MetaBlocksWeb is the web application to model the organic shape by placing MetaBlocks. MetaBlocks blend each other and generate the smooth surface. That surface can be exported by .ply file format.
Screen operations:
Mouse click
Select the MetaBlock or remove selection.
Mouse left drag
Rotate the camera.
Mouse right drag
Pan or tilt the camera.
Mouse middle button drag or wheel
Zoom in or out the camera.
ToolBar:
File menu:
Save as JSON file: Save MetaBlocks data as the JSON file.
Open JSON file: Read MetaBlocks data from the saved JSON file.
Export ply file: Export triangles, vertex normal vectors and vertex colors of the surface as a ply file.(*.ply)
New data: Clear all MetaBlocks and undo/redo commands.
Add menu:
Add ball: Add a ball MetaBlock (Meta-ball). Ball properties below are shown on the right side.
Add mesh from STL: Add a mesh MetaBlock based on triangles of the indicated STL file. The STL data should be closed (normal vectors are aligned and no holes).
Mesh properties below are shown on the right side.
Set the color.
Center
Set the center location.
Width
Set the width along each coordinate axis.
Rotation
Set the rotation.
Blending
Set the blending ratio with other MetaBlocks.
Dent
If checked, shave other MetaBlocks.
Corner size
Set the corner size (radius). Bigger value spreads the area to blend other MetaBlocks. Smaller value takes more calculation time.
Sharpness
Set the corner sharpness. Bigger value makes the smooth surface closer to the original STL model. This value doesn’t change the blending area to other MetaBlocks. Bigger value takes more calculation time.
Warp the MetaBlock by Shear, Taper, Twist, Bend and Wring.
The right is the warped MetaBlock example to be tapered, twisted and bent.
Shear:
Shear the MetaBlock.
X
Tilt to the X direction similar to rotate on the Z axis (if “Change dir” is checked, on the Y axis)
Y
Tilt to the Y direction similar to rotate on the X axis (if “Change dir” is checked, on the Z axis)
Z
Tilt to the Z direction similar to rotate on the Y axis (if “Change dir” is checked, on the X axis)
Taper:
Taper the MetaBlock along each coordinate direction.
Twist:
Twist the MetaBlock on the coordinate axis.
Bend:
Bend the MetaBlock.
X
Bend to Z direction to rotate on the X axis (if “Change dir” is checked, to the Y axis)
Y
Bend to X direction to rotate on the Y axis (if “Change dir” is checked, to the Z axis)
Z
Bend to Y direction to rotate on the Z axis (if “Change dir” is checked, to the X axis)
Wring:
Wring the MetaBlock along to the coordinate axis.
Set the color of the new MetaBlock.
Fit the camera to all MetaBlocks to be visible.
Erase selected MetaBlock.
Undo edit operations.
Redo edit operations.
Transform buttons:
Transform the selected MetaBlock by dragging the standard gizmo of Three.js.
Translate selected MetaBlock.
Red arrow
Translate along X axis.
Red rectangle
Translate perpendicular to X axis.
Green arrow
Translate along Y axis.
Green rectangle
Translate perpendicular to Y axis.
Blue arrow
Translate along Z axis.
Blue rectangle
Translate perpendicular to Z axis.
Center
Translate perpendicular to the camera direction.
Rotate selected MetaBlock.
Red circle
Rotate around X axis.
Green circle
Rotate around Y axis.
Blue circle
Rotate around Z axis.
Gray circle
Rotate around the camera direction.
Center
Rotate along the mouse drag direction.
Scale selected MetaBlock.
Red box
Scale along X axis.
Red rectangle
Scale perpendicular to the X axis (along Y and Z axes).
Green box
Scale along Y axis.
Green rectangle
Scale perpendicular to the Y axis (along X and Z axes).
Blue box
Scale along Z axis.
Blue rectangle
Scale perpendicular to the Z axis (along X and Y axes).
Settings:
Auto save to browser
Automatically save the model and settings data to the browser ( to IndexedDB of the browser. The data is saved locally and isn’t sent to the server.). The editing model is kept when to run the app again. (The browser and the device should be the same.)
Orthographic camera
Change the camera to the orthographic projection.
Head light
Set the light direction along the camera.
Grid visible
Show the grid.
Grid size
Set the grid size.
Draw wire frames
Draw the model by the wire frames.
Snap transform
Set the increment step value of the transform (translate, rotate or scale) to the predefined value.
Precise surface
Precisely calculate the surface generated by MetaBlocks (Smaller and more triangles, smooth appearance).
