Size Controlled paneling

I am trying to do a 3D custom panel between two non-uniform surfaces and have been having a few issues.

  1. When I generate the grid for paneling the grid follows the contour lines for the surface. I need this grid to follow a more direct x y direction with as few curves as possible. Is there anyway to control how the paneling grid is created? 

 2. The object that I am paneling is sensitive to offset and the surfaces that I am paneling between have changing offsets. This leads to some design changes that I don't want. Is there anyway to have the paneling grid be based on the distance between the two surfaces? That way the paneling object doesn't get distorted as the offset increases? 

 3. The item that I am paneling is a network of cylinders. I want to control these cylinder diameters and paneling seem to distort them more than is acceptable. Is there any way to panel lines then "Pipe" them after? 

any help on these projects would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time.

Hi @derek1 I’ll try to answer from what I understand. It is always helpful to attach files with the intended result and current one.
1- Yes, you can create the grid on the plane (use otGridArray), then project to your surface. Make sure you extend your bounding surfaces a little so you have room to trim to the edge. (bigger starting grids are always useful).

2- What you are describing is a very custom grid that vary in x,y distances based on the z (distance between the bounding surfaces). This is rather complex, and perhaps you can achieve with scripting?

3- Yes, you certainly can populate the grid with curves, then pipe to desired radius. Again, it sounds like you can benefit from a parametric solution.

I hope this helps