Todd Taylor wrote:
> 
> have to ask now is this:  Is there a way to use 80 of these
> and union them together (so there are no artifacts - I want
> it to look like a smooth surface like an sor object).>

At 80 copies there will in most cases be little visible difference between this
construct and a lathe object... Anyway, placing the created copies in a union is
simple:

#declare Number = 80; //Number of copies to create
#declare MyPrism = prism{...}
#declare Count = 0;
union{
  #while(Count < Number)
    object{MyPrism rotate <360 / Number * Count, 0, 0>}
    #declare Count = Count + 1;
  #end
}

The union will not remove any artefacts or give an unbroken surface. For that
you have to clip the prism to a wedge profile. Something like this:

#declare MyPrism =
prism{
  linear_sweep
  cubic_spline
  0,
  Thickness, //Thickness of the prism
  ...
  translate <0, -Thickness/2, 0>
  clipped_by{
    union{
      plane{y,0 rotate x*360/Number/2}
      plane{-y,0 rotate -x*360/Number/2}
      inverse
    }
  }
}

Notes:
1) the prism must have great enough thickness for the copies to overlap all the
way to the SOR's maximum circumference. It must also be translated to 
<0, -Thickness/2, 0> before clipping (see above example).
2) the clipping planes must intersect along the SOR axis (in my example the x
axis)

-- 
Margus Ramst

Personal e-mail: mar### [at] peakeduee
TAG (Team Assistance Group) e-mail: mar### [at] tagpovrayorg

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