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planar snapping

A

airvice

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unitedkingdom
i have struggled with this for a while and wonder if there is a simple way or trick to do this.

im using 3dsmax

in this example my external side windows and frames are 100% planar and made up of multiple polys along with the glass. i want to rotate the whole object so that one edge aligns flush to the adjacent geometary. if i use vertex snap (selecting all verts) i get that particular vertex aligned sure but obvoiusly the rest of the object will still not be aligned correctly.edge snap is the same. if i start snapping verts individually i will get distortion and it will no longer be planar.

how can i snap and align one edge with another edge and the rest of the object follow without distortion.

if anyone has any suggestions

thanks
n
 
Last edited:
Just use rotate mode and rotate the object until the two edges are perfectly aligned?
 
For seamless joining of separate parts, you need to always mirror parts together. It is nearly impossible (in Gmax) to align an edge perfectly. It will usually show a hair like glistening edge when you try to align them. But cut and or group mirror will keep that from happening.

I wish I could find a way around that... arrgh. I just go in and move the Vertices a smidgeon and just live with it.
 
Try "Edge Snap" instead of "Vertex Snap." You will need to select each edge and snap it to the corresponding edge of your main object.

After snapping all of the edges, select the entire object and select "Make Planar" to adjust any inner vertices.
 
thanks all,


i have tried edge snap , but although it does what it says and snaps the edge to the target edge it does not align that edge and it remains at what ever angle it was different to the target.


and im not sure how mirror is going to help me align my window frames at this point?

thanks
 
also i have been using make planar but this then throws the adge alignment out again as it seems to take an averege of all the verts and use that for the new plane
 
I can think of a way using helpers to align the pivot of your window along the one edge and then aligning the window with another helper to lie exactly along the edge of the frame you want, but you'd do better to read Mathias on the subject on this post
 
Hi Airvice,

Is your problem that your windows are aligned to the grid, but the part of the mesh you want to join them too isn't, thus whilst you can snap them, you can't correctly *align* them with the other bits of your model?

If this is the case there are two ways you can make that happen.

1. Normal Align

2. Align (object)

Normal align - make sure you have a flat plane on you adjacent geometry that is exactly at the angle you want your windows to be. Then select the window mesh, press Alt+N. As you mouse over your window mesh you'll see an arrow pointing out from the surfaces. Select a flat plane and left click. Now mouse over your target geometry and select the plane that is at the angle you want and left click. A dialogue box will appear, you *might* want to flip your geometry.

Align object - Make sure that the pivot for your windows is correctly aligned with their shape (if they're are aligned to the grid, reset x-form will do the trick). Then create a box using auto-grid on the plane that's where you want your windows attached (you may need to make one by dragging out an edge, after the alignment it can then be deleted). This box will now be aligned perfectly on the z-axis but possibly not for the others. In this case create another which is aligned for the axis that's incorrect (by auto-gridding on another plane). Selecting one box, use align (Alt+A) and select the other box, only select the axis required to rotate the incorrect position. Now you have a box perfectly aligned in all axes to where you want your windows to be. Select the window mesh and align it (Alt+A) with the box.

That should be it! The moved windows mesh now has it's axis correctly aligned, you can continue to modify it 'in place' by using the local and parent gizmo options.

Sorry if this isn't the issue you're having...
 
I'm reading your thread but I"m having trouble picturing what it is your trying to do, is it possible you can post any pictures of what it is your trying to do? I'm sorry if I seem dumb to ask that question/lack of sleep here.

All I can pick up is you want to rotate some windows and align them on the other side? Ah hhh uurr doesn't compute...@#$!#$34 ZZzZZZzZzz:speanut:
 
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