Unroll, Add Graphic, Rebuild object

Hello,

Im wondering if someone can point me in the right direction: I’m looking to unroll a model, do some digital drawings/ or images on top of them then rebuild the model with the New Graphic attached? That third step of rebuilding them is what I’m hung up on.

Thanks in advance!

Hi @Chris_Boyd_Taylor
What is the end goal? Is it rendering, fabrication, 3D print, technical drawings etc.? And what type of surfaces; Mesh, NURBS, Sub-D? And what sort of geometry… planar surfaces, developable, double curvature? In other words: provide a descent description, pictures, an example file and I’m sure someone will chime in.
HTH, Jakob

-The best example I can show is the following: In Pepakura you can unroll an object, assign those unrolled planes new graphics in photoshop and then you can important the jpg back into Pepkura where its assigns the new graphics to the 3D model. I can then export that OBJ file.
-I’d prefer using NURBS, (Pepakura is all mesh triangles)
-End goal is initially rendering, but eventually I’ll fabricate printing on aluminum.
Images:
Pepakura Interface with original Graphics


Graphics are wiped and I draw on top of the models pattern with a paint tool

JPG is imported back into Pepakura and mapped onto the model automatically

Hi @Chris_Boyd_Taylor
Look into UV mapping. It can be done in Rhino, but maybe it’s not its strongest feature. If this is something you need professionally, it might be worth taking a look at RizomUV. Beware, that in both cases you’ll be dealing with meshes. I’ve never heard of mapping directly on NURBS, although I guess it would be possible. Someone smarter than me will hopefully chime in :slight_smile:
Also, you could take a look at Substance Painter or 3D Coat!
HTH, Jakob

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To add to what @Normand said about UV mapping and texture, if its going to be formed from sheets of aluminum you will need to understand developable surfaces and create your models so that they can be flattened without distortion.

For example, it would not be possible to create a flat pattern of a sphere, it has curvature in two directions. However, you could approximate a sphere by creating multiple developable surfaces.
This is a non trivial process, and the sphere is a simple example. If you wanted to do it to a McLaren (or any sculptured surface) you would have to simplify it significantly and make sure you are at the same time producing developable surfaces.

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Thank you @normand and @cdordoni :pray: thinking on it, mesh is the way to go due to the concerns you’ve mentioned. It sounds like I’ll need to go through third parties to achieve the back and forth from 2D to 3D. I’ll check out some of the software you’ve mentioned. My end goals are much simpler than the car example, I’m working with a GD to map graphics on to my unrolled sheets, but want to rebuild them to render and visualize them. The Pepakura program is so simple and works, I may just end up using it for now until I can check out the other programs.