Mesh Workbench: Difference between revisions

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The '''Mesh Workbench''' handles [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triangle_mesh triangle meshes]. Meshes are a special type of 3D objects, composed of triangles conected by their edges and their corners (also called vertices).
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[[Image:Mesh_example.jpg|An example of a mesh object]]
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== Introduction == <!--T:1-->
An example of a mesh object
The [[Mesh Workbench|Mesh Workbench]] handles [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triangle_mesh triangle meshes]. Meshes are a special type of 3D object, composed of triangular faces connected by their vertices and edges.


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Many 3D applications use meshes as their primary type of 3D object, like [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sketchup sketchup], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blender_(software) blender], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maya_(software) maya] or [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3d_max 3d studio max]. Since meshes are very simple objects, containing only vertices (points), edges and (triangular) faces, they are very easy to create, modify, subdivide, stretch, and can easily be passed from one application to another without any loss. Besides, since they contain very simple data, 3D applications can usually manage very large quantities of them without any problem. For those reasons, meshes are often the 3D object type of choice of applications dealing with movies, animation, and image creation.
Many 3D applications, like [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sketchup Sketchup], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blender_(software) Blender], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maya_(software) Maya] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3d_max 3D Studio Max], use meshes as their primary type of 3D object. Since meshes are very simple objects, containing only vertices (points), edges and triangular faces, they are very easy to create, modify, subdivide, stretch, and can easily be passed from one application to another without any loss of details. In addition, since meshes contain very simple data, 3D applications can usually manage very large quantities of them without using a lot of resources. For these reasons, meshes are often the 3D object type of choice for applications dealing with movies, animation, and image creation.


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In the field of engineering, however, meshes present one big limitation: They are very dumb objects, only composed of points,lines and faces. They are only made of surfaces, and have no mass information, so they don't behave as solids. In a mesh there is no automatic way to know if a point is inside or outside the object. This means that all solid-based operations, such as addition or subtraction, are always a bit difficult to perform on meshes, and return errors often.
However, in the field of engineering meshes present one big limitation: they are only made of surfaces, and have no mass information, so they don't behave as solids. This means that all solid-based operations, such as addition or subtraction, are difficult to perform on meshes. The Mesh Workbench is useful to import 3D data in mesh format, to analyse it, detect errors, and finally convert it to a solid, for use with the [[Part Workbench|Part Workbench]].


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In FreeCAD, since it is an engineering application, we would obviously prefer to work with more intelligent types of 3D objects, that can carry more informations, such as mass, solid behaviour, or even custom parameters. The mesh module was first created to serve as a testbed, but be able to read, manipulate and convert meshes is also highly important for FreeCAD. Very often, in your workflow, you will receive 3D data in mesh format. You will need to handle that data, analyse it to detect errors or other problems that prevent converting them to more intelligent objects, and finally, convert them to more intelligent objects, handled by the [[Part Module]].
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[[Image:Mesh_example.jpg|600px]]
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== Tools == <!--T:7-->
=== Using the mesh module ===


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The mesh module has currently a very simple interface, all its functions are grouped in the '''Mesh''' menu entry. The most important operations you can currently do with meshes are:
The Mesh Workbench has a simple interface; all its functions are grouped in the {{MenuCommand|Mesh}} menu.
* Import meshes in several file formats
* Export meshes in several file formats
* Convert [[Part Module|Part]] objects into meshes
* Analyse curvature, faces, and check if a mesh can be safely converted into a solid
* Flip mesh [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surface_normal normals]
* Close holes in meshes
* Remove faces of meshes
* Union, subtract and intersect meshes
* Create mesh primitives, like cubes, spheres, cones or cylinders
* Cut meshes along a line


=== General tools === <!--T:19-->
These are only some of the basic operations currently present in the Mesh module interface. But the FreeCAD meshes can also be handled in many more ways by [[Mesh Scripting| scripting]].
* [[Image:Mesh_ImportMesh.png|32px]] [[Mesh Import|Import Mesh]]: Import meshes in several file formats
* [[Image:Mesh_ExportMesh.png|32px]] [[Mesh Export|Export Mesh]]: Export meshes in several file formats
* [[Image:Mesh MeshFromShape.png|32px]] [[Mesh FromPartShape|Create Mesh from shape]]: Convert [[Part Module|Part]] objects into meshes
* [[Image:Mesh_CurvaturePlot.png|32px]] [[Mesh CurvaturePlot|Curvature Plot]]: Creates a curvature plot
* [[Image:Mesh HarmonizeNormals.png|32px]] [[Mesh HarmonizeNormals|Harmonize Normals]]: Harmonize normals
* [[Image:Mesh_FlipNormals.png|32px]] [[Mesh FlipNormals|Flip Normals]]: Flip [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surface_normal normals]
* [[Mesh FillHoles|Fill Holes...]]: Fill up holes
* [[Image:Mesh_FillInteractiveHole.png|32px]] [[Mesh FillInteractiveHole|Close hole]]: Close holes in meshes
* [[Mesh AddTriangle|Add triangle]]: Add triangle
* [[Image:Mesh_RemoveComponents.png|32px]] [[Mesh RemoveComponents|Remove components...]]: Remove components of meshes
* [[Mesh RemoveCompByHand|Remove components by hand...]]: Remove components of meshes by hand
* [[Mesh CreateMeshSegment|Create mesh segments...]]: Creates mesh segments
* [[Mesh Smooth|Smooth...]]: Smooth mesh
* [[Mesh Scale|Scale]]


