How to Use the Point Weld Tools in Hexagon

Hexagon is an inexpensive 3d modeling software package produced by Daz3d. One of the most useful sets of tools in Hexagon is the point weld tools set. Learning how to use these tools properly will greatly improve your model building skills (and greatly reduce your risk of personal injury).

First open Hexagon. To begin with, we need something to work with in this tutorial, so first go to the primitives tab, and selecting the facet tool, create first one facet in the modeling area, and then create another, offset somewhat from the first (as seen in the first image).

To get to the weld tools, click on the vertex modeling tab. Now go to the ninth icon over. As you hover over the icon you will be told that this is the Target Weld tool. Click on it, and then select a point on the left facet and click it. Then select a corresponding point on the next facet over, (see second image) and click it. You will see that the point you selected on the first facet was welded to the one you selected on the second. It is important to stress that with the Target Weld tool, the first point you select will be the one that is moved, while the second point remains where it was (as can be see in the third image).

Now click undo until you are back to just your two facets. We will move on to the next tool. Hover your mouse over the tenth icon down on the vertex modeling tab, and you will see that it says Weld Points. Click it to activate it. Now click on the same points you did before. You will see a difference. With the Weld Points tool, the tool is welding the two points together at an average distance between them (as you can see in image four).

Click undo again to get back to the two facets. We will now look at the third weld tool. Go to the eleventh icon, which will say Average Weld, and click on it. Now go back down to the facets. Then select the two points on one side of the left facet, and then select the corresponding points on the other facet. Then go over to the Properties dialog, and you will see a number representing distance. Click or slide your mouse over the arrows next to it. As the numbers go up, you will eventually see one pair of points, and then the next pair of points, come together, like a zipper closing up (see image five). This tool comes in handy when you got a lot of points you need to weld quickly.

*If you look one icon over from the Average Weld tool, you will see it called simply Weld. This is not a point welding tool really, but is used rather for combining two separate objects in the scene tree into one object, so that you can then proceed to use the other weld tools on them.