sketchucation logo sketchucation
    • Login
    Oops, your profile's looking a bit empty! To help us tailor your experience, please fill in key details like your SketchUp version, skill level, operating system, and more. Update and save your info on your profile page today!
    πŸ«› Lightbeans Update | Metallic and Roughness auto-applied in SketchUp 2025+ Download

    PolygonMesh behavior

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Developers' Forum
    34 Posts 7 Posters 1.9k Views 7 Watching
    Loading More Posts
    • Oldest to Newest
    • Newest to Oldest
    • Most Votes
    Reply
    • Reply as topic
    Log in to reply
    This topic has been deleted. Only users with topic management privileges can see it.
    • thomthomT Offline
      thomthom
      last edited by

      I think "particular index in the mesh." refer to the index of polygons.

      @soldatino said:

      Anyway the vector that I get is 0,0,0, but the faces have smooting in SU.

      Normals in SketchUp does not relate the smoothing. Normals are always perpendicular to the face/polygon.

      To find out of the mesh has smooth edges use PolygonMesh.polygon_at http://code.google.com/intl/it/apis/sketchup/docs/ourdoc/polygonmesh.html#polygon_at or PolygonMesh.polygons http://code.google.com/intl/it/apis/sketchup/docs/ourdoc/polygonmesh.html#polygons

      Thomas Thomassen β€” SketchUp Monkey & Coding addict
      List of my plugins and link to the CookieWare fund

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • S Offline
        soldatino
        last edited by

        yes, thanks, pointing at the face I get the float values of the vector.
        Now if it is a offset valid for all the points of each face, I have to find the common points of adjacent faces, and interpolate their offsets to get the vector for the points. A lot of work... do yo think it is right?

        r3nDer tools

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • thomthomT Offline
          thomthom
          last edited by

          Think so - SU doesn't provide vertex normals.
          When I wrote Vertex Tools I have to work them out manually from the connected faces.

          Thomas Thomassen β€” SketchUp Monkey & Coding addict
          List of my plugins and link to the CookieWare fund

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • TIGT Offline
            TIG Moderator
            last edited by

            Look at a vertex.
            Get its faces.
            Get the normals of the faces [lets say there are 3 of them].
            Combine the faces' normals [vectors] using v = v1 + v2 + v3
            Now 'v' should be the combined-vector at that vertex [the vertex-normal?]...
            Test it using entities.add_line(vertex.position,v.to_a)
            which should draw a line at the vertex along the direction of the combined-vector 'v'...

            TIG

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • S Offline
              soldatino
              last edited by

              thomthom, TIG, thanks. I will attempt to write this in Ruby, even if I dont know much of this language, to do it with a post editor would be very easy, storing the array of all the normals of every face as comments within the ouput of the points ...

              note: Vertex.used_by? in a loop of all connected faces ? waiting for the eternity...

              r3nDer tools

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • thomthomT Offline
                thomthom
                last edited by

                @soldatino said:

                note: Vertex.used_by? in a loop of all connected faces ? waiting for the eternity...

                ❓

                Thomas Thomassen β€” SketchUp Monkey & Coding addict
                List of my plugins and link to the CookieWare fund

                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • S Offline
                  soldatino
                  last edited by

                  @thomthom said:

                  @soldatino said:

                  note: Vertex.used_by? in a loop of all connected faces ? waiting for the eternity...

                  ❓

                  I am worried because I think that with large model the time required will be huge.
                  Addictionally I would not repeat the calculation for the same point when the loop scans the already involved faces, but if I do not want to repeat I have to save an array for all the entities, containing normals already calculated, and to scan it also, which could be worse...

                  r3nDer tools

                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • thomthomT Offline
                    thomthom
                    last edited by

                    What are you doing? An exporter?

