topic Re: Mesh Conversion to T-Spline in Fusion Design, Validate & Document Forum

Mesh Conversion to T-Spline

Anonymous — Fri, 28 Aug 2015 11:01:43 GMT

Hello there
I wanted to convert my mesh to t-spline but i had this problem how i can solve that problem.

Re: Mesh Conversion to T-Spline

James.Youmatz — Fri, 28 Aug 2015 13:55:13 GMT

Hi @Anonymous,

Fusion 360 can't convert meshes that contain a high number of triangles (I believe it needs to be under 10k but don't quote me on that). In order to be able to convert this you will most likely need to decrease the mesh count to a much smaller number and/or convert the triangles to quads. There are a few ways to do this, including using free programs (assuming you don't already have mesh editing software) such as Autodesk Mesh Mixer to reduce the number of triangles or using a program such as 3DS Max which has a built in "Quadrify" function which converts the triangles to quads.

Let me know if you would like any more clarification or have any more questions. I'd be happy to help!

Thanks,

Re: Mesh Conversion to T-Spline

TrippyLighting — Fri, 28 Aug 2015 16:43:04 GMT

Please post a screenshot of the mesh and what you intend to do with it in Fusion 360. If it's not too large in terms of megabytes then perhaps attach it to you next post. There are a number of things that can be done but your feedback is needed.

Assuming it is an STL file, is it from a scanned source or is it output from another 3D software ?

Re: Mesh Conversion to T-Spline

Anonymous — Mon, 31 Aug 2015 12:44:01 GMT

Hello james thank for your interest and answer.

Ihad problem with opening my mesh stl. object on 3DS MAX

Ive been waiting for a long time but there is no shape on screen.

Re: Mesh Conversion to T-Spline

James.Youmatz — Mon, 31 Aug 2015 12:46:07 GMT

Hi @Anonymous,

I can honestly say I'm not too savvy with 3DS Max, but if you would like you can send me the file and I can try to see what I can do to make this work. My email is james.youmatz@autodesk.com.

Thanks.

Re: Mesh Conversion to T-Spline

Anonymous — Mon, 31 Aug 2015 12:46:18 GMT

thank you for your answer and warming TrippyLighting. Actually i tried add my stl file here but i couldnt. is there anyway to add my stl. files on here ?

Re: Mesh Conversion to T-Spline

James.Youmatz — Mon, 31 Aug 2015 13:58:06 GMT

Hi @Anonymous,

I had trouble opening your original file too in 3DS Max. It took a really long time! So, what I ended up doing is used a free program called Autodesk Mesh Mixer to help reduce my mesh to inbetween 10k-20k triangles. This was a low number that still preserved the general shape of the original mesh. I only used the "Reduce" function which is only one of many tools that you can use to reduce your mesh. My suggestion is to play around with it and explore the different functionalities. It really is a handy tool! (Also I was able to bring up the Edit Menu by pressing CTRL + A). Then I exported the Mesh Mixer file and imported it into 3DS Max, and it opened almost instantly. I used a command called quadrify to try to convert the triangles to quads, which is what Fusion prefers in its meshes. I then exported the quadrified mesh as a .obj file (.stl files only use triangles to my knowledge) and imported it into Fusion where I was able to convert the mesh successfully into a T-Spline Body. I know that was a lot of information to take in, so I went ahead and made a screencast below detailing my steps!

http://autode.sk/1LFn9ij

I hope this helps and answers your questions. If this answer worked for you, please feel free to mark this answer as a solution so others can benefit from this thread as well. If not, let me know and I would be more than happy to help!

EDIT: Check out @Anonymous suggestions regarding reducing face count in Mesh Mixer! http://forums.autodesk.com/t5/design-and-documentation/creating-bas-relief-s-in-fusion/td-p/5794809

Thanks,

Re: Mesh Conversion to T-Spline

TrippyLighting — Mon, 31 Aug 2015 13:45:00 GMT

Another thing you can try is to open the stl file using meshmixer. It's a free download from Autodesk.

Meshmixer has a number of tools to help repair meshes and also to reduce the polygon count.

You can experiment with it and see if it helps you to import the mesh into Fusion 360.

As to how to "quadrify" the mesh descibed by James in the previous post. You can also try that with the free Open Source Software Blender. However, Blender takes some time to learn 😉

Re: Mesh Conversion to T-Spline

Anonymous — Tue, 01 Sep 2015 08:37:43 GMT

James thank you so much for your helping even you made video for me 🙂

but i have problem even if i try less than 5k triangles i still have same problem on fusion. Here is my picture.

Re: Mesh Conversion to T-Spline

James.Youmatz — Tue, 01 Sep 2015 13:21:24 GMT

Hi @Anonymous,

No problem, glad I could help! Did you try using the Quadrify function in 3DS Max? I could've sworn Fusion could accept up to 10k triangles but I will double check that for you. As previously stated, Fusion is better equipped to handle quads so if you have the means to convert it in 3DS Max, I would try that.

Thanks,

Re: Mesh Conversion to T-Spline

Anonymous — Wed, 02 Sep 2015 08:16:20 GMT

Thanks for your reply again James:

Actually i only need t-spline metarial on fusion. It doesnt matter where it has been converted 🙂

and it is strange even i tried when it has 500 and 1k triangles i still have the same eror. i didnt understand why.

Also i tried after Quadify Mesh on 3ds too but now way i cant get my t-splines on fusion. i think i have another problemnot only number of triangles.

Re: Mesh Conversion to T-Spline

James.Youmatz — Wed, 02 Sep 2015 13:11:04 GMT

Hi @Anonymous,

I guess I am a little confused. I was able to take your model and convert it successfully to a T-Spline. Once you converted it to mostly quads in 3DS Max, did you then export it as a .obj file and then import that into fusion? This is how I was able to use the "Convert" command successfully.

Thanks,

Re: Mesh Conversion to T-Spline

TrademarkCreative — Thu, 22 Jun 2017 18:04:51 GMT

I am at 720 triangles and will not allow to convert

Re: Mesh Conversion to T-Spline

James.Youmatz — Thu, 22 Jun 2017 18:13:30 GMT

Hi @TrademarkCreative,

That is because your mesh files contains only triangles - they will need to contain mostly Quads/Polys in order to convert to T-Splines. Otherwise, you will need to use the Mesh->BRep functionality.

Thanks,