Create outline from complex 3d object

[Robbitybobbityboo]

Hi,
I have a bunch of complex shapes that were created by drawing a line diagram (all straight lines but branching out and bifurcating fractally) and then creating 3d tubes around the lines. The tubes were created with Lines 2 Tubes plugin. The initial 'trunk" is a thick tube, and the tubes get thinner and thinner as the shape branches out. The shape is essentially flat, but the lines making up the shape have a 3d thickness because they are tubes.

I'd now line to take the outline of the shape and create a flat 2D image - i.e. just create a silhouette of the outside edge of all the tubes, to get the shape laser cut in metal. So what I'd like to end up with is very like this:

I have tried various ways - like Eneroth flatten to plane and basic intersect with a plane cutting through the middle of all the tubes.

However the resulting shapes are full of artefacts, junk, lines inside the tubes, double lines, no proper edges to the shape etc.

What I want is a clean shadow projected at onto a plane... and then I want the outline of the shadow as lines to feed into a laser cutter.

Any advice on a plugin that will create a clean outline of the projection of a shape onto a plane? Thanks. R.

[Dave R]

How about drawing a large rectangle that cuts through the centerline and using Intersect Faces?

[Box]

Tig's Shadow projection will create geometry shadows.

[fredo6]

@robbitybobbityboo said:

Any advice on a plugin that will create a clean outline of the projection of a shape onto a plane? Thanks. R.

You may want to try FredoPortrait

Here is the video

The approach is slightly different from a projection or flattening, since it takes the picture of the model (which is 2D) and create the silhouette out of it.

I don't know if your model would work but it may be worth trying.

Fredo