Yes after a little headache I have found that! With the original file from Burr
Maybe like this! :)
Copy B to C on the left - move Points then all works fine! if you copy on the right that don't work! :)



Flow is a command little capricious if you don't take it on the good way! :)

Here is a video of it:



Create plane and copy and paste. start line and use tab to angle field.

""""""""" if you copy on the right that don't work!"""""""""

Probably depends on where you clcik your surfaces during the flow command. Or even how you made your surfaces, like "dragging from top down or left to right"...........

That is very mysterious now that works even I put the copy on the right, on the left, in front of, or even behind!!

Hi Rico, I'm glad you're getting more use out of MoI for modeling now!

As you've seen above you can get bending or tapering done currently using the Flow command.

For bending it's fairly straightforward, you draw a straight line down the middle of your shape, and then a curved line for how you want the bent result. Then select your object you want to bend, run Transform > Deform > Flow, then select the line as the base for the Flow and the bent curve as the target for the Flow and that will bend your object along that curve.

This allows for a whole lot of flexibility since you can bend along any kind of curve, not just necessarily an arc shape.

See here for some bending examples:

http://moi3d.com/forum/index.php?webtag=MOI&msg=3628.246
http://moi3d.com/forum/index.php?webtag=MOI&msg=5097.2
http://moi3d.com/forum/index.php?webtag=MOI&msg=5130.5


Tapering can also be done with Flow, using the other mode of Flow where you select base and target _surfaces_ instead of using curves. This is kind of more involved, Burr shows the method above though.

In the future I want to add a "cage edit" tool which I think will be a more convenient way to do tapering as well. But until the time that is ready the method Burr shows above is how you can get it done now.

Curve to curve flow works well enough for bending that I don't think it's likely that there will be a separate Bend tool (well maybe as an optional plug-in). You just get so much more flexibility when the bent shape is defined by a curve that you can draw and customize rather than only bending around and arc shape. One of the main strategies for keeping MoI to have a light and fluid feeling in its UI is to try and get broader use out of a smaller number of tools...

- Michael

Hi Pilou,

> I believe that Michael is coding some cage or box of deformation! ;)

I am not coding it right this very minute, but it is something that I want to add in the future.

- Michael

Well Frenchy, The french are always mysterious with their fine wines and cheeses and the alure of women and such...

Hi Pilou,

> That is very mysterious now that works even I put the copy on the right,
> on the left, in front of, or even behind!!

It's only in "Projective" mode of surface-to-surface Flow that the specific placement of the base or target surface makes any difference.

In the regular mode that's being used here, it does not make any difference specifically where you have located the target plane.

If you're seeing differences it's probably because you're clicking in slightly different spots on the base and target surfaces - the pick point for where you click each one is significant, see here for an explanation of where to click on each one to match things up properly:
http://moi3d.com/forum/messages.php?webtag=MOI&msg=5853.1

- Michael

Thanks, I have never seen this post! That was not evident!

Another method with history...

Thank you guys SO much for the feedback and education.

And Michael, sorry for the scare there. I absolutely believed the facility was there, just not immediately apparent. You've already made sure everything else is present that I could think of in MOI, so how could that have been missed ? It wasn't :)

Your implementation really is elegant.. it was just missing the tutorial Burr posted (thank you so much, Burr). I'm beaming right now, and feel empowered again. It was the same feeling I got when discovering the power of your implementation of curves and Booleans.

Another question:
How did you make an industry level competing CAD program as enjoyable and addictive as Lego?
Sorry for gushing, but to me that's real genius.

@Danperk
Elegant method!

Dammit.. now I've just discovered flow with history.
Even more addicted. I suspect my wife will soon learn to dislike MOI

Hi Rico,


> And Michael, sorry for the scare there. I absolutely believed the facility was there,
> just not immediately apparent.

Actually it wasn't there in version 2.0, it's one of the new things added in for the v3 period.

I'm still in the process of adding in a lot of things!


> Another question:
> How did you make an industry level competing CAD program as enjoyable and addictive as Lego?
> Sorry for gushing, but to me that's real genius.

:) That's awesome that you're having fun with it!

Early on I had a big focus with MoI of trying to get a nice and fluid feeling while drawing things. That doesn't necessarily come from any one single thing, just from a lot of little things added together and having a big priority on avoiding things that feel clunky or feel like they're interrupting the process. It helps to keep more of a feeling of having fun with things rather than a feeling of a constant struggle, at least that's the goal.

I'm glad you're getting into the groove with it!

- Michael

Thanks Pilou!

As Martin & Burr mentioned, the flow taper should be done first to the outer shell of the base object.

Then the tapered object could be shelled to the correct thickness to avoid distortion of the gauge.

"In the future I want to add a "cage edit" tool which I think will be a more convenient way to do tapering as well."

Hi Michael,

A cage/lattice deform would be tremendous, any chance for that in the future?

Thanks,
Nate

Hi Nate, yes it's definitely on my radar. It won't make it in for version 4 though.

- Michael

Super! Thanks, Michael :)