New Mesh Tools

More than 70 new commands and enhancements for mesh creation, editing, analysis, and 3-D printing.

Creation ( new, enhanced)

• ExtractRenderMesh - Copies the render mesh from selected objects.
• Mesh - New Density option is a scale-independent control.
• MeshEllipsoid - Creates a mesh ellipsoid.
• MeshFromPoints - Creates a mesh from selected points or point cloud.
• MeshHeightfield - Creates a mesh based on the color values in a bitmap.
• MeshTCone - Creates a mesh cone whose apex is cut off by a plane.
• MeshTorus - Creates a mesh torus.
• MeshPatch - Creates a mesh from selected 3-D points, point cloud, polylines, and curves.
• MeshPolyline - Creates a mesh from a closed planar polyline.
• OffsetMesh - Offsets the mesh a specified distance with the option to fill the space between the two meshes to create a closed mesh.
• PlanarMesh - Creates a planar mesh from boundary curves.

Editing ( new, enhanced)

• AlignMeshVertices - Forces mesh vertices within a specified distance to the same location.
• ApplyMeshUVN - Wraps meshes and points onto a surface based on the surface u- and v- coordinates.
• CollapseMeshEdge - Collapses a mesh edge to an adjacent mesh vertex.
• CollapseMeshFace - Collapses a mesh face to adjacent mesh vertices.
• CollapseMeshFacesByArea - Collapses mesh faces that have surface areas that are greater and/or less than a specified number.
• CollapseMeshFacesByAspectRatio - Collapses mesh faces based on a specified ratio of length to width.
• CollapseMeshFacesByEdgeLength - Collapses mesh edges above or below a certain length to a single mesh vertex.
• CollapseMeshVertex - Collapses a mesh vertex to the location of another mesh vertex.
• CullDegenerateFaces - Deletes mesh faces that have zero area.
• DeleteMeshFaces - Deletes selected mesh faces.
• DupMeshEdge - Creates a polyline at selected naked edges or creases in unwelded meshes.
• DupMeshHoleBoundary - Creates a polyline that duplicates the boundary of a mesh hole.
• ExtractConnectedMeshFaces - Extracts faces that are connected to a selected face by defining the break angle between two connected faces.
• ExtractDuplicateMeshFaces - Extracts faces that are identical in a single mesh.
• ExtractMeshFaces - Extracts faces selected by picking the face or the face edge.
• ExtractMeshFacesByArea - Extracts faces within a specified range of area.
• ExtractMeshFacesByAspectRatio - Extracts faces within a specified upper and lower aspect ratio.
• ExtractMeshFacesByDraftAngle - Splits a mesh object based on the angle of the faces to the view.
• ExtractMeshFacesByEdgeLength - Extracts all faces that have an edge greater or less than a specified length.
• ExtractMeshPart - Extracts faces that are bounded by unwelded edges.
• ExtractNonManifoldMeshEdges - Separates from the parent mesh faces that have an edge that is shared by 3 or more faces.
• FillMeshHole - Fills mesh boundary with triangular mesh faces.
• FillMeshHoles - Attempts to fill all holes in mesh with triangular mesh faces.
• MeshBooleanDifference - Subtracts the shared parts of meshes from another set of meshes.
• MeshBooleanIntersection - Finds the common part of selected meshes and deletes the unshared parts.
• MeshBooleanSplit - Finds the common parts of selected meshes and creates separate meshes from the shared and unshared parts.
• MeshBooleanUnion - Creates a single mesh from selected meshes and deletes the shared area.
• MeshSplit - Splits meshes at a curve, surface, or mesh.
• MeshTrim - Trims a mesh with another object.
• PatchSingleFace - Patches a hole in a mesh with a single triangle or quad face.
• Project - Projects curves and point objects onto meshes.
• Pull - Pulls curves and point objects onto meshes.
• QuadrangulateMesh - Converts a triangle mesh into quads where possible.
• RebuildMesh - Strips all information from a mesh and returns only the mesh geometry.
• RebuildMeshNormals - Removes mesh normals then reconstructs the face and vertex normals based on the orientation of the faces.
• SplitDisjointMesh - Splits meshes that do not touch into separate objects.
• SplitMeshEdge - Splits a mesh edge to create two or more triangles.
• SplitMeshWithCurve - Splits a mesh object with a curve. This pulls the curve to the mesh, whereas the MeshSplit command projects the curve through the mesh.
• SwapMeshEdge - Swaps the corners of triangles that share the edge.
• UnWeld - Adds vertex information to each shared mesh vertex.
• UnweldEdge - Adds vertex information to each shared mesh vertex on a selected edge.
• WeldEdge - Welds selected mesh edges.
• WeldVertices - Welds selected mesh vertices.

Analysis ( new, enhanced)

• ClosestPt -  Supports mesh objects.
• DraftAngleAnalysis - Supports mesh objects.
• EMap - Supports mesh objects.
• Thickness Analysis - Uses a false-color display to evaluate the thickness of a mesh.
• Zebra - Supports mesh objects.

Print 3-D - If you have 3-D printer installed on your system, this plug-in lets you print directly the file format required for your printer. A Print 3-D menu item is added to Rhino's File menu, and your printer will display in the list. Currently supported systems include:

• 3D Systems (InVision)
• Delft Spline Systems (DeskProto)
• Dimension (Catalyst)
• Objet (Studio)
• Roland (MODELA Player)
• Solidscape (ModelWorks)
• Stratasys (Insight)
• Z Corp (ZPrint)