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Home Page > 3D Debugger > Modelling Tutorials > Table Tutorial
Table Tutorial
Table Modeling Tutorial
This tutorial will demonstrate creation and modification of simple DInsight models.
We are going to create model of a table. It is recommended to keep the target
model Table.glm located in Models\Tutorial\Table folder of the installation
directory (C:\Program Files\DInsight\ by default ) opened in another instance of
3D Debugger for reference during the modeling.
Step 1. Creating top of the table.
Step 2. Creating leg of the table.
Step 3. Joining legs to the table.
Step 4. Creating frame of the table.
Step 1. Creating top of the table.
- Launch 3D Debugger or, if it is already open, select File > New menu command.
Select Model > "New Object" menu command. Make sure that
Solid\General\Box node is selected in the tree control of the dialog. In the
Object
Name edit box type "Top" to be able to distinguish the object
later in Model Explorer. Press Modify button and enter dimensions
120, 80, and 3 starting from the top edit box. Pres OK two times to create
the object. Save the model model using File > SaveAs menu command.
- Later, after the model is finished, you can change shape and dimensions of
the table top by selecting points and segments in
cross-section and dragging them around. You can also change any side to an arc
by using "Change Class" command and modifying its curvature with
the mouse or by using "Cur Elem" page of the form.
- Hide the local axes by clearing "Show Local Frame" check box on
"Cur Sect" tab.
- Select an appropriate color by using Options dialog available on "Current Object"
> Options menu command. Default color is displayed when the object is not
selected as current.. To see the color in 3D view, open Model Explorer (
Model > Explore ), select the "Top" node ( the only one
currently available ) and press "Make Not Current" button. This
will deactivate the object and will show its natural color. Press the button
again to make the Top object current.
- To add a texture to the top open "Current object">Material.
Select Texture > Load from the menu. Browse to
DInsight\Data\Textures\Wood folder and select wood001.bmp file. Check
"Use loade texture check box at the top. Press OK."
- The top is ready. Save the model using File > Save or by pressing
"s" while holding the Control key.
Step 2. Creating leg of the table.
- Select Model > New Object. In the appeared New
Object dialog select Solid\ Rotation Symmetric\Cylinder node. In Object Name
edit box type "Leg". Press Modify button to change default
dimensions. In the appeared dialog type 2 for radius and 70 for Height.
Press OK. Press OK in the New Object dialog.
- Use the right mouse button to zoom in appropriately. Note that grid changes
accordingly, which helps to make more precise mouse operations.
- We will make shape of the leg curved. Press "Break Line"
command button on "Cmd" tab and click on the segment in Cross-section
View at approximately x = 13.0 position. This will add a new point to the
segment. Add another point at approximately x=25.0. Select the segment between these two new
points and change it to an arc using "Change Class" command from
the context menu (right mouse click in the window). Drag the middle of the arc up a little to change its curvature.
- If no changes appear in 3D view, increase geometrical resolution
for surface calculation For this small feature to be drawn properly the
resolution 20 should be enough. In Options dialog, available from "Current
Object" > Options command, type 20 in "Simplex per dim" box and press
OK. Remember that increasing resolution improves appearance of the surface
but also significantly increases computational load on the computer.
- Select the point at x = 0.0 and drag it up a little to make the top joint
of the leg to look more stable.
- If you wish, make further modification to the leg in a similar fashion according to
you taste.
- Open "Cur Sect" tab of the form view. This tab allows changing
position of the current object, which currently is the leg, with respect to
global axes of the model and hence with respect to the table top. Select
"z"
radio button. Click into "Translate by" edit box. Its background
should turn green, which means that this edit box is currently attached to
the form's slider. Move slider slightly down to move the leg away from the
top surface. Then, switching between x and y radio buttons and using the
slider, move the leg into corner of the table. If slider has reached its
limit release the button. It will be positioned in the center again so you
can continue the movement.
- Select appropriate color by using sub menu "Current Object"
> Options dialog. This color can also be saved into Catalogue for
later use in other parts of the model or other models. See Catalogue.
Step 3. Joining legs to the table.
