Cutting Clean Holes

Hi. This is my first post on this forum. I’m fairly new to blender and 3D modeling in general. I spend a good part of each evening practicing what i learn from tutorials. I am having more than a little difficulty successfully cutting holes through meshes. Everything looks fine in object mode, but as soon as i switch to edit mode then the hole things a mess. There are what appears to be floating vertices left behind, which i cannot get rid of no matter what i try! When i export the model to .x file and place it into a game engine it just looks like a pile of scrap! Any assistance will be greatly appreciated as i’m pulling whats left of my hair out every time i try to fix it!

PS. I like using the Boolean - difference modifier to cut a variety of shapes. Is there a better method to achieve clean cuts?

PS. I like using the Boolean - difference modifier to cut a variety of shapes.
If you just slap on a boolean modifier then expect to clean up the mess it makes to get anything suitable from a complex mesh.

Is there a better method to achieve clean cuts?
Knife tools http://www.blender.org/manual/modeling/meshes/editing/subdividing/knife_subdivide.html?highlight=knife

or

Note that we have no idea what kind of models you are talking about (no blend files supplied) so the the answer can only be pretty generic

Check this out. I just wrote a post on this at my website. I describe a way to use a free add-on called looptools.

http://dankollar.com/xkps

It’s actually possible to get clean booleans results, just make sure that both meshes are completely manifold (ie. watertight) and that they don’t have any loose geometry and/or inconsistent normals.

Otherwise, the boolean modifier might make a mess as it won’t know how to make the cut.

This is how i currently cut holes:

I would actually like to streamline it a bit.

Attachments

Hole.blend (317 KB)

Many thanks for the speedy reply’s. Very helpful. The video provided many options and i have enabled looptools. Also, i didn’t know that a plane could be extruded. Again, very useful info. Thanks again for all reply’s. :slight_smile:

for odd shaped holes …eg. keyholes …I find it easier to make the hole then build round it

Hi heddheld :slight_smile:

Interesting - that is my usual method in Hexagon, using the line tools to draw the outline - I miss those in Blender! How do you go about it in Blender?

for a key hole I’d start with a circle (not too many verts ) then drag out a couple verts or so to make the square bit
use offset edges to make the edge nice then extrude and scale then select sides then top/bottom and square off

dif shapes dif ways so think about the shape and the easy way to get there :wink:
hope that helps

Thanks - was just wondering if you would show a hidden method which equates to Hexagon’s line tools.

lol no I started with hex :wink:

Yeah, I know, me too!

Mayhap one of these very astute coders can write us a Hex line tools addon:)

I suspect the “hex line tools” way may already have equivalents in Blender (it allows for many approaches), thing is most of us here not familiar with the nuances of that software would have to see some demonstration examples. I know I’ve ran into similar where I’m looking for “X” that I remember from another software, but Blender has a different name or slightly different workflow to do “X”.

will admit the first few weeks in blender …I’d grrrrr and why aint like hex
not even opened hex in about 3 or 4 yrs (even then its been to show someone where a tool is )
being honest I cant remember anything special about hex’s line tool
can do anything with the tools in blender (some addons make it easier )
it just time to learn them to suit your way of working :wink:

@ RickyBlender … nice thread I musta missed that one (odd 'cos I love mushrooms )
but that’s the wrong hex mate …Roygee was asking about hexagon, its another 3d modelling app

OK - I’ve been using Hexagon for around 10 years and Blender for 6 months and it keeps popping up new things at me that I never suspected. I don’t like comparing and playing off one software against another - they all have their strong and weak points. Just as a matter of interest - and possibly interest someone in developing something along the lines of Hexagon’s line tools - which possibly do exist in Blender, but in all the hundreds of videos I’ve seen, still not found.

These tools are seriously useful and would enhance Blender’s modelling capabilities.

Just a short synopsis - if anyone is interested, I’ll see about arranging a demo - simply Googling “Hexagon line tools” will bring up a few demos.

I’d say the biggest difference between Blender and Hex in this area is that in Blender you insert a Bezier or NURBS curve - it gives you a starting point with handles. In Hex, you have the choice between drawing out a straight line, a Bezier curve, interpolated curve or a simple curve. These are all done freehand and you have control over the number of points. Additionally, you can draw out circles or arcs, with a number of options as to starting points - from centre, from peripheral, etc.

Once the line is drawn out, it can be used for a number of applications - you can add thickness, specifying circumference and number of points; they can be used for bending meshes, for lofting, as a cutting tool for Boolean operations, as a spline tool for lathing, as a starting point for extrusions. Many other uses - very much like using paths in a 2D editor, but with 3D uses.

In Blender I have discovered methods of achieving the same end result - the one thing I haven’t found is drawing out an arc - but not with the same ease. Example - a circle. In Blender, insert circle, specify points and circumference. Blender places the circle on the ground plane, at the 3d cursor. In Hexagon, click where you want the centre - or circumference - to start, draw it out and specify number of points. This can be drawn in any plane.

You can make complex curves by combining them - draw an arc, followed by a straight line, followed by a curve, or Boolean a number of overlapping curves to form a complex curve.

Hope this is of some interest to someone:)

you can also make a certain shape with mesh line then convert to curve!

but agreed there is still room for improvement on curves tools!

happy bl