Sorry Andrei,forget pop-up menu...
when you call -LOFT- function in Rhino,line prompt command gives you a choice- POINT-
choose where you want to have the point and the loft will be closed to that point
(i'm not a Rhino user,i just studied a little so forgive me )

+1 for removing this thread from the universe

"... +1 for removing this thread from the universe"

Disagree. Any discussion that enlightens users on how the various tools work is a good thing.

Yes, it would cripple MoI to remove basic tools like revolve and extrude.

An analogy: I have in my shop a metal lathe and a milling machine. In theory, I can make anything on the mill that could be made on the lathe. But for making round objects, the lathe is faster and more accurate. For a hobbyist just starting out, the best investment may be to start with a milling machine. But to be profitable, I need both tools to run my business.

Ed

Hello,

Having a variety of tools in MoI really becomes important when it comes to precision and surfacing operations. I try to use the commands that will give me the best ability to easily and precisely modify the solid when the surfaces are tweaked and revised. I would not use loft for some operations for the simple reason that using loft makes a mess of the control points and desired modification becomes very difficult if not impossible. I'm not close to being highly qualified in understanding the nuances of surfacing, but I know enough to realize that thought needs to be put into what tools will give you the best final and easily modifiable result.

My 2 cents

Most of my work is geometric architecture. The basic tools like extrude and revolve handle 95% of my needs.

While I recognize the value of LOFT and use it now and then, I would not want to give up the more basic and faster tools.

cheers,
eric

OSTexo
>I would not use loft for some operations for the simple reason that using loft makes a mess of the control points and desired modification becomes very difficult if not impossible.

It's because you use Loft style - Normal and Profiles - Auto. With - Loose, Exact you will have the same amount of points as extrude have, and a lot less then sweep or network. And any modification is very simple.

M-dynamics if I understood right it loft from curves to point. If it so it is good option)

Hello,

I guess it depends on the model you're trying to build and the surface quality you're trying to achieve. Both number and the position of control points play into it. I guess the pure loft method is OK for blobby models that do not have to fit any particular constraints but that might miss an important point of having a tool like MoI, where you are able to use a variety of equally beneficial tools to achieve both a precise and easily modifiable result. I can see using Loft only how you can quickly get into a very bad spot where you are unable to change one area of a model without changing another area that you wanted to keep untouched. I know this through my own experience, and have discovered and been helped to find different ways to achieve a more desirable result with a variety of tools.

Extrude in this case is very fast
You do not need to boolean out the holes as you can just grab all the shape and text profiles and extrude straight up or down
the holes are formed automatically from the solid

This was for the beginning of the thread with the 5 sided extrude that Michael did
shayne

Very good idea with the "loft to point"!

The tools that have to be used come from the thinking process you have in mind to achieve the result in the cleanest (and most correct) way possible.

here an example about "loft to point"

http://offbroadway.blogspot.it/2007/04/model-pillow-in-rhino-3d.html

M-dynamics, good example, thanx)
Michael, it would be good to have "loft to point" in MOI.

Hay Micahel, new method to to make revolve with loft! Revolve - 15 sec, Loft - 15 sec!! )))))

Hi Andrei,

> Hay Micahel, new method to to make revolve with loft! Revolve - 15 sec, Loft - 15 sec!!

Yup, actually that's the method that I had thought you were talking about originally, remember my previous post here? :
http://moi3d.com/forum/index.php?webtag=MOI&msg=6037.10

The main problem with that method is again accuracy - the revolve generates a shape that is 100% exactly a sphere in the top part where you have an arc profile.

The loft through different angled stations only approximates a sphere to some unspecific tolerance level, it's not an exact sphere shape.

It's important for some people's uses of MoI to have accuracy in what they generate.

The easiest way to generate an exact revolved shape that is 100% round and exactly matches one specific profile curve is to use Revolve to do it.

You also get a different kind of history updating when you use a loft through many profiles like you show there - the revolve lets you edit a single profile and the revolve will update as you tweak it, giving you a new exact revolve every time just from having drawn one single curve.

It just tends to be good in general to use the smallest number of curves to generate things, like in this case using only one profile curve and using revolve is just the most efficient way to do it, it only uses one curve. Being able to generate large amounts of your model from a small number of curves is basically the key thing that makes NURBS modeling powerful for mechanical shape design and different from sub-d modeling.

For Loft in addition to replicating the curves you also have to set the "Closed" option which is not on by default. And again, needing to use some sequence of steps and special options to generate a really basic shape like this is a barrier for someone who is learning MoI to be able to create a simple shape like this...

- Michael

I know Michael, you are right I do not pretend to replace revolve with loft)
Just got and idea about this method, and yes you show this method before I forget it)
I just fun of Loft you know))) One question why when normal styly selected, Exact and Point do not work?

Hi Andrei,

> One question why when normal styly selected, Exact and Point do not work?

They work fine for me over here... If you have an example where they don't work can you please post the 3DM file for it so I can take a look?

- Michael

This one.

Just an idea :)

Does it possible to have as option something who write the functions, ShortCuts, Mouseclicks... used in a corner of the screen?

Because in the last Video of Samardac, that was be useful when you replay in slowtime! ;)

Works fine for me! With any options!
Here not closed but works fine also closed!



remember this ;)