584,841 active members*
4,895 visitors online*
Register for free
Login Register
TDM Systems Forum

Digital. Experienced. Powerful. - 100% Tool Management

ViaCad / Shark > Surprise Meshes Instead of Solids
Results 1 to 4 of 4
  1. #1
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
    Posts
    2100

    Surprise Meshes Instead of Solids

    A VC user in another group I read is having a problem in that his work is generating meshes instead of solids. I vaguelly recall having a problem like that once when I first started using VC but for the life of me I can't recall the settings that caused/cured it. Any ideas or suggestions?
    Bob La Londe
    http://www.YumaBassMan.com

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Posts
    1195
    What version? Are they really meshes or are there just dividing lines on the surfaces of the objects? There is a setting for controlling the number of divisions across a surface, which by default does not make them show. If you change that value, it can show many division lines and look kind of like a mesh. If you select the object, go to the Inspector window -> Object Properties -> Display, you will see there is a field where you can input the number of Iso lines. The default amount for Iso lines for new objects is in the preferences menu.

    Otherwise, I'd have to see a file to be sure of what the objects really are or aren't.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
    Posts
    2100
    No it did not just LOOk like a mesh. When you click on it it gives you a list of surface faces to select from. Weird. He is using V8. I opened it in 8 to look at it. (I have 8 and 9 installed on my main work computer).

    He claimed the following.
    1. It was generated from a single lathe operation from some profile lines.
    2. When he changed his View Shade options it was fixed.

    As a test I was able to stich it into a single soild. Sure acts like sheets or surfaces. Anyway, the whole thing doesn't make sense to me. Even when I monkeyed with my Shade options and got something that "looked" like a mesh it still "acted" like a solid.

    I also deleted all his surfaces and used his original geometry to lathe the part and I got a solid. I am just trying to figure out how he got that mess.
    Attached Files Attached Files
    Bob La Londe
    http://www.YumaBassMan.com

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Posts
    1195
    It's not a mesh, but it is a group of surfaces. I'm not sure how he arrived at that point, but I certainly have not been able to reproduce the problem using the 2d geometry he has, so my best guess is that he simplified the object somehow after creating a solid initially. He has grouped the 2d geometry twice, which means there's no way he could have used the surface tools (they won't revolve that way), so the only way you could do a revolve operation on what is there is using the solid revolve. The solid would never be produced with separate surfaces that select without a tool like the chamfer or fillet tools, so in order to get to the point of individual surfaces, an additional step (or several) had to be done. It's possible he did some things to it by accident and just doesn't realize it. One thing I note is that there are only a few of the bands that are faceted while the others are normal. To me, this suggests that the solid was changed to surfaces, then the surface that are faceted got selected and changed into the facets. Perhaps he was trying to chamfer the outer edges of the bands and didn't know how to do so (would have been easiest to do it in the 2d geometry before revolving). It says it's a pulley, so there normally wouldn't be sharp edges to those bands, which is why I wonder if he tried to do further work after creating the solid. Really, the solution is to fix the 2d geometry, then revolve a new solid and move on. I suspect we'll never be able to guess how he got what he did.

Similar Threads

  1. Complex shapes for CNC. Can this be done in polygonal meshes?
    By jininjin in forum Uncategorised CAD Discussion
    Replies: 33
    Last Post: 10-24-2013, 01:47 PM
  2. A Rude Surprise....
    By SCzEngrgGroup in forum Novakon
    Replies: 33
    Last Post: 04-26-2013, 03:40 AM
  3. Surprise mill, CNC conversion question
    By mbrittsess in forum Benchtop Machines
    Replies: 4
    Last Post: 12-21-2011, 02:56 AM
  4. Newb question -Why use meshes? confused
    By Rich05 in forum Rhino 3D
    Replies: 4
    Last Post: 02-03-2009, 02:39 AM
  5. solids
    By CV2 in forum Esprit
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 12-31-2007, 06:21 PM

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •