How to create a multistep plugin...

iakram

Hi everyone,
Excuse me for being such a noob, I am no programmer and I have never written scripts before,
However, I'll assume that what I want to make is quite simple...
I want to develop a script that select each face in the model individually, and then put that face in a group, then latticize that group...

Any ideas on how to develop such thing?

Any help would be appreciated, thanks!

mitcorb

Hi, iAkram:
Can you clarify these questions:
When you select each face individually, do you wish to accumulate many faces to this group?
Do you mean to copy these faces in place, or cut and paste them in place to this group? Or not in place?
Do you mean by latticize that you want to create a wireframe and then give the wires some volume, maybe like a spaceframe truss?

Because there are tools that make discrete selections in series, and there is at least one tool that uses the term latticize.
Maybe someone can take your question further if you can explain the above?
Just trying to help.

iakram

Hi mitcorb, thanks for responding...
Let me explain this on the attachment
Yes, what I want to create is something like a spaceframe truss "a curtain wall to be precise" and I am aware of the latticizer plugin, the thing about latticizer is that it only works on coplanar surfaces and my mesh is deformed, so I have to select each surface individually, turn it into a group and latticize it... My question was is there a way to make a script that automatically runs these steps for me, going through all the surfaces?

Thanks!

TIG

My LatticeMaker tool is like my Latticeizer but works on the selected facets of any 3d mesh... http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?p=244981#p244981 e.g.

sdmitch

Do you want a particular size and/or shape for the lattice? Are hidden lines to be considered? Do you want the faces in one group and the lattice in another or all in one? Do you want a material applied to the lattice? Perhaps you could post a model containing a sample of the mesh.

iakram

Thanks everyone for responding...
indeed latticemaker was the answer to my problem, thanks TIG for that..
However, I encountered another problem, it's probably been posted before and I did search for it...
As per the attachment, I created a smooth mesh and resulted into those faces, in which I want to create a lattice,
However, I want to make the lattice into four edges, not three... I've been reading in the difference between triangulated and quad faces but I didn't find any successful methodology to make the lattice as such...
any help would be appreciated, thanks a lot!

TIG

You have two main choices if you want the windows to have just 4 sides...

Contrive the glazing panel's mesh so that it has 4 edges that are all on the same plane, and then erase the unneeded diagonal line, then use LatticeMaker or similar on that 4 sided face etc... The resultant pane is now one four sided flat sheet... but of course the frames won't necessarily mesh with the rest of the main surface in which they lie.
Leave the non-coplanar triangles and make the triangulated panes. Then edit/rework the frames so the diagonal one has 0 width, then erase its geometry and adjust the panes diagonal edges until they meet, and then smooth [or hide] the edges showing the change in plane of the panes' faces - this way the plane is cranked on a diagonal, whilst the frames edges are not coplanar they will remain in line with the main surface...

iakram

Great! Thanks for the info TIG... It will be taking quite some time though since I'll be have to process each window on it's own but it should work...