Channel

Channel

The Channel command builds a row of stones set into a groove between two metal walls, following a curve you select. It generates the metal channel profile along the rail and, in the same pass, populates it with a row of automatically-spaced gems, with a choice of prong style at the sides.

Selection

• Curve: The rail the channel follows. Selecting an open curve defaults the run mode to Segment; a closed curve defaults to Full. Use the flip-curve button on the selector to reverse the curve direction if the gem row starts from the wrong end.
• Geometry (optional): A solid, surface or mesh used to orient the channel and its gems to a surface — for example, to make the channel follow the curvature of a ring shank instead of a flat plane.

The Parameters section is split into two tabs: Channel (the metal profile) and Gems (the stone row and its setting).

Channel tab

• Profile preview: Click it to open the assets dialog and pick a different channel cross-section profile from your library. The default is the domed rectangle profile.
• Width and Height: The dimensions of the channel’s metal cross-section.
• Z position: Shifts the channel profile up or down relative to the rail curve.
• Rotation: Rotates the channel cross-section around the rail.

Gems tab

• Stone shape: Choose Round or Princess for the gems set along the channel.
• Run mode: Full spans the whole rail curve; Segment restricts the gem row to a portion of it, set with two gumballs that appear on top of the channel in the viewport once Segment is selected.
• Margin and Invert Segment (Segment mode only): Margin sets the gap between the end gem and the channel wall at each end; Invert Segment switches which of the two arcs between the gumballs (on a closed curve) is used.
• Gem size: The diameter of each stone in the row.
• Min distance: The minimum gap kept between neighboring gems.
• Vertical: Raises or lowers the gems relative to the channel.
• Bright cut: Size of the bright-cut facet cut into the metal around each gem.
• Inner height and Inner width: Dimensions of the inner seat cut that holds each gem.
• Force Even Number: Forces the gem count along the row to be even, useful for symmetric designs.

Prong settings

Below the gem row parameters, three buttons choose how the stones are held: Channel (no visible prongs — the two channel walls hold the stones), Prongs (shared prongs between neighboring stones) and Scalloped (a scalloped/fishtail cutout under each stone).

Prongs mode adds:

• Gem inside: How far the prong reaches over the gem.
• Prong height: Height of each prong.
• Extension for manuf.: Extra prong length added for the manufacturing stage.
• Distance: Spacing offset applied to the shared prongs.
• Automatic Prong Diameter: When enabled, the prong diameter is computed automatically instead of using the External/Internal Diameter fields below.
• External Diameter / Internal Diameter: Manual prong diameters, used when Automatic Prong Diameter is off.
• End prong mode: Single places one centered prong at each end of the row; Double places one prong per wall at each end.

Scalloped mode adds:

• V-Cutters: Enables an additional, independent set of V-shaped cutters alongside the scalloped ones.
• Boolean: Subtracts the scalloped (and V-) cutters from the channel immediately, instead of keeping them as separate objects.
• Remove Channel: Removes the channel body from the setting, leaving only the scalloped stone seats.
• Cutters — Start Height / Start Width / End Height / End Width / Length: Shape of the scalloped cutter along the row, tapered independently at each end.
• Move in Z and Move Middle in Z: Vertical offsets for the cutter ends and its midpoint.
• Shape: U Shape or V Shape for the cutter profile, with a Shape Scale slider to scale it.
• When V-Cutters is enabled, a matching set of Start/End Height, Start/End Width, Length and Move in Z fields controls the separate V-cutter geometry.

Editing

When you accept the command, the channel body and its gems are baked into the document as a single group, ready to be reopened from the Outliner and adjusted at any time.