Meshing methods for SubD

SubDs in Rhino may be meshed in three different methods for rendering, viewport display, surface analysis, and mesh conversion. The three meshing methods are static, adaptive, and absolute.

Static meshing

The number of mesh quads created per SubD quad is based on the face count of the SubD.

  • Static meshing cannot be configured and previewed.
  • SubDs in shaded viewports (Shaded, Rendered, Ghosted, and Xray display modes) use static meshing.
  • Static meshing reduces the display mesh faces of dense SubDs to increase display performance without additional controls.

Adaptive meshing

The number of mesh quads created per SubD quad is based on the face count of the SubD and the subdivision level slider in meshing dialog boxes.

  • Adaptive meshing reduces the render mesh faces of dense SubDs with additional controls.

Absolute meshing

The number of mesh quads created per SubD quad is fixed, regardless of the SubD's overall face count.

  • The subdivision level slider sets a fixed subdivision level for all SubD faces.

  • A high absolute meshing level may create too many mesh faces from dense SubDs and cause the system to run out of memory.

Detailed information about these meshing methods