TABLE OF CONTENTS A 3D mesh is a single object. It defines a flat surface or approximates a curved one by placing multiple 3D faces on the surface of an object. It is a series of lines consisting of columns and rows. AutoCAD lets you determine the spacing between rows (M) and columns (N).
It is possible to create a mesh for a flat or curved surface by locating the boundaries or edges of the surface. Surfaces created in this fashion are called geometry-generated surfaces. Their size and shape depend on the boundaries used to define them and on the specific formula (or command) used to determine the location of the vertices between the boundaries. AutoCAD provides four different commands to create geometry-generated surfaces: RULESURF, REVSURF, TABSURF, and EDGESURF. The differences between these types of meshes depend on the types of objects connecting the surfaces. In addition, AutoCAD provides two additional commands for creating polygon mesh: 3DMESH and PFACE. The key to using meshes effectively is to understand the purpose and requirement of each type of mesh and to select the appropriate one for the given condition.
You can define a free-form 3D polygon mesh by means of the 3DMESH command. Initially, it prompts you for the number of rows and columns, in terms of mesh M and mesh N, respectively. Then it prompts for the location of each vertex in the mesh. The product of M N gives the number of...
