Creating a face from a non-planar shape
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Hi,
I have a closed shape of 5 edges that is not planar, so Sketchup doesn't create a face. Is there a plugin that will do it (obviously it needs to create multiple planar faces to create the surface)?
Regards,
Ittay -
TGI3d has 'Create Mesh'
1001 Bits has something similar
Weld plugin can create faces
The line tool works too
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You could try draw - sandbox - from contours. But it would be much easier if you could post an image of what you´re trying to do.
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Hi Ittayd, hi folks.
Can you be more precise. Do you want to correct the non planar endpoint(s) by moving it/them so that the shape becomes planar and thus can be closed or do you want to force close it.
1 - MAKING AN ENDPOINT COPLANAR WITH OTHERS
In the first possibility, you can use the Move tool to actually move the endpoints. Since endpoints cannot be selected, after choosing the Select tool, make sure that nothing is selected. The Select tool has a feature that I call Autohilight. When you pass it on an entity, you get a pop-up inference and a colored dot or an entity that will highlight with your default selection color (blue by default). Some entities will be highlited, like an edge, and can then be selected by a click on them. For an endpoint, only the pop-up message "endpoint" and a green dot will let you know that you are hovering the cursor over it. Click the hiligthed endpoint to grab it and you can then move it wherever you want.
Lets suppose that you have a group of five points where four are on the same plane, lets assume the horizontal plane, and the fifth one is at a different altitude. You want to make the fifth point coplanar with the other four. After grabbing it as describe above, you move it up or down somewhat untill you get a vertical inference shown as a blue dashed line and a message stating "on blue axis". Press and hold the SHIFT key to lock that inference. Now, the endpoint can only be moved up or down while preserving its other two coordinates. While still pressing the SHIFT key, move the cursor over any of the other four points. The grabbed endpoint will snap to the correct altitude. Click to complete the move and then release the SHIFT key. Redraw any of the existing edges to close the face.
2 - CLOSING A NON COPLANAR FACE
The trick here is to triangulate the figure. Since a triangle is a flat surface, any three endpoints will be coplanar. You simply add diagonals to close triangles inside the perimeter delimited by your five endpoints, using the existing edges of the model. With five points you need two added edges to create three triangles. Once these are created, you can smooth theses added inside edges.
Just ideas.
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