---
title: Convert to SDF
order: 2
---

Turn any mesh object into a Chisel shape. **Convert Mesh to SDF** bakes the mesh into a signed-distance grid once, and from then on the object is a [Mesh primitive](../primitives/mesh.md): it takes booleans, carves, blends, mirrors, arrays and materials like any native shape, and renders in the ray-marched viewport alongside them.

![the Convert Mesh to SDF dialog](../assets/convert-sdf-dialog.webp)

## How to use

1. Select one or more regular mesh objects.
2. Run **Convert Mesh to SDF**:
   - right-click with the Chisel tool active and pick **Convert to SDF**, or
   - click the **Convert Mesh to SDF** button in *Object Properties → SDF*, under *Enable Chisel*.
3. Set **Resolution** and **Field Margin**, read the estimate line, and confirm.

The bake runs in the background. The status bar shows *Chisel: baking SDF 40% (1/3) — Esc to cancel* and each object appears as soon as its grid lands. The original mesh stays as the object's data and doubles as its display proxy, so the object keeps its wireframe, bounds and selection outline.

## Options

- **Resolution**: grid cells along the mesh's longest axis (default `128`, range `8–1024`). The single biggest quality-versus-cost lever: above roughly `256` a grid costs gigabytes of GPU memory and the bake takes minutes.
- **Field Margin**: the exact-field shell baked around the surface, in voxels (default `8`, range `6–64`). Emboss strengths, blend widths and carve offsets that reach further than this shell go coarse, so raise it when you plan wide blends against the mesh.

Under the two sliders, one line per selected object prices the grid live as you move *Resolution*: *Suzanne: 144×96×109 — 3 MB GPU*. A grid that would not fit this GPU, or the [SDF Store Budget](../render-engine/display.md#mesh-sdf-storage), turns red and names the largest resolution that does. Nothing bakes while any object is refused.

## After conversion

The object is a [Mesh primitive](../primitives/mesh.md) and behaves like any other shape. Move a cutter and the cut follows live:

![moving a cutter through a converted mesh](../assets/convert-sdf-boolean.webp)

- Boolean or [carve](../modifiers/carve.md) it against native primitives with smooth blends
- Emboss or engrave a mesh stamp into a Chisel surface
- Mirror and array it; arrayed copies reuse one baked grid
- Give it a Chisel material and it shades with the rest of the scene

## Rebaking and storage

- **Bake Resolution** and **Field Margin** live on the object panel next to **Rebake SDF**. Editing the source mesh does not re-bake by itself; the panel shows *SDF is stale — mesh edited* until you press Rebake.
- The grid is stored compressed inside the `.blend`, so the file reopens without a bake. A grid this GPU cannot show draws as a placeholder box with a **Rebake to fit** button: see [Mesh Primitive](../primitives/mesh.md#when-a-grid-does-not-fit).
- A mesh shape is never reached by `[` / `]` or the *Type* menu; conversion is always explicit.

## Notes

- The bake reads the **evaluated** mesh, so Blender modifiers on the source are applied first. Smooth-shaded sources bake smooth, flat-shaded ones bake faceted.
- A **winding confidence** warning means the mesh has mixed face orientation and the inside may be wrong in places. Run `Mesh → Normals → Recalculate Outside` and convert again.

## See also

- [Mesh Primitive](../primitives/mesh.md): the shape's parameters, rebaking, storage
- [Convert to Mesh](convert.md): the opposite direction
- [Apply Modifiers](apply-modifiers.md): bake a chain into one mesh shape