---
title: Convert to Mesh
order: 1
---

Convert one or more Chisel objects into standard Blender meshes for export, sculpting, or use in any other engine.

![Convert](../assets/convert-panel.webp)

## Workflow

1. Select one or more Chisel objects.
2. Click **To Mesh** in the *Object Properties* panel, open the pie menu (`Q`) and pick *To Mesh*, or right-click and choose *Convert to Mesh*.
3. The settings dialog shows 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 go into a **Remesh** collection. With **Replace Original** on, the SDF object is converted in place instead.

> Launching *Convert to Mesh* from the right-click menu now opens this options dialog, instead of running with the last-used defaults.

## Common parameters

- **Cell Size** — `0.001–1.0` Blender units (default `0.1`). Grid cell size. Smaller = more detail, slower conversion. Resolution is computed from cell size and the object's bounding box.
- **SDF Normals** — default *on*. Use the SDF gradient as custom split normals on the converted mesh, so its shading matches the ray-marched preview.
- **Vertex Colors** — default *off*. Bake SDF material colors into a vertex color attribute on the converted mesh.
- **Replace Original** — default *off*. Replace the SDF object in place, or create a new mesh alongside it.

## Algorithms

### Dual Contouring *(default)*

Quad-dominant meshes with sharp-edge preservation via QEF solving. Best for hard-surface modeling.

- **Detail Size** — `0.0001–0.1`, default `0.01`. Cell size near features. When smaller than *Cell Size*, enables adaptive octree refinement.
- **Feature Angle** — `5°–90°`, default `15°`. Normal deviation that triggers refinement (lower angle = more refined detail).

### Marching Cubes

Classic triangle-mesh algorithm. Uniform grid, no adaptive refinement, capped at 1024 cells per axis.

Best for smooth, organic surfaces where sharp edges aren't needed.

## Choosing an algorithm

| Style | Recommended algorithm |
|---|---|
| Hard-surface (panels, mech, hardware) | Dual Contouring |
| Organic (creatures, terrain, blobs) | Marching Cubes |
| Both, leaning hard-surface | Dual Contouring with `Detail Size` < `Cell Size` |
| Quick preview while iterating | Either; raise `Cell Size` for speed |

## Fidelity in v3

Convert now matches the rendered surface much more closely:

- **Chamfered booleans** no longer cut flat faces through the result.
- **Chamfer-smooth blends** are no longer clipped flat at the mesh boundary — the meshing domain expands to cover the full blend, so what you see in the viewport is what you get in the mesh.
- **Converted normals match the rendered surface.** Normal sampling stays inside tight chamfer fillets, and sharp edges and boolean seams fall back to geometric normals instead of shading as dark spots.

## See also

- [Apply Modifiers](apply-modifiers.md) — convert and clean up the source shapes in one step
- [Rebuild Mesh](rebuild-mesh.md) — proxy mesh refresh (separate from full conversion)
- [Render Engine: Baking](../render-engine/baking.md) — texture bakes without converting