The NGLE Manual
Creating a Bench in
Metasequoia
By
Bedazzled
This tutorial will help you to take your
first steps towards creating your own custom objects in
MetasequoiaLE, by creating this simple bench.
Note
I have used MetasequoiaLE R2.2 Beta, Version 1.2a can also
be used, but drag handles will not be available. And it will
be more difficult to move objects accurately.
If you make a mistake use CTL+Z to undo it.
When you start Meta the left side of the work area Should
appear like this.
If the panel on the left is not visible, left click on the
blue Command Tab to expand it. Ensure that only the Pt (show
points) and the Ln (show lines) buttons just above the black
workspace area are selected.
Creating the Top
Click the Primitive button on the Command panel and a new
Panel will open.
The flat square is selected by Default. If required
checkmark the preview box and click the Property button, and
a 2nd new panel opens.
Enter 44.4 into the X size
box and 12.9 into the Z
size box, advance the X
segment box to show 2. This will divide the top of our bench
into two segments making it easier to texture. Make sure the
Create as new object box is checked and close this panel.
Click the create button on the previous panel, the object
will appear in the workspace.
Now we need to give the top some thickness, First click the
select button on the Commands panel then press Control + A
on the keyboard to select your entire object. Click the
Extrd button on the Commands panel, a small panel with two
options will open, leave the normal option selected for now.
We’ll use the bevel option later.
Position your cursor inside you object and left Click & drag
your mouse, to move a blue copy of your object about 0.5 Cm
above the original. Your object should now look like this.
You can right click & drag in the work area to rotate the
view if required.
As you can guess this is far too thick, so we’ll correct
that next. Rotate the view until it’s similar to this screen
shot.
Click on a blank area of the workspace to deselect
everything. Now click select on the Command panel, holding
down the shift key click on the dots & lines forming the top
half of the object as shown here.
Click on Move on the Commands panel, once again a new panel
opens.
Make sure the Abs (Absolute) option is selected and enter
4.7 into the Y box & click OK. Our top is now the correct
thickness. Click the small Fc (show faces) button near the
top of the workspace to view it in solid form.
Now would be a good time to protect our work. Go to the top
toolbar, select panel > object panel.
Click obj2 in order to select it, click the box just to the
left of it A key icon appears and the object can no longer
be edited. Click the eye icon to hide the object & clear the
workspace.
Constructing the supports
Each support consists of two parts a base and an upright. We
are going to make one of each component, then combine them
into a new object and finally clone this new object to give
us two supports.
The base
If the show faces button is still selected, click on it to
deselect it. Using the create Primitive panels create a flat
base with these dimensions X=
5.2 Y = 12.9 leave both
segment boxes set to one.
Select all and open the Extrude options panel, by clicking
on the Select and Extrd buttons. This time we are going to
use the Bevel option, click bevel in the options panel to
select it. Once again click & drag to extrude the flat
surface, as you can see the sides of our base are now
bevelled.
Rotate the view until you can clearly see the four points,
which mark the top corners of the base. It may help to zoom
in by left clicking & dragging on the magnifying glass icon,
just above the top right corner of the workspace.
Shift click on each point to select it, the screen shot
below show the correct points.
Click on Move on the Commands panel, make sure the Abs
(Absolute) option is selected and enter 2.7 into the Y box &
click OK.Click the Fc (show faces) view it in solid form.
Use the objects panel to lock obj 3.
The upright
Open the create Primitive panels and select the cube icon in
either panel, create a cube with these dimension’s
X= 3.7
Y= 16.88
Z = 11.4 leave all segment
boxes set to one, ensure the cube checkbox is not checked.
Select all and bring up the move panel enter 14.1 into the Y
field., click OK. The upright has now moved into the correct
position on the base. Using the objects panel unlock obj 3.
Finishing & cloning the support
With only the base & support visible and unlocked, click the
Misc tab in the object panel. Scroll down and click “Merge
all visible” answer yes to the prompt., the base and support
is now a single object. (obj 4) Again on the objects panel
click the clone tab, accept the default settings and click
OK. We now have two supports in exactly the same place, (obj
1 and obj 4.).
Putting it all together
In the objects panel lock and hide object 4., and select obj
1 click select on the Command panel. Then click one of the
points at the top of the support., click move and note down
the reading in the Y axis box .Just in case you close the
move panel by accident.
Lock obj 1, unlock & make visible obj 2.( the bench top) if
the move panel is still open check the
X value = 44.40
Z value = 12.90 Note
these values may be negative.
Enter the value you noted down into the Y-axis box and click
OK. With all objects visible and obj ‘s 2 & 4 locked, select
all.
Move the support into position near one end of the bench, by
dragging the red cone on the drag handle or clicking and
dragging the support. If you have dragged the support you
can position it exactly along the
Z and Y-axis, by
entering these values into the move panel
Z = -8.71
Y = 14.1 and clicking OK.
Lock obj 4 and unlock obj 1. And move the other support into
position, once your Happy with the position of both
supports, unlock all of the objects and click on Misc merge
all visible.
Exporting your new creation
Click on File > Save as. Enter the filename and folder you
want to save to, in the save as type box choose, AutoCAD
(*dxf) , Set the Export options as shown below and click
once on the SWAP YZ button.
Multiply – 1.000
Digit = -1
Triangles have four points box checked.
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