Two of the exciting features of TopMod are the wireframe and column modeling modes. With these tools, we can make a 3D model by converting each edge of a polygon mesh into a 3D pipe. This will translate the structure of our mesh into a fully formed 3D model that's watertight and is possible to 3D print.

In the past two recipes, we did a lot of work increasing and decreasing the number of polygons in a model. We'll see how this is important when we use the wireframe modeling tool with the model of the toy block.

It's fairly easy to see in the preceding comparison, what would happen if we were to make a 3D pipe with each polygon edge in the toy block on the left. The edges of the block and the two dowels on top would be a jumbled mass of 3D pipes. The model we manipulated with subdivision schemes will make a more uniform structure of 3D pipes.

In this recipe, we will use wireframe and column tools to make some test models to test the concept of bridging, later in...