Hi kernstephen,
Thanks for the file!
Perhaps not a fit for all models, but some steps might find a way into best practice:
• Render the model to see what happens, especially with a “chrome” material, as this points out how well a surface is crafted.
• Go to Attribute Manager> Mode> Modeling> Mesh Checking. This will allow us to see the main problem if any.
• Determine the two points from a mesh that are closest while creating a visible Polygon. Use then the Mesh> Remove> Optimize* >Tolerance with a smaller value.
• In cases like this, you might be left with a massive number of problems.
• Remove all unwanted Phong Edge Breaks. (Mesh> Normal> Phong Shading> Unbreak Phong Shading.
• Set the Phong tag to a value that fits your model that is often determined if a Bevel was introduced or not. 44º is often a good starting point.
• Set up a Polygon Reduction Generator. Reduction between 1% and 5% (this hopefully kills lots of bad Polygons)
• On top of that set, the Remesher (ZRemesher) While Edge detection is set to Shading.
• Now comes the part to inspect the model. Are there any artifacts in the new mesh? If so, there is a balance among Remesher, Reduction, and Phong Angle (Phong Tag). This is an individual balance that can revive a model or not. In the example below, I found the balance.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/hjnzlv5s8grdn77/CV3_2023_22_MOrm_01.c4d.zip?dl=0
Use the Current State To Object, perhaps with a new Remesher!
Don’t use those objects you get from a 3rd party. Make a list of problems and request proper working files. This file had around 2/3 of its polygons labeled as bad! This is mainly based that polygons were between polygons. This is 66% buggy and should be acceptable at all. 27K polygons and 18K of them are wrong. Even though I have modeled in 3D for three decades, this ratio is rare.
My take: To get a polygon model out of a Mathematical based CAD is a skill, and nothing can be done by just selecting a preset.
All the best