Activity 4: Change the display mode and insert edges into a T-Spline form

When modeling with T-Splines, there are 3 different display modes to choose from. Changing the display mode can help you find problem areas on your model and increase performance by not having to constantly smooth the T-Spline shape.

In this activity, you:

Prerequisites

Steps

  1. Change display mode from Smooth to Box to Control Frame and back to Box to compare the different modes.

    1. Select Utilities > Display Mode to bring up the Display Mode dialog.

      2. step 12

    2. In the Display Mode dialog, select Display Mode > Box Display to show an unsmoothed version of the T-Spline form.

      3. step 12a

    3. Select Display Mode > Control Frame Display to see a combination of the unsmoothed and smoothed versions of the T-Spline.

      4. step 12b

    4. Select Display Mode > Smooth Display to go back to the smoothed version.

      5. step 12c

    5. Select Display Mode > Box Display.
    6. Select OK to close the dialog.
    Note:

    Display mode can also be switched by using the combination of Control + 1 for Box, Control +2 for Control Frame and Control + 3 for Smooth on a Mac. Or Alt +1, Alt +2, Alt +3 respectively on a PC. You can also find these controls in the Selection Options section of the Edit Form dialog.

  2. Extrude a face while working in Box Display mode.

    1. Hold down the right mouse button to bring up the radial menu.
    2. Select Edit Form in the radial menu.
    3. Select a face and hold option-command/alt while dragging the blue arrow up to extrude the face. You will notice that the performance is faster in Box mode than in Smooth mode.
    4. Hold control/alt +3 to return to smooth mode.
    5. Hold down the right mouse button and select OK from the radial menu to close the Edit Form dialog.
    6. Select Finish Form.

      7. step 13

    7. In the browser, turn of the visibility for Body1.

  3. Create a box with length 100 mm, width 100 mm, and height 200 mm and then insert an edge.

    1. To create a box, select Create > Create Form.
    2. Create a box primitive with the dimensions length 100 mm, width 100 mm, and height 200 mm.

      3. step 14a

    3. Set the number of length faces to 4, width faces to 2, and height faces to 2
    4. Click OK.
    5. Click Modify > Insert Edge.

      6. step 14b

    6. Double-click on one of the middle edges to select the entire middle loop.

      7. step 14c

    Note:

    Double-clicking on an edge selects the complete edge loop. Selecting a single edge inserts an edge to a face on either side of the selected edge. Selecting an edge loop adds a second loop.

  4. Adjust the location of the inserted edge.

    1. Drag the double arrow to adjust the position of the inserted edge.
    2. In the Insert Edge dialog, set the Insert Location to 0.75 and change the Insert Side from Single to Both.

      3. step 15a

    3. Select OK to close the Insert Edge dialog.

      4. step 15b

    Note:

    The shape of the T-Spline form changed after you inserted the additional edges. The top and the bottom of the box became sharper by adding more edges near the existing top and bottom edges. If you want to insert an edge and not change the shape of the T-Spline form, change the Insertion Mode to Exact.

  5. Delete an edge.

    1. Select the recently added upper edge loop.

      2. step 16a

    2. Select Modify > Delete or press the Delete key on your keyboard.

      3. step 16b

    3. Select Finish Form.

Activity 4 summary

In this activity, you:

Parent page: Tutorial: Create and modify T-Spline forms
Previous page: Activity 3: Modify a T-Spline form
Next page: Tutorial conclusion: Create and modify T-Spline forms