topic Re: How to fill a curved, irregular shape in Fusion Support Forum

How to fill a curved, irregular shape

nine_tail — Tue, 18 Feb 2025 05:47:29 GMT

Hello, I have a 3D scan of a segment of a broken teapot and I am trying to create a "patch" for it. I cannot seem to create a solid that fills the space though. Does anyone have any advice? I've been at it for hours and am losing my poor mind.

Re: How to fill a curved, irregular shape

TheCADWhisperer — Tue, 18 Feb 2025 12:43:55 GMT

@nine_tail

Can you File>Export your *.f3d file to your local drive and then Attach it here to a Reply?

I would use the scan only as reference in creating clean high-quality native geometry.

Re: How to fill a curved, irregular shape

nine_tail — Tue, 18 Feb 2025 20:53:05 GMT

Certainly. Here is the file. Thank you!

Re: How to fill a curved, irregular shape

TheCADWhisperer — Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:22:17 GMT

@nine_tail

This is very rough geometry.

Do you have a picture of something that already exists in the real world that is similar to your true Design Intent?

Re: How to fill a curved, irregular shape

nine_tail — Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:58:43 GMT

I have the original teapot fracture, but not the part I'm trying to replicate. I do have the original mesh from the scan though, which is much more detailed. I just had to reduce it to 1000 faces when I made it a body so it rendered faster. Would it help to have the original mesh? I can upload it when I get off work tonight.

Re: How to fill a curved, irregular shape

nine_tail — Wed, 19 Feb 2025 07:55:15 GMT

Here is the original scan of the area. I'm just looking to fill the gap with a similar thickness to the rest of the piece, and with the same approximate curvature. The edges don't have to fit perfectly, because I can sand/file them to be more snug. I just need the hole filled with a piece that follows the edge, is the same thickness, and follows the same curvature.

Re: How to fill a curved, irregular shape

TheCADWhisperer — Wed, 19 Feb 2025 11:20:17 GMT

@nine_tail

The only thing you can do is use the mesh as reference in recreating proper geometry natively in Fusion.

Re: How to fill a curved, irregular shape

nine_tail — Wed, 19 Feb 2025 12:10:15 GMT

How do I create proper geometry? I'm not sure what that means exactly.

Re: How to fill a curved, irregular shape

TheCADWhisperer — Wed, 19 Feb 2025 17:06:11 GMT

For example, you Sketch a Circle and then Extrude.

All of the kind of stuff covered in beginner tutorials or in a classroom...

Re: How to fill a curved, irregular shape

nine_tail — Wed, 19 Feb 2025 19:21:36 GMT

Ah, I see. So I'd have to sketch and extrude a bunch of smaller shapes and combine them? There's no way to extrude a single shape and cut at the intersection.

Re: How to fill a curved, irregular shape

TheCADWhisperer — Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:26:19 GMT

@nine_tail wrote:
Ah, I see. So I'd have to sketch and extrude a bunch of smaller shapes and combine them? There's no way to extrude a single shape and cut at the intersection.

No, that is not how modeling is done.

Have you gone through the Tutorials?

Can you Attach *.f3d or *.f3z files of designs that you have completed working up to this design.

There are zero curves in the model that you Attached. Zero. All triangular planar facets and straight lines. No curves.

When I think of Tea Pot - I think of something like this...

Now I assume you have a scan of a broken piece of a tea pot something like the images above.

To fix that from a scan - you should first be able to model these designs from scratch.

Re: How to fill a curved, irregular shape

nine_tail — Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:37:31 GMT

If the answer is to model the whole thing from scratch then what's the point of having a scanner in the first place?

Re: How to fill a curved, irregular shape

TheCADWhisperer — Thu, 20 Feb 2025 00:30:35 GMT

@nine_tail wrote:
... what's the point of having a scanner in the first place?

@nine_tail

The first step you did was to absolutely destroy your scanned geometry?

Why did you do that?

Re: How to fill a curved, irregular shape

nine_tail — Thu, 20 Feb 2025 01:48:00 GMT

Because I only needed the contour of the inner edge, the rest of it doesn't matter. I reduced the mesh to 1000 faces before converting to a body to reduce computation time. I'm just 3D printing a patch for the hole itself. It doesn't have to fit seamlessly because I can physically alter the edging if I need to.

Re: How to fill a curved, irregular shape

TheCADWhisperer — Thu, 20 Feb 2025 01:50:48 GMT

@nine_tail

I recommend that you go through the Tutorials and do a few projects to get some experience and come back to this design in a few months.

Re: How to fill a curved, irregular shape

nine_tail — Thu, 20 Feb 2025 01:54:17 GMT

Like this. I just need to fill this space with a piece that curves the same as the rest, and fill the gap.

Re: How to fill a curved, irregular shape

nine_tail — Thu, 20 Feb 2025 02:43:48 GMT

So the help forum is just for telling people to figure it out themselves. Thanks.

Re: How to fill a curved, irregular shape

TheCADWhisperer — Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:59:01 GMT

@nine_tail

Is something similar to this image what you are after?

Re: How to fill a curved, irregular shape

nine_tail — Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:29:36 GMT

Yes. Was this a top-down sketch with an extrusion on a curve?

Re: How to fill a curved, irregular shape

TheCADWhisperer — Fri, 21 Feb 2025 20:05:49 GMT

No.