I’m working on a project to create an inflatable structure with a complex spherical design. The object features many intricate curves, which I’ve modeled using SubD. Now, I’m looking for a way to “unfold” this 3D shape into a 2D pattern, so I can cut the soft material into pieces that can be sewn together to form the final structure.
Initially, I considered doing a UV unwrap to get a rough idea of the 2D shapes, but I suspect there’s a more accurate approach for this. Does anyone know if it’s possible to achieve this in Rhino or Grasshopper? If so, could you guide me on how to go about it?
ps. I’ve heard about ExactFlat and it seems to be what I’m looking for but I am not able to afford it and look for any alternative route.
tough to say without a model to look at. depending on the case, i’d try to convert the object into nurbs surfaces and then segment it in smaller quad patches to minimize the stretching
i see ExcatFlat works with triangles, and alternatively you could use a genetic algo in grasshopper to optimize the patches, but that’s harder to explain
again, without a model, it’s difficult to give you advice. if you’re worried about IP then maybe upload a toy example with similar complexity
Unfortunately, I am not able to have the files of the model, but I am posting here very early sketches in blender, the idea is the same. There is a sphere and some sort of ‘path’ is extracted from it.
Yeah I understand, I uploaded some screenshots from early sketches on the idea. It’s not the same but the geometry follows the same idea of a curved path through a sphere.
i see. follow some topology tutorials in blender, and try to get a a minimal quad topology (as in the minimum number of quads that can represent your object), then you’d be able to plan out the strips or patches. Some remodeling might be necessary. The idea is to get as clean a quad topology as possible
UV unwrapping in blender stretches the polygons too much. i’d rely on rhino to unroll the strips. work on a toy example and send your progress to help you along the way.
I’ve been away most of the week and don’t have time to look at the file. In a situation where you really cannot upload the file, a file with similar geometry might be a way to still upload something publicly.
If it is a subd mesh and has a relatively low poly count, you might look at something like Pepakura. Its designed to unfold meshes for cutting on paper so it does not distort the result like you would get with some UV unwrap applications. However, it’s not going to consider any material characteristics like stretching.
