Advanced Member Pix Jigsaw Posted July 14, 2013 Advanced Member Report Share Posted July 14, 2013 I'm finding the lathe tool very useful for hard surface modeling. Here are some things I have learned: First tip: Try right-clicking on the points in your curve. It changes the shape of the lines between the curve points. One mode gives you straight lines between points. It is not the default, but it is very useful if you want to make grooves and channels in your object. It is also useful for making chamfers. Here is an object and the lathe curve used to make it. Note, that while creating the curve, you also have the transform tool in the 3D window to modify the shape of the object before you press apply. You can scale it on the X, Y, or Z axis to adjust the shape of your object. If you want to place points in your curve more accurately, make the Tool option windows big. That will make the grid you draw your lathe curve on larger and you will have more room to place points accurately. Here is an example of some simple door hardware made with the lathe tool. One other thing to remember with the lathe feature: You can perform Boolean functions by setting the primative tool option to add, subtract, intersect, etc. One problem I noticed with the lathe tool is every time you move a point on the curve, 3D-Coat recalculates the entire orbject, to show a preview of the shape. This is good for visualization with simple objects, but if the object has several million voxels, moving curve points becomes very laggy and difficult. It would be nice if there was an option to turn off the preview so you could make a complex curve, then turn the display back on to preview the object. Has anyone found the lathe feature useful? Do you have any tips, ideas, or examples? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reputable Contributor digman Posted July 14, 2013 Reputable Contributor Report Share Posted July 14, 2013 As soon as Andrew comes back up for air, LOL and we get the linux version updated that includes the Lathe tool, I will give it a go and be back here... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advanced Member Pix Jigsaw Posted July 14, 2013 Author Advanced Member Report Share Posted July 14, 2013 I have found that the lathe tool is more responsive and less laggy when used in surface mode. I use it there now and bring the shape back to voxels if needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advanced Member Pix Jigsaw Posted July 14, 2013 Author Advanced Member Report Share Posted July 14, 2013 Here is a method for making architectural moldings using the lathe tool to shape the profile of the molding. I use it in the illustrations below for making a quick picture frame. 1. Working in surface mode, I made a profile using the lathe tool 2. Then I use the cutoff tool to get rid of the parts of the shape I wasn't going to use. 3. Next I cut 45 degree corners on the molding using the cutoff tool and the 2D grid. 4. I brought the piece into vox room and used the axial tool to create the other three pieces of molding and position them into a frame. There was some imperfection and I could not line up one corner perfectly. I used pose tool and cut and clone to fix it. 5. Imported a 2D image I had made in the past for the picture. Textured the frame using vertex paint. I set the material in the paint room to a photo of some wood I had taken and just painted over the frame quickly as a test. Nothing fancy. Overall the work went very quickly and the result is not to bad, at least as a test project. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Contributor Tony Nemo Posted July 14, 2013 Contributor Report Share Posted July 14, 2013 Thanks for the well done demonstration, mate! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member LucidMovement Posted July 15, 2013 Member Report Share Posted July 15, 2013 Please pardon my ignorance and obvious lack of observational skills, but where might one find this wonderful lathe tool? I seem to be unable to find it. Thanks in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advanced Member Pix Jigsaw Posted July 15, 2013 Author Advanced Member Report Share Posted July 15, 2013 (edited) @ Tony Nemo Thanks! Lathe tool is a great addition to the tool set. I'm thinking lathe for a simple primitive shape, then move tool and pose tool will be really powerful for sketching out quick ideas. Here is a quick hat primitive and the curve that made it (with my notes for improvements next time). Edit.... Same song, different verse. Edited July 15, 2013 by Pix Jigsaw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philnolan3d Posted July 15, 2013 Report Share Posted July 15, 2013 Please pardon my ignorance and obvious lack of observational skills, but where might one find this wonderful lathe tool? I seem to be unable to find it. Thanks in advance! In the current beta version it's under Primitives, You'll find Lathe as one of the primitive objects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Shpagin Posted July 15, 2013 Report Share Posted July 15, 2013 Good demonstration! Don't forget about details level slider for better control Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advanced Member wave of light Posted July 15, 2013 Advanced Member Report Share Posted July 15, 2013 Excellent addition to 3dcoat and a good little guider there Pix Jigsaw. Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advanced Member Denis Posted July 15, 2013 Advanced Member Report Share Posted July 15, 2013 simple wine glass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advanced Member Pix Jigsaw Posted July 16, 2013 Author Advanced Member Report Share Posted July 16, 2013 @ LucidMovement. No obvious lack of observational skills on your part. There is a lot going on in 3D Coat in terms of tools, settings and features. For lathe, you have to go to the right room (vox), go to the right tool (primitives), and press the right button (lathe) just to see it the controls. @Andrew and Wave of LIght. Thanks. Appreciate the kind words. @Denis. Thanks for posting that up. Your post proves that the lathe tool really qualifies as a lathe too. You have to be able to make a wine glass for a 3D programs lathe to be worthy of the name. I see you took the practical approach of subtracting a primitive to make the inside of the glass. A really good approach. You could also modify your curve to achieve a similar effect. @ Anyone. Where is the details level slider that Andrew mentioned in his post? I can't find it. I'm using version 4.0.5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advanced Member Denis Posted July 16, 2013 Advanced Member Report Share Posted July 16, 2013 @ Anyone. Where is the details level slider that Andrew mentioned in his post? I can't find it. I'm using version 4.0.5 I can't find this feature. