Help! Challenge! How do I model this 3d structure?

[gak19043]

Hi all. Here goes....

I am not proficient enough yet in Inventor 2025 to tackle this problem of modeling the curved wall (with those stepped in surfaces) as shown below. How do I go about attacking this challenge? Loft? Sweep? Or something else.

The crux of the issue is creating those wavy ribbon like surfaces that you see at each "step". This wall is 200 inches high. The steps are going to be approximately 3.75 inches deep, and by deep I mean each step recesses the next surface back by that amount.

The wall's inner radius at the fattest left end is 391 inches. And the wall gets progressively thinner as you move from left to right as can be seen. It starts at approximately 15 inches thick at that fat left end. The angle between the left end and the right, that this wall subtends, is exactly 45 degrees.

I want each step's surface to point linearly back to the center of that radius , essentially the center of the curved wall. If that is confusing, what I mean is, the step's edge at the floor (bottom) points radially to the center and the step's edge at the top of the wall also points to the center - AND any horizontal, level to the floor, line laid on that surface between the top and bottom.  I've been youtubing and reading for the last day and learned alot but have not been successful. Disregard the circles on the wall. 

Once I can create an accurate geometrically correct solid model we can then begin the process of detailing this for manufacture, it will be made of plywood and bendable plywood.

Thanks to all in advance! I'll keep trying and check back in to this forum all day today.

[kacper.suchomski]

Hi

1. Extrude flat plywood outline (before bending) at full thickness.

2. Bend part

3. Create sketch reflecting cut boundaries of individual boards

4. Split surface

5. Thicken in cut mode

6. Repeat split and thicken for all cases.

7. Create a sketch with arches
8. Split solid to new solids

[gak19043]

Thank you so much for considering this problem.

I can't quite visualize these steps though.

Can you show a video of those steps?.

What do you mean by bend part?

[kacper.suchomski]

You don't have to imagine. Do it step by step; you don't have to have a professional imagination.

Where are you? Which next step is incomprehensible to you?

[gak19043]

Thanks.

Explain step 1. What do you mean by flat plywood outline (before bending)? Do you mean the outline (footprint) of the entire wall where it meets the floor? What do you mean by "before bending"?

[kacper.suchomski]

Ultimately, the wall will need to be bent. But first, you need to define its outline - the contour. Similarly, what would come out of the machine after cutting and before bending in the real world. We are talking about the outermost contour.

[gak19043]

Thanks.

So, You are approaching this (within Inventor) from the perspective of beginning with a flat sheet square on the left end and curved on the right.

[kacper.suchomski]

What is the largest plate that will come out of the plotter ready?

[gak19043]

Didn't understand your question, we are not plotting anything.

Our cnc machines can cut 10 foot long material.

BUT since you mentioned "bending" we discovered that yes you can bend shapes in Inventor. We did not know that. We are in training at the moment for Inventor. BUT we are fluent and experienced with AutoCAD 2025, not Inventor (yet). 

So we started with a flat model of the first "step" and then bent it. Thanks to you. With that knowledge we will now proceed to the other steps in the wall.

We are far from done here, much more to do and learn.

We have professional imaginations. 

[kacper.suchomski]

I don't know what you did. I can't see anything.

[gak19043 · Accepted solution]

Thanks for your help, we were able to model it by first creating flat 2d geometry, then thickening them, then using the union command (all within AutoCAD). Then importing that model into Inventor and using the "Bend part" command there.

That gave us a model that we could work with.

[karthur1 · Accepted solution]

Something like this?

[gak19043]

Thanks! yes something like that.

We've tackled the challenge on our own and are in the process of creating all of the parts to build it in real life.

[karthur1]

I just wanted you to see how easy it is to create this in Inventor. No need to create in Acad and export out to Inventor.

Good luck with it,

Kirk

[gak19043]

Thanks.