Extruding face along existing curve or generated curve

# 1 14-10-2012 , 07:53 PM

EduSciVis-er
Join Date: Dec 2005

Location: Toronto

Posts: 3,374

Extruding face along existing curve or generated curve

I've got a modelling question that will ultimately be scripted, so I can't do any eyeballing or control vertex tweaking.

I want a face to be extruded along a curve that I can control. I can do this in a number of ways which all present problems.

1) Use the generate curve option in the extrude face dialogue. I cannot figure out how to make the generated curve longer, or as long as the extruded region will be. It just creates a tiny little straight curve instead the extruded geometry.

2) I can build a new curve starting at the origin, but I don't know how to make the curve move and snap right to the face so that the curve extends out from the mesh at the face(s) normal. If I leave the curve at the origin, the extrusion will also follow it, thus deforming in a weird way.

3) I can generate an extrusion along a curve, and then try to attach it to the existing mesh, but that seems really messy and error prone. And difficult.

I can draw some pics if that helps.

-stwert

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# 2 14-10-2012 , 08:22 PM

The thin red line
Join Date: Aug 2009

Location: England

Posts: 4,472

[QUOTE=stwert;343164]I've got a modelling question that will ultimately be scripted, so I can't do any eyeballing or control vertex tweaking.

I want a face to be extruded along a curve that I can control. I can do this in a number of ways which all present problems.

1) Use the generate curve option in the extrude face dialogue. I cannot figure out how to make the generated curve longer, or as long as the extruded region will be. It just creates a tiny little straight curve instead the extruded geometry.

Hi Stwert is that generate curve option new in maya..............dave

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# 3 14-10-2012 , 08:27 PM

EduSciVis-er
Join Date: Dec 2005

Location: Toronto

Posts: 3,374

I don't know Dave, it might be. I have done some "clever" experiments and have come to this conclusion.

Regardless of the settings that I can find, the generate curve option will create an initial extrude containing a curve of degree 3 and 1 span. It will be exactly 10/9 times as long as the diagonal of the extruded face. (Note I haven't tried it with multiple contiguous faces; that would be a more difficult calculation I think)

In order to lengthen the curve, you have to scale it up. Since the pivot point is at the start of the curve, this will produce the same result as extruding the face out further. You can then rebuild the curve with more spans and modify the curve, bend, etc. as necessary. I think I will go with this option. It is just a matter of controlling the extrude using the curve after it has been generated.