Greetings all,
After reviewing a lot of the software available to unfold models, I've come to the conclusion that to do things the way I want to do them, then I'll have to write my own programs. So I spent most of today writing a script which pulls uv coordinates out of a 3d model and saves the coordinates as an svg file.
I created a very quick model of a WWI German tank in Wings3d--no real scale or concern about historical accuracy for this test. Then I used Wings's UV mapping abilities to create a foldable development. While it's tedious, I think if you're careful about how you use Wings you can create UV coordinates that represent the true shape of the polygons of the model and stitch those coordinates together to make a printable card model. This is my first test. I could be very, very wrong.
Unfortunately, I currently don't have a functional printer in the house and since I go in for cataract surgery this week and then I'm out of town for a week I don't think I'll get a chance to work on this for at least a couple of weeks. So, I was hoping I could enlist someone's help in checking the fit.
I've attached a zip file with the *.svg in it hoping that somebody would be willing to give this a quick build. I did some additional tweaking in Inkscape and labeled the polygons so anyone familiar with Inkscape (or presumably any other SVG capable program) should be able to open and print the file on 8.5x11 card or paper. I think the shape is self explanatory, if not a look at the wikipedia article (http://ift.tt/1TNGths) should clear things up.
I don't believe it will be more than 30 minutes to print out and fold to see how things fit. No tabs provided. Where I am most interested in seeing if the fit is right is in the front and rear glaces. When I designed one of these by hand years ago I had problems keeping the glaces from bowing down as they met the sloped sides and the front angles. They should form flat slopes.
The second area I'm concerned about is where the bottom of the treads wrap around the ends of the tracks up towards the bottom of the hull. I suspect this area may be too 'tight' of a fit. But that's probably an easy fix. I'm also interested in seeing how this 'curve' does when it's really just a series of flats. That may be a bigger challenge than I think it is!
Thanks so much for your help if you choose to try this!
--jeff
After reviewing a lot of the software available to unfold models, I've come to the conclusion that to do things the way I want to do them, then I'll have to write my own programs. So I spent most of today writing a script which pulls uv coordinates out of a 3d model and saves the coordinates as an svg file.
I created a very quick model of a WWI German tank in Wings3d--no real scale or concern about historical accuracy for this test. Then I used Wings's UV mapping abilities to create a foldable development. While it's tedious, I think if you're careful about how you use Wings you can create UV coordinates that represent the true shape of the polygons of the model and stitch those coordinates together to make a printable card model. This is my first test. I could be very, very wrong.
Unfortunately, I currently don't have a functional printer in the house and since I go in for cataract surgery this week and then I'm out of town for a week I don't think I'll get a chance to work on this for at least a couple of weeks. So, I was hoping I could enlist someone's help in checking the fit.
I've attached a zip file with the *.svg in it hoping that somebody would be willing to give this a quick build. I did some additional tweaking in Inkscape and labeled the polygons so anyone familiar with Inkscape (or presumably any other SVG capable program) should be able to open and print the file on 8.5x11 card or paper. I think the shape is self explanatory, if not a look at the wikipedia article (http://ift.tt/1TNGths) should clear things up.
I don't believe it will be more than 30 minutes to print out and fold to see how things fit. No tabs provided. Where I am most interested in seeing if the fit is right is in the front and rear glaces. When I designed one of these by hand years ago I had problems keeping the glaces from bowing down as they met the sloped sides and the front angles. They should form flat slopes.
The second area I'm concerned about is where the bottom of the treads wrap around the ends of the tracks up towards the bottom of the hull. I suspect this area may be too 'tight' of a fit. But that's probably an easy fix. I'm also interested in seeing how this 'curve' does when it's really just a series of flats. That may be a bigger challenge than I think it is!
Thanks so much for your help if you choose to try this!
--jeff
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