Is a flat pattern possible with this type of skewed curve?

[GavinIndustries]

Hello everyone,

I'm hoping to get some help with this marine gauge panel scan workflow I'm working on. I was hoping to take the scan data and be able to easily create and outline and a flat pattern to then CNC a new gauge panel but I'm not sure I can actually convert this shape to sheet metal and make it a flat pattern. I used the form workspace to create a surface from the outermost inner edges where the panel would lie. That was went well and then I thickened the surface from there. I chose .375 as that is the thickness that I ultimately want it to be. I created an aluminum sheet metal rule that has the same thickness and attempted to convert the curved shape to sheet metal but it cant determine the thickness. This is just a proof of concept so I didn't go crazy on the actual shape but it's close enough to what I'm ultimately trying to accomplish. I also tried to over thicken the surface and then offset the base surface to the .375 and split the body to create a potential workaround, you never know, sometimes goofy stuff works. I also tried splitting it into 3 bodies but having just the center be a very thin section in the zy plane if you will, and that wasn't fruitful.

I think my last ditch effort will be to try to split it long ways as low as I can get it to get an ultimate curve length and then project the outer silhouette onto a plane and scale the sketch in the x direction to meet the curve length.

I've also thought of goofy work arounds too like printing the body and then flattening it with heat and scanning the flattened print. I can template this actual gauge panel, but I'm doing other panels on the boat and want to be able to just scan the consoles and move on without any other data collection needed in future workflows.

Any help would be much appreciated!

[akash.nawghare · Accepted solution]

Hi @GavinIndustries,

Convert to Sheet Metal usually fails on scan/Form bodies because Fusion needs uniform thickness between parallel faces. A sculpted marine panel with skewed compound curvature often isn’t true sheet metal geometry — so no exact flat pattern exists without stretch or approximation.

Practical options:

1. Best for scan workflow: Extract the panel edge outline → project to a plane → use that 2D profile for CNC of a slightly oversized blank, then form on the boat (or brake + hand fit). Your “curve length + scale in X” idea is a reasonable approximation, not a true unfold.

2. Rebuild as developable sheet metal: From the scan, fit simple bends (cylindrical sections only). Create Sheet Metal from a flat sketch (Base Flange), then add Flange/Contour Flange along ruled edges — don’t convert the thickened solid.

3. Split the panel into developable strips (each curved in only one direction), flat-pattern each strip, weld or seam on install.

4. Skip flat pattern: CNC/route the 3D surface on a fixture, or cut a proximate flat blank and trim to fit after forming.

Bottom line: For future console scans, plan on 2D outline + blank oversize + fit-up, unless the panel is essentially single-curve (one bend direction). Fusion won’t reliably flat-pattern this type of Form body.

Hope that helps!

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Thanks
Akash Nawghare
Autodesk Fusion

[davebYYPCU]

You can get the flat pattern if the basic part is based on a cylinder's face or portion of one. 

Add a stationary flat face and Fusion will allow you to trim the outline before refolding.

Might help...

[andrew2085]

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@davebYYPCU wrote:

You can get the flat pattern if the basic part is based on a cylinder's face or portion of one. 

Add a stationary flat face and Fusion will allow you to trim the outline before refolding.

Might help...

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Hmm, I was able to create a flange from a sketch made of splines and conic curves and then create a flat pattern. It also worked when thin extruding then converting to sheet metal. I'm not sure if this is new functionality. 

[TheCADWhisperer · Accepted solution]

@GavinIndustries 

You will need to use the Unwrap function in Autodesk Mesh Mixer or Autodesk Inventor Professional.

The results are an approximation that may or may not be within acceptable tolerance.

[Warmingup1953]

Here is my go using Meshmixer...Untested

[MichaelT_123]

Hi Mr GavinIndustries,

Check the file.

Regards

MichaelT

[bhavani_sankuratri]

Hi @GavinIndustries ,

Did the responses provided by akash.nawghare , davebYYPCU , TheCADWhisperer , Warmingup1953 and MichaelT_123 answer your question? If so, could you please mark the post as the accepted solution? This will help other community members who may encounter the same issue.