MeshInspector has three ways to copy:
| Tool | What it copies | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Clone | The selected objects of any type: meshes, point clouds, polylines and others | One copy of each object, in the same place |
| Clone Selection | The selected triangles of one mesh, or the selected points of one point cloud | A new object with only that area; the original is hidden |
| Multi Clone | The selected objects of any type | Up to 1000 copies, each shifted and rotated by the same step |
Clone is a button on the Mesh Edit tab; the same button is on the Points, Lines and Distance Maps tabs. Clone Selection and Multi Clone are in its drop-down list: click the arrow next to Clone. Multi Clone is also on the Nesting tab.
Clone
Clone creates a copy of each selected object, together with the objects nested in it. The copy has the same geometry, colors and position as the original.
- Select one or more objects in the Scene tree.
- Click Mesh Edit › Clone.
You can also right-click the selected objects in the Scene tree and click Clone.
The copy is added next to the original in the Scene tree with a number in brackets after the name (for example, Main object (2) for Main object). The copy is selected and the original is unselected. Because the copy is exactly on top of the original, you see no change in the viewport until you move one of them, for example with Transform Object:
Clone Selection
Clone Selection makes a new object from the selected area of a mesh or a point cloud. Use it to work on a part of a model separately: for example, to export only one tooth of a dental scan or one face of a part.
- Select exactly one mesh or one point cloud.
- Select the triangles or points you need, for example with the Triangles Selector.
- Click the arrow next to Clone, then Clone Selection.
The new object is named after the original with "Partial" at the end, for example Part Partial. It stays in the same place and is selected; the original object is hidden and unselected, so you see only the copied area. The original is not changed: show it again in the Scene tree when you need it.
The command is inactive until the object has selected triangles or points. The Select tab has a similar tool with a panel, Selection to Object.
Multi Clone
Multi Clone creates many copies of the selected objects at once. Every copy is moved and rotated by the same step relative to the previous one, so you get a row or a circle of objects: for example, several parts laid out on a 3D-printer build plate. To pack many parts on a build plate automatically, see Nesting.
- Select one or more objects in the Scene tree.
- Click the arrow next to Clone, then Multi Clone.
- Set the number of Copies and the step, and turn on Show Preview to see the copies.
- Click Apply.
| Parameter | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Copies | How many copies to create (1 to 1000), not counting the original | 1 |
| Translation | The shift of each copy relative to the previous one along X, Y and Z | 0, 0, 0 |
| Rotation Pivot | The point the copies rotate around, in the coordinates of the object | 0, 0, 0 |
| Rotation Angles | The rotation of each copy relative to the previous one around X, Y and Z, in degrees | 0°, 0°, 0° |
| Reset | Sets Translation, Rotation Pivot and Rotation Angles to zero; Copies stays as it is | — |
| Show Preview | Shows the copies in the viewport before you create them | Off |
| Apply | Adds the copies to the scene and closes the panel | — |
The copies are named after the original with their number in brackets: Part (1), Part (2) and so on. After Apply they are selected, so you can move them together or join them with Combine or Union. If you select an object together with an object nested in it, the nested one is copied only once, as part of its parent.
A row of copies
To place copies side by side, set Translation along one axis to the size of the object plus a gap. In this example a cylinder 30 mm in diameter gets 4 copies with Translation X = 40 mm, so there is a 10 mm gap between neighbors:
A circle of copies
To place copies around an axis, leave Translation at zero, set Rotation Pivot to a point on the axis, and set the angle around that axis in Rotation Angles. For a full circle, the angle is 360° divided by the total number of objects: for example, 5 Copies and a Z angle of 60° give six objects around the Z axis. The pivot and the axes are those of the object, so for an object that was not moved or rotated they are the scene axes.
The screenshot below shows Show Preview with the current settings:
After Apply, all copies appear in the Scene tree:
