Curvy Stuff 6-The Basics of Loft - Final - 02!03!07

Curvy Stuff 6-
The basics of
Loft
Edward T Eaton
Sr. Industrial Designer
www.DimonteGroup.com
CSWP
Struggling with Lofts
since 98+
Curvy Stuff – The Previous Installments
 www.DimonteGroup.com
 5 Years of other
stuff that you can
download
2
www.DiMonteGroup.com
Dimonte Group –what we do
3
Breakdown of my last year
 General Design/ project

management
 Curvy Modeling
 PhotoWorks Renders
 Modeling assistance
 Reverse Engineering-
Geometry matching
4
The focus for this presentation
 Certain common  Mythbusting – there

issues keep are lots of myths
coming up OVER about how lofts
and OVER work – some true,
again… some
not-so-much
 We HAVE to know
to mind the man
behind the curtain
of SWx features
5
Speaking of: over,… and over,…and over again
To start talking about Loft we HAVE to talk

about the following issues:
1. Face Type matters
2. Algorithmic lofts are splines
3. Surface modeling
-vs-
Solid modeling
(or ‘why does Ed use all those damn surfaces?’)
6
Case Study-Face Type matters!
 Needed to create this part
7
Sheetmetal with two lofted sections
 Of course it didn’t work – everyone knows

that you can’t unfold two lofts
 Let’s see if this myth can be busted!!!
8
Face Type matters-
Three types of faces
 Analytical
– Planes, Cones, Toroids, Cylinders, Spheres
 Most stable, versatile models
 Cones, Planes and cylinders can be used for
sheetmetal
 Algorithmic (B-spline)
– Lofts, Surface Fill, boundary
surface, freeform
 Greatest ability to create
anything
 Ruled
– Drafts, extruding splines,
Ruled surface
9
Can lofts make analytic faces?
 You bet!
 But you have to be careful..
10
 Simply concentric  Concentric with same

arc angle
Analytic Cone!
11
 Simply concentric  Concentric with same

arc angle
Analytic Cone!
12
Myth – Loft sketches can be anything
 Back to the sheetmetal part
13

 My layout sketches are BOGUS for loft
profiles
– At the minimum, the arcs would need to be ellipses
14

 My Layout sketches are bogus for loft profiles
– At the minimum, the arcs would need to be ellipses
 Detailed layout calculates

correct sections
15
A note about sketches
 One of the biggest recurring

issues I see is quick/inconsistent
sketches
 When starting a BIG job, I will take
as much as a day to do my layout
– No ‘gesture in’, then tweak
– Get it right, the first time
 When I run into issues that don’t

make sense, I take a REALLY
close look at the sketches
16
Always ask – “Is there a simpler
way???”
 Attempt with variable radius fillet

 Attempt with extrudes and revolves
*DVD Extra
17
But remember, we were talking about
face type
 Educating yourself about face type isn’t for
this lame sheetmetal sample
18
But remember, we were talking about
face type
 Educating yourself about face type isn’t for this lame
sheetmetal sample
 It’s to save you from getting in the same bind as this poor guy
19
Loft is a different animal than you are used to
Regular approach is fine for analytic faces
20
Regular approach is fine for analytic faces
21
‘Not so much’ for algorithmic faces
Note leftover sliver,

and that its not symmetric!  Lofts make
Note other slivers spline based
skins! 22
‘Hack-and-slash’ solid modeling –Why we
extend profiles
 This is, of course, why we are taught to extend

sketches to the outside
 But remember, it only applies to algorithmic
faces – you were ‘talked down’ to!
*Tapered
helix and
shaft
23
Hack-and-slash solid modeling
 Bottle neck – try in solid lofts
24
Hack-and-slash solid modeling
 Always start with a game

plan
– I usually storyboard on
scratch paper
 You will likely need to

‘adapt and improvise’,
but at least you have a
starting point
25
Hack and slash modeling –Simpler sample
 Let's see how it went
26
Solid modeling – attempt tangency
 First loft creates a lot

of junky faces that
need to be worked
around/cleaned up
 Need to give it
something to be
tangent to
27
 Set up loft
28
 Set up loft
 Add end tangency –
tangency to face
29
 Set up loft
 Add end tangency –
tangency to face
 Results are wobbly –
outside starts tangent,
but internal faces are
perpendicular to edge
30
And now onto those damn surfaces…
 Hack-and-slash modeling can present a

treadmill of issues because of all those
unnecessary faces that go along with solids
 Chuck Norris doesn’t have patience for

