Sweep error "Edges for wire are not connected"

[glassjoe]

I'm encountering an "Edges for wire are not connected" error while trying to create a Path + Guide Rail surface sweep. Has anyone else encountered this error? I can't find any info online. Is a "wire" the same as a guide rail?

[TheCADWhisperer]

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

[glassjoe]

Yes, it's attached. I'm trying to sweep a fillet-like shape in the space between the two main surfaces.

This is my first deep dive into both surface modeling and t-splines, and I'm sure the workflow could be better. I started out thinking I could do the whole thing as surfaces, but I wasn't getting smooth transitions so I decided to redo some parts as t-splines. I'm open to any of your suggestions regarding strategy or best practices. Thanks!

[TheCADWhisperer]

I think this has been a long-standing problem with Fusion.

Zoom way into these locations - curves are not connected but should be.

[glassjoe]

Thanks for finding this, CADWhisperer, I can see the Guide Rail (wire?) has two small gaps that are causing the error. It's interesting since the Sweep function allows me to select the rail with one click as if were a single, complete loop. Is there a simple way to close those gaps? The issue may have been caused when I stitched a surface created with t-splines with a surface created with a sweep. I can convert the sweep body to t splines and weld the vertices together if it will make a cleaner seam.

[TrippyLighting]

You increased the stitch tolerance from an already gaping 0.1mm to 0.5 mm, so it would stitch.

 

For comparison, the usual tolerance in other CAD software is 0.01mm and in Autodesk Alias by default, it is 0.001 mm 😉

I don't think you'll be able to match the T-Spline edge close enough to the edge of the trimmed NURBS surface.

[glassjoe]

Thanks, TrippyLighting, I did what I could to get the surfaces to stitch but it wasn't pretty. I suppose with more practice will come tighter tolerances 😊

Out of curiosity, what would your general approach to building this model be? Lofting surfaces or sculpting with t-splines, or a combination? As you saw, I started with all sweeps and lofts, but struggled to get smooth connections between the lofted surfaces.

[TrippyLighting]

Either, or! I would not mix those techniques.