Solidify

Posted on by Samuel Larouche

The Solidify functionality provides the user with a simple method for adding thickness to a surface. It does so by automating the usual process of using the Extrude tool on all the polygons of an object, while also fixing some imperfections caused by the use of this method with the help of special options.

The functionality comes both as a tool and a generator.

Three central components (see images above)

Source surface (red)
Offset surface (blue)
Offset caps (grey)

Tool Workflow

The Solidify tool provides the fastest way to add thickness to a surface. It is applied by click and dragging in the viewport or through the Attribute Manager. It can be applied either on all currently selected objects or the current active polygon selection.

GUI

  • Offset Length: Indicates total length from an edge of the original surface to its offset counterpart on the other side of the added thickness.
  • Force Parallel Borders: Forces the border edges of the original surface and their offset counterparts to stay parallel.
  • Parallel Extrude: Offsets the copy of the surface in one direction and connects it to the source.
  • Keep Source Polygons: Option to either keep or remove the source surface (on by default).
  • Create Offset Polygons: Option to create the offset surface (on by default).
  • Create Caps: Option to create polygons to fill the offset between the original and the offset surface (on by default).
  • Preserve Selection Data
    • Both: preserve all selection data found on the source surface and duplicates it (active selection, tags, etc) on the offset surface.
    • Source Only: preserve all selection data on the source surface without duplicating it on the offset surface.
    • Surface Only: copies all selection data of the source surface to the offset surface, without preserving it on the source.
  • Add Connected Caps to Selection: duplicates all selection data of the source surface on the caps.
  • Realtime Update: enable this checkbox to interactively update the model in the viewport when changing any of the options.
  • Apply: applies the current options values to the model. Useful when Realtime Update is not checked.
  • New Transform: applies the options again. This button es something all tools with a realtime update have. Not very useful in our case though.
  • Reset Values: resets the options to their default values.

Generator Workflow

The Solidify generator provides an efficient way to add thickness to multiple objects using the same parameters. It can also be used to create animations using the Solidify process as its attributes are animatable.

The generator will affect all first level objects under it in the object hierarchy.

GUI

  • Offset Length: Indicates total length from an edge of the original surface to its offset counterpart on the other side of the added thickness.
  • Force Parallel Borders: Forces the border edges of the original surface and their offset counterparts to stay parallel.
  • Parallel Extrude: Offsets the copy of the surface in one direction and connects it to the source.
  • Keep Source Polygons: Option to either keep or remove the source surface (on by default).
  • Create Offset Polygons: Option to create the offset surface (on by default).
  • Create Caps: Option to create polygons to fill the offset between the original and the offset surface (on by default).
  • Selection list: Click and drag a polygon selection tag from the object hierarchy (or type its name) to restrict the solidification to these polygons. Multiple selections can be added by using Add button and assigning a selection to the new selection field. Selection fields can be removed using the Remove button. Note that it is always the last selection that is removed first.

Best Practices

source default result Force Parallel Borders is ON

1st image – source, 2nd image – default result, 3rd image – Force Parallel Borders is ON.

source default result Parallel Extrude is ON

1st image – source, 2nd image – default result, 3rd image – Parallel Extrude is ON.

Requirements

Cinema 4D R19 SP3 (19.068)
Cinema 4D R20 SP1>

Download

  solidify_1.0.1.zip (2.1 MiB)

Installation

Unzip the downloaded archive into the “plugins” folder.

Support

Provide your bug reports, test scenes or ideas by writing an email to labs-at-maxon-dot-net

Please rate this

35 Comments

  2. Hi there, when using the generator, the camera navigation in cursor mode doesn’t work if the cursor is on the object. The expected behavior is to have a pivot on the surface, and it is taking the pivot outside the model.
    I’m using Cinema 4D R20.

  3. Will be cool to have a way to add level of subdivision for the extrusion faces(borders):
    I mean loops to sustain the shape when using it with SDS deformers.
    Rodrigo from QA here. if I can help on something just ping me via e-mail.

    • Would be great if this could be further developed and made available in R21. A good shelling / thickness tool would be incredibly useful in C4D

  4. Pingback: Maxon ships more free Cinema 4D plugins via Maxon Labs - C4DTUT.COM

  8. I’d also love to see this for R21… We’re using xsThickness currently, but since the developer’s website is gone, I’m assuming it won’t be updated in the future. This is very useful and should be incorporated into R22!

  9. Surprised this tool didnt make it into R21??? This is such an essential tool in our workflow we cant switch to R21 until this is available since every project has this modifier.

  12. Oh yes please! let’s have a decent shelling tool – awesome work thanks

  13. hi, what is different than the use of the cloth surface generator to do so?

  14. A decent shelling / thickness tool is really important – so I really hope this continues in development and refinement. Keep up the good work!

    • Exactly what I was thinking! I think we really need more useful deformers / generators like these even at the risk of cluttering their respective menus. This is immensely helpful at least until we get some sort of an “edit mesh” / “edit poly” generator.

  18. what about compatibility with parametric objects? As Thunderdog already mentioned.
    Xs_thickness does that, but does not seem to be fully compatible with R20.

    • Works if you have a polygon object (a cube made editable for example) mixed in with your parametric objects.
      I just hide it.

  20. Hi,
    I used the tool but during my other modeling process, c4d quit 3 to 4 times. After removing this tool, I can do object modeling very fine and no quit. I got bug report also but nowhere to upload…! Thanks.

    • We have updated the archive. Solidify 1.0.1 now also contains a version for Cinema 4D R20.

      • Hello, thank you and team
        I saw in console, Loading solidify/solidify.xdl64 with module(s) net.maxonlabs.solidify
        CRITICAL: Duplicate definition for net.maxon.mesh.meshmapclass.generic
        [object_impl.cpp(4478)]
        CRITICAL: Duplicate definition for net.maxon.mesh.meshmapclass.generic
        [object_impl.cpp(4478)]

  22. Doesn’t it work with parametric objects (Disc, Cube, Sphere, [spline + lathe] ) ?
    disappointing :/
    I’ll keep using xsThickness intead …

  23. AWESOME TOOL..
    Is it possible to extrude as procedurally to face group or vertex group? ie in a sphere extrude only on some selection (just like Houdini)

    • The Solidify Generator offers a parameter for a polygon selection (at the bottom). Simply drag your polygon selection in there to constrain the extrude to just the selected polygons.

    • Hi,
      no, unfortunately an R18 version is not easily possible. It actually needs R19 SP3 for internal reasons.
      Cheers,
      Andreas

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