Hi again,

Showcase has a fabulous function where you can run a section through a model and it will highlight the edges in any colour.

However, my client has a solid-cast window handle they are proud of (cheaper ones are hollow so they want to avoid that look), and whilst creating a section view in their presentation they have asked me to change the section from a hollow-look to a solid look whilst still showing the edges highlighted.  Is this possible?

I’m thinking probably not at this stage, so, is there a material I can use that will highlight edges only, so I can mock-up the section (use a half-model) and use a plain material that highlights the edges in some way.  Most rendering packages have a “Cartoon” or “Sketch” style that would suit, but I can’t find one and am not sure how I would set it up.

The view required is straight-on, no animation or anything, just a square-on view of the sectioned handle, with the edges highlighted in some way.

Thanks in advance! :o)

Kelly

3DS Max 2011 / Showcase 2011 (Backburner 2008.1.1)
Mac Pro (running Windows 7) all 64 bit
Intel Xeon E5520 @ 2.27GHz 2.39GHz (Dual) 16GB Ram
NVidia GeForce 9500 GT x2 + GeForce GTX 285

I don’t think there is a “solid section” option in Showcae 2011, and truly it would require that Showcase know the difference between a solid and surface object in the model, even after tessellating the data (turning it into polygons) for rendering and display.

From what I’ve seen, the best ways to do this are by creating the sections in the native (solid) modeler and importing “copies” of these parts to become geometry alternatives. The native modelers (Inventor, SolidWorks, CATIA) definitely will know which parts or objects are surfaces (hollow enclosures) or solids!

If you are just looking for an image, one possibility is to do a little post-processing to “paint bucket” fill the hollow areas with a solid color in a photo editing program.

For a pure Showcase approach you could try to bring in two copies of your model.  One as a half model with the proper solid sectioning (created in your CAD app), then the other as a full model.  You can position one model on top of the other and then use Showcase to “cut away” the full model to the point of the cut face of the half model.  You may have problems with surfaces fighting (z-depth problems) for the co-existent models, but depending on your clipping plane settings and camera distance, this trick may work for you.

Apologies, I set this to email me when a reply came and it didn’t :(

Thank you for your replies, I did go for your suggested solutions - this client gave us models roduced in SolidWorks and thankfully there was a section model in there too (I’m a beginner with SolidWorks, we have about 30 programs here so I’m turning into a bit of a “Jack of All").

I imported both a complete and a sectioned model, then used the Model lineup in Alternatives to switch between the two.

I wish I could publish the project on here as it turned out amazingly!  I combined some materials I had help from here on, some animation (again, help from here got those sorted) and all sorts of Alternatives, Shots and Behaviours on the go for a full 40 minute presentation.  Thanks guys!

Kelly

3DS Max 2011 / Showcase 2011 (Backburner 2008.1.1)
Mac Pro (running Windows 7) all 64 bit
Intel Xeon E5520 @ 2.27GHz 2.39GHz (Dual) 16GB Ram
NVidia GeForce 9500 GT x2 + GeForce GTX 285

Dear All,

My name is Zoltan and i use the showcase 2011. I have one couple problem with this fabolus software. I can open 2 or more objects in 1 space but the software put on the top the new object. How can I work with the objects? Can i work more objects in one space? Or not? How can i change the background?
Thank your for your help!

Zoli