3ds Max 2012 Bible - Kelly L. Murdock [172]
Use the Detach button to separate the selected subobjects from the rest of the object. To use this button, select the subobject and click the Detach button. The Detach dialog box opens, enabling you to name the new detached subobject. You also have the options to Detach to Element or to Detach as Clone. All subobject modes except Edge have a Detach option. This button appears in place of the Attach List button in all subobject modes.
Slicing and cutting options
The Slice Plane button lets you split the poly object along a plane. When you click the Slice Plane button, a yellow slice plane gizmo appears on the selected object. You can move, rotate, and scale this gizmo using the transform buttons. After you properly position the plane and set all options, click the Slice button to finish slicing the mesh. All intersected faces split in two, and new vertices and edges are added to the mesh where the Slice Plane intersects the original mesh.
The Slice Plane mode stays active until you deselect the Slice Plane button or until you right-click in the viewport; this feature enables you to make several slices in one session. The Slice Plane button is enabled for all subobject modes. For the Editable Poly object, a Reset Plane button is located next to the Slice Plane button. Use this button to reset the slice plane to its original location. You use the Split option to double the number of vertices and edges along the Slice Plane, so each side can be separated from the other. When used in Element mode, the Split option breaks the sliced object into two separate elements.
The QuickSlice button lets you click anywhere on an Editable Poly object where you want a slicing line to be located. You can then move the mouse, and the QuickSlice line rotates about the point you clicked on. When you click the mouse again, a new vertex is added at every place where the QuickSlice line intersects an object edge. This is a very convenient tool for slicing objects because the slice line follows the surface of the object, so you can see exactly where the slice will take place.
For the QuickSlice and Cut tools, you can enable the Full Interactivity option (located near the bottom of the Edit Geometry rollout). With this option enabled, the slice lines are shown as you move the mouse about the surface. With Full Interactivity disabled, the resulting lines are shown only when the mouse is clicked.
For Editable Poly objects, the Cut button is interactive. If you click a polygon corner, the cut edge snaps to the corner, and a new edge extends from the corner to a nearby corner. As you move the mouse around, the edge moves until you click where the edge should end. If you click in the middle of an edge or face, then new edges appear to the nearest corner.
Tutorial: Combining, cutting, and separating a car model
When dealing with a model that includes interior parts, you may want to slice the object and separate a portion to reveal the interior. Although this can be accomplished using a camera clipping plane, which is explained in Chapter 19, “Configuring and Aiming Cameras,” a more permanent solution uses the QuickSlice and Detach operations.
To combine, slice, and detach a car model, follow these steps:
1. Open the Sliced car.max file from the Chap 13 directory on the CD.
2. Before you can slice the car, you'll need to combine the entire car into a single Editable Poly object. Select one of the body parts, right-click on it, and select the Convert To⇒Editable Poly in the pop-up quadmenu.
3. Open the Modify panel, and click on the dialog box icon next to the Attach button in the Edit Geometry rollout.
4. In the Attach List dialog box that opens, click the Select All button (or use the Ctrl+A shortcut) and select the Attach button. In the Attach Options dialog box that appears, select the Match Material IDs to Material option, you can leave the Condense Materials and IDs option checked, and then click OK.
All objects are now combined into a single Editable Poly