Cannot flatten soap bubble
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Im modeling a boat I eventually want to build. There are curves at the bow that I used soap bubble plugin to give it a skin.
I thought it was the answer to my problem as I could not figure another way to give it a skin.
Now I want to flatten the curves so I can transfer to panel to cut it out. When I use the unfold plugin it just becomes a mess.If there is a better way to make a skin that I can flatten I would appreciate the help.
I uploaded part of the model to 3d warehouse. Here is the link
http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/details?mid=7e8f5ccc6b51aacab1136f545c6b404e&prevstart=0
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Haven't tried with your model, but did you try to explode the entities into their basic entities prior to flattening?
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After looking at your model but appreciating I am far from an expert at SU, I would suggest using Fredo's Curviloft or, perhaps, TIG's set of extrusion tools. The problem I foresee is I am not sure any of those will give you a developed surface which is what you will need in order to make that boat using flat, plate like, materials (like plywood or sheet aluminum). I would be interested to know if either of these plug-ins will generate a developed surface (or if it is inherent) or if one of them could be modified to do so. That last is a hint because I would like to be able to create developed surfaces in SU.
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I think to create a developed surface accurately in SU, you would need to have a much higher number of facets than the model currently in question has.
You would be better off modeling the curves without triangulated faces. The shape can and should be drawn without them and then unfold will look better. And you can do that without a plugin. That said, you should consider that the chine curves you have now are only approximations due to the long line segments between vertices and you'll need to make allowances when cutting out the sheet material. For a hull like yours I would be more concerned about getting frames at the stations built and then I would spile the planks from the frames. You could use Gregg Carlson's Hulls program to create developable skins. It would also do some basic hydrostatic calculations for you to give you an idea of its waterline at its designed load.
what do you plan to use to skin this hull?
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