surface subdivision size

Hi all
simple question (i hope)
how does one divide any given surface into a quad grid so that the points of the grid are always spaced in a certain distance from each other (lets say between 13 to 18 cm for example)
meshing would be a good answer (if it works) - i tried the mesh options min/max edge but that didnt really work for some reason (my guess is the long diagonal edges ruined it but im not sure)

hope it is possible, a project depends on it

Thanks

G

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by David Rutten on October 18, 2010 at 3:39am

Hi Guy,

you can't. When a surface is doubly curved, it becomes impossible to constrain distances in both directions. It can be done with flat and singly-curved surfaces (provided the curvature direction matches one of the principal directions of the grid I think).

If your surfaces are flat, I suggest you use a Rectangular Grid component to create your points. If your surface is singly-curved it becomes more difficult. Can you post a picture/file if this is the case?

--
David Rutten
david@mcneel.com
Poprad, Slovakia

Permalink Reply by Guy Austern on October 18, 2010 at 4:46am

Hi David
Thanks for the reply, although its not what i wanted to hear
Yes - the surface is double curved, and no i dont have a file since i am looking for a general solution
do you think that a triangular grid divided arranged as hexagons will be able to solve this?
the quads are not as important as the distances for me
there must be a way

Thanks

G

Permalink Reply by David Rutten on October 18, 2010 at 7:51am

No, there's absolutely no way to put a grid with distance constraints on any given surface. This is only possible for a small subset of surfaces, and then often only with directional constraints for the grid lines.

This is why maps of the Earth can preserve angle or area, but never both.

--
David Rutten
david@mcneel.com
Poprad, Slovakia

Permalink Reply by Guy Austern on October 18, 2010 at 9:21am

OK - that sounds final

i'm turning to the mathematicians for help with some kind of triangulation
I'll let you know what i discover, there might be an algorithm that can do this for some surfaces

Thanks

G

Permalink Reply by Romi on July 28, 2016 at 12:40am