Soften edges with mirrored components in a model?

[CalypsoArt]

I've noticed that many of the more complex but symmetrical models tend to be made up of mirrored components. For example, for a circular model, just one quadrant is built and replicated for the other three. On the good models the geometry where they meet is hidden or softened. How can I replicate that with out having to select every edge individually? I can soften one line at a time, but soften does not work if all edges on a face is selected. Answers? suggestions?

[TIG]

As well as using the smooth-tool on things to smooth/unsmooth...

View > Hidden Geometry toggles the visibility of hidden/softened objects/edges.

Erase + Shift Hides Edges
Erase + Ctrl Smooths Edges
Erase + Ctrl + Shift UNsmooths Edges
To UNhide Edges select then when with Hidden Geom ON and use Entity Info to change their 'hidden' state [you can also change smooth/soft state there too...]

To see just Edges use Wireframe mode - but select by picking or a fence, because double/treble-clicking will select connected [unseen] faces too... which isn't what you'll probably want...

[CalypsoArt]

Thanks TIG. Was able to play around with the settings and get what I needed. Never really used "view hidden geometry"

[jeff hammond]

@calypsoart said:

I've noticed that many of the more complex but symmetrical models tend to be made up of mirrored components. For example, for a circular model, just one quadrant is built and replicated for the other three. On the good models the geometry where they meet is hidden or softened. How can I replicate that with out having to select every edge individually? I can soften one line at a time, but soften does not work if all edges on a face is selected. Answers? suggestions?

those lines are generally hidden (as opposed to softened or smooth)... and this is pretty much the only circumstance where you'd actually want to hide lines instead of soften/smooth..

easiest way = select all the lines then right_click -> hide..

edit- and depending on your selection skills, this can happen relatively quickly.. you don't have to individually go over each one with the eraser+shift for instance.

[Dave R]

I use this method frequently to help keep file size down. Here are a few hints for you.

In this image I have drawn a gear made up of smaller segments. In the background you can see the before hiding. In the center I've hidden the edges but you can still see the back face color bleeding through because the vertical faces are still there. In the foreground, you can see that I've deleted the internal faces of the segments and so there's no bleed through. Also, these segments are components so hiding the edges on one hides them on all.

In this closeup view of the top of a turned post, notice the hidden radial seam edges intersect the circular edge at the midpoint of the edge segments. This results in coplanar surfaces on either side of the seam line. The benefit to this is that there'll be no shading difference at the seam. Play with dividing a simple cylinder at the midpoint of edge segments and also at vertices. Look at how the shading occurs.

This shows the entire turned post. As you can see, it is made of eight instances of the same component. Neighboring pairs are mirror images of each other.

These bin pulls were created using this method of mirrored halves. I used the idea of the coplanar faces along the center line. The faces don't have to be very wide to make this work.

This applique uses the exact same method.

As does this chair seat. And in this case, with the wood grain texture ends up with a book matched appearance.