3dsMax-Explode-Geometry

3ds Max Explode Geometry plug-in

Available for download from the Autodesk App Store with installer for 3ds Max 2014 and seperately for 2015 and 2016. Due to a bug in 3ds Max 2014, there are two seperate bundles to allow them to exist side-by-side.

Getting Started

First select the nodes that you want to explode (you have an option to maintain the original geometry if desired). From the UI element that you assigned the plug-in action to, select it and a dialog will come up.

Select the options, and then select "Explode Selected Geometry". A progress bar will be displayed for long actions and you have the option to cancel.

You can choose to create three or four sided objects as a result of the explode operation. Select the radio button of the desired operation. Additionally you can toggle whether to try and convert the object’s mesh before the conversion. By default it will try to convert, and if it cannot it will end. If it can be converted (or is already of the correct type) then each node will be exploded into the resulting individual faces.

You can also control several other options. Add Shell Modifier -- will add the modifier to the resulting face object, and apply the given shell offset. Add Edit Mesh Modifier -- will add the modifier to the stack resulting in edit mesh operation being immediately available. Collapse Modifier Stack -- will collapse the stack down to become an editable mesh as the end result. Center Pivot -- will center the pivot on each resulting face. Delete Original -- will remove each original node that was used to create the new faces.

Python Version

A port of this plugin that implements the basic functionality is available in the Python folder called explode_geometry.py. This script requires the MaxPlus Python feature, first introduced in 3ds Max 2014 Extension 1.

Additional Information

This plug-in was written by Kevin Vandecar - Autodesk Developer Network. The idea was provided by Louis Marcoux - Autodesk. The python version was developed by Drew Avis - Autodesk to show similar functionality.

Known Issues

There are no known limitations; however it is a very process intensive program. If you select many nodes with many faces it could take a long time to complete, or even cause an error your system if it runs out of memory.

Contact

For more information on developing with 3ds Max, please visit the 3ds Max Developer Center. http://www.autodesk.com/develop3dsmax

Version

1.0 - Initial Release 2.0 - Adds support for 3ds Max UI color scheme, and also now supports both 3ds Max and 3ds Max Design.