How to create intermediate vertices of a humpy surface (interpolation)

Question

I took a cube, stretched it, added a number of intermediate edges and adjusted their height to get a humpy top surface.

Now, I want to get a smooth top surface by adding interpolated vertices. The existing edges must not change their position. How do I do this?

FYI: The object will be 3D-printed.

blender.stackexchange.com/questions/16321/bevel-specific-edges — eromod, Aug 3 '16 at 1:36
Is there any recommendation on how many intermediate steps to add? The object will be 3D-printed with a detail level of 0.1 mm. — t_w, Aug 3 '16 at 1:42
more steps = smoother. depends on the look you are going for. here is the ruler tool blender.org/manual/interface/ruler_and_protractor.html and you can change the units eastmanreference.com/… — eromod, Aug 3 '16 at 1:44

t_w · Accepted Answer · 2016-08-03 12:19:17Z

2

@eromod's hint was the solution.

I created a huge ovoid (an icosphere that I compressed on one axis for an additional hump on the other axis),
aligned it carefully manually,
extended the original top surface in top direction,
applied a boolean modifier with "Intersect" operation,
and did a bit afterwork on the mesh.

Please leave a comment if there's something I forgot to do proper preparation for rounded edges around the top surface.

answered Aug 3 '16 at 11:04

t_w

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$\begingroup$ Could you please clarify what is "huge ovoid" and "intersection modifier" ? Does the latter mean Ctrl+F > Intersection (Knife) ? Also please don't include new question in the answer; ask a new question instead. $\endgroup$ – Mr Zak Aug 3 '16 at 11:26
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$\begingroup$ To me, you may have problems with triangles on the lateral faces when printing $\endgroup$ – lemon Aug 3 '16 at 15:28
$\begingroup$ Hm, (1) I'm only seeing triangles at the top, (2) the object will be 3D-printed at 0.1 mm with the SLS method (powder + laser) in nylon, which is quite good. So, I can't unterstand what effect you're referring to. $\endgroup$ – t_w Aug 3 '16 at 16:07
$\begingroup$ I think the faces will be triangulated. This is not visible in your image here, but enter edit mode, select all the vertice then ctrl+T. I am not a specialist, but I am quite sure the 3D printer will translate it like that. To tell it in other way, lateral faces are big ngons. You may ask about that using another question. $\endgroup$ – lemon Aug 3 '16 at 17:07
$\begingroup$ I see what you mean. I hope it gets resolved when rounding the edges around the top surface. $\endgroup$ – t_w Aug 3 '16 at 17:51

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eromod · Accepted Answer · 2016-08-03 02:17:48Z

0

hold shift , select the opposing edges of a face, press W and choose subdivide . This will split a face in two.

answered Aug 3 '16 at 2:17

eromod

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$\begingroup$ I moved all the comments to this chat room, because it was getting quite long. Feel free to keep your discussion going in there. $\endgroup$ – David Aug 3 '16 at 13:02

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2 Answers 2