Select Visible
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Select Visible command, which would allow you to select only those surfaces visible on the exterior of the model.
It would be pretty useful...not least for exporting complex models to stl, for rapid prototyping...if we could have a command that would allow you to Explode All, Intersect then select only the visible (hence external)faces. You'd then be able to pull a copy off to one side,minus any internal details. This could then be easily checked over for any remaining non-watertight areas.
This falls well short of a one-click "shrink-wrap" solution, but goes a good deal along that route using existing functionality.
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Could you use Fredo6's Hoverselect? I see you have some other criteria, but this plugin attempts to select only visible geometry.
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I missed that one. Thanks mitcorb, I'll check it out.
Edit: No, unfortunately I don't think that will work. Other than maybe lessening the risk of RSI in your index finger, there's not much advantage over selecting exterior faces manually as at present. In a complex model of thousands of faces, that could take an extremely long time...with the ever-present risk that you might miss one or two. What is needed is what I outlined above...selecting everything in a single step.
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Hi Alan,
Don't know whether you've ever come across this CADSpan Plugin which is originally made to speed that process up; basically deleting every "inside" geometry and only leaving a waterproof outer shell of the model.
Mind you that I've never used it so it's you who needs to test it (I also saw some "fantasy" in it related to GE models since they are supposed to be no more than a simple shell, too).
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Thanks Csaba. Yes, I've even registered at CADspan. That was the impetus for the question....the development of a shrink-wrap type function within SU itself. I've come across much cheaper, less sophisticated one-man programs that have at least the ability to intersect and automatically delete any interior waste, leaving just the shell, so we're not talking anything groundbreaking here.
The CADspan plugin isn't free, as such. The free part gets you as far as applying a SU style to the model to make it easier to check for watertightness. If you then want to actually shrink-wrap (resurface) or convert to stl you then have to upload your model to their online conversion engine. This requires the Pro version. What the free version does is give you a month's free trial of the Pro.
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Ah, so...
Sorry then; from the website I thought the plugin itself will do the job "for free" and their additional services are the paid things.
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