[OPEN] Looking for feedback on Mesh based workflows

[Sualp.Ozel]

Hi Fusion MFG community

As you may have noticed, the Mesh workspace just graduated from being a tech preview and is now a part of Fusion 360 user interface by default with the July 7, 2021 release. With this release you can:

• Tesselate a solid body using triangles and/or quads to create mesh bodies.
• Insert multiple mesh files including STL OBJ and 3MF
• Interact with mesh bodies and face groups in both the parametric and direct modeling
• Automatically repair broken mesh bodies.
• Shell/hollow a mesh body
• Combine / Separate mesh bodies
• Generate face groups on mesh bodies and those convert mesh bodies to solid or surface bodies.
• and more...

The workflows we implemented contains several intelligent default settings and the ability to preview the outcome of each command before executing them, so that users don’t have be an expert in working with mesh data to benefit from this functionality.

This release also comes with several known limitations:  

3mf related limits 

• Upload 3mf is currently not supported
• There is an inconsistency between Open and Insert 3mf workflows for assemblies (Open workflow display the component hierarchy, Insert workflow produces a single component with multiple bodies)
• When exporting a 3mf, appearance and physical material are not exported as color information
•  

Workspace related limits:

• Mesh bodies are not supported as an input to Assemblies in Design workspace
• Mesh bodies are not supported in Simulation workspace
• Mesh bodies are not supported in Drawings workspace
• Mesh bodies are not supported in Generative Design workspace
• Mesh only components are not supported in Animation workspace when using Manual or Auto Explode

Face group related limits

• Generate Face Groups feature is not designed for mesh bodies generated using scan data.
• Accurate type within Generate Face Groups feature is not designed to find boundaries between complex curved surfaces.
• Face group information stored in *.OBJ files is not loaded into Fusion

With upcoming releases of Fusion 360, we will

• start eliminating the above known limitations.
• continue to identify and fix new issues related to mesh workflows
• improve the functionality around hollowing mesh bodies and
• introduce new methods for converting organic mesh bodies to solid more effectively.

We also would love to hear back from you.

So here are some of our questions:

• Have you experienced any issues importing / working with / editing mesh data in Fusion 360?
• Can anyone send us examples of models you are experiencing such issues?
• What would you want us to focus on for improving mesh based workflows?

No “Insert mesh” + “convert to solid” failed feedback please. You need to “generate face groups” before attempting to convert mesh bodies to solid bodies first 😊

There are no wrong answers here, we are just looking to start a conversation on how you plan to utilize the new mesh functionality in your workflow.

All questions, comments, and criticisms are welcome.

Thanks

Sualp Ozel, PE

Senior Product Manager

Additive Manufacturing

[mmozayyani3]

Tagging into say while I like the new features, there has been a huge drop in performance when dealing with meshes, to the point where simply panning around with a mesh in view causes freezing. Happens across multiple computers since the update.  I typically deal in larger object scans and it is now bordering on unusable when I have to wait 2-3 minutes per click basically.

[Henrik_Horlin]

Where to begin... but Ill keep it short. 🙂

When importing, give me the ability to move and align the mesh easily! Many scanning softwares does not give you a reasonable orientation to any coordinate system.

* Allow me to choose 3 points on the mesh to create a (parented) plane to be aligned to another plane/face, maybe let me name and keep the plane(s) also.

* This applies to lines and points as well, give me easy to use reference points that can be used for transformations and alignment with other geometry.

* Allow me to place a pivot point anywhere ON the mesh (or suggested reference/construction elements mentioned above) when rotating it, not only in the center of the mesh box.

Calibrate/scale mesh: Just like with a canvas, select two points and a known number, scale to fit. Not always exported with correct units. mm/cm/inches etc.

Allow me to do a section cut that isn't a dead poly-line but a useful Bezier-curve from the start, many scanners are not accurate below 0.1 mm anyways so it does not need to fit more perfectly than that. Yes, default could have curve(s) parented to the mesh.
 Later this could maybe perhaps hopefully lead to useful reverse engineering features 😉 Something most other softwares currently suck at, take the lead on this one!

when section cutting, have a cross hatch pattern like on bodies, seeing the inside/backface culling is confusing.

Remeshing tools in general, use whatever you can from Meshmixer, works OK.

Start with this, this should make F360 much better than many other CAD software.

[hfcandrew]

Agreed, because MM can do everything you requested.

So the real 'keep it short' response is: Please fully integrate every tool and function of Meshmixer into Fusion and/or Netfabb.

[Sualp.Ozel]

Thanks for the wish list. The mesh alignment related requests are definitely on my radar. Some of your other points were a good reminder that we have a long way to go.  

