Twisty Donut Ring Help?
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 From:  Michael Gibson
7047.2 In reply to 7047.1 
Hi CornSnake, one of the ways that tends to be easier with twisted things is to model something initially just straight, then use Transform > Deform > Twist to apply twisting to the straight piece, then use Transform > Deform > Flow to map the long twisted shape onto a circle to get the final result.

That goes something like this:

Build a straight piece with the kind of cross-section design you want:




Select it and run Transform > Deform > Twist to twist it:




Now to prepare for doing the Flow, draw a backbone line down the middle of the twisted shape which will be the base curve for the Flow, and a circle for the target curve:




Then select the twisty thing, run Transform > deform > Flow, and at the first prompt click the backbone line for the base curve and at the second prompt click the circle for the target curve, to get a result like this:




You should probably delete the top and bottom end caps off of the shape before doing this since they will end up right on top of each other at the closing point.

Anyway, this tends to simplify things a bit since you can work on twisting and bending in separate passes rather than trying to do it all directly in place.

- Michael

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 From:  Snake (CORNSNAKE)
7047.3 In reply to 7047.2 
Thanks for the help, but I don't seem to have the deform tool! I would like to ask what version you have, but don't know where to find it. I am a student but got this software about a year ago. If the tool is in a newer version, can anyone tell me how to get that? Any help is appreciated.

Thanks!
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 From:  Michael Gibson
7047.4 In reply to 7047.3 
Hi Snake, yes the deform tools are new for version 3.

You can get a v3 upgrade from here:
http://www.studica.com/moi3d

The one you would need is the "Academic Upgrade from V2.0" .

You could also get the v3 trial version from here if you just want to test those new features:
http://moi3d.com/download.htm

- Michael
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 From:  Snake (CORNSNAKE)
7047.5 In reply to 7047.4 
Wow! Thanks! That was super helpful! I got version 3 and it's working great! One quick question though. Is there some mathematical formula that tells me what degree I should rotate the object before flowing it so that the ends can line up, or is it just guess and check?
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 From:  Michael Gibson
7047.6 In reply to 7047.5 
Hi Snake,

> Is there some mathematical formula that tells me what degree I should rotate the object
> before flowing it so that the ends can line up, or is it just guess and check?

Well it will be different depending on what shape you are twisting.

If you have a square base shape then you would want the twist to be a multiple of 90 degrees, like any of 90, 180, 270, 360, etc...

With different base shapes that would also be different too though.

- Michael
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