                    Thomas Thomassen β€” SketchUp Monkey & Coding addict
                    List of my plugins and link to the CookieWare fund

                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • thomthomT Offline
                      thomthom
                      last edited by

                      <span class="syntaxdefault"><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">for&nbsp;</span><span class="syntaxdefault">eachvrtx&nbsp;in&nbsp;0.</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">.</span><span class="syntaxdefault">numvrtx&nbsp;</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">do<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</span><span class="syntaxdefault">x&nbsp;</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">=&nbsp;</span><span class="syntaxdefault">mesh</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">.</span><span class="syntaxdefault">point_at</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">((</span><span class="syntaxdefault">vertices</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">[</span><span class="syntaxdefault">eachvrtx</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">]).</span><span class="syntaxdefault">abs</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">).</span><span class="syntaxdefault">x</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">*</span><span class="syntaxdefault">RatioPov<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;y&nbsp;</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">=&nbsp;</span><span class="syntaxdefault">mesh</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">.</span><span class="syntaxdefault">point_at</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">((</span><span class="syntaxdefault">vertices</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">[</span><span class="syntaxdefault">eachvrtx</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">]).</span><span class="syntaxdefault">abs</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">).</span><span class="syntaxdefault">y</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">*</span><span class="syntaxdefault">RatioPov<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;z&nbsp;</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">=&nbsp;</span><span class="syntaxdefault">mesh</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">.</span><span class="syntaxdefault">point_at</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">((</span><span class="syntaxdefault">vertices</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">[</span><span class="syntaxdefault">eachvrtx</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">]).</span><span class="syntaxdefault">abs</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">).</span><span class="syntaxdefault">z</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">*</span><span class="syntaxdefault">RatioPov<br /></span>
                      

                      Change into this

                      <span class="syntaxdefault"><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">for&nbsp;</span><span class="syntaxdefault">eachvrtx&nbsp;in&nbsp;0.</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">.</span><span class="syntaxdefault">numvrtx&nbsp;</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">do<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</span><span class="syntaxdefault">pt&nbsp;</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">=&nbsp;</span><span class="syntaxdefault">mesh</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">.</span><span class="syntaxdefault">point_at</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">((</span><span class="syntaxdefault">vertices</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">[</span><span class="syntaxdefault">eachvrtx</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">]).</span><span class="syntaxdefault">abs</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">)<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</span><span class="syntaxdefault">x&nbsp;</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">=&nbsp;</span><span class="syntaxdefault">pt</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">.</span><span class="syntaxdefault">x</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">*</span><span class="syntaxdefault">RatioPov<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;y&nbsp;</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">=&nbsp;</span><span class="syntaxdefault">pt</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">.</span><span class="syntaxdefault">y</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">*</span><span class="syntaxdefault">RatioPov<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;z&nbsp;</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">=&nbsp;</span><span class="syntaxdefault">pt</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">.</span><span class="syntaxdefault">z</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">*</span><span class="syntaxdefault">RatioPov<br /></span>
                      

                      Should be a little bit faster.

                      Thomas Thomassen β€” SketchUp Monkey & Coding addict
                      List of my plugins and link to the CookieWare fund

                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • S Offline
                        soldatino
                        last edited by

                        This is a part of my exporter to POV-Ray. Yes, now I apply your suggestion !

                        r3nDer tools

                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                        • S Offline
                          soldatino
                          last edited by

                          SenzaTitoloSTa.jpg

                          17/11/2010 10:03:00
                          //Ending at 17/11/2010 10:03:18

                          17/11/2010 10:09:00
                          //Ending at 17/11/2010 10:09:18

                          28935 faces
                          Later I will check on largest files...

                          r3nDer tools

                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                          • T Offline
                            tomasz
                            last edited by

                            @thomthom said:

                            Think so - SU doesn't provide vertex normals.

                            You are wrong Thomas!
                            Check this :
                            polygonmesh.normal_at(vertex_index)

                            Soldatino, your exporter will work faster now πŸ˜„
                            I think that is what you have been looking for, unless you want to do vertex welding.

                            Author of [Thea Render for SketchUp](http://www.thearender.com/sketchup)

                            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • thomthomT Offline
                              thomthom
                              last edited by

                              @unknownuser said:

                              @thomthom said:

                              Think so - SU doesn't provide vertex normals.

                              You are wrong Thomas!
                              Check this :
                              polygonmesh.normal_at(vertex_index)

                              ?

