topic Re: How to flattern curved surface to machine in Fusion Design, Validate & Document Forum

How to flattern curved surface to machine

hugo_gomesRVA54 — Mon, 27 Oct 2025 13:49:12 GMT

I've this curved surface, part of a glob.

How can it be flatterned to cut on CNC?

Re: How to flattern curved surface to machine

TrippyLighting — Mon, 27 Oct 2025 15:30:38 GMT

Once flattened and cut out of sheet metal (I assume), how do you want to get the part into the spherical shape?

Re: How to flattern curved surface to machine

hugo_gomesRVA54 — Mon, 27 Oct 2025 16:04:55 GMT

There's a base structure made of wood. This element will be cutted from a 3mm polycarbonate sheet and fixed to the structure.

Re: How to flattern curved surface to machine

TrippyLighting — Mon, 27 Oct 2025 19:26:02 GMT

@hugo_gomesRVA54 wrote:

There's a base structure made of wood. This element will be cutted from a 3mm polycarbonate sheet and fixed to the structure.

Right, and after cutting out the shape, the polycarbonate sheet is flat. What method are you going to use to shape it into the spherical form?

Are you going to heat it?

The shape is non-developable so there are no native tools in Fusion to flatten it.
A workflow using Autodesk Mesh mixer exists. That involves exporting the shape as a mesh, flatten it in Meshmixer and then creating a .svg from that , which describes the perimeter of the shape. That .svg can then be re-imported into Fusions, or perhaps sent directly to the laser cutter (preferably after checking that this is still to scale).

However, when flattening a non-developable object, stretching and/or compression must happen. You might be able to flatten it in CAD< but the resulting geometry might not match what you are trying to achieve with your manufacturing method. Some manual adjustments to the flattened =geometry might be necessary.

Re: How to flattern curved surface to machine

TheCADWhisperer — Mon, 27 Oct 2025 21:00:58 GMT

@TrippyLighting wrote:
then creating a .svg from that , which describes the perimeter of the shape. That .svg can then be re-imported into Fusion...

@TrippyLighting

Is there an advantage to creating a.svg rather than merely exporting the *.stl of the Unwrap in Meshmixer and importing that back into Fusion?

Re: How to flattern curved surface to machine

TrippyLighting — Mon, 27 Oct 2025 21:12:08 GMT

@TheCADWhisperer wrote:

@TrippyLighting wrote:
then creating a .svg from that , which describes the perimeter of the shape. That .svg can then be re-imported into Fusion...

@TrippyLighting

Is there an advantage to creating a.svg rather than merely exporting the *.stl of the Unwrap in Meshmixer and importing that back into Fusion?

I have no idea!

I only know these workflows exist, and I know you have a YouTube tutorial explaining the workflow.

Given your question, I think it is safe to assume that it doesn't contain any .svg conversion and there isn't an advantage to it.

Re: How to flattern curved surface to machine

MichaelT_123 — Tue, 28 Oct 2025 00:55:53 GMT

Hi Mr Hugo_GomesRVA54,

“How to flatten the Globe?”

The question has been asked for thousands of years. Still, there is no definitive answer … unless one believes that the Earth is flat anyway.

Although the debate did not bear the perfect fruit… it triggered/generated tremendous impulse in the development of mathematics, particularly in the creation of map projections (for surveying and establishing borders between properties, countries, etc.).

None of those attempts was “perfect”; all have had their limitations.

Going back to your persistent other attempt to flatten the Globe … consider cutting its patch directly from a sphere.

How?

Take a Coke bottle (or a Pepsi bottle if you are on the Blue Team), heat it to about 200 °C, blow it up to an almost perfect sphere, draw your segment, and cut it with a razor blade. Other deviations of the process are possible.

If you are a DIYer and dealing with harder than plastic matter, build (from available parts) a spherical laser cutting CNC device (as an addition to flatbed ones). You will avoid … flattening the Globe then!

Consider checking:

https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/fusion-design-validate-document/flattening-surface/m-p/12059033

https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/fusion-design-validate-document/flatten-heavy/m-p/13393724

… and of course run an internet enquiry on “map projections”!

Regards

MichaeT