3ds max to laser cutter

[Jtrudeau]

Can anyone tell me of there' a way to take a model from 3ds max, flatten it and send it to a laser cutter for assembly? I know you can do this in Rhino, I'm just not sure how you can do this from MAX. I'm using 2009 Design.

 

Thanks.

[Claudio Branch]

I don't think you can do it out of Max. I would even question the accuracy of a flat-pattern out of Rhino for manufacturing purposes! Hello Z-Factor?

 

If you are going to BUILD something involving bent pieces of metal choose a program that is designed for that purpose. Go find yourself a Pro/E or Solidworks designer with sheet metal fabrication experience.

 

BTW, a laser cutter usually only cuts. You will also need a fitter/welder for assembly...

[Claudio Branch]

http://en.wiki.mcneel.com/default.aspx/McNeel/AdvancedFlattening.html

 

 

 

Rhino 4.0 does NOT have:

• Unfold or unbend - to make a flat pattern from 3-D shapes made from bending up a 2-D pattern. Mostly used to create sheet metal cases, etc. Most MCAD products do this nicely.
  
• Flow - to make a flat pattern for a 3-D shape made by flowing metal over a complex mold. An example is stamping a soda can from the metal disk or stamping an auto interior door panel from a flat pattern.
  
• Peel - to split surfaces based on where they might rip and flattens the surfaces. An example is flattening a sphere. Note: if the shape is already split, Squish may work. You can tell when and where a 3-D surface needs to be split by where it has extreme stretching or compression or the 2-D pattern overlaps.
  

[SandmanNinja]

What if you unwrapped the uvw?

That basically 'flattens' the model.

 

Just a wild guess

[rmccoy]

I just did my master's thesis project last spring on organic modeling in furniture design and the translation into production techniques. I can tell you it can be a pain in the a$$ to go from max into producing real world objects. I worked with a 5-axis 3d router for my project. This is a quick break down of my steps.

 

-Modeled my design in 3d Max

-Segmented the model in 3d Max into 8 different pieces.

-Exported each piece as a vrml file from Max(i need to check this)

-Imported the vrml file into Solidworks

-Exported it from Solidworks as a different file type (can't remember right off hand)

-Imported it into MasterCAM in order to create cutting paths for the 3d router.

 

I'm not sure what your project looks like but you may have to follow a similar route.

 

if you need to do simple 2d pieces. you can always throw an editable poly modifier onto your object and select the edges that need to be cut. use the create shape option to get the cutting path and then export that path as a dwg.

 

almost any cad/cam cutting software will be able to read the dwg file.

 

if you have any more questions feel free to ask.

[Claudio Branch]

 

Hello Z-Factor?

 

 

 

Damn this is embarrassing!

 

Hello K-Factor.

 

This is what I get for trying to be such a smarty pants know it all!

 

In sheet metal engineering, the term k-factor has the following meaning:

During bending the inner surface of the bend is subjected to compression while the outer surface is subjected to tension. However there is a layer in between which is free from any forces and thus its length remains the same. This is called the neutral axis (NA). The radius of this layer of metal is called the neutral bend arc radius (NBAR)and is defined as the inside bend radius plus a percentage (K-factor) of the metal thickness.

NBAR = BR + (T × K-factor) The K-factor (K) depends on the material, the type of bending operation (coining, air-bending), the ratio of the bend radius to the metal thickness (R/T) and is typically between 0.3 to 0.5. For most types of steels it is around 0.33 to 0.4

[Jtrudeau]

I am surprised there's not a simpler way to do this. We predominantly use Rhino and the unroll surface command at work and are constantly sending files to a laser cutter. I know of a program called pepakura but I thought by now Max would be able to do this.

 

Note: we are cutting pieces of muesem board not metal.

 

Any simpler ways straight from MAX ?

[Claudio Branch]

Any simpler ways straight from MAX ?

 

If all of your pieces are just going to be flat, then you should be able to just output a DXF file from Max. The DXF file can be opened with AutoCAD and you can nest all of parts to be laser cut onto whatever sheet size you are going to be using. This is done to minimize scrap, which is critical to cost when you are dealing with expensive materials

[Jtrudeau]

So exporting as a DXF will allow me to take a 3d object and break it into planar pieces which can be sent to the cutter?

[Jtrudeau]

No ones ever taken a max model and had it sent to a laser cutter and made a model out of chip board? Surely someones done this before.

[Crazy Homeless Guy]

We have flattened a Max model manually for export to autocad, but I am not sure if there ia an automatic way or not. I know FormZ has an unfold option that will flaten a model for you. Not sure if that helps.

[William Alexander]

Your cutting process for this operation is linear vector based in transitioning to the Lazer-CNC tool/s tool paths. An outline series of 'lines' or 'splines' or best yet "vectors" is used to define the tool path with an offset based on the lasers thickness. It's not a 3D operation so in reality you could use the Alpha Channel of the object in an EPS if you wanted too. Splines to Illustrator vectors, DXF outline, even a black and white Raster Image for conversion into vectors by the laser cutters software...all should and most probably will work. However for scale DXF high rounding for curves out of max imho is easiest, though splines to Illustrator or like wmf will work more efficiently for curves.

 

Been a while since using Max for this type of export, so not sure about export capabilites

 

Cheers

[Antisthenes]

i would take your mesh run it thru t-splines and then unfold in rhino, or meshtonurbs

 

just get it out of mesh so you can do more powerful things to your surface.

[bricklyne]

I am surprised there's not a simpler way to do this. We predominantly use Rhino and the unroll surface command at work and are constantly sending files to a laser cutter. I know of a program called pepakura but I thought by now Max would be able to do this.

 

Note: we are cutting pieces of muesem board not metal.

 

Any simpler ways straight from MAX ?

 

 

Why don't you just use pepakura, if you know of it? Have you even looked into it?

 

the reason Max doesn't have it is because Max is not a fabrication program. It's modeling and visualization.

 

It's far simpler to user and more straight forward than any of all the other options that have been suggested here. It even allows you to nest the pieces once its unfolded them, so as to maximize the cutting board space.

 

P.S. Rhino also has unfold capabilities but its a far more involving and complicated process if your model is coming in, in a non-NURBS/Rhino friendly fashion.

[Jtrudeau]

Sorry for the late reply,

 

Yes I've heard of Pepikura but find it very unflexible when trying to use other programs such as CAD or Illustrator. Plus you are limited to the media sizes that pepikura sets for you. I'm not sure of its effectiveness with laser cutters either. I think my best bet would be exporting it to Rhino.

[wassimj]

Can anyone tell me of there' a way to take a model from 3ds max, flatten it and send it to a laser cutter for assembly? I know you can do this in Rhino, I'm just not sure how you can do this from MAX. I'm using 2009 Design.

 

Thanks.

 

A VERY late reply, but I just needed to do the same, so I wrote a script in 3DS Max 2012 Design that would section a geometry along the 3 axes and flatten it. You can then take those out to a DXF file. My script does not (yet) do any notching, but I am planning on adding that in the future. Contact me if you are interested wassim dot jabi at gmail dot com

You can see a video of it in action on vimeo at http://vimeo.com/31034423