[Plugin] Shape Bender Beta

maxandvv · 19 Mar 2010, 07:11

cool! I like it!!

albayzem · 19 Mar 2010, 12:26

@ben ritter said:

Chris, I can hardly keep up with your wonderful scripts. Most importantly though, you are very much appreciated for your kindness to the SU community.

TIG · 19 Mar 2010, 14:11

@markemark said:

OK... this is embarrassing: I've forgotten how to cut the tabs off... Which command will sever them at the cut line..?

I thought I posted a reply to this...
Read the notes in the image..................
Make sure that you draw lines all round the tabs so they select separately.
Then select all of the tab's geometry and group it, then rotate the group etc etc...

madorney · 19 Mar 2010, 21:04

Hi - Can anyone help a poor soul find out how / where to download Shape Bender for Mac? Thanks!!!!

MarkEMark · 20 Mar 2010, 01:32

Hey TIG:

Thanks again. You did send me a PM on this. I posted this question about how to cut the tabs off before I PMed you. I posted the question a couple of days before I sent you the PM. I apologize if it appeared that I was badgering ya!

The PM detailed how to do this perfectly. Thanks again!

Mark

Chris Fullmer · 20 Mar 2010, 02:03

Hi Mark, the download is in the very first message in this thread. so go back to page 1 and scroll down to the bottom of my first post. You will also need to install progressbar.rb from smustard. There is a link to that in my first post also. Good luck!

Chris

madorney · 22 Mar 2010, 16:43

Hi Chris - I've managed to install the Shape Bender Plug-in, but it doesn't seem to work at all on my Mac. The tool clearly shows up under my Plugins menu, and I'm able to place the tool icon in my toolbar. But as I follow your video-tutorial to a tee, it's not working: I'm able to select the component, then the Shape Bender tool. But then I'm unable to select anything at all (nothing highlights). Help?

Thanks so much!

Chris Fullmer · 22 Mar 2010, 21:59

It sounds like maybe your straight line is not placed ont he red axis. And if your axis has been altered from its original orientation, then that will mess things up. So try resetting the global axis, then align the straight line to the red axis. See if that works. If not, could you upload a small test model?

Chris

truffel50 · 3 Apr 2010, 10:56

Wonderfull plugin! Very Thanx

berniedog · 14 Apr 2010, 15:38

Chris,
This looks exciting. I guess I'm a noob,
but I do not know where to download
the shape bender plugin????

Thank you so much!

bob

thomthom · 14 Apr 2010, 15:45

@unknownuser said:

Chris,
This looks exciting. I guess I'm a noob,
but I do not know where to download
the shape bender plugin????

Thank you so much!

bob

At the end of the first post in this thread.

berniedog · 14 Apr 2010, 19:02

Thanks Thomas for the quick reply!
Found the link, I originally thought
it was the french version- Cheers- bob

christos88 · 22 Apr 2010, 19:22

Hi,
Just downloaded the Plugin, but when I tried it out it didnt work: When i selected the component I couldnt do anything else (says to highlight a line along the red axis, but still nothing happens).

I've also tried using models users posted here, but still no go...

Any ideas? I just have to shape a facade for a project, so if worse comes to worse could i perhaps post the model here and anybody shape it for me? (i've got the curve etc)

Thanks

Dummhamer · 24 Apr 2010, 12:49

Thank's for this super-mega plugin!

DIEGO-RODRIGUEZ · 24 Apr 2010, 15:45

chris thank you very much for this update.

a query:

to generate this geometry, there are irregular shapes.

Why?
I'm doing something wrong?

Sin título.skp

Chris Fullmer · 24 Apr 2010, 15:54

@christos88 said:

Hi,
Just downloaded the Plugin, but when I tried it out it didnt work
Thanks

Hi Christos, please upload the model, or the small portion you are working on bending, and I'll see if I can get it to work. Sorry I missed your post a few days ago.

Chris

Chris Fullmer · 24 Apr 2010, 16:42

@Diego - Unfortunately that is just a side effect of how curved shapes in 3d work. I have not figure out a mathematical way to smooth those jaggies out. I'm not even sure its possible?

Chris

August · 25 Apr 2010, 22:46

@chris fullmer said:

Unfortunately that is just a side effect of how curved shapes in 3d work. I have not figure out a mathematical way to smooth those jaggies out. I'm not even sure its possible?

You could smooth out the jaggies with Beziers connecting the points, but that would simply make the curve have lots more points in it and the attached surface would have LOTS more polygons in it.

At this point in the technology, polygons are the most general-purpose way of rendering surfaces and that's what Open-GL is designed to do, and the math for that is built into the video chips.

If we had hugely faster processors, like maybe 1000 times as fast as the current standard or more, it would be possible to have all surfaces represented by mathematical formulas instead of simple polygons. That would allow everything to be arbitrarily smooth -- as you zoom in closer, the pixels are recalculated by the formulas and the formulas are designed to connect smoothly to each other. Like having every polygon represented by a Loft surface.

Of course, that's just smoothness. You would still have a limit of precision by how many different formulas were used -- the edges of Loft surfaces. At some point there will always be a trade-off between numbers of parts and the complexity of those parts. If instead of formula Loft surfaces you use 1000 times as many polygons to have smoother edges, you will still hit a limit where things go jaggy.

I hope this helps,
August

kitesurfjerry · 26 Apr 2010, 17:06

I can't seem to find the link to download Shape Bender Beta plugin. Help!!

Chris Fullmer · 26 Apr 2010, 20:18

Hey Jerry, the download is at the bottom of the first post in this thread. So go back to page 1, and scroll down past the videos and right there at the bottom of the thread should be a link to download the plugin. Hope that helps.

Chris