# Loft a full frame?

**URL:** <https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/loft-a-full-frame/5404>\
**Category:** Modeling Questions\
**Created:** [August 17, 2019, 11:07pm UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/loft-a-full-frame/5404 "2019-08-17T23:07:49Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 12\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Bibbinator](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discourse.shapr3d.com/bibbinator/32/4302_2.png) [@Bibbinator](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/u/Bibbinator)\
**Post date:** [August 17, 2019, 11:07pm UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/loft-a-full-frame/5404/1 "2019-08-17T23:07:49Z")

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I need to create a frame/chassis for a vehicle. I’d like to be able to model the frame out of line segments and curves to define the size, shape and intersections of the pieces, then “loft” or generate the frame by specifying a profile such as a circle or square. Is something like this possible in Shapr3D?  
Thanks,  
Brett

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**Author:** ![tommyn](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discourse.shapr3d.com/tommyn/32/1714_2.png) [@tommyn](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/u/tommyn)\
**Post date:** [August 17, 2019, 11:15pm UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/loft-a-full-frame/5404/2 "2019-08-17T23:15:04Z")

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Yes, it is possible.

Best,

Tommy

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**Author:** ![Istvan](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discourse.shapr3d.com/istvan/32/23668_2.png) [@Istvan](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/u/Istvan)\
**Post date:** [August 18, 2019, 10:28am UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/loft-a-full-frame/5404/3 "2019-08-18T10:28:50Z")

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Yes, we have a loft tool.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Bibbinator](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discourse.shapr3d.com/bibbinator/32/4302_2.png) [@Bibbinator](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/u/Bibbinator)\
**Post date:** [August 18, 2019, 12:15pm UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/loft-a-full-frame/5404/4 "2019-08-18T12:15:41Z")

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I know about the loft tool, but that’s different than modeling a frame out of line segments and being able to generate a frame based on a loft or sweep shape in one shot.

Here’s an example:  
[https://docs.plm.automation.siemens.com/data\_services/resources/se/106/help/en\_US/selfPacedExt/spse01610/index.html?goto=frames1a.htm](https://docs.plm.automation.siemens.com/data_services/resources/se/106/help/en_US/selfPacedExt/spse01610/index.html?goto=frames1a.htm)

What I did was create the lines and then tried sweep. It won’t generate the whole frame, it complains about shape becoming generalized. What am I doing wrong?

Here’s the lines making the frame:

 ![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/uploads/shapr3d/original/2X/3/3cfd33c60ee31445308f1bfc3da8c9887bac172e.jpeg)

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Istvan](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discourse.shapr3d.com/istvan/32/23668_2.png) [@Istvan](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/u/Istvan)\
**Post date:** [August 18, 2019, 12:19pm UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/loft-a-full-frame/5404/5 "2019-08-18T12:19:21Z")

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Which profile did you try to sweep on which path?

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Bibbinator](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discourse.shapr3d.com/bibbinator/32/4302_2.png) [@Bibbinator](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/u/Bibbinator)\
**Post date:** [August 18, 2019, 12:23pm UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/loft-a-full-frame/5404/6 "2019-08-18T12:23:02Z")

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I clicked the small rectangle visible at the origin and could sweep it across the 4 lines on the xy plane, but couldn’t sweep any of the other lines with same profile.

And original question: I really want to sweep the whole shape at once as the actual part has hundreds of lines making the frame and would be very time consuming to sweep each line. The Solid Edge link above is the ideal workflow.

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**Author:** ![Istvan](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discourse.shapr3d.com/istvan/32/23668_2.png) [@Istvan](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/u/Istvan)\
**Post date:** [August 18, 2019, 12:25pm UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/loft-a-full-frame/5404/7 "2019-08-18T12:25:48Z")

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Unfortunately you can’t do it at once. For which paths it didn’t work?

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Bibbinator](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discourse.shapr3d.com/bibbinator/32/4302_2.png) [@Bibbinator](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/u/Bibbinator)\
**Post date:** [August 18, 2019, 12:32pm UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/loft-a-full-frame/5404/8 "2019-08-18T12:32:10Z")

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I got a “Failed to handle non-G1 path” when tried to sweep the middle frame. The slope up and then straight down worked, but couldn’t sweep across as next path. I can get it to work if I make sweep shapes in multiple places, but it successfully swept 90 degree turn on other places in the frame so odd it didn’t work on that one path.

I think I will give up on this workflow though and try another (subtractive) approach. Thanks for the info/help.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Istvan](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discourse.shapr3d.com/istvan/32/23668_2.png) [@Istvan](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/u/Istvan)\
**Post date:** [August 18, 2019, 12:47pm UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/loft-a-full-frame/5404/9 "2019-08-18T12:47:05Z")

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It could be that the paths are disconnected.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Bibbinator](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discourse.shapr3d.com/bibbinator/32/4302_2.png) [@Bibbinator](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/u/Bibbinator)\
**Post date:** [August 18, 2019, 12:49pm UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/loft-a-full-frame/5404/10 "2019-08-18T12:49:13Z")

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It is possible to have a connected path where there are multiple lines connected to each point or its required that there is only 2 lines connected to a single point?

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Istvan](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discourse.shapr3d.com/istvan/32/23668_2.png) [@Istvan](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/u/Istvan)\
**Post date:** [August 18, 2019, 2:28pm UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/loft-a-full-frame/5404/11 "2019-08-18T14:28:27Z")

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Thr path must not intersect or touch itself.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Bibbinator](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discourse.shapr3d.com/bibbinator/32/4302_2.png) [@Bibbinator](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/u/Bibbinator)\
**Post date:** [August 18, 2019, 5:17pm UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/loft-a-full-frame/5404/12 "2019-08-18T17:17:09Z")

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Putting this here for future reference. Autodesk Inventor has a pretty nice one which would be great to have in Shapr3D.

> **[About this tutorial | Inventor | Autodesk Knowledge Network](https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/inventor/learn-explore/caas/CloudHelp/cloudhelp/2014/ENU/Inventor/files/GUID-D318C64F-776F-463C-BF6E-6313BAF8DD7C-htm.html)**
>
> Build structural frames. Category Mechanical Design Time Required 55 minutes Tutorial File Used Start a new assembly file frame\_generator.ipt, frame\_generator\_hybrid.ipt Note: Click and read the required Tutorial Files Installation Instructions...