=== Analyze === <!--T:12-->
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Analysis of curvature, faces, and check if a mesh can be safely converted into a solid
* [[Mesh EvaluateRepair|Evaluate & Repair mesh...]]: Evaluates and repairs meshes
* [[Image:Mesh EvaluateFacet.png|32px]] [[Mesh EvaluateFacet|Face Info]]: Gives info on faces
* [[Mesh EvaluateCurvature|Curvature Info]]: Gives info on curvature
* [[Mesh EvaluateSolid|Check solid mesh]]: Checks the solid if it can be converted to a mesh
* [[Mesh BoundingBox|Boundings info...]]: Evaluates the bounding box of a mesh


=== Regular solid === <!--T:13-->
{{languages | {{de|Mesh Module/de}} {{es|Mesh Module/es}} {{fr|Mesh Module/fr}} {{pl|Mesh Module/pl}} {{ru|Mesh Module/ru}} {{se|Mesh Module/se}} }}
[[Image:Mesh_Regular_Solid.png|32px]] [[Mesh BuildRegularSolid|Regular solid...]] Create mesh primitives, like cubes, cylinders, cones, or spheres:
* [[Image:Mesh_Cube.png|32px]] [[Mesh_Cube|Mesh Cube]] Create a mesh cube
* [[Image:Mesh_Cylinder.png|32px]] [[Mesh_Cylinder|Mesh Cylinder]] Create a mesh cylinder
* [[Image:Mesh_Cone.png|32px]] [[Mesh_Cone|Mesh Cone]] Create a mesh cone
* [[Image:Mesh_Sphere.png|32px]] [[Mesh_Sphere|Mesh Sphere]] Create a mesh sphere
* [[Image:Mesh_Ellipsoid.png|32px]] [[Mesh_Ellipsoid|Mesh Ellipsoid]] Create a mesh ellipsoid
* [[Image:Mesh_Torus.png|32px]] [[Mesh_Torus|Mesh Torus]] Create a mesh torus


=== Boolean === <!--T:14-->
[[Category:User Documentation]]
* [[Mesh Union|Union]]: Does a union (fusion) on meshes
* [[Mesh Intersection|Intersection]]: Does an intersection (common) on meshes
* [[Mesh Difference|Difference]]: Does a difference (cut) on meshes

=== Cutting === <!--T:20-->
* [[Image:Mesh_PolyCut.png|32px]] [[Mesh_PolyCut|Mesh PolyCut]]: Cut meshes along a line
* [[Mesh TrimMesh|Trim mesh]]: Trims meshes
* [[Mesh TrimMeshWithPlane|Trim mesh with a plane]]: Trims meshes with a plane
* Create section from mesh and plane

=== Other === <!--T:15-->
* [[Mesh Merge|Merge]]: Merges meshes
* [[Mesh SelectMesh|Select Mesh]]: Selects meshes
* [[Mesh SplitMesh|Split Mesh]]: Splits meshes
* [[Image:Mesh MakeSegment.png|32px]] [[Mesh MakeSegment|Make segment]]: Makes a segment

== Preferences == <!--T:18-->
* [[Image:Preferences-import-export.svg|32px]] [[Import_Export_Preference|Preference]] Import-Export

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More mesh tools are available in the [[OpenSCAD Workbench|OpenSCAD Workbench]].

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Meshes can also be handled by [[Mesh Scripting|Mesh Scripting]].

==Links== <!--T:16-->

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* [[FreeCAD and Mesh Import|FreeCAD and Mesh Import]]

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[[Category:Mesh]]
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Revision as of 11:47, 29 October 2019

Introduction

The Mesh Workbench handles triangle meshes. Meshes are a special type of 3D object, composed of triangular faces connected by their vertices and edges.

Many 3D applications, like Sketchup, Blender, Maya and 3D Studio Max, use meshes as their primary type of 3D object. Since meshes are very simple objects, containing only vertices (points), edges and triangular faces, they are very easy to create, modify, subdivide, stretch, and can easily be passed from one application to another without any loss of details. In addition, since meshes contain very simple data, 3D applications can usually manage very large quantities of them without using a lot of resources. For these reasons, meshes are often the 3D object type of choice for applications dealing with movies, animation, and image creation.

However, in the field of engineering meshes present one big limitation: they are only made of surfaces, and have no mass information, so they don't behave as solids. This means that all solid-based operations, such as addition or subtraction, are difficult to perform on meshes. The Mesh Workbench is useful to import 3D data in mesh format, to analyse it, detect errors, and finally convert it to a solid, for use with the Part Workbench.

Tools

The Mesh Workbench has a simple interface; all its functions are grouped in the Mesh menu.

General tools

Analyze

Analysis of curvature, faces, and check if a mesh can be safely converted into a solid

Regular solid

Regular solid... Create mesh primitives, like cubes, cylinders, cones, or spheres:

Boolean

  • Union: Does a union (fusion) on meshes
  • Intersection: Does an intersection (common) on meshes
  • Difference: Does a difference (cut) on meshes

Cutting

Other

Preferences

More mesh tools are available in the OpenSCAD Workbench.

Meshes can also be handled by Mesh Scripting.

Links