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reputable Contributor digman Posted July 17, 2013 Reputable Contributor Report Share Posted July 17, 2013 The details slider is only in surface mode at he very bottom of the tool's dialog box... Increase the size of your lathe object in voxel mode to increase the resolution... Here is a quick fun work using the lathe, pose tool, curve and a few spheres... Lower resolution as I was testing out the lathe tool.. I am gonna like the lathe tool... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philnolan3d Posted July 17, 2013 Report Share Posted July 17, 2013 Looks like something out of Dr. Suess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advanced Member Pix Jigsaw Posted July 17, 2013 Author Advanced Member Report Share Posted July 17, 2013 (edited) @ Philnolan: I would say Digman made a Wangleblat. Or maybe it's a Phufsnuffer. @ Digman: Thanks for pointing out the details slider. It helps a lot. Glad you finally got the lathe in the Linux version. Edited July 17, 2013 by Pix Jigsaw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reputable Contributor digman Posted July 20, 2013 Reputable Contributor Report Share Posted July 20, 2013 Pillars made with lathe tool, pose tool, grow brush with splines and stamps... 3DCoat is darn so much fun... Face stamps at the bottom of the pillar, were sculpts converted to alpha stamps... Everthing very rough wips. Rendered in 3DC and some postwork in TB... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advanced Member Pix Jigsaw Posted July 21, 2013 Author Advanced Member Report Share Posted July 21, 2013 I like it. How many lathe pieces did you use per pillar? The sculpt faces used as alpha stamps were really effective around the base. They very much reinforced the Greek theater feeling of the piece. I'm going to have to figure out to make sculpts into stamps. Have you noticed with the lathe tool that the orientation of the grid is 90 degrees off from the model? It I could make three improvements to the lathe at this point they would be: 1. Flip the lathe grid so up on the grid matches up on the preview model in the viewport. 2. Allow selection and movement of multiple points on the grid at one time. I've often wished I could box select and move several points on the curve. 3. Have a way to deform the lathe shape with a lattice (as is possible with the free-form primitives). Basically, be able to jump from the lathe-shaping mode to the cage-deform mode. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Contributor TimmyZDesign Posted July 21, 2013 Contributor Report Share Posted July 21, 2013 Great ideas Pix Jigsaw! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reputable Contributor digman Posted July 21, 2013 Reputable Contributor Report Share Posted July 21, 2013 The top and bottom part of the pillar are separate lathe pieces. The middle section from the curve tool. I like all your ideas, they are good ones. Meet me on skype sometime and I will show you how easy it is to create your own alpha stamps... The pillar really is just a quickie to get some more time in on the lathe tool. I guess I should put some tips up too but really don't have any you guys have not mentioned already... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advanced Member Pix Jigsaw Posted July 27, 2013 Author Advanced Member Report Share Posted July 27, 2013 Earlier in this thread I did a step-by-step demo of how I was making picture frames with the lathe tool. Since then I've discovered you can do the same thing with just the lathe tool in less steps. Just use a curve like the one shown below. After I make the shape, I cut out the center, where the picture goes using the cutoff tool. Then I replace that part with a rectangle shape on another layer. Having the frame separate from the picture area makes it easier to texture in the paint room. The lathe tool lets you save and reuse the curve shape. Unfortunately the forum software wouldn't let me attach the curve shape to this post. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Contributor Tony Nemo Posted July 27, 2013 Contributor Report Share Posted July 27, 2013 Very handy, nice demo! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reputable Contributor AbnRanger Posted August 7, 2013 Reputable Contributor Report Share Posted August 7, 2013 Here is a video demo of the tool, in case anyone wants to see how it works. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9okaYcnEmU 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advanced Member Pix Jigsaw Posted August 9, 2013 Author Advanced Member Report Share Posted August 9, 2013 Excellent tutorial AbnRanger. I liked how you showed how to do lathe-like work with the hallow tube free-form primitive and with the closed spline tool and axial. learned a lot from that. Also, I thought your tip about working with the lathe tool on a low resolution layer and then upping the resolution right before committing to retain sharp edges was really valuable. Finally, didn't know you could make a object hallow all the way through with the lathe tool. Thanks for all the work you do putting those video tutorials together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reputable Contributor AbnRanger Posted August 9, 2013 Reputable Contributor Report Share Posted August 9, 2013 Excellent tutorial AbnRanger. I liked how you showed how to do lathe-like work with the hallow tube free-form primitive and with the closed spline tool and axial. learned a lot from that. Also, I thought your tip about working with the lathe tool on a low resolution layer and then upping the resolution right before committing to retain sharp edges was really valuable. Finally, didn't know you could make a object hallow all the way through with the lathe tool. Thanks for all the work you do putting those video tutorials together. Thanks. I put a report on Mantis about layer resolution. I don't think it should affect a preview object like that. Andrew is away for a few weeks, so hopefully, he'll get to it soon after he gets back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advanced Member wave of light Posted August 15, 2013 Advanced Member Report Share Posted August 15, 2013 Finally got around to watching the vid. Nice, informative and to the point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member rshaw Posted November 17, 2013 Member Report Share Posted November 17, 2013 version 4.0.04b looks like a handy tool, if only i could find it. http://bit.ly/17zp968 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reputable Contributor AbnRanger Posted November 17, 2013 Reputable Contributor Report Share Posted November 17, 2013 version 4.0.04b looks like a handy tool, if only i could find it. http://bit.ly/17zp968 It was added recently in build 4.0.06 I believe. You can download the latest one, here. http://3d-coat.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=10395&page=1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member rshaw Posted November 22, 2013 Member Report Share Posted November 22, 2013 updated. yay there it is, thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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