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Bolting Tool

Description

The Bolting tool allows you to create spheres and bolts along the inner perimeter of selected faces. It's perfect for creating bolts, rivets, or any repetitive elements along edges.

Location

  • Side Panel: DAMTools > Bolting > Create Interactive Bolts
  • Pie Menu: DAMTools (Shift+W) > TRANSFORM > Bolting

Usage Instructions

Step 1: Face Selection

  1. Activate the tool from the panel or pie menu
  2. Select one or more faces:
  3. Click: Select a single face
  4. Shift+Click: Add or remove faces from selection
  5. Release Shift: Confirm multiple selection
  6. Spacebar: Confirm current selection
  7. ESC/Right-click: Cancel the operation

Step 2: Parameter Adjustment

Once selection is confirmed, you can adjust the following parameters:

  • Offset (distance from edge): Move mouse up/down
  • Sphere size: Alt + mouse up/down
  • Number of spheres: Mouse wheel up/down
  • Mode: Ctrl toggles between:
  • Unified: Creates spheres only on the outer perimeter of the face set
  • Individual: Creates spheres on the perimeter of each face separately
  • Bolt Type: Press 'B' to toggle between:
  • RIVET: Creates a sphere.
  • BOLT: Creates a 6-sided cylinder.
  • Boolean Operation: Press 'T' to cycle through:
  • No Boolean: Creates separate objects.
  • Boolean Fast: Applies a fast union boolean to the base object.
  • Boolean Exact: Applies a precise union boolean to the base object.

Step 3: Finalization

  • Left click: Confirm and create the objects. If a boolean mode is active, the operation will be applied and the bolt objects will be removed.
  • ESC/Right-click: Cancel the operation

Tips

  • The generated objects are placed in a collection named "Bolting".
  • When using a boolean mode, the original object is modified. Ensure you have a backup if needed.
  • You can edit the spheres after creation like any other object.

Usage Examples

  • Create decorative bolts or rivets in architectural models
  • Add industrial details to mechanical models
  • Create repetitive patterns of spherical elements
  • Mark points of interest in a model

Troubleshooting

  • If spheres appear in incorrect positions, check that the face normals are oriented correctly
  • If you need more precision in positioning, use smaller offset values
  • For very large or small objects, adjust the sphere size with Alt+mouse