# Create sketch profile using mesh projections?

**URL:** <https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/create-sketch-profile-using-mesh-projections/9626>\
**Category:** Modeling Questions\
**Created:** [November 4, 2020, 6:12pm UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/create-sketch-profile-using-mesh-projections/9626 "2020-11-04T18:12:23Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![TheBum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@TheBum](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/u/TheBum)\
**Post date:** [November 4, 2020, 6:12pm UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/create-sketch-profile-using-mesh-projections/9626/1 "2020-11-04T18:12:23Z")

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Is there any way to project a mesh onto a sketch so that the profile shape can be captured? If not, that would be a really useful feature to add.

I often remix objects for 3D printing where I have to start with an STL because a STEP file wasn’t provided. In Fusion 360, I can usually convert the mesh into a B-rep, but other times I can’t or the conversion is ripe with issues. I realize that an iPad app has fewer resources at its disposal, but even just having a way to capture a profile for manipulation would be a big help, even if it’s just the vertices so that it can be traced in connect-the-dots fashion to exact dimensions.

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**Author:** ![TheBum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@TheBum](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/u/TheBum)\
**Post date:** [November 5, 2020, 7:36pm UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/create-sketch-profile-using-mesh-projections/9626/2 "2020-11-05T19:36:13Z")

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So I take it from the lack of responses that there isn’t currently a trick for doing this?

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**Author:** ![McD](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discourse.shapr3d.com/mcd/32/15504_2.png) [@McD](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/u/McD)\
**Post date:** [November 5, 2020, 8:04pm UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/create-sketch-profile-using-mesh-projections/9626/3 "2020-11-05T20:04:42Z")

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Doesn’t appear to a way. I tried subtracting a mesh object, but it didn’t work either.

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**Author:** ![TheBum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@TheBum](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/u/TheBum)\
**Post date:** [November 5, 2020, 8:22pm UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/create-sketch-profile-using-mesh-projections/9626/4 "2020-11-05T20:22:31Z")

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Yeah, me too. It turned the native object I subtracted from into a mesh.

Sounds like a good candidate for a new feature (hint, hint).

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**Author:** ![KPeter](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discourse.shapr3d.com/kpeter/32/7644_2.png) [@KPeter](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/u/KPeter)\
**Post date:** [November 6, 2020, 10:04am UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/create-sketch-profile-using-mesh-projections/9626/5 "2020-11-06T10:04:14Z")

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Hi All,  
You cannot project mesh objects and if you try the cheat to subtract it from a solid body, you will see that the solid body will be converted to a mesh too.  
The problem with meshes, in this case, is if you project it, you would have a polyline that is made up of a huge amount of tiny straight lines.

Anyway, I took a note 🙂

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**Author:** ![TheBum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@TheBum](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/u/TheBum)\
**Post date:** [November 6, 2020, 5:05pm UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/create-sketch-profile-using-mesh-projections/9626/6 "2020-11-06T17:05:19Z")

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Even the ability to select and project mesh vertices would be a big help.