How to bend a flat and circular object into half sphere

[chunheior2-c]

I am new to 3DS Max. I want to bend the golden circular pattern object into a concave half sphere so it can fit the curved surface of the semi-transparent hemisphere. I tried the bend modifier, but it can only bend on two sides. I am looking for any suggestions to solve the problem.

image (1).png

[RobH2]

Maybe try the 'Spherify' modifier. Subdivide you surface a lot first. It's hard to tell what you object looks like, a few other angles showing it would help. 

[chunheior2-c]

The gold object looks like this. I tried the 'Spherify' modifier, but it is not working.

chunheior2c_0-1726838568784.png

[RobH2]

Can you upload the file to play with?

[chunheior2-c]

I've attached it

[RobH2]

Thanks. I'll play with it. 

[RobH2]

Just to make sure, you are trying to get the part 'Pattern' to match the curvature of 'Sphere001'? 

In your original post you said 'hemisphere' which is a very different shape than 'Sphere001.' Do you want to match to a 'Hemisphere' or 'Sphere001'?

[chunheior2-c]

Yes, I want to get the part 'Pattern' to match the curvature of 'Sphere001'.  I adjusted the scale of the semi-transparent half-sphere so it becomes the look of 'Sphere001'.

[RobH2 · Accepted solution]

You could clean up your Pattern and reduce it down to a plane and try to use the 'Conform' function from the Edit Poly Tools. Then once "conformed" you could extrude and bevel. But I think there is a better way. 

Try this. Some of the steps below may take a long time so be patient while they calculate. Some of them took 5-10 minutes and I have a fairly strong machine:

1. By the time the object 'Pattern' gets to the top of the stack it's extremely messy with lot's of errors. So, start working on this lower in the stack and add the bevel, shell and other stuff later. Get it back to a spline that you've optimized. It's important to work with clean and error-free meshes when you start getting complicated. 

2. Use the 'Normalize Spline' modifier and make the spline cleaner and more organized. 

3. Weld to make sure there are no coincident verts

4. Go to 'Itoosoft.com' and get the free 'Glue' modifier. Read the documentation on how to use and install it. 

5. Select your spline and 'Glue' it to the 'Sphere001'. It will create a copy of the spline perfectly on the surface of the sphere. Play with the settings to get a good tranfer and copy. 

6. Maybe 'Nomalize Spline' again so it has fewer verts which will make things go faster. 

7. Put a 'Shell' or  'Edit Poly' on the new spline and extrude it. 

8. Now do your bevels or whatever else you need to. 

I've attached the file I played with. Since you are new to Max I assume you are using 2025. That's what's attached. 

I hope it helps. 

[MartinBeh · Accepted solution]

How about using the Conform modifier (available in the latest releases of 3ds Max) to project your spline (without all the extra modifiers) to the sphere - and then apply the modifier to turn it into a mesh again? Attached is a 2023 .max file with just the conformed shape.

Other ideas:

- Use an FFD modifier to manually pull the spline into shape

- Use Patch or Surface deform to deform the spline/mesh with a planar surface which you then pull into spherical shape

[wernienst]

You could also add a second Bend modifier as copy (not instance) of the first one, then rotate its gizmo in Z by 90°. Now wire its Bend Angle to that of the first Bend modifier.

[Anonymous]

Hello,

You can make the object an "Editable Poly" or "Editable Mesh" and then add a "Bend" modifier. Try adjusting the "Bend Axis" and "Bend Angle" settings to fit your pattern perfectly onto the concave surface. Additionally, you can gain more flexibility with the "FFD (Free-Form Deformation)" modifier. With these methods, you can better control the fit of the pattern to the hemisphere.

Enjoy your work.

[RobH2]

If accuracy is important, the issue with the 'Bend' and 'FFD' modifiers is that they are not precise. You just tweak by hand. And frequently that's OK. The 'Conform' might work but it's a bit unruly and wonky sometimes. It is likely to be very slow and cumbersome becasue of the number of points you have close together. That's why I really like the 'Glue' modifier for things like this. 

[MartinBeh]

Check the .max file I uploaded. It uses the Conform modifier and works well from what I can tell.

[chunheior2-c]

I've checked your file. I tried the 'Conform' modifier and it works for me as well. Thanks for your help!

[chunheior2-c]

I tried both the 'Conform' and 'Glue' modifier methods. Both of them works. Thanks for your help! Very detailed!