How to Create Shell Of Curved Body

[jb9784]

Hi Fusion360 Pros,

How can I create a shell of the body in the screenshot below?

I'm trying to hollow out the inside of this body and leave a 2 cm wall that matches the outside geometry.  This body curves in the X, Y, and Z dimensions.  The normal Shell command gives an error.  I've also tried removing the ends to make a surface, and then thicken that surface.  That also gives me an error.

I'm sure there is a trick to get this done!

Thanks!

[jeff_strater]

This body looks, from the image, as if it was created from a mesh that was converted to BRep.  That will always be problematic, to be honest.  This shape looks fairly simple, I would re-create it using a Loft, and using the original mesh as a reference when creating the profiles on each end.  If you share the design, or the original mesh, we can help show you how.

[Warmingup1953]

Try splitting the body into 2 or 3 shell each as needed then Combine

[aliobidi]

Hi ,

attach your file please  

[jhackney1972]

Since you are new to the Forum, you may need to know how to attach and share your model.  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.

[jb9784]

This body looks, from the image, as if it was created from a mesh that was converted to BRep. That will always be problematic, to be honest.  I would re-create it using a Loft, and using the original mesh as a reference when creating the profiles on each end.

Correct; I imported this as an STL and then used Mesh --> Convert Mesh to convert it into a solid object.

Why is recreating using Loft a better solution?  I'm new to Fusion 360 and don't know all the best practices.

If you share the design, or the original mesh, we can help show you how. shell of the body in the screenshot below

You've got it - please see attached.

[TrippyLighting]

Converting a triangulated mesh directly into a solid body is almost always a mistake! We tell unfortunate users that here on the forum almost daily and there are hundreds of posts with that one subject.

Please share the original mesh in .stl format.

Also, you called this "Sample Design". What is the ultimate goal of your effort ? Is there something bigger that you need to "convert" ? If so, can you post screenshot of that?

[jeff_strater · Accepted solution]

The problem with the facet-converted mesh is that each of those tiny faces has to be offset individually, and the angles between them are likely leading to the error.

This is the result of a half-hearted 15 minute Sunday morning attempt to re-create the shape using native solid features.  It could still use some work, but it should illustrate the idea.  If this is the only shape you have, it is probably worth the effort.  If this is a tiny piece of a much larger model (is this part of a wing of an airplane, perhaps?), then that is going to be a tough job.  It depends what you want to do with it.

[jb9784]

Thanks for all of your replies.  I'm posting again to close the loop and share solutions for anyone who finds this post in the future.

@jeff_strater 

This body looks, from the image, as if it was created from a mesh that was converted to BRep. That will always be problematic, to be honest. This shape looks fairly simple, I would re-create it using a Loft, and using the original mesh as a reference when creating the profiles on each end. If you share the design, or the original mesh, we can help show you how.

---

Yes - you're absolutely correct.  Now that I have more experience with Fusion 360 I can see why this is the case.  I solved this by importing the shape as multiple IGES surfaces, and using a combination of surface and solid body tools to create a hollow structure.

@jeff_strater 

This is the result of a half-hearted 15 minute Sunday morning attempt to re-create the shape using native solid features.

---

That is almost exactly what the final solution looks like.

I solved this two ways:

1/ Creating rips perpendicular to the body, sketching the hollow shape, and then lofting between them.  This was time consuming and tedious, but it worked

2/ I created a solid body, and then used the surfaces as cutting tools to slice that body and remove unwanted material - this was much easier / faster

Thanks everyone for your help!