topic Re: Struggling mesh to solid in Fusion Design, Validate & Document Forum

Struggling mesh to solid

RScott9399 — Thu, 23 Dec 2021 16:44:45 GMT

I have a very detailed and complicated mesh of car body. Fusion will not make it a solid.

All I get is endless "cant compute errors"

I am trying to make a simplified mesh. All I am really after is the outside shell so I can 3d print it or slice it up and mill it on a CNC.

It seems the only change in hell I have of getting fusion to cooperate is to drastically cut all the detail of the model out. It has a full interior of the vehicle as well. So what im trying to do is figure out an easy way to delete all the parts I don't need. I have tried to do a manual edit but good luck. I will be here for 3 centuries deleting triangles.

Fusion has created face groups which look to coincide with the major body panels which is mainly what im after.

Does anyone know of a way I can somehow select only the outer face groups and delete everything else in the hopes it will make me a solid?

Thanks

Re: Struggling mesh to solid

TheCADWhisperer — Thu, 23 Dec 2021 17:00:11 GMT

Can you Attach the original file here?

Do you understand that triangular mesh is rubbish in terms of surface quality (no curves, not one)?

Re: Struggling mesh to solid

RScott9399 — Thu, 23 Dec 2021 17:01:45 GMT

Sorry I cant post the file, its a proprietary thing.

So I understand that meshes are triangles

That is why im trying to get fusion to make me a solid from the mesh file

Re: Struggling mesh to solid

laughingcreek — Thu, 23 Dec 2021 17:15:23 GMT

a few thoughts-

-not going to be an "easy" way. will require some more knowledge of meshes to get there.

-if you just want to print/cnc/slice up the model, there isn't a reason to convert it to a solid.

-fusion sucks at this kind of mesh work.

-your model probably consists of a bunch of different bodies/parts. other software would refer to these as "shells". run the separate command on the whole thing and it will probably break up into a cajillon bodies that can more easily be deleted.

Re: Struggling mesh to solid

RScott9399 — Thu, 23 Dec 2021 17:17:50 GMT

Thanks

What is a better software you think that does not have an insane learning curve

All I want is the outer shell layer more or less. The idea would be to slice it up and print the hole thing in construction foam on a 4X8 cnc machine layer by later until I have a full size model of the vehicle

Re: Struggling mesh to solid

RScott9399 — Thu, 23 Dec 2021 17:19:02 GMT

I did find a way to delete stuff. There is a selection filter that allows you to just click on face groups.

The face groups were created very nicely. There is just to much info and I think that is why fusion is puking.

Why do you say I don't have to create a solid to slice it? I thought I have to do that

Re: Struggling mesh to solid

laughingcreek — Thu, 23 Dec 2021 17:34:47 GMT

@RScott9399 wrote:

... There is a selection filter that allows you to just click on face groups.

The face groups were created very nicely.

-thought experiment. how many faces groups are on the seat? would it be nice if you could delete the whole seat as if it where a single body?

...Why do you say I don't have to create a solid to slice it? I thought I have to do that

fusion has a "plane cut" in the mesh workspace that will slice things up. (so will other mesh editing software).

mesh mixer is a free software that would probably be better suited to this task. it's simpler, but works differently. still goin to be a learning curve.

Re: Struggling mesh to solid

RScott9399 — Thu, 23 Dec 2021 17:38:20 GMT

I have tried Meshmixer. I used it to help me do some dimensioning that fusion would not do.

However, I was hoping to stay in fusion as this thing needs to be sent to CAM eventually

I guess I just don't know what im doing sadly 😞

I am basically deleting all the interior face groups in the hopes I can make the mesh simpler and allow fusion to make a solid from it.

Re: Struggling mesh to solid

laughingcreek — Thu, 23 Dec 2021 17:45:01 GMT

@RScott9399 wrote:

... I was hoping to stay in fusion as this thing needs to be sent to CAM eventually

do as you please, but cleaning it up somewhere else before you bring it to fusion will probably be more productive.

I am basically deleting all the interior face groups in the hopes I can make the mesh simpler and allow fusion to make a solid from it.

maybe reverse that? copy the faces you want to keep, hide them, delete everything visible.

Re: Struggling mesh to solid

RScott9399 — Thu, 23 Dec 2021 17:48:38 GMT

I actually tried as you suggested.

I tried to just select the face groups I wanted but when I did the copy it still copied the whole body.

It did not appear allow me to copy just what I selected even in the manual edit mode.

Have you success that way?

Re: Struggling mesh to solid

RScott9399 — Thu, 23 Dec 2021 17:53:23 GMT

not to mention I cant even keep fusion from crashing. I have been using Autodesk for 15 years and I am so tired of this ****. You would think by now they could make a program that does not randomly crash in the middle of use.

Re: Struggling mesh to solid

TheCADWhisperer — Thu, 23 Dec 2021 22:00:49 GMT

@RScott9399 wrote:
So I understand that meshes are triangles
That is why im trying to get fusion to make me a solid from the mesh file

Uhmm, it would still be triangular facets?

Re: Struggling mesh to solid

RScott9399 — Thu, 23 Dec 2021 22:04:01 GMT

Sorry I didnt intend to cross post

So forget all this for a second.

Let me ask you think. Say I have the outer shell of say a piece of a car. Call it just the back of car as if were cut in the middle. Its a mesh

I can slice it up sure. No problem. But the inner part is hollow. I need it to be solid (I think) so I can sent it to cam. I want to cnc the slices of the body that I slice up. So right now I can do the slicing. But how can I fill in the middle ? Will post a picture. I cant post the file

Re: Struggling mesh to solid

RScott9399 — Thu, 23 Dec 2021 22:07:05 GMT

So I created my first slice. But because the mesh is just a shell. There is no flat plane connecting the two pieces.

Do you know how I can do that?

Re: Struggling mesh to solid

TheCADWhisperer — Thu, 23 Dec 2021 22:10:45 GMT

This is not a beginner level endeavor.

Re: Struggling mesh to solid

RScott9399 — Thu, 23 Dec 2021 22:11:39 GMT

Nope, sure isnt

But if you don't have ambitions in life what is the point

Re: Struggling mesh to solid

TheCADWhisperer — Thu, 23 Dec 2021 22:19:02 GMT

’Well first I would need to see the quality of the original geometry.

But since you can’t supply that - kind of working blind here.

Re: Struggling mesh to solid

RScott9399 — Thu, 23 Dec 2021 22:21:21 GMT

So I think I have come up with a plan for what I want to do. I just don't know how to make it work. I have an outer shell like I said. So!

I created a big block that was a solid. Then I tensilated it and made a big mesh block. Now im trying to combine the two. The shell and block. But I don't want to join. I want to merge or cut I think? And then the end result should be the block taking on the shape of the shell? That is what im trying now but not working still

@TheCADWhisperer Think that might work?

Re: Struggling mesh to solid

TheCADWhisperer — Thu, 23 Dec 2021 22:23:14 GMT

No.

Re: Struggling mesh to solid

davebYYPCU — Thu, 23 Dec 2021 22:26:15 GMT

Back to message 13.

3d printing software does this every day.

As I understand it, you want the outline at certain layers for sheet foam boards.

Sandwiched dowelled and hand shaped.

Mesh section sketches, convert to fusion curves,

Extrude by foam thickness.

Take those to CAM.

Might help....