Where is boolean in 3ds max 2017

Unlike Boolean operations performed on two separate pieces of 3D geometry, Boolean operations can only be performed on single splines.

Therefore, one of two things must be done before you can perform Boolean operations to spline shapes. To illustrate the most common situation, let's say you've got three overlapping rectangles and you want to subtract the two outer rectangles from the central rectangle. You also forgot to turn off Start New Shape. The Modify panel automatically opens.

Now, you've got a single shape made up of three sub-object splines. The following are some general tips to ensure Boolean operations work the first time:.

If a set of operands never seems to produce desired results, try adding a modifier and collapsing the stack to create an Editable Mesh or Editable Poly. You can also collapse objects to editable meshes and polys without first applying modifiers.

If you do this, use Edit Hold or File Save As on the scene; you will not be able to adjust the parameters of the existing modifiers in the stack.

In general, create objects that have more faces than you might normally use. For instance, increase the Height, Width, and Length segments of a Box, especially if the other object is more complex. Try to make the face count of both operands similar in number. With a larger number of faces, the edges created by the Boolean operation tend to be smoother and more refined. Once the Boolean operation gives you the results you want, apply the Optimize modifier to reduce the number of faces on the object.

One way to check the validity of objects that you intend to use as operands is by applying the STL-Check modifier. This modifier is primarily used to verify that an object is a complete and closed surface in preparation for exporting to STL files.

Because Boolean operations work best with objects that meet the same criteria, use STL-Check on your operands. The Status group tells you if errors are present. Tip: Before performing a Boolean operation, you should save your scene or use Edit Hold. That way, you can quickly recover should anything not appear as expected. Click the Undo button to retract the selection.

Right-click to exit the Boolean operation. Verify that the objects intersect by checking them in two viewports, like the Top and Left. Click Boolean to turn on the operation, and click the added operand. Click the intersecting object. Creases or Ridges Show in Boolean Objects Creases or ridges might be caused by a Boolean operation between an object that has very few faces and an object that has considerably more faces, such as for example when you subtract a complex freeform object from a simple box.

Select the object that has the lower face count. Change the Length, Width or Height Segments of the surfaces where the subtraction will occur. From the Compound Objects buttons, click Boolean. Perform the subtraction as you originally wanted. The future metal plate with circle of bolts.

All the cylinders are a single object. The cylinders are subtracted to form holes in the box. Splines and Boolean Operations Performing Boolean operations on splines made from the Create panel Shapes menu can be confusing. In effect, Insert treats the first operand as a liquid volume, so that if there is a hole in the inserted operand or some other way for the 'liquid' to enter its volume, it does. To create a Boolean compound object:. The operand objects remain as sub-objects of the Boolean object.

Double-click the sub-object to change parameters and use transform tools. By modifying the creation parameters of the Boolean's operand sub-objects, you can change operand geometry in order to change or animate the Boolean result at any time. To create and modify a single compound object containing multiple operands:.

In this example, a box is created with two holes cut into it: one hole by a sphere, the second by a cylinder. In order to be able to make changes to the sphere or the cylinder later, assemble the compound object using the following steps:. Whenever you create a Boolean object, the material is inherited from the original mesh. When you then add an operand, you have the option to use the operand's original material or retain the material from the Boolean compound object. If you select Apply Operand Material however, the material ID of the added operand will be different than the original Boolean mesh.

The assignment of material ID's only happens when you add an operand. You cannot change the material ID once the operand has been added within the Boolean mesh. After you have added an operand, you can however go into the material editor and get the material from the Boolean object.

Note that this is a multi-sub object material. Changing the material on the original mesh will affect the Boolean Mesh material as well.

Certain geometries can sometimes cause unpredictable results in the Boolean algorithm. To limit this possibility, try to follow the practices outlined below. Boolean requires that the surface topology of operands be intact. This means there must be no missing or overlapping faces, and no unwelded vertices. The surface should be continuous and closed. The Boolean algorithm will try to correct operands that fail to meet this requirement, however the results may not always be desirable and in some cases it is best to correct the surfaces manually.

To fill holes, use the Cap Holes modifier. The face normals of the surface should always be consistent as flipped normals can produce unexpected results.

Surfaces facing one way while adjacent surfaces are flipped can also be problematic, something common with geometries imported from CAD programs. The Boolean algorithm attempts to fix the faces, however in some cases it is better to correct these manually. To look for normal problems, turn on shading in the viewports, paying attention to objects that appear inside-out or otherwise incorrect.

You can fix normals here or by using a Normal modifier. Meshes should be constructed so that all faces are planar, meaning each of the vertices used in a face lie in the same plane. Faces distorted into non-planar shapes for example, such as on a potato chip can cause Boolean errors.

Though the Boolean algorithm will attempt to split these faces into planar pieces when applying operations, it is best to avoid such structures when modelling otherwise unwanted results may occur. Because Boolean operations depend on a clear understanding of what is the inside and outside of a mesh, meshes that overlap themselves can produce invalid results. For instance, if you use the Collapse utility with two overlapping objects without turning on the Boolean feature, the resulting object will not make a good Boolean operand.

This is also a problem for the Teapot primitive with all parts turned on , which overlaps itself. If you need to use such an object as a Boolean operand, you might reconstruct it as a single non-overlapping mesh by separating the components and then combining them using Boolean.

Boolean doesn't always produce the ideal result on 'inverted meshes', that is, meshes that have been turned inside-out by having their normals flipped. The problem is that the area inside the flipped mesh is correctly seen as outside, but the area outside is also seen the same way.

To remedy this, instead of inverting the mesh, make a very large box or other primitive centered on but not touching the mesh and subtract the mesh from it using Boolean. Convert the result into an editable mesh and delete the box faces. This produces a correctly-inverted mesh that is compatible with Boolean operations. If two Boolean operands are perfectly aligned without actually intersecting, the Boolean operation may produce the wrong result. Although the occurrence of this error is rare, you can correct this by making the operands overlap slightly.

Boolean works best when the two operands are of similar complexity. For example, if you subtract text, a complex object made of many faces and vertices, from a box without any segments, the result is many long skinny faces that are prone to rendering errors.

Increasing the number of box segments produces better results. Try to maintain a similar complexity between operands. Previous versions of the Boolean algorithm required that objects overlap.

If two objects did not overlap but merely touched an edge to an edge or a face to a face, the Boolean operation would fail. The Boolean algorithm now allows for non-overlapping objects. You even can use objects completely encased within another object, where no edges intersect at all, to create a Boolean compound object. See also Collapse Utility to create Boolean compound objects using multiple objects.

Select an object.