I'm curious, does anyone use this modifier for a specific purpose or technique? From what I can tell, it would seem more practical to use an auto-smooth to achieve this type of surface shading effect.
The only scenario I can think of for this modifier to be used would be as a precursor for another modifier or operation. For example, maybe you're working on a hard surface model and want to make panel cuts around edges that have a certain angle difference. So, you could edge split and then use a solidify and bevel modifier afterwards to create some sort of effect?
Honestly I've never used the modifier myself. It did cause me a headache when I was trying to rig a machine model that had it on it. I ended up removing it and doing custom normals. Couldn't apply it, because hole would appear during deformation. Blender's docs says "mostly for historical/compatibility reasons"
Yeah, I haven't used that Modifier either, as far as I can remember (I do use Edge Split sometimes, but not as Modifier).
Your example for making panels would be a good use (although I wouldn't use it as Modifier then either.)
It's good to know it's there and what it does. Maybe you'll come in a situation, where this could be very useful...
