{"id":551,"date":"2010-08-12T19:31:00","date_gmt":"2010-08-12T19:31:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/archives\/551-creating-and-prepping-an-object-in-lightwave-3d-for-3d-printing.html"},"modified":"2014-07-03T16:57:48","modified_gmt":"2014-07-03T16:57:48","slug":"creating-and-prepping-an-object-in-lightwave-3d-for-3d-printing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/creating-and-prepping-an-object-in-lightwave-3d-for-3d-printing","title":{"rendered":"Creating and Prepping an object in LightWave 3D for 3D printing"},"content":{"rendered":"

James White from our previous post<\/a> has been generous enough to share some of his vast expertise with a tutorial for LightWave 3D<\/a>. For the purpose of the blog post I have included all of the text but reduced some of the screenshots to thumbnails.  For the tutorial and full size images visit the tutorial page<\/a>.<\/p>\n

By James White aka Smart Art Studios<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

I am going to go over how to create a basic object and prep it for 3D printing using LightWave 3D<\/a>. For this tutorial I am creating an animated style penguin. The majority of the object will be made using the drag, smooth shift and stretch tools. You may want to take a few minutes familiarizing yourself with these tools if you are new to LightWave 3D.<\/i><\/p>\n

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Creating and Prepping an object in LightWave 3D for 3D printing<\/b><\/p>\n

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Like most objects you will start by creating a box (use the numeric
\npanel when creating the box to set the size of the object). Now make
\nseveral cuts using the knife tool down each axis and one close to the
\nbottom to add geometry and make it easier to manipulate later on.
\nCenter the object and turn on symmetry so that you can work on both
\nsides of the object at the same time. <\/p>\n

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Using the tab key sub patch the model to round it out and give it a
\nmore fluid and organic look and start moving points to get the general
\nshape that you are looking for. Use the drag tool and move the points
\non one side of the object. If you object is centered then the points on
\nthe other side should move as well. Once you have the general shape
\ndown it is time to start making some of the more prominent features of
\nthe penguin.<\/p>\n

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Select the poly’s on the sides of the object and smooth shift and
\nstretch them out to get the general shape of the wings.  Once you have
\nthe general shape select the polys that outline the wings (make sure
\nnot to select the polys on top) and smooth shift and stretch those in
\nto give the wings more definition and depth. Use the drag tool to shape
\nthe wings and model by dragging points to get the desired look.<\/p>\n

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Now we move to the bill. Use smooth shift and stretch to get the
\ndesired look and shape that you want. Now select the polys on the
\nunderside of the bill. Smooth shift and drag to make the bottom of the
\nbill. Now select the polys in the center of the bill just like you did
\nfor the wings and smooth shift and stretch them in to make it look as
\nif there is a top and bottom. Select the bottom and stretch to make it
\nsmaller than the top part of the bill.<\/p>\n

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The same method of smooth shift and stretch will be used for the tail as well. <\/p>\n

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To make the feet you will first want to smooth shift the bottom of the
\nobject to make it flat. Then you will move to a new layer and create a
\nsmaller box to make the feet. Make several cuts and move the points to
\nget the general shape. Mirror the object and then press tab to sub
\npatch.Smooth shift the tops of the feet to flatten and them move them
\nas close as you can to the bottom of the model without over lapping so
\nthat they will print as one object. Then move points on the rest of the
\nmodel to get the desired shape.<\/p>\n

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To make the face and eyes you will use smooth shift and stretch to add
\ngeometry and make the indentations. Now in a second layer, use the ball
\ntool and stretch to make the eyes.  Adjust the holes so that the eyes
\nfit inside without overlapping. <\/p>\n

Now it is time to do any final tweaking that you may want to do to get
\nthe desired look and shape. You can make a fat or skinny penguin. Now
\nit is really up to you to add more detail and really make the model
\nyour own.<\/p>\n

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If you like you can add some color to your object to get a better idea
\nof what the final product will look like. Select the polys of the area
\nthat you want to add color to and press Q. This will bring up the
\nwindow to name a color and choose the color that you like. Do this for
\neach color that you wish to use. I have named and made 3 colors for
\nthis model. Black, white and orange. <\/p>\n

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Before freezing your mesh I would recommend saving the model unfrozen
\nthen modifying the name (such as adding Frozen) so that if you want to
\nmake changes and or use the same model as a base you will have an
\nunfrozen version available. Once you freeze your model you will not be
\nable to make easy adjustments to it. Now you will want to freeze your
\nmesh. Once the mesh is frozen press tab to sub patch and you can freeze
\nagain to make the surface polys smaller. This will help make your
\nprinted model smoother. Be careful not to do this to many times as it
\nmay cause manifold errors.<\/p>\n

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Now you will need to export your object into a format that is
\nrecognized by Shapeways. LightWave can export as a Colloda file which
\nis a recognized format. <\/p>\n

\nHelpful tip:<\/p>\n

If you would like to cut down on costs you can hollow out your object.
\nYou can do this by creating another square inside of the current
\nobject, Press tab to sub patch and then move the points to fill the
\nobject. Make sure not to get it to close to the outer walls or they
\nwill become to thin. Then press f to flip the (inside) object inside
\nout.  <\/p>\n

Or you can select a poly on the bottom and smooth shift and stretch it
\nto a small poly. Move it up into the model and repeat until the inside
\nis hollowed out. This method will leave a small hole in the bottom but
\nmay be preferred for printing as it leaves a hole for venting.<\/p>\n

I hope that this little tutorial on how to create a simple object for
\nprinting has helped out. If anyone has any further questions please
\nfeel free to find me on the Shapeways forums and send me a message.<\/i> 
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