Hollow Solid

[CalCurated]

I have this wall tile that I created by extruding the face profile and them used the project tool to get the shape of the hexagon.  I can't figure out what I did wrong for the solid to be hollow.  Any help is greatly appreciated.

[Pat Stanford]

The polygon is probably not closed, so it has no "surface", just the line around the outside.  Look in the OIP and make sure it is closed.

[CalCurated]

Thank you for the reply Pat,

I have attached another screenshot showing the OIP.  I'm not seeing a check box.

[line-weight]

It's the polygon that you extruded to make the solid that needs to be "closed".

[Pat Stanford]

Edit the solid to get back to the source polygon and make sure that is closed.  It may be that your start and end point are not quite coincident, so you may want to take a close look at the join rather than just clicking the close button. If you know how many vertices you are supposed to have check that that is how many you actually have.

[CalCurated]

So I hope I'm not ruining my welcome here.  I did need the wall tile modeled but I was also trying to get a grasp on the project tool.  I started over and extruded my shape and made sure it was closed.  When I cut it with the hexagon geometry using the project tool I am losing the side surface and it becomes hollow.  I solved the problem by drawing the piece of geometry I need and subtracted the solid.  Am I using the project tool for the wrong application or just using it wrong?  Here is a picture of how I solved using solid subtract.

[zoomer]

18 minutes ago, CalCurated said:

Am I using the project tool for the wrong application or just using it wrong? 

 

Maybe, in this case.

 

I would draw the Profile in 2D,

(It must not have gaps, must be closed AND does not have any overlappings !)

Extrude it,

Draw the Cut Volume in 2D,

Extrude it

and do a Solid Subtraction.

 

Usually I reduce everything to a Generic Solid as soon as possible for reliability.

But in your case it may be worth to keep all modeling history.

Edited March 16, 2023 by zoomer

[Tom W.]

34 minutes ago, CalCurated said:

So I hope I'm not ruining my welcome here.  I did need the wall tile modeled but I was also trying to get a grasp on the project tool.  I started over and extruded my shape and made sure it was closed.  When I cut it with the hexagon geometry using the project tool I am losing the side surface and it becomes hollow.  I solved the problem by drawing the piece of geometry I need and subtracted the solid.  Am I using the project tool for the wrong application or just using it wrong?  Here is a picture of how I solved using solid subtract.

 

The Split Tool in Line Trim Mode is also quite good for this kind of thing (in Top/Plan, snap to centre of side of Extrude, enter the angle in the floating data bar if it's not already one of your angle snaps).

 

I tend to convert most things to Generic Solids pretty swiftly as well, to the extent that I have it as a right-click mouse command!

[zoomer]

13 minutes ago, Tom W. said:

to the extent that I have it as a right-click mouse command!

 

Me too 🙂

 

My RMB Option Menus (Selected/Unselected) are heavily rearranged and extended ....

 

(But Convert To Solid, VW does still not allow to hide the misleading warning,

Do you really want to convert - you may no more be able to edit that ever ever again ....)

Edited March 16, 2023 by zoomer

[Tom W.]

1 minute ago, zoomer said:

(But Convert To Solid, VW does still not allow to hide the misleading warning,

Do you really want to convert - you may no more be able to edit that ever ever again ....)

 

Ha ha I know. This has been discussed elsewhere. Has ANYONE ever run the 'Convert to Generic Solids' command then got cold feet + clicked 'No' on the 'Once you convert...' dialog?? If for some reason you run the command by mistake just click undo!

 

There are other warnings that come when transferring Records with the Eyedropper Tool which are equally annoying + they should really all be consigned to a red message in the status bar at the bottom of the screen instead...

[VIRTUALENVIRONS]

Looking the image you have posted.  The lines on the front that show the pattern behind.  I don't think we should be able to see them.  I think perhaps you have polygons that are still sharing the same space.  This can be problematic.  

Can you post a picture (hand drawn is necessary) that shows what you are trying to make. 

 

[line-weight]

I would do this as a solid "intersect" - draw the tile profile then draw a hexagon and extrude it through the other piece, and the intersect command will produce a solid where the two intersect.

 

If the polygon you're extruding is closed but you are still getting a hollow result, the other thing to check is that the polygon has a solid fill not a "none" fill.

[Benson Shaw]

Couldn't Section Solids work for this?

May need to click the Solid Section's OIP Reverse Direction button.

 

 

-B

Edited March 18, 2023 by Benson Shaw
10 days on the road

[VIRTUALENVIRONS]

As many have posted and depicted, there are several ways to do this, but he was trying to do this with the "Project Tool:, which could work.  It does not appear this tool was the best option.

Based on what Calcurated explained, the transition from Planar to Projected would have created a closed NURBScCurve, but if it was on the undulated surface,  trying to loft it would only produce a hollow object with no "Caps", unless "stitch and trim" were used after.  This could account for the hollow sides.

 

But,  more info from CalCurated would be helpful

[Benson Shaw]

10 hours ago, VIRTUALENVIRONS said:

he was trying to do this with the "Project Tool

Good point.

 

The Project Tool converts result into NURBS surfaces.  Always, I think.  Project Tool can work for this tile example, but additional steps are required to produce the desired solid.

 

@CalCurated Your welcome is not at all wearing thin!  Post here as often and with any questions you like.  I think you are using the the Project Tool correctly, but it is not (my opinion) the best option for this example. Try also Solid Subtraction, Solid Intersection and Solid Section.  They can all work for this, in slightly different ways.

 

PushPull in the Sub Face mode is a shortcut to the Solid Subtraction.  See attached.

 

-B

 

 

 

 

[VIRTUALENVIRONS]

Very clear and clean tutorial video.  Posting videos of the explanation is so helpful, good stuff.

 

Virtual 

 

[Benson Shaw]

Strangely, that little video shows in MacOS and iPhone OS, but not in iPadOS???  The start button is there, but click shows black screen and run time bar shows 0:00 at start and end

Anyone run it with iPad?

 

-B

[rDesign]

1 hour ago, Benson Shaw said:

Strangely, that little video shows in MacOS and iPhone OS, but not in iPadOS???  The start button is there, but click shows black screen and run time bar shows 0:00 at start and end

Anyone run it with iPad?

 

-B

Same here on my iPad Air 2. I tried with Safari, Firefox and Opera — none of which would play the video. I’ve had this happen periodically with videos on the Vw User forum before. 

[CalCurated]

Thanks again everyone.  I ended up using the Intersect Solids tool, I must have just watched a video on the project tool and was bound and determined to use it.