Boolean difference problem

n88tr · May 2010

[FONT=verdana, arial, helvetica]I am adding detail to a rifle, part of the RIS grip. Anyways I am able to do a boolean difference with one hole but if I try to create any more the larger piece I am putting holes through disappears or is deleted...?

I tried selecting all of the cylinders and then the larger piece and then doing a boolean difference but again the larger piece disappears. It seems it only allows me to do 1 at a time.

I tried making one hole then duplicating the piece and trying it again but again the larger piece is deleted once I do the boolean...??

Any help on making multiple clean holes would be greatly appreciated!!

Thank you.[/FONT]

pior · May 2010

convert to edit poly after each boolean operation, then proceed to the next one.

PredatorGSR · May 2010

In Maya, booleans are really hit and miss, and really only work reliably the first time. After that, it is kinda random whether they work on not (having quad topology has a big effect). What you can do is take all your cylinders and combine them, and then boolean that, so that there is only a single boolean operation taking place, and that will usually work. Otherwise, making sure the mesh is all quads usually improves the odds of it working.

elte · May 2010

I notice your cube hasn't got enough edges to support the boolean, try few edge connects and perform it again.

As you can see, the first 'success' hole has an edge connecting it.

Usually 12 sided is enough to make perfect circle when you subdivide it.

Progg · May 2010

In maya.. the best and most reliable way to boolean is to delete history on the object after each boolean... that is really the only effective way to boolean without having weird errors..

That said... booleans are pretty fail in most programs.. it might be worth just modeling the holes out via a plane and then making it into the shape you need. for example.. in Max. There are many ways to handle it.

This is terrible topology but I literally did it in 5 minutes. Started with a circle.. convert to edit poly... extrude edges... copy hole around where I need it... bridge and weld... done.

cman2k · May 2010

Several people have suggested deleting history or converting to edit poly (different app terms) for each boolean. This is good advice. Even better though is to attach all of the objects you want to subtract and boolean all of them at once.

As stated, you'll definitely need enough edges cut into the geometry to support that kind of a boolean. And booleans pretty much suck, so expect to clean up lots of messy stuff afterwards.

n88tr · May 2010

Yeah I just finished my RIS grip without booleans... took like 6 hours of my skill.

PredatorGSR · May 2010

Booleans get a bad rap, but they really are the fastest way to do a lot of things. They just require you to clean them up properly, but I use them all the time.

ZacD · May 2010

I think it can bad to be too reliant on booleans. If you need to do it more than a few times in a row it takes more time than its worth. Normally for stuff with hole like patterns, I'll make a flat segment of it, duplicate it to be as big as I need it, tweak the start and ends to match up, and then deform it.

Progg · May 2010

You can definitely boolean if you want.. just do it on a plane before you make it a 3D object... will save you a lot of cleanup time on the back side of the object.

Boolean difference problem

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