Applying decals to a body surface with a hole

[noel.deschenes1]

Hello all -- I just started using Fusion 360, and I'm excited to dig deeper.

My first project is designing skateboard wheels, using an easy "revolve" object with lots of potential for decal design applications.

However, I have hit a wall with this project. When I try to apply my decal design to the wheel walls it won't allow me to bridge the hole in the middle of the wheels. (Please see the attached screenshots for the wheel and decal.)

I've read some comments about creating a "transparent" object without a hole and applying the decal to that, but when I tried this, the decal on the transparent object appears to "break up" when paired with the visible wheel. (See screenshot for wonky decal view.)

If anybody has any solutions for how to make this work, it would be a great help. Thank you in advance.

Noel

[jhackney1972]

Please attach your model and the Decal file.  If you do not know how to attach your Fusion 360 model follow these easy steps. Open the model in Fusion 360, select the File menu, then Export and save as a F3D or F3Z file to your hard drive. Then use the Attachments section, of a forum post, to attach it.

[noel.deschenes1]

Hi @jhackney1972 - Thank you for your detailed reply and for helping me get my bearings.

Following your instructions, please see the attached .f3d file and .png file for the decal.

Kind regards - Noel

[jhackney1972]

My idea was to create a surface to apply the decal.  Once in place my idea was to create a tube surface and cut out the hole in the decal surface.  It works but the decal will not stay centered.  Sorry, my idea does not work.  I hope you find a solution.

[noel.deschenes1]

Hi @jhackney1972 - Thank you for your speedy reply and for testing out a potential fix. I appreciate it.

I've seen the same question posted across a few threads. I just now found a detailed answer posted by @Anonymous here:

https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/fusion-360-ideastation-archived/improve-decal-positioning-allow-decal...

I will try this solution later this afternoon and post the results here.

Thank you again.

Best - Noel

[jhackney1972]

I have been playing around with your wheel and how to get the decal in place.  I used a very thin clear body to hold the decal.  The only problem is the decal creates a reflection in the center because of the shape of the clear surface.  Maybe your axle details can covet it up.  Model is attached.

[noel.deschenes1]

Thank you so much, @jhackney1972. I downloaded and opened your file. Your test is probably as close as we can get to a solution, albeit with the reflection remaining.

Overall, the decal feature should be revisited... I wonder if Autodesk will create a fix because there are certainly plenty of requests for the same. With more flexibility, I can see decals being infinitely useful for designers making mockups, like me.

In the meantime, I am going to stick with just rendering the wheels in Fusion 360 and then applying the decals as a mockup in Photoshop. I had some success with this last night, and with some careful vanishing-point work, it looks great.

Thanks again for all of your help with this.

Kind regards,

Noel

[hamid.sh. · Accepted solution]

I could avoid the artefact by applying Decal directly on surface body:

 

Also I changed Acrylic's refractive index to 1 (i.e. same as air) to minimize reflection of environment.

[noel.deschenes1]

@hamid.sh.This is mind-blowing. Thank you so much. Exactly the fix I was hoping to find. This solution should be pinned for anything to do with "decals."

I am new to Fusion, so I am going to reverse engineer your solution to understand it better. Is the other body element, marked "Body6 (3)," a separate component or "piece" with the decal on it?

You have helped me to overcome a massive roadblock. I am using these wheel designs for a portfolio. Do you have a link where I can credit you for help with Fusion? Or do you prefer not to be credited?

All the same, thank you again.

Kind regards,

Noel

[hamid.sh. · Accepted solution]

@noel.deschenes1 glad I could help, and no you don't need to do anything. The most valuable credit I receive is the experience I gather by trying to help others here.

Body6 with its orange icon in Browser is a Surface (i.e. zero thickness) body I defined at 0.01 mm from the wheel. For now it is in the same component as the root so it's not a separate component. In Fusion a component can contain several bodies.

[noel.deschenes1]

@hamid.sh.I appreciate that you are here to help the community. For new users, learning a problem-solving process is invaluable. Thank you also for giving more context for the Body6 surface and how to think about components.

I dove into this project as a first-time, casual Fusion user and now want to learn more fundamentals and keep going.

Totally absorbing stuff.

All the best - Noel