[jean-michel_legoff]

Hello,

Could it be possible to keep UV mapping information when importing an OBJ File?

It could be valuable in some case to create assemblies with solid features and with some imported meshes UV mapped ...

Many Thanks

[HughesTooling]

@Sualp.Ozel  Just a bit of feedback on the generation of face groups. Below is an example where I set a fairly course angle threshold. No point is setting it too tight as the fillets will never convert to usable groups. On the highlighted group there are obvious flat areas that should be quite easy to use to split the group up. Something like create groups for planar areas.

Below there are 8 flat areas that should be easier to split out of the group.

If I generate groups again just for this single group using the Accurate option it does split it up nicely but takes quite a while. It just seems like an option to create groups from planer areas would be quicker?

I've attached the file that came from someone on the forums. I haven't finished creating all the groups necessary to convert to a brep and not even sure it would ever work looking a the light green group with all the fillets but it's a good example for testing.

Mark

[CapGuy]

Hello,

What is needed now is to be able to set a preferences default for this new "save as mesh" right-clic behavior, since to have to re-choose the "STL" each time we want save in STL instead of the 3mf is very annoying.
Yes, I know, while F360 is still open this chose stays, but after a reload, we have to re-chose. And we have to do it for each time. So please put a setting in preferences, and this will be the best.
Thanks for your attention,
Cordially,
Guy

[amagicmerlin]

While newly using the mesh workflow I've noticed something I find problematic when reverse engineering a mesh using create mesh section sketches.  After fitting sketch lines to the curves, it would be really nice to turn off the orange lines (per sketch even) to see what I have *traced* and decided not to trace in a similar way as being able to toggle projected lines.  (Unless I've missed this feature already being there).

Also line colors seem buggy sometimes.  E.g. below:  All projections have been outlined except for the little vertical area in the first 1/8 on the right in the pic.  The *ports* in orange are actually "fixed" using the lock tool, as is the center position (green).  You can see that the 2nd port from the left's outline doesn't match even though it has been given the same treatment.  Sometimes the colors go all wonky from what you'd expect.



~Paul K. 

[jeff_strater]

each mesh section shows up in the browser under its sketch, and can be toggled using the eyeball icon:

[amagicmerlin]

Thank you for the reply. The solution would have to be the MOST dead obvious directly under my nose thing wouldn't' it? Thanks again. Maybe I eventually would have figured it out. Or just remain oblivious....

~Paul K.

[hfcandrew]

I have heard buzz that organic modeling may soon be integrated! Hoping this includes MM style 'soft transform' and 'smooth boundary'.

---

@hfcandrew wrote:

Thank you for sharing the video. It is helpful for us to see how you utilize various functions in Meshmixer for your application. Some of what you show is possible in Fusion today but certainly not all the things you need are in Fusion to complete your workflow. The smooth boundary is something we have also identified as an important function we should focus on in the future.

---

[jean-michel_legoff]

Hello,

It looks like the last November update of Fusion allows Mesh to keep textures. (I mean UV's)

But something wrong happen.

It looks like the Uv's are inverted

on the left, the right applied texture in Photoshop, on the right, the OBJ imported in Fusion, at the bottom left, the view in Fusion Team.

is it possible to correct this behaviour?
Many Thanks

[jean-michel_legoff]

to be complete, exporting the file to FBX or USDZ don't export the texture neither, only the geometry...

[christian.tapkenKLE4M]

"Mesh with wrong UV Coordinates:"

Can you provide us with the obj (and image and mt file) ?

[jean-michel_legoff]

Hi,

It's strange that the USDZ export of a UV mapped mesh don't export the texture and that the Team Viewer is able to display it.

could it be possible to get this "viewable" model in GLB?

[christian.tapkenKLE4M]

USDZ export: no texture > known bug (WIP; NC-14627)

OBJ uv coord failure: can you provide us with the obj file? 

[jean-michel_legoff]

here is the OBJ

when the OBJ is imported, the texture comes inverted, and there is no appearance created.

If yo apply one  appearance to the mesh, and select the image as color texture, it came the right orientation but you have to rescale it... even if the texture covers 1:1 the UV space...

[christian.tapkenKLE4M]

Hmm, if I load the obj ("mesh workspace -> insert mesh" or "file>open" ) it looks goods  

[jean-michel_legoff]

very strange...

even after resetting my default  to Y-Up

you may see that the word "TOP" is inverted.

But this is not the worst.

the pity is that when you try to "render" an image in the render workspace, the texture don't shows anymore...

[christian.tapkenKLE4M]

- Render environment and missing textures in meshes:  we made a new Ticket for this ( NC-14820) 

- UV coordinates: we are investigating this and trying to reproduce this (NC-14797). So far we have not seen this. 

Thanks for your feedback.