[[solidThinking Tips]]

[#1: can't make a curve with tangency align at center?]

When you want to make a curve to have tangency align at center (X-Z plane), after you create the first point, disable X and Z coordination dragging, then create the second point. Enable coordination dragging, add points to draw a curve. When you use this curve to create surfaces, they will have tangency align at the curve section. (Ver3.5 has surface tangency align tool.)

[#2: how to move local axis origin?]

Sometimes, I want to move local axis origin to somewhere else such as an end point of a curve, or a front center corner of a surface. solidThinking doesn't allow you to modify local axis origins after once you create objects. Though still you can move the local axis origins. How?

Copy and Paste object that you want to move its local axis origin. Enable Snap to points. Enter Edit mode, pick all of edit points, drag one point where you want to move the local axis origin to, to the local axis origin. The point snaps to the local axis origin. Enter Object mode, drag object to original object. Now it is located original place and has its local axis origin at the point you wanted move to. Delete original object.(Ver3.5 has Local axis align tools.)

When you create a curve, if you want to have a local axis origin at the world axis origin, push enter after you click on a curve tool icon. If you want to have a local axis origin at the end of the curve, click on a curve tool icon, click and decide a local axis origin at the first point location, then push enter to decide the first point at exactly same location.

[#3: can't Intersect with a Curves network surface?]

Curves network surface has complex knot construction, compared to other surface type such as Skin, Coons or Birail. Duplicated knots that are created automatically causes failure in Intersecting with other surfaces. If you delete these duplicated knots manually, you can Intersect. How?

Pick Curves network surface. Click 'NURBS surface editing tool' and collapse construction tree ('Yes' to the question that you are asked). Open Modeling Tool (Ctrl+2), find duplicated knots that has same number in ( ), such as

U#009(0.5)

U#010(0.5)

You might have several sets of these duplicated knots. Do not confuse U and V directions. Pick later one (U#010), set Tolerance to 1.000, click Remove button to delete it. Now you can Intersect with other surfaces.

[#4: can't snap to extracted edges?]

You can't snap to an extracted edge that is part of a Construction tree. Simply Copy and Paste it. The new one is not part of a Construction tree. You had better not use Edit -> Collapse Construction tree, otherwise you might lose the original surface. (When the original surface is part of other Construction tree, it won't be deleted.)

[#5: how to create nice surfaces? 1]

Basically, curves in a same direction (U or V) should be drawn with same number of points. Draw with minimum number of points. Though, to create surfaces, solidThinking is fuzzy in good way, you don't really have to worry about these things. Above all, you should not change your design to create a nice surface.

[#6: do not create surfaces with looped extracted edges]

Somehow rendering never comes back.

[#7: how to divide a surface?]

solidThinking doesn't have surface divide tool. Though this is not a big deal. Just Copy and Paste the surface, Trim (or Intersect and Delete) Exterior of one of them, Trim Interior of the other of them.

[#8: combine extract edges!]

Edge Extract is one of the great unique feature of solidThinking. Moreover you can combine extracted curves that are from several serial surfaces. This feature makes it extremely easy to create simple construction of your model. (CurveSimplify tool of Ver3.5 will be really useful, because usually extracted edges have a lot of control points.)

[#9: can't uncombine?]

Combine is a useful tool when you want to deform (such as Taper, Bend and Lattice) several surfaces together. Though combined surfaces must have a same material. In such kind of cases, you might want to uncombine surfaces once you combined. It is possible. Just Copy and Paste combined object, Make original one invisible, press Alt-key down, pick one material surfaces and delete them. Make duplicated object invisible, paste combined object again, press Alt-key down, pick the other material surfaces and delete them. (This is an example when you have 2 kind of materials. If you have 3, do same things one more time.) Make the first duplicated object visible, now you have uncombined surfaces. (Ver3.5 has Uncombine tool.)

[#10: Lattice is the force field!]

When you move the Lattice-deformed object, what happens? The object changes its shape because the Lattice stays original place. When the object goes outside of the Lattice completely, it backs to original shape. Lattice is like a force field. (This is fun! :) So, when you don't want to have this interesting behavior, again, just copy and paste the Lattice-deformed object. The new one doesn't have its construction history any more.

[#11: how to create nice surfaces? 2]

When the surface you created is not enough good. You should try another order of picking curves. Basic rule is picking clockwise or counterclockwise. For 3Sides surfaces, mesh will be created along the second curve.

[#12: simple is the best]

Try to draw curves with the smallest number of points. Less number of control points always brings better result of creating surfaces. (Again, I don't mean that you have to change your idea to get a fewer control points line.) Usually a curve-on-surface or an extracted edge has a lot of control points. CurveSimplifyTool of ver3.5 will help you to get better result of creating surfaces. Even after once you create a surface with lines that have a lot of control points, you can use SurfaceSimplifyTool of ver3.5.

[#13: can't Translate specific curve or surface?]

When you make a surface with curves, the surface and the curves overlap each other. Sometimes, you might make several copies of an object at the same location. In such cases, it is hard to pick specific one. Use Browser to pick specific object, input xyz coordinates of 'To' location in Modeling Tool Manager. Or, on Browser, you can make object that you don't want to pick invisible. In case of a curve and a surface overlap each other, solidThinking seems to pick the curve when you click on the edge, and pick the surface when you click on the other part.

[#14: can't Mirror surfaces by World axis origin?]

Some objects like spheres and other primitives might have local axis origin at their center. Surfaces usually have its local axis origin at origin of first-entry curve of construction tree. Do not pick them first of surfaces to be Mirrored or Combined. Create a dummy object at World axis origin, and pick it first. Later, Copy and Paste Combined object, delete original one. Delete the dummy object. If you don't Copy and Paste Combined object, when you delete the dummy object, Mirroring axis moves to the local axis of the target object. Though, Ver3.5 has LocalAxisAlignTools, you don't have to worry about this...

[#15: can't Trim very well?]

Sometimes, Trimmed edge isn't enough beautiful. In such cases, create Extrude or Skin surface with the Trim curve, and Intersect with the target surface. Usually you can get better results in this way.

[#16: weird rendering results of glass material?]

You might have strange looks about your Mirrored glass material objects. Surface normal direction is the cause of the problem. Open Modeling toolbar, and click 'Inverse U dir'. You can have a nice tutorial about this problem on http://www.flexicad.com/forum/sThinking/17.html