airsoldier2001 Posted October 28, 2010 Share Posted October 28, 2010 Hi there ! I have finished 3d modeling a canoe in Autocad8 , she`s made of 8 curved surfaces ,and now I`m trying to “flat” them down to a single plan surface ,to get the exact dimensions so I can draw them on the plywood.It should be a simple task but I am new to Autocad8 and I could really use some help here . Thank you ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReMark Posted October 28, 2010 Share Posted October 28, 2010 I'd suggest using the FLATSHOT command but I'm not 100% positive it will give you the results you are looking for since all your surfaces are curved. But what the heck, give it a try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airsoldier2001 Posted October 28, 2010 Author Share Posted October 28, 2010 I had a try but the outcome is just a 2d projection , I need something like to unfold the curved surface in to a 2d plan ,without altering his dimensions . Thank you for your advice . Regards ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReMark Posted October 28, 2010 Share Posted October 28, 2010 A pattern or a development I believe it is called. I think you'd need Inventor or a third-party add-on to AutoCAD to achieve that result. Although, vaguely, in the back of my mind I seem to recall that there might be a third option but I cannot put my finger on it at the moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReMark Posted October 28, 2010 Share Posted October 28, 2010 Take a look at this. Not sure if it is exactly what you are looking for though. http://download.cnet.com/Unfold-Surface-For-AutoCAD/3000-6677_4-10863700.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airsoldier2001 Posted October 28, 2010 Author Share Posted October 28, 2010 Wow ! That sounds quite complicated . I thought I just need a simple command , didn`t thought getting dimensions will be the hardest part ... I can see my canoe but I can`t get`it build ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReMark Posted October 28, 2010 Share Posted October 28, 2010 "Magic" buttons can be found 3 aisles over in the "Tricks and Tips" department right next to the Fairy dust. Really? One simple command to unfold curved surfaces. Stop nipping the grain alcohol. Time for a reality check. Know anyone running Inventor? Are you a student? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airsoldier2001 Posted October 28, 2010 Author Share Posted October 28, 2010 (edited) Thank you so much for your help ! I will look in to the program you linked me !It looks like exactly what I need ! I don`t have anyone around here running Inventor and I`m not a student . I`m on a small greek island where is hard to find someone with knowledge about this kinds of software . Thank U for your time and support ! Best regards ! Edited October 28, 2010 by airsoldier2001 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReMark Posted October 28, 2010 Share Posted October 28, 2010 We have a few forum members who use in Inventor. Maybe than can offer some advice. You're welcomed. Good luck with your canoe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbankston Posted October 28, 2010 Share Posted October 28, 2010 airsoldier2001, We are about to complete a glass spiral staircase for a job at work here and I think this answer may help you. Your arc lengths are the key - that will be your flattened horizontal dimension. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airsoldier2001 Posted October 28, 2010 Author Share Posted October 28, 2010 OK, I installed the program ( in the end I had to find a version for autocad8 , I loaded the application , I follow the exact instructions from the User Guide , which goes like that : I type "unfoldsurf" command , I am then prompted to select the surface for unfolding, press enter as asked and then it ask me to : "Please Select Curves/Points For Unfolding (press to end the selection):" . I try everything, but nothing is unfolding . Could please somebody clue me in about`it ? What I am supose to select in order to unfold`it ? If I try to select a point , line or curve from the surface I want to unfold , it gets selected all of the surface and nothing is unfolding . What I am doing wrong here ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbankston Posted October 28, 2010 Share Posted October 28, 2010 I was actually speaking from a 2D perspective, airsoldier2001. Looking down on a curved piece of glass and looking at the front of a flattened piece of glass using the arc length of the plan view for the width of the elevation. Your questions seem to be out of my league. So sorry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airsoldier2001 Posted November 1, 2010 Author Share Posted November 1, 2010 How to unfold surfaces in autocad 8 (for those who might encounter the same problems like me) : normaly you should be able to do that directly from autocad 8 , by downloading the add-on “Unfoldsurf For AutoCAD “ from 3dsolidtech ( http://www.solid3dtech.com/Products.html),and using the “unfoldsurf “command . But, for some reason, I couldn`t make`it happen either in autocad 7,8 or 10 . I`m sure I was doing something wrong, since I am only one week old on autocad . In the end I did`it with the Inventor10 , by converting the DWG (autocad file) with the “acisout “ command in to a *.sat file (from autocad), opened ,unfolded in to inventor with the 3d solidtech add-on (smart unfolder for Inventor) , then I saved the file as a *.sat (with the “save copy as *.sat ) , opened the file in autocad 10 with the “acisin” command , to then save`it as a DWG so I can use`it in Autocad 8 ,since I could`nt see anything in the “*.sat” file . I did this with help from the people (guru) of this forum , to which I transmit many ,many thanks and my respect !!! Regards ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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