Also since I'm fairly often doing this type of surface quality analysis by doing a "dummy" mesh export, I have a shortcut key set up for it, like this:

Key	Command
Space	SaveAs c:\temp\test.obj

With that shortcut key set up under Options > Shortcut keys, you can then push the Space bar and that will trigger a mesh file save out to OBJ format without you needing to put in any filename for it like a regular export. Then after you're done examining how the surface looks when it's finely diced up you cancel out from that rather than actually writing the test.obj file.


After a while you get kind of more used to the types of problems that are actually more just related to display glitches rather than problems in the real surface itself.


There are certain kinds of shapes as like you've got here with only gradual or shallow curvature in one direction which tend to have the most kinds of display problems.

Another thing is the display mesher has a big focus on generating things quickly so that you don't have to wait around all the time every time you do some editing operation on a model.

- Michael

Hi Michael,
Thanks for the GREAT advise !
I tried the export and see what you mean.
One thing I can't tell is if the solid is true to my upper profile line. In Moi it doesn't look like it is but in OBJ I can't see the line. Is it there and I just can't see it ?

Thanks again.



bz

Hi bz,

> One thing I can't tell is if the solid is true to my upper profile line. In Moi it doesn't look like it is
> but in OBJ I can't see the line. Is it there and I just can't see it ?

OBJ export does not do anything with curves, so you won't see them using that method for visualizing things.

But you can do something like set up the shortcut key as described above, then zoom in a bit to the area where you want to examine, then push the shortcut key and if you don't see a big shift in the silhouette of the shaded surface then you can tell that what you're seeing on the realtime display is what is really there.

Typically in the regular display you would see some amount of angularity as a display glitch due to a light display mesh, but that looks like a type of polyline where some points are on the true surface and you're seeing some straight line connections between them. Basically you wouldn't see a really major deviation from the true surface without seeing a lot of straight edged parts to the shaded display.

Since you don't see that in your case here you can tell that the surface really does not follow along to your midline upper profile - that's probably because you are using "loose" loft which works like that, it tends to make a surface that is somewhat shrunken down from the profiles instead of going directly through them but at the same time tends to make a smoother result with less wiggles and undulations in it.

If you want to make a loose loft that comes closer to that side profile, you would need to make the sections a bit larger than the profile rather than sitting right along it.

- Michael

Very Cool !!

Thanks.


bz