Mesh generation

In this section we will present all the commands that have features and functionalities that allow you to generate meshes starting from a series of simpler objects.

B_MeshLoft

Generated a loft based on meshes. The command will ask for a set of curves and then generate a loft that tries to match the input curves.

Some options can be provided when running the command:

  • AroundSamples: number of mesh subdivisions around the curves
  • AlongSamples: number of mesh subdivisions parallel to the curves

Mesh loft

B_PlanarQuadMesh, B_PlanarTriMesh

Generate a planar quad or triangular mesh with the given edge length parameter. This command uses a special meshing that has been develop to optimize the generation. In the first step it is possible to select multiple curves that will be sorted so that internal curves will act as holes for the generation of the quads or tris.

The second step of the commands allow you to select edge loop curves and the size of the quad to be generated. See the reference image for reference.

Click here to see the tutorial.

Planar mesh

B_DrawCrvOnMesh

This command allows you to easily draw a curve laying on a mesh, simply selecting the mesh and choosing the points you want the curve to go through. B_EditCrvOnMesh command will allow you to edit the curve also after creation.

Draw curve on mesh

B_EditCrvOnMesh

Allow to manipulate a curve on a mesh, which may have been created by B_DrawCrvOnMesh, but it can be even an ordinary curve on a mesh.

B_CopyOnMesh

Generate a copy of an object on a chosen mesh, subD, surface or brep. The user needs to select an object on the document and a reference plane. Then a target object and a point on that will be asked. The reference plane is essential to establish the object contact point with the object to copy. In other words, it will be used as a "carpet" to rise the object and copy it on the tangent plane at the target point. The reference plane could be either the construction plane the user is working on, the WorldXY plane, or any plane provided by the user.

At the final step, it is also possible to rotate the object copy around its normal direction with respect to the target mesh. At this point the option DeleteInput will appear on the command line, allowing you to delete the original object. The entire procedure is shown below:

Copy object on mesh

B_ArrayOnMesh

Generate an array of the selected object on a chosen mesh, subD, surface or brep along a curve. As B_CopyOnMesh, the user needs to select a reference plane. Then a curve will be asked. For the command to work, the curve must be laying on a mesh or equivalent. If the curve were generated using B_DrawCrvOnMesh the target mesh will not be asked, as registered in the curve data.

Some options can be provided when running the command:

  • Mode: Distance based or array number, that means the number of objects on the curve.
  • Value: Distance between object copies on the curve in case of distance mode, number of copies in case of array number mode.
  • DeleteInput: Choose if you want to keep the original object or delete it.

See the result in the picture below:

Copy object on mesh

B_MeshOffset

Generates an offsetted mesh with different offset values. Through the Botcha interface, you can easily manage points with options to Add, Remove, Select, or Move any selected point. You can choose to create a new mesh from the original or modify the existing one by toggling the Delete input option on or off. By increasing the clustering amount, the areas of the mesh influenced by each offset point will become flatter, resulting in a clearer distinction between them.

Copy object on mesh

B_MeshSnap

This command is particularly useful when building a model from a 3D scan of a shoe. It allows you to fit any last into the mesh obtained from a 3D scan. Simply overlap the rough last mesh and the scanned one and apply the modifier, selecting the scan as the Target mesh. You can also select many objects to snap to a target one.

The following parameters can be set:

  • Maximum distance: Set the distance to search within the target mesh for a matching point.
  • Target point search modes: You can choose between two search modes, Raycast or Closest point, to see which delivers the best result.
  • Interpolation: Select either Smooth or Linear interpolation between target points. You can also adjust the level of adherence to the target mesh for a more precise fit.

Different results depending on the level of precision.

B_Compare3D

This command allow you to compare two different surface objects (mesh, brep or subD) for how they differ. The command will use the first object as a base reference and will allow you to compare with the second object. The second object can be quickly swapped for different ones.

The heatmap visualization will highlight the area of maximum distance. This is a useful tool if you want to compare either two different lasts or a last with a scan of the shoe. The maximum distance will be used as a cutoff for the distance comparison, if something is further away than the given distance it will be ignored.