Help with cutting hole with ProBoolean (short example video provided)

[coldscooter]

Hi, I'm trying to use ProBoolean to cut a hole in a mesh, yet when I select the mesh to cut the hole with, they entire element disappears.

Can anyone point out what I'm doing wrong? I've seen many examples of ProBoolean use that work fine. I'm really not sure what I'm missing.

Thanks in advance.

[Anonymous]

First, make sure your ProBoolean settings are correct before you start picking.  In this case, I would have applied the ProBoolean to the larger object, set the Boolean option to Move, and the Operation to Subtract first, if you wish to use the smaller object to punch a hole through the larger one.  If you want to add them, then obviously keep it at Union.  Also, check your topology there before you do any boolean operations.  If you're using relatively low poly objects with quads, why not create a hole with standard modeling techniques rather than Boolean?  It would provide just as much control, but far less messy results.  Another tip would be to avoid unwrapping an object until you're complete with the modeling aspect.  The UV's on the larger object are going to get very messy after a boolean operation, and likely will need to be redone.

[coldscooter]

Thanks for taking the time to respond @Anonymous. 

When you mention: "why not create a hole with standard modeling techniques rather than Boolean?".

Which techniques are you referring to? I've always used booleans for cutting holes, but am still learning.

Edit: Also, the steps you mention for using the the smaller object to punch a whole through the larger object, is how I believe I'm doing it in the video. But instead of punching a whole, it just removed the entire element. I'm really not sure why.

[Anonymous]

In the video, it appeared you selected the smaller object for the Pro Boolean, then the larger object as the operand B, but I may be mistaken.  Anyway, there are some techniques to create holes in objects without boolean.  Here is a basic overview video of one method using subdivision to finalize the result:

Here's another technique which doesn't give perfect topology, but does take care of some other issues that booleans tend to create:

And finally, here's a video which shows several acceptable techniques to create good looking holes without too much added geometry:

Alternatively, there are scripts which can help as well.  For example, the "Holex" maxscript by JokerMartini is a modifier which can create holes in a very easy and clean way:

http://www.scriptspot.com/3ds-max/scripts/holex

Here's a similar script for making holes, which doesn't require turbosmooth to finish:

http://bodyulcg.com/scripts/create-holes/

Hopefully, something here will be of use.

[coldscooter]

Awesome. Thanks for the info and links @Anonymous