                              From the docs I see nothing that indicate vertex index. http://code.google.com/apis/sketchup/docs/ourdoc/polygonmesh.html#normal_at
                              Saying that - it doesn't even say if it's polygon index.

                              Tomaz: you got a working example?

                              Thomas Thomassen β€” SketchUp Monkey & Coding addict
                              List of my plugins and link to the CookieWare fund

                              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                              • T Offline
                                tomasz
                                last edited by

                                @thomthom said:

                                Toma**s**z: you got a working example?

                                Yep. SU2TH πŸ˜„

                                You have to extract a triangle indexes using
                                tri_indexes=polygonmesh.polygon_at(mesh_index)
                                and then
                                normal0=tri.normal_at(tri_indexes[0]) normal1=tri.normal_at(tri_indexes[1]) normal2=tri.normal_at(tri_indexes[2])

                                The docs are .... terribly bad, you know that you can't rely on them πŸ˜„

                                Now you know how to use it and speed-up your plugins.

                                EDITED. I was terribly wrong πŸ˜„ It is correct now.

                                Author of [Thea Render for SketchUp](http://www.thearender.com/sketchup)

                                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                • thomthomT Offline
                                  thomthom
                                  last edited by

                                  I can't get it working...
                                  PolygonMeshNormals.png

                                  Thomas Thomassen β€” SketchUp Monkey & Coding addict
                                  List of my plugins and link to the CookieWare fund

                                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                  • T Offline
                                    tomasz
                                    last edited by

                                    Do not count_points, count_polygons instead.
                                    1 .. mesh.count_polygons
                                    then

                                    {
                                    tri_indexes=mesh.polygon_at(i)
                                    (0..2).each{|q| p mesh.normal_at(tri_indexes[q])}
                                    }
                                    

                                    EDIT.
                                    use mesh 7 to ensure you get also normals. Doc doesn't say what is a default flag.

                                    Author of [Thea Render for SketchUp](http://www.thearender.com/sketchup)

                                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                    • thomthomT Offline
                                      thomthom
                                      last edited by

                                      But when you do 1 .. mesh.count_polygons you iterate over the polygons. And mesh.polygon_at(i) returns an array of point (vertex) indexes - which are the same indexes you get when you iterate mesh.count_points...

                                      ??

                                      PMIndex.png

                                      Thomas Thomassen β€” SketchUp Monkey & Coding addict
                                      List of my plugins and link to the CookieWare fund

                                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                      • thomthomT Offline
                                        thomthom
                                        last edited by

                                        @unknownuser said:

                                        EDIT.
                                        use mesh 7 to ensure you get also normals. Doc doesn't say what is a default flag.

                                        Ah! Yes - of course. Now I get normals.

                                        Thomas Thomassen β€” SketchUp Monkey & Coding addict
                                        List of my plugins and link to the CookieWare fund

                                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                        • T Offline
                                          tomasz
                                          last edited by

                                          Correct. They are same indexes, but now they define a triangle. In exporter you usually export triangles not a cloud of points...

                                          Have you used mesh(7)? Maybe this is why it returns Vector3d(0,0,0) instead of Vector3d(0,-1,0)?

                                          Author of [Thea Render for SketchUp](http://www.thearender.com/sketchup)

                                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                          • thomthomT Offline
                                            thomthom
                                            last edited by

                                            @unknownuser said:

                                            Have you used mesh(7)? Maybe this is why it returns Vector3d(0,0,0) instead of Vector3d(0,-1,0)?

                                            Ja - it worked then. I'm guessing that was the same reason Soldatino got 0,0,0 normals as well.

                                            Thomas Thomassen β€” SketchUp Monkey & Coding addict
                                            List of my plugins and link to the CookieWare fund

                                            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                            • 1
                                            • 2
                                            • 1 / 2
                                            • First post
                                              Last post
                                            Buy SketchPlus
                                            Buy SUbD
                                            Buy WrapR
                                            Buy eBook
                                            Buy Modelur
                                            Buy Vertex Tools
                                            Buy SketchCuisine
                                            Buy FormFonts

                                            Advertisement