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Adding trim to a windshield opening

G

gorlosky

Messages
56
I'd like to add trim to the windshield opening area to make it look smoother. I thought about creating a torus and then bending it around the curves, but I can't bend the torus (green object) up over the front section. Does anyone have other ideas ?

I did not build the original fuselage with enough segments to make it very smooth when looking past a cutout, like the windshield, so I'm trying to fix that by adding on a highly segmented torus as windshield trim. Maybe this is the wrong approach ?

trimn.jpg
 
Not sure how that's going to look, but I'd build the sort of shape you're talking about by lofting. You select the edges of your windshield rim and create a shape from these edges - this gives a spline. Then create a shape of the cross-section you want to bend around the windshield edge - another spline.
Select the windshield rim shape and create a Loft: the windshield rim shape is the Path, select the cross-section spline as the Shape. Lots of options and a really useful tool, plus it creates the shape where you need it. When I get it right, that is. :o
 
HairySpin is on it. Thats the first thing I thought of.

But I realised, maybe you want a 'thickness' of 'flat zone' on your windshield, like a flush strip of area. With that, you can cut one out by going into side view, creating a Spline pattern as a visual cut reference only, and then go into E-Mesh mode and use 'Divide' to cut vertices into Edges, then go into Polygon mode and 'Divide' and add Vertices into the centers of the polygons, then convert to E-Poly object and go to Edges, 'Create' and connect the dots, as well as deleting the unwanted edges.

Takes a short while but its very precise in creating a new cut line from a flush surface.


Another thing, if you 'Create Object' (spline) from the E-Poly of that edge, you can 'Add Mesh' to the Spline and make it a tube object, then save as an E-Mesh. Then your rounded tube is instantly created and from the objects 'exact' shape.


I just learned Lofting, and its is one brilliant way of making surrounds... But in this case, you may not need it.
 
hairyspin - I'm trying your method, but need a little assist. After I have selected all the edges (lines) around the opening, how do I create a shape from them ? what kind of shape ? I have created splines before, but that was from the raw. Do I clone what I have selected ?
 
With the edges selected, under the Edit Geometry panel you'll see a Create Shape button. That's it.
 
Hi all - I tried the Loft method with a flatten rectangle shape and it worked great. Added enough steps to smooth things out and it looks pretty good.

PROBLEM: My poly count went through the roof.

Any suggestions on the Loft parameters that will keep the smooothness but reduce poly count ? Also can I add a smoothing group to maybe compensate for less polys ?
 
Play with the Surface Parameters - both Shape and Path steps are too high by default, imo; but Shape steps is probably what you want to reduce.

Glad you got a result! :)

Edit: Skin Parameters doh!
 
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