Shape Merge

[mdemczyk]

This is a question I've struggled with for a long time, which should have an easy answer.

 

I often get spline geometry from CAD for site work. I like to keep things as clean as possible and use object paint to detail the grass areas and create mounded areas, etc. So, I will use shape merge to combine the perfectly clean spline geometry with a perfectly clean edit poly plane.

 

However, if the spline (or the edit poly) is not flat - I cannot find a good way to make the geometry match the borders of the spline. Does anyone have any suggestions? It has to be something simple that I've overlooked...

 

thanks!

 

 

 

 

 

and the test max file:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/4333803/shape%20merge/Shape%20Merge%20Question.max

[Jose Negrete]

http://75ive.com/ant-stitcher/

[Corey Beaulieu]

You can also select the Border of the cut out, hold CTL+Click on vetecies option to convert selection to vertecies and then hit Make Planar in the Z axis. This will make them all flat and then you can move them to the original line.

 

It is likely that with the verts selected, you can also just align them to the line by Z only.

 

*** Never mind. Totally missed the point.

 

Shape merge is for cutting clean planametric shapes out of curved-type geometry. You are looking for a script of a lot of manual labor.

Edited August 19, 2013 by CoreyMBeaulieu
I can't read!

[Jose Negrete]

We use the ant stitcher script to connect surfaces to each other, much like you are trying to do with your surface to the spline. you could easily clone the spline and convert to poly, so you have 2 poly objects to work with the and stitcher script.

[mdemczyk]

It doesn't look like Ant Stitcher will do what I want. It will move edit meshes or edit polys... but it doesn't snap to the borders of a spline. I'm wanting to do it backwards. My SPLINES are not planar... I want to be able to make my non-planar splines have a clean mesh draped over them. Similar to what the surface tool might do - but with more complex spline shapes.

[Nicolai Bongard]

So basically you want to fill the area of your spline with a surface that consists of quads? Try the populate terrain plugin perhaps? http://populate3d.com/products/terrain/

[Jose Negrete]

So basically you want to fill the area of your spline with a surface that consists of quads? Try the populate terrain plugin perhaps? http://populate3d.com/products/terrain/

 

was going to suggest this but didnt match his original post. atleast as i understood it. hope it works for you martin

[mdemczyk]

Thanks guys! I think this will do exactly what I need it to do. (or at least close enough)

 

Getting the edges to match the spline exactly might take some tweaking. Or, I need to find a good script now that will snap verts to a segment - use that to move the edges and snap them to the spline segment.