exception after exception
 Chuck Norris uses surfaces to roundhouse
kick SWx into submission
31
Hack-and-slash modeling
 Note that the Profiles

were NOT evenly
spaced
– How do I know where to
put them?
– I don’t – its
experience+instinct
– I suppose its like a cook
that stops measuring
ingredients
32
Lofts are splines –
NON UNIFORM Rational B-splines (NURBS)
Design intent
Need 12 sections!
Even section
Predictable with
spacing
sketch
Sections
Construct
Only
at5spline
sections
sections!
nodes
33
My process has evolved to use
Surfaces and Solids interchangeably
 Over years I have
adopted a ‘divide and
conquer’ approach
 Concentrating on
model faces instead of
on features
(or surfaces vs. solids)
is reliable and flexible
34
Decide on faces, not features
 How to model this?
35
– Extrusion and filets?

– Maybe a couple of revolves and some
fillets?
– Single Loft?
– Single Sweep (with guide curves)?
– Maybe a revolve and a couple of lofts?
36

– Obviously a loft, right?
37

– Obviously a loft, right?
Not so fast…
 Creases
 Bulges
38
 Look hard at the faces you really want

– Clay or foam model
– Existing product
 Relatively flat –
make first
 Too curvy-has
own personality
39

 Isolate the simpler

portions in model
40


portions in model
 Surface fill for
final transition
41


portions in model
 Surface fill for
final transition
42
The core curvy features
The Chunks/Targets
– Extrude
– Revolve
– Loft
– Sweep
– Boundary
The Transitions
– Loft
– Fill
– Fillet
– Boundary
The Modifiers
– Dome, Freeform,
Shape, Deform
43
They are an incestuous lot – so be
prepared to mix them up
The Chunks/Targets
– Extrude
– Revolve
– Loft
– Sweep
– Boundary
The Transitions
– Loft
– Fill
– Fillet
– Boundary
The Modifiers
– Dome, Freeform,
Shape, Deform
44
The Chunks/Targets
– Extrude
– Revolve
– Loft
– Sweep
– Boundary
The Transitions
– Loft
– Fill
– Fillet
– Boundary
The Modifiers
– Dome, Freeform,
Shape, Deform
45
The Chunks/Targets
– Extrude
– Revolve
– Loft
– Sweep
– Boundary
The Transitions
– Loft
– Fill
– Fillet
– Boundary
The Modifiers
– Dome, Freeform,
Shape, Deform
46
Loft sample
 1953-1958 Volkswagen
steering wheel
“Young designer, full of

innocence and hope”
47
Basic Lofted Chunk
 Step1 – check to see if the sketches are

‘righteous’
48
First sample – basic Lofted Chunk
 Two ways to make

this bit
 Loft between  Loft with

multiple profiles guide curves 49
First sample – basic Lofted Chunk
 Why not use 3 profiles AND guide curves?

 Show curvature (View>Display>Curvature)
 Loft - With Guides  Loft – 3 sections  Loft – 3 sections+Guides
50
Second sample – basic Lofted transition
 Next he needed to make

the transition across the
hub
 Strategy – extend
and mirror
51

hub
 Strategy – extend
and mirror
 Of course it failed!
Lofts know no intent
past original profiles!
52

hub
 Better to mirror
the body…
53

hub
 Better to mirror
the body…
 …then loft a bridge
54
Third sample – complex Lofted transition
 Filleting for blend – he attempted to

do it with Variable Radius fillet
– Not a bad assumption
– It just doesn’t match the model
55
 Filleting for blend – he attempted to

do it with Variable Radius fillet
– Not a bad assumption
– It just doesn’t match the model
– Fillet is arc
– Real transition isn’t
56
 Accurate hub from tangent

arcs causes loft issues
57
 Accurate hub from tangent

arcs causes loft issues
 Simplified hub
simplifies connections
 Tip – on transitions,
have as few faces as
possible!
This is a BIG DEAL…
58
To control ALONG loft, we have to know the
rules and options
 Control flow along loft

– Connectors
– Increase number of segments
– Remove segments
– Guide curves
 Tangency –UV line quirks

– Edges of patch alignment
– Central edges
 The end profiles

– 3D sketch
– Composite Curve
– Smart selection
59
Using guide curves to control flow
 Try to add guide

curves to this part
from earlier
60
Loft - Start Tangency and adjacent geometry
 Tangency
to face  Curvature
to face
61
Apply to resolving bad flow
from tangent loft
 Flat cut not conducive to flow
62
from tangent loft

