Object Snaps

[mmowry]

max's object snaps will be the end of me....in the attached images, i'd like the highlighted vertices to reside in the plane directly above them, without altering their X & Y coordinates. I've tried every combo of coordinate system and object snaps and for the life of me, I can't succeed any way other than eye-balling it, and that's not good enough.

 

anyone have any tried-and-true methods or suggestions? any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

-m

[Justin Hunt]

Be sure that 3D snap is on and restrict the axis to Z.

 

I find that hiding the gizmo improves snap performance, rather use the F5, F6, F7 and F8 keys to control axis lock

 

JHV

[mmowry]

Thanks, Justin, but i've tried every combo of 3D snap i can, and restricted changes to Z, all to no avail. This would seem to work, but what snap settings should be turned on? face doesn't work, as there are any number of potential Z values across the entire sloped face directly above those points. what would be optimal is if max could somehow figure out a 3D "intersect" like Sketchup does, based on an object's axial qualities rather than the current UCS. there's got to be a solution to this, judging by the amazing models i see others can produce using MAX.

 

I do use the F5-8 hotkeys to restrict the axis controls. the gizmo is more informative than useful!

 

-michael

[mohinder]

other than eye-balling it, and that's not good enough. -m

 

When I first switched from modeling from autocad to maxs I was really frustrated with maxs's comparative lack of precision.

 

I gradually learnt that, unless you REALLY need the high level of accuracy snapping offers, eye-balling isnt such a bad thing. I found it actually freed me to model more loosely and so quiclky without any visual loss of quality in my models.After all, unless someone is actually going to construct something from your model why bother with the level of accuracy that would require.

 

In maxs I found that 'if it looks right it is right' and that with snaps I was mostly just nit-picking due to the obsession with precision that I had carried over from autocad.

 

Maxs was never designed to produce models with pin-point accuracy like cad packages. I still think the snaps are a feeble attempt to try to imitate this and a hang-over from when maxs was trying to please everyone and be a jack-of-all-trades.

 

Probably doesnt really answer your question but I know how much the philosophy of modeling I am trying to describe here has helped me and thought maybe it could do the same for you too.

[mmowry]

mohinder - thanks for the reply. nope, it doesn't answer the question, but you're right, the philosophy of it may be a bigger, more important picture thing anyhow. regardless, i would really like to know how to do it.

 

seems to me that if a $500 install of sketchup can do it as easily as we breath, a $3500 install of max should do it just as well - don't cha' think?

[Justin Hunt]

Try this

 

1) create a plane and align it as needed to get the desiered angles

2) add a SLICE modifier

3) with Vertex snap on move the slice gizmo to line up with the box, add a EDIT POLY modifier, grab the three edges of the plane and Quick Slice, using the boz divisions as a guide

4) Lock Z axis and move the box verticies to snap to the plane verticies, vertex by vertex

5) Delete the Slice and edit poly modifiers from the plane or just delete the plane

 

Long winded by if you really need accuracey it should work. Attached is a set by step Max9 file

 

JHV

[a_w]

Have you tried Polar Snapping mode?

 

- restrict to one axis and make sure "use axis constraints" is on

- turn on polar snapping mode

- enable vertex and edge snaps

 

The combination of those should get you 95% there. It's still not 100% accurate, but nothing in Max ever is.

 

Polar Snapping is not on the default Snaps toolbar, but here is how you can add it:

1. Go to Customize > Custom User Interface.

2. Click the Toolbar tab: Group: "Main UI", Category: "All Commands"

3. Drag "Polar Snapping Mode" to one of your toolbars.

 

 

a_w