Is there a way to make identical meshes in geometry etc. duplicate link without SHIFT+D and enabling link?
I want to array an object, apply the array, detach by loose objects and than have them linked so that if I change one mesh the other meshes change too.
Is there a way to do this?
CTRL + L
Link object data
Well if you’re going to do an array anyway, you don’t actually have to apply the array.
Make a plane, use the array modifier on that plane to position it where you want your objects to be.
Make your object a child of the plane. Activate instancing in the property settings of the plane. Now every face of the array of planes will have an instance of your original object. You can continue to adjust the array modifier on the plane as needed.
I do have to apply the array because of how I want my end result;
I use the array to have the meshes the same distance of eachother.
I have to rotate each instance from the array differently so that the meshes allign to where i want them to allign. so to do that I have to apply the array modifier.
Here’s an image to visualise what i’m doing better.
I know I can do this with the curve modifier, but that method slightly bends my mesh and my mesh is a hardsurface model that shouldn’t be bend (not even slightly) because it creates smoothing artefacts.
You may have a look at Building a bridge with array curve here on BA.
this is another case where sometimes using instanced children can come in handy. The plane itself might be deformed by the curve modifier but the instanced child object would not get deformed at all while its location is determined by the plane that is deformed. Probaby not going to work well for zippers though.
