).styleIndex = Math.floor(Math.random() * styles.length); } var faces = brep.getFaces(); for ( var j = 0; j < faces.length; ++j ) { faces.item(j).styleIndex = Math.floor(Math.random() * styles.length); } }

PS About the Random replacement component, inside SU there also a new little plugin
24 positions of a component also by Sdmitch ;) So you can take it as Source for some Target furious folishes with the Random replacement component :)
(here colors are post randomised)

>Woooow, these are really awesome tutorials!!! Thanks for doing all that extra effort!
Thanks Chyman, it's fun work.

>I like the color scheme you use for MOI's interface a lot. That's cool! What settings did you change to archive that?
I've been customizing UI's as long as I can remember, and I usually gravitate towards using my custom pen colors of teal, aqua, red and etc.
The setting for the colors are found in the Moi.ini file, and some can be set in MoI's setting dialog.
Many UI elements are .png files that can be tweaked in Paint Shop Pro or Photoshop. Those apps can tell you the RGB numbers to use for any desired color.
(http://moi3d.com/forum/messages.php?webtag=MOI&msg=1521.38)
Have fun with MoI.ini, but save a backup.

Michael, not to make light, but on a serious note:
MoI can be a Godsend for people with disabilities.
1)You only need the use of one hand. There may be pointer control systems out there for others with more impairment.
2)Not too many apps allow you to alter the sizing of UI controls to suit. Especially when your app needs a endless selection of tool buttons, sub-menus and convoluted quadruple key combinations!
MoI's UI interface is simple and customizable to any size. You can even add thickness to the lines and alter the color schemes to be more adaptable to the visually impared.
3) All it's missing is speech and audio ques! ;-)

Thanks Michael! I just had to use ArrayGem yesterday when I suddenly realized that it wasn't some silly rhinestone creator!
I kept wondering "what? ...a tool for decorating 3D Elvis suits?"
ArrayGem could come in hand for many jobs: For one, you could build an old war plane and apply all of the rivet-heads at once.


>Time to load up Jing!!! It would be much better.
I'm going to look into that, Burr! Though, I like to take my sweet time on some projects and end up performing a lot of back-tracking and revisions. But it would be an improvement.

>Maybe you can use these 2 colors scripts for some variations ;)
That's cool Pilou!

Hi Mike,

> 1)You only need the use of one hand. There may be pointer
> control systems out there for others with more impairment.

Yup, I've actually talked to several people who had injured one of their hands or arms, and they definitely appreciated that they could run MoI without needing to have one hand hovering over the keyboard constantly!

That also allows you to adopt other postures like take a drawing tablet into your lap and sit back in your chair.

- Michael

..or modeling while eating a hamburger... ;-)

Hmmm... I wondered if it was possible to blend three surfaces...



I saw Michael's example on how to make the union on an organic looking bicycle frame, where Fillet was used, then a blend.

Here, I blended two separate surfaces to the larger one respectively.
And by trimming away an amount so that there was a separation between the two blend surfaces,
I Blend-ed them together to form a whole. (as is shown on the right)

The blend was not perfect, you could see a nasty crease. Choosing a different tangent method seemed to help.
I have a few more ideas I may try.

...what was that undocumented command for the Surface Curvature Continuity tool again?... lol ;-)


===================================================================

ALSO:

Check out some very interesting solutions in Piter44's thread using Max Smirnov's Sub-D script:

http://moi3d.com/forum/index.php?webtag=MOI&msg=7409.1 (Bifurcated Tube)





http://moi3d.com/forum/index.php?webtag=MOI&msg=6674.51 (scripts)

I've been spending the last week becoming more acquainted with Kerkythea 2008 Echo. A free rendering app.
It's interface is simple enough to understand and it does have a lot of rendering power.

There are many different modes and settings that can make a render go from minutes to days, as I've experienced.



This is another render of the 1930's waffle iron that I exported from MoI during my 30-day Trial period.
The kitchen, including the tiles were created in MoI as well, but the VRay trial I was using would crash from SketchUp trying to process all that I threw into it.
Kerky to the rescue!

The scene was set up in SketchUp, imported to Kerky and a little post was done in Photoshop to add a little natural light spill glare.
There is a kitchen light made from and emissive material, along with GI sunlight and sky to add light through a window area.

The mode I used here seems a little fake in appearance. Some type of raytrace mode that supports caustics.
I prefer the Metropolis Light Transport mode (BiPT) for the most natural indoor look, but that render method was going to take months, to keep it from looking grainy.

This one is still on it's 50th hour of rendering, four times the resolution and has just begun the anti-aliasing phase.
I'm using a P4 dual core at 3 gHz (eww... thought I had more than 1 gig or ram!) with win XP.... slooooooow.

It was fun to work with and I even learned how to add Depth of Field. I'd now like to focus on rendering time efficiency.

Oh yes... when my ship comes in someday and I can finally afford MoI, I plan on kicking a little tail. ;-)

Magic -

" ... I'd now like to focus on rendering time efficiency."

Not to derail into a discussion of rendering programs, but if render time is an issue (50 hours! Yikes!) then give KeyShot a try. It plays well with MoI and it is FAST. A look through their gallery should tell you if it's a fit for the type of work you're doing. It ain't free, but time is money.

Ed Ferguson

<< ...give KeyShot a try.>>

IMO, $2000 for a renderer is ridiculous.

If you have an NVIDIA card, give Octane a shot. It's about $140 and it is super fast.

If you want FREE, then you should try Blender Cycles or LuxRender.

Thanks for the advice guys!

Yikes! KeyShot is nice but mo expensive. :-/

Took a look at some of those renderes... Frankly, LuxRender seems to have my vote, just on it's merit of mastering light transfer itself.
Spooky real...

The main drawback for me with Lux is the lack of a fully functional exporter for SketchUp. Maybe sometime in the future I hope.
I have Blender installed, but it's UI not only frustrates me, it down right makes me angry! ;-)

It seems that everyone has their own preferences, perhaps shaped by modeling platform, price and experience.