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Are super clean meshes necessary for CNC/3d printing

ZBrush Usage Questions
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#1

I mainly use zbrush for creating bas relief or sculptural details for use on the CNC and for 3d printing.
I have been doing a deep dive into Michael Pavlovich videos recently and he seems to use zbrush for concepting in the beginning and then rebuilds what he created using zmodeler to get the lowest poly and clean meshes.
I know he does game design mainly. So, is this truly needed for more of an artwork flow?
In the past I have made some elaborate sculpture to machine on a 4th axis cnc that came out great. It was not easy to open the meshes in fusion at first. My workflow at that point was shoddy at best. I have a much better understanding of how to use zbrush now. Zmodeler may get easier to use for me in practice. However, it can be tedious.

Thoughts on this?

#2

ZSpheres are a quick way to rough in an elaborate shape. If you can create your base model from an Alpha, that can also speed things along too.

#3

i use zspheres a lot. In several ways, including generating curves for things like zremesher brush to try creating sharp edges on topology. using masks too. I have those down. However, masking and extruding something complex tends to generate weird topology. Is it worth the time to try and regenerate that topology to make it clean? Maybe this is just an imposter syndrome question I am throwing out there.

I know that zbrush allows for very open-ended workflows. That is a great part of it. 4 million ways to do things. finding that workflow yourself can be hard.

My question is more about creating assets for 3d printing and cnc work and not much for animating in a game engine. I do some of that. Mostly I render out things and create real world objects.

Is it necessary to be diligent about proper topological flow in the end? Is that more about creating assets that are not wasteful within a game engine?

#4

I found the zbrush for jewelry page. It basically answers this for me. I can get as technical as I want and create the cleanest thing ever for any 3d software out there if I really want to spend the time.
I guess I can also create good looking things in a sloppy way as long as it looks good in the end product. I can do art if I want, without the constraints that a game engine might put on the design. If I need that, I can dig deeper and spend the time. It is good to practice in any way I can I guess. Hit a wall, learn a method of getting through the wall.

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#5

Hello @MichaelDot ,

Strictly necessary, no. You may want to do it anyway.

If working exclusively for a print output, it may not be necessary to worry overmuch about the topology. Working at high resolution and Decimating for print would be adequate for many print workflows in which textures, UV,painting, ultra-fine detail sculpting, posing/rigging, and digital rendering play no significant role. The kind of detail that requires a multi-res mesh with optimized topology typically isn’t captured in many print processes anyway.

However. Having quality topology with well defined polygroups opens up many options for you in terms of modelling. Certain modeling effects may simply be easier to achieve at lower resolution with well drawn topology, even if you’re aiming for a print output. In ZBrush, UVs can be a modelling tool, and well drawn topology may provide better alternatives for producing deliberately modeled geometry with a clean look.

It should also be said that multi-res meshes with clean base level topology simply perform better in ZBrush than a high res mesh at a single level of subdivision. ZBrush is optimized for working with high resolution meshes in this form. Working at single level of resolution without worrying about topology is fine up to a point when you’re establishing the form of your model, but if you want to pose your model, sculpt super fine detail, paint it, create and export textures for digital rendering, you’ll generally want to transition to a mesh in this form at some point.

Good luck!

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#6

thank you. I have been spending more time trying to think out my processes and planning ahead for these things. I guess that enough playing around could give me a better flow naturally. Finding my way of working after watching and following so many videos out there has been harder than expected.
With traditional cad type modeling software, I do not have to think about it any longer. I can just go and build something. I need to spend much more time in zbrush to get to the same point. it seems to be building, there are just so many options and combinations of options throughout the software that I kind of get overwhelmed with the capabilities of it.

Just now really starting to understand the different ways of using subdivisions, dynamesh and dynamic subdivision. Splitting everything that i can into different parts. This software is a beast. It is amazing too. Just wish I had been into it from the beginning so I could understand why everything came about.