A new v3 beta (version Sep-1-2012) is now available for download here: http://moi3d.com/beta.htm , also linked to from the download page on the main web site.

New stuff:

Updated Solids++ geometry library to latest version, includes various bug fixes but please also be on the lookout for any regressions (things that used to work previously but don't anymore after the update).

For Mac OSX this version should now work ok on OSX 10.8 Mountain Lion, please let me know if you still see any issues there.

Updated Network command - fixed a bug that was causing Network results to be extra lumpy in certain circumstances, the fix should give better quality surfaces. There is also a new "Mode" option that you can adjust to modify the fitting behavior.
    Mode = "Normal" fits the boundary curves by the regular fitting tolerance. This makes the resulting surface hug the shape of the boundary curves accurately enough so that it can be joined to other things built off of those same curves.
    Mode = "Lighter" makes the surface fit to a looser tolerance, making a lighter surface but that adheres less to the boundary curves.
    Mode = "Custom" - allows you to enter in a numeric tolerance value of your own choosing.
    Mode = "Uniform" - allows you to enter in a number of points - each section of the Network is fit with that number of control points per region rather than refining things adaptively to meet a distance tolerance like the other modes.
You can use one of the other modes than "Normal" if you want to output a less constrained and lighter surface at the expense of it not hugging as tightly to the boundary curves. So one thing to note if you use Network is that there is now an additional stage to the command where you can set the mode, and the command will not complete until you push "Done" or right click on that new additional step.

Updated curve fitting - the Rebuild command can now often generate a fit to the same accuracy as before but with fewer (often about half as many) control points used. The "Delete input objects" checkbox is now turned on by default for Rebuild.

Fixed a bug with Boolean Union when some open surfaces were used as part of the boolean, where in some circumstances it would not recognize and remove "interior cell walls" between 2 solid regions. This fixes the bug reported on the forum here: http://moi3d.com/forum/index.php?webtag=MOI&msg=4388.160

Updated Alt so holding Alt will also suppress the "Closed" snap when drawing a curve or polyline same as it suppresses other snaps. Reported on the forum here: http://moi3d.com/forum/index.php?webtag=MOI&msg=5338.1

Fixed file handling on Mac OSX so that any of the characters:     " * <> ? |     can be used ok in a file or directory name now - previously a file name with any of those characters would not work properly, which was a side effect of them being illegal filename characters in Windows.


Please let me know if you see anything behaving odd, it would not be too surprising to have some tweaks needed after some geometry library churn.

- Michael

Cool.. thanks Michael..

I've posted this on C4DLounge as well.
http://www.c4dlounge.eu/forum/showpost.php?p=37360&postcount=30


Peace,
Rich_Art. ;-)

Me too on some varius 3D sites ;)

bad export??

Hi Michael,

Just tested the new beta but when I try to export to OBJ I get holes in my mesh.
See image and I have attached the Moi file.




Is this because an error or a bad modeled object. :-)

Peace,
Rich_Art. ;-)

Hi Rich,

I just tried this in V2 and get the same result, it's just a graphical thing the surface is there when you export it and open it up in a poly or rendering program.

If you want to see the face put a value of 8 in 'Divide larger than' in the mesh settings also I noticed you've got such a low 'Angle' input at 4.61 where visual I get the same mesh with a value of 8 just curious why 4.61?

Cheers

I opened and export using default setting:i see holes (i think they are the same you have found there..maybe..)
i also opened in MOI V-2:same results (see attachments,central image before export)
..??..
I confirm what Danny says:value=8 is ok !

------> If you want to see the face put a value of 8 in 'Divide larger than' in the mesh settings also I noticed you've got such a low 'Angle' input at 4.61 where visual I get the same mesh with a value of 8 just curious why 4.61? <------

No particular reason.. It was just a click on the slider :-)

The "Divide larger than" did the job indeed.. How did you found this number? If you use 7 or 9 the gap is back..

Peace,
Rich_Art. ;-)

8 = 2 power 3 ;)
It's alway cool to take some power of 2 for some calculations in 3D progs ;)

LoL I always was sick during mathematic lessons so I do not understand why 8 works but 7 or 9 not.. LoL Or 6, six is also the power of 2. :-)

Perhaps it is best not try to understand this mathematic stuff...


Peace,
Rich_Art. ;-)

No Sorry : 6 is not a power of 2! ;)
2
2*2 = 4 (2 power 2)
2*2*2 = 8 (2 power 3)
2*2*2*2 = 16 (2 power 4)
etc

Rich_Art<<Perhaps it is best not try to understand this mathematic stuff...>>

...totally agree...

-----> No Sorry : 6 is not a power of 2!

haha, you see, I did not lie when I told I was sick at the mathematical lessons.
I will try to stick with modeling. People like you are much better in mathematical than I am.


Peace,
Rich_Art. ;-)

Absolutly no need to know maths for make fabulous images or modeling! :)

Hahaha I'll do my best to make nice images. Although I do not have that much free time as I had a couple of years ago. Bummer....


Peace,
Rich_Art. ;-)

Hi Rich_Art, thanks for posting the model with the export problem.

Like Danny mentioned above, it seems to be a display glitch, if you go through with the export the actual polygon data seems to be generated ok.

Also since it has the same behavior in the previous v3 beta and in v2 at least it's not any new bug introduced with this new release.

I'll investigate it though and try to figure out what's going wrong.

- Michael

Was this file made with MoI? There is something about that surface. Maybe because it was shrunken (and the join tolerances)? If I delete that little surface, then select naked edges and Join, then run planar, Joining everything up again, they remain visible in the polygon export.

After the planar, Joining the new surface to the inner sunken surface, is normal and quick. Joining to the outer surface, is very prolonged. Something about that calc there.

Anyway, replacing those does something. We'll see what Michael comes up with.

Hi Burr, those surface are one with a "pole" where one spot is compressed down to a point, that's a fairly different structure than the trimmed planes that Planar will build.

Extrude with the "To point" option will make results with a pole like that currently, maybe I should make it create trimmed planes instead when it's making a planar side like that.

- Michael

>>>Was this file made with MoI?<<<

Yes it was.. :-)

@Michael,
Thanks for the explanation.

Peace,
Rich_Art. ;-)

Hi Rich_Art, so it appears to be a bug somewhere in the triangulator.

If you export with "Output N-gons" the actual n-gon will get written despite the display being wrong. But if you export as "Output: Quads & Triangles" or "Output: Triangles only", then those areas will be missing in the output as well.

If you need to export triangles instead of n-gons, you can use the attached model version - here I've edited those areas to be made up of trimmed planes as Burr mentions above and those happen to avoid the triangulation bug.

I will continue to investigate the triangulation bug, it's been quite a while since I've seen one of those.

But the attached model should get you around this issue for now anyway.

- Michael

By Taron with Sculptris ;)