Check

The Check command reports errors in the selected object's data structure.

The CheckNewObjects command reports errors in the data structure of objects as they are created or imported.

Details

Rhino reports the addition of bad objects to a model in three situations.

Reading .3dm files

If bad objects are added to the model while Rhino is reading a Rhino .3dm file, after the file is read a message is printed in the command history window,"N bad objects were created while reading model.3dm."

Reading other model files

If bad objects are added to the model while file import plug-in is reading a file, after the file is read a message is printed in the command history window, "N bad objects were created while reading model.3dm." No dialogs are shown.

Running Rhino commands

If bad objects are added to the model while a command is running, after the command finishes, a message is printed in the command window, "The CommandName command created N bad objects." and a modal dialog is shown.

NURBS Diagnostics

Sometimes a model can become damaged. These damaged areas can cause problems.

It is possible to build bad models using Rhino tools. For instance, Rhino will let you create a planar surface from a self-intersecting curve, but the result will be a poorly defined object that will cause problems later.

Another potential problem is a tiny trimming edge joining to a larger trim curve on an adjacent surface. If Rhino matches the large edges, sometimes the tiny trim curve edge compresses even further so that it is really just a point. That compressed edge no longer has meaningful orientation and causes problems.

There are modeling techniques you can use to increase the overall robustness of your models.

Drawing tiny little lines to connect pieces of a trim curve instead of moving the two endpoints of the curves together generally interferes with other objects joining together and tends to cause problems.

Sometimes the microscopic edges can be generated through other means, such as Boolean operations, where the objects are just off from each other by just a little bit.

Trimming edges that are very small or curved back on themselves are the biggest cause of problems in models.

There are Rhino tools you can use to examine your model for these defects.

The first one to try is the Check command. If your model doesn't pass Check, then it will list some specific problems. You can just use the list to indicate that you might need to tune up the model. If a model passes Check, it doesn't automatically mean that it is 100 percent properly structured, though. Some bad model parts, like having surfaces that fold back on themselves or self-intersect, are very time consuming and difficult to automatically detect, and Check does not check for those things. But it can check the general overall structure of the object.

The work-around is to Explode, Untrim, Trim again, and Join. If there are lots of tiny edges, then you may have to use the SplitEdge command to split all edges so they have a compatible structure, and then use JoinEdge to manually mate the proper pairs.

When there are long things and tiny things adjacent to each other, the Join command can get confused - when that happens, the low level manual JoinEdge can work as a replacement.

These tools are on the Analyze menu under Edge Tools. You may need to use several of these tools to fix difficult broken models as well.

Avoiding Modeling Errors

• In general, avoid creating tiny edges in models.
• Do not use curves where there is a tiny line in the middle of the curve that joins two pieces together.
• Try to make sure that adjacent parts mate cleanly with a good, simple edge-to-edge matching.

Tools for analysis include:

• List data structure of an object
• Check objects
• Select all objects that do not pass Check

Mesh Diagnostics

Note

• Some STL/SLA printers have problems if meshes contain many long, thin facets. These facets can slow the printer down, produce odd results, or run the printer out of memory.
• The MeshRepair command may be useful when tuning up meshes for STL/SLA printing.

Degenerate faces

Fix with the CullDegenerateMeshFaces command.

Zero length edges

Zero-length edges typically are the result of degenerate faces. Fix with the CullDegenerateMeshFaces command.

Non manifold edges

Use the CullDegenerateMeshFaces command and then fix with the ExtractNonManifoldMeshEdges command.

Naked edges

Naked edges are allowed, but cause problems with rapid prototyping. Use the ShowEdges command to help find them. Try the FillMeshHole, FillMeshHoles, or MatchMeshEdge commands to remove naked edges.

Duplicate faces

Fix with the ExtractDuplicateMeshFaces command.

Faces that could make it better if their directions were flipped

Fix with the UnifyMeshNormals command.

Disjoint pieces

Fix with the SplitDisjointMesh command.

Unused vertices

Unused vertices do not usually cause a problem, and there are no commands to for removing them.

Text window

Right-click for options.

Undo

Cut

Copy

Paste

Select All

Copy All

Copies all text in the window to the Clipboard.

Save As

Saves the contents of the window to a text file.

Close

Closes the window.

See also

Analyze objects

Rhino Wiki: Bad objects