Modifier to Join (or Merge) meshes
Experimenting with procedural shapes, based on a very limited mesh, I found myself looking for a way to join two meshes using a modifier. Some way out (or hack) is to use the
Start Cap
and
End Cap
parameters on an Array modifier to join various meshes together. Given their joints are close to identical, this works great. When the
Count
is set to
1
, both offsets unchecked and
Merge
enabled, it does the trick:
Using a Boolean modifier does not work because it's not really "aware" of the matching vertices. It just tries to merge two meshes together at whatever cost. Using the exact same meshes, the result is the following:
The Array modifier is much smarter in that respect. It tries to join the meshes at points where vertices are overlapping or in very close proximity to each other (Distance tolerance). It actually merges the vertices (removes doubles) so the end result is more or less the same as merging vertices of two separate meshes in edit mode.
It would be great to have a dedicated modifier taking care of that. It could even be smarter by making it automatically bridge edges where the vertices are not close enough together.
6 Comments
hahaha this hack is beautiful!! But a bit of a pain, totally agree that a easier to use and more powerfull modifier would be great!
I think this would fit better as a function for two reasons:
Otherwise, it might be better to merge it into the Boolean modifier, perhaps a "Topological merge" option, since this is kind of what booleans are for.
@Patrick.Towson: I agree, this might as well be an option in the Boolean modifier.
* @Patrick.Towson * I have wanted 'non-destructive merging of objects' for every single blender project I've ever done over the years. There always comes the time where I export my stuff (for game engines). At that time, I want one connected object and no additional repetitve steps to create it (have to be repeated for every change again and again). I just want to export with 'Apply Modifiers' enabled.
Excuse me, does anyone know any information about hacking in the form of database hacking. We are researching this topic and I need detailed information. Any help would be appreciated, thanks)
Lol, great hack ! I've had this problem for years and didn't know about the Array modifer caps hack. You always have to find the right tool to abuse with blender :D sometimes they add usefull stuff by accident in another context that noone really needs ...