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FIGURE 13.15

Subobjects can be extruded along an averaged normal or locally.

Weld and Chamfer

Vertices and edges that are close or on top of one another can be combined together into one using the Weld command. The Weld and Chamfer buttons include settings dialog boxes that let you interactively see the results of different settings. The Weld settings dialog box includes a weld Threshold value and displays the number of vertices before and after the welding process, which is very useful to check whether a weld was successful.

Tip

If you run into trouble with the Weld button and its Threshold value, try using the Collapse button. •

The Target Weld button lets you click on a single vertex and move the cursor over an adjacent vertex. A rubber band line stretches from the first selected vertex to the target weld vertex and the cursor changes to indicate that the vertex under the cursor may be selected. Clicking on the target vertex welds the two vertices together.

Note

When two vertices are welded, the new vertex is positioned at a location that is halfway between both vertices, but when Target Weld is used, the first vertex is moved to the location of the second. •

The Chamfer button—which is enabled in Vertex, Edge, and Border subobject modes—lets you cut the edge off a corner and replace it with a face. Using the settings dialog box, you can interactively specify a Chamfer Amount and the number of segments. The settings dialog box also includes an Open option, which cuts a hole in the polygon face instead of replacing it with a new polygon. Figure 13.16 shows two plane objects that have been chamfered with the Open option enabled. The left plane had all its interior vertices selected, and the right plane had a selection of interior edges selected.

FIGURE 13.16

Enabling the Open option in the Chamfer settings dialog box removes a polygon instead of replacing it.

Connect

The Connect button can be used to add new edges to subobjects. In Vertex subobject mode, the button connects vertices on the opposite side of a face. In Edge and Border subobject mode, the button makes a settings dialog box available, which includes the Connect Edge Segments setting. This value is the number of edge segments to add between the selected edges or borders. It also includes Pinch and Slide values. The Pinch value moves the segments closer or farther away from each other; the Slide value moves the segments along the original edge.

Remove Isolated and Unused Map Vertices

The Remove Isolated Vertices button deletes all isolated vertices. Vertices become isolated by some operations and add unneeded data to your file. You can search and delete them quickly with this button. Good examples of isolated vertices are those created using the Create button but never attached to an edge.

The Remove Unused Map Vertices button removes any leftover mapping vertices from the object.

Weight and Crease

The Weight settings control the amount of pull that a vertex has when NURMS subdivision or a MeshSmooth modifier is used. The higher the Weight value, the more resistant a vertex is to smoothing. For edge and border subobjects, the Weight value is followed by a Crease value that determines how visible the edge is when the mesh is smoothed. A value of 1.0 ensures that the crease is visible.

Note

The Crease value is available only in Edge and Border subobject modes. •

Editing Edge subobjects

Edges are the lines that run between two vertices. Edges can be closed, which means that each side of the edge is connected to a face, or open, which means that only one face connects to the edge. When a hole exists in a mesh, all edges that are adjacent to the hole are open edges. Mesh edges, such as those in the interior of a shape that has been converted to a mesh, can also be invisible. These invisible edges appear as dotted lines that run across the face of the polygon.

You can select multiple edges by holding down either the Ctrl key while clicking the edges or the Alt key to remove