Surface Mastery Part 1 - Loft Vs Patch for Blended Edges | How to Identify a Good vs Bad Surface

In this video we are going to take a look at a common use case for surfacing tools. Creating a blend between multiple faces. Often times a fillet just doesn't get the job done and you need to resort to a more manual approach. We are going to be dealing with a common case where we have to delete a fillet that blends between edges and manually make our own.
You can follow along with the supplied dataset but keep in mind we will be using shortcuts and speeding through some of the basic modeling. We are going to be patching the same geometry a few different ways and trying to identify why we want to pick one method over another.
a360.co/3Hm7ny7

[@TessierWork]

Already love this series after only one episode. So many things I learn. I really love how you explain how to get around problems. Thanks Matt!

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

Glad you enjoy it!

[@a330turbinex7]

Your mastering playlists are awesome!!! This is like gold! Thank you so much!!! :)

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

Glad you like them!

[@johncherrey1798]

Exceptional! This is “craft” knowledge as applied to software. I’m always trying to refine my modelling skills. There are hundreds of videos on basic tool use in Fusion but this much needed professional level exploration. So many thanks.

[@climbaclubba]

First of all, thanks a lot for this extraordinary tutorial. I'll surely go on. When patching the surface, I've just hid the edge lines. That patched surface is clearly seen, it means it's really problematic with molds and printing quality. I was once using patches whenever it's available. Because it seems practical. But not always. That's invaluable. Thanks again for sharing. I'm now a subscriber!

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

Glad to help and welcome aboard! thanks for the sub

[@sadhucat4476]

I learn so much from seeing how you deal with the quirks and idiosyncratic limitations of the tools. Thanks!

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

Glad it was helpful! Sadly that is a big part of CAD, not just Fusion. It was the same when i worked in Solidworks, Onshape or Inventor. You work with what you have.

[@garretth4454]

Super helpful! Matt, thank you for greatly expanding my knowledge of tools once again. Keep up the great videos, we appreciate them!

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

thanks! glad it was helpful!

[@bwilliams1815]

Highly relevant topic. Thanks Matt!! I actually watched part 2 before part 1. I anticipate this series as it is always good to hear the why behind the options in Fusion.

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

Thanks Brian. I don't have a planned out list of videos yet but I am thinking of doing this style rather than starting at the ground level. not 100% sure just yet but there will be more in this series for sure.

[@GeneralNapkin-es3sq]

this is the type of video always amazed me.Totally redefined my recongition of double edges.GREAT content,love it

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

Awesome! Thank you!

[@Maurycy_Sokol]

A detailed description of the surface method is definitely something that has been missing from this channel :) Keep it going :)

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

Awesome, thank you!

[@sleepwalker1803]

Well explained! Thanks for your effort!

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

You are welcome!

[@TheQuietBeast]

This was awesome! You really know what you are doing. Very interesting to deep dive and know everything about how to tackle that corner :)

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

Glad it was helpful!

[@keal4825]

Thanks you so much, i always wait your videos❤

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

You're welcome 😊

[@billstrahan4791]

Perfect length vid to cover the topic well!

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

Glad you think so! People have such a short attention span it is a hard balance ;)

[@billstrahan4791]

@@LearnEverythingAboutDesign Glad I think what? What were we talking about? ;)

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

@@billstrahan4791 hahaha

[@ChrisTrunek]

needed this!

[@brandonhall3353]

I've been a poly modeler in 3ds Max for 20 years and have been wanting to make the jump to nurbs modeling. After only this first video. I have learned a lot and will continue my journey with the rest of this series. Thank you so much for taking the time to make these.

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

Glad I could help! You should check out the freeform content as well. As a poly modeler you might be right at home with that in your toolbox in Fusion.

[@brandonhall3353]

@@LearnEverythingAboutDesign Will do! I want to understand more about blending curves if that makes sense. For Example, take a look at the back end of the drone in the movie Oblivion, You can see at the top there is a straight edge that blends in the sphere. Or look at the bubble ship from that movie. I want to learn how to blend those types of shapes.

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

@@brandonhall3353 Here are a couple of vids that might help. kzbin.info/www/bejne/a5TJq4V8lNKYpaMsi=N8teB6oBCl8nXV3z kzbin.info/www/bejne/l6Tap4SamJiqosksi=UOQB8xPqnKZX8rUm kzbin.info/www/bejne/aJqbo2qHmJmBasksi=N2spIyGkLKPeJRKW The trick is generally to trim away the shapes where you want things to blend and add controlling curves to help the transitions if needed. With surfacing the fewer inputs the better. The more controls we try to add the more "tension" we end up getting in the surfaces. Coming from Max you would see the tension at star points or ngons because everything is fighting for curvature control.

[@brandonhall3353]

@@LearnEverythingAboutDesign Perfect! Thanks so much!

[@Fasimedes]

Just what i was looking 😎😎😎 Thanks!

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

You're welcome 😊 Let me know other challenges you run into and i'll try to cover them.

[@Fasimedes]

@@LearnEverythingAboutDesign I'm looking for a complete tutorial on surfaces because I want to improve my weapon modeling and hard surface skills... I started with polygonal modeling but sometimes you need a lot of precision to get your assets to a good level of detail. For example, I can make the upper part of a glock but I don't know how to make the grip with surfaces and that they look good... Sorry for my english, I'm using google translate :D Greetings from Spain!

