Hexagons following circular path issue

[richard552CX]

Hi, I'm having trouble removing the distortion where the hexagons meet. Does anybody have any smart ideas as to how I could fix this issue. I've tried tracing the hexagon and leaving one side off and following the path that way but I couldn't get it to work. : (

Thanks

[richard552CX]

Hi, I'm having trouble removing the distortion where the hexagons meet. Does anybody have any smart ideas as to how I could fix this issue. I've tried tracing the hexagon and leaving one side off and following the path that way but I couldn't get it to work. : (

Thanks

[johnswetz1982]

Is this a circular path or a a tapered circular path? Attaching the file would help. File>Export>*.f3d and attach.

[MichaelT_123]

Hi Mr Ritchard552CX,

The Earth is not flat and The Circle is not straight.

Create the 'distorted' hexagon first (utilizing radial segments of The Circle) and then pattern the shape.

Geometry, geometry, geometry,....|:)

Regards

MichaelT

[davebYYPCU]

Your distortion is not distortion, it's expected behaviour when using a true Hexagon.

For a circular pattern you have to distort a true hexagon to a distorted one.

Might help....

[TrippyLighting]

Can you share your model ? (export as .f3d and attach to next post)

[Marco.Takx]

Hi @richard552CX,

This question here is a Design question.

But you posted on the manufacturing forum.

Please place these kinds of questions on the Fusion-360-design-validate & Documentation forum.

If my post answers your question Please use  .Accept as Solution & Kudos This helps everyone find answers more quickly!

[daniel_lyall]

@Marco.Takx  You can ask DM to move it.

[seth.madore]

@daniel_lyall  @Marco.Takx  I too can move threads around, so if you see something in the wrong place, just ping me

[TrippyLighting]

@richard552CX You appear to have posted this in two different sections of the forum. I ma not sure this was intentional, buts case it was, please avoid double posting. Thanks in advance!

Here's the thread on Design forum

[TrippyLighting]

I am assuming this is what you're after:

[sjeffff]

Based on your image I assume you have a central point on which you try to create a hexagonal shape around it.

I recreated a simpler variant of this which can be viewed here:

https://a360.co/2YMhEym

The source of the problem is related to the 6 sided shape. I do not know if it is possible to get the desired effect you want by using  some mathematical formula to calculate the dimensions of the circle and the hexagon. In order to calculate how much fit on a circle. I don't think so, but would like to be proven wrong 🙂

[seth.madore]

Sorry @TrippyLighting , he started a thread in Manufacture and I just moved it over here this morning. I can flag one of the threads to be closed

[chrisplyler · Accepted solution]

Well, the problem is simple geometry. A true hexagon has parallel opposite sides. You want to have a pattern of them radially. So the sides of one aren't going to be parallel to the sides of the one beside it.

You're going to have to construct a "distorted" hex. I've used 10-deg of arc to construct mine on, so that I can evenly put 36 instances around the circle and their sides will overlap correctly.

[chrisplyler]

---

@sjeffff wrote:

The source of the problem is related to the 6 sided shape. I do not know if it is possible to get the desired effect you want by using  some mathematical formula to calculate the dimensions of the circle and the hexagon. In order to calculate how much fit on a circle. I don't think so, but would like to be proven wrong 🙂

---

I think I've proven you wrong in my previous post. You can use it for ANY shape. It's simple. Divide the number of instance you would like to have into 360-deg, and make the width of your shape that many degrees wide.

If you want hard values, of course, you're going to have to know the radius of the circle and plug that into the equation as well. But since we can design graphically in a sketch, we can set it up so we don't need to do that math. We can instead just lay out our desired slice of the pie and construct our shape within it. If you constrain everything properly, it will even adjust with a diameter change of the circle.

It works if you change the degrees of the pie slice also, although of course you will have to edit the quantity of instance in the pattern to match.

Screencast will be displayed here after you click Post.

3145d348-1fef-413c-a503-26b7b3eb4748

https://knowledge.autodesk.com/community/screencast/3145d348-1fef-413c-a503-26b7b3eb4748

[TrippyLighting]

I though had already answered that in my post and the  model provided above.

[sjeffff]

Thanks, do have to say that it took me quite some tries to figure it all out. The trick is to use that 10 degrees mark from the central circle. Rather than just drawing a hexagon via a sketch tool, and adjusting its angles. After further study of you image I noticed that you did not used this polygon tool at all, but just used a circle. Thanks for proving me wrong ;-). I didn't know that you can still call a 6 sided polygon a hexagon. Without all 6 sides being equal in length.

https://a360.co/2YMhEym

[TrippyLighting]

---

@sjeffff wrote:

I didn't know that you can still call a 6 sided polygon a hexagon. Without all 6 sides being equal in length.

---

You can! The case with 6 sides of equal length is simply a regular hexagon. 

[chrisplyler]

Six side of equal length at equal angles to each other. It's infinitely possible to have six sides of equal length without the figure being a regular hexagon.

@sjeffff  I did use a regular hexagon in my sketch, to help me construct the distorted one. I only used the circle to make it easier to define the circumscribed polygon. The circle isn't necessary, just made it easier for me. You can see it in blue. For the distorted one, I used the same upper and lower points, and made the upper two lines and lower two lines colinear with the regular one's lines, but with outside end points falling on the 10-deg pie slice sides.

There is any number of ways you might construct a distorted figure. That's just how I chose to do it.

[TrippyLighting]

According to my "sources" a regular hexagon also needs equal interior angles 😉