To refine and smooth a PolyMesh surface by adjusting the subdivision.
How to use
1. Click the Subdivision surface icon or choose the Tools > PolyMesh > Subdivision surface command.
2. The program console prompts Pick PolyMesh Object.
3. Pick the PolyMesh Object whose surface you want to refine and smooth. The Modeling Tool panel allows you to adjust the number of iterations and to adjust the weight of the selected edges.
Options
Object
To change the object to subdivide.
Views / Modeling Tool panel. Switch the Replace check button on and pick another PolyMesh object in the scene. You cannot pick a surface that is not a PolyMesh.
Preserve bound. corners
When you apply the subdivision command, the corners at the edges of a polymesh are normally smoothed. If you activate the Preserve bound. corners option, the corners at the edges remains the same.
Views / Modeling Tool panel. Just switch the Preserve bound. corners check button.
Let's now see how the same polygonal object changes by activating this option. In the picture below we have the polygonal object before applying the Subdivision Surfaces command.
The second picture shows the surface after applying Subdivision Surfaces without the Preserve bounding corners option.
The third picture show what happens when this option is enabled.
Iterations
To adjust the subdivision of a polygonal model. The higher the iterations number, the smoother will be the resulting surface.
Modeling Tool panel. Set the value either by moving the slider or by typing it in the data field and pressing Enter.
Original cube
Iterations factor = 1
Iterations factor = 2
Iterations factor = 3
Note: The subdivision computation is memory expensive, so be careful not to increase the iterations number too much.
Edge weight
To adjust the weight of one or more edges of a polymesh. This option is enabled only for objects that are NOT part of a Construction Tree.
Modeling Tool panel. Choose the Edit Mode. Select the edge or edges whose weight factor you want to modify. Move the slider or type the weight in the Weight data field. Press Enter to confirm. Default factor is 0. While the maximum weight factor is 10. The more you increase this value, the greater the pulling effect that the edge exerts on the polymesh model.
Weight = 2.5
Weight = 5.0
Weight = 7.5
Weight = 10