Unfolding a tappered extrude

[Delmer]

There is very likely a much better way, but one method would be to convert the extrude to 3d polys, delete top and bottom and 3/4 of the sides. You could likely be left with 6 or 8 pairs of triangles, use the set working plane to get proper orientation and rotate each flat. Mirror to get the other 3/4 back.

Old school would say use a hot wire and foam or a band saw and wood to make a solid, wrap your paper and cut.

[Travis]

The only difference for "new" school, Mr. D, would be to have one of the new-fangled foam printers that will output the solid for you.

Then I suppose you could cut & paste the paper!

I know, there are some sheet-modeling programs that will "unfold" to give a cut-sheet diagram. . .but it was more fun to poke at the modelling process. I'm lucky, I can drive over to the shop and have any number of saws and shapers at my disposal.

[alanmac]

Whilst it's not Vectorworks it may be of interest to look at this site. Maybe they do a demo version for you to try this in. They are dealers for Vectorworks so there is a sort of link!

http://www.touchcad.com/

Alan

[ 05-05-2005, 02:35 PM: Message edited by: alanmac ]

[propstuff]

In the goode olde dayes; before these newfangled electrical draw-ators existed, we used to do developments with our bare hands (and maybe an axe, striding through the mighty forests, with our best girl by our side...)

If you look at a book on technical drg from even the '80's a truncated cone was a very common example given on how to do this. It's not too much work.

But Touchcad might be easier ;-)

N.

[Hugo]

Hello.

I have an oval, which I extruded with an angle, with the tappered extrude command. Now I want to make a real model for a presentation, and I need to make this object with paper. How can I unfold the 3d object, so I can print, cut and build it with paper?

I need the faces of the tappered extrude. Any ideas?