CompuServe Messages

Dennis, If I understand your application, you want to take a two dimensional color contour plot of data (a bitmap, ie GIF, JPEG, TIFF or RAW) image and place it on a three dimensional surface. I have done this with color contour plots of data from pressure sensative paints and velocity measurment systems from wind tunnels. This is a simple application of texture mapping. Start by making a SCALE 3D model of your part. Then take the data and put it in a form 3DS will recognize (I usually convert my 1 byte integer data to a GIF bitmap), and create a material out of it in the Materials editor. I will make the material 100% self illuminating, and sometimes slightly transparent. Then the material is mapped onto the surface as any other texture map would be. The result is a contuor map applied directly to the three dimensional model. This task is easy and powerful, once you have a good understanding of texture mapping. I hope this a shot in the right direction. I have omitted several details, feel free to ask if you want them. Rich Schwartz