- The leg should be joined to the top of the table so that whole table can
be moved in 3D as a solid object. To join, use Model > Explore menu
command. In the tree on the left the "Leg" node should be draw current ( its
icon should have green background). Select "Top" node in the tree
and in the dialog's menu select Action > Join. Leg will become child
object of the Top object, which will be reflected in the dialogs tree
control. Close the Model Explorer.
- The previous operation did not change anything in 3D view. To make sure
that objects are joined correctly save the model to keep a backup. Modify
position of the leg using edit boxes from the "Cur Obj" tab.
Notice that the top of the table moves with the leg. This would also
happened if we have selected Top as the current object and moved it in
any way. Press Undo button on the tab to restore original position.
- Next we will add three copies of the leg. One way to do that is to save
the leg into a separate model and use Import Objects operation three times.
Instead, we will do it by using symmetries.
- Select "Current Object" > Symmetries menu command. In the
opened Symmetries dialog select Mirror radio button and press Add.
"Mirror symmetry" will appear in the list. Make sure it is
selected and press
Properties button. In the opened Mirror Symmetry dialog check Show
option to see the mirror plane in 3D. In Location group enter 30 into Y edit
box. In the Direction group set X, Y and Z values to 0, 1, and 0 respectively.
The mirror plane will be positioned in the middle of the table along its
longer side. A copy of the leg will appear on its other side. Clear Show
check box and close the Mirror symmetry dialog.
- To add the other two legs we could have added another mirror symmetry.
Instead, we will try Translation symmetry. Open Symmetries dialog again,
select Translation and press Add button. Select Translation in the list,
open its properties and enter 100, 0, 0 into X, Y and Z edit boxes
respectively. Close the dialog. Another two copies of the leg (or rather
another copy of the previous pair ) will appear in 3D.
- Hide local axes by clearing "Show Local Frame" check box on
"Cur Sect" tab and save the model.
Step 4. Creating frame of the table.
- Here we will create a simple flat plank to use it in assembly of the
table. Open New Object dialog and make sure Solid\General\Box node is
selected. Enter "Short Plank" name for the object. Press Modify
button. and enter X=2, Y=62, Z=9 for dimensions. Press OK twice to create
the object.
- Move the plank using "Cur Obj" form page to connect two legs on
the left side of the table. More precisely: Select x axis. In the "Translate by" edit box type 10 and press tab key.
Select y
axis and enter 10 into the "Translate by" box..
- To add a replica of the plank of the opposite side open "Current
Object">Symmetries dialog. In "New Symmetry" group select
Translation and press Add. Press Properties button. Enter for the
translation vector (100, 0, 0) and press OK.
- Clear "Show Local Frame" check box on
"Cur Sect" tab.
- Join the plank to the Top section like in the beginning of the Step 3.
- Set color close to one of the leg using "Current Object"
> Options dialog. You can also use stored materials to keep colors
consistent. See Catalogue.
- Create another plank for the rear part of the table frame by adding a new
box object like above with dimensions X=100, Y=2 and Z=9.
- Position the plank between rear legs and join it to the Top section.
- The front plank of the frame will be different, so we will not use
symmetries. Create new box with with dimensions X=9, Y=2 and Z=100.
- Open "Cur Obj" page of the form, select y axis and type -90 in
the Rotate by edit box. Press the Tab key. The plank will be rotated
clockwise around its y axis.
- Position the plank between the front legs by using "Translate
by" edit box and y and z radio buttons. Note that movements happen with
respect to the local axes. To avoid confusion hide temporarily global frame
using "3D" page of the form.
- Join the plank to the Top section.
- As the last improvement for the table we will make the front plank
curved. In Cross-section View (Bottom right window) select the bottom right point. Correspondent edge
of the plank will be highlighted in 3D View. Select straight
line which appeared in Profile View (bottom left window). From the context menu (right mouse) select
"Change Class" option. Click OK. Drag middle of the line down so that
table frame will be curved to make more room underneath. Do the same operation
for the other edge of the plank by selecting the top right point in
Cross-section View and repeating the procedure.
- To view the result, in the Model Explorer (Model > Explorer) select the
current object in the tree and press "Make not current" button. All sections will be rendered in
their natural non-selected color.
Note that you can select any part of the model with the help of Model
Explorer and make any additional modifications. For real life modeling you would also
adjust dimensions to exact ones by using edit boxes from Current Object page or Properties
dialogs from context menus.
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