Snapping and exact measurements

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totaldorkist
Posts: 1
Joined: Sun Jun 30, 2013 12:15 pm

Snapping and exact measurements

Postby totaldorkist » Sun Jun 30, 2013 12:28 pm

I need to make something that looks like this. Something that I don't know how to do that is hindering me from doing it are snapping to the grid (I have snapping turned on, but when I draw the path, no snapping happens). But, if you can, tell me what you would think the best way about doing this would be. The curve in the drawing is a semicircle. Also, eventually I want to export this to a 3d modeling program and make it in 3d so that it looks like this.

Thanks in advance!

Lazur
Posts: 4717
Joined: Tue Jun 14, 2016 10:38 am

Re: Snapping and exact measurements

Postby Lazur » Sun Jun 30, 2013 10:46 pm

I suggest you don't export it to a 3D program.
I know of it inside blender, and using 3D tools would be much easier, and would produce better results in accuracy and in topology,
then what could be achieved from an imported svg.

For the svg part, personally I wouldn't use snapping at all for such small drawing.
You may get better answers on how to set the default grid and snapping from someone else.
You can type in each node's coordinates, so I would go with adding nodes to the semi-circle -as did in the attached file.
There is a 3D obj attached too, just in case, modelled with blender.

By the way two length data wasn't clarified in that sketch.
Attachments
hlp55.zip
(2.08 KiB) Downloaded 192 times

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druban
Posts: 1917
Joined: Fri Nov 20, 2009 10:48 pm

Re: Snapping and exact measurements

Postby druban » Mon Jul 01, 2013 10:10 am

As Lazur said, easy to draw In inkscape - but you will have difficulty if you export to Blender because currently Blender does not support polygons with holes (compound paths). So you might as well just do it in Blender or some other 3d app.... (Tip ... If you do, don't use Boolean, use extrude.)
Your mind is what you think it is.

Lazur
Posts: 4717
Joined: Tue Jun 14, 2016 10:38 am

Re: Snapping and exact measurements

Postby Lazur » Mon Jul 01, 2013 10:46 am

Actually blender can import svg-s made of paths of any kind.
There is an extrude imput for them in the object data where you can add the depth.
The problem comes when you convert it to a mesh from curve by pressing Alt+C.
It will turn the basic shape to triangle faces, with no control on the topology of any kind.
And, as the path in svg is not representing an accurate semi-circle, it won't turn out in accurate 3D faces.

Cutting the hole after can be tricky as Druban said, because there is not a tool option to draw faces with holes inside.
Maybe through a notepad it would be possible? Not so sure about it.

Off topic:
There is a knife project option in blender that can cut holes without turning all the faces to triangles,
however it will divide the original face in half after the cut if used on one face only.

BetaTestingPro
Posts: 38
Joined: Mon Aug 15, 2011 3:27 am

Re: Snapping and exact measurements

Postby BetaTestingPro » Mon Jul 01, 2013 12:39 pm

Hey Lazur,

I'm very new to Blender, mainly because none of my previous PC's could handle using it causing freezes and crashes. However, my current laptop can run Blender just fine but I can't seem to import your .obj file. I've made sure that the option to import/export wavefront .obj files is checked but when I try to open it nothing happens. Any ideas why I cannot open your sample file?

Lazur
Posts: 4717
Joined: Tue Jun 14, 2016 10:38 am

Re: Snapping and exact measurements

Postby Lazur » Mon Jul 01, 2013 9:50 pm

Didn't checked if it could be opened without the mtl file in the same folder as the obj.

Attached now is the mtl for the previous obj, and the original blend file.
Attachments
hlp55II.zip
(70.16 KiB) Downloaded 183 times

BetaTestingPro
Posts: 38
Joined: Mon Aug 15, 2011 3:27 am

Re: Snapping and exact measurements

Postby BetaTestingPro » Mon Jul 01, 2013 10:20 pm

Thanks Lazur,

I will take a look later on as I really need to get some sleep now. I was up all night working on my new website and I'm starting to make too many mistakes so sleep must come.

BetaTestingPro
Posts: 38
Joined: Mon Aug 15, 2011 3:27 am

Re: Snapping and exact measurements

Postby BetaTestingPro » Tue Jul 02, 2013 4:24 am

Thanks Lazur,

It opened right up this time w/o any problems. I'm definitely going to have to read up on Blender. I know it's a powerful 3D tool but my skills within it are nill so far. If I remember correctly, it's not too difficult to get started with Blender if I just RTFM. I used to tinker around in it years ago but my PC really couldn't handle running it too well and it was extremely frustrating having it crash on me just when it seemed I was making progress. It runs nice and smoothly for me now which is awesome. Thanks again for the sample file. :)

Lazur
Posts: 4717
Joined: Tue Jun 14, 2016 10:38 am

Re: Snapping and exact measurements

Postby Lazur » Tue Jul 02, 2013 4:44 am

Off topic:
Hope you could get enough sleep, so I can share some thoughts on that topic you made with no worries.

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druban
Posts: 1917
Joined: Fri Nov 20, 2009 10:48 pm

Re: Snapping and exact measurements

Postby druban » Tue Jul 02, 2013 11:21 am

If you are new to Blender the object that Lazur has sent you may keep disappearing because it's very smaaaall... but it's there. familiarize yourself with the perspective/ortho switching and the clipping of perspective projections. On the other hand you may already be perfectly familiar with all that and then my post would just be completely unnecessary! Also if you are sending this object to some 3D printer be warned that Ngons are not universally supported.
Your mind is what you think it is.


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