Replicate Jet Air Intake

[chrisonemail]

I’m looking for advice on how to model an air intake duct in Fusion 360 for a model EDF jet. I’m focused on the area in the images only. 

The intake transitions from a wide, shallow opening on the fuselage into a smaller circular duct feeding a centrally mounted fan. It’s the first 10 cm I’m trying to model. The shape curves in 3D, so it’s not just a straight or simple lofted transition.

What I’m trying to achieve is:

• A smooth internal airflow path (no sharp transitions)
• A clean transition from non-circular to circular geometry
• Consistent wall thickness suitable for 3D printing
• A method that gives good control over the final shape

I’d appreciate guidance on the best approach:

• Is this best done with lofts, or surface modelling first?
• How do you maintain control and avoid distortion in this kind of transition?
• Would the Form (T-spline) workspace be more suitable?

Any recommended workflows or examples would be very helpful.

Thanks.

 

 

[TheCADWhisperer]

@chrisonemail 

Can you File>Export your *.f3d file of your attempt to your local drive and then Attach it here to a Reply?

[davebYYPCU]

Will be Loft of some sort.

Most likely a sold Loft, with Rail for smooth control.

Even wall thickness comes from Modify > Shell. (removing front and back faces)

In your case you have a front slanted rectangle, (Lofting) inboard to a semi-circle.  

Depending on your design, a simple centre line rail can do it.

that said, it has to fit into what already exists - and that was not presented.

Might help...

[chrisonemail]

Thanks. That makes sense. I’ll just need to get the rails to replicate the form. 

[chrisonemail]

I’ll have another shot at it and attach what I’ve done. Thanks. 

[rosie_lucas1]

Hi @chrisonemail, 

I just wanted to check in and see if you’re still looking for help, or if you were able to resolve the issue with the feedback from @davebYYPCU. 

If you need any further assistance, please feel free to share an update here. If you’ve already found a solution, we’d really appreciate it if you could share it with the community so others with similar questions can benefit as well. 

Best regards, 

Rosie | Community Manager 
 

[chrisonemail]

Thanks for checking in. The feedback so far has been really helpful. I needed to replicate the exact dimensions of the intake and took a slightly different approach. I’ll now need to do some 3D prints to confirm the approach. It’s still a WIP.