How does Create Component from Visible Model work in Aspire, and how does it differ from Baking?

Overview

Create Component from Visible Model takes a snapshot of the current composite model, exactly as it appears in the 3D view with all visible components combined, and makes it into a single new component. The new component is placed on the active level. The original components stay completely intact, which is what makes it different from Baking. It is the non-destructive alternative to Bake when you need a composite copy but want to preserve the original structure.

The Core Problem It Solves

Suppose you have built a lioness model from many components spread across several Levels. The multi-level structure matters, because moving everything onto one Level could change the look of the composite model. You want to sculpt across the whole surface, and sculpting works on a single component. Components on different Levels cannot be baked together, and baking would also throw away the structure you built.

With Baking: the components collapse into one and you lose the ability to edit the individual parts.

With Create Component from Visible Model: a new component captures what the composite looks like now. You can sculpt that component while the original components stay unchanged and hidden underneath. If you need to, delete the new component and go back to editing the originals.

How to Use It

1. Make sure every component you want captured is visible in the Component Tree. Set up the model exactly as you want it to appear (visibility, combine modes and positions all correct).
2. Hide any component you do NOT want in the snapshot. Hidden components and hidden levels are not included, so you can also capture only a background or only one level's contribution.
3. Click Create Component from Visible Model (Model > Create Component From... or the icon on the Modeling tab).
4. A new single component appears on the active level, a copy of the composite model.
5. Rename it clearly (for example "Sculpt Base") and hide the originals, or move them to a hidden level, if you want to work only from the snapshot.

The new component is a static copy. If you change the originals afterward, the snapshot is not updated, so run the tool again for a fresh one.

Create Component from Visible Model vs. Bake

Rule of thumb: use Create from Visible Model when you want to work on the combined result for a while without losing your structure. Use Bake when you are finished with a set of components and ready to commit. For the full decision guide on baking, see the entry on what Baking does.

The Lioness Example (official documentation)

1. A multi-level model is built (body, mane, face, eyes and fur texture on different levels).
2. You want to sculpt muscle creases across the whole body.
3. The components cannot be baked together because they lie on different levels, and baking would lose the carefully built structure.
4. Solution: use Create Component from Visible Model, then bake the new component if you want, and sculpt it. The original structure stays in the Component Tree.
5. If you later need to change the mane, hide the snapshot, edit the original, and make a new snapshot.

Practical Workflow: Sculpting Across a Multi-Level Model

1. Build your multi-level component structure and check the composite in the 3D view.
2. Run Create Component from Visible Model.
3. Hide all the original levels so the snapshot shows alone.
4. Bake the new component if the software prompts for it, then open the Sculpting tool and work on the snapshot.
5. When done, either keep the snapshot as your final output, or delete it and unhide the originals to return to the editable structure.

Other Uses

• Pre-sculpt safety net: before any destructive sculpting, create a snapshot and sculpt the copy. If you do not like the result, delete it and create a fresh one from the still-intact originals.
• Mid-project checkpoint or base layer: freeze a mid-project state (for example a finished dome, texture and border) so you can experiment without risk, and use the snapshot as a base with the originals hidden. This also gives a cleaner Component Tree.
• Smooth Components or Distort on a multi-component composition: these work on a single component, so a snapshot lets you use them while keeping the originals.
• Export: export the single-component version from the Model menu, for example as a .3DClip file, an STL, or a grayscale bitmap for laser use.

Create Component from Toolpath Preview (related tool)

A separate command in the Model menu, Create Component from Toolpath Preview, turns the current toolpath preview into a component named "Toolpath Preview". It helps you find areas a tool could not reach, and it can capture shapes created by the tool itself (fluted veins on a leaf, a texture toolpath). It is also useful if you plan to save a grayscale image of the 3D model for a laser or CarveWright machine. Three variants:

• Standard click: if the part has been cut out and Delete Waste Material was used, only the parts left on screen become the component. Otherwise the whole preview block becomes the component, including scrap material.
• Shift + click: areas of the preview over transparent areas of the composite model are discarded, so you get just the machined part.
• Ctrl + click: the component represents the difference between the composite model and the preview, which is the material left by the tool radius on the finish cut. This is useful for making vectors to limit a toolpath with a smaller tool.

Common Mistakes

• Forgetting to hide components you do not want, so they end up in the snapshot.
• Thinking it is the same as Baking. It creates a copy and leaves the originals alone.
• Baking the originals afterward, which destroys the structure you were trying to preserve.