93 lines
4.5 KiB
Markdown
93 lines
4.5 KiB
Markdown
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Blender CAD utils (for Blender 2.80+)
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=====================================
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A tiny subset of unmissable CAD functions for Blender 3d.
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Addon [page on blender.org/wiki](http://wiki.blender.org/index.php/Extensions:2.6/Py/Scripts/Modeling/mesh_tinyCAD) (Which has most of the same info]
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### Installation
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The add-on is currently included in standard installations on Blender 2.78 onwards. Enable it by doing a search in `User Preferences > Add-ons > and type 'tiny' into the search field`. Enable 'Mesh: tinyCAD Mesh tools'.
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In Blender 2.80 distributions you might encounter an older version of this add-on, if it fails to load/run/enable, please install it again from this github repository.
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__________________
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### OK, what's this all about?
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Dedicated CAD software speeds up drafting significantly with functions like: `Extend`, `Trim`, `Intersect`, `Fillet /w radius` and `Offset /w distance`. At the moment of this writing many of these functions aren't included by default in regular distributions on Blender.org, so I've coded scripts to perform a few of the main features that I missed most.
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My scripts have shortnames: `VTX, V2X, XALL, BIX, CCEN` and are described separately in sections below. `Fillet` and `Offset` are written by zmj100 and can be found [here](http://blenderartists.org/forum/showthread.php?179375).
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Since I started this repository: Vertex Fillet / Bevel was added to master. So no more need for a separate addon. (Ctrl+Shift+b)
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### VTX
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The VTX script has lived in contrib distributions of Blender since 2010, with relatively minor changes. The feedback from BlenderArtists has been [overwhelmingly positive](http://blenderartists.org/forum/showthread.php?204836-CAD-Addon-Edge-Tools-(blender-2-6x)). I'm not going to claim it's bug free, but finding any showstopping issues has proven difficult. It now performs V, T or X selection automatically.
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Expect full freedom of orientation, but stuff must really intersect within error margins (`1.5E-6` = tolerance). These kinds of functions are handy for drawing construction lines and fixing up geometry.
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- V : extending two edges towards their _calculated_ intersection point.
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- T : extending the path of one edge towards another edge.
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- X : two edges intersect, their intersection gets a weld vertex. You now have 4 edges and 5 vertices.
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- Select two edges
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- hit `Spacebar` and type `vtx` ..select `autoVTX`
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- Bam. the rest is taken care of.
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### X ALL
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Intersect all, it programmatically goes through all selected edges and slices them all using any found intersections, then welds them.
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- XALL is fast!
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- Select as many edges as you want to intersect.
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- hit `spacebar` and type `xa` ..select `XALL intersect all edges`
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### V2X (Vertex to Intersection)
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This might be a niche accessory, but sometimes all you want is a vertex positioned on the intersection of two edges. Nothing fancy.
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### BIX (generate Bisector)
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Creates a single edge which is the bisect of two edges.
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### CCEN (Circle Centers)
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Given either
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- two adjacent edges on the circumference of an incomplete circle
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- or three vertices (not required to be adjacent)
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this operator will places the 3d cursor at original center of that circle.
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updated version may become a modal operator to generate a full set of circle vertices, with variable vertex count.
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### E2F (Extend Edge to Selected Face, Edge 2 Face)
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Select a single Edge and a single Polygon (ngon, tri, quad) within the same Object. Execute `W > TinyCAD > E2F`
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### Why on github?
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The issue tracker, use it.
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- Let me know if these things are broken in new releases. Why? I don't update Blender as often as some so am oblivious to the slow evolution.
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- If you can make a valid argument for extra functionality and it seems like something I might use or be able to implement for fun, it's going to happen.
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- I'm always open to pull requests (just don't expect instant approval of something massive, we can talk..you can use your gift of persuasion and sharp objectivism)
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