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Hi Maxwellians

I can usually model anything i want without much trouble, however there is one thing that always gives me a bad headache and it's to model the threads on screws and bolts using standard subdiv modeling tools. What approach do you guys use when you model these things ?

/ Max

I just did it with 3 helix curves and lofted those in rhino. works like a charm.

Yes i can see how this would be easy to do in Rhino as it's nurbs, but what i'm wondering is how you would approach the problem using subdiv modeling in any other type of non-nurbs/solids application. That's what i would like to know, thanks anyways Bige for sharing that.

/ Max

Awesome Kurt, great find. Thank you very much! i will watch that tutorial asap.

/ Max

Some good modeling vids! I seriously don't know how you guys find the patience to model objects using subdiv modeling! I've tried 3D Max before and man was it a mission to model!

No one in their right mind models with 3dsmax, seriously it's crap. Modo, Silo and C4D works fine for modeling. You should give them a try Teabag, it's actually very nice and easy to model with these applications once you get the hang of it. You would most likely be able to produce kickass models with something like Modo.

/ Max

Is there by any chance any nurbsmodeler or its like that can export models not in triangles but in quads?

Yes there is, Moi3D can do this pretty well. Or you could export it and then rebuild a new quadbased topology ontop of the mesh you got if you want a nice clean model you can easily UV unwrap and texture.

But.. i almost forgot to say, it's impossible to get a real nice clean perfect quadbased mesh with usable topology from Moi, it just won't happen. To get this you either need to rebuild your own topology ontop of the model or do some pretty big cleanup on the exported mesh from Moi. My vote would go for rebuilding the topology ontop of the mesh instead of attempting a cleanup, most of the time it's faster and better to do so as you will have full control of the edgeloops across your mesh. There is also one more alternative by using 3D-Coat's automatic retopology feature, however i think this thing gives somewhat unpredictable results and it's weird to use within 3DC so i rarely if ever use it.

/ Max

Maximus3D wrote:No one in their right mind models with 3dsmax, seriously it's crap.Modo, Silo and C4D works fine for modeling.

Maya...is pretty good for modeling as well

...well Maya is pretty good for everything

Hehe

Maya ? nahh.. i think it's too complex, there's just too much crap packed into that package to make the workflow fluent and smooth during modeling. I tested it numerous times but could never really get along with it for professional work. About 3dscrap.. err 3dsmax even blender is better and easier to model with. And that says alot

/ Max

Agreed, ten years into modeling with Max and I could probably model almost anything you ask me too, but wouldn't promise that it will be done in a minute or two

It's so hard to change the modelling app when you are used to one...

Am I getting old?

i know max you asked how to model.. but if you should get bored:

http://www.traceparts.com/index.asp

you can even dl .iges nurbs from there

Fernando Tella wrote:It's so hard to change the modelling app when you are used to one...

Am I getting old?

Yea, I think the same. I also think it's hard to get motivated about re-learning an application to replace what you know already.