How can I apply a complex texture to a curved model for 3D printing?

[marcosscriven]

The best option I've seen so far is from Autodesk's own tutorial on using MudBox https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yV8cOjNYnLY

However, there's a serious downside, if I understand correctly, in that you lose history. For my 3d printed case, that would mean I'd lose the ability to change any of the parameters.

I know there's various ways to make textures by patterning features, but I want things like procedural textures.

[g-andresen]

Hi,

watch this tutorial

günther

[TrippyLighting]

Can you show at least a screenshot of your geometry and what texture you are talking about?

There is no one-size-fits-all solution for this.

[marcosscriven]

Thanks for the link - although that's a pretty painfully slow video. 10 minutes in all they've done is import a 400k-faces mesh, simplified it to 50k-faces, converted it to a b-rep while ignoring a warning it was too big.

The key thing I think perhaps you wanted me to see was using sheet metal to unfold/fold, which I've seen before.

The whole thing seems slow and hacky.

[TrippyLighting]

It is slow and hacky. Any method, that involves most CAD software is likely to slow and hacky. CAD software works with BRepand NURBS geometry, which is computationally much more involved than a mesh, for example. Ultimately you either end up with a lot of NURBS data using the quad-mesh->T-spline workflow, or you end up with a lot of BRep faces in the triangle-mesh ->Brep. Working exclusively in mesh-based software is likely going to provide a much more fluid workflow. Blender, MoDo, Houdini provide plenty of options for that.

[marcosscriven]

I can't post a screenshot right now, as something's gone wrong with the forum posting code (some 'lia' scripts aren't loading, if the forum admins are watching). Anyway - searching for info on this, I came across what I wanted in Solidworks https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLL8pKu-zOw&t=398s I should separate 'slow' from 'hacky'. I can deal with the former. I guess I'm more concerned with using sheet metal functionality to unfold/fold when Fusion360 could be quite able to work directly with the body. Anyway - I guess what I'm looking for is a process joined up with Fusion 360. If I change the height of my case in Fusion360, I'd like for it to just be able to do that without me then having to go and repeat some process in an external tool to apply a process. I've looked into the Fusion API - but so far as I understand it, that's not going to be fundamentally different to the manual approach. I'll see what I can do with the t-spline -> brep as in the video I linked in the original post.

[laughingcreek · Accepted solution]

been down this road.  if the texture is at all involved, then modeling smooth in fusion, and taking a 1 way trip out to another program to apply texture is going to be the best workflow unfortunately.

if you eed to make changes, then wash, rinse, repeat.