pymel.core.modeling.boundary

boundary(*args, **kwargs)

This command produces a boundary surface given 3 or 4 curves. This resulting boundary surface passes through two of the given curves in one direction, while in the other direction the shape is defined by the remaining curve(s). If the “endPoint” option is on, then the curve endpoints must touch before a surface will be created. This is the usual situation where a boundary surface is useful. Note that there is no tangent continuity option with this command. Unless all the curve end points are touching, the resulting surface will not pass through all curves. Instead, use the birail command.

Flags:

Long name (short name)		Argument Types	Properties
caching (cch)		bool
	Modifies the node caching mode. See the node documentation for more information.Note:For advanced users only.
constructionHistory (ch)		bool
	Turn the construction history on or off
endPoint (ep)		bool
	True means the curve ends must touch before a surface will be created.Default:false
endPointTolerance (ept)		float
	Tolerance for end points, only used if endPoint attribute is true.Default:0.1Advanced flags
name (n)		unicode
	Name the resulting object
nodeState (nds)		int
	Modifies the node state. See the node documentation for more information.Note:For advanced users only.Common flags
object (o)		bool
	Create the result, or just the dependency node
order (order)		bool
	True if the curve order is important.Default:true
polygon (po)		int
	The value of this argument controls the type of the object created by this operation 0: nurbs surface1: polygon (use nurbsToPolygonsPref to set the parameters for the conversion)2: subdivision surface (use nurbsToSubdivPref to set the parameters for the conversion)3: Bezier surface4: subdivision surface solid (use nurbsToSubdivPref to set the parameters for the conversion)
range (rn)		bool
	Force a curve range on complete input curveFlag can appear in Create mode of commandFlag can have multiple arguments, passed either as a tuple or a list.

Derived from mel command maya.cmds.boundary

Example:

import pymel.core as pm

import maya.cmds as cmds

# Creating boundary surfaces with three curves:

crv1 = pm.curve(d= 3, p= ((8, 0, 3), (5, 0, 3), (2, 0, 2), (0, 0, 0)) )
crv2 = pm.curve(d= 3, p= ((8, 0, -4), (5, 0, -3), (2, 0, -2), (0, 0, 0)) )
crv3 = pm.curve(d= 3, p= ((10, 0, 3), (9, 3, 2), (11, 3, 1), (9, 0, -3)) )

# These curves form a rough triangle shape pointing at the origin.
# If order is OFF, then the apex of the surface will always between
# the 1st and 2nd curves.

pm.boundary( crv3, crv1, crv2, order=False, ep=0 )
# Result: [nt.Transform(u'boundarySurface1'), nt.Boundary(u'boundary1')] #
pm.boundary( crv3, crv2, crv1, order=False, ep=0 )
# Result: [nt.Transform(u'boundarySurface2'), nt.Boundary(u'boundary2')] #

# If order is ON, then think of the order of selection as "rail, rail, profile"
# where the boundary is formed by sweeping the profile along two rails.
# Direction of the curves becomes important as well; use the reverseCurve
# command if you want to change a curve's direction.
pm.boundary( crv1, crv2, crv3, order=True )
# Result: [nt.Transform(u'boundarySurface3'), nt.Boundary(u'boundary3')] #


# Creating boundary surfaces with four curves:

crv1 = pm.curve(d= 3, p=((-2, 0, 5), (-1, 0, 3), (1, 0, 3), (3, 0, 4), (6, 0, 5)) )
crv2 = pm.curve(d= 3, p=(( 7, 0, 4), (8, 0, 2), (8, 0, -3), (7, 0, -4)) )
crv3 = pm.curve(d= 3, p=(( 6, 0, -5), (2, 0, -3), (1, 0, -5), (-3, 0, -5)) )
crv4 = pm.curve(d= 3, p=((-2, 0, 4), (-4, 0, 1), (-4, 0, -3), (-2, 0, -4)) )

# These curves form a rough square shape around the origin.
# To make a boundary surface from four curves, two of the curves are
# "rails" while the other two are "profiles".

pm.boundary( crv1, crv2, crv3, crv4, order=False, ep=0 )
# Result: [nt.Transform(u'boundarySurface4'), nt.Boundary(u'boundary4')] #
pm.boundary( crv2, crv3, crv4, crv1, order=False, ep=0 )
# Result: [nt.Transform(u'boundarySurface5'), nt.Boundary(u'boundary5')] #

# profile, rail, profile, rail
# Notice that in both cases, the resulting boundary surface passes through
# the rail curves.

# When order is ON, direction of the curves becomes important;
# use the reverseCurve command if you want to change a curve's direction.
# Notice the difference between:

pm.boundary( crv1, crv2, crv3, crv4, order=False, ep=0 )
# Result: [nt.Transform(u'boundarySurface6'), nt.Boundary(u'boundary6')] #
pm.boundary( crv1, crv2, crv3, crv4, order=True, ep=0 )
# Result: [nt.Transform(u'boundarySurface7'), nt.Boundary(u'boundary7')] #