 Arcing Cut respects flow
63
from tangent loft
 Arcing Cut respects flow
 Add Split line to further control flow
64
from tangent loft
 Note -
Resist temptation to add guides!!
 With guides-  Without guides-

jerky UV lines smoother UV
across loft lines across loft 65
Boundary - Start Tangency and
adjacent geometry
 Tangency
to face  Curvature
to face
66
Boundary
 Boundary follows geometry without all the workarounds!
67
Curves for tangency
 Face or edge
 3D Sketch (some 2D)
– Pros
 Extend or trim back
 Split to guide flow
– Cons
 Can’t convert many edges
 Composite curve
– Pros
 Bridges gaps
– Cons
 Can’t split
 Can’t share
 SelectionManager
68
3D Sketch –
Advantage 1: Trim back
 Loft between
full edges is
junky
69
3D Sketch –
 Loft between
full edges is
junky
 Convert edges
into 3D sketch
and drag back
70
3D Sketch –
 Loft between
full edges is
junky
 Convert edges
into 3D sketch
and drag back
 Better loft
between
reduced 3D
sketches
71
3D Sketch –
Advantage 2: Split Curves to promote flow
 3d Sketches, as
is, can have bad
flow
 Splitting 3D
curves promotes
good flow
72
Curves for tangency
 3D Sketch (2D too)

– Is my Go-To tool
– Cons
 Can’t convert many edges
 Fallbacks
– Composite curve
 Pros
– Bridges gaps
 Cons
– Can’t split
– Can’t share
– SelectionManager
73
When you model yourself into a corner
 Loft and boundary

are happiest as
four sided faces
74
Divide and conquer-
When you “model yourself into a corner”

are happiest as
four sided faces
 They can be three
sided faces
(However, I almost
never do this)
75
Divide and conquer-
When you “model yourself into a corner”

are happiest as
four sided faces
 They can be three
sided faces
(However, I almost
never do this)
 But what if you
‘paint’ yourself into
a 5-sided (N sided)
corner?
76
Conclusion
 Got all that?
77
Conclusion
 Got all that?

 Rule number one –
SolidWorks can
change at any time!
78
Conclusion
 Got all that?

SolidWorks can
change at any time!
 Work at busting your
personal myths (and
myths you hear from guys
like me)
79
Conclusion
 Got all that?

SolidWorks can change
at any time!
 Work at busting your
personal myths (and
myths you hear from
guys like me)
 Test everything to reveal
the man behind the
curtain – How SWx really
is doing your work
80

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Curvy Stuff 6-

 General Design/ project

 Certain common  Mythbusting – there

To start talking about Loft we HAVE to talk

 Needed to create this part

 Of course it didn’t work – everyone knows

 Simply concentric  Concentric with same

 Simply concentric  Concentric with same

 Back to the sheetmetal part

 Back to the sheetmetal part

 Back to the sheetmetal part

 Detailed layout calculates

 One of the biggest recurring

 When I run into issues that don’t

 Attempt with variable radius fillet

Note leftover sliver,

 This is, of course, why we are taught to extend

 Bottle neck – try in solid lofts

 Always start with a game

 You will likely need to

 Let's see how it went

 First loft creates a lot

 Hack-and-slash modeling can present a

 Chuck Norris doesn’t have patience for

 Note that the Profiles

 How to model this?

 How to model this?

– Extrusion and filets?

 How to model this?

 How to model this?

 Look hard at the faces you really want

 Look hard at the faces you really want

 Isolate the simpler

 Look hard at the faces you really want

 Isolate the simpler

 Look hard at the faces you really want

 Isolate the simpler

“Young designer, full of

 Step1 – check to see if the sketches are

 Two ways to make

 Loft between  Loft with

 Why not use 3 profiles AND guide curves?

 Loft - With Guides  Loft – 3 sections  Loft – 3 sections+Guides

 Next he needed to make

 Next he needed to make

 Next he needed to make

 Next he needed to make

 Filleting for blend – he attempted to

 Filleting for blend – he attempted to

 Accurate hub from tangent

 Accurate hub from tangent

 Control flow along loft

 Tangency –UV line quirks

 The end profiles

 Try to add guide

 Flat cut not conducive to flow

 Flat cut not conducive to flow

 With guides-  Without guides-

 Boundary follows geometry without all the workarounds!

 3D Sketch (2D too)

 Loft and boundary

 Loft and boundary