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

@@Fasimedes Gracias por el comentario. Voy a pensar un poco en esas ideas.

[@t1mmy13]

I learned a lot from this, thanks!

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

Glad to hear it!

[@lean99zz]

great video, thank you!

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

You are welcome!

[@MachChicken]

YAAAAH! Surface mastery!! I can’t wait ! How many episodes will you be doing?

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

unsure right now. I was thinking of doing a few like this that are situational rather than starting from scratch. more like how to use surfaces to make certain geometry. open to ideas of course.

[@emblemcc]

super informative

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

Glad it was helpful!

[@Fusion360modeling-fb4gt]

Even if those slight differences in reflections will not matter at all for my 3D prints the video is very interesting. I will probably care way too much about continuity in my models. 😀

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

100%. if you 3d print that on an FDM with even .1 layer lines its all trash :). just slap a chamfer on it ;)

[@NorMaker3d]

As good as always. Congrats! Question about Loft in Surface: with the edge profile on G1 or G2 there is an option to Align edges or Align to surface. I've never seen any significant difference between the two options. Do you have in mind any case where there is a visible impact?

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

Thanks! Yeah the align to surface is an odd one that seems to make no difference, but i can come up with an example that shows what it does and try to explain it. I will see if i can squeeze that into today as its a good question with zero references out there.

[@NorMaker3d]

@@LearnEverythingAboutDesign Great, thanks!! You're right, there is nothing in Fusion documentation. As per the title and icon it is supposed to follow the surface (also coming from the profile edge but in fact this is already forced by G1 or G2). I gave another shot now but still getting the same result. Eager to see what you come up with 😁

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

Video should be up in the next 15 mins :) Thanks for the question, that is a good one. Hopefully the video finally clears it up!

[@mateuszwawak7437]

Make some idea how to use edit face(free form) on bodies to fix or change smthng. Good job !

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

Thanks Mateusz. The convert option for forms is a bit misleading so I could covert that for sure.

[@Isaacmantx]

I love the CTRL+4 trick to be able to see the lines.... But pressing it again doesn't bring the lines back, and you never gave the commands for that.... And I can't find the commands, or even how to describe their name to find the command, online. how do I bring the lines back?

[@Isaacmantx]

Found it in display settings.... Display Settings---> Visual Style--> Shaded With Visible Edges Only (CTRL+6)

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

Sorry, i cover it in a lot of videos and must have forgotten. CTRL+4 - CtRL+9 change the edge display.

[@americorosales2085]

thanks for this tutorial, I am looking for something similar in order to do tutorial 240, The sculpt tool from the tutorial inventor from Constantin, if you can help me more about this I will appreciate it. thank you.

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

I am not familiar with the tutorial you are talking about.

[@designer23t]

15:25 On the loft option, might it have been better to re-patch the top flat face after trimming, using your 1st and 2nd spline? This would have eliminated the issue of the troublesome little edge and given you a nicer end result in that area?

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

Good observation! Sadly in all the times I have used Loft, whenever there is an edge like the fillet and flat on one side it causes problems. Even if everything has curvature continuity like it did here. Interestingly if you do the same loft as a form body with the same inputs the results are better without the weird issue in the middle.

[@designer23t]

@@LearnEverythingAboutDesign Its a shame you cannot switch seamlessly between solid/surface and forms. For example, delete faces to create a surface, then fix in the form environment with the end result remaining parametric. Or maybe there is a way I just don't know about? Thanks for all the awesome videos by the way. I have learnt a lot

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

Yeah its not seamless sadly. With associative match in the forms environment you can get close, but patching a specific face exactly is somewhat impossible because there are always going to be adjustments made on conversion. Ill give it some thought and see if i can come up with a good example. Thanks!

[@usamahibrahim2201]

well, I'm still wondering about the production issue, or maybe I don't have to worry about it for now? as always great video!

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

Hey Usamah, i just replied to your other comment. Basically think about tangent vs curvature as having different ingredients to make the shape. Tangency is only looking at the direction of curvature. The Curvature constraint/edge condition is looking at the direction and the radius of curvature at that edge. For production you need to think in terms of how its going to be made. If you need to machine a mold you want to be sure the shape is big enough that you don't need a tiny tool to cut it. As for tangency vs curvature. I think of that decision more about the shape and less about picking an option for production. The only catch to that is if you are making a part specifically for CNC then using a standard radius that is a true arc with a tangent fillet will be much easier to machine with a traditional tool like a ball endmill or bull nose endmill.

[@a330turbinex7]

Fusion does not allow to remove those faces... "Compute failed. Cannot delete individual faces."

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

are you on the surface tool tab?

[@a330turbinex7]

@@LearnEverythingAboutDesign I got it. I was in solid tools.

[@mofotox]

Both example are not desirable, use Alias to make free form surfacing is better.

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

Right, but Alias is a Class A surfacing tool. Fusion isn't. You can own Fusion for 2 years for the price of Alias for 1 month. The video isn't about the best option across all software, but the best we have in Fusion :)

[@tonysmith7702]

Cool.

[@steevesmith1573]

Hey Mat, great work, can I have a invitation to your discord server?

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

sure steve, the links expire but drop me an email [e-mail] and ill get you in there.