Convert

Convert SDF shapes into standard Blender mesh objects. Chisel provides two meshing algorithms, each with different strengths. Multiple objects can be converted at once.

Convert

Basic Usage

  1. Select one or more Chisel objects
  2. Click To Mesh in the Object Properties panel, or use the Pie Menu (Q) > North
  3. A settings dialog appears with a live grid overlay previewing the cell size
  4. Choose the algorithm and adjust settings, then confirm
  5. The SDF is sampled and a polygon mesh is generated

Converted meshes are placed in a Remesh collection. If Replace Original is enabled, the original object is converted in place instead.

Common Parameters

Cell Size

  • Range: 0.001 to 1.0 (soft max)
  • Default: 0.1
  • Unit: Blender units (length)
  • Effect: Size of each grid cell. Smaller values produce more detail but slower conversion. The grid resolution is computed automatically from the cell size and the object’s bounding box

SDF Normals

  • Type: Boolean
  • Default: True
  • Effect: Compute SDF gradient normals and apply as custom split normals on the converted mesh. Produces smoother shading that matches the ray-marched preview

Replace Original

  • Type: Boolean
  • Default: False
  • Effect: Replace the SDF object, or create a new mesh alongside it

Algorithms

Dual Contouring (Default)

Produces quad-dominant meshes with sharp edge preservation using QEF (Quadratic Error Function) solving.

  • Quad-dominant output topology
  • Sharp edge preservation via QEF solver
  • Best overall choice for hard-surface models
  • Supports adaptive octree refinement

Additional options (Dual Contouring only):

Parameter Range Default Effect
Detail Size 0.0001 to 0.1 0.01 Cell size near features in Blender units. Independent of base Cell Size. When smaller than Cell Size, enables adaptive refinement
Feature Angle 5-90 15 Normal deviation in degrees that triggers refinement (lower = more detail)

Marching Cubes

Classic algorithm that produces triangular meshes.

  • Triangle output topology
  • Good for smooth surfaces without sharp features
  • Uniform grid sampling (no adaptive refinement)
  • Resolution capped at 1024 to prevent excessive memory usage

See Also

  • Rebuild Mesh - Update visualization without full conversion
  • Baking - Generate texture maps from SDF