Frank O'Kobrick

Is there anyway to send a 3d object to the surface of another 3d object that is not a DTM? I have used the Send To Surface feature in the terrain modeler and found it to be quite helpful. I have a complicated draped object that I'd like to do something similar with, but I don't know how.

I thought I'd post a follow up. This a screen shot of a Drape of a DTM that I used the Stitch & Trim feature on. I made a random extruded polygon that I then used Subtract Solids with to show that it is a solid.

Cool guys, thanks a lot. I'll give each of these a try. Thank you starling75 for putting that little demo together.

Is there anyway to create a solid from a DTM? I have tried using the create drape surface feature & then subtract solids from a giant cube, but I can't separate the upper solid from the lower. Having a solid would really help me to make more detailed modifications then I can do with just simple site modifiers.

That's what I thought but it does not seem to work very well. Maybe my paths are to long or complicated. I might try breaking them up & connecting them back after the extrude. Thanks

Is there any way to use the NURBS curve created by the Send To Surface feature as the path for a Extrude Along Path object? I'm trying to make a more realistic curb & gutter on a 3d model using a DTM model created from a survey. Any other ideas to achieve the same effect would also be appreciated. I have client that may need a lot of this kind of thing for some photo realistic site models.

I found the Filter 3d Poly's command & that solved it. Thanks again guys.

Thanks guys. I've done everything but the filter 3d poly's command. Where is it in the menu bar?

Please help! When I try to use the Create Site Model command on the 3d polys created from a survey, the object I get behaves in a very sluggish manner. Also, if I try the Drape Surface command it doesn't work with this object. I've watched the videos in the VW Online Video Library & Jonathan Pickup's podcast 043. In the videos the site plan objects they create looks much easier to handle despite the fact my survey seems much simpler then their examples. Any thoughts as to what I'm doing wrong? Settings maybe?

The Z height is controlled by the "Bearing Height" when you use the create roof command. The Z problem could also be related to the Z setting for the layer you have created the roof in. If you are assembling your 3D model with viewports, and the roof is way out of whack it is probably the Z setting of your roof layer. When you create new layers VW will reference the previous layer's delta Z in setting the new layer Z setting. This can throw things off if you don't realize what's going on.

We generate most of are 3d objects in VW while creating our construction documents and We do a lot of initial renderings w/ RW. For photo realistic renders we export to Strata 3d. There we add textures, background, figures... RenderWorks is a great value does a nice job. It is what we use most of the time, but it cannot compete w/ Strata visually IMHO. Creating architectural 3d object is much easier in VW & with the hybrid features we are able to use them right inside our 2d plans as well as 3d objects exported to Strata Strata 3d is a great 3d renderer for the price & works well with VW. Each program makes me appreciate the capabilities of the other. I think both of these are great products & priced reasonably compared to what else is out there.

I'll try this... Thanks for all your responses.

I'm not sure the size (DPI) of the pdf's, but they have a lot of graphics on them. I do have them all on separate layers & the layers set to invisible.

I have been working on a project that requires importing a bunch of pdf's from other design firms. VW becomes extremely slow when I add these to my design layers. Is there something I can do to speed things up? Would it help to put pdf's on other layers in an invisible class while I'm working in a different design layer? I'm downloading SP4 now... maybe that will help.

Can you adjust the mapping on just 1 face of an object?