Beveling
a Polygonal Cube
The Poly
Bevel tool lets you bevel points and edges on
a polygonal object. This helps provide a visible edge on your model.
For a default cube, a bevel only requires the selection of the desired
points or edges. This lesson also includes a more complex shape
where extra steps are required to get the desired result.
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1.
Create a polygonal cube Create
a new geometry object. Press i to
go to the geometry level and delete the default geometry. Press
tab > box
to create a cube. Make sure the cube's Primitive
type is set to Polygon. |
2.
Bevel the points of the cube Press
tab > PolyBevel. Press 1
to change your selection type to points and make sure all the corner
points are selected. RMB-click
to bevel the corners. Next MMB-click
to bring up a value grid then use the .01
grid to adjust the bevel inset. You can also change this value in
the Operations control bar or the Parameter pane.

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3.
Bevel the edges of the cube To
change your selection to edges, press
` or choose Select
> Reselect geometry from the Viewer pane
menu. Your selection type is automatically changed to edges. RMB-click
to accept. Now the same bevel is being applied to all the edges.
You can again MMB-click
to adjust the bevel inset.

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4.
Resize the original cube and adjust the bevel
In the Network
pane, click on the box operator. In the Parameter
pane set the Size Z
value to 3.
This stretches the box along the Z axis. You will also notice that
the bevel is stretched. By default the bevel is calculated relative
to its surrounding primitives with the bevel inset representing
a percentage of the primitive size.

Click on the
polybevel operator and choose the Absolute
button. MMB-click
to set the Absolute Inset
using the value grid. Now the bevel inset represents a real world
value that is the same for all edges.

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5.
Cut the original Cube with a second Cube In
the Network pane, set the Display
flag for the box operator. In the viewer pane, press
tab > box to add another cube. Use the handle
to move the new cube along the X and Y axes so that it intersects
the first cube.

Press tab
> cookie. Press 7
to switch to connected primitive selection. The new cube should
be selected. RMB-click
to accept. Click on any part of the original cube. RMB-click
to accept. In the Parameter pane, set the Operation
to B minus A.
Now the original cube has a portion cut out of it.

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6.
Test the bevel on the new shape In
the Network pane, set the Display
flag for the polybevel operator. Not all the edges
are being beveled. Press `
to re-invoke selection then press a
to select all the edges. RMB-click
to accept. The bevel is not working where the two shapes were cut
out. The edge points need to be fused.

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7.
Fuse the corner points and re-bevel
Set
the Display
flag for the cookie operator. In the viewer pane,
press tab > Fuse.
Press a to select
all the edges then RMB-click
to accept. Again, set the Display
flag for the polybevel operator. There is an error
because the number of edges has been reduced by the fuse operation.
Press ` to re-invoke
selection then press a
to select all the edges. RMB-click
to accept. Now the bevel is working correctly. Adjust the Absolute
Inset to suit the new shape.

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Conclusion
Always be sure
that your polygonal model is properly fused before beveling. Remember
that you can choose between a relative inset which works based on
the size of the surrounding polygons or an absolute inset which
